It was the era of the e-commerce boom in India when Jia, with no formal training, no background in e-commerce, very little investment, and an innate love for handicrafts and handloom products, decided to dive into the online segment with iTokri in 2010. Daughter of a firebrand social activist from Bihar, she inherited her father's spirit. She was only 21 when she started iTokri with Nitin. Over the decade, Jia has built iTokri on the foundation of transparency, authenticity, love, and commitment. From the team to the artisans, everyone shares a strong connection with Jia. Interestingly, she remembers the name of all her 200+ team members. For Jia, iTokri is not a place where people come to seek employment - it is a place where the torch of gender equality and women empowerment shine the brightest. She continuously encourages her team to be independent and helps them chart out a career. Some of her team members have been with her for over a decade. Apart from being a total hands-on operations person, Jia brought her unique touch to iTokri with personalized handwritten notes for her customers that go with every order along with a personalized gift. This gesture has won the heart of millions of iTokri customers and followers from across the globe.

An alumnus of Delhi University in Hindi literature, Nitin was deeply inspired by Ramashankar Yadav, also known as Vidrohi, an Indian poet and social activist who tried to sensitize society against gender discrimination and economic inequality through his poems. Vidrohi ji had a profound impact on Nitin. He went on to direct an award-winning documentary Mai tumhara kavi hun, based on the life and poetry of his mentor. However, his stint with filmmaking was short-lived as love life took precedence. Back in his hometown Gwalior, Nitin along with his wife Jia, started iTokri in 2010 - a sustainable lifestyle brand that represents the Indian handicrafts and handloom industry and connects customers and artisans on one platform. Nitin modelled iTokri on the lines of his mentors’ vision of India. iTokri today has a team strength of 95% women, who come from the economically backward strata of the society. Today, Itokri caters to a discerning domestic and global audience who are enthusiastic about Indian handicrafts and handloom. Nitin’s has been working silently to save the highly fragmented handicrafts and handloom industry from diminishing under the pressure of fast fashion. He has built a community of artisans from across India and given them their due credit by selling their products under their name on the platform. He is consistently trying to bring a change in the non-standardized processes of the crafts business.