At its first look, Hometown looks like a Pakistani online store of handmade shoes. But if you dig deeper, you'll find out it is way more than that.
Hometown is more of a philosophy than a company or online store or product. We are not just building a startup but a story where every character is proud of her engagement.
As a social enterprise, we are dedicated not only to generate resources in form of capital but a fundamental commitment to 'roll up our sleeves' and help the handicraft industry to bring the glory again.
Back in 2005 there were around 20 small units and factories making handmade leather sole shoes in Lahore, in now after 7 year there are just four.
It is just a one short story, now think of over 1 million craftsmen around Pakistan who're making nearly 100 kinds of products with their hands. I also would like to mention that Pakistani handicrafts are worldwide famous for their uniqueness, assortment and quality.
Last month we met with Mr Sarwar a craftsman who makes exceptional quality leather products. In the discussion he talked how China is capturing Pakistani market at large by selling cheap stuff, and business like him is fighting hard to stay alive.
In addition to that, it is very challenging to find right labor for handicrafts making, most of the skilled craftsmen have been died and no one ever bothered to train young minds properly to save this industry.
The realization of making Hometown came first when we met with M. Hussain who told us the same story about his shoe business. His story with Hometown has been featured and awarded by PITB and Google.Inc, recently.
I clearly want to tell our customers, friends that Hometown is not another flash sale site. It never'll be no matter how much we grow. We don't just partner with our craftsmen, we help them make better products and profit with us. It includes help in customer services, pricing, shipping, buying quality leather, imagery and other operational activities etc.
We believe that if we take smaller share, it'll connect us with more awesome artists within Pakistan and beyond. And eventually, we'll build a Not Just For Profit Business. At the moment, we are also working to provide medical, insurance, training and resources to our craftsmen to institutionalization this industry.
In the very early days, one of our mentors suggested us to list all the available shoes in market and sell them off quickly. Make money in short period and all. But on our hands, we totally believed that our idea has legs, and by combining it with technology and passion we can bringing it to next level.
We are focusing on long term impact and growth which will help everyone at large. The goal is to create job opportunities, bring back the craftsmanship with support from technology.
As a part of Hometown, I deeply appreciate that you choose to shop and stay with us over many others out there. We're trying our best to stand by our dreams and goals. Please do write us what you think, any way you can help us or connect us with a group of craftsmen which might be good idea for both parties.
Help us in spreading words, come to encourage us, write to us if you know any artists, support us building a system in which our craftsmen and small business owner can ship smarter, healthier and best of their lives. I am so much pleased that so far things are going very good.
Hometown is more of a philosophy than a company or online store or product. We are not just building a startup but a story where every character is proud of her engagement.
As a social enterprise, we are dedicated not only to generate resources in form of capital but a fundamental commitment to 'roll up our sleeves' and help the handicraft industry to bring the glory again.
Back in 2005 there were around 20 small units and factories making handmade leather sole shoes in Lahore, in now after 7 year there are just four.
It is just a one short story, now think of over 1 million craftsmen around Pakistan who're making nearly 100 kinds of products with their hands. I also would like to mention that Pakistani handicrafts are worldwide famous for their uniqueness, assortment and quality.
Last month we met with Mr Sarwar a craftsman who makes exceptional quality leather products. In the discussion he talked how China is capturing Pakistani market at large by selling cheap stuff, and business like him is fighting hard to stay alive.
In addition to that, it is very challenging to find right labor for handicrafts making, most of the skilled craftsmen have been died and no one ever bothered to train young minds properly to save this industry.
The realization of making Hometown came first when we met with M. Hussain who told us the same story about his shoe business. His story with Hometown has been featured and awarded by PITB and Google.Inc, recently.
I clearly want to tell our customers, friends that Hometown is not another flash sale site. It never'll be no matter how much we grow. We don't just partner with our craftsmen, we help them make better products and profit with us. It includes help in customer services, pricing, shipping, buying quality leather, imagery and other operational activities etc.
We believe that if we take smaller share, it'll connect us with more awesome artists within Pakistan and beyond. And eventually, we'll build a Not Just For Profit Business. At the moment, we are also working to provide medical, insurance, training and resources to our craftsmen to institutionalization this industry.
In the very early days, one of our mentors suggested us to list all the available shoes in market and sell them off quickly. Make money in short period and all. But on our hands, we totally believed that our idea has legs, and by combining it with technology and passion we can bringing it to next level.
We are focusing on long term impact and growth which will help everyone at large. The goal is to create job opportunities, bring back the craftsmanship with support from technology.
As a part of Hometown, I deeply appreciate that you choose to shop and stay with us over many others out there. We're trying our best to stand by our dreams and goals. Please do write us what you think, any way you can help us or connect us with a group of craftsmen which might be good idea for both parties.
Help us in spreading words, come to encourage us, write to us if you know any artists, support us building a system in which our craftsmen and small business owner can ship smarter, healthier and best of their lives. I am so much pleased that so far things are going very good.