Business

Married Co-Founders of Soon-to-Be $1B Business Offer Advice

Ankur and Aditi Daga, the married co-founders of DTC fine jewelry company Angara, “clicked immediately” when their families introduced them at age 22. A passion for colored gemstones was just one of the things they had in common.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Angara. Aditi and Ankur Daga.}

With family ties to the jewelry industry in India on both sides, the couple had grown to appreciate the level of customization that so often went into each piece and that the colorless diamonds popularized by De Beers’ 1947 campaign weren’t the default. They wanted to bring a bespoke approach to the U.S., where retail stores typically sold jewelry straight from the shelf.

The Dagas believed consumers were ready for more color in their lives but worried that investors might think otherwise. So, after finishing their graduate studies at Harvard, they launched Angara in 2006 with a focus on diamonds. However, it was challenging to compete in the diamond-saturated market, and “with revenue but not profitability,” the co-founders returned to their original idea in 2011: customizable colored gemstones.

The Dagas intended to use technology to provide personalization at scale. Angara offered “good,” “better,” “best” and “heirloom” options for its designs and compressed a process that could take six months into one finished in 24 to 72 hours. Finalizing their method took about seven years, but it was a game-changer.

“That’s when things started to take off,” Ankur says. “Our conversion rate shot up because whatever the customer wanted, there was a permutation that would work. We went to cash flow positive within three months.”

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Angara}

Now, Angara boasts 350 employees, 10 global offices, approximately $100 million annual revenue and is on track to be a billion-dollar company within five years.

Entrepreneur sat down with the co-founders to learn more about how they built a successful partnership and strong sales — and the role that their “30-minute” and “$10,000” rules play.

The 30-minute rule

When the Dagas started the business, they had a new baby and no shortage of business-related responsibilities. One of their professors at Harvard had actually recommended married couples never work together because of the potential strain caused by the 24/7 blurring of personal and professional lines.

Of course, juggling so many tasks as parents, spouses and co-founders meant the business could be a constant topic of conversation — there was always more to do or solve, after all. That’s why the Dagas decided to implement a “30-minute rule”: Outside of working hours, they wouldn’t discuss the business for more than half an hour.

“It’s a consecutive 30 minutes,” Ankur explains. “So, during the day, we only talk about work max 30 minutes, and now sometimes a lot less also. All of the other hours [we] can talk about anything, which is far more healthy.”

The rule “really kept the sanity at home,” Aditi says — and helped them be present with each other when they were off the clock.

“If we’re together and thinking about work, it really prohibits us from being present [and enjoying] what we’re there for together,” Aditi explains. “We could potentially talk about work all the time, but there are so many other facets of life.”

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Angara}

The $10,000 rule

Good ideas are a must for businesses looking to innovate and grow, but allocating the financial resources to implement them can be fraught, especially when there’s a difference of opinion.

That’s why, in Angara’s early days, the Dagas devised a “$10,000 rule”: the maximum amount of money that they could spend testing any one idea.

“Any company could set any budget,” Aditi says, “but that really helped us pivot to find the right model. We would devote $10,000 per idea, and whether it was mine or Ankur’s or another team member’s, we gave it equal time and budget, and if it didn’t work, it took that emotional attachment away from the idea.”

Removing the emotional charge from decisions makes it easier to change course when necessary and prioritize growth, Ankur adds.

“Depersonalizing decisions,” he explains. “We [might] try something, and it doesn’t work, but everything for us is trial and error. The nice thing about ecommerce is you can pivot very quickly. So, you can do a small test. If it works, you can scale it very quickly. And if it doesn’t work, shelve it.”

It’s also important not to blame each other or themselves for an idea that doesn’t pan out, the couple notes.

1739392822 4x3mm aaaa ruby yellow gold ring

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Angara}

Leaning into complementary skill sets

In the early days, the co-founders “put on six hats each,” and the day-to-day shared wins and disappointments helped them understand the other person’s perspective — because they had all the same context.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Angara}

However, knowing when to divide responsibilities and play to each other’s unique strengths also contributes to Angara’s consistent success, the Dagas have found.

Aditi spearheads merchandising and design and focuses on customer touchpoints and experience. For example, she’s committed to giving customers beautiful packaging, learning from her own “lackluster” experiences with high-end jewelry retailers that skimp on presentation. A delivery from Angara features a branded shopping bag and lighted box — and even emits a fragrance that changes with the season.

Ankur takes the lead on analytics and numbers, ensuring the company hits its targets.

”Staying out of each other’s ways is very key,” Aditi says. “Because otherwise, if I get more input from a different department that’s not as focused on [customer experience], it makes me question my own decisions versus going with my gut. And vice versa.”

Now, as the couple looks to Angara’s vibrant future, they’re excited to continue strengthening their community and commitment to color and for AI advancements that will lead to even more opportunities for streamlined personalization: Imagine a customer describing a one-of-a-kind design and an AI system bringing it to life, aesthetically and technically, in a product delivered straight to their door.

Intellectual Insider

+ posts

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.

Business

These Are the 3 Hidden Forces That Shape Startup Success — and How to Embrace Them

1741798174 hidden forces shaping startup success 0325 g 1420068585

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Building a startup isn’t about chasing certainty — it’s about learning to thrive in the unknown. Growth, risk and opportunity collide at every turn, creating a dynamic that’s as exhilarating as it is precarious. Fragility, momentum and reinvestment aren’t just forces at play; they’re defining elements of the entrepreneurial journey.

My experiences, from building an early services business to co-founding Density and now leading Bread, have taught me that success doesn’t come from avoiding these forces. It comes from understanding their interplay and navigating them with intention.

Table of Contents

The fragility paradox

Startups are fragile by design. Whether you’re building a product, managing cash flow or growing a team, every move feels like stacking bricks on an unsteady foundation. Even when things are going well, fragility is always lurking beneath the surface.

Our first business, a services company, grew quickly. Within a year, we hit over $1 million in revenue, and by all appearances, it seemed stable. But services businesses are deceptively fragile. Revenue is tied to a handful of clients, and losing just one can send everything into freefall.

That’s exactly what happened. A major client left, and suddenly, we couldn’t make payroll. My co-founders and I stopped paying ourselves, cut expenses and worked to rebuild. We got through it, but the experience left an indelible lesson: Just because things are good now doesn’t mean they’ll stay that way. Fragility demands vigilance.

This reality became even more apparent as we reinvested profits into new ideas. Every project we launched was fragile — many failed outright — but fragility wasn’t a reason to stop. It was a reminder to focus, prioritize and act decisively in the face of uncertainty.

Momentum myopia

Momentum can feel like the antidote to fragility. When a product launch gains traction or revenue starts climbing, it’s tempting to think you’re on an unstoppable path. But momentum, left unchecked, can create blind spots.

At Density, we launched our first hardware product — a break-beam sensor for tracking foot traffic — amid a wave of excitement. Demand was growing, and the pressure to move fast was immense. But the product wasn’t ready. Accuracy issues in real-world conditions became obvious after deployment, and the flaws forced us into a costly reset.

We had let momentum dictate our decisions, pushing forward without questioning whether the foundation was solid. It was a painful but necessary lesson: Momentum is only valuable when it’s paired with reflection. Pausing to evaluate doesn’t kill progress; it ensures that growth is sustainable.

The reinvestment imperative

If fragility demands focus and momentum requires discipline, reinvestment is the leap of faith that drives discovery. Every dollar we earned in the services business went back into the company, not just to sustain operations but to fund experiments.

Most of those experiments failed. We built products no one needed, sunk time into overly complex solutions and made costly missteps. But one of those ideas — Density — stood out. It was fragile, like all early projects, but it had potential.

Its potential led to our decision to shut down the services business and focus entirely on Density. It wasn’t easy. Investors made it clear: If we wanted their backing, we had to go all in. Letting go of a profitable business to bet on an unproven product felt like jumping off a cliff. But without reinvestment — without those years of experimentation funded by services profits — we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make that leap.

Bringing it together

These lessons didn’t end with Density. At Bread, they shape how we think about building resilient businesses. Fragility, momentum and reinvestment aren’t challenges to be eliminated — they’re dynamics to be navigated.

Fragility forces founders to confront hard truths and focus on what matters most. Momentum provides energy but must be managed with reflection. And reinvestment, though risky, creates the conditions for transformation.

The journey of entrepreneurship isn’t about avoiding failure — it’s about learning from it, adapting and taking intentional risks. At Bread, we approach each founder and portfolio company with this mindset, not to shield them from these forces but to help them navigate them successfully.

Fragility, momentum and reinvestment are constants. But when embraced, they’re not just forces to endure — they’re the foundation of what makes startups thrive.

Intellectual Insider

+ posts

Business

A Multitasking App That Builds Your Websites and Runs Your Business for Less Than $400

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

Depending on its complexity, designing a small-business website can cost several thousand dollars. If you’re an entrepreneur in need of creating a website and those figures don’t fit in your budget, let Sellful White Label Website Build and Software help. This white-label website builder and software is on sale for just $399 for a lifetime ERP Agency Plan.

Create a website for a fraction of the average cost

Whether you’re looking to build a simple website or hoping to automate your business, you can set it up in just a few clicks. Websites, landing pages, funnels, and more are all generated automatically with the power of AI. Need to sell physical or digital products? It’s ready to accommodate that for your business as well.

Aside from getting your sites up and running, Sellful also takes on other tasks that would typically cost extra. Let this handy all-in-one app help you interact with customers, tackling marketing by sending out newsletters or interacting with them via an AI assistant and chatbot ready to help them with features on your website.

Need some help internally? No problem. Sellful can help you manage your workforce by tackling employee recruitment, payroll, and leave requests as well. It also serves as an employee, helping businesses track appointments or bookings with a built-in scheduler that customers can use on the site if needed.

Soulful emphasizes efficiency and scalability, so it’s ready to help you take your tiny business to the next level. You don’t have to worry about Sellful growing with you — it provides 100GB of file storage and 50,000 free email sends.

From starting up sites to helping run your business, let Sellful be your right-hand man. It’s just $399 here for a limited time (reg. $23,940).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Intellectual Insider

+ posts

Business

6 Powerful Insights to Reveal Your Customers’ Deepest Desires

1741960242 effectiveleadgeneration 0325 g 2196235588

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

We live in a world where so much of our success is determined by superficial things. Whether it’s the car you drive, the house you own or the places you holiday in, there is a belief that what you have to show for yourself indicates your level of worth.

After years of working in the marketing industry, I’d argue that this is far from the case when it comes to business. Sure, how many social media followers, views or likes you have makes a difference – but they are also vanity metrics. What really generates impact is how well your business meets its consumer’s needs.

The secret to lead generation is knowing what your customers really want, getting the right people engaged and nurturing those relationships to make them last. Let’s explore the question of “how?”

Table of Contents

1. Get to know your audience

Knowing what your target audience really wants is the only way to connect with them in a way that will engage them and keep them coming back for more.

2. Capture demand

So many businesses put products out onto the market that flop before they’ve even had a chance to get going. Why? Because there was never a demand for them in the first place.

Examine data and gather information on your target audience to identify their needs and consumption patterns. Research and analysis are the only way to truly understand what your consumers are looking for. Keep up with market trends, use social listening tools and conduct surveys and case studies to capture demand early and save precious time and money.

If you’re an established business, you should review your existing marketing to see what is and isn’t working. Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Ads and social media insights to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing. Part of this process also includes analyzing your competitors.

3. Develop a buyer persona

The best way to fail at your marketing strategy is to create content that you like. You are not the target audience. The aim is to determine what your customers want and need from you.

The other thing to keep in mind is that your intention shouldn’t be to please everyone – it is better to have 100 dedicated clients than 10,000 who are slightly interested. This is where it’s crucial to be able to define your ideal customer. Who do you sell to? What are you offering that targets their pain points and solves their problem?

Creating a customer persona can mean drawing a picture of them, giving them a name, and writing down everything about them. From their age to their income, daily routine, and how many pets they have. Write down every single detail you can think of. This will help shape the image of your ideal customer so you know who your product or service is speaking to.

4. Build a list of SEO keywords and popular search topics

You want to know what people are most likely to search for when they’re looking for things related to your industry. With the developments in SEO constantly growing, it is easier than ever to gather this wealth of information. Here are some useful free and subscription-based resources:

5. Create awareness

Once you know what keywords and search terms people will most likely enter into their search engine, you can flood your content with them to gain traction and visibility. People want to know what your brand is all about, so you must create content that people want to see.

One of the best ways to do this is to get recording. Whether you have the best video camera on the market or you’ve set up your iPhone on a tripod, it doesn’t actually matter much. What does matter is that you’re presenting your audience with what they want to see and hear.

Starting with video gives you a goldmine of content opportunities to make from it. What may start as a full-length video piece can then be cut up into 5-10 short-form videos for various social media platforms, used for social media posts, translated into blogs, and even used for ad copy.

Content is everything when it comes to creating awareness; being resourceful with what you create will free up your time for other important tasks.

6. Protect those leads

If you don’t nurture your leads and follow them through, or you fail to remain in the minds of potential or new customers, your success will begin to fall off.

The smartest way to manage leads is to keep the communication flowing. While you don’t want to bombard or nag at consumers, you do want them to know their value and that you haven’t forgotten about them.

Knowing where your leads are coming from is a great way to tailor content and messaging to them directly. Research and analysis also come in handy again here – review your ad campaigns, social media insights, website analytics and anything else you use to generate leads.

A Customer Relationship Management Tool (CRM) is one of the best ways to track all your marketing efforts in one place and nurture your leads. Engaging with your customers and using remarketing techniques like email campaigns are also highly effective ways to do just that.

Lead generation is not an overnight job. It takes time, research, consistency and a willingness to measure efforts regularly. Understanding your audience, creating a buzz around your product or service and putting in the work to keep people engaged are the surest ways to foster sustainable business-to-customer (B2C) relationships for the life of your business.