Meet the SHEROES - Preeti Singhal

Preeti Singhal co-founded ArtZolo along with her husband to provide a ‘discovery’ platform to both artists and art-lovers. ArtZolo is today considered one of the top 10 sites in India for art works.

Let’s read about how this husband-wife duo started the venture and their thoughts on business.

Can you share something about yourself?

I am the co-founder of ArtZolo.com. I Worked in a family business for 5 years in the area of operations, design. I hold an Interior Designing diploma and degree in commerce. I am presently based out of Mumbai, I have lived in multiple cities majorly in Kolkata and the knit city of India - Tirupur (near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu).

Coming from a business family, doing something of my own was not just an inspiration but was strongly engraved in my mind. Even as a teenager, I did not want to be dependent for my pocket money, so I would pick some curios and knick knacks from manufacturers and supply to some stores. Just the mere thought of being independent even now makes me feel confident.

In my present venture – ArtZolo.com, I currently take care of Marketing, Content & Finance. I co-founded this startup with Vishal who takes care of Sales & Technology.

Why and when did you start Artzolo.com? To fill what gap or need in the market?

ArtZolo.com allows established & emerging artists to exhibit, promote, and sell their works directly to the art aficionados/ lovers who value idea, quality, craftsmanship and originality thus making art more accessible and art market more transparent.

ArtZolo.com has spun out of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur’s SIDBI Innovation & Incubation Centre.  Our platform provides a seamless experience to what one would experience offline, even helps you with the discovery of artworks along with a lot of additional information about the work. We consult with art buyers. Additionally, we also offer art prints for price sensitive buyers and artists in order to allow them to make additional money. ArtZolo.com went live on Jan 24, 2014.

How does your platform work? What are its main objectives?

Artists get to upload their artworks through a very simple process following which it gets exhibited at various sections. Artworks are categories while being uploaded and displayed accordingly to the end viewer.

Our main objective is to allow individuals and corporates to consume art as they have never done before. We have created various categories for this to happen on ArtZolo.com such as Original Art, Art Prints, Crafts, and Gifting. The price range at ArtZolo.com is such that it makes it affordable for an average buyer to own and appreciate art.

We offer close to 5000 artworks, both originals and prints, ranging between INR 799 and 7 lakh. Second, we are trying to make it convenient for buyers through our feature called ‘Wall View’ where the users can visualize an artwork against different wall colors and furniture as per their tastes.

Do you'll make any of the products in-house or is it mainly sourced?

We are a marketplace model where artworks are listed and sold on the platform.

What is an average work-day like for you?

Every day is a different day. Mainly divided between day to day activities and a set of to-do tasks which are executed on priority.

What are the long-term goals / business plans of Art Zolo?

To become one of the best discovery platforms for artists and art-lovers to meet, engage and exchange the subject and works.

What or from where do you get your inspiration?

From a lot of sources. Impacting peoples live is a huge motivation factor to us. Additionally, the amoebic nature of the business keeps us going.

In the future, do you hope to start any other venture? 

 For now, we are all focused on this. Honestly, when the time comes we will give it a thoughts. For now it is ArtZolo.com all the way.

What does it feel like, to be considered among the top 'Art' sites in India?

Extremely motivating, but we feel that the job is not done. There is a long way to go for us.

Can you leave our readers with some words of advice?

 ·         Just enjoy what you are doing

·         Immerse yourself in your work rather than fearing failures and comparisons

·         Give enough time to a start-up and have tremendous patience

·         Focus on your building blocks at early stage, it might get very easy later

·         Carry out your homework thoroughly i.e. study the recent trends and market accurately before plunging in.