[100 Emerging Women Leaders] This art entrepreneur’s journey is that of learning and unlearning across sectors
Art entrepreneur Dr Manvi Goyal followed her passion and started Little Canvas, a brand that sells DIY art and craft products. The former dentist is also the co-founder of a warehouse automation startup. Let’s take a look at her journey.
Life has an uncanny way of steering us towards what we love. Manvi Goyal’s journey is a testament to that.
It was while she was decorating her daughter’s room, in 2018, that Dr Manvi Goyal reconnected with her love for art and craft. Up until then she was excelling in two different industries—as a dentist and as the co-founder of ThinkLink, a warehouse automation startup.
Due to her professional demands, over the years, Goyal had lost touch with art and craft.
However, the simple room decor project that she undertook rekindled her passion for art. The project was such a success that it made her friends and family take notice of her talent, which no one knew of till then.
Soon people started asking her to take up décor projects for them. One thing led to another and then, eventually, in 2018, she founded
, a company offering DIY art and craft products for children.Growing up, Goyal was a studious child, who pursued the path of academics to become a dentist, although she was passionate about art.
Reflecting on her choices, she says, “Somewhere, art and craft was always there in my heart. I never really got a chance to put it out. Nobody really said it was something that could be pursued as a career back then.”
Entrepreneurial journey
Entrepreneurship was not a new game for Goyal. In 2006, when her husband decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge in the supply chain domain, she joined hands with him as the co-founder of ThinkLink.
Although she had no experience in the field, she dared to do something different and learnt everything from scratch.
“When I look back, not many women were there in the supply chain space, at that time,” she says.
When people questioned her on her decision to venture into entrepreneurship with her husband, her simple response was, “If not now, then when?”
Despite the discouragement, she managed to navigate her own path, through all the ups and downs that came her way.
Goyal is no stranger to challenges and challenging situations. In fact, back when she was studying medicine, in a class of 100 students, she was one among 25 girls.
“It was not easy, and the journey started from there. Supply chain logistics is a completely male-dominated sector. People were curious to know what I was doing in the space,” shares the entrepreneur.
The common question she would face was: Why would a dentist, a woman, join this?
But Goyal took it all in her stride and let her work do all the talking.
This experience helped her with the Little Canvas venture, which provided her yet another opportunity to learn something new.
Little Canvas
Goyal started out by selling DIY art and craft products on Instagram.
“Instagram was a completely new thing for me. I did not even have family or friends on the platform. So, selling on it was the first challenge,” she says.
But she kept at it. From learning the nuances of online commerce to traveling across the country to understand consumer needs, she did it all—thus carving a niche for herself all over again in a new space.
At present, Little Canvas offers products such as activity boxes, plush dolls, DIY products, and colouring books. The products are available on the brand’s website as well as on children-focused marketplaces such as First Cry, Nestery, and Etsy.
“Fast forward to 2022. Having spent some time on the online medium, I have learnt a lot of things. Now the space is more competitive. You need to up your game even further,” she says.
And the challenges never end. “At every journey, you face something new, address some problems, and try to solve them and move forward,” she says.
What’s her advice for women who want to start up? She advocates following one’s heart.
“It is all about today. If you are starting up, give your startup all the love, and it will give all the love back to you,” she says.
“Just take the plunge. The plunge in itself is the first step. Once that is taken, half of the battle is won, and once you are there in the middle of the action, the fittest will survive.”
Edited by Swetha Kannan