Starting a business from the ground up is an arduous task. Not only does it require years of hard work and dedication, but also an unmatched entrepreneurial spirit and drive to succeed. The growing presence of women entrepreneurs has led to significant business and economic growth in the country. Women-owned businesses play an important role in society by creating employment opportunities in the country—especially for women, changing demographics, and inspiring the next generation of women founders. However, the challenges of starting a business are doubled for women in the industry. From funding gaps to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, women entrepreneurs face multiple barriers to success. Here are the top women entrepreneurs in India who achieved success through their brands.
Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO of Nykaa.com
Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO of Nykaa.com quit her 25-year career in finance to chase her dream of building India’s premier online retailer for beauty and wellness. Launched in early 2012, Nykaa launched its online portal Nykaa.com by December 2012 and has since grown to offer 300 leading brands on a single platform. Nykaa has become India's No. 1 online destination for beauty products in a short span of one and a half years.
Falguni currently serves on the board of directors of several blue-chip companies, including Tata Motors, ACC, and Dabur India. She also served as India advisor to Temasek, a subsidiary of Temasek Holding Singapore. She is a founding member of the Asia Society in India and a board member of Business Standards. Before that, she had a long career with Kotak Mahindra Bank, where she was involved in setting up international operations in London and New York. She became Head of Institutional Equities before being appointed Managing Director of Investment Banking. At Kotak Investment Banking, she built the company into one of India's leading IPO bankers. She contributed to the success of numerous M&A deals, including the sale of Hutchison to Vodafone and the Bharti and Wal-Mart JV in India Retail. At Kotak, Falguni was a member of the Management Committee, a small group of executives.
Upasana Taku, Co-Founder, Executive Director & CFO, MobiKwik
Upasana Rupkrishan Taku is the Chairperson, Co-Founder, and COO of MobiKwik. She co-founded MobiKwik with the vision of transforming digital payments in India, which was close to zero at its inception in 2009, and believes that by 2025 the fintech opportunity in India will be at least $1 billion, and MobiKwik will be an important part of that.
Upasana loves to get deals and projects done in record time, while also getting the job done tight. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Punjab Technical University and a Master's degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. She has over 17 years of experience in products, payments, and financial services. Before starting his own business, she worked as a Product Manager in the Financial Services, Global Payments, and Risk division at PayPal. Upasana has also worked for HSBC in San Diego on the product team in the auto finance division. Always passionate about making an impact at the grassroots level, she returned to India from the United States in 2008. Her hard work and desire to serve her community have made her an inspirational figure, and she has often been recognized as one of India's leading tech founders.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited
The daughter of the brewmaster of India-based United Breweries, Mazumdar Shaw initially intended to follow in her father's footsteps, earning a bachelor's degree in zoology from Bangalore University and a master's degree in brewing from Melbourne's Ballarat University. However, when she returned to India, she found that no company was willing to offer a brewing job to a woman. Instead, she worked in consulting for several years until she met Leslie Auchincloss, owner of Biocon Biochemicals in Ireland. Impressed by Mazumdar Shaw's drive and ambition, Auchincloss brought her on as a partner and, in 1978, launched a new business, Biocon India, to produce enzymes for alcoholic beverages, paper, and other products.
Within a year, Biocon became the first Indian company to export enzymes to the United States and Europe, but progress was slow as Mazumdar Shaw continued to face skepticism and discrimination.
In 2001, Biocon became the first Indian company to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manufacture a cholesterol-lowering drug. Since then, the company has expanded drastically.
Vandana Luthra, Founder, VLCC Health Care Ltd
Andana Luthra, founder of the VLCC Group, made her entrepreneurial debut in 1989 with the opening of the Wellness and Beauty Service Center in New Delhi, India. The center seamlessly integrated diet and exercise-based weight management programs with state-of-the-art skin and hair treatments. At the time, the entire wellness and beauty industry was still in its infancy, and the holistic well-being approach that Mrs. Lutra initiated, combining wellness and beauty, was a completely new paradigm.
Since then, Vandana has painstakingly worked to raise the profile of the wellness and beauty industry in the 12 countries where VLCC now operates as an organized sector focused on high-quality standards, benchmarked service, and customer satisfaction while employing cutting-edge technology and applications.
Radhika Ghai Aggarwal, Co-Founder, ShopClues
In the male-dominated world of entrepreneurship, Radhika Ghai shattered the glass ceiling and became the first Indian woman to join the coveted Unicorn Club. Under Radhika’s leadership, Shopclues' popularity skyrocketed. The platform's commitment to meeting the needs of customers in untapped markets resonated strongly and led to rapid growth. With over 600,000 merchants and an astounding 30 million registered buyers, Shopclues has firmly established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the Indian e-commerce industry. The platform ships as many as 4 million products each month, reflecting its massive reach and scale, and Radhika’s innovative approach and strategic vision have transformed Shopclues into a trusted marketplace for millions of Indians.
A pioneering entrepreneur, Radhika has left an indelible mark on the Indian business world. Today, Ghai continues to drive innovation and create positive change through her latest venture, Kindlife.