Gifts are very special for me, says Geetha Buddha

Unraveling beautiful memories in boxes and giving special surprises to people comes out naturally for Geetha Buddha who always believes in sharing happy moments with people by surprising them with special gifts according to the occasion. "It has always been my dream of becoming an entrepreneur and I admire working women a lot," says Geetha.

"Gifting is an art and no matter if the gift is small or big, a personalized and customized gift adds a special touch to the gift and makes it a unique one," adds Geetha. The owner helps make memories for the persons who gift and receive.

The idea of starting this startup aroused when Geetha was in search of a gift for her sister and was looking for something unique. "I came across a customised gift box which really fascinated me and I was very keen to see the reaction of my sister," says Geetha Buddha.

This concept inspired the owner to start her business startup "Unboxing memories". "I always wanted to have a unique name to make people aware of what exactly the company is and also want to help people make memories with my concept. I was really attracted by the concept and wanted to add my touch," says Geetha.

The company makes gift boxes for birthdays, anniversaries, best wishes, Valentine's Day, Parents anniversaries, birth announcements, bridal gift boxes, wedding invitations and many more wherein each box is different from others.

The owner faced many hindrances due to the pandemic as spreading the word about the company was very difficult and despite many obstacles Geetha circulated information among her friends and social media circle. "With initial push from some close friends, I slowly started picking up and started working on more ideas. I have great support from my family who helped to set my base in Hyderabad," says Geetha.

Based in Germany, it was very difficult for Geetha to gain trust among people and coordinating with the vendors. But the startup gained momentum gradually and became a favourite hub for customizing gifts as per the customer's wish and will.

The firm is a well established market in North India and has been a new concept in Telugu states. Unlike the other competitors, the owner shares and discusses the options to keep the budget under the client's limits. The company customises the gifts and presents it for any kind of occasion to make the moment very pleasing. Keeping the uniqueness in mind the owner designed many such innovative gift boxes which have won many people's hearts. "We had a very great moment where a couple wanted to announce good news to both families at once in a zoom call. We managed to send the same and the feedback was so touching. We got similar orders," said Geetha.

The company markets itself through many social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. "Many influencers made our company's video which gave a great push and reached many people who subscribed our channel. We took the help of Instagram pages which were popular in Hyderabad and built our network," said Geetha.

The owner collaborated with one of her close friends and has been investing with her. "We are planning to expand the business soon. So might go for one," expresses Geetha.

To start the business, the owner spent around Rs 10,000 as her initial investment and in one year, she started corporate gifting a well. "We made gift boxes for the Ted Talks speakers and this changed the face of our business," says Geetha.

The entrepreneur participated in the Hitex expo for women entrepreneurs, which gave her great exposure among the general public and companies. She believes that advertising in print media or participation in open fairs will bring investors. "I have already been approached by some companies and business people who were interested in investing money in my business," said Geetha.

The owner believes that registration of businesses can help startups more equipped and proper in terms of rules and procedures pertaining to the company. "As far as what I see in internet, they seem to be okay. When I start going into the process more deeply I would get a better idea," said Geetha.

When it comes to beginning a startup, the owner said that a person should first do the ground work mainly on the strength of the concept or the product. "In the current trend, life is running around social media and Internet. Make the best use of technology to be unique and withstand competence," said Geetha. She said that building network is the most important thing and added that spending money on advertising initially is very significant to make a solid start in the market.