Fireside Chat - Desi Hangover
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful interview, Omkar engages with the co-founder and COO of Disney Hangover, discussing the brand's inception and growth in a saturated footwear market. The conversation highlights the importance of leveraging India's craft heritage and the emotional connection consumers have with artisanal products. The company's strategic focus on quality and customer satisfaction has transformed Disney Hangover from a luxury to a necessity, with plans to expand into other artisanal categories while maintaining a commitment to sustainability and social impact.
Takeaways
- 😀 The co-founder and COO of Disney Hangover, Aga, shares the company's journey and insights in an interview.
- 🌟 Disney Hangover was founded with a vision to tap into the market opportunity for a footwear brand in an already crowded market.
- 🏰 Recognizing India's rich craft and culture, the founders saw a familiar product with an emotional connect but lacking appreciation due to an unstructured market.
- 🔍 Market research revealed a demand for a product that was both familiar and could be improved upon, leading to the identification of a competitive advantage.
- 🚀 Disney Hangover leveraged the first-mover advantage in the category and focused on creating everyday essentials with a unique Indian touch.
- 🎉 The brand's success was attributed to its ability to resonate with customers on an emotional level, providing a sense of pride and satisfaction through their purchases.
- 👣 Feedback from large-scale events indicated that customers valued the impact of their purchases on artisans, reinforcing the brand's social mission.
- 👟 The product transitioned from a luxury item to a need-based category, becoming a versatile part of customers' daily outfits.
- 🔄 The brand's approach to quality and status maintenance was crucial in retaining customers who were discerning about the brands they supported.
- 🌐 Disney Hangover's future goals include expanding into more artisanal product categories, aiming for global recognition and appreciation.
- 💚 Sustainability and social impact remain at the core of the business, with plans to scale and reinvent artisanal products to meet international standards.
Q & A
Who is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Disney Hangover being interviewed in the script?
-The co-founder and chief operating officer of Disney Hangover is Abba.
What is the primary focus of the interview with Abba from Disney Hangover?
-The primary focus of the interview is to discuss the story of Disney Hangover, its market opportunity, brand positioning, and customer needs.
What market opportunity did Disney Hangover identify for its footwear brand in a crowded market?
-Disney Hangover identified an opportunity in the Indian craft and culture segment, which was unstructured and lacked appreciation, allowing them to create a product that resonated with the Indian audience's familiarity and emotional connection to the craft.
How did Disney Hangover approach the challenge of educating customers about their product in an overcrowded market?
-Disney Hangover leveraged the familiarity and emotional connection of the Indian audience with the craft segment, which reduced the need for extensive product education and allowed them to focus on product quality and innovation.
What was the starting point for Disney Hangover in realizing that their brand was filling a customer need?
-The starting point was during real-time sales and customer interactions, particularly at large events, where they received feedback that customers felt a sense of pride and satisfaction in supporting artisans through their purchases.
How did Disney Hangover's customers perceive the brand's footwear as a need-to-have rather than a luxury item?
-Customers began to see the value and versatility of Disney Hangover's footwear as it transitioned from a special occasion item to a part of their daily outfits, serving multiple needs with one product.
What was the impact of Disney Hangover's product on the artisans involved in its creation?
-The product created a direct impact on the artisans' lives, as customer purchases contributed to their livelihood, giving customers a sense of pride and satisfaction in their conscious buying decisions.
How did Disney Hangover's focus on quality and status quo contribute to its brand positioning?
-By maintaining high quality and status, Disney Hangover was able to appeal to customers who were brand-conscious and sought products that met their expectations for quality, durability, and real-time application.
What challenges did Disney Hangover face in terms of customer lifetime value due to the versatility of their product?
-The versatility of Disney Hangover's footwear, serving multiple needs, potentially compromised the customer lifetime value as customers might not feel the need to purchase more than one pair, limiting their cart value.
What are Disney Hangover's future goals for the next three years, as mentioned by Abba?
-Disney Hangover aims to focus on sustainability and social impact, bringing different categories of artisanal products to global standards and giving them international recognition.
How does Abba view the role of customer referrals in Disney Hangover's growth strategy?
-Abba acknowledges the strong customer referrals as a key factor in Disney Hangover's growth, especially considering the high quality and the emotional connection customers have with the brand.
Outlines
😀 Founding Disney Hangover
The conversation begins with an introduction to the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Disney Hangover, who joins the host for an interview. The host expresses appreciation for the company's case study being used as a learning tool and inspiration for students and entrepreneurs. The guest, Abba, is welcomed warmly, and the discussion starts by exploring the company's inception. The host inquires about the market opportunity that led to the creation of a footwear brand in a seemingly saturated market during 2012-2014. Abba explains that India's rich craft and culture heritage provided a familiar product to the market, and the company's focus on Indian opera for the Indian audience allowed them to leverage this familiarity. The company identified a market gap and a competitive advantage, being the first movers in the category, and aimed to make the product an everyday essential with the right improvisations.
👟 Meeting Customer Needs with Disney Hangover
The discussion shifts to the customer-centric approach of Disney Hangover. The company realized that customers were not only getting a product they liked but also one that held sentimental value. The product was innovative, combining a global perspective with rural craftsmanship. Real-time sales and interactions at events like Carla Gorda and Little Flea provided valuable customer feedback. Customers felt a sense of pride and satisfaction, knowing their purchases directly impacted artisans' lives. This emotional connection and social impact became a key part of Disney Hangover's brand identity. The conversation highlights the importance of customer brand loyalty, especially for a D2C (direct-to-consumer) product, and how Disney Hangover positioned itself as a 'need to have' rather than a 'nice to have' product.
🌐 Expanding Disney Hangover's Impact
The final paragraph delves into the company's future plans and vision. Abba shares the company's commitment to sustainability and social impact, which are at the core of their business. The goal is to bring more artisanal products to the market, reinvent them to meet global expectations, and achieve international recognition. Disney Hangover started with footwear but aims to expand into other categories, using the same strategy that brought success to their shoes. The conversation concludes with the host thanking Abba for the insightful interview and acknowledging the inspiration Abba provides to a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Co-founder
💡Chief Operating Officer (COO)
💡Entrepreneurial Venture
💡Market Opportunity
💡First Mover Advantage
💡Indian Craft and Culture
💡Product Innovation
💡Customer Need
💡Brand Loyalty
💡Sustainability and Social Impact
💡Direct to Consumer (D2C)
Highlights
Omkar introduces the co-founder and COO of Disney Hangover, emphasizing the opportunity to learn from their entrepreneurial journey.
The co-founder discusses the decision to start with a footwear brand in an already crowded market, highlighting the familiarity and emotional connection of the product to the Indian audience.
The importance of market research is underscored, revealing a gap in the market for a structured category within the craft segment.
The co-founder explains the competitive advantage and first-mover advantage in the category, focusing on the Indian audience's needs.
The product's potential to become an everyday essential is identified as a key opportunity in the market.
The co-founder shares insights on how customer feedback from events like Carla Gorda and Little Flea helped understand the product's impact on artisans' lives.
The emotional connection customers felt towards the product, seeing their purchases as a direct impact on artisans, is highlighted.
The transition of Disney Hangover shoes from a luxury item to a need-based product category is discussed, based on customer feedback.
The co-founder describes the importance of quality and status in the customer's perception of the brand.
The versatility of the product is emphasized, as it serves multiple needs beyond a single event, leading to its acceptance as a daily essential.
The co-founder addresses the challenge of high customer satisfaction potentially limiting the cart value due to the product's versatility and quality.
The potential for increased customer referrals due to high-quality products and customer satisfaction is noted.
The co-founder outlines the future vision for Disney Hangover, focusing on sustainability, social impact, and expanding to different artisanal product categories.
The goal of reinventing artisanal products to meet global expectations and achieving international recognition is mentioned.
The interview concludes with a reflection on the enriching experience and the inspiration provided to a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Transcripts
[Music]
hello everybody this is omkar and we are
delighted to have the co-founder
and the chief operating officer of
disney hangover to join us i'm sure all
of you have enjoyed thoroughly the case
and now this is your opportunity to see
the faces in real life or well virtually
about the people who build it so a very
warm welcome to to you aga
and uh i'm so delighted that you have
extended your story as a learning
material as a learning tool and moreover
an inspiration to to everybody every
student entrepreneur and uh invite them
to to start early so so welcome abba
thank you thank you thank you for the
opportunity and yeah even i'm delighted
to be a part of this
so you know we are we're reflecting on
the story of desi hangover and we want
to understand a few critical points a
few critical questions from
from you uh let's start off with uh with
the foundation of any entrepreneurial
venture which is which is solving a
market opportunity and this is what i
want to ask you that where did you start
believing that there was an opportunity
for a for a footwear brand which was
let's say even in 2012 2013 2014 already
an overcrowded market so where did you
believe that there was an opportunity
for a footwear brand to still emerge and
now thrive
right
so
as as we know india has always been
known um as a country for you know craft
and culture
so
uh the one thing that
we knew that the product was not foreign
to the market and since you know we had
started in india
uh we worked on indian opera in the for
the indian audience for a long amount of
time so
we didn't have to create the definition
of the product for these audience for
this audience
um so yeah
there was a rec i would say there was
familiarity
of the product in the mind of the
audience um
there might be regard also you know
people have an emotional connect and a
sense of pride towards the craft
uh segment of india but
there was a lack of appreciation for
obvious reasons you know because the
category was a little unstructured
back in the time
uh
so
but when you know we did our market
research we understood that there was a
scope
uh to you know
venture in this product that
people had the need and hence there was
a demand
um
with some improvisation brought in the
picture you know
which nobody had done before so the
opportunity lied in the fact that we had
a competitive advantage
we had the first movers advantage in the
category
and
yeah
with the
indian audience keeping in mind the
indian audience we understood that you
know
uh this product
could be a part of their you know
everyday essentials if made in the right
way
so yeah that's that's where we
understood that uh the opportunity lies
in the product though the the market was
saturated with the with footwear however
this category was seen as an exception
and it was seen as uh the first time um
introduced uh segment
okay you know this is this is
interesting right and this actually
helped me segue into into the subsequent
question about you know uh what was the
starting point when you realized that
you know they see hangover as a company
as a brand is filling a customer need we
saw it from a market opportunity that
you believe that you know you had the
first more advantage competitive
advantage there was very little resource
required to actually educate the
customer about
uh the product about the problem but
where did you start filling in that you
know
you started building a brand and a
product which was solving a real
customer need and you know if you if you
have any memorable experience about it i
think it would be it would be great to
relate
right um
so yeah i mean to begin with definitely
uh the audience was uh getting a product
uh of their liking uh the product had
its own sentimental value with the right
kind of uh you know
um uh innovation with the right kind of
um
uh
what do you say having a global
perspective brought to a rural made
product
it was sort of a
very uh
win-win sort of situation that we uh
achieved with the product
uh however so that was without saying
that the audience the customer was
getting a new and a right quality
product uh a product up to their
expectation
however
when we
you know
started uh
real-time sales and with the kind of uh
interaction that we had with the
audience you know especially when we did
these uh
large uh
format uh events like you know carla
gorda and little flea and these kind of
events where you know we faced a lot
large base of customer
we understood that and this came as a
feedback from the customer
that
okay this is
something that uh is very close to our
heart because it's an indian product
and
overall they could associate themselves
as someone who is a part of the larger
picture
meaning it is their purchase that is
creating a direct impact in the life of
the artisan
by just making you know a sale by bajaj
making a purchase
so overall they were feeling good about
the fact they're there that their money
was you know being spent
where their heart is
so it kind of gave them a sense of
satisfaction and a sense of pride that
overall they were able to create an
impact
on the artisan directly so it kind of uh
completed the circle for us that you
know yes it had the product was doing
was made up to the expectation so that
you know was the fundamental that we had
to cater to
however
the larger goal that we thought you know
we were serving was
giving that sense of pride and
satisfaction to the customer about being
conscious about of their purchase
okay this is this is very interesting
about
getting the customer to not only
associate with the product but but
actually start start falling in love
with it
you know the customer brand loyalty is
everything for uh for a d2c product
right and when we're talking about a d2c
product you know direct to consumer
product it's normally looked as as a
good to have rather than a need to have
right unless you sell essentials right
footwear is considered as an essential
but one pair of footwear is considered
right right
where did you start uh you know
reflecting and then after positioning
that they see hangover shoes they say
anger footwear are a need to have
um was it more towards an approach from
a branding or was it actually a very
genuine reflection that yes a lot of
people are finding they see anger
uh shoes to be a need to have if it was
from the branding perspective then you
know how was it communicated or if it
was not from a branding perspective if
it was a genuine
reason that people are finding this to
have how was it communicated to you
okay so yes there was a very genuine um
feedback and a validation from the
audience that we received that the
product was somehow transitioning into a
need-based uh
category than a want and a luxury based
category so the audience that we uh
served they were very sorted in terms of
their uh brands what kind of what what
brand of shoes do they want what that
what brand of you know say their names
or watches or shades if they want
so quality and status quo had to be
maintained i mean there was
these were the two factors that were
non-negotiable
so having said that
this category of you know indian wear
wedding and festive wear was an
untouched category but it was a well
demanding category however there was no
product that would serve the expectation
that probably uh nike did or a book in
stock did that was you know known for
quality durability
and the real-time application of the
event
so
um
it was
then when we started making the product
with the feedback from the audience and
making it in the with the right
ergonomics
it was then
that the audience started seeing the
the value and the application of the
product
um
maybe as a you know as a friday wear or
as a sunday brunch or you know as a
travel shoe or
so which served the purpose beyond that
one night of sangeeth or you know mayhem
perhaps so it became a part of their
daily outfitting i would say which was
then they realized that you know
maybe a category which is
as commercial as a sportswear which is
considered as casual or maybe loafers
yeah this could also be
in the competition you know which would
sort of break the norms and break the
monotony of the sports shoe or a loafer
shoe so yeah it was then when you know
people started understanding that this
could also be a shoe that i need uh more
than a shoe that i want yeah so so what
i'm understanding is is versatility
right like because maybe one of the
bigger motivation of people to buy the
shoe was uh
was to wear it at a friend sangeet or
where it had a friend's bendy and after
that they realized that hey you know
what i can wear this while uh while
going on a sunday brunch and then friday
evening so instead of having like three
shoes in my uh in my shoe right with
some different purpose i can have one
and
and most important thing is that i my
qualities are short right yeah yeah
and that was that was essentially so
this is this is actually very
interesting positioning right uh
do service three needs a few and every
three needs of you are getting serviced
with the same amount of quality right
and the names yeah i mean
good and bad because you know it uh
limits our cart value because the
customer you know tries to
fill in all the needs with just one shoe
so probably he doesn't feel the need to
buy more than one shoe yes
yeah the lifetime value might be
compromised that's actually a very
interesting discussion yeah and also
because the quality touchwood is good
yeah
the customer takes a long time to come
back
like
even if the customer lifetime value is
small the customer referral becomes high
in that condition right ah absolutely
absolutely inside view of dc hangover so
i know that the customer referrals are
pretty strong so you know i wanna
one chris final question okay
as somebody who has built this branch
from scratch and somebody who has
dedicated uh the entire youth and
they're still young
the entire youth to this brand
you see yourself
taking you taking daisy hangover in the
next three years and something which is
more more quantifiable
so first of all thank you for the
compliment uh i think the wig is doing
its job well uh
i said no where did you buy it eating
kidding
so yeah talking about the coming three
years um
so sustainability and social impact is
you know the core the heart of the
business so we would you know ensure
that that is always delivered
uh the idea the motto would be to bring
uh different categories of artisanal
products
and uh you know um reinvent them
with in in such a way that you know they
achieve a global expectation
appreciation
so
yeah housing more products uh building
you know sustainability around them and
scaling them and giving them the
international recognition is something
that is the goal
so footwear was the segway and now you
want to pick up more and more products
and take it to where the shoes have
reached right yes yes absolutely great
this this has been a fantastic fantastic
interview uh great fireside chat and it
is so so lovely catching up with
inspiring entrepreneurs like you and i'm
sure all the students across the world
who are gonna
uh read your case and understand your
point of view i think this is gonna be a
very enriching experience so thank you
so much abba for taking out the time and
more importantly inspiring a new
generation of entrepreneurs at baghami
so thank you thank you thank you so much
glad to be a part of this thank you
[Music]
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