PIRAL, a boutique women’s clothing company, was founded in 2019 by Mehtap Piral to share her passion for style with the market. After beginning with only a $100 investment in inventory and a Shopify ecommerce account, Mehtap quickly discovered she had a keen eye for the styles people were looking for.
However, it also soon became apparent that to grow sales, PIRAL would need funding for inventory and advertising. Unfortunately, traditional lenders and investors didn’t see the company’s full potential and were unwilling to offer favorable terms, so Mehtap funded the business entirely with any income she could spare from her nine-to-five job. Securing funding through Shopify Capital was a turning point for PIRAL, and since taking their initial funding, the brand has:
- Grown from a $100 investment into a seven figure fashion brand
- Doubled revenue in their first subsequent year and tripled it in the next year after securing funding
- Quadrupled employee headcount to meet demand
- Tripled amount of weekly new product drops
- Had the cash available to quickly restock best selling products
The Challenge: Finding capital to meet demand
Like many bootstrapped startups, PIRAL began with a dream and the founder’s audacity to pursue it. “In those early days, I was working out of someone’s basement, which was also my apartment,” Mehtap shares candidly, adding that “my bed served as my desk.” Still, Mehtap continued building her brand by finding the styles customers wanted. “It took six months before I sold anything,” she says, adding, “You have to sell what people are into.” As a testament to her determination and keen fashion sense, demand began to build, but things didn’t get easier.
“I was still working nine to five, then coming home and pouring myself and my excess income into the company. I think I barely slept in our first year,” Mehtap says. During that time, she also spent thousands of dollars of her own money on social media ads. Still, despite growing demand for the latest PIRAL designs and a boost in sales fueled by the growth in online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company lacked capital for inventory. “When you sell out of a product so quickly, the money you invested in social media is wasted,” Mehtap shares. “It became clear that, in order to grow, we needed to sell more of what was selling.”
The net result was that to generate more revenue, PIRAL needed capital. But to find capital, they needed more revenue. After traditional banks refused to help and investors asked for too much in return, Mehtap turned to Shopify for her financing needs.
The Solution: Shopify Capital enables inventory growth
Learning about Shopify Capital was a defining moment for PIRAL. “I believe I first saw it in my Shopify admin, and then someone reached out to us,” Mehtap says. Even before they received funds from their first loan, she knew what they had to do next.
“You have to follow what’s selling best, and it changes every year,” Mehtap says. “Before Shopify Capital, we would post a new product every Monday, and it would sell out quickly.” Therefore, the company’s first move was to secure more inventory.
“With more inventory, we sold more, and with the increased revenues, we increased our ad budget,” Mehtap says. PIRAL doubled down on Instagram and Facebook, the channels that worked for them at the time. Then, the demand created by their ads resulted in even more sales. With ever-increasing revenue from sales, PIRAL was empowered to grow and expand.
The Results: Sales grow to unprecedented new heights
“Before Shopify Capital, we didn’t have the revenue to support more employees. For years, it was just me,” Mehtap shares. “But then everything changed,” she adds, referring to the positive cycle of inventory leading to sales and advertising that enabled PIRAL to hire more employees and dream even bigger.
“The year before we used Shopify Capital, our revenue was $200,000. The next year, it grew to $500,000,” Mehtap says. Finally, PIRAL could fully capitalize on Mehtap’s keen eye for what the market wanted. “And we consistently grew every month, no matter what challenges we had, and in the second year after we started with Shopify Capital, our revenue was in the seven figures,” she adds.
Not only did PIRAL grow in revenue and headcount, the company bet on itself with new product lines. “People have known us as a jeans company: denim tops, pants, jackets, and other products,” Mehtap says, and adds that branching to new types of clothing can be costly. “However, we wanted to get into sweatshirts and were able to get prototypes made thanks to funding through Shopify Capital.” One particular sweatshirt impressed one A-list celebrity enough to post herself wearing it. When the post went viral, leading to a torrent of new demand for the sweatshirt, PIRAL had the funds ready to restock quickly and make the most of the opportunity.
When asked what overall effect Shopify Capital had on PIRAL, Mehtap did not hesitate. “Without Shopify Capital, I would still be working nine to five and struggling to reinvest in the business. The financial partnership we’ve received through Shopify Capital has made all the difference.”
With Shopify Capital, PIRAL saw results fast.
- Grew from a $100 investment into a seven figure fashion brand
- Doubled revenue in their first subsequent year and tripled it in the next year after securing funding
- Quadrupled employee headcount to meet demand
- Tripled amount of weekly new product drops
- Had the cash available to quickly restock best selling products
Shopify Capital helped empower PIRAL to become the brand it is today. We hired new employees, accelerated our weekly product drops, and were able to produce higher quantities of our best selling items without waiting on cash from sales first.
Available in select countries. Offers to apply do not guarantee financing. All financing through Shopify Lending, including Shopify Capital, is issued by WebBank in the United States. Financing through Shopify Capital is either in the form of a merchant cash advance (MCA) or loan depending on location. In the United Kingdom, MCAs are issued by YouLend.
Results provided by PIRAL. Results may vary for every merchant.