Fired For Meeting With An Accident & Not Updating Her Manager, 26-YO Now Runs An Affordable Luxury Candle Brand - Eyes Rs 3 Lakh/Month

What does it take for a young woman to completely lose faith in the corporate setup of the country?

In a conversation with Arshi, it became clear that continued lack of empathy and quiet neglect are enough to push someone to a breaking point.

This young woman, now 26-years-old, is currently running Luminaura, a Delhi-based affordable luxury candle brand that offers hand-poured candles with pure soy wax and beautiful, creative fragrances.

“It all started when I was at the beginning of the end. Life had come crashing down from all directions, and it was my father who saved me at the time. He told me that there is something that no one can take from me: my creativity. He urged me to do something in that domain, and everything that transpired after that is a result of that,” Arshi Ansari, founder of Luminaura, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

THE BACKGROUND: A DEEP LOVE FOR ART AND AN ACCIDENT THAT CHANGED HER LIFE

Hailing from Haldwani in Nainital, Uttarakhand, Arshi has had a strong interest in art since the beginning.

“I used to do resin art and loved every bit of it. Making something from scratch has always been a hobby for me. My creative juices would keep flowing and I would feel fulfilled,” Arshi tells Startup Pedia.

In 2020, Arshi joined the UPPCL (Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited), a government electricity department.

She worked here for four years, and finally quit the job in January 2024.

“I wanted to pursue my master's. I started prepping for it and finally landed an MBA seat in an Indian university. This was in September 2024,” the small business founder shares.

Along with her MBA degree, Arshi decided to take up a job to manage her daily expenses.

She got a role in the finance department of a company. Four months later, she met with an accident that changed her life.

After the accident, Arshi was briefly hospitalized. She was unable to send an update to her manager.

“When you meet with a severe accident, the first thing that comes to your mind is your safety and treatment. I didn't know my manager and my boss were expecting me to send them an update from the hospital. It was honestly a small delay,” Arshi reflects.

The result of this “delay?” She was terminated from her job the very next day, with an experience letter that stated that she was an “unprofessional” person to work with.

“My life came crumbling down. I was in severe confusion over what had happened. My friends and family validated me and told me that it was unfair. And it helped. Support always helps. But my experience letter was so bad, that getting another job became a distant dream,” Arshi Ansari tells Startup Pedia.

For the next few months, she remained clueless about what to do next.

Then, in July 2025, Arshi’s father reminded her of the creativity that had always been a part of her.

In his words, “you have a talent, and you need to do something with it.”

Arshi’s father even sent her Rs 30,000 to help her get started with her small business.

“I decided to make hand-poured candles. I put in Rs 10,000 from my savings, and my total bootstrapped amount became Rs 40,000. On July 31st 2025, I made my Instagram page for Luminaura Candles and started my journey,” the young entrepreneur shares.

Read More: With a ₹5L investment, this Ahmedabad engineer built a ₹6 Cr turnover biz selling 45,000+ solar dryers, generated 15000+ rural livelihoods

JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES

With no formal training in the art of candle-making, Arshi relied on ChatGPT to understand the intricacies of the process.

She made a couple of candles, burned them, and indulged in as much trial-and-error as she was able to.

Arshi started from her hostel room in Delhi and hence couldn't use an induction.

“I also didn't have any apparatus. It wasn't allowed in the hostel. So I decided to take an independent room in a flat,” small business founder Arshi tells Startup Pedia.

Next, Arshi took a small room on rent, bought an induction, and spent Rs 3,000-4,000 on buying moulds, glasses, and colours.

“I decided to start with only two fragrances: rose and vanilla. Eventually, I scaled to five more fragrances,” she mentions.

In the first week of August 2025, she spent a lot of time doing market research and tried to crack what people looked for when they bought scented candles.

“I realized that people look for originality and want a lot of creativity infused in the candles. The very same things became my USP,” the young entrepreneur explains.

Next, Arshi Ansari started posting pictures and reels of the candles she was making from home. In just two-three days of posting the reels, she received two orders.

“Within one week of officially starting Luminaura, I received an order worth Rs 1,000. It was a huge deal for me and it made me feel like I was on the right path,” Arshi says.

Additionally, the small business founder experimented with a few fragrances and approached a scientist to create her signature fragrance. She even applied for a copyright for the same.

In August 2025, Arshi received a message from her school batchmate, Satyam Sharma.

Satyam and her hadn't spoken to each other after school. Despite that, he offered to make Luminaura’s website for free and handle the brand’s backend operations, especially finances.

“I was so grateful to receive that kind of unexpected help. Eventually, Satyam became Luminaura's co-founder as well,” small business founder Arshi shares.

Since inception to September 2025, Luminaura catered to 15 customers and clocked a revenue of approximately Rs 10,000.

Read More: Meet this entrepreneur who launched India’s largest not-for-profit carpool company to address Delhi’s severe air pollution problem

THE DIWALI BOOM: LADDU CANDLES

In late September and early October, Arshi decided to make Diwali-themed candles.

She launched a unique laddu-style fragrance candle and it immediately went viral on social media, especially Instagram.

“I woke up the next morning to find an order of 500 laddu candles. I only had two-three days to prepare it and ship it,” Arshi tells Startup Pedia.

All through October, she kept receiving numerous orders for the laddu candles and other Diwali-themed candles like the modak ones.

“People in my apartment also started placing orders. I was spending nights making these candles by hand, barely getting any sleep. Somehow, the adrenaline was so high that I wasn't feeling tired. Till the day of Diwali, I was making candles,” the small business founder remarks.

During October 2025, Arshi clocked a revenue of Rs 84,000 and catered to 55 customers across India.

LUMINAURA CANDLES: HAND-POURED, AFFORDABLE LUXURY CANDLES

Right after Diwali ended, Arshi launched Christmas-themed candles in the shapes of a cute snowman and a Christmas tree.

Initially, an order for 50 pieces of the snowman candle came in.

Then, another order for 200 pieces came in.

“I also received 2 more bulk orders for the snowman and Christmas tree candles. Being in trend while maintaining my creativity has really worked out for me,” Arshi tells Startup Pedia.

During November 2025, Arshi clocked a revenue of Rs 40,000 and catered to 40 customers.

In December 2025, Arshi clocked a revenue of Rs 60,000 and catered to 25 customers.

“The first 25 days of December, we only clocked Rs 35,000 in revenue. Then, after the 26th, our Instagram account had more visibility, and we began clocking Rs 6,000-8,000 in daily sales,” Satyam tells Startup Pedia.

Today, Luminaura runs as an affordable luxury candle brand that offers hand-poured candles with pure soy wax and beautiful, creative fragrances. The primary marketing channel is Instagram reels.

The brand’s USP is in its originality. The small business founders make it a point to come up with fresh ideas and shapes every single time.

“The fragrances are non-toxic as well,” Arshi claims.

In 2025, Luminaura also conducted a couple of offline stalls in Delhi.

In January 2026, the affordable luxury candle brand saw an average order value of Rs 1,150 and clocked more than Rs 2 lakh in revenue.

Read More: Pained by a Farmer-Friend's Suicide, This Barclays AVP Left Europe to Create Innovative Bamboo Products in India - Clocked ₹4.5 Cr Revenue

THE UNIT ECONOMICS BREAKDOWN

While the founders did not reveal their average order value (since it varies depending on the quantities purchased), they broke down their unit economics for the brand’s wooden candles that cost Rs 399, including shipping:

• Rs 100-110 goes into the wooden base

• Rs 100 goes into obtaining premium quality soy wax and a fragrance base

• The wood wick costs Rs 15

• Then accessories and decorations also take up a significant, variable amount 

• The production time for each candle is roughly 3-4 hours

LOOKING AHEAD

Having fulfilled hundreds of orders to date, Luminaura is eyeing a monthly revenue of more than Rs 3 lakh in the month of February. This includes retail as well as bulk orders.

For Arshi Ansari and Satyam Sharma, the goal is clear: build and scale a candle brand that produces candles that feel luxurious when held and lit up.

“As for me, I am insanely grateful for having started Luminaura. The credit goes to my father who told me to show up for my creativity and not fail it. I don't want to work for anybody else, and just want to use my creative juices to build this brand. That's what I tell everyone now: if you have something artsy inside you, pursue it, add value to people's lives, and make money from it,” Arshi signs off. 

Read More: BLR Friends Make Heavyweight T-Shirts For Indian Men That Last For Years & Don't Cling At Awkward Places On The Body - Clock ₹10 Lakh/Month