Growing Globally Locally, Outside your Comfort Zone

The Third Growth Option with Benno Duenkelsbuehler and Guests

Asha Chaudhary, president of Jaipur Living (a socially conscious luxury brand of rugs and textiles), shares the fascinating story of a door-step entrepreneur model of 48,000 artisans in almost 600 villages in India, creating a beautiful product and a seamless customer experience for 1000’s of designers and retailers in the USA.

5:37 – “It’s all about you being courageous, pushing the envelope, the boundaries – a lot of that comes from my dad… he was always a rebel… I saw him shattering so many societal norms.”

7:01 – “it became a natural way of life for me too, to always be a little out of my comfort zone.”

9:12 – “We take everything to the doorstep of the (48,000) artisans… we have a network of almost 600 villages, 25 satellite offices… we own everything but the sheep… we are totally vertical.”

10:50 – “… it’s a very fragmented supply chain but it has a really powerful impact: it keeps artisans in the villages, it keeps families together, it reduces migration and overcrowding in cities, it keeps women safe.”

16:11 – “… the same philosophy your dad applied in India (supply chain) to meet artisans where they are … you used in the USA (market) to meet the designer where they are” – “… it’s truly omni-channel… we try to see the full picture in the entire customer journey.”

18:19 – “… business is all about human connection. Once you connect with heart, everything becomes simpler.”

20:31 – “Our goal has always been ‘how do we bring dignity? How do we make artisans feel proud of the work they do?’ “

21:15 – “We can do that: we’ve done a lot of work around building transparency in the supply chain. Our next step is to educate the consumer and our designers (B2B) partners how their choices make a big impact. I think our future demands it.”

24:13 – “Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone – would you say that is your superpower?” – “Yes… being a little uncomfortable is my state of being.”

27:01 – “…we identify women in villages that show potential for leadership… they go through training… then they become the support for other women in the community and they lift them and raise them.”