Vijay and Kangna Kakar, co-founders of Wabi Babi — a start-up on products for mother and baby care — felt a special bond even when they became friends in 2008. Over time, both realised they wanted to grow old together.
“We are both open-minded individuals and our conversations were always transparent. It was only a matter of time before what we had between us turned into love and then marriage (in 2017),” says Kangna, 31.
The big change came when their daughter was born, in 2019 that ultimately led them to start Wabi Babi. “I wanted to help her but could not do much... A new mother has many concerns which she struggles to find answers for,” says Vijay, 39.
In a bid to make life easier for new mothers and their babies, the Kakars initially wanted to set up a day-care centre, but the pandemic foiled their plan. So, they decided to empower new mothers, and launched Wabi Babi, in October 2020. Vijay adds that the brand was founded with a mission to provide the right products, information and services that a mother would need, for herself and her baby in the first year of motherhood.
The couple works from home, but sticks to a routine to maintain work-life balance. "Otherwise it gets very difficult to find time with a demanding 20-month-old baby and the business,” admits Kangna.
As for work, it is divided according to who can handle which task better, says Vijay, adding this yardstick has upped their productivity at work. “We are aware that as the only two people responsible for this organisation, the burden falls entirely on our shoulders,” he says.
Arguments arise, but only a few. “I am glad we share the same goals and objectives, which help us hold discussions objectively, evaluate the situation together and come up with a solution in the best interest of Wabi Babi,” says Vijay.
Agrees Kangna: “We face disagreements head-on, hand-in-hand, with an open mind and without biases. At such times, we leave our egos outside the door.”
Talking about the unusual name Wabi Babi, Kangna says it is a wordplay of Japanese philosophy (Wabi-Sabi) which appreciates beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. “As Vijay had seen me struggle as a mother, he saw and accepted all the imperfections to be the best for our child, which inspired him to come up with such a creative name,” she says.