Bala Nagothu is a high-end furniture designer who specializes in creating functional sculptures. After years of showing his work in art and design galleries across North America, Nagothu wanted to make his work more accessible to consumers. With the world of gallery showings at a standstill as a result of the pandemic, Nagothu used the downtime to get to work on launching a commercial line of environmentally-responsible, ethically-made, and locally-produced furniture.
Quality is important to Nagothu, so he spared no expense during the product development process for his new venture, Atelier Bala. Over the course of two years, Nagothu worked closely with manufacturers in the Kitchener-Waterloo region to experiment and develop prototypes that he could be proud of. This was no small feat as Nagothu had a lengthy list of standards and he wanted each piece to live up to them. Given the brand’s mission to create sustainable products, it was important to ensure that the furniture items were not bulky, used minimal packaging, and were easy to assemble. It was also crucial that Atelier Bala be the type of business that builds long-lasting products. “We wanted to have longevity. It’s not a disposable product that you throw away after one use, after six months, or after one season. It’s something that you will keep for many years,” says Nagothu. “We spent a lot of our own money, trying to […] get to a point where we feel comfortable that what we have is good. And [there is] minimal risk of [the] product being returned.”
With the product development process completed, Nagothu turned his attention to creating a website to sell his furniture. “We ran into [the problem of not] having sufficient resources. Not only in terms of money, but also expertise, because I don’t have the knowledge or the background to be able to build an online platform,” he explains. So, when he came across the Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Entrepreneurs (RAISE) program, he applied immediately. RAISE is a provincially-funded, comprehensive grant initiative that supports Indigenous, Black, and other racialized entrepreneurs in Ontario who are on the road to starting or scaling their businesses. In addition to grant funding, the program provides entrepreneurs with access to business development training, business coaching, and culturally responsive support services through the Parkdale Centre for Innovation’s Early Stage Entrepreneurship Program.
With grant funds secured, Nagothu began working on finding the right partners to help him build an online presence for his business. Prior to receiving his grant, Nagothu’s conversations with prospective agencies and freelancers had not been fruitful. Through his work with his Parkdale Centre advisors, Nagothu realized that he needed to have a clearer understanding of his brand and company vision in order to identify the right partners for Atelier Bala. So he began honing in on his business’s key objectives and brand message by conducting customer research. “I had the opportunity to talk to several people, and have them try the product. I asked them about […] their experience with the product,” says Nagothu.
This outside perspective proved to be invaluable and provided clarity on the brand’s key selling points. The important insights garnered from this customer research allowed the Atelier Bala team to have a better dialogue with prospective vendors and understand how their skills matched up with the business’s requirements and key objectives. Nagothu is now working with a designer and digital marketing specialist and is a few weeks away from launching Atelier Bala’s website and social media accounts.
Ahead of his official business launch, Nagothu can’t speak to the success of his RAISE project in terms of dollars and cents, but he shared that the confidence he has gained through his work with the Parkdale Centre is priceless. “Now we know that we’ve given ourselves the best chance of being successful,” he says. With this newfound conviction and a great team in place to build Atelier Bala’s digital presence, Nagothu is looking forward to launching a website that reflects the company’s commitment to quality, and effectively communicates the brand’s message to potential customers.
