A 'kin'ship that works

They’ve gotten on your nerves, emptied your bag of goodies, and would have snagged some of your best outfits. But, apart from sharing rooms peevishly, or one’s wardrobe and top secrets, young Bengalureans are willing to let their siblings take equal charge of their businesses too. With sibling ventures on the rise in the city, we take a deeper look at this trend...  “We’re more best friends than siblings, but when we’re working, boundaries are set and we leave the personal equation behind,” says Aditi Sarin.

“Starting something with your sibling(s) probably is the best thing for people who are likeminded, have an equal understanding that meets halfway, and are passionate about the same things. Having said that, you must have the drive and the thirst to achieve something. Just having an idea isn’t enough. Implementing it is a lot harder than it seems, as starting up something doesn’t happen overnight. It takes months of planning, brainstorming to get onto the right path,” Aditi Sarin, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who runs The Luxe Affair with her sister, Shruti elaborates. The trend began to garner momentum when Sonam Kapoor collaborated with her sister Rhea Kapoor and started a fashion brand. Back home, youngsters like Zubin Jagtiani and Shaina Jagtiani, Teena and Tessa Vellara  are some of the popular sibling duos who’ve started up together.

 Opining how being professional and ensuring you vibe in terms of the way you perceive growth is the key to sustaining such sibling ventures. Shruti adds, “Despite having a lot in common, our strengths lie elsewhere. Aditi largely looks into the creative aspect of our work, while I look into the logistics bit. It’s important to function together. You need to give creative freedom to your sibling, and respect them irrespective of how your equation is back home.” Anup Maiya, a young software techie who founded Kannada Gottilla, a hugely popular online forum to teach Bengalureans the native language for free, partnered with his older brother Rakesh Maiya, since its initiation, and vouches by the arrangement. “So, we started Kannada Gottilla in 2014 and have been doing it for three years. We have around 8,000 students from different parts of the world. I think, it has helped us understand each other’s personalities better. We’ve also manned up when it comes to talking about differences! There’s no awkwardness between us because the heated arguments and creative differences have made us closer and more clear about how to deal with each other, as we have completely different personalities. As a rule, we make it a point to travel a lot now, cause that’s when the both of us actually open up and talk. When you start-up with a close family member, the equation changes, and there’s more insight, which is healthy. Our suggestion to siblings wanting to start up would be to find one common activity together so that there’s a spark, and the drive to make a common dream happen doesn’t fizzle out.”

Vijomi Vijay, who runs a pet photography venture with her brother Ashok believes it’s important to choose something that’s genuinely of interest to both of them. “It is convenient when you get into a venture with your sibling as you know you’ll have their back, and they won’t leave you in the lurch. But, when it comes to business, it’s important to be impersonal, bold and upfront if you dislike something about your sibling, irrespective of how you guys are going to have a dinner time conversation at the table tonight. The essence to communicate well and get professional becomes all the more important when doing a business with a sibling. Otherwise, it gets really uncomfortable.”