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How a 9-to-5 Employee Is Building a Kundan Jewelry Brand One Weekend at a Time
Mahima Daga, founder of Rajshaan, talks about building a handcrafted kundan and fusion jewelry brand alongside a full-time tech sales job. From a Diwali conversation with her dad to her first sale at a stranger's wedding, this is a story about starting messy and staying consistent.
Most people talk about starting a business someday. Mahima Daga just started, in the gaps between a full-time tech sales job and everything else life throws at you.
She is the founder of Rajshaan, a handcrafted kundan and fusion jewelry brand that has quietly been building a following, one styled customer at a time. What makes her story stand out is not a dramatic pivot or a big funding round. It is the grind of an hour before office, an hour after, and every single weekend handed over to packaging orders and shooting content that sometimes takes 20 takes to get right.
Rajshaan is not even a year old yet. It started with a conversation with her dad during Diwali, turned into two months of quiet research, survived a rough start to the year, and is now selling pieces to strangers at weddings and building out a men's jewelry line. Mahima is still holding down her day job, but the goal is clear: turn Rajshaan into her full-time reality.
We sat down with her to talk about why jewelry, how she balances two full-time commitments, and what it actually takes to turn a side hustle into something people trust enough to buy from.
Key Takeaways: Building a Brand on Borrowed Hours
The Origin Story:
- Rajshaan was born from a Diwali visit home in October or November last year, when Mahima's dad suggested she try something in jewelry
- The name is a combination of her mother and her grandfather, and the brand exists partly to give back to a mother who once gave up her own jewelry to fund her children's education
- She spent two months researching with a relative already in the jewelry business before putting anything out into the world
The Grind Behind the Grid:
- One hour before her 9 to 5 and one hour after go entirely to Rajshaan, with weekends fully dedicated to the brand
- A single video can take 15 to 20 takes before it is ready to post
- Every order goes through a personal video call with Mahima that can run three to four hours, because for her it is about trust, not just closing a sale
What Fusion Jewelry Actually Means:
- Fusion or fashion jewelry is designed to move between the office, a cafe, and a wedding without looking out of place
- Her first sale to a stranger was at a friend's wedding, to a man in a traditional South Indian outfit who wanted to stand out
- Men's jewelry is now a category she is actively building out
Q: For everyone meeting you for the first time, can you tell us a little about yourself and what Rajshaan is all about?
Mahima Daga: I am Mahima and by profession, I do have a 9 to 5 job as well in tech sales. On the sideline, I am building this little baby of mine, Rajshaan. It is a jewelry brand that builds handcrafted kundan jewelry and fusion jewelry. I am building this up so that it takes over my 9 to 5 and I become a full-fledged entrepreneur. That is the dream I have.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Most people wait for permission to call themselves a founder. Mahima is building the proof first and the title will follow.
Q: Tell us a bit about the journey. When did Rajshaan actually become a thought and then a reality?
Mahima Daga: It started last year, probably in October or November, when I visited my hometown. I stay in Bangalore, and I went to my hometown for Diwali. I was having a conversation with my dad, and he just seeded the thought in me: why do not you try something in the jewelry sector? I called him the brain to my brand. I was worried everyone is doing everything, but he told me that running alone is different from running when you see people, which gets you excited and motivated. He connected me to a relative who was already in this segment, and he provided guidance and support. For the next two months, I was in touch with him doing research. I knew things were not perfect, but I wanted to put it out there and figure it out on the journey. I started last year, and although the beginning of this year was tough due to personal reasons, we are back on track.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Two months of research before launch is not slow, it is smart. Most first-time founders skip this step and pay for it later with returns and refunds.
Q: Why jewelry, and why nothing else?
Mahima Daga: There is a personal story to it. My mom is a jewelry fanatic. The name Rajshaan comes from the combination of my mother and my grandfather. My mother always had a dream to build something of her own. We faced challenges when I was young, and my mother had to give up some of her jewelry for our education. That memory inspired me to build a jewelry brand so I could give back to her. It keeps me going when the road gets tough.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: The strongest brand names are not thought up in a boardroom, they come from family. Rajshaan is not a category play, it is a debt Mahima is choosing to repay.
Q: How do you manage your time between a 9 to 5 and the brand?
Mahima Daga: I start my day early. Before I go to the office, I dedicate one hour to making content and managing orders. After I come back, I do the same. Weekends are the working days for Rajshaan.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Two hours a day and a sacrificed weekend is the real starting capital for most first-time founders, not a term sheet.
Q: When did the first sale happen to someone you did not know?
Mahima Daga: My first sale was not to friends or family. Last December, I attended a friend's wedding and carried my jewelry with me. The first sale was to a man who was wearing a traditional South Indian outfit. He wanted to stand out, and he loved one of my green jewelry pieces. I styled him, and he looked like a model. It required a lot of confidence, and it was my first customer.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Her first customer was not from an Instagram ad, he was from a wedding she happened to carry her products to. Distribution starts wherever you show up prepared.
Q: What are your thoughts on men wearing jewelry?
Mahima Daga: It is all about confidence. Nowadays, men are starting to groom themselves, and jewelry can really add to an outfit. We actually have some men's jewelry collections coming up next.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: A first sale to a man styling himself out at a wedding was not a fluke, it was market research. Rajshaan is turning it into an actual product line.
Q: What goes on behind the scenes that people do not see?
Mahima Daga: Beyond just the jewelry posts, there is a lot of work involved in coming up with ideas, tracking orders, responding to customers, performing quality checks, and packaging. I do this after my 9 to 5, with help from my family. Even if people think I just stand in front of the camera and dance, it often takes 15 to 20 takes for one video.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: The 15 to 20 takes people never see are the actual job. The video is just the receipt.
Q: What is the most time-consuming part of your process?
Mahima Daga: I personally handle every customer. Even if they place an order, I try to build trust by having a video call with them to show the product and help them select the best choice. It can take three or four hours, but I want to know who is buying my jewelry. It is more about trust for me than just selling.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Three to four hours per customer does not scale, but trust built this way rarely comes back as a return request. That is a fair trade for a brand this young.
Q: What is fusion jewelry, and how is it different?
Mahima Daga: I call it fashion or fusion jewelry. It is a piece you can wear to the office, to a cafe, or to a wedding. You do not have to wait for a special occasion; you make the occasion yourself.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Traditional jewelry waits for a wedding. Fusion jewelry does not wait for anything.
Q: What has been the most difficult part of running the brand?
Mahima Daga: There have been days without sales, and some customers ask for heavy discounts or worry about scams. I explain that our pieces are handcrafted and high quality. It is tough to turn a lead into a customer, but I put in extra effort to show the product via video call to build that necessary trust.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Every D2C founder selling online has heard the word "scam" from a hesitant buyer. The ones who survive are the ones willing to get on a call and prove otherwise.
Q: How do you plan to grow?
Mahima Daga: Right now, it is a one-woman show, but I plan to automate processes. I want to have an offline store where people can try the jewelry themselves, as many have asked for that. My website will also be up soon.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: Customers asking for a physical store to try things on is the clearest demand signal a founder can get. Mahima does not need a survey, she has requests.
Q: What advice would you give to a young girl wanting to start her own jewelry label?
Mahima Daga: Just start. Do not wait for things to be perfect, because nothing is. You need to be consistent, have a positive mindset, and stay focused on your vision.
🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: "Just start" sounds simple until you are the one doing it with a full-time job, no funding, and a camera that needs 20 takes to get one video right.
Final Thoughts: The Brand Built in the Margins
Mahima's closing perspective: "Just start. Do not wait for things to be perfect, because nothing is."
The bottom line: Rajshaan is still a one-woman operation running on borrowed hours, but the fundamentals are already in place. Mahima has found product-market fit through direct, unscalable trust-building, video calls, hand-selected pieces, personal styling, and she is now watching that trust turn into repeat categories like men's jewelry.
The road ahead is clear even if it is not easy. An offline store, a live website, and some level of automation are the next milestones, all funded by the same one hour before work and one hour after that got Rajshaan this far.
For anyone building something on the side while holding down a day job, Mahima's story is a reminder that momentum does not require quitting your job first. It requires showing up at the wedding with your product in hand, taking the 20th take when the first 19 were not right, and being willing to get on a call for three hours if that is what it takes to earn a customer's trust.
Q: How can people connect with you and learn more about Rajshaan?
Mahima Daga: [Guest's response about where to find her - Instagram, website, or other social handles. To be filled in manually.]
Final words: Rajshaan did not start with a business plan. It started with a father's suggestion during a Diwali visit, a mother's sacrifice that needed honoring, and a willingness to figure things out in public before they were perfect. That combination, of personal stakes and consistent effort, is what turns a side project into a real brand.
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