There was once a time when women were not allowed to work alongside men because they were considered inferior and incapable. Today, the scenario is utterly different. You will find women strong and classy, rejecting men as incompetent! All the professional fields that had previously been considered male domain are now welcoming more women every day and often are being led by women. Gender is no longer the measurement stick ftoone’s potential.
Business has been traditionally considered to be the world of men, especially in India. A woman was frowned upon for even thinking of becoming an entrepreneur and building a company from scratch. You know she was supposed to take care of the kids and the family, business is too much work.
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Today, however, India boasts of many successful women entrepreneurs who have shattered all myths and eliminated all negative notions. They have proved themselves both in the eye of society and in the risky sphere of business. These bold and fearless women deserve to be applauded for their zeal and dedication.
This Women’s Day, let us take a look at some of these wonderful entrepreneurs whose startups went on to become phenomenal successes.
1. FALGUNI NAYAR
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After spending more than 25 years in the finance sector, Falguni Nayyar wanted to do something different. Her passion and creativity gave birth to Nykaa.com which has risen to become the premier beauty and wellness e-commerce platform for women in India now. She graduated from IIM Ahmedabad and is full of entrepreneurial spirit and passion.
After launching Nykaa in 2012, she did not waste time in establishing retail partnerships with companies like Unilever, L’Oreal, Beiersdorf and more. Nykaa is not only growing as a website and app but also as a brand, under her watch.
2. RICHA KAR
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She broke social taboos like a boss when she introduced her online lingerie store named Zivame. Hailing from Jamshedpur, she studied engineering in the prestigious BITS Pilani. Before launching Zivame.com, she worked in the IT industry and acquired her Masters’ degree from Narsee Monji Institute of Management Studies.
Zivame was revolutionary because it was the first website to be launched in the online lingerie space in India. The site has been instrumental in making women comfortable with their intimate wear and not be ashamed.
3. NEERU SHARMA
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When she co-founded one of India’s leading e-commerce portals, Infibeam.com, she made a statement for women across India. Women can do anything. She is the head of corporate and business development for the company and has ensured its growth and expansion in the business world. Before launching Infibeam, she worked with Amazon USA.
Neeru completed her Masters in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon and even holds an engineering degree in Computer Science. Pretty cool right?
4. SABINA CHOPRA
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Once upon a time, traveling meant a whole lot of research. But with travel portals like Yatra.com, holidays have become a delight to plan. Thank Sabina Chopra who co-founded Yatra at a time when online travel commerce was in a nascent stage. Who knew that this startup would grow to become one of the best portals in this area?
Sabina was previously the head of the India operations of eBookers, and she has also been a part of airline companies like Japan Airlines. Now she is the head of operations and sales at Yatra, and boy is she rocking it!
5. MIRA KULKARNI
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Coming up with a luxury beauty line and gaining unimaginable success in a market like India is not easy work, but Mira Kulkarni was prepared to succeed nonetheless. She founded Forest Essentials, which is now regarded as the luxury brand which made the age-old magic of Ayurveda popular again.
After graduating in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Kulkarni started dabbling in Ayurveda. She realized that the market seriously lacked authentic Ayurvedic beauty products and wanted to change this state of affairs.
Forest Essentials became a global brand after its association with Estée Lauder in 2008 and has been growing ever since.
Feeling inspired yet?
Happy Women’s Day
