Sanna VohraFounder & CEO of Indear Published On: Thursday, March 17, 2016 Views 3264

We provide the most extensive image-based search engine for Indian weddings, where users can search for just about anything – from floral centre -pieces to chiffon sarees. The level of detail users can search by is unparalleled. Once users find what they like, they can save images onto boards, and share these boards with family and friends to get their opinions. On Indear Shop, users can purchase wedding fashion, costume jewellery, gifts and favours from the best wedding designers and vendors across the country. On Indear Services users can book services like hair / make-up artists, and mehendi artists directly from us as well, or they can call our concierge service. We are an end-to-end platform for planning Indian weddings.

There are many features about Indear that make it different from other vendors in the wedding sector.

1. First, the sheer number of images on our inspiration and planning platform and the level of detail users can search by.
2. Second, the opportunity to not just save ideas and brands you like, but also share them with family and friends. Almost no one plans a wedding alone in India. So unlike other portals, we made sure to build a tool where users can actually get the opinions and help of family and friends.
3. Third, we are the only portal that actually has transactions occurring real-time on the platform. All other portals ask users to send enquiries, which can be very frustrating for users who need answers quickly. On Indear Shop, users can buy wedding-related products directly from us and they can book services in real-time as well.
4. Fourth, we have some of the very best brands and vendors in the business as our partners, including the Taj Group of Hotels, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, the Wedding Filmer, Ritu Kumar, Anita Dongre, Amrapali, Forest Essentials and many more.

I was in Mumbai for a week in January 2014, when a good friend of mine was planning her sister’s wedding. To give me a sense of the location, her outfits, décor ideas, and the invitations, my friend had to go through multiple email threads, WhatsApp groups, and a word document with pictures pasted onto it. I remember thinking to myself, this is so inefficient – there had to be a better way to plan a wedding. I went back to my job, but continued doing research, and realized that no comprehensive tool existed. A few months later I moved to India and found Indear: an end-to-end inspiration, planning, and shopping portal for Indian weddings.

I like to do things that make me happy, surround myself with people I love, and try and add value to everything that I do.

The biggest challenge that I face as an entrepreneur is to ensure that we were bringing high-quality vendors onto the platform that couples could trust for their big day. Another challenge is to make sure we are building a platform that provides easy access and navigation. It should actually meet their requirements.

We can’t give details at the moment.

If you treat people well and give them opportunities to learn and grow it builds loyalty. We have been practicing this at Indear.

• Work extremely, extremely hard
• Able to objectively evaluate what your strengths/weaknesses are and where your business stands
•  To motivate people

We use Trello, a task management tool.

I tackle my hardest problem first thing in the morning.

Wake up earlier – I would love to start my day at 6!

• One tip to success:

There is no substitute for hard work.

• One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:

Letting your biases cloud your judgment.

• One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:

Don’t rush making big decisions even when under pressure – think them through carefully.

To grow Indear – increase our product offerings and expand our services platform to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India.

Learn how to code!

Singapore (where my family lives), Palawan (Philippines), Cape Town (South Africa).

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Hellen Keller