Women across India are slowly taking over the start-up ecosystem. Here are seven of them who’ve proved that gender doesn’t play a role in running a company.
Gone are the days when heading a business was just for men. Of late, women across the country (and the world, of course) have been taking the start-up scene by storm. Young, ambitious, driven and successful, here are seven amazingly fearless women entrepreneurs who are totally nailing the Indian start-up ecosystem.
Kanika Tekriwal – JetSetGo
Delhi-based Kanika Tekriwal founded JetSetGo, a private jet & helicopter aggregator, in 2014. She refers to her company, India’s first ever chartered planes marketplace, as the ‘Uber of the Indian skies’. JetSetGo has a large fleet and allows its customers to book private jets or helicopters for any occasion – be it a business trip, a destination wedding, or just catching up with family on friends on a holiday.
Kanika’s surely making waves in the ‘only-boys-allowed’ Indian aviation space!
Sairee Chahal – Sheroes
Sairee, an IMT-Ghaziabad graduate, started Sheroes.in, a community for women, in 2014 to help women across the country find jobs. This job portal is solely dedicated to women seeking jobs – be it part-time, full-time, entrepreneurial opportunities, specific projects or internships. Apart from helping women folk connect with businesses for opportunities, the platform also provides career support programmes and helps with mentorship.
Chahal holds an M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Additional Reading: An Interview With Sairee Chahal – Founder & CEO, SHEROES
Richa Kar – Zivame
One would have never thought that something under-served as undergarments could actually break big on the e-commerce channel. Right? But Richa Kar, co-founder of Zivame (along with Kapil), a Bangalore-based start-up for women’s lingerie, proved that it could. It all started when Richa was doing research on India’s lingerie market. She identified a big problem – buying lingerie from brick-and-mortar stores weren’t a great experience for women across the country. Thus, began the journey of Zivame.
Although many mocked Richa in her initial days and it was indeed a struggle for her, she kept going and, today, Zivame is India’s largest online lingerie retailer. Kudos to Richa for her commitment and hard work!
Richa Singh – YourDOST
An IIT-Guwahati alumnus, Richa Singh, identified a rather serious-yet-overlooked issue that was common especially among the Indian youth – DEPRESSION. Depression-led suicide cases were on the rise too, especially because the victims aren’t usually ready to open up about their issues fearing that they would be misunderstood and judged.
With yourdost.com, Richa created a platform for anyone to anonymously seek help and support from professionally-trained counsellors and psychologist to cope with their stress and depression. The platform provides 24×7 support and its services are free.
Falguni Nayar – Nykaa
Falguni Nayar, an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, founded Nykaa, a Mumbai-based beauty and wellness retailer in 2012. In 2015, Nykaa opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal T3). Falguni quit her job as Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra to start Nykaa. A great move indeed since today Nykaa is the largest beauty and wellness stop in the country. Apart from a wide range of products, Nykaa also offers beauty advice, expert tips and videos, and provides updates on the latest trends and more.
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Neetu Bhatia – Zoonga
Previously an investment banker on Wall Street, Neetu quit her job to create the entertainment and sports ticketing segment in India with Zoonga. Zoonga, a ticketing marketplace co-founded by Neetu Bhatia, Ashish Bhatia and Arpita Majumdar, helps consumers like us get access to world-class entertainment and sporting events without any hassles.
Shubhra Chadda – Chumbak
Co-founded in 2010 by Shubhra Chadda and Vivek Prabharkar, Chumbak today is a popular gifting brand wooing customers with its wide collection of creatively-designed and amazingly-colourful products such as fridge magnets, wallets, keychains, phone covers, coffee mugs, bags, notebooks, jewellery, apparel, home décor and more. Chumbak started by selling its products online and through its distributor network. Today, it has established a really strong online presence and has opened more than 150 stores worldwide too.
However, it wasn’t an easy ride for Shubhra. She started Chumbak by selling her house worth Rs. 45 lakhs. Inspiring much?
Additional Reading: Financial Planning For Women
Kudos to these amazing women for working towards their dreams, no matter the hardships they’ve had to face. And, of course, we’re sure that there are going to be many more women game-changers in the coming years.
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