### Preeti Juneja: From DreamWeb to House of Sodesii, Championing India’s Handloom Heritage
An exclusive interview with Preeti Juneja, Founder and Curator at House of Sodesii, on entrepreneurship, personal branding, women-led communities and the revival of India’s handloom heritage.
### Q1. Your career runs from PR at National Geographic to digital branding, founding DreamWeb India and now building a handloom brand. What is the common thread, and what did each chapter teach you?
Preeti Juneja: I began my career in public relations, which gave me the opportunity to work with leading consumer and entertainment brands, including National Geographic Channel.
An exclusive interview with Preeti Juneja, Founder and Curator at House of Sodesii, on entrepreneurship, personal branding, women-led communities and the revival of India’s handloom heritage.
### Q1. Your career runs from PR at National Geographic to digital branding, founding DreamWeb India and now building a handloom brand. What is the common thread, and what did each chapter teach you?
Preeti Juneja: I began my career in public relations, which gave me the opportunity to work with leading consumer and entertainment brands, including National Geographic Channel.
The common thread across my work has been building brands through targeted messaging, meaningful storytelling and the right platforms. I believe inspiration is key. A powerful story, unexpected innovation or new perspective can become a creative idea and evolve into a strong brand narrative.
With the right use of marketing technology, brands can move beyond communication to create demand, discover new audiences and explore new markets. For me, that is where communication, creativity, technology and purpose come together.
### Q2. As a personal branding strategist, what separates a founder brand that earns lasting trust from one that only chases visibility?
Preeti Juneja: Lasting trust is not built overnight. It requires time, consistency and repeated proof of value.
Today's market is highly competitive, and having a good product or service is no longer enough. Businesses need a strong marketing strategy, while founders must also build visibility and credibility.
Founder-led branding helps humanise a business and build trust with customers, partners and communities. Podcasts, vlogs and behind-the-scenes content allow people to understand the person, thought process and journey behind a brand.
Personal branding becomes powerful when built with clarity, consistency and authenticity. People may discover a brand through marketing, but relationships are often built through the people and stories behind it.
### Q3. You believe every handloom tells a story. What pulled you toward handloom, and how do you make traditional craft relevant to modern buyers?
Preeti Juneja: A handloom saree can take months to make. Behind every saree is a weaver who may have spent decades mastering the craft and carrying forward traditions passed down through generations.
When we stop buying handloom, we do more than stop purchasing a saree. If demand declines, some beautiful weaving traditions may eventually disappear. I want to take this story to every modern Indian woman.
Advocating for sarees, curating traditional handloom and bringing sarees directly from weavers and their places of origin are central to House of Sodesii.
Many women love sarees but feel uncertain about what to buy, how to identify a weave, how to style it or whether a saree is worth investing in. Through House of Sodesii, I want to provide the information and confidence women need to make informed choices.
The brand was born from my love for sarees and fascination with India's traditional weaves. It is my passion project, bringing together respect for artisans and a belief that heritage survives when we choose to wear it, celebrate it and pass it on.
### Q4. After building brands for startups and corporates, what is the biggest lesson you have brought into your own venture?
Preeti Juneja: As an entrepreneur, I wear many hats. Running a business is not just about marketing. Taking risks, experimenting, starting from scratch and handling unexpected tasks have taught me important life lessons.
The biggest lesson is simple: every person who comes into your life is your teacher. Every day, I choose to be a student, not a boss.
A learning mindset keeps you open to new ideas and perspectives. You listen, adapt, adopt and keep moving.
Entrepreneurship has also taught me that time is our most limited resource. I consciously plan my day around four areas: planning, execution, networking and research.
### Q5. You are active in communities such as Ladies Who Lead and WICCI. How have community and giving back shaped your leadership?
Preeti Juneja: I have always believed in women networking for business and personal branding. Its value goes beyond exchanging business cards or making professional connections.
Shared goals, collaboration, motivational conversations, inspirational stories and enduring friendships are all part of these communities.
During my association with WICCI, we had a campaign called “She Means Business.” These words represented ambition, independence, collaboration and resilience, along with the idea that women can create opportunities for themselves and one another.
For me, women networking is not simply about building a professional network. It is about creating a community where women can learn, grow, collaborate and lift each other as they rise.
### Q6. What advice would you give women who want to start a business or build a personal brand? Where do you see House of Sodesii in the next five years?
Preeti Juneja: Business is a lifelong commitment. Think carefully before taking the plunge. Understand the risks, uncertainty, long hours and responsibility. Once you make the decision, commit to it wholeheartedly.
Personal branding is essential in today's business environment. Read about it, understand what works for you and start small. You do not need everything figured out from day one. What matters is clarity, authenticity and consistency.
House of Sodesii is more than a business for me. It is a movement—a growing saree culture with a larger purpose of reviving and celebrating handloom.
We are building an online community bonded by a love for sarees while taking Indian textiles to a wider global audience through digital storytelling and advocacy.
Our vision is to strengthen this ecosystem through a stronger retail presence across Delhi and NCR, exhibitions, trunk shows and pop-ups where people can experience different weaves and discover the stories behind them.
We also hope to work with relevant government bodies and institutions where our goals align, particularly in creating awareness and opportunities for India's handloom ecosystem.
Heritage survives not just when we preserve it, but when we make it part of our everyday lives.
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