It was 3AM when Tanvi Pathania’s father quietly clicked the photo. She stood amid a chaotic room stacked high with packages waiting to ship, no warehouse, no team, no blueprint, just her laptop, phone, and a stubborn vision.
That photo, taken in 2021, now marks the humble beginning of what has grown into two successful, self-funded direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands: Frenesi Fashion and Tawi Jewels, serving over 50,000 customers across India.
A Room. A Vision. No Plan.
In the photo, Pathania is visibly exhausted yet focused, tapping away at her phone as cartons line the walls of her bedroom-turned-warehouse. “At that point, I didn’t have a warehouse, a team, or even a proper plan,” she recalled. “Just a decision to show up and build every single day.”
Armed with little more than her creative instincts and an Instagram account, she began selling her designs online. Orders soon overwhelmed the room she worked from. “I was using Instagram like a crazyhead,” she said with a laugh, reflecting on countless sleepless nights spent fulfilling orders herself.
Tanvi Pathania: Building Frenesi Fashion and Tawi Jewels Without a Safety Net
Over the next four years, Pathania turned her scrappy operation into a robust D2C business, all without external funding or a co-founder. Frenesi Fashion and Tawi Jewels now boast:
50,000+ customers nationwide
1 million+ email and WhatsApp subscribers
130,000+ organic social media followers
50+ SKUs, managed under a lean, tech-enabled model
Shopify storefronts integrated with Magic Checkout, Razorpay, and Google Shopping
Automated CRM through Klaviyo & WhatsApp
ROAS of 6-8x on Meta & Google ad campaigns
Internal control over vendor operations, inventory, logistics, and customer service
Her brands now operate with clockwork precision, relying on data-driven systems she and her team developed along the way.
The Next Chapter
But Pathania says she’s reached a pivotal point, a moment not just of growth but of evolution.
“I’ve built all this without outsourcing the core. I know what it takes to create demand and deliver at scale while protecting brand integrity. But now, I need to build smarter, not just harder,” she said.
Her next goal? Learning how to transition from being the founder who does everything to creating a sustainable, scalable ecosystem. She’s actively seeking mentorship from seasoned D2C operators, those who’ve mastered the delicate balance between holding on and delegating, building high-performing teams, and scaling backend systems.
“I don’t need motivation. I’m not lost,” she said candidly. “I know what I’ve built. But I also know what I don’t know yet.”
Lessons for Aspiring Founders
Her journey underscores a powerful message for aspiring entrepreneurs: perfection isn’t a prerequisite. Grit, consistency, and a willingness to learn can carry you far, even from a room full of boxes at 3AM.
Pathania’s openness about her learning curve and her quest for guidance also offers a refreshing counterpoint to the all-too-common ‘lone genius’ myth in entrepreneurship.
“The foundation is strong,” she concluded, hinting at what’s next. “And the next chapter deserves to be built smarter.”
As she puts it, the story that began with a candid photo taken by her father of a young woman working against the odds, is far from over. And this time, she hopes, she won’t have to build it alone.
