How An Uncancelled Billboard Near DLF Emporio Cost 'Ekaya Banaras' Founder Rs 40 Lakh

Palak Shah, the founder of luxury textile brand Ekaya Banaras, recently shared an early career mistake where she forgot to cancel a billboard campaign near Delhi's DLF Emporio, ultimately costing her Rs 40 lakh. Notably, Ekaya Banaras is a well-known, fourth-generation luxury Indian textile label specialising in handwoven Banarasi sarees, lehengas, and contemporary fabrics.

Around 2012-2013, when Shah was just 21 years old and launched the brand, she rented a highly expensive billboard near DLF Emporio - Delhi's premier luxury retail destination, solely to generate high brand visibility, despite not even having a retail store there at the time. "Back in the day in 2012 or 2013… the hoarding cost me Rs 13 lakh or Rs 16 lakh for one month," she said. 

After the planned campaign period concluded, she completely forgot to cancel the recurring contract or check up on the billing parameters. "A couple of months later, I think two, three months later, I'm driving to Emporio, and I see my hoarding, and I was like, 'These guys have given it to me for free.' That's amazing. I called up my accountant to check, and he told me, 'You've never stopped it. That mistake, I believe, cost me almost 30-40 lakhs back in the day when the business was still very small, she added. 

Because the marketing campaign continued running unnoticed, it accumulated a massive, unplanned financial bill of Rs 40 lakh. Shah revealed the anecdote on Instagram, explaining how the mistake turned into an invaluable business lesson.

"A masterclass in ''what not to do," the video was captioned.

Watch the video here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Palak Shah (@palakshah)

When she confessed the massive blunder to her father, he didn't scold her. He reassured her calmly instead, using the high-stakes financial loss as a defining entrepreneurial lesson to teach her vigilance, structural discipline, and the importance of tracking company operational overhead tightly.

"Sure enough, I've become a lot more vigilant… Here's hoping I don't make such expensive mistakes again because that cost me a bomb," she said.

Reacting to the video, one user said, "Yes, I agree , lot of mistake we still doing but beauty is to learn from our own mistake"

Another commented, "Fathers like yours make crazy big, beautiful diamonds like you. Getting my first ekaya saree today. Love your courage in sharing your earliest learning. So rare!"

A third wrote, "Palak when I started business I also did lot of mistake which cost me crores loss but my father and Unvle always believed in me and supported and guided me to go ahead and learn .. i can relate what you are telling."