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It was 2016. Himan Kulshrestha was a young guy from New Delhi with empty pockets, zero connections, and an idea that made people raise their eyebrows. No investor. No office. No backup plan. Just one stubborn, burning belief that would not let him sleep.
While his friends celebrated job offers, he sat alone — building something the world had never really seen. Not an app. Not a product. Something far more human.
He wanted to help people love better.
A surprise so perfect she forgets how to breathe. A proposal so magical it feels stolen from a dream. A birthday so special, grown men cry.
People laughed. People doubted. He got to work instead.
Then slowly and suddenly — everything changed.
Ten years later, Just 4 You Surprise Planners is India’s most luxurious Surprise Planning company, alive across 12 cities, behind thousands of moments people will carry in their hearts forever.
In this interview, Himan talks about the experiences that shaped his life, his mission, and a decade full of turning points.
Q. Himan, let’s start from the very beginning. Where did the idea of Just 4 You Surprise Planners even come from?
Honestly, it came from a very personal place. I wanted to plan something truly special for someone I cared about and I realised there was simply no one in India doing it the way I imagined it should be done. Everything available was either too ordinary or too generic. I thought — if this gap exists for me, it probably exists for millions of people across the country. That one thought became the seed of everything.
Q. What was the reaction from your family when you told them you wanted to plan surprises for a living?
What you would you expect? My family was worried. They wanted stability for me — a government job, a corporate salary, something they could explain to relatives at family gatherings. ‘Surprise planning’ was not exactly a career anyone had heard of in 2016. There were days I questioned myself too. But somewhere deep down I knew that if I stopped, I would spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been. I was not willing to live with that regret.
Q. Those early days — what were they actually like? Be honest with us.
They were hard, really hard. There was no template to follow, no one to call for advice, no industry body for surprise planners. I was figuring out everything from scratch — vendor relationships, pricing, logistics, client expectations, everything. There were months when the bookings were few and the self-doubt was loud. But every single time a client called me after their setup crying happy tears, or sent me a video of their partner saying yes to a proposal I had designed — every single time that happened, I knew with complete certainty that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Q. Just 4 You is specifically known as a luxury brand. Why luxury? Why not make it more affordable and accessible?
Because luxury is not about being expensive — it is about being exceptional. When someone is celebrating the most important moments of their life — a birthday, proposal and a anniversary — they deserve something that feels as significant as the moment itself. I never wanted to be the brand that delivered average. I wanted every single setup we created to feel like it was built for one person, by one team that genuinely cared. That is what luxury means to me. And that standard, I have refused to compromise on, even on our worst days.
Q. You built this without any external funding. How did you scale from one city to twelve?
One city at a time, one client at a time. We never chased scale for the sake of it. Every new city we entered was because the demand was already there — clients in Mumbai asking if we are operating over there, families in Bengaluru reaching out, couples in Jaipur wanting something no one else in their city was offering. We followed the love, quite literally. The revenue we generated was reinvested back into the business. No shortcuts, no investors, no debt. Just patience, consistency, and an obsession with quality.
Q. Tell us about the Candlelight Dinner segment. You are known as India’s biggest luxury candlelight dinner provider. How did that happen?
It happened because we saw an enormous gap that nobody was addressing seriously. People wanted to create special moments with their partners but the options were limited to restaurant dinners that lacked personalisation or privacy. We started creating fully decorated, bespoke candlelight dinner setups — from intimate terrace arrangements to grand themed cabana experiences with premium floral decor, mood lighting, and customised menus. The response was incredible. Today, luxury candlelight dinners are among our most booked experiences, and we have set up thousands of them across India. I genuinely believe we pioneered this category in the Indian market.
Q. You have planned experience for Digital creators, Celebrities and Athletes. What has that been like?
Honestly, I feel very humble when someone who is celebrated by millions chooses to trust us with their most private moments, that is the greatest validation we could receive. But what I always tell my team is — the same love and attention we give to a celebrity client, we give to a first-time client booking their partner’s birthday surprise. That equality of effort is what defines us. Every client, regardless of who they are, deserves our absolute best.
Q. What has been your biggest mistake in these ten years and what did it teach you?
Early on, I said yes to so many things too fast. I was so eager to grow that I sometimes stretched the team thin and compromised on the quality I had promised. I learnt very quickly that one bad experience spreads far faster than a hundred good ones. That mistake taught me the most important lesson of my entrepreneurial journey — protect your standards fiercely. Growth means nothing if you lose the thing that made people choose you in the first place.
Q. Ten years in — what does this milestone mean to you personally?
It means everything and it means nothing at the same time. Everything — because ten years ago, I was a young person with an idea that most people around me did not believe in. Reaching this point, having built something real and meaningful and lasting, is something I do not take for granted for even a single day. But it means nothing in the sense that I do not feel like stopping. If anything, the first decade has only made me hungrier. We are just getting started.
Q. Finally — what would you say to a 20-year-old reading this who has an idea but is too afraid to begin?
I would say — the fear never fully goes away. Not when you start, not when you grow, not when you succeed. But the people who build something extraordinary are not the ones who had no fear. They are the ones who acted despite it. You do not need a perfect plan, a big budget, or anyone’s permission. You need clarity on the problem you are solving and the courage to take the first step. Everything else — the knowledge, the network, the money — finds you when you are in motion. Stop waiting for the right moment. The right moment is the one you create.
Just 4 You Surprise Planners is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary with an exclusive 10 per cent discount across all celebration packages for a limited period.
Visit www.jusst4you.com or contact +91 8448441055
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