Have you ever had to think really hard about buying a gift for someone, just so you do not make it too generic, or too personal? Maybe you have one of those walls in your home that is just in the place neither suited to feel empty nor for art? Do pictures or low-effort collages not feel artistic anymore? A unique solution for such problems now exists in the Indian (and international) market – InstaMosaicStudio.
Behind the scenes:
On the 2nd of January, 2017, Nipun Parikh received a friend request on Facebook. The strong network of mutual connections (including his schoolmates) eventually led to him accepting her request. Their relationship moved on quickly, from Facebook to texting, from texting to a meeting that would transform his personal and professional lives.
At that time, Nipun was working on RemoteWaves, an instant technical support platform for users encountering problems with their PC. By the looks of it right now, it does not seem to have a smooth take off, despite its rough landing. Dedicating a few months to this project, Nipun eventually gave out after realizing that it just did not work out.
Around the same time, one of his friends asked him for a mosaic, a picture constructed out of other pictures; much more artistic than a collage or an individual picture. With some image algorithm and a rough idea of what to do, Nipun had created his very first mosaic – something that his friend seemed to have liked very much.
Nipun had not thought of a gift that would balance the act between underwhelming and overwhelming her, yet. Following this, he prepared a mosaic for the woman he was about to meet – as expected, she loved it so much that “she burst into tears.” It had worked out perfectly, and thus began the journey of InstaMosaicStudio.
From the ground up:
All it took was an Instagram profile and a few shoutouts on the platform to get Insta Mosaic Studio up and running. With Valentine’s Day 2017 approaching, Insta Mosaic Studio had become the epicenter of fertile, seasonal business in Nipun’s city, Surat. While he initially had help from two of his friends, their parting due to differences in opinion led to Nipun creating and selling an ever-increasing number of mosaic posters.
This spike in the success of Insta Mosaic Studio was all Nipun needed to drop RemoteWaves and focus on this company full-time. After getting it registered and designing a sleek new logo for the organization, a better packaging design helped sell his products faster and wider. Relying solely on Instagram shoutouts, a website was created and upgraded to online order placements, and the company was growing at an accelerated pace.
The boom in popularity led to Insta Mosaic Studio’s first rented office, along with an employee that could handle customer queries better. With a four-hundred-thousand-rupee turnover in the first year, Insta Mosaic Studio grew to gaining INR 1.4 million in revenue during the year of 2018 – almost quadrupling in growth! 2018 was also the year the company expanded from shipping within India to international shipping, thereby tapping customer bases across the world.
Being a part of every celebration, every joyous event, made InstaMosaicStudio feel a part of every family that had requested their products. This personal sentiment that has blown up this business continues to help run it better, while they get to cherish their memories in a single portrait.
A customer-first approach:
InstaMosaicStudio’s success can be solely attributed to their “customer first” approach – satisfying their customers lead to public shoutouts, expanding their circle of presence wider with every shoutout. This mentality helps the company reach better heights, and a virtuous cycle of happiness and growth is set in motion. With the personalization and gifting industry in India growing faster every year, Nipun has tapped into a multibillion-dollar industry with a high level of success at the very beginning. The need for e-commerce solutions and unique gift items is a very niche, yet a very profitable, combination.
While they could have stuck to their brand of mosaic posters, InstaMosaicStudio does more than just their mosaic posters. They offer a wide variety of frames that go along with pictures, art, or their signature mosaic imagery, collage frames, birthday gifts, digital portraits, personalized pencil carvings, and other creative and artistic products that are handmade for you, personally. This personal touch keeps their products unique, making them stay true to you in an affectionate manner – the perfect middle ground between too generic and too personal.
Along with customer shoutouts, customer feedback and sponsored advertisements on social media platforms are currently the primary reasons for the massive growth of the company. Having tinkered with the tip of the iceberg of the personalization industry, Nipun hopes to expand this business further and farther. With a dedicated web support team and a task force to develop an exclusive application that is customer-friendly, his plans for the growth of his company are more than just plans – they are, like their products, passionate.
