Interviewer- How did you get idea of providing a single platform to appreciators and creators of art?
Shobhit Arora - WorldArtCommunity is a peer to peer platform which empowers Artists, Designers and Crafters to build their own brands and commercialise their creations. To the buyers, it provides discovery of unique creations directly from the creators.
The fundamental anchor for the concept was to create an organisation with a sense of purpose and making a difference to people’s lives, a model that was scalable and resonated well with the growing trends.
A lot of time was spent in evaluating the current social structure and people’s issues. I realised that creativity is an element that defines what we seek in our lives – and yet doesn’t find its logical fulfillment due to our limitations. I saw creators of art searching desperately for ways in which to pursue their passion and some struggling to make a career out of their passion. Their resources were limited but the opportunity was not. With immense support from like minded people who were passionate about supporting our cause, WorldArtCommunity was born
Interviewer- How did you get idea of introducing a blog section as well?
Shobhit Arora -The products we sell are unique and so are the people who create them. Each product has a story behind it, the inspiration that went towards giving it a final form.. Likewise, each artist/crafter/designer has his/her own story on why they took off pursuing their passion and giving it wings. Sharing the same with a larger audience required a blog.
The blog further evolved into educating and informing consumers about trends and various craft forms that our creators were working with. It's ironic that in a country like India with such a strong heritage of art and craft, we're still oblivious to most of them. We've only scratched the surface when it comes that and we have a long way to go.
Our endeavour is and will always be to ensure that the buying experience is personal and interactive, like a true peer to peer platform should be. Blog plays an important role in that.
Interviewer- How do you make sure to provide best qualities along with creativity to your clients?
Shobhit Arora - We have a curation team that's working behind the scenes to make sure of that. Every product that you see on the platform goes through a curation process on multiple parameters.
Interviewer- What are your suggestions to young budding entrepreneurs?
Shobhit Arora -There's enough and more information on the internet around the do's and don'ts in the entrepreneurial journey. It almost gets to the extent of being prescriptive at times. My recommendation for budding entrepreneurs is to simply follow their passion and create a business with a sense of purpose ( and i don't mean necessarily a social venture here). You'll rarely find ideas unique and eventually it's all about execution. Even if the venture doesn't take off like in the manner you envisage, you would have learnt so much in the process, making you a better individual both personally and professionally.
Interviewer- How would you suggest entrepreneurs to tackle problems faced in this field?
Shobhit Arora - It's eventually all about persistence driven by determination. Entrepreneurship as every one knows isn't a bed of roses. There are tough situations that are bound to come. Founders also realise that with all the glory of the startup successes, there're enough and more stories of failures. It's all part of the game and the sooner one accepts the same the more confident one becomes to deal with the fears. Being determined about the goal and taking tough situations in stride is all one needs. EOD, each challenge will come with its own learning. Why not cherish the same.