The family, the fabric, the future: Unpacking House of Chikankari with Founder and CEO Aakriti Rawal

We often look at D2C success stories in India through a lens of inevitability. We see the viral reels, the Shark Tank deal, and the polished website, and we assume it was a straight line to the top. But if there’s one thing I learned from Episode 6 of Let’s Unpack, it’s that the "overnight success" of House of Chikankari was actually a masterclass in grit, chaos management, and evolving family dynamics.

I sat down with co-founder Aakriti Rawal to peel back the layers of how she and her mother, Poonam Rawal, took a fragmented, unorganized craft from the streets of Lucknow and turned it into a national brand. If you’re building a brand, or just fascinated by the Indian startup ecosystem, this conversation is a goldmine.

Here's an in-depth look at what we unpacked.

From pandemic project to D2C powerhouse

Aakriti took me back to 2020. The world was in lockdown, and retail in Lucknow had collapsed. The local artisans, who relied on daily sales, were sitting on piles of inventory with nowhere to go. This wasn't just an inventory problem; it was an existential crisis for a traditional craft community.

What started as a "pandemic project" wasn't originally meant to be a massive startup. Aakriti saw a clear gap—not just in selling clothes, but in trust. The Chikankari market was huge but notoriously unorganized. If you ordered a kurta online, you never knew if the size would fit, if the fabric would bleed, or if the embroidery was authentic.

Aakriti realized that if she could layer a "brand promise"—standardized sizing, quality checks, and reliable delivery—on top of this traditional craft, the potential was limitless. It was a classic case of organizing the unorganized, a theme we see in so many successful Indian startups today, where structure and reliability become the key differentiators.

The secret ingredient: a mother-daughter partnership

We hear "family business" and often think of conflict. But the dynamic between Aakriti and her mother, Poonam, is truly the heartbeat of this company.

Aakriti shared a beautiful sentiment: "I feel like she got me into this... The idea actually stemmed from her." For years, Aakriti had pushed her mother to find an identity outside of being a homemaker. At 48, Poonam didn’t just join the business; she became its spiritual and operational backbone.

What fascinated me was their clear division of labor, which helps them avoid typical family friction:

• Poonam is the product genius. She knows the fabric, the "Masterjis" (master artisans), and the quality control like the back of her hand. Her domain is the supply chain.

• Aakriti is the engine. She handles the marketing, the strategy, the finances, and the technology.

Aakriti admits that in the office, the "mother-daughter" relationship takes a professional backseat; they're partners first. This professional boundary, combined with deep mutual respect, is the only reason they've been able to scale without personal friction bleeding into critical business decisions.

Why founder-led content is the winning marketing playbook

If you scroll through House of Chikankari’s Instagram, you see Aakriti; you see her mom; you see behind-the-scenes chaos. We discussed why this works so well in 2024.

Aakriti believes that customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the killer of modern D2C brands. You can't rely solely on expensive performance marketing anymore.

Her strategy? Radical authenticity and storytelling. "Launch it with your face and your story... No one can take that from you," she says. Competitors can copy their designs within weeks, but they can't replicate the mother-daughter founding journey or the genuine connection with the artisans.

They also have a brilliant approach to community building. They treat every customer as an influencer. If a customer creates great content—even if they only have 500 followers—the brand engages with it, supports it, and accepts collaboration requests. This shifts the focus from chasing celebrity endorsements to building a loyal, organic community.

Leadership wisdom: The soft touch and the firm hand

As the team grew from a small family unit to a proper organization, Aakriti hit some predictable speed bumps. We talked about the difficult process of hiring and why cultural fit trumps skills every time. She was candid about learning the hard way that a highly skilled person who doesn't fit the company’s values can be toxic to a growing startup.

This led her to share a piece of leadership wisdom that has truly stuck with me:

"Be soft on the people, but firm on the issue."

It’s a mantra for accountability without toxicity. It allows her to demand excellence and solve complex problems without attacking the person on the other side of the table. In a high-stress startup environment, that distinction is everything for fostering a culture that prioritizes problem-solving over personal conflict.

My final takeaway

House of Chikankari isn't just selling kurtas; they're selling a bridge between traditional India and modern India. They're proving that legacy crafts can survive and thrive in a digital-first world if you wrap them in the right story and back them up with solid operations.

This episode was a powerful reminder that behind every "viral" brand is a founder who's managing chaos, figuring out systems, and growing up fast, one day at a time—just like the rest of us.

If you're a founder, a marketer, or just someone who loves a good success story, this conversation is an absolute must-watch.