There is not one blade of grass, there is no colour in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. 

― John Calvin

DIY (Do It Yourself). Really? Why on earth do I need to Do It Myself? Give me one reason for it!

Well that’s one of the responses one gets when someone suggests a DIY idea to someone. No matter how interesting it might seem, today people are said to be lazier than ever before. I would like to disagree. Would any of you want to know why?

Well, Mekuchi is something that caught my attention. A Bengaluru based startup (Hey Bengaluru seems to have lots of entrepreneurs! ;-))

For a person seeking new ideas and willing to experiment in order to dig out new treasures- right from making wine to creating junkyard toys, Mekuchi seems to have a bunch of new stuff to be learned and enjoyed. It provides a fun and free avenue for people to pick up creative skills and enrich their quality of life through Do-it-Yourself ideas.

Currently supported by a few passionate angel investors, Mekuchi Magazine is a sure shot way to provide some quick fixes at the comfort of your home and in the process revealing a secret that invigorates one’s creative nerves!

The best part about it is that there is something even for the kids which has been christened – Mini Makers Magazine (Make. Enjoy. Learn Stuff) and of course the one for the adults called Makers Magazine (Make. Experiment. Become an Expert).

In a quest to get to the roots of this venture, we at Startoholics, met Payal Shah, Maker-at-large and Co-founder of Mekuchi and here’s a sneak peek into the world of creativity and its birth in the form of Mekuchi.

Payal Shah

What inspired you to start Mekuchi?

We spent a lot of time making stuff outside our day jobs two years ago, and wanted to share the fun and skills with other folks interested in similar stuff. That’s how it started, but Mekuchi has evolved to what it is now after a year of experimenting.

How long did it take to put together Mekuchi?

Mekuchi was formally founded in April of this year. The first issue of our free monthly Maker Magazine for adults and Mini Maker Magazine for kids was launched in August.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Crucial to our mission is reminding people that urban living can be a lot more fun and meaningful when we make the transition from being pure consumers to creators and makers. In that sense, we are always experimenting and figuring out how we can do something that is scalable, provides value to our makers and inspires them to create!

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Focus on building genuine relationships with people and provide value to them. The business will follow.

What are your plans for promoting Mekuchi? Also, do you have any tie-ups?

We have been able to garner a lot of community interest with over 6000+ active members on Facebook. We continue to engage this passionate user base through innovative DIY ideas, profiling makers from the community, etc.  

The free, monthly Mekuchi Makers magazine is a great medium to spread awareness about making by teaching our makers one new skill every month.

About the future, we do plan to have Mekuchi make events (i.e. Collaborative Community Events) that will propel our mission of making more makers and are constantly looking for other passionate people to tie-up with. 

What is next on the radar for Mekuchi?

As mentioned, we plan on hosting Collaborative Community Events in different cities.  These will give makers an opportunity to experiment with making exciting, creative and quirky things while hanging out with other amazing makers in their city.

In addition to this, we want to continue to find more fun and engaging topics and make our content more fun, free and accessible.

We’re super excited about these plans!

Which is the one startup that has recently caught your interest (if any)?

TechShop and Impact hub. We find these global startups interesting because they have been able to create an environment that spurs collaborative experimentation and making.

What do you wish you would have known 5 years ago that you know now?

That making (DIY) was going to be such a big movement!

Do you have any new feature in the pipeline?

With regard to the future, while we can’t get into specifics, you can be sure to see some new and innovative ways to celebrate making and makers!

Who would you say is your biggest competitor?

Our biggest competitor would be urban lifestyle! Unfortunately urban living is all about consumption, with little sense of creativity or fun. At Mekuchi, we want to remind people that urban living can be a lot more fun and meaningful when we make the transition from being pure consumers to creators and makers.

Through the Mekuchi Makers e-magazine, one can pick up new skills and experience the joys of making along with the passionate maker community – all at absolutely no cost!

What would be a piece of advice that you would like to give to young entrepreneurs?

Focus on solving a pressing problem that you face yourself. This will ensure that you will try to solve it really well. You will be surprised that there are a lot of people facing the same problem and this gives you an addressable market that you understand and can connect with in a better way.

So what do you say folks? Is there a DIY revolution ready to take the world by storm?

Waiting to hear from you dearies!

So what are you waiting for? DIY! ASAP

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