Find Weird And Fun Products That You Can Relate To At Shortcircuit.in
With endless files and presentation reports, you are slaving away at the office when a garrulous colleague comes and sits beside you. Her prying eyes widen as she talks about the ongoing clandestine affair between your co-workers and to your surprise, you feel a sudden burst of energy in your body and a little inquisitive demon takes the place of all the work related stress and fatigue.
Life runs around weird circuits of relations, emotions, tensions, frustrations, elation’s and so forth… and breaking this circuit once in a while does wonders. This is what exactly Ahmedabad based Shortcircuit.in is trying to do through their interesting and quirky collection of products. Founded by Richa Johri, Vipul Taneja and Akash, the site tries to translate uncut and raw ideas into products a person can relate to. We got a chance to interview Richa and here is a sneak peek into her journey with Shortcircuit.
Could you shed light on your life before Shortcircuit? What was your previous work?
Before Short Circuit happened, we were working for our employers and just used to gossip about them in free time!
What motivated this startup? And what is the legend behind its name?
“Any design should solve a problem; else it is just another show piece.”
Fun gifts used to always attract me but I couldn’t relate to them all time especially if I wanted to gift someone. So, here I got an idea of creating products which have some worth meaning.
We humans cannot stay without people and the circuit of relations around us. We eat, meet, talk together but when we gossip about each other, it becomes fun & when your secret is leaked, you are in a soup! So let’s have a way to make-up or break-up where you express things directly. So, simplify and cut it short through “Short Circuit”.
What kind of unique fun gifts are offered by Shortcircuit?
As I mentioned, fun/ quirky gifts people can relate to tease, ease, make-up or break-up! We also offer a unique range of caricature products like nameplates, clocks, tees, mugs, digital copy etc.
Who exactly are your target customers?
Freak! Young! (By young we meant by heart!) & have credit cards!
What differentiates Shortcircuit from the rest?
The connection, the moment you see our products, you will recall someone you know for sure.
What challenges have you faced in your entrepreneurial journey? What has been the toughest decision you had to make lately, if any?
Right manpower and passionate vendors to work for small quantity are our biggest challenge even till date. Thankfully, I haven’t taken really tough decisions till date and hope that day won’t come as we are growing slowly but organically.
You have joined hands with local stores for display and sale of your products. What made you come up with this idea and how has it benefited you? What other tie ups do you have?
When you come up with sales, let it be any module, we really do not want to restrict ourselves to anything as long as it doesn’t affect our thought process. We have more than 15 online partners but the sales through them are not consistent, but in retail it is. So, we thought of local retail stores like Intelligent Idiots & Artisan’s Cottage. And now we are approaching retailers (but only appropriate ones) outside Ahmedabad.
What more do you wish to include to take Shortcircuit to the next level?
Maximize retail presence in India and make it the first choice for gifting something quirky to your love/ hate ones!
Finally, what advice would you like to give entrepreneurs who are coming up with creative products?
Entrepreneurship and creativity don’t go hand in hand, but if you have really decided to take the challenge then, patience with constant creativity is what one needs to have.
Thanks, Richa! So the next time there is a special occasion around the corner and you wish to give an out of the box gift to your loved ones, don’t forget to try Shortcircuit’s quirky products like Bus 5 Min Wall Clock or Saas Bahu Chopping Board!