Female entrepreneurs taking India by storm

Woman jotting notes in notebook on a couch
All started from scratch or with very little support, whether it be finance or experience.

Yet, they've all reached the peak of their career by changing the business landscape of India. Read on to see how these women touched upon lives with their sheer grit, determination and strength of purpose. 

Falguni Nayar – Founder of Nykaa
Falguni Nayar
Founder of Nykaa, a leading e-commerce platform for beauty and wellness products.Source
When it comes to talking about female entrepreneurs in India, it’s hard to miss Falguni Nayar. Born and raised seeing her father running a small business, Ms. Nayar bid adieu to her position as the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital at the age of 50 to start her own business from scratch. That's how a future unicorn was born.

Nykaa revolutionized the beauty and wellness industry in India by providing a comprehensive e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of products from global and domestic brands. Under Falguni's leadership, Nykaa became a household name and a successful business model for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Moment of inspiration
Ms. Nayar was an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus for approx 20 years. She worked as a venture investor and merchant at Kotak Mahindra Group. After running the group’s global operations in the US and UK, she started as the head of the institutional equity division. In 2005 she was appointed as the MD of Kotak Mahindra Capital.

She took the leap of faith and left her job to start an online retailer of beauty products, Nykaa in the year 2012.

She left her ‘ideal’ and ‘secure’ job behind to follow her passion at the age when most people start planning about retirement. She observed the market and found a gap.

Drawing inspiration from real-life success like Ronnie Screwvala of UTV and Ajay Bijli of PVR Cinemas, she built the headquarters of Nykaa in Mumbai – the place she was born and brought up.

Notable success
The story of Ms. Nayar as well as her brand’s growth is phenomenal. The company witnessed a growth of 100% year after year for many consecutive years.

Today, Nykaa is the home for 1000+ beauty and luxury brands. In 2020, Nykaa became the first Indian unicorn that was led by a woman. As of November 2021, the company's net worth was $13 billion.