A year ago, I launched Ugra. I started with five designs and a gut feeling that people were tired of ugly, fast-fashion shoes. And I was right. We sold out, 30 pairs of every style. But I don’t want to do this anymore, not in the same old way.
You may not know this: I funded the business from my savings and borrowings. I built the website, managed the supply chain, created content, ran Meta ads. I did it all. I kept feeding India’s extraction economy until I finally pressed a hard pause.
It started with the MOQs (Minimum Order Quantities). I did not own a manufacturing unit, I worked with many. While I was desperately trying to build a made-to-order brand, suppliers only understood the language of mass production or MOQs.
The entire supply chain is rigged for excess. It demands you produce thousands of units before you’ve sold a single one.
Then there was the beast, Meta ads. It felt like feeding a slot machine that only swallowed money. I was pouring my energy and capital into a black hole, trying to buy attention, stressing over “ROAS” and “ad content” just to interrupt strangers’ days to sell them something.
I did this for a year. Until, I could not.
The breaking point was visual too. This year, when I visited the Deonar landfill in Mumbai, I started questioning everything.
Then I stood in front of my closet :P
I looked at the shoes I already own.
I asked myself: Do I need more?
No.
And if I don’t need more, how can I spend my days convincing you that you do?
I still love shoes. I still love craft. I still love design. But I no longer will participate in an economy that depends on convincing people that what they have is never enough.
Moving forward, I will continue to collaborate with artists to make beautiful things. Could be shoes, sarees, bags. We will make limited pieces. Just for people who really want them. And I’m going to use my voice to tell you stories:)
Thank you for reading this, and loving Ugra.
— Debanti