Harshit Shah and Meera Shah are the brains behind Ahmedabad’s most loved festival, Weekend Window. Weekend Window: The window of escape is Gujpreneur’s attempt to bring to you the life story of the power couple who made a fun event for all the people as an opportunity for the brands to increase their visibility.
The Weekend Window is basically an idea to provide an eventful and fun evening to people and a platform for all the brands to directly reach potential customers.
The background of Harshit Shah and Meera Shah
The story behind “Weekend Window: The window of escape”
Meera by qualification is an Electronics Communications Engineer who has also worked in varied fields of advertising giving her versatility in the media industry.
Harshit Shah, on the other hand, has a qualification in commerce and plans to join the decades-old family business. However, the idea of events struck him and life took a beautiful turn.
The origin; how did it all start?
After getting married, the very urge to do something new had been in the minds of both partners. Traveling to places and exploring this concept of night market gave birth to the idea of the Weekend window. The weekend window got its name because the venue had arched windows all around giving it a very perky look.
“Window metaphorically represents an escape, escape from mundane life. And that is what we wanted to give the people of Ahmedabad, a fun and eventful time!”, says Meera Shah.
Vision and Mission of the event entrepreneurs
“Ahmedabadis don’t really need alcohol to get high, all we had to do is set a vibe and that was the only mission we started with!” says Meera when Gujpreneur asked them about the mission they incorporated this concept with.
From the very first event, the food and music were made on board as per the thought of Harshit and that made it reach an altogether another level of fun.
Sharing with us about the vision, the entrepreneur couple said, “The vision is to not be bounded by the city but instead make the people of other cities also explore and enjoy the enriching experience the weekend window provides.”
The Bazaar project: The new avenue
“Weekend window focuses on mass brands. We wanted to introduce something that the brands which are a bit choosy too can come on the board. That made us open this very new event of our own, the bazaar project.”, says Harshit and Meera sharing the insights about Bazaar Project.
The hurdles; the challenges and the way out
“Maintaining that consistency was a challenge… ensuring you do something or other at a regular pace so that you are on the minds of people.”, says Harshit.
“To make people realize that we assure them the quality and majorly an exclusive experience even after the arrival of many players in the flea market industry after we set the bar, has come out as a challenge too, a lot of times.”, adds Meera.
Biggest milestone achieved
Reminiscing about the year 2015 when they collaborated with YMCA. They had a huge success in the event which can also be noted as the beginning of returning of the efforts and monetary value invested past two years.
Entrepreneur’s take on how to move ahead
“No matter how hard we plan, going with the flow and doing things to the best of our abilities has only made us reach where we are today and will only make us have a way ahead!” says Harshit and Meera.
Idea of Success
“It’s an ongoing process, a process that gives you fulfillment,” affirms Harshit and Meera.
The execution of the plan
While sharing about the ins and out of the process of making brands on board, Meera said, “There is a huge pond and hence the possibility of people not being aware of the Weekend window even today is always there. However, entrusting them with all we have is always important and also the first step of pitching to any brand.”
The learning Harshit and Meera are working on
“Not letting brands take us for granted is what we have learned over the past years. Because we always offer more than we promised,” says Meera.
Insider insights by the entrepreneur couple
“Maintaining relationships no matter what your business is. is extremely important. Because it ensures the trust and confidence that helps you grow,” affirms Meera.
“Having an open mind is essential too and work extremely hard keep on trying new things, you will evolve!” Meera adds.
A typical day spent in not a typical way
Finding brands, approaching them, and communicating with them what we want to convey is the thing Harshit and Meera do the whole day as it takes about three months of prior planning for the event of the weekend window.
This a mantra that entrepreneur couple stands by
“Missed aim forgiven, Not forgiven is a small aim.”
Researching things, exploring different cultures, and brainstorming those ideas together is Harshit and Meera’s way of creating something new and giving people an enriching experience.
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