Founders Behind the Brand and the Real Stories they Share: Ft. Chanaya Gupta of Lazo Store

In the age of the digital wave, everybody dives deep into an ocean of content. Whether you are a customer, a reel consumer, or a reel creator, you inevitably end up consuming content— sometimes to learn, sometimes to entertain. But amidst these ‘reels’, there also brew some real conversations—conversations that provide you with value, that feel personal and show the real struggles. Some of the most powerful of these come from the founders of Homegrown brands, where they talk about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of building their brand. While some experiences may be merry, some may stem from the darkest days they have faced. But no matter where they stem from, these experiences resonate and feel relevant, whether you are a budding entrepreneur, a loyal consumer, or even a curious critic. In this piece, we talk to Chanaya Gupa, the founder of Lazo Store, a women-only clothing brand from Delhi, about the stories behind her brand, which are not seen on the screen, until she does. 

Lazo Store was born out of the need to fill a personal gap Chanaya felt in the market when she was in college. “I would see brands selling trendy clothes, but at a much higher rate than a college student could afford. So, that is when I decided to start a brand of my own after graduating, which would have chic, trendy, yet affordable clothing for women,” says Chanaya Gupta. She started building her brand and launched it in 2021 with the ethos of providing premium, affordable and trendy clothes specifically tailored for the Indian woman's body type. The brand picked up well, but as a new entrepreneur, it went through a lot of roadblocks, ones that are not usually seen outside the founder’s closet. That’s when the young lady decided to talk about it with her customers and audiences. 

"We believed in internal community building since the beginning, but we weren’t open to our customers. Somewhere, I was not comfortable being on camera, and honestly, I didn't know where to start," says the founder. But somewhere down the line, it also became a necessity. Chanaya started with raw and unfiltered conversations about her struggles, which she continued for a good amount of time before taking a break to reflect on providing value along with the stories. By the end of 2024, she started her series “Stitch and Glitch,” where she shares the darkest days of her life as a business owner. You could see stories of her business account being hacked just before hitting 50K, to the brand getting an overwhelming amount of orders which couldn't be fulfilled on time. “The motto behind the same is to be transparent and authentic with the customers as well as sharing the mistakes with the aspiring entrepreneur for them to not repeat the same,” notes Gupta. 

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In a world dominated by picture-perfect feeds and polished content, stories like these serve as a lesson that honesty is the best policy. For the founder of Lazo, talking about the brand's struggles is as important as building her new collection. Chanaya aims to build a strong community of customers who are not only buyers but also believers of the brand.