“Handlooms were never just a business to me, they were the world I grew up in.

I grew up in Mangalagiri, a handloom town between Vijayawada and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. My parents owned a saree store there, so fabrics, weavers and craftsmanship were part of my life from an early age. A saree may look simple, but behind it are hours of skill and patience. That taught me to value craftsmanship, and the people behind it.

After my MBA, I stepped into the corporate world and learnt how businesses are built. But I wanted something with a deeper connection to who I was, so I came back to handlooms. I didn’t want to return to the family business simply because it was familiar. I wanted to ask: how can we make a traditional craft relevant to the next generation while respecting its heritage? That question became Missamma.

We started with ₹5 lakh from a 3BHK apartment, no established brand, no team, no certainty about where it would lead. We did everything ourselves, selecting products, speaking to customers, packing orders, marketing, solving problems. Those early days taught me that a brand isn’t built by money alone, but by earning trust and delivering consistently. I built this alongside my wife, Alekhya, who shaped our creative and design identity.

As we grew, my definition of success changed too. Decisions began affecting employees, artisans, weavers and their families, so growth stopped being a number and became a responsibility. Every saree represents someone’s skill and livelihood, and I never want us to lose sight of that.

The biggest lesson this journey has taught me is consistency. Not the milestones people see, but the thousands of ordinary days spent showing up, making mistakes and improving. We had no roadmap in the beginning, only an idea and the willingness to work. Today, Missamma operates across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with its headquarters in Hyderabad.

If I had to tell a young entrepreneur one thing, it would be this: don’t confuse uncertainty with failure. Start small, stay close to your customers, and don’t lose your values along the way.”

— Dileep Kumar Goli, CEO, Missamma Handlooms