Alumni Success Story: Namaste NYC

Ritu Jadwani, LaunchPad alum and founder of Namaste NYC, has enjoyed a global journey from Gujarat, India to New York City, and now Philadelphia, PA. Along the way, she’s attended countless events, conferences, trade shows, and programs and has found the key to her success has been meeting new people, learning what she can from others, and finding ways to help each other out.

As a young woman studying for her Bachelor’s degree in India, Ritu Jadwani recognized a problem. For some lower-class women in nearby villages, working was frowned upon or simply not allowed. At the same time, other young women even from more well-off families were returning to their parents’ homes after finding themselves separated from their husbands. Neither group had many options and Ritu wanted a different path for herself and other women in India: independence and autonomy.

In 2013, in response to this observation, Ritu started Namaste NYC, an ethically-motivated fashion brand with two female artisans that crafted scarves, apparel, fabric bags, and accessories. Initially, the company also made men’s apparel, home furnishing, journals, etc. but Ritu eventually focused the business on scarves and clothing that were more popular with her customers. 

“We started as a B2B wholesale distribution model showcasing at trade shows, which helped us build relationships with stores, museums, galleries and small boutiques in North America,” said Ritu. “In addition, we showcased at various retail shows in India, which helped us get in-person customer feedback, and we launched the best sellers online, through multi-brand market places that shipped globally.”

Ritu also studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, which helped her learn international design trends, and Jefferson University in Philadelphia to earn a Master’s in Global Fashion Enterprise in 2019.

Namaste NYC Participates in Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U)

At a FIT Sustainability Conference in 2018, Ritu met two individuals from the Clinton Foundation who were creating awareness for the CGI U program. Eventually applying, being accepted into, she attended the CGI-U conference in Chicago in 2018, and kept in touch via email. As a result, CGI U invited Ritu to host a group discussion on the “Social Entrepreneurship Journey within Developing Communities” at their first annual CGI U alumni meeting in New York on Nov 2nd due to her work with local communities in India. (Shortly after that, Chelsea Clinton tweeted about the work Ritu and Namaste NYC and other CGI U alumni were doing!)

The Category is... Scaling a Startup

While a Jefferson student and running her business, Ritu began attending weekly Launchpad-hosted lunches, making sure to introduce herself and her company to every speaker (regardless of their industry or background). She also made use of regular mentoring office hours, speaking with individuals who advised her on topics including funding, product development, and pitching. The Launchpad at Jefferson also introduced Ritu to the 2017 Top Ram business pitch competition (which awarded her a special prize recognizing her success) and sent her to the 2018 Propel event (then called “Training Camp”) back in New York.

“All the events, programs, and initiatives by LaunchPad have proven useful to me,” said Ritu. “I am really thankful to Blackstone for helping connect us with mentors who made sure to keep track of our progress with regular phone calls and emails.”

Following Propel/Training Camp, Ritu was introduced by Blackstone to Brandon Adoni, an Assistant Vice President, with Blackstone Real Estate's Legal and Compliance Team. Brandon provided valuable feedback on how to craft the brand story by including more visuals and videos of artisans to educate customers about how and where the products are made.

2019, 2020, and Beyond

Currently, Namaste NYC works with around 20-30 female artisans in Gandhinagar and elsewhere and has about 200 leather artisans and 100 block printers who help fulfill orders. Namaste also continues to partner with nonprofits to train disabled women in the villages.

For 2020, the company plans to relaunch its Etsy and Shopify channels so that it can increase online sales directly to consumers, and also maintain and grow its network of wholesale distribution partners. In terms of operations, Ritu hopes to further develop and refine the team in India so that she can step back from the day-to-day physical decision-making activity. She continues to work at the Jefferson University entrepreneurship center while the team in India runs the company.

Ritu’s Advice for Other Student Entrepreneurs:

1. Don’t wait - start today! There is no “perfect time” or opportunity to start something new. If you believe in your idea, take the risk, invest the time, and put forth the effort to get it started now.
2. Ask for help. And offer to help others (it will always come back to you). Ritu started volunteering at the Fair Trade Philadelphia group to support other fair trade brands. Before long, this resulted in a fashion show product placement for her own label. She also found family and friends, and even strangers were willing to help her get started. “Don’t be shy!” said Ritu.
3. Engage empathetically with your team and community. Create a genuine community of people who are willing to collaborate, support each other, and work together. When back in India, Ritu always spends time speaking with her artisans about their family, health, community, etc. (apart from work!)
4. Always be open to meeting people. Whether it was her chance meeting with the Clinton Foundation or connecting with Blackstone executives at LaunchPad Propel, Ritu is always interested in meeting new people to create partnerships and support each other. 
5. Delegate work so you can focus on the big picture. Entrepreneurs often become so involved in micro-managing the company, they forget to consider the long term strategy.