Baking is a hobby that many of us have thought of taking up at some point in life. For Megna Jain, the hobby became a lucrative business. She once baked cupcakes and other items for fun at university. Now, Megna has her own startup worth Rs 1 crore.
At Dream A Dozen, a Bengaluru-based gourmet gifting company, Megna runs an all-women kitchen that has served over 500 clients.
A Sweet Start To A Career
Megna was 18 when she started selling cupcakes at her college, Christ University. The entrepreneur used to bring the desserts to college and decorate them with frosting during her breaks, as per Your Story.
Megna said that her classmates were very supportive of her venture, even taking a stand against a professor who thought selling cupcakes in college was “improper”.
Some of Megna’s other professors encouraged her to start her own venture.
After college, she worked at InnerChef and Cakewala. With some work experience and her passion for baking, she decided to launch Dream A Dozen in 2018.
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Initial Setbacks
The initial days were not easy. The caretaker of the building they operated out of made their lives miserable. Megna and her team moved to another space in 2020. Then, the pandemic happened.
Dream A Dozen was closed for six weeks. It then shifted to an online-only model. Before Diwali, Megna approached corporates who had to send gift boxes to their customers and staff across India.
“We quickly figured out packaging and delivery processes and were good to go. We delivered about 1,500 gift boxes, covering our losses and doubling our sales than in any other year in the past,” she told Your Story.
The venture soon counted Yahoo! and Accenture among its clients. In 2021, Megna completed the Goldman Sachs-sponsored 10,000 Women Entrepreneur program at IIM Bangalore.
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The entrepreneur started her venture with an initial investment of Rs 5,000. It later earned revenue of Rs 1.2 crore.
Today, the brand sells different gift hampers featuring cookies, gourmet teas, crackers, and more. Cupcakes and cakes are still a big part of the business.
