With just Rs 27,000 investment, this 29YO turned his friend's birthday decoration idea into a Rs 40 Cr worth company

‘Special You’, founded in 2021, is a Faridabad based startup that offers DIY decoration products to make every occasion special and memorable.      

The startup was founded by two friends, Sunny Singh and Cherry Saxena.

Early life of ‘Special You’ co-founders

Sunny Singh hails from a middle-class family in Faridabad. From a young age, he understood that businesses make good money, and he decided to start a business when he grew up.

Sunny Singh, Co-founder at Special You

With the zeal to start a business, Sunny did his BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) after 12th and started working in a call centre to improve his communication skills. While doing that job, he and his office colleague planned to start their own call centre. 

The duo invested about Rs 2 lakh to start. The call centre was running well until Sunny found some flaws in the business model. Hence, he closed the company. 

Sunny subsequently launched a mobile confectionery business but failed again due to a lack of resources and experience. 

To gain expertise and accumulate funds, he joined corporate life again. For five years, he worked as a Desktop support executive for IBM India and other multinational companies such as Capgemini and AXA XL. During his corporate career, he also learnt theatre to understand human behaviour and improve his expressiveness.

While working in AXA XL, Sunny met Cherry Saxena and became good friends as they both shared the same zeal - building a successful startup. Being a German linguist, Cherry began her career at Amazon India, where she was first introduced to e-commerce. Through her experience, she was sure that India is one of the top markets with a high potential for new businesses. 

Cherry Saxena, Co-founder at Special You

The idea of Special You

Sunny Singh's mind was unrest when his friend Cherry Saxena's birthday was around the corner. He wanted to make the occasion special and memorable by decorating the place and surprising her. 

After watching multiple YouTube videos on DIY home decoration for birthday celebrations, Sunny bought a few home decoration materials and decorated the house with love and affection.

"I was able to create a personalised party setup at home because I did it myself rather than hiring a party planner. Things worked out really well, and that is how we got our business idea," said Sunny while talking to Startup Pedia. 

This is how the DIY decoration business idea, Special You, was born in 2021. 

What is Special You and it's USP

As the name suggests, the young startup founders Sunny and Cherry, through the brand, want to encourage people to make special occasions memorable for special ones by expressing their efforts. This is why the name of the brand is 'Special You'.      

The Faridabad based business specialises in party decorations, supplies, and home decor items. It has a wide range of decoration products for every occasion, such as birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, etc. 

Special You Product

The brand offers everything from colourful balloons, elegant banners, LED lights, cake toppers, flowers, leaves, paper fans, flags, butterfly stickers, colourful curtains and many more to glamorise every occasion and make it special and memorable. 

Sunny believes that doing theatre for some time during his corporate career helped him understand the psychology of the customers. That is why the designs of Special You decoration products are pretty distinctive in the market. The brand attempts to design products that give the decoration a dreamy effect when used correctly.   

Special You, 0-1 Journey

Although the DIY decoration business idea sounded like a good plan, the co-founders of Special You wanted to test the water. They created the first product, a DIY birthday decoration kit. It contained a banner, balloons, and other birthday decoration materials. They initially invested Rs. 27000 to start the business.  

The young entrepreneurs listed this DIY birthday decoration kit on Amazon. In the first year, Special You sold 1 lakh DIY birthday decoration kits through the e-commerce platform, managing the business from home. 

Since the co-founders were working at AXA XL and juggling jobs and the startup from home, when they observed that the DIY decoration business idea was worth dedicating full-time, the duo left their corporate jobs and focused on the Special You brand. 

As the business grew, Sunny shifted the business to his hometown, Faridabad, so that he could expand his business in terms of employees and product range. In the last three years, Sunny has added over 700 SKUs of DIY decoration products under his Special You brand. The DIY decoration kits are priced between Rs 400-600. 

While talking about the financial growth of Special You, Sunny Singh revealed that in FY22, the company generated a revenue of about Rs 5 crore, and then it grew to Rs 7 crore in FY23. 

"In the current financial year 2023-24, we are aiming to cross Rs 11 crore as our monthly revenue run rate is Rs 1 crore. Currently, the company’s worth is Rs. 40 crore," said the co-founder of Special You. 

It has been a bootstrapped business so far.  

Special You Team

Since Sunny Singh wanted to employ women from economically weaker sections, he hired women for labour work such as tailoring, packaging, etc. The company has a 20,000-square-foot warehouse where a bunch of dedicated women work. Moreover, Special You has a 1500 square feet office for over 25 white-collar employees, such as marketing sales and others.       

Special You Future Plans and vision

Apart from marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart, Special You also has its own website where various products are sold across India. Special You is already at the top in the decoration category on Amazon and other e-commerce platforms in such a short period. 

Special You recently tapped the North American market with the help of Amazon, making it an international brand and a household brand. 

The co-founders of Special You aim to provide people with everything they need to convey their feelings to their loved ones and themselves through unique and dazzling decorations. "Whether gifts or a helicopter proposal, 'Special You' may soon offer everything. Based on the support we've received from our customers, we're hoping to see these plans put into action soon," aims Sunny.  

In building a brand, Sunny Singh learnt that entrepreneurs must understand their consumers' behaviour and needs. He also believes that there is no shortcut for success. Entrepreneurs have to learn and work hard simultaneously, which is a never-ending process.  

FAQs

What is the Special You brand? 

As the name suggests, the duo friends Sunny and Cherry, through the brand, want to encourage people to make special occasions memorable for special ones by doing some sparkling decorations on their own. This is why the name of the brand is 'Special You'.

Co-founders of Special You? 

Sunny Singh and Cherry Saxena are the co-founders of Special You.  

Revenue of Special You? 

In the first 2021-22, it had revenue of about Rs. 5 crore, and then it grew to Rs 7 crore in 2022-23. "In the current financial year 2023-24, we are aiming to cross Rs. 11 crore as our monthly revenue is Rs. 1 crore," said the co-founder of Special You. It has been a bootstrapped business so far.  

Where do I find DIY decoration products? 

You can find DIY decoration products on the Special You website, which sells everyday decoration products on Amazon, Flipkart and other e-commerce platforms.