Shimla, Himachal Pradesh: At just 20, Sejal Chauhan is taking a path that few would expect from a management student with no formal education in fashion or design. While many young entrepreneurs feel the need to move to larger cities to find opportunities, Sejal Chauhan decided to start right where she was in the mountains of Shimla.
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The idea was simple: build something of her own.
“I’ve always wanted to create something that I could call mine,” says Sejal Chauhan. But like many young people with big ambitions, she often heard the same advice move to Delhi, Bengaluru, or another major city if she wanted to build something serious.
That advice made her question something much bigger: Does where you come from really decide how far you can go?
Instead of moving away, Sejal chose to learn.
With no background in fashion or design, she began teaching herself everything she needed to know to build a streetwear brand. YouTube videos, online courses, research and plenty of trial and error became her classroom.
She explored everything from branding and design to manufacturing, printing techniques and the practical side of turning an idea into a product.
But learning how to build a brand was only the beginning. Finding someone willing to manufacture it proved to be an entirely different challenge.
Sejal eventually reached out to 79 suppliers in Tirupur, one of India’s major textile and garment manufacturing hubs. The response was largely the same: her order quantities were too small, and as a first-time founder, she simply wasn’t an obvious bet for most manufacturers.
There were plenty of reasons to stop.
Instead, she kept calling.
After numerous conversations and rejections, one supplier finally agreed to work with her. That single “yes” became an important turning point in her journey and helped turn an idea that started in Shimla into something tangible.
That is how KIIKIIXSEJAL began.
For Sejal Chauhan , the brand represents more than just clothing. It is the result of learning things she had never studied formally, approaching people who initially said no, and continuing to work on an idea even when there was no guarantee that it would succeed.
The journey has also taught her that entrepreneurship isn’t always about having the perfect resources or being in the perfect city. Sometimes, it starts with curiosity, persistence and the willingness to figure things out along the way.
KIIKIIXSEJAL is scheduled to launch its website on 15 November, marking the next chapter of Sejal’s journey from a student with an idea to a young founder building her own streetwear label.
She is still unsure where the brand will eventually take her. But perhaps that uncertainty is part of what makes the journey meaningful.
“I don’t know where this journey will take me,” Sejal Chauhan says. “But if my story can encourage even a few people to start something of their own, take a chance and chase their dreams, then it will be worth it.”
Her story is a reminder that ambitious ideas don’t always have to begin in India’s biggest cities. They can begin in a classroom, a bedroom, a small workshop or even from the mountains of Shimla.
Sometimes, you don’t need to move mountains to make your dreams happen.
You just need to start.
