Meet the companion of furry angels: Petville’s owner, Preeti Agrawal
Though women entrepreneurs have come a long way away from the entrepreneurial landscape which has limited women’s opportunities, they still encounter a lot of resistance when it comes to specific and traditional mindset of the society. Often, their declined social roles accompanied by lack of support and motivation from family have put limitation on their potential. There are few stories of women entrepreneurs in India, who despite long odds against them believed in themselves and their unique ventures and succeeded in rising above social structures and limitations. One such gem, Petville’s Preeti Agrawal chose to be a part of the lovely pet industry serving these furry angels who enters in our lives by walking on paws instead of wings. It was love and care at first sight when Preeti adopted and rescued a cat and a dog, Snowy. Their unconditional love transformed her life in a best possible way. Sharing her childhood memories Preeti told TCM, “When I was a child, I was not allowed to go near cats and dogs because of hygienic reasons. With the curiosity to know them and as time passed by, my brain got stuffed with questions which in turn increased my fondness for them. And now my furry mates are the best friends of my 3 years old son. Every day, they teach me a new way to look around and to love unconditionally. The bond with these companions is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be. The better I get to know them, the better I fall in love with them.”
Why Petville
Raising a pet is just like raising your own child. And it starts with their first paw imprints on the floor! Preeti had no fool proof plan when she set out for this industry; all she wanted was to do something for the four legged furry pals. Wagging tails, snuffs and barks were the motivation behind incorporating Petville. When she brought them home, she was not aware with proper pet care and pet foods. She would come unsatisfied after visiting every pet shop and very often was guided in the wrong direction. With time Preeti realized how important it is to educate pet parents about the pros and cons, about the do’s and don’ts. For the well being of these furry family members, Preeti framed Petville in 2011 for not only guiding the pet owners to do things which are right for their pets but also promote pet adoption. Petville store is always filled with snuffs and grunts, wagging tails and wet noses. Petville Pet Store understands its clients and their pets and helps them chose the best products and shares the best practice. Pet Store which not only sells the right stuff but also helps in answering various pet related questions that one may have after a pet comes in their lives and soon after Petville happened. Petville aims on quality and we believe that quality is the backbone of any business. The store has world class pet products under the domain of pet food, accessories and supplements.
“It seemed as a very big risk at the initial stage but it proved to be the best decision I have ever made. Overcoming my fear of failure was my accomplishment.”- Preeti Agrawal
Hurdles like incorrigible and unethical competition hit her on face at first and she felt like it’s all over, but she didn’t give up. There are many challenges to women in Leadership. Many of the challenges come from other people. The biggest challenge comes from women themselves. Women need to have confidence in themselves and their ability to do anything anyone can do, not just men. As they say business is all about taking risks, Preeti got up from scratch and worked her way out. There is no time to sulk; you have to be prepared for the next. Taking continuous feedback from the customers and employees really worked out for Petville. And everything just fell into places. She dedicates her hard work and motivation to her parents for instilling morals and values, her family, her team, the animal welfare activists who are working round the clock taking care of animals in distress and all those people who are taking care of the strays in their society feeding them, vaccinating them without expecting anything in return, and they all are nothing but heroes. Preeti has laid the future stones for Petville on these outlined pillars:
- Never stop learning, one must keep learning. Constant improvement is the only way to stay competitive.
- Dive deep into what you work for, and keep your eyes open.
- Unity is strength; you need to have a great team to succeed, people who work for you, the manufacturers, partners, vendors, etc. All play an important role in shaping your future.
- Customer is king – understand their needs, offer them the best products in the market and take necessary feedback and improvise.
- Never compromise on quality – We always work with the best manufacturers, use pet friendly material. We don’t keep any product that is not fit for their skin or cause any kind of harm to them
- Organize events – We are the only pet store in Pune who keeps organizing events for Pet Parents and give them a platform to interact with each other and spend gala time with their pets
For Preeti, success means the accomplishment of the aim or purpose and her purpose is to make this world a better place for the furry babies, in terms of food and standard of living. “Society needs to start accepting women as capable of accomplishing anything. Success should not be dependent on what gender you are. We are working on the ways, we need to reach out to more and more people and convey our message that pets are people too, give them the life they deserve. Our society comprises of the strays too, take ownership of them. As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated’.” Preeti is a perfect combination of balancing out home life and work life, keeping a positive attitude and explore all avenues.
Petville assists NGOs with stray adoption. Any business is not good enough if it doesn’t give back to the society, So Petville’s goal is to reach more and more people across India, and do the best possible for the betterment of animals, be it getting a niche product or spreading knowledge all across, Petville is not leaving any stone unturned. Petville also plans to be more visible on the online segment and this time we will have something in store for pet owners too! Preeti supports pet adoption. She further quotes, “I truly believe that a stray dog/cat is nothing less than any pedigree dog/cat. Stray dogs/animals are not less worth just because they are stray dogs/cats. They do deserve love and care.”
