Pooja Shukla is the owner of the women’s ethnic wear brand Vedic Fashion. Vedic is a fashion brand that produces elegant and pleasant cotton attire for women with an ethnic touch.

Pooja Shukla was born in Jodhpur and brought up in Udaipur. She completed her schooling at St. Mary's School. She reminisces about her delightful childhood, surrounded by many friends. Pooja has been very interested in tailoring since her childhood. Her interest grew even more when she started stitching her own dresses at the age of eleven.

Pooja’s husband is in government service, so they had to move around a lot. In 2008, when her husband was posted in Ahmedabad, she thought of starting a boutique of her own there and named it ‘Vedic’. During that time, she was expecting her second child, and there was also a language barrier in the new state. But she was determined to grow Vedic and organized about 75 exhibitions in her first year to promote her brand.

Her brand started to receive excellent reviews and Pooja went on to give presentations at big companies like Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, and online portals. Eventually, Pooja opened her own exclusive store too, and slowly but surely, they expanded their operations all across India. Now Vedic has stores in around every corner of India and has become a renowned brand name.

Of course, reaching these heights was not a cakewalk; Pooja had to deal with several challenges, like dealing with tailors, managing her family life along with a professional one, and dealing with language barriers in the new city, to name a few. But she always had a lively attitude towards life, and she deals with her problems in the same way. She says that struggles are always a part of the journey; we just have to sit back and be calm, and eventually everything will fall into place.

Surprisingly enough, Pooja has not taken any formal courses in fashion design. She just started with whatever knowledge she had and learned things as she went through. She still keeps on learning about the minor details of fashion and tailoring.

Pooja constantly seeks innovation, like using organic dyes, employing impressive and unique cuts in dresses, and manufacturing clothes that make one look fit and slim. She also makes sure to keep comfort a priority.

During the pandemic, it was very difficult for her brand to continue operating as her employees were in fear, and she was also concerned about everyone’s safety, so she sent everyone home. But now she had the issue of manufacturing and delivering products. So after some brainstorming with her team, she finally came up with a plan for cost-cutting and tying up with big companies in that sector. They also took their brand online, and she did a course in online marketing. In this way, they brilliantly turned a crisis into an opportunity.

Pooja thinks that education and experience are both important, but they are not the determinants of success altogether. She is of the opinion that the will to learn and passion are the most important factors, as one can learn and gain experience in anything if one has interest in and passion for it.

Pooja’s role model is her mother, as she recalls that her mother was very hardworking and respected. So when she grew up, she wanted to achieve something due to her admiration for her mother.

Pooja says that if she had the opportunity to visit her past and change something, she would not change anything in her life, as even mistakes gave her experience and everything is a learning opportunity.

Being awarded Woman Entrepreneur of the Year has been her biggest achievement. One of her sweetest memories is when she opened her first store.

Pooja has also seen failures, like recently when they tried to venture into a cheaper price segment. But that didn’t work, and through that, she came to know that they should stick to their own price segment in the medium range and deliver to their customers exactly what they are famous for.

Pooja’s life mantra is, “Never give up, and good will come to you.”

For aspiring entrepreneurs, her advice is simple: if you're truly passionate, enter this amazing world for a fulfilling journey with limitless possibilities.