Rajdeep Chatterjee shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Rajdeep, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
Yes, I would definitely hire myself or someone who brings the same qualities. I’ve worked across diverse domains and have redesigned products that were either stagnant or causing real frustration for users. In those situations, I’ve stepped in as the person who goes out, talks to people, understands their pain points, and builds relationships with stakeholders to drive initiatives that actually reduce that frustration—basically, a firefighter.
Along with that, I value being experimental — trying things even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. I’d want to work with someone who isn’t afraid to take calculated risks, learn quickly, and continually improve.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My journey into design started unexpectedly — with a casual conversation in my tuition class. (In India, kids often go to extra classes after school.) A friend told me he wanted to pursue animation. Back in 2008, animated movies had their own craze, and the moment he explained the field, I was fascinated. “You mean people get paid to draw cartoons?” I instantly wanted to be an animator.
As I explored further, I discovered the larger world of design. That curiosity pushed me from animation to graphic design, then into communication design, and eventually I specialized in Interaction Design (UX/UI).
Fast forward to October 2024 — I started Kimko with a vision to build an ecosystem of design products that help both entrepreneurs and designers. Think of it like an Adobe-style suite, but built in a more connected, community-driven way.
First Product: Kimko Stocks
We built Kimko Stocks with a simple idea: to celebrate handcrafted design and highlight the value real designers bring.
In a world overflowing with AI-generated visuals, we’re losing the local touch, cultural nuances, and emotional context that make design truly meaningful.
Kimko Stocks aims to fix that by creating a curated icon and font library built around uniqueness, consistency, and regional identity — assets people can genuinely connect with.
Second Product: Kimko Design (Launching Soon)
Running a small design studio made one thing very clear: the design workflow is broken.
Agency owners bounce between Google Forms for briefs → emails → Figma → and finally WhatsApp for feedback (especially with Indian clients — everything ends up on WhatsApp).
It’s messy and slows down the creative process.
That led to the idea of CAAS — Creative as a Service.
In 2024 alone, over 200 companies went through layoffs, and many designers struggled to find stable opportunities. I wanted to solve both problems:
build a closed marketplace for Indian designers
create a single workspace where clients and designers can collaborate without switching between 10 different tools
Essentially, the mission is to export Indian design talent to the world while giving designers a stable platform to thrive.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My wife has always been my biggest supporter. We’ve been together for more than 10 years, and coming from a small town, she was the one who made me believe that I could spread my wings and ask for bigger things from the universe. Sometimes being a little naïve is actually the best thing — you don’t overthink the challenges, and that gives you the courage to chase what you want without talking yourself out of it.
She saw something in me long before I could. After we got married, she helped me start my business by taking care of everything else so I could fully focus on building it. Even today, she jokes, “Build your business so well that I can join you someday — and then we’ll build something even bigger together.”
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes — more than once.
When I first decided to build my own product, I created a pitch deck and cold-emailed a lot of investors. To my surprise, many actually replied. But most of them felt the idea wouldn’t scale. At that time, everyone was busy investing in AI products — even the ones with barely any real-world value.
Even though our product had AI features, maybe it didn’t match the hype investors were chasing.
So, after running my company as a design studio and doing a part-time job, I reinvested everything I earned to build Kimko Stocks. It took a lot of time, energy, and people to bring it to life. We had a great launch, and things felt amazing… until a month later, our servers were attacked and we were forced to take the website down.
In that moment, I genuinely felt like giving up. As a business owner, you’re already fighting on so many fronts — the last thing you want is an attack on something you’ve poured your heart into. It felt like I was battling alone.
But our team bounced back stronger. We rebuilt our entire backend, added strict security measures, and brought the product back online. That moment reminded me why resilience matters — and why giving up can’t be an option when you believe in what you’re building.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
I admire a lot of people from different fields for their character. One of them is Vikas Khanna, the Michelin-star chef. His journey — leaving for New York, facing countless hardships, and still rising to the top — is incredibly inspiring. His quote that stays with me is: “They tried to bury me, but they didn’t know I was a seed.”
I also admire MS Dhoni, one of India’s most successful cricketers, not just for his achievements but for his calmness, humility, and leadership. He shows what it means to stay grounded even at the highest level.
And interestingly, some of my biggest inspirations also come from fictional characters. For example, Kung Fu Panda’s Po has had a huge impact on me. One line I love is:
“Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that does not make you who you are. It is the rest of it — who you choose to be.”
These people (and characters!) remind me that strength of character, resilience, and humility matter far more than power.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I’m not sure about the exact story people will tell, but I do hope I reach as many people as I can in my lifetime. And I hope they remember me as someone who started with nothing and still managed to build everything that was possible.
In school, most of my teachers didn’t think I would do much in life — except for one science teacher who always said, “He’ll achieve great things… maybe not in science, but he will.” That single belief stayed with me.
If there’s one thing I want people to take away from my story, it’s that sometimes all you need is one person who believes in you. One hope. One dream. And that can be enough to change everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stocks.kimko.design/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rajdeepchatterjee7/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajdeep-chatterjee-08728648/
- Twitter: https://x.com/rajdeepgt
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