Founders of the loungewear and nightwear label, BeLuxe World — Delhi-born Richa Vashishth, 38, and Bulgarian national Elizabet Karkkeselyan, 29 — are an unlikely combination. They are sisters-in-law; Elizabet is married to Richa’s brother.
Entrepreneurship comes naturally to them as both their families own businesses. Vashishth’s father runs a four-decade-old family construction business, and Karkkeselyan’s family in Bulgaria is into manufacturing, wholesale and retail of luxury garments. In fact, she managed their finances, production and multiple stores in Europe, till she met her life partner in London. Karkkeselyan moved to India in 2018 after marriage, and “my professional journey came to a halt till BeLuxe World was born. I always wanted to work after marriage. After shifting to India I found an amazing friend in my sister-in-law, that’s how we could launch BeLuxe World in November 2020.”
Meanwhile, Vashishth was with IBM before she took the entrepreneurial plunge. “We launched during the lockdown, and the initial response was tepid. But at present, given the new environment we are in, we see a tremendous demand for loungewear and nightwear categories. These are practical options considering the increased hours we are spending at home,” says Vashishth.
‘Work does not feel like work’ for the two who are very passionate about the business. “Since we are family, we don’t have to divide time between work and office,” says Karkkeselyan. “Family and business are equally important to us. If one is a little shaky, the other one gets disturbed too, so we manage to balance the two with great understanding between us,” adds Vashishth.
Both of them have unique roles in the business. Vashishth is good at general organisation and task management. She is knowledgeable about the Indian customer’s taste, which comes into play during fabric and design selection. Karkkeselyan manages the production in Europe. “My mission is to add the international flavour in every step of our journey, be it in the products, the presentation, online look, etc.”
The two value each other’s opinions on most business matters. Vashishth adds that even disagreements are handled with minimal amount of fuss. “We are very different, but the beauty of our relationship is that we always find a way to work out the best possible outcome in all that we do together. We complement each other perfectly,” concludes Karkkeselyan.