When Seema Bansal Chadha was in her early twenties, she was in a very new, long distance relationship with a guy named Sunny. In classic LDR-status, he sent her flowers for Valentine's Day. It was supposed to be a romantic gesture, but the flowers arrived wilted. NBD though. The flop led Seema to move to New York to be with Sunny…and to co-found Venus et Fleur with him too.
In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Seema shares:
Why her father’s lighting and plumbing store informed her own entrepreneurship
How she rationalized starting a biz with her boyfriend of less than a year
The moment Venus et Fleur blew up (shout out to the Kardashians)
How the hustle of the early days compares to the hustle now
Why protecting your existing customers sometimes outweighs trying to attract new ones
In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Seema shares:
On the “A-Ha” Moment that Led to the Business
Seema: Sunny sent me flowers on Valentine's Day and obviously it wasn't a great experience. Again, at the time we were just finishing each other's sentences. We were super in tune with each other’s thoughts. We just said, “Why isn't there a luxury option? Why is every floral option through a third party service or a florist? There's no place where you get transparency and a beautiful product that you know is going to come to the end consumer in a proper way.” We just couldn't find it. So we were like, wow, there's a gray space in the market. We just started brainstorming what this brand would look like, what it would feel like, what it would be called, how it should look. And it just started from there.
On Remembering the Value of Going the Extra Mile
Seema: You always have to protect your client. And for example, we've had this issue come up in the past where someone ordered something we were unable to deliver because of quality issues at our farm. We still send them something because for most of the time, people are sending it as a gift and they picked our product or our company as that gift to get to that person. We're still sending them something so at least they're able to do that. Then, at a later time, we send them their correct product. That's customer service 101. You have to do that to protect your client. And you can't cut corners. Because customers are smarter than they've ever been, right? Everyone's checking and doing their due diligence.
On Advice to Business Owners in the Luxury Space
Seema: We [fall] into a category of products that make people feel good. And it's a great gift. So if you're unable to go to someone's wedding or their COVID wedding or celebrate a special milestone in their life. this is the product that you want to send to share your love and your excitement for them, right? And I think that's why my category did so well or our category did so well. We had a product that made people feel really good and also not to mention our standards are really, really high…and I think for anyone who's looking to get into the luxury space, like always, I think, ask yourself: What is something that makes people feel good? Whether it's home decor, it's something that they want to sit on, it's a blanket, it's just – it's that comfort. Something that makes you smile is always going to do well.
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