Tanishq is a jewellery brand of India. It is a division of Titan Company, a company promoted by the Tata Group in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Tanishq’s headquarters is at Bengaluru in Karnataka.
EDITOR DESK
Women entrepreneur is defined as a woman or group of women who initiate, organize and run a business enterprise. In terms of Schumpeterian concept of innovative entrepreneurs, women who innovate, imitate or adopt a business activity are called “women entrepreneurs’’. Women entrepreneurs are those women who think of a business enterprise, initiate it, organize and combine the factors of production, operate the enterprise and undertake risks and handle economic uncertainty involved in running a business enterprise. Women make up about half of the world’s total population. Considered to be the better half in society. In traditional societies, they were limited to four walls of houses engaged in household activities. In modem societies, they have come but four walls to participate in all kinds of activities. Global evidence shows that women have performed extremely well in different fields of activity, such as academics, politics, administration, social work, and so on. Now, they have started plunging into industry also and running their enterprises successfully. In certain businesses, women entrepreneurs are doing exceed¬ingly well and excelling their male counterparts. Women entrepreneurs face two types of problems, one, general problems faced by all entrepreneurs and, second, problems specific to women. Male dominating society, family ties, lack of ne&Tachievement, education and risk-bearing abilities are examples of problems specific to women entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur, a woman entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions involved in establishing an enterprise. These include idea generation and screening, determination of objectives, project preparation, product analysis, determination of forms of business organization, completion of promotional formalities, raising funds, procuring men, machine and materials and operation of a business. Starting up is not easy. It takes a lot of guts besides hard work, determination, and going that extra mile. There are scores of women who have quite cushy, well-paying corporate jobs, because of the itch to do something different and prove themselves in the world of entrepreneurship. It could be about bringing an innovation to the world, a service for the greater social good, or simply the coming together of creative minds to fill a need. The important takeaway here is that they believed in their dreams, and nothing else mattered In our current edition, we have featured 10 Best Women Entrepreneurs In India 2020 We have introduced profiles of Aditi Balbir, Chitra Gurnani, Garima Satija, Gita Ramanan, Naiyya Saggi. Do flip over every single page to unveil the secret of the success of these start up!
Nishtha Kirtani
- Editor in Chief
Content 12 COVER STORY Aditi Balbir V-Resorts
16 Chitra Gurnani
Thrillophilia Adventure Tours Pvt. Ltd
18 Garima Satija postvine
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Naiyya Saggi
Baby Chakra
Gita Ramanan
DesignCafe
Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs In India 2020
V- Resort Just how a travel-loving Venture Capitalist fell for her portfolio business and co-founded V Resorts
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diti Balbir is a passionate traveller. When she was six, she went on a world tour and since that trip, she has jumped on the opportunity to go to different places. She made sure she travelled for about 6 weeks per year during the summers, and she also continued this with her husband, once married. Based out of Delhi, after doing her MBA at ISB, Aditi was in private equity and venture capital by trade. And it was in her last stint with Bedrock Ventures that a business concept involving travel was explored internally by the team. Many people in India are building weekend homes and hotels in offbeat locations thinking they can live in these homes for at least two months, but things usually don’t work out that way. Such houses and hotels are in the caretakers ‘ possession, and are often mismanaged. The plan was for those resorts to be taken over and managed. Bedrock ventures have agreed to invest in the concept and have a skilled CEO in kick off operations and Aditi was on the board. Aditi seemed to be very familiar with the project and soon joined it full time. She also put some of her own money in and in mid-2012 became the co-founder. By this time, the previous CEO had resigned, and as Managing Director, Vaibhav Dayal joined the company. Looking at the business ‘ prospects, Vaibhav thought the domestic traveler was experiencing a void in the type of holiday destinations he would like to have compared to what was available on the market, and 12 inory
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he thought that V Resorts would be able to cope with that difference. Since then, Vaibhav and Aditi have run the company, and under their wings have 6 resorts. Its location is at Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. V Resorts assists consumers who are searching for a convenient stay but higher on their list is something offbeat. V Resorts has been in the business for some time and is now trying to raise venture capital to scale up to more resorts in other nations. Aditi says they have found various circuits where there are 2-3 destinations clustered with a bunch of resorts scattered around area. These are the types of circuits that they recognize, and they seek to take over. The resorts are taken over in a deal that is a hybrid combination of a lease and a deal for the hotel management. V Resorts has a 12-member management team headed by Aditi, and MD Vaibhav. The rest of the staff comprises the engineering department, a number of hospitality and technology-domain travel enthusiasts and the call centre. 75 per cent of the leads come from the online route, while some others come from businesses, and so on. The team is currently finding more resorts and counterpoints in Himachal Pradesh and consolidating here before moving onto other states.
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Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs In India 2020
Aditi Balbir
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Paradigm shift ever since women became self-aware So many more women today are getting out of their comfort zone and seeking to get their hands on something that no one ever claimed they were capable of. So many more women are moving out of their homes to work. So many more women are coming out and launching their own entrepreneurial projects. Many educated women today have made a significant mark as entrepreneurs in their chosen fields. However, what has not been recognized is that many uneducated women are also enthusiastically raising family incomes through micro ventures. These women also inspire other women in their localities to pursue their dreams through entrepreneurship at the grassroots level. Women can find a work-life balance in their own venture. They can attend to both their family (another need that helps them feel loved and gives them a sense of belonging) and work (something that gives them intellectual and psychological satisfaction) more methodically. What is more impressive is that women, unlike men, continue to inspire other women around them to do better, thereby generating more job opportunities and even start-ups that will boost not only their own financial status, but also help the economy expand. This being said there are barriers women in developing countries face- those of social inequality, less financial support for their ventures (even though there are schemes to help women start their small businesses), acceptance of their need to venture out and many others.
into domains largely untouched by their male counterparts in terms of businesses. There are cultural and societal norms that hinder equal participation of women in ventures that men undertake. But things are slowly changing. Today women entrepreneurs constitute 10 percent of the total number of entrepreneurs in the country. Not a huge number but definitely encouraging. More financial institutes are realizing the merits of investing in women entrepreneurs’ ventures. One of the most obvious reasons to invest in women leaders in India is that women control the vast majority of household spending. So, unless you are a business that is focused mostly on men, women are more likely to better understand customer perspective. Another is that women are often better at building long-term relationships. Lasting relationships benefit a business tremendously, as only so much can be achieved without trust‌ with employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, government, etc. Women are becoming self-aware and command their needs to achieve their highest potential be recognized, acknowledged rewarded and respected.
Women are fighting these barriers and overcoming obstacles to attain their fullest potential. Women are still seen venturing 14 inory
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Chitra Gurnani The Woman Who Helped Others Achieve Their Dreams
Not many people have within them to make others ‘ vision come true by making one of their dreams come true. Well, Chitra just had the right recipe and ingredients inside herself, to give us all a forum that lets you make your dreams come true. Co-Founder and CEO of Thrillophilia Adventure Tours Pvt, Chitra Gurnani. Ltd.. Ltd. After several discussions, study and discussion, she launched this company in the year 2009. She recruited outstanding adventure experts, seasoned staff, and qualified professionals who have the passion just as she has within them. Her is a organization that operates a blog, twitter account, and a website as well. It is a very big, market-based brand. As a hardcore enterprise, Thrillophilia is based on SEO services to make things better and better for others as a company. 16 inory
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Chitra Gurnani’s company works with credible vendors and a large package of the best practices that are in others ‘ interest. Her complex, fascinating and vibrant personality and attitude has made her what she is today. She is an incredibly passionate woman who never fears the way of risks with respect to her professional ambition. She had a dream in her from the very beginning and a very good image of her thoughts that obviously influenced her actions in her diligence that intellect. Her willingness to learn more and more information and experience from all over the world made her a PRO travel. Her company’s turnover is impressive. The platform compiles a variety of warehouses, customer service desks, and offices nationally as well. With Chitra’s efforts and dedication, hers company has achieved its core goals and
popularity in the field of selling adventurous online tours. Some of the main activities covered by her company include wildlife explorations, scuba diving, camel safari, paragliding, mountain biking, caving, etc. Given the situation, it’s never easy for a woman to achieve her dreams and fulfill her ambitions because of the gender differences that we have on such a large scale in our world. The labor industry is still dominated by males on a big basis and women have to conquer more than just employment. Chitra has come a long way to make her name and get her recognized for what she really deserves. Her hard work, her faith and her vision are highly praiseworthy. Her website is listed as one of the top 20 travel websites at today’s date and time because of what she put in it came from her heart and enthusiasm right away. February 2020
Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs In India 2020
Her concept company is an amazing innovation and her competitive spirit is a great inspiration for people who have the ability but lack the confidence.
Chitra loves to worship her work and it’s not only a profit-making company for her, but it’s much more for her because she enjoys what she does and does what she does!
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Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs In India 2020
GARIMA SATIJA The Adventurer and Traveller Turned Entrepreneur
Garima Satija is PoshVine’s founder in 2011 it is an innovative venture that facilitates a traveling person to look for a variety if off the beaten dining and travel experiences and also to book one of them as and when they need it. PoshVine creates and delivers better engagement experiences for banks, retailers and customers. As employees, we encourage each other to grow and innovate. As a company, we try to help people maximize their savings, help retailers increase their revenues and banks increase their share of wallet. Our loyalty and engagement solutions are powerful and flexible, and scales to meet the needs of any business. Even yours. when you want a travel experience that’s going to be unique and yet memorable for you, then you definitely should look at PoshVine. Okay, obviously, like any company and business owner, there’s always a story behind that.
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Garima introduced PoshVine as one of her own ways in their leisure time to explore different and new experiences of the food. It is basically an online destination that lets people explore and even book different dining and travel experiences. There are also a number of categories that will help people make a wise choice and find their own value and experience. At first, Garima and her team aggregated a lot of premium restaurants along with inventive chefs who are willing to take on unique activities along with activated individuals and/ or businesses who can build experiential packages directly at PoshVine’s platform. In reality, the plan focuses on the cou8ntyr’s travellers, but there are also other brands and travellers that belong to other countries which roundabout to six. PoshVine is actually curating
around 5000 consumer interactions and events. In no way had Garima decided to start it. Her desire for adventure, her curiosity and her enthusiasm in the field never left her, and that’s why she went to her with PoshVine’s soft opening to give her a complete entrepreneurial feeling that transformed her into an entrepreneur and the founder of such an amazing website which is now serving millions of people out there who have the passion of travel just like Garima. They have also adopted a businessto-business approach in their company where they have put in their portal various clients such as HDFC Bank, Citibank, Axis Bank, Jaguar, and many others who will handle the customers ‘ travel experience arrangement in terms of payment, investment, transportation, and other facilities. This is one way she decided to move her company to a new level. Her critical experience February 2020
and passionate thinking have made PoshVine a huge success. However, all of it did not come easy. She had to face her own share of the obstacles and hardships. As a small company, it’s self-financing, cash flows have been a problem, keeping customers satisfied and taking their input and compensating for it has always been a problem. However, there is nothing unlikely with great perseverance and determination. That’s exactly what Garima pursued and it definitely resulted in the success of her company and in her path to becoming an entrepreneur, and she undoubtedly still has a long way to go in the future.
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Design CafE
The Home Makers
Gita Ramanan, Co-Founder & CEO Gita Ramanan appears to believe in the ideology that the power of great designs is to change the way you work, play and live. To put this concept into effect, she and her partner launched Design Cafe in 2015 to disrupt the home interior industry of the country, both for the homeowner and the design executor. A woman of diverse interests, Gita is driven to excel at all. After graduating from the BMS School of Architecture, Bangalore, she worked with renowned architects for over a decade. A graduate of ISB Hyderabad’s Entrepreneurial Management programme, she was selected by Goldman Sachs for its global 10,000 Women Entrepreneur Program. Gita started Design Cafe in 2015 with a vision of” democratizing design” - bringing the best designs and quality to all. Gita who bring together more than two decades of national and international design experience. Design Cafe has designed and built more than 5000 homes across the country. DC’s homes have been featured in over 30 design publications across the world. Design Cafe is expanding across the country and is poised to become the most recognised and trusted brand for home interiors in 20 inory
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India. Gita says, “We believe that every homeowner deserves the most innovative design solutions that are customised as per their requirements and lifestyle for their homes, and should have it delivered at the most competitive price and in a manner that is transparent where they are assured of the quality. To deliver on this promise, to change the way homes are designed, detailed, manufactured and installed, we have created the only home interiors company in India that is completely vertically integrated. We have a long way to go to deliver on our vision to become a one-stop solution provider for homeowners, but we now deliver finished homes in 45-60 days with a 5-10-year warranty,” “Additionally, for most of our customers, buying a home is their biggest aspirational purchase, and predominantly service a home loan and rent for their current dwelling. When their possession is imminent, they are eager to complete their home interiors and move in, thereby closing out one expense. This safeguards us from the slowdown currently, as most of our customers have purchased their homes 2-5 years ago and are now getting their possession,” says Gita.
Gita also revealed that, by 2024, her company intends to create Design Cafe Experience Centers in every major Indian city, thus offering its unique brand of endto-end services, solutions and products in the home interior.
“ We will see our dream grow across the country over the next five years and deliver creative design solutions and goods to thousands of homeowners and gain Rs 1,000 crore revenue.” By then, in India’s top 10 urban centres, we also expect to own about 2 percent of the entire
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Gita Ramanan Co-Founder & CEO
Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs In India 2020
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SEEING BABYCHAKRA AS THE TRUSTED COMPANION FOR ANY YOUNG PARENT The co-founder of BabyChakra plans to develop an offline network as well as use artificial intelligence and machine learning to extend the scope of its online platform which connects Indian parents to the best baby services. “All that we do begins with the needs of parents typically young moms,” says Naiyya Saggi, cofounder of BabyChakra, an online platform that connects Indian parents to the best baby services. A Harvard Business School MBA with a degree in law from NLU, Naiyya has built quite a mark in the startup world through BabyChakra. Naiyya started her entrepreneurial journey in 2014 after seeing her mom, a smart and independent corporate lawyer, have a rough time as a new mother spending copious amounts of time listening to random advice, searching Google, and playing with different
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doctors and day care providers. She found that there was just not enough credible knowledge out there in an era where we find all the answers online. Realizing Naiyya there was an urgent need for a childcare platform in India led to BabyChakra’s conception. Until then, there has been no looking back; she has not only managed to scale up BabyChakra but also raised funds from investors such as Mumbai Angels, the family office of Arihant Patni and the Singapore Angel Network. Naiyya talked about her start-up struggles, her advice to young entrepreneurs and future plans for BabyChakra. Entrepreneurs just don’t have it. When building their businesses, they reach the highest heights and the lowest lows. Naiyya has some excellent tips for young
and aspiring entrepreneurs as the creators of a successful startup. Naiyya was greatly influenced by entrepreneurs like Metropolis ‘ Ameera Shah, LogiNext’s Manisha Raisinghani and Mad Street Den’s Aswini Asokan and loves their problem-solving styles. According to her, an entrepreneur should be willing to shed all ego completely; constantly challenge the status quo; and always be willing to learn new skills while keeping a keen eye on the profits. A very critical aspect is the optimisation of one’s squad.
“We see BabyChakra as the trustworthy companion of every young parent in five years,” Says Naiyya.
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