We were lucky to catch up with Krit Khandelwal recently and have shared our conversation below.

Krit , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Working hard and smart are two important concepts contributing to individual and professional success. They are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary approaches to achieving goals. At the start of your business or career when the resources are very limited learn to work hard and put in a significant amount of effort and dedicate time to tasks and projects. As your business starts to grow and you have access to more resources, learning how to delegate and work smart becomes more crucial.

Krit , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Krit, and I am the founder of Soothi. With Soothi, I am focused on creating the best journaling experience in the market. I do this by designing and manufacturing sustainable journals that have a material connection for our customers. Our journals feature designs and quotes that evoke creativity and mindfulness.

I have faced many obstacles in my life that have uniquely positioned me to take on the challenges of being an entrepreneur. I moved to this country at the age of 9 and didn’t know English. I taught myself to speak without an accent within a year. I put myself through undergrad while working multiple part-time jobs and still graduating in four years with stellar grades and professors asking me to join PhD programs. After completing college, I worked 60+ hours a week at PwC and did my master’s in Marketing at the same time, and graduated at the top of my class. I launched this business from the ground-up using my life savings.

My work experience, across a number of industries, has helped me develop a deep understanding of how to build an organization and drive it through marketing and sales. I have taken that knowledge and built an operation that is ready to scale. Every aspect of this brand is focused on a customer-first approach. This approach helps us be agile and build a brand that our customers adore.

With Soothi, I have built a brand that leverages sustainable materials, such as cotton waste paper, cactus vegan leather, and elephant manure paper, to create products that encourage individuals to disconnect from the noise around them and reconnect with themselves.

Our products are all handmade and manufactured by artisan communities that work with recycled, upcycled, and salvaged materials. For every journal purchased, we plant a tree in partnership with One Tree Planted.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I recently had my first child and had to deal with the fact that there is no maternity leave for female entrepreneurs. I had my baby, and within three hours, I had to open my laptop and answer a couple of emails that were coming in about a large order. I knew I couldn’t miss this opportunity, but I remember being so exhausted. It was the most difficult email I’ve ever written and it took every little ounce of energy I had to just write that message and send it out the door.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Early on, when I first started my business, I wanted to sell jewelry made from coconut shells and all 100% recycled and sustainable materials. The first batch of 50 products we designed was great, and we launched to a good buzz, but when it came time for reorders, I quickly realized that we didn’t have the resources or equipment to produce products in bulk with consistency. Oftentimes, the sizes and coloring would be wrong, and our buyers would get understandably upset about the differences. Since we were so early in this sustainable fashion market, it made more sense to pivot out of the market and find a completely different product. We didn’t have the resources to do an education campaign to explain the challenges of working with new sustainable materials. We also didn’t have the finances to afford expensive equipment to improve production. This was a hard decision because we have invested so much into the launch and brand, but it was a necessary one if we wanted to continue building a brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Soothi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsoothi/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3633758/admin/feed/posts/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCocHmxScVlTgAuGF6MiL3kg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsoothi