EAST AMHERST, N.Y. — An East Amherst small business owner is turning heads with her puzzles. She just won the FedEx Small Business Grant.
When Akruit Babaria was looking for resources to show her son his South Asian roots and couldn't find anything to 'accurately' represent their culture, she decided to do something about it.
Kulture Khazana is the name of her business and she started about four years ago. The business helps give school-age kids educational material and activities, like puzzles, that promote Indian heritage.
She applied for the FedEx Small Business Grant for the past two years in a row, but had no luck. Until this year, she said rather than thinking about what would look good on an application, she decided to be honest and very truthful.
And that's what she says made a difference.
"And all of a sudden they asked me, 'Are you seated on a chair?' And I said, yeah. And they go, 'Ok, just hold on to it.' And I said, 'OK.' And they go,' You just won $50,000 and you are one of our grand prize winners.' And I just started bawling. My husband was in the house, he came running. My mom was in the house, she came running and we just cried tears of joy because the number of times I heard this was such a niche business, I can't even count anymore. But I stuck to my gun, that no it might be niche, but I know there is a need for it," Babaria said.
She was one of the grand prize winners. There were 18,000 applicants. The most number of applications FedEx has ever received.
Her advice to anyone entering the contest next year.
“Just be very truthful and honest. And know exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing,” Babaria said.
Babaria just launched her Kulture Khazana products on the Nordstrom and Target websites.
If you would like to introduce Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, to your classroom, she is now working on Holi kits.
To learn more about her business or place an order, you can head to her website.