Sujata and Taniya Biswas might have launched their sustainable sari brand in 2016, but their association with the garment goes back to their childhood. The sisters recall their grandmother’s soft cream mulmul sari that kickstarted their obsession. Every sari enthusiast has a similar story of how they fell in love with the drape — and they like to talk about it. This is what the duo want to capitalise on with their new podcast, Musings of Suta .
Hooked to podcasts themselves, the entrepreneurs realised the potential for their stories to reach a larger audience than just their social media followers. “When we wanted to listen to podcasts about budding businesses run by women entrepreneurs, we couldn’t find any. We realised that there aren’t many women talking about their bootstrapped business and decided to be the pioneers,” begins Taniya.
Hubhopper, India’s largest podcasting and audio-on-demand platform, came on board to help them make this a reality. Delhi-based tech entrepreneur and founder of the platform, Gautam Raj Anand, says the partnership worked because, “Suta and Hubhopper have similar origin stories — in both cases, the founders quit their day jobs and started their own ventures. We also have a common consumer base, which is listening to audio content, and looking for stories of sustainable brands they can support”.
Four episodes in, the siblings have spoken about being business partners, festive clothing memories, and their insights on how saris are perceived. “We wanted it to be about our journey, our lives, the learnings and stories that pushed us and inspire us to keep going,” explains Sujata, adding, “Every topic has been chosen to help anyone dealing with a similar situation, and addresses both the fun and seriousness of being an entrepreneur. We will also be talking about our experiences with the weavers, how it humbled us and why we want our saris to reach as many cupboards as possible.” The show is brief, at approximately 12 minutes, which makes for easy listening.
While they sound a bit self-conscious in the first couple of episodes, they have now hit their stride in a more conversational, unscripted tone. Language was a deciding factor in the audience they were able to reach. “Our numbers improved once we started speaking in Hinglish. We have around 70% coming back for the next episode,” says Taniya. The first season will not have guest speakers, but Sujata muses, ”If we’re picked up for a second season, why not?”
Listen on hubhopper.com
