: ‘Lessons We Learnt on Shark Tank’: Sisters’ Flower Subscription Startup Won Rs 1 Crore #IndiaNEWS #Entrepreneurs As Shark Tank Season 2 took off on 2 January this year, people are already on

‘Lessons We Learnt on Shark Tank’: Sisters’ Flower Subscription Startup Won Rs 1 Crore #IndiaNEWS #Entrepreneurs
As Shark Tank Season 2 took off on 2 January this year, people are already on the edge of their seats rooting for their favourite brands. One brand in particular stood out for not just its work, but also the ingenious yet simple idea that they have spun into a full-blown venture.

Hoovu — a floral startup started by sisters Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi — is bridging the gap in the flower industry through its model of delivering fresh flowers to people’s doorsteps. The Bengaluru sisters managed to walk away with an investment of Rs 1 crore from ‘sharks’ Peyush Bansal and Aman Mittal, and plan to expand their venture with the same.

Venturing into the flower industry was an easy decision for the sisters, as they’d grown up seeing their father owning rose farms in Kenya, Ethiopia and India. In the 90s, his Kenyan farm was recognised as the largest rose farm in the world.

Having witnessed the evolution of the cut-flower industry through the years the sisters knew this was what they wanted to get into.

Sisters Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi, Founders of Hoovu, Picture credits: Yeshoda

‘It takes a village to achieve a dream. ’

The sisters began their journey in 2019 with a subscription-based flower delivery model to replace the traditional flower markets. They say showcasing this idea on national television was “overwhelming???.

“When it comes to the traditional flower market in India, the supply chain is still incredibly fragmented and unorganised, and the wastage is huge. These flowers are supplied through multiple levels of handling after harvest, and by the time they reach the customer, they lose their freshness,??? she adds.

Hoovu was a way for the sisters to manifest their common interest in running a business, while establishing a platform that fixes the issue from both the demand as well as the supply side. In July last year, they were approached by a representative of the Sony Channel team asking if they’d like to be a part of the upcoming Shark Tank season.

“I initially thought it was spam, as we were just a small initiative. We ignored it, but the person reached out to us once again a while later, affirming that it was indeed true. They got us in touch with the Sony team,??? says Rhea.

She adds that when she and Yeshoda agreed to apply for season 2, they were clear in their intent — we had always worked towards building a brand that people could respect and wanted that to reflect in our pitch.

“I remember telling the team that people could laugh at us, but not at what we had worked towards creating,??? she adds.