Chumbak.com is an e-commerce website which sells Indian stuff, especially tins, magnets, posters, t shirts etc.
The idea of desi magnets, inspired by Shubhra Chadda’s own colourful fridge between 2002 and 2006, when the idea germinated and grew, she was working as a sales and operations manager at Netap, Bangalore. Though she did make an elaborate sales pitch to her ex-boss, the idea was not executed immediately, and so her job regained precedence over entrepreneurial dreams.
In 2006, she switched to Nortel, where she was the marketing head. Then, in 2007, she got married and, subsequently, decided to take a sabbatical to raise her newborn daughter. However, boredom kicked in faster than expected and within two years Chadda found herself debating about returning to corporate slavery.
At this point, her husband Vivek Prabhakar reminded her about her business idea, and by June 2009, she was geared up to launch Chumbak. Initially, she thought of manufacturing only fridge magnets as souvenirs for tourists, but Chadda soon found that the Indian youth were as intrigued and amused by desi idiosyncrasies. So she expanded her theme and considered launching 12 product categories, including coffee mugs, storage tins, clocks, key chains, gadget covers and boxers.
Chadda invested a seed capital of Rs 40 lakh, which she procured by selling off a home in Bangalore. Much of this capital went into sourcing products and working with freelance designers, who could translate her vision into graphics on the products. For the first few months, Chumbak’s inventory was stored in her aunt’s spare apartment. The company was finally launched in March 2010.
