“We made the Saiyaara kurti & it was sold out,” Best Friends From Jaipur Started A Kurti Brand With Rs 17k – Clocked Rs 15 lakh In 6 months

Vidushi and Nehal, two young women from Jaipur, met each other during college.

Little did they know, they would be taking one of the rashest decisions of their life after their undergraduate degree.

They would start an Instagram challenge of building a fashion brand in 25 days – and actually succeed at it.

“It was very impulsive, and we had zero idea about anything related to the nitty-gritties of business. Nehal knew fashion, but building an entire brand? No way. We had begun from scratch, that too in public. Yes, it was a rash decision, but honestly one of our bravest,” Vidushi, co-founder of Pehrin, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

Founded in April 2025, Pehrin is a Jaipur-based Indian ethnic brand that offers affordable, Pinterest-like Indian ethnic wear for women and men.

THE BACKGROUND

Vidushi (21) and Nehal (23) went to the Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya in Jaipur to pursue their undergraduate degree in BBA.

Right after college, they began taking up small gigs with local cafes, restaurants, and food businesses to help them with social media marketing.

“We passed out in 2023, and spent the next six months immersing ourselves in real-life marketing experience. Eventually, things we were doing for cafes were getting them tangible results. We became more confident in ourselves,”Nehal says.

After the six-month period, the friend duo decided to do something of their own.

Out of nowhere, they got an idea to start an Indian fashion brand.

“To make it more challenging for ourselves, we decided to build in public. The fear of rejection and failure was there, but our willingness to really do something of our own was somehow more intense,” young entrepreneur Vidushi tells Startup Pedia.

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JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES

The idea was clear. The path was also almost laid out.

But Vidushi and Nehal’s fathers did not approve of it.

“They wanted us to sit for a government exam and take that route. Starting a fashion brand out of nowhere didn't really align with them,”Vidushi shares.

But despite doubt and disapproval from their families, the small business founders went ahead with their instinct.

“It was a bet we made on ourselves. And thank God we did that,”Nehal smiles.

The entrepreneur duo, who identifies as each other's param mitra (best friend) had a small amount of Rs 17,000 saved from their previous social media marketing gigs and internships. 

The small business founders, Vidushi and Nehal, reveal the breakdown of the amount:

• Rs 2,500 was spent in obtaining rolls of labels

• Rs 8,000 went into sourcing the fabric and buying sample material 

• The rest went into tailoring costs, and buying tags, laces, and other accessories.

With this, they bootstrapped Pehrin and launched it officially in April 2025.

But….

The journey towards the launch was interesting too. Everything from the ideation, fabric sourcing, designing, tailoring, and packaging was shown to their audience on their Instagram page.

“This was a 25-day challenge that we had taken. Lots and lots of people connected with our story. Because it's the kind of story every group of young friends wants to live. The idea of starting a business with your best friends is very attractive and exciting. People loved seeing our inception journey,”small business founder Nehal explains.

The small business founders were scouting for a name for their fashion brand. That's when it hit them that in Rajasthan, everything has a nickname.

“In Rajasthan, ‘pehnaava’ is colloquially called Pehrin. We decided to name our brand Pehrin. Later on, we discovered that it's actually a Kashmiri word,” Vidushi smiles.

To source fabrics for their Indian apparel brand, the young entrepreneurs went to Sanganer. It is a small town in Jaipur, famous for its traditional crafts, fabrics, and prints.

Next, they went to their local tailor, explained the kurti designs they wanted, and started getting them stitched.

The first batch they prepared and packaged was just ten kurtis. But as demand grew, they had to scale quickly.

“The kurti design ideas have always been either Pinterest-inspired or something that is in huge demand. We try to keep up with what people want, and give them exactly that. For instance, regardless of whatever new fashion definitions come up, modest kurtis are always in demand. Women love themselves a nice, full-sleeved, V-neck kurti,” small business founder Nehal explains.

Vidushi and Nehal’s 25-day challenge started in March 2025, and by April, Pehrin had already started taking orders and dispatching them.

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PEHRIN: SIRF TUMHARE NAKHRON KE LIYE (FOR YOUR TANTRUMS)

Today, Pehrin operates as an Indian ethnic fashion brand that caters to women as well as men.

Since inception, the design-level focus has remained on utility, aesthetic, and versatility.

“Some of our kurtis for women are very versatile. For instance, the full-sleeved ones with a cute v-neck can be worn everywhere from offices and cafes to movie nights and dinner parties,”Vidushi tells Startup Pedia.

The young entrepreneur duo also keep banking on social media and pop culture trends.

For instance, when the superhit movie Saiyaara came out and became a rave on social media, Pehrin released a “Saiyaara kurti,” similar to the one worn by the actress Aneet Padda in the movie.

“We made the Saiyaara kurti and it was sold out immediately,” Nehal smiles.

With a Pinterest-inspired theme, Pehrin now gets its apparel made in a manufacturing unit in Rajasthan. This unit, the founders say, has a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of 250.

On the Pehrin website, various kurti collections are named after popular female characters in Bollywood – Pooh, Naina, Geet, and Aisha.

From kurti-styled tops to full-sleeved V-neck kurtis, Pehrin has something for every young woman.

For men, the Indian ethnic brand offers pastel-toned and vibrant kurtas and shirts.

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THE UNIT ECONOMICS

With an average order value of approximately Rs 1,200, the founders of the Indian ethnic brand revealed their unit economics breakdown:

• Rs 70-80 goes into the tailoring costs 

• Rs 65-70 is taken by the fabric cost

• Delivery fee by Shiprocket accounts for another Rs 70-80

• About ten percent of the order price (Rs 120) goes into payment gateway fees and obtaining labels and tags

• Then, expenses like packaging and website upkeep also take up a substantial amount 

• With every order, the founders get Rs 300-400, which they diligently reinvest into the business.

GROWTH

The founders of Pehrin claim that they have sold more stories than Indian ethnic wear.

“When people relate to your story or root for it, you unlock a lot of power and recognition. Most of our orders come in from people who love our bond, our journey points, or just our spirit. We do not run Meta ads. It's all just Instagram content-led marketing,”young entrepreneur Vidushi tells Startup Pedia.

In the first month of its launch (April), Pehrin received more than 300 orders from across India.

The number jumped to 500 in June and July combined.

“Admittedly, since August, the craze has gone down a bit. But we introduced the Pakistani kurti soon after in September. And it's been selling out,” Nehal notes.

Since inception, Pehrin has dispatched close to 1,200+ orders and clocked a total revenue of approximately Rs 12-15 lakh.

With their fathers and families now happy with their venture, Vidushi and Nehal want to scale Pehrin and eventually also dig their fingers into something new, something exciting.

“I am just glad that we both took the risk to start Pehrin. It's been like a dream – the response, the journey, and how much we've learnt in such a short time. To anyone who's reading our story, chase whatever you think you want to do. That's the only way: to chase,” Nehal signs off. 

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