From Tk 90,000 in Capital, Nitai Sarkar Built a Home Decor Brand Earning Over Tk 1 Crore

Entrepreneur Nitai Sarkar once ran a mobile phone flexiload shop next to his uncle's pharmacy in Old Dhaka. He also bought clothing and bedsheets from wholesale markets and sold them online. At one stage he began making bedsheets and other home decor products himself. Gradually, through his own production and online marketing, he built the home decor brand 'Ortha'.

Nitai Sarkar's home is in Ghagra village of Kachua upazila in Chandpur. His father was a government employee and his mother a primary school teacher. After completing his secondary education locally and higher secondary at Cumilla Government College, he completed a BBA in marketing from Eastern University in Dhaka in 2012.

Sarkar said his first big challenge after the BBA was finding an internship. With no acquaintances or professional network in Dhaka, he could not find an opportunity despite trying for six months. Rather than sitting idle, he started the flexiload business next to his uncle's pharmacy in Old Dhaka. Later, with the help of a university teacher, he got an internship at a shoe company called Fortuna Bangladesh and worked there for about three years.

At Fortuna his duties were not limited to any one department. He took customer feedback, photographed products, managed inventory and the supply chain, ran the Facebook page, delivered products and took part in trade fairs — he did nearly every kind of work. In his words, at Fortuna he did not only learn to sell products; he became familiar with every part of running a business from start to finish.

Nitai Sarkar quit his job at the end of 2015 and went into business. Before that, at the end of 2014, he had opened a Facebook page named 'Ortha'. His initial plan was to work in event management, but the work did not proceed as planned. Around that time he became involved with activities of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), and that is where the idea of selling products online came from.

At first he posted pictures of jewellery on the Ortha page and began selling. He collected product photos from various shops and traders and posted them on Facebook; when an order came, he collected the product from the supplier and delivered it to the customer. In this way, in 2016, he earned about Tk 16 lakh selling various products, most of it from three-piece outfits. He also began selling bedsheets and pillow covers online.

A well-wisher advised Sarkar that the three-piece market had many competitors, but there was scope to become a specialised brand in products such as the eight-piece bedsheet set. On that advice he dropped three-pieces and decided to focus only on the bedsheet business. In his view, that decision changed the course of his business.

In the early days he collected fabric from Islampur in the capital and had bedsheets made through tailors. Then in 2017 he rented a room in Paikpara, Mirpur, installed a sewing machine there and took on one skilled craftsman. At that time, machine purchase, room rent, advance payments and other costs put the initial investment at about Tk 90,000.

As the business grew, so did the need for capital. Getting his first loan took considerable effort; a lack of necessary documents and a guarantor was a major obstacle. In his view, for new entrepreneurs, contacting financial institutions and preparing the necessary documentation is a big challenge. His business now has a total investment of more than Tk 50 lakh, of which about Tk 32 lakh is bank loans.

Ortha now makes and sells home decor products including bedsheets, pillows, pillow covers, curtains, mosquito nets and comforters. The company currently employs 21 people. Its annual income is more than Tk 1 crore and it has sold products to more than 100,000 customers so far. Last winter season the company sold about 10,000 comforters. The company operates from its office at Paikpara in Mirpur 1.