Floating Canvas Company is a subscription art service that allows individuals and businesses to display and enjoy fresh artwork in their homes and offices for a monthly fee. It also provides vital financial support for up-and-coming artists. Founded by Aagam Mehta, Rahul Singh Yadav and Shakti Swarup Sahu, the business is located in Mumbai but also serves clients in Pune, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Kochi and Goa as well.
Business basics
How did your business get started?
It all started with two simple questions:
Why don’t we see more of art around us? Why is it perceived as a niche thing meant only for a select few?
It’s a question that led to a lot of research, soul searching and conversations with artists, art enthusiasts, gallery owners as well as the seemingly disinterested. And it led to an exciting revelation:
No one actually hates the idea of experiencing good art.
In fact, most people appreciate the positive effects of being surrounded by it, be it at home or work.
But there were two roadblocks:
- The significant investment involved in buying a piece of art
- The fear of growing out of it in a year or two and then being stuck with it
And that’s how the idea of merging art and subscription came about.
Tell your company story
We launched Floating Canvas Company in December 2017. A fully automated art-on-subscription service, it lets one explore and subscribe to quality art in three easy steps:
- Select what you like from our curated collection of paintings, limited-edition prints, digital art, photographs and mixed-media artworks.
- Subscribe for as little as Rs. 90/month.
- Switch it six months down the line if you feel like exploring something else.
The service is currently available in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Kochi and Goa.
The business vision evolves
Even though we started as a subscription service, over the past two years we have evolved into art partners for individuals, organisations, spaces and events.
We have enhanced our offerings to include retail and merchandise, murals, installations, sculptures, public art projects as well as art-based exhibitions and events.
Also, taking forward the strong working relationship that we have developed with members of the artists’ fraternity, we are also making a foray into artist management.
We consider ourselves fortunate to have had the opportunity of executing projects in the above domains for reputed organisations and brands like:
- Government of Maharashtra
- Lakme Fashion Week
- Johnnie Walker
- Nerolac Paints
- CoWrks
We’ve had some early recognition, including from Maharashtra Startup Week 2018 and an Honourable Mention from AWWWARDS, which “recognizes the talent and effort of the best web designers, developers and agencies in the world.”
What is your business philosophy?
We are in business to make art more accessible. And a big part of it involves building an online platform that’s robust, secure and easy to use.
GoDaddy has been an obvious choice for us since the very beginning.
From helping us narrow down and buy the ideal domain name for our business to getting us a great deal on it, our relationship with GoDaddy has been an extremely satisfying one. And all this happened with utmost ease and great support.
Digital tools
What online tools do you use for your business?
We run our business on G Suite, social media, our website and RazorPay. Together, these tools deliver convenience, security and ease-of-use, thus enabling us to serve our customers better.
G Suite
- Gmail: Mail Manager
- Google Sheets: To maintain progress sheets
- Google Docs: To create brand strategy documents
- Google Analytics: Helps us understand the customer journey and devise strategies according to their behaviour on the website.
Social media
Being an art-based business, most of our outreach and marketing happens through Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Our website, FloatingCanvas.co
Consumers can subscribe to our service through the website. Also, it plays a very vital role in explaining and creating awareness about our services.
Razorpay
Manages our monthly subscription payments.
Advice on starting a business
What would you tell someone who’s just starting an art business?
Do it only if you are passionate about art.
Entrepreneurship is hard and the day-to-day struggles can seem overwhelming at times. But if you are passionate enough and have the right vision in place, you will make it.
Are there any mistakes you made that others should try to avoid?
Try not to do too many things together at the very outset. Focus all your energies on your top priority and then get to the next thing on the list.
What one thing do you wish you’d known before startup?
Vacations are a myth! ?
Thanks for sharing your vision with us, Aagam, Rahul and Shakti — we wish you the very best in your exciting venture. To see what’s new at Floating Canvas Company, stop by their Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook page, or find their website at FloatingCanvas.co.
