Meet Sambhav Karnawat, an IIT Kanpur alumnus, a 4^th generation jeweller and founder of a jewellery e-commerce startup called Jewelove™. Sambhav realised that there was a need for an online high-end exclusive jewellery portal that could cater to the discerning customer in the remotest part of India. Thus was born ‘Jewelove’.

The thought behind Jewelove is to create an online marketplace for bespoke precious jewellery at reasonable prices. Sambhav has an experience of 8 years in platinum jewellery & being a technology geek, he is well-versed with the e-commerce domain. Sambhav is an expert in platinum jewellery & prides in building a loyal customer base and delivering orders within 3 days through his portal jewelove.in

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Sambhav Karnawat (SK) traces the inception & growth of his online jewellery portal. Watch this video and read more about this inspiring business journey.

GL:  Tell us about Jewelove and how it came into being.

SK: Jewelove is essentially a precious jewellery e-commerce portal, specialising in platinum jewellery and customised gold & silver jewellery. I conceptualised Jewelove way back in 2008 when I was studying at IIT Kanpur in my second year. I always had a fascination for technology and my family has been in the jewellery business for the last four generations. So I decided to combine my passion for e-commerce and knowledge about jewellery. Once I graduated, I continued to work hard to establish this business. Since then, it has matured a lot and now we are one of the biggest players of online platinum jewellery in India.

GL: What are some of the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

SK: The biggest challenge that we faced as a young online startup was that people in India were not ready to buy jewellery online, it being a precious item. The starting price of precious jewellery items is around INR 10,000-20,000, which is steep compared to books and other small items that people are used to buying online. So one of the biggest challenges we had to face was convincing the customer that what they are going to get is authentic and is completely safe to buy online and that the delivery and jewellery transit is covered by insurance.

We worked hard to establish faith and we have been successful in winning the trust of our customers. Nowadays we get many customers by referral which itself is proof of this growing trust. It takes conviction to buy something yourself but it takes even more conviction to persuade a friend to buy from someone.

GL: What is the USP of your business?

SK: One of the key strengths of our venture is that we have a very deep knowledge of the jewellery industry which gets us connected to some of the biggest and the best vendors. Our excellence in terms of the quality of product and finishing in design is something that is unmatched in the Indian online jewellery space. Also our core competence lies in the fact that we specialise in platinum jewellery and there are very few players in India who are currently doing platinum jewellery. So creating bespoke platinum jewellery has become our niche proposition.

GL: How do you handle your business operations?

SK: The basic business operations are divided into 3 parts — accounts, marketing and day to day operations as well as the technical support for the website. I oversee the marketing, the technical operations as well as the day to day operations. I have a couple of employees who look after accounts and shipping. We generally have partnerships with third parties for the logistics.

GL: How do you believe that GlobalLinker can benefit SMEs?

SK: GlobalLinker is a very good community for small and medium businesses, who are looking to connect and help each other in various ways such as finance, networking, team building etc. I have posted a few discussions on GlobalLinker and I have also read other people’s articles and discussions that are very insightful. I think it’s a great platform for small businesses.

GL: What is your big business dream?

SK: We want to be the leader for platinum jewellery in India & the world. After taking over the Indian market, we intend to expand to international markets and offer our authentic platinum product lines to overseas customers.

GL: What is your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

SK: Entrepreneurship is a challenge, it requires commitment. There will be challenging times, but you need to grit your teeth, keep calm and fight out the tough times because after every long night, there is a beautiful sunrise.

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.