5 minute read
INTERVIEW WEARING CONFIDENCE IN HER SLEEVE
Wearing Confidence in Her Sleeve
Meghana Agarwal
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Today’s women entrepreneurs charter unknown territories unabashedly and fearlessly. Undoubtedly every woman knows her way, stays true to her words and stands by her principles and does not take the words of her peers lightly.
Meghana Agarwal, Co-Founder, IndiQube is one such personality who scripted her success story in our new age world. Born and brought up in a small town, Alwar in Rajasthan, she belongs to a family of progressive-minded parents and two sisters who have always been her pillars of support. Adventurous, Ambitious, Proactive, Funny and Straightforward are the words that define her.
In an exclusive interview with The J Mag, besides her entrepreneur journey, she talks about her likes, her family, travels, luxury, and much more. Excerpts.
“I grew up in an allgirls family, with two younger sisters and progressive-minded parents. My father was a first-generation entrepreneur, and he has always supported his daughters’ education at every step. Alwar is a small town but had an army base and industries. We had Anglo-Indian teachers and a lot of migrants in the city. Apart from family, I share an extraordinarily strong bond with my school friends. We were all mischievous, ambitious, and extremely independent.”
Meghana is not the one to go with the flow and strives to stand above average. She is the one who questions, but without sounding aggressive or disrespectful.
An entrepreneur by accident…
I wanted to be an investment banker after pursuing my MBA in Finance from IMT Ghaziabad. However, the recession following the 9/11 attacks in the US halted my plans, and I ended up not having many lucrative job offers. It was during this point in time that I was contemplating an idea for my entrepreneurial venture and started my professional journey at the age of 25 and I cofounded HirePro Consulting along with Rishi Das.
Later, in the year 2009, I ventured into Ultrafine Minerals, a leading manufacturer of minerals catering to the needs of Cable, Polymer, Plastic and Paper industries with manufacturing plants across India.
Workspace has always been close to my heart and I understood how it worked for diverse companies. In my quest for revolutionizing workspaces, I started this journey with IndiQube in 2015, as a flexible workspace solution catering to the holistic needs of Enterprises, Offshore Development Centres, SMEs and startups.
She broke successfully into the predominantly male-dominated business domain. She knows her words, adding a new perspective to things without forcing them on you. By the time you are finished talking, this woman leaves you feeling inspired.
My challenges are my strength…
Women are usually not taken seriously in the Real Estate Hospitality Industry. Acknowledgement of women’s presence is missing. However, if you deliver then gender is not an issue. Once you start delivering results, all these challenges start to fade away.
I see my attitude to never give up and my speed of execution and decision making as my greatest strengths. This has really helped me in my entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurship has taught me Life Skills. Has helped me become a stronger, courageous, and confident person. It has made me more patient and balanced as an individual.
She knows that knowing who she is the key to determine her success. Meghana recognizes, believes and follows that even when short-term goals are important, it is her longterm vision that adds significance. She has the judgment to know what her ambitions are and whatever it is that she has set out to do, she would achieve it.
Spreading the wings…
Over the next two years, we at IndiQube plan to reach 1,20,000+ seat capacity. Beyond that, we see a potential to add at least 30,000 seats year-on-year. On one hand, this growth will be fuelled by a deeper penetration in existing cities where we plan to be in 70+ micro-markets in Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Noida & Mumbai. On the other hand, we will also expand into Tier II & Tier III centres by leveraging partnerships and exploring acquisitions of smaller players in these markets. We will also be expanding the horizon of our Value-Added-Services to further strengthen our position as a one-stop solution to our clients.
Luxury to me…
I am a type of person who values comfort more than the brand and hence I have traditionally not been a brand conscious person. Anything which is comfortable, and which suits the occasion I go by that. I love watches but I hardly use them. To name a few I have Omega, Carl F Bucherer, Tag Heuer, Hermes amongst others.
Prioritization is the key. During weekdays work is given priority and at weekends family and friends takes over. Nothing is coming at expense of others.
Reading…
I make sure that I read whenever I find the time. Yoval Noah is my favourite and the most inspired author. His writings are a blend of various themes including free will, consciousness, intelligence, happiness, and suffering. I find his writings fascinating.
Travelling…
Any trip with my friends and family is memorable. Though I loved New Zealand that is blessed with perfect landscapes from fiery volcanoes and gushing glaciers to pristine lakes, sharp mountain ranges and Sunkissed beaches. I also loved travelling to some parts of Europe owing to their natural beauty, epic history, and magical atmosphere.
