Shilpa Yarlagadda, then a student at Harvard, launched a jewelry company aimed at supporting projects led by women. And to the great surprise of the young student, the business takes off and becomes a great success.
Who is Shilpa Yarlagadda, founder of Shiffon?
Shilpa Yarlagadda grew up in Silicon Valley, immersed in a very strong entrepreneurial and technological environment. She announces that she has seen a lot of successful businesses launched, but very few projects led by women.
A student at Harvard, she embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure with a few friends in 2017 and launched her jewelry brand, Shiffon. Since launching her start-up, Yarlagadda has been juggling her classes with managing a business in which the sector is completely new to her. She took a sabbatical from Harvard to devote herself to her project. She went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enlisted the help of teachers to gain access to the school’s 3D printers. “One of a science professor’s secretaries told me that her boss successfully designed and 3D printed his wife’s engagement ring. I thought it was really cool », she explains. Yarlagadda later travels to New York to visit the city’s famous diamond district to learn about the jewelry industry.
Shilpa Yarlagadda admits that it all started with a Google search for “how to make jewelry on WikiHow.” She specifies CNBC Make It. : “ I started working on Shiffon with classmates from high school and college. It was an exciting project at first, and we didn’t realize it would turn into a real business ».
The young first-year student launches her business with capital of $25,000. She devotes 20,000 dollars earned on YouTube to the creation of her project. The first sales were the result of chance or a personal connection, Yarlagadda explains. For example, she sold a ring to an Uber driver who overheard her phone call describing Shiffon’s concept.
The project developed by Yarlagadda goes beyond the traditional jewelry business model. It sells directly to consumers online but donates half of its profits to businesses run by women. Its goal is to make women entrepreneurs more financially independent. She does not fail to recall: “High Jewelry has strong storytelling for women and my team and I are on a mission to communicate something that we know is really important for young women today: gender equality”
Since the launch of her project, Shiffon has become an emblematic symbol of solidarity for women project leaders. His most famous ring is worn by many celebrities, such as Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Cynthia Erivo, Emma Watson, Nicole Kidman and many others.
As Shilpa details at Coveteur: “Gender equality is something that has always been close to my heart and I wanted to do something to support women. In my mind, a Fine Jewelry social enterprise is the ideal way to make an impact and fill the financial gap that women entrepreneurs face. »
A simple ring, with a big impact
Today, Shiffon jewelry retails for a price ranging from $155 to $1,965. Yarlagadda declines to release his company’s numbers, but says half of the profits go to Shiffon’s nonprofit, The Startup Girl Foundationwhich invests in businesses to support women.
The young entrepreneur has invested in businesses ranging from clothing company Sea Star Beachwareled by women, MobiTicketan SMS bus ticketing service based in Niarobi.
“We really thought that because of the margins made on jewelry, we could use those profits to do something good and fund women-led businesses – of which we funded 11 “, Yarlagadda explains.
Yarlagadda and Chaganti, his 24-year-old partner, also offer mentoring to the young companies they finance. After all, they are creating their own start-up at the same time.
She ends up saying: “ It is so much better to have your own success while being able to ensure the success of others and this has been a real inspiration for our business model. »
