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Do you find the brand name 'Bewakoof' strange or relatable? The traditional meaning that Bewakoof means stupid has changed its course to Bewakoof meaning 'making a difference without worrying about what others think.'
This unique, trendy, and attractive brand name grabs your attention – not entirely for the name, but for how a 'Made-In-India' initiated concept was adapted and how the brand changed a 'T-shirt-making business' into a 100 crore D2C brand.
When fashion brands were busy trying to be chic and royal with expensive price tags, the fashion e-commerce startup stood out from the rest by launching quirky, uncanny, and astounding designs that resonate with Gen Z and millennials.
Prabhkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot, Civil Engineers from IIT Bombay launched Bewakoof on April 1st, 2012. April Fool's day brought the brainstormers to go for the ‘Bewakoof” domain name for their humorous designs. Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Bewakoof was initiated with a mission of bringing style and wit into the lives of young students by its founders.
Bewakoof launched its unique and crazy fashion apparel and slowly became one of the biggest brand names in India. This leading apparel brand has become one of the most pursued fashion trends creating a new niche in the fashion world.
'Bewakoof' as a brand formulates its production and marketing strategies based on people's opinions and choices. The brand has created an interesting presence among young people by listening to its 1.7 Million social media followers for innovative concepts.
Bewakoof believes in creating trending products that people love. Its social media fan base proves how Bewakoof is making an impact with its spirit of looking at things differently. With its innovative marketing techniques, 'New Month, New Color' or 'Design of the day,' the direct-to-consumer online fashion portal has grown from INR 30,000 to INR 250 crore in just 9 years.
"A Bewakoof follows his heart," the slogan of Bewakoof binds millennials and cultivates a culture that thrives on research and origination. They always strive to create something unique, breaking all records with their best-performing collections.
Bewakoof functions on principles like honesty, affordability, and creativity. Their goal is to enable self-expression through their innovative products and to promote a guilt-free shopping experience. It is characterized by the spirit of looking at things from a different angle without conforming to societal norms.
Bewakoof is famous for its affordable range of t-shirts for both men and women, which are available in a stylish variety and premium quality. While big brands were charging thousands for the staple piece of clothing, Bewakoof offered a much better range with the lowest possible rates.
This competitive pricing immediately grasped the right attention of the millennials and made the brand stand out. The brand promoted distinctive fashion with in-house design, manufacturing, technology, data science, and marketing skills, thus improving its value proposition - affordability.
The world knows "Bewakoof" for its innovative design, reasonable prices, and direct-to-consumer model. Their products are made in India and are highly preferred by their consumers.
Bewakoof is growing and is looking forward to a sales figure of INR 2,000 crores by 2025. The much-loved brand collaborates with the nation's top celebrities to scale its marketing and advertising campaigns. It also aims to increase its subscribers to one million in the next 2 years.
Firmly believing in "Mann Ki Baat," Bewakoof thrives on a mechanism for achieving lifestyle goals. There are no fixed rules to success, and all it takes to be successful is inspiration, an idea, fruitful long-term savings, an instinct, and the power and willingness to deal with failures.
Before we dive into how India Stack is driving financial innovation in India, we want to take a step back and simplify - What is India Stack?
India Stack is a family of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) sitting on top of the biometric-enabled Aadhaar system. It aims to provide a way to build a digital world around a unique identification number. Using such interfaces, applications are designed for desktops, phones, wearables, etc.
Now you might be wondering how this entire ecosystem works, let’s discuss it in detail.
The Indian government leveraged the biometric-driven identity, Aadhaar to create applications and software to usher in the digital economy era in India. Here is where the concept of an open technology platform or application programming interface (API) comes in.
This open-technology platform is an intermediary software that allows seamless access to authentication, authorization, and transfer of funds and data between banks, customers and fintech firms. All pivoted on the unique identification number. The controls to access all private information are through individual consent.
Thus, India Stack has paved the way for a safe and effective way to lead Indians into a more accessible and efficient financial world.
The Aadhaar-enabled payment system has made it possible to develop mobile banking and peer-to-peer payments, simplifying payment infrastructure. These products and services were impossible before because there was no way to verify the customer’s identity. With the Aadhaar-enabled payment system, customers can use their mobile phones to authenticate themselves using their fingerprints or iris scan.
Many government organizations already substantially rely on Aadhaar for their programs. Thousands of "duplicate accounts" have been removed, thanks to Aadhaar-based authentication, which has also helped assistance programs save billions of dollars.
It’s because of Aadhaar that an Indian farmer no longer needs to wait in line to receive his monthly farming subsidy. Instead, the government can electronically verify his identity and then deposit the subsidy via UPI directly to the farmer's bank account that is connected to his Aadhaar.
But outside of the government, the India Stack offers commercial companies chances to enable disruption. Businesses can access consumer segments that were previously out of their reach by lowering the cost of both customer acquisition and ongoing maintenance.
All of a sudden, we have moved from a society where small street vendors do not even have a bank account to one where the same vendors now conduct all of their transactions digitally, utilize the data to get credit, expand the business, and even invest their savings profitably.
The India Stack has essentially created a digital gateway to the entire financial world.
With different stakeholders sharing data and funds through secure portals and people transferring funds with a swipe, we have come a long way on the financial journey. Thanks to this complex API of India Stack, the Indian government was able to send subsidies through UPI and Aadhaar-linked bank accounts to BPL citizens during the pandemic by digitally confirming their identity.
With more fintech companies coming into play and the ever-increasing faith of netizens in digital transactions and low-cost fund transfers, the digital economy is set to grow manifolds over the years. India Stack is the highway to an unprecedented and secure financial world.
Liked what you read? Take a deep dive into the four pillars of the India Stack.
The popular TV sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S ran for 10 seasons and is still one of the most loved shows even today, 25 years after it first aired. The show was not just about the hilarious antics of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey but also about some very important life lessons – including financial lessons!
Here are 7 financial lessons we can all learn from our favorite F.R.I.E.N.D.S:
In season 1, episode 16 ‘The One with Two Parts’, we see Chandler trying to impress a girl by claiming he has $7000 in his savings account. However, when she asks him to prove it, he admits that he actually only has only $3 in his account! This makes us understand that no matter how small your savings might be, it’s always important to start early – you never know when you might need it!
In season 4, episode 1 ‘The One with the Jellyfish’, Monica becomes extremely determined to invest in a new restaurant venture started by her friends Phoebe and Rachel. Even though the girls have doubts about whether the restaurant will be successful, Monica believes in them and invests her life savings of $20,000 into the venture. While the restaurant eventually fails, Monica’s faith in her friends pays off – her gesture touches both Rachel and Phoebe and they return her $5000 each as a thank-you!
In season 5, episode 13 ‘The One with Joey’s Bag’, Chandler gets so stressed out about his mounting credit card debt that he starts sleepwalking and eating food out of garbage cans! When Joey finds out, he offers to help Chandler get his finances under control and even offers him a job as his personal assistant. So, this proves that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it – we can all use a little help sometimes!
In season 6, episode 22 ‘The One Where Paul’s the Man’, we see Monica getting extremely stressed about her wedding expenses and deciding to make a budget for expenses. She even enlists Chandler’s help in sticking to the budget and ends up saving a lot of money in the process. So, it’s advisable to make a budget to stay on top of your finances and avoid overspending.
In season 7, episode 3 ‘The One with Phoebe’s Cookies’, Joey negotiates with his landlord Mr. Heckles over the rent owed for his apartment. Even though Heckles initially refuses to budge on the rent amount, Joey manages to convince him to lower it by offering to do some odd jobs around the building in exchange! This goes to show that it never hurts to try and negotiate – you might just end up getting what you want!
In season 7, episode 14 ‘The One Where They All Turn Thirty’, Rachel panics when she realizes she doesn’t have enough money saved up for Emma’s college and her own retirement. Thankfully, Ross reminds her that she can cash her Ralph Lauren stock options to cover unexpected expenses. Therefore, it’s always important to have some emergency savings set aside for unexpected costs that might come up in life.
In season 8, episode 23 ‘The One Where Rachel Has A Baby (Part 1)', Rachel tries (and failing!) to keep up with Monica's lavish lifestyle after she moves into her apartment following her divorce with Ross. Rachel quickly realizes that she can't afford this lifestyle and ends up moving back into Monica's apartment until she can get back on her feet again, financially.
This goes from showing us that it's important not to spend more money than we actually have – otherwise we'll end up in debt as Rachel did!
These are just seven of the many financial lessons we can learn from watching our favorite TV sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S. So next time you're feeling lost when it comes to your finances or are looking for some inspiration on how to save some extra cash - remember these tips from our favorite group of friends!
What’s the worst financial advice you have ever received or read? For me, it was ‘To get rich, you have to be making money while you’re asleep!’
But, why? I don’t want to make money while sleeping, I want to dream and sleep peacefully. Relatable enough?
Well mate, we are in the same boat! Unfortunately, most of us didn’t learn personal finance while growing up. All the financial know-how came from parents, friends, colleagues, or traditional practices.
Not to worry! Today, I am going to demystify some common financial advice and give you some food for thought on how these finance-related gyaan can turn out bad for your financial independence.
You must have read or heard plenty of times about where you should be in terms of saving & investing by a certain age if you want to build a corpus, retire on time and live luxuriously. It is okay to keep a benchmark for yourself but most people fail to do so.
Your financial life changes with every small effort you make, day in & day out. It takes education, hard work, and dedication to become financially independent.
Moreover, why should others decide where you should be at a certain age? I feel personal finance is personal. It should be handled differently by every individual as per their unique needs and understanding.
Decode your savings & spending habits, carve out a financial plan for yourself (maybe, for the next 3 years), analyse your financial position carefully and you will achieve it.
Instant gratification by using a credit card is convincing enough to have one. But, it comes with a cost.
If you don’t have the money to pay for your purchases in the first place, then you shouldn’t make it more expensive by adding interest charges to your credit card. Any delays in your monthly payments can be detrimental to your credit.
The best way to avoid credit card debt and interest charges is to not spend money until you have saved enough to cover your purchases.
It’s okay to financially plan for unplanned situations. But, it shouldn’t be at the cost of your present circumstances. If you’re currently undergoing a crisis, be it your job, family, or lifestyle, you should ideally pause all your long-term financial goals. Your focus should shift to decreasing cash outflow from your savings account.
This is one piece of advice that has been passed from generation to generation. Owning a house might be a great way to scale your net worth in most cases but it is also an expense. Buying drains away your hard-earned money as the down payment, while you could have used that money to otherwise invest, spend and earn rewards/interest.
While renting doesn’t add to your net worth, it does -
Most people don’t realize that nearly all the money they pay in the first 5 years of a home loan goes to interest. If you’re thinking of buying a home, please consider it only if you intend to live in that house for 5 years or more to actually build your corpus.
Owning and renting a house have their own financial pros and cons. You should carefully understand these and then, jump onto the decision.
Would you eat soup with a fork? Or try to skate in running shoes? Or play cricket with a badminton racket?
No, because it would be absurd.
Then why do you “spend” from a “savings” account?
When you use a product that is not fit for purpose, you don’t get the desired results. Now you might ask, is there something like a “spending” account?
A spending account is an account designed for your lifestyle spending. It helps you get the maximum value from the money you have earmarked for spending on daily expenses, regular shopping, or once-in-a-while luxury buys. A spending account has specially designed features that enhance your spending experience and provide the best growth to your spending money.
When you spend on your lifestyle, you typically make multiple transactions with multiple brands and merchants. Because of the unique way in which spending money is used, it has certain unique challenges.
Hubble is the first-of-its-kind spending account where you can deposit your ‘spend’ money & earn 0.1% daily on that deposit, i.e. 10% in just 100 days.
Once you add money to your Hubble account, your earnings are automatically credited every 24 hours. You can redeem your balance to spend on top brands such as Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Uber, PVR, Myntra, Nykaa, Croma, and more. Hubble has partnered with 30+ top brands to bring you a fulfilling shopping experience.
With Hubble, we also have flipped the rewards experience. Your spending money deposited in your account earns you more spending money. You don’t have to wait for discount coupons, cashback, or reward points. You will regularly get opportunities to earn even more, over & above your daily growth by participating in games & challenges.
There is no lock-in with Hubble. In case something unexpected comes up, you can withdraw your money at any time.
A Hubble spending account is built to help you spend on all your lifestyle needs and make the most of your spending.
Let’s look at an example to understand the comparison. Suppose you deposit Rs 20,000 today in each avenue - Savings account, FD, & Hubble. Here’s how your money will grow in the next 100 days.
Moreover, you can watch your money grow every day on Hubble, unlike savings accounts & FDs. Banks saving accounts and FDs have time period restrictions along with minimum interest amount requirements, making them less attractive options than Hubble when it comes to growing our liquid cash meant for spending purposes comparatively within the same duration i.e. 100 days!
India is a rapidly growing economy with an emerging middle class. There are many factors behind the spending habits of Indians, including income, population growth, and changes in consumer preferences. To understand better, let’s take a closer look at the underlying factors behind the spending habits of Indians.
India has witnessed a rise in affluence due to growing income levels & job opportunities across different sectors of India. This has led to an increase in the average disposable income for Indian households. It is forecasted to grow by an average of 9.5% p.a., from Rs 494,500 in 2022 to Rs 697,200 in 2026. Inflation is forecast to average 4.3% annually for the same period. This means Indian consumers will see their disposable incomes increase in real terms, estimated at an average of ~5.2% p.a. (Source - Fitch Solutions)
With the emergence of new-age credit providers, access to credit for Indian consumers has significantly increased in the past few years. According to the RBI, personal loans expanded by 20.2% (Y-o-Y) in October 2022 compared to 12.6% in 2021, largely driven by vehicle loans & housing.
Indians now have access to a wide range of products and services at their fingertips, which has enhanced their spending habits. Companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa, etc have created convenient online shopping experiences with free delivery options and same-day delivery for customers who pay an annual subscription fee.
Over the past 2 decades, there has been a steady influx of people into cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, etc., resulting in higher demand for products ranging from basic necessities like food and clothing to luxury items such as electronics or jewelry. This trend has resulted in higher consumer spending overall due to increased purchasing power among city dwellers.
Undoubtedly, rising disposable incomes combined with changing preferences brought about by technological advancement have enabled consumers to spend more than ever before on items like travel and luxury goods that were previously considered out of their reach. All in all, Indian consumer spending is expected to continue its robust growth trajectory into 2023—a trend that looks set to remain unchanged for years to come!
