A home organiser startup, once generating ₹20 lakh in daily revenue, faced an unexpected downfall after a fierce battle with e-commerce giant Amazon. The founder of this now-struggling business shared his journey of rapid growth and catastrophic decline in a candid post on Grapevine, a platform for career and salary discussions. His story offers a poignant insight into the challenges of building a business in an increasingly competitive online marketplace.
The Beginning: A Leap of Faith in 2017
The entrepreneur’s journey began in 2017 when he was simply searching for affordable storage solutions for his apartment. Finding similar products overpriced on Amazon India, he seized an opportunity and invested ₹2.5 lakh in 300 units of home organisers. To his surprise, all the products sold out in just 50 hours. Encouraged by this success, he reinvested ₹7.5 lakh to triple his inventory, which again sold out rapidly. Within two months, his business was generating ₹20 lakh in daily revenue, with profit margins of 15%-25%, bringing him profits of ₹3-₹5 lakh per day. His rapid growth on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart seemed almost surreal.
Amazon’s Involvement: A Double-Edged Sword
As his business flourished, Amazon took notice and offered the entrepreneur significant perks as a “top seller,” including marketing support and dedicated account managers. This allowed him to expand his operations further, even traveling to China to negotiate directly with manufacturers. However, the turning point came when Amazon extended a massive buyout offer to acquire his brand, proposing to merge it with their own in-house brand, Solimo. Confident in his brand’s potential, the entrepreneur rejected the offer, believing that his business was unstoppable. He was generating crores in revenue and was convinced that his success would continue to skyrocket.
The Downfall: Amazon’s Solimo Brand Strikes Back
A few months after turning down the buyout, Amazon launched its Solimo brand, which directly competed with his products but at a much lower price point. This move devastated his business. His daily revenue dropped significantly, and the storage fees for his large inventory became unsustainable. In a desperate attempt to clear stock, he was forced to sell at near-cost prices. The dream of scaling his business into a lasting empire crumbled.
A Cautionary Tale: Dreams of Generational Wealth Dashed
While the entrepreneur was not financially ruined and still had personal savings from his peak years, his dream of building generational wealth had been shattered. He reflected, “When you’ve tasted that kind of success—flying to China, dealing in crores—it’s a massive adjustment to realize you’re back in ‘planning mode.’” His story serves as a cautionary tale for aspiring entrepreneurs in the e-commerce world, highlighting the risks of competing against larger players like Amazon. His once-thriving home organiser business is now a reminder of the volatility and challenges faced when scaling a brand in an industry dominated by giants.
