When you are on a mission, societal judgment and environmental hardships rarely matter. In today’s success story we shall be talking about Sheela Kochouseph, whose story inspires us to pursue our dreams whatever the hurdles may be!
A housewife, Sheela Kochouseph Chittilappilly started V-Star Creations, a lingerie brand, with borrowed money. Although the wife of Kochouseph Thomas Chittilappilly, business magnate and founder of V-Guard Industries, Sheela borrowed money and rented space to launch her business. There were initial criticisms for her choice of the product. But Sheela passed every hurdle and grew her brand V-Star into an over Rs 125 crores business.
Early career and struggle days of Sheela Kochouseph Chittilappilly
Founder and managing director of V-Star Creations, Sheela Chittilappilly hails from Kerala. Her father was a businessman. After the demise of her father, Sheela became determined to work hard and be an independent woman.
Since her childhood, Sheela has been interested in dressmaking. Little did she know that this creative aspect would one day make her one of the top millionaires of Kerala.
The birth of Sheela Kochouseph Chittilappilly’s V-Star Creations
A housewife, Sheela was always headstrong to do something of her own. With the decision to be an entrepreneur and build her own brand, she approached her husband.
Her husband Kochouseph Chittilappilly is the owner of the V-Guard group who insisted that she start her business from scratch. He asked her to take a loan and rent a building to start her own brand.
Sheela started her business with V-Star salwar kameez. Soon she realized that there was less potential for salwar kameez and more potential for innerwear items.
Sheela launched V-Star Creations in 1995 with an initial investment of Rs 20 lakhs. Initially, the company started operations with 10 workers.
The initial days were full of hardships. People criticized her for launching lingerie products. Publishing companies also declined to advertise the product. But the strong-willed Sheela decided not to backtrack and continue with her work that she considered was the best thing she was doing.
Today V-Star Creations is a market leader in the segment of innerwear and lifestyle products, making a turnover of over Rs 125 crores. The brand makes bras, panties, camisoles, men’s innerwear, kid’s wear, etc. V-Star has a presence in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the Middle East.
Although Sheela has achieved tremendous heights in her career she still aims to conquer the International Market through her brand V-Star.