One of the many beauties of the Science and Business program are the success stories that are created as a result of leveraging the resources, applying course content, and following the guidance of mentorship that the program has to offer. To introduce the launch of the Science and Business program’s newest collaboration, we’re excited to spotlight Kaurtino; an environmentally conscious e-commerce company that manufactures and sells luxurious handmade scrunchies made from high quality and repurposed fabrics.
Founded
by
Science
and
Business
student,
Bismun
Kaur,
Kaurtino
strives
to
be
“The
Best
Care
For
Your
Hair.”
Every
scrunchie
is
sewn
in
Toronto
by
Kaurtino,
a
mother
&
daughter
team
with
52+
years
of
combined
sewing
experience!
The
company
name
derives
from
Bismun's
last
name,
the
Punjabi
word
“Kaur”
meaning
princess,
and
“tino”
meaning
small,
therefore
translating
into
“small
items
for
a
princess.”
To
date,
Kaurtino
has
fulfilled
200+
orders,
sold
over
350+
scrunchies,
and
donated
to
social
causes
such
as
the
YMCA
Women’s
Shelter
and
the
Sick
Kids
Hospital.
Prior
to
starting
her
business,
Bismun
was
passionate
about
hair
care.
Being
a
science
student,
she
takes
good
care
of
her
hair,
growing
it
to
over
45
inches
long!
Part
of
her
hair
care
is
scrunchies.
Traditional
hair
ties
are
made
from
rough
elastics
causing
tension,
breakage
and
split
ends.
Kaurtino
scrunchies
reduce
hair
breakage
as
the
fabric
is
so
smooth
that
there
is
virtually
no
friction.
Scrunchies
allow
the
hair
to
be
tension-free,
encourage
hair
hydration,
and
promote
silky
smooth
hair!
To celebrate the launch of the Science and Business program’s collaboration with Kaurtino, we had Bismun reflect on the past 1.5 years of success with her company.
1. Why did you start Kaurtino?
I
bought
scrunchies
in
November
2020
but
was
disappointed
with
the
quality.
With
my
mom's
50+
years
of
sewing
experience,
we
knew
there
had
to
be
a
better
way!
Thus,
the
idea
of
creating
soft,
silky,
and
luxury
scrunchies
was
born.
At
the
end
of
my
1A
term,
in
December
2020
I
made
my
first
scrunchie!
I
wanted
to
focus
on
school,
so
in
my
1B
term
I
focused
on
product
development
to
design
high
quality
scrunchies.
I
launched
Kaurtino
on
the
same
day
of
my
last
exam
in
1B,
knowing
that
I
would
have
time
in
the
spring
term
to
focus
on
my
business.
The
main
objective
of
Kaurtino
has
always
been
to
create
and
provide
high
quality
scrunchies.
The
most
rewarding
aspect
of
my
small
business
is
exceeding customers'
expectations!
Nothing
makes
me
happier
than
seeing
others
enjoy
the
Kaurtino
products
that
my
mom
and
I
have
built.
I
appreciate
customer
feedback
and
often
seek
their
input
for
new
colours
and
designs.
2. How is Kaurtino unique?
Because my mom and I sew every scrunchie ourselves, we can customize scrunchies to any fabric, colour & design. We have made custom scrunchies for our customer’s events such as birthdays, engagements, and weddings.
Beyond
creating
high
quality
products,
Kaurtino
is
committed
to
sustainability.
We
are
eco-friendly
as
we
use
100%
of
all
fabric
to
reduce
waste.
This
is
achieved
by
creating
a
map
and
plan
of
exactly
how
we will
cut
the
fabric
(prior
to
cutting)
to
use
the
entire
piece!
With
every
order
we
provide
a
free
scrunchie
and
elegant
packaging
which
is
perfect
for
gifts!
Scrunchies
are
packaged
in
either
reusable
organza
bags
or
recyclable
tissue
paper.
Additionally,
our
stickers
are
made
from
acid
free
paper
and
soy-based
ink.
Moreover,
the
Kaurtino’s
Fabric
Repurpose
Initiative
repurposes
donated
clothing
into
scrunchies,
saving
clothes
from
being
thrown
to
landfills.
3. How did you overcome your biggest obstacle?
As
a
small
business,
I
could
not
afford
to
hire
employees.
Thus,
my
greatest
obstacle
was
learning
and
perfecting
new
skills
to
make
up
for
my
lack
of
employees.
Determined
to
make
Kaurtino
a
success,
I
have
acquired
numerous
skills
and
knowledge
regarding
budgeting,
accounting,
taxes,
intellectual
property,
shipping,
sewing,
inventory
&
production,
supply
chain
management,
leadership,
quality
control,
custom
packaging,
SEO,
photography,
cinematography,
managing
&
creating
engaging
social
media
content
and
more!
4. Do you have advice for other student entrepreneurs?
Time management has become a buzz word with little merit — instead, I prioritize tasks. To optimize my time, I categorize tasks based on urgency and importance and prioritize the deliverables that are both time-sensitive and most significant. Additionally, one should be mentally and physically organized. For mental organization, I keep a separate agenda for my business and personal life. Moreover, I use a digital calendar to focus on current tasks and my physical UWaterloo calendar to assess the big picture for the next four months. For physical organization I keep my workspace minimalistic and clean. Time is money, thus I automate parts of my business whenever I can. I automated my POS onto my website and planned social media posts via Meta Business Suite.
Entrepreneurs rarely share the mental journey it took to make their business successful. In the beginning I felt very overwhelmed; there was so much to do and only me to do it. But I took one step at a time, learned new skills, and never gave up! No successful business was built in one day.
There
is
a
misconception
that
starting
a
business
is
easy,
fun,
and
highly
profitable.
This
could
not
be
further
from
the
truth.
I
put
countless
hours
into
Kaurtino
before
it
paid
off.
In
the
beginning,
I
felt
discouraged,
and
the
lack
of
results
made
me
doubt
myself.
Few
people
believed
in
me,
and
I
felt
frustrated
that
my
results
were
significantly
and
disproportionately
less
than
my
input
of
hard
work.
But
if
you
really
love
what
you’re
doing,
the
purpose
of
your
business,
and
its
mission,
then
you
will
keep
going
back
to
it.
Your
brain
might
want
to
stop
but
your
heart
cannot,
because
you
genuinely
enjoy
it.
The
speckles
of
success
outweigh
the
depths
of
failure.
That’s
when
I
knew
for
me
it’s
more
than
just
a
business.
To
me
it’s
not
about
maximizing
revenue
but
rather
maximizing
customer
value
(I
don’t
have
investors
so
I
have
this
freedom).
Despite
all
my
losses,
I
had
faith
in
myself
that
one
day
my
hard
work
will
pay
off
(and
if
it
didn’t,
at
least
I
had
learned
a
lot
of
skills
along
the
way).
Success
is
inevitable
if
you
learn
from
your
mistakes
and
never
give
up
because
you
keep
failing
until
the
only
option
is
to
succeed.
The
private
victory
is
achieved
much
ahead
of
the
public
one,
best
said
by
Sri
Guru
Nanak
Dev
Ji,
“conquer
your
mind
and
you
will
have
conquered
the
world”.
5. What Science and Business or UWaterloo Resources Supported You?
The Science and Business professors, Kashif Memon and Okechukwu Igboeli are very welcoming, supportive, and encouraging. Furthermore, the SciBus program itself provided me with a strong foundation of knowledge to feel confident in my ability to commercialize my idea through the courses that contributed to the expansion of my entrepreneurial toolkit.
The following courses have contributed to my business success:
-
CS 100 - HTML Design
-
HRM 200 - Recruiting and retaining talent
-
SCBUS 123 - Market analysis and planning
-
SCBUS 223 - Leadership and management amongst large groups
-
AFM 123 - Using accounting and finance tools for budgeting and forecasting
-
AFM 131 - Overview on business, structures, models, marketing, entrepreneurship
In my winter 2022 term, I participated in Enterprise Co-op at the University of Waterloo’s Conrad School of Business. There, I gained access to alumni advisors that have also taken Enterprise Co-op. I am very grateful to have met Wayne Chang and Ren Kamalanathan who believed in me and gave me effective feedback for Kaurtino. I hadn’t understood the importance of a mentor until I met them!
Altogether, starting and growing a business has been an excellent, challenging, and rewarding experience. I am sincerely grateful for everyone that has supported me along the way. I hope my journey inspires yours.