Santosh Lakshman, Krishna Chaitanya, and Sai Sasank, Founders, Colon K

When we are young and full of dreams anything seems possible, the jaded wisdom gained through harsh experience has not yet diluted our passion. It is then that we should act on our dreams and not just stow them away. Our Three Young Entrepreneurs realized this and decided their dreams would never fall prey to the world bringing “Colon K” into existence.

Santosh Lakshman, Krishna Chaitanya, and Sai Sasank told us more about their hopes and their business enterprise saying “Colon K is a personalized merchandise company. Targeted at youth, our trendy e-shop is designed to tingle creativity and helps to distinguish oneself. The innate liveliness and camaraderie-developing potential of customized goods is our USP.”

“Being fresh graduates, we're in tune with what’s latest and best. At Colon K, one is not just our customer but also a close friend. A college festival? Organizing an event? One's own special group? A cricket team? Whatever it is, when it comes to customization, count on us. We design, manufacture and deliver. The all-in-one package capable of supplying any fashionable product one might need, irrespective of the number. And all this without putting a hole in any pocket. We are affordable.” 

Their target audience sets them apart as their products are not just for everyone. They explained saying “…contrary to competitors, we are targeting the niche of college students. It is a largely unexplored area and has immense potential. Second tier cities won't even have the idea of customized merchandise. The charm of personalization will appeal the highest to this section, making it an interesting prospect and a high-energy fuel to start up. Encouraging the concept is vital for our making.”

They have set their plans in motion aimed at taking their product to their buyers.

“We plan to have student ambassadors among colleges. Also, the internet (especially social networking sites) will be used to attract target audience. We are also doing targeted offline marketing campaigns and contacting the organizing bodies of the college events directly. Once the organizational structure in place is more refined and well sorted out, more intense plans will be underway.” says the trio. 

Their decision to become entrepreneurs came as a result of the global economic crises. They explain saying “In our final year, we saw our friends grieving about how recession affected them and fretting about not getting jobs and so on. But we looked at it as an outstanding opportunity. After all, it is the best age to experiment without any fear. We did lack the experience, but we had our creativity and optimism to back us. Also, we wanted our every day to be as exciting and as challenging as it could be. So we decided not to flow along and instead, did what our mind said.” 

They have had a learning experience trying to navigate the maze that makes their chosen business sector and come away with some insights. They recalled their experiences saying “The biggest challenge till now was getting into a very disorganized sector to plan and make it as organize-able as possible. The hazy and bright idea was to be guided into a feasible and effective operation. We tried to sift through the market to present the best possible deals without compromising on quality and price.” 

“Our biggest mistake was also our best lesson. We once did a deal with a group on the word of mouth. After we delivered the products, we realized that there was some misinterpretation with them. We eventually incurred a loss and thus, learnt to have proper documentation and confirmation at all levels of interaction.”

 Entrepreneurship and their friendship have adopted each other and now have melded into a functioning unit. “We understand each other very well. So that makes a well-knit and enthusiastic unit. Anyway, in the worst case of turmoil, there will always be at least one among us three who is wise and positive enough to bail us out and set our ship cruising back at full speed” promises the trio

The threesome shared their recently acquired wisdom saying “It is only the passion and will that are needed. Entrepreneurship is not a book, it is a habit. Once you acquire it, other secondary but essential components like experience, skill and money will arrive automatically once you enter the arena.”

YourStory wishes Santosh Lakshman, Krishna Chaitanya, and Sai Sasank the success that is undoubtedly written in their destiny and hope they keep learning and growing.