From being a party girl who always liked to enjoy roaming outside, having fun all the time, and having an attitude of gamine, she molded herself into a victorious entrepreneur.
She set an example for all those who think roisters can never be responsible people.
Life before and after facing failure
Nina Lekhi was a very bright student from childhood, topping her academics with good grades, but later, as time changed her priorities and importance changed.
She started to like hanging out with friends rather than studying and became from a bright student to a backbencher.
This was due to her failure in her first-year foundation course in arts at Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai. Nina found it difficult to deal with the criticism and failure label after that, and the comments made by their fellow beings shocked her.
So, she started thinking about becoming something in her life to show the world that she is not a failure.
Her first job as a salesperson
Nina stepped forward towards her determination and thought of doing a part-time job for a year till she again appealed her exams. She has always been thankful to her parents for their encouragement and support in her decisions.
Nina Lekhi began working part-time at Mika Kriplani Fashions, a retail fabric store where she learned the retail business and gained experience, earning $400/- per month for half-day work.
This motivated Nina, and she got another part-time job in a carpet shop near Shyam Ahuja for ₹600/-. She claimed that the goal was not to earn money but to learn how to be responsible and handle work.
The journey and funding of ‘’Baggit’’
While working in the stores, the thought arose in Nina of becoming an entrepreneur of her own company, being surrounded by friends from a business family, and being brought up in an environment where everyone holds a business. She said this was a natural move for her.
Nina required an investment, which she borrowed from her mother for ₹7000/- in 1985. On the advice given by her dream business, she started working by purchasing materials, accessories, and tools for designing new bags.
On the advice of her clients, she began exhibiting and retailing her products in the same shop where she used to work near Mika Kriplani, and soon bigger retailers wanted to stock up on their bags, such as Shoppers Stop and Regal, with which Nina never had to struggle to market her bags by walking from one shop to the next.
Development of the business
Has the day passed? Nina was earning well enough that she decided to rent a store of her own in a corner of Mumbai with her brother. She used to enjoy working on her store by making it attractive to the customers.
Nina wanted to manufacture her products in pure vegan ways, much the way other products are used in organic ways. Baggit products are also cruelty-free.
From an ₹700 investment to the growth of ₹111 crore business and brand
The business grew as time passed, and Nina was able to reinvest the profit she earned. Today, after 37 years of business, Nina is running “Baggit’’ successfully by employing 700 members in 450 stores across India.
Nina Lekhi was very confused about the name of the brand and her friend thought to name it after listening to the popular song by Michael Jackson. Beat it, beat it to baggit it.
Nina never thought of producing a branded product. Like all other individuals, she just followed her passion, hard work, and zeal to overcome her failure, which led to great success.
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