The sixth rung is a recognised Kasuti brand or craft company at scale: many artisan groups across north Karnataka, national and international sales, perhaps licensing, and a leadership team answerable to a board, lenders or investors. Very few Kasuti businesses are this size, and the craft’s slowness is the reason. This lesson describes what the rung asks, so you can plan for it or decide it is not for you. Volume 2 has a fuller lesson, Rung 6 · A large company: Kasuti at scale, in its Module 9.
What you’ll learn
- What a large Kasuti company could look like.
- Leadership and governance, in plain words.
- Why the supply chain is the artisans, and what that means.
- How to stay true to hand Kasuti at scale.
What this rung looks like
- A national or international brand with Kasuti at its heart: sarees, blouses, stoles, menswear details, home linen and gifts.
- A network of many cooperatives, self-help groups and studios, trained and graded to one standard.
- Several channels: own stores, other retailers, online, export, corporate.
- Licensing: motifs or charts licensed to textile, home or stationery makers, honestly labelled as Kasuti-inspired where they are not hand-worked.
- A training arm: centres or programmes that bring new embroiderers into the craft.
Leadership and governance
Leadership is the team that sets direction: design, artisan relations, production, sales, finance and people. Governance is how that team is held to account: a board, audited accounts, written policies on pay and sourcing, and clear decision rights. In a craft company, a seat at the table for artisan voices is part of good governance.
The supply chain is people
A large Kasuti company does not buy embroidery like a commodity. Its supply chain is the women and men who stitch. Steady orders, fair rates per grade, payment on time, training and credit keep that chain strong. Squeezing it weakens the craft the brand depends on.
True to the craft
The test does not change with size: turn the piece over. A large company protects the clean back, the counted grid and the four stitches, and tells buyers plainly which pieces are hand-worked (Module 8, Is it real? Spotting hand-worked Kasuti).
What success looks like
- Buyers trust the brand’s labels completely.
- More people are learning and earning from Kasuti because the company exists.
- The company runs well without depending on one person.
- Independent checks confirm fair pay and safe work across the network.
- The brand and its designs are protected; the GI is respected.
Skills to add
- Strategy: which markets and products to pursue, and which to refuse.
- Working with a board, lenders and investors.
- Managing a large artisan network, with coordinators in each area.
- Brand protection across countries.
- Impact reporting that is accurate and verifiable.
- Succession planning: who will lead the company, and who will be the next master embroiderers and trainers.
- Listening to the network: regular visits, meetings with group leaders in Kannada, and acting on what you hear.
Money and time, as a method
- Season and year plans: designs, quantities, embroidery hours needed, groups assigned, and dates.
- Hours as the limit: total hand hours available across the network sets how much hand Kasuti can be sold. Plan sales to the hours, not the other way round.
- Capital: from profits, loans or investors, each with duties and conditions.
- Licensing income depends on licensees’ sales and your ability to check their quality and labels.
People and systems
- People: leadership team, area coordinators, trainers, quality checkers, designers, and many artisans.
- Fair pay: published rates per grade; advances; payment records; grievance routes; no child or forced labour.
- Systems: planning, stock and accounts software; spec sheets and approved samples; maker records with consent; quality data from every group.
Marketing and sales
- One consistent brand across stores, online and export.
- Maker stories, told with consent and credit.
- Key accounts: retailers, corporate buyers, importers.
- Licensees chosen for quality and honesty.
- Every claim provable: hand work, region, fair pay.
Questions for your CA, lawyer or the office
- CA and auditors: “What audit, reporting and governance rules apply to us?”
- CA and bankers: “What are our options for raising capital, and what would each mean for control?”
- Lawyer: “What should our licensing agreements and artisan-group contracts contain?”
- Lawyer or the Trade Marks Registry: “How do we protect the brand abroad?”
- KSHDC and the GI Registry: “How should a company of our size use the Kasuti GI?”
Risks and mistakes
- Selling more hand Kasuti than the hands can make, then cutting corners.
- Licensees or partners selling machine work as Kasuti under your name.
- Artisans treated as a cost to cut rather than the heart of the brand.
- Growth for its own sake, with debt or investors who don’t understand the craft.
- Over-claiming impact.
Ready for the next rung?
There is no rung above this one. The milestones now are about staying well:
- The company could lose any one person, buyer or group and carry on.
- Independent checks confirm fair pay across the network.
- The number of trained embroiderers is growing.
- Buyers’ trust in your labels is measured and holding.
The next lesson, Becoming a Kasuti expert, describes a path many founders take alongside the business.
Worked example
A made-up example. A Kasuti company works with many groups across four districts. A large retailer wants a Kasuti range in all its stores. The leadership team counts the hand hours the network can give and finds they cover only part of the request. They offer the retailer a smaller hand-worked range plus a clearly labelled Kasuti-inspired printed range, licensed under strict terms. The board approves, on condition that rates for the groups are agreed first and that every label states the method. The company trains a new batch of embroiderers to meet next year’s demand. A year later, the hand-worked range has sold through, the groups have had steady work for more months than before, and the retailer asks to grow it at the pace the training centre allows.
Check yourself
- Do we plan sales to the hand hours available?
- Is every label truthful about the method?
- Do artisans have a voice in our decisions?
- Are our licensees checked?
- Is the craft growing because we exist?