From fighting for equal rights to building individual opportunities, the world for women has been burgeoning day by day. Initially, in some countries, women are determined to stay indoors, looking after their children and running errands. Where their ideas/talents are tantamount to nothing and considered only for domestic responsibilities. But, some things weren’t the same, women took the place to change certain lifestyles over the past few decades.
For instance, those women, who were locked up inside their home, cooking and taking care of their children, later came out as Models, teachers, doctors, CEOs, presidents, content writers, actresses and even implemented their ideas in starting up their own business.
In this coming of age, many young women are looking forward to creating their own career path. One such career- Women Entrepreneurship, that impacted greater differences in the sectors of employment these days.
If we take World War II as an example in the development of women entrepreneurship, then I would say that there wasn’t any improvement. As women are there to treat soldiers who are wounded in the war.
When world war II ended, the concept of women-centric aroused in the society, as many were a part of many businesses such as sewing, nursing, teaching and so on.
Speaking of which, the term ‘feminism’ flourished in many countries, at that time women were fighting for their right to vote, equal wages and opportunities. Later periods emerged in many sectors, for instance, Back in 1739, it is cited that Eliza Lucas was the first female entrepreneur to take control of her family business in the US.
Besides, Kalpana Saroj is the first woman entrepreneur of India and the CEO of Kamani Tubes, which is worth 112 million dollars.
At the beginning of the 21st century, women entrepreneurship became an upsurge thing, as many young ladies came forward and cast their talent in various ways and reported an increase in women-owned business enterprises that are playing an essential role in developing the Indian economy.
Even though they suffer a lot in the present society in regards to discrimination, pay & wages, gender inequality and so many. Not only the outer surface of the society, but also they face socio-cultural barriers.
One such example, Oprah Gail Winfrey, who is famously known as The Oprah Winfrey Show Host, media representative and greatest Black philanthropist in U.S history.
Oprah Winfrey
As you know, she was once the richest African American of the 20th century. And ranked as the most influential woman in the world since 2007. Speaking of the present, Women entrepreneurship is gaining importance in India in the wake of economic liberalization and globalization.
In the world of development, the Government of India implemented numerous schemes to encourage as many as young women in the field of entrepreneurship by introducing MSME Scheme, Annapurna Scheme, Dena Shakti Scheme, TREAD (Trade-Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development) Scheme, NSDM, DICs and many other women entrepreneurship schemes.
Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world- Hillary Clinton.
Future of Women entrepreneurship
Speaking of gender equality in entrepreneurship has played a vital role in creating opportunities, innovation, and growth.
Starting from Vandana Luthra, to Falguni Nayar, the founder of Nykaa, the women’s contribution in the entrepreneurship field is exceptional. However, over time, women are coming forward to entrepreneurship training, with their innovative minds and ideas, the future of women’s entrepreneurship is in good hands.
Moreover, Indian Military services’ has opened hands to welcome young women is another start for a great future. In addition to that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Employment Generation Programme and other schemes have pitched in to support large to small enterprises.
On the other hand, over 30% of the population are employed women, and 3% are self-employed. Having that said, the future of entrepreneurship in women’s hands not only creates opportunities for themselves but others too. Women are the epitome of love, passion, duty, and beauty so that their positive energy could be used in managing resources efficiently.
Subsequently, the process of Women’s entrepreneurship is a natural one with the utter encouragement of women entrepreneurs on one side, the women empowerment is all set.
Furthermore, women-owned businesses have rapidly increased in this pandemic, especially on social media. Plus, the requisite skill, knowledge, and adaptability in business are the main reasons for women to emerge into business ventures. Consequently, the role of a woman entrepreneur is a person who accepts challenging roles to meet her personal needs and become economically independent.
Things that will help Promote Women Entrepreneurship in the World
Meanwhile, the participation rate of younger women in the entrepreneurship field is higher than that of men. Yet, the women’s entrepreneurial role is limited and inadequate. The small-scale industries are the worst hit, with only 10% owned by women.
So following this, three effective and immediate measures are suggested by experts:
Promotion of women entrepreneurs
Promotion of women entrepreneurs in micro-enterprises: with additional support from proper government and society, these upcoming women can cultivate sustainable, organized, and growth-oriented enterprises to a great extent.
Institutional and Policy-based support
There are still several government policies and regulations on businesses and industries out there. Nevertheless, certain modifications have to be made to ease the administrative hurdles for women entrepreneurs.
Special Incentives
Special incentives, tax rebates, duty cuts can be provided with women as supervisors. Women with great minds not only make the best out of the best but also lead the path for the next generation. So sectors with the prerequisite of entrepreneurial talent as well as exceptional communication skills can right away approach these incredible women.
A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of any entrepreneurial woman, plus, the capability to contribute values in both family and social life is what makes them stand out from others.
Unlike men, who are capable of committing to social life, women have a self-role as well as a personal role like mother, wife, daughter. Entrepreneurial women have the impulse to focus on improving the living standards for women on education and personal development as well.
On the whole, women entrepreneurs account for and will account for improved economic growth and stability within a country. They not only look for progression for themselves but also set inspirations for other women to start a business. Eventually, this vision will also help in reducing the gender gap in the workspace and overall a better place to live.
FAQ
Who is the most famous female entrepreneur?
Wang Laichun, Oprah Winfrey, Shery Sandberg, Sara Blakely, Cher Wang, Folorunsho Alakija, Susan Wojcicki, and Indra Nooyi are some of the most famous female entrepreneurs.
Why India needs more Women Entrepreneurs?
Economic Growth, Narrowing Gender Gap, Company Culture & Safety at Workplace, Funding/Investment to Women-led Startups and Social Change.
What are the schemes provided by Government for women entrepreneurship?
Government initiatives to boost women entrepreneurship are Mudra Yojana Scheme, Annapurna Scheme, Dena Shakti Scheme, and TREAD (Trade-Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development) Scheme.
There are startups budding everywhere. Great companies that started just from an idea and now are building their empires that are huge and vast. With their growing consumer base and stand undistinguished in the market with their offerings promising consistency as brands.
Mostly, women are just stereotyped into being homemakers. And are often not associated with terms like business entrepreneurs. But here are some women defying the odds and stereotypes created by society and are also running successful startups in the fashion industry.
We have curated a list of Fashion startups that are run by women with their stories. So if you are looking for that little spark of inspiration to get you some motivation.
This is the sign to stop doubting yourself and start that business that you are wanting to.
There is an integration/fusion of cultures in this age. People have embraced the idea of a kaleidoscopic approach which has been possible with the help of globalization. With sustainability playing a new and important role in this industry. The industry has a wide scope and a lot to offer trends and styles. Let’s browse through how female entrepreneurs are changing the game with their ventures in the world of fashion.
The wealthiest self made Female Billionaire in India
Nykaa is everywhere and the brand just got its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and has attracted 32.59 billion dollars worth already. Describing itself as India’s one-stop online cosmetics and beauty store, having forty six locations across India and is associated with over 2400+ brands. It is India’s largest online shopping beauty store for cosmetics, beauty products, health products, and more.
Nykaa has four apps on the Play Store: Nykaa Fashion- Online shopping app; Nykaa – Beauty Shopping app for buying makeup and cosmetic products. It has a different segment that caters to men too, and those apps include: Nykaa Man- men’s grooming store and superstore by Nykaa, which is a business to business (B2B) shop.
The e-commerce platform provides seamless shopping experience providing premium as well as affordable products through its omni-channels. The founder, Falguni Nayar, who has completed her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in finance, a student at Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, after joining the Kotak Mahindra Bank and serving for almost eighteen years, quit to go after her dream to start the venture. P.S. She has also been the managing director at the bank.
Chumbak
Year: 2009
Founder: Shubhra Chadda and Vivek Prabhakar
CEO: Shubhra Chadda
Sold home with her husband to start their own venture
Shubhra Chadda
With a collection of fashion and home products, Chumbak is an e-commerce store for everything. According to reports of 2020, Chumbak has established forty four stores across India and has its presence in at least twelve cities.
Have you ever worried about what could be the perfect gift for someone’s special occasion? Or been crazy about quirky things? That integrates culture, uniqueness, and funk all in a cool way. Chumbak has got you! People who travel often love to get things back as mementos from their trips, to look back, and remember the precious times. But there is no particular place in the Indian market made exactly for this purpose, nor exactly on the web platforms back then.
There are many gaps in the Indian market that need bridging and usually go unnoticed by the people. Shubhra realized this and took notice of the fact that many people were looking for things to take back after a trip to India.
Here begins her story of Shubhra after being a mother for a year who wanted to do something and embarked on her journey to being an entrepreneur. The couple sold their home to set-up their venture: Chumbak. Their home decor & fashion stores have a ranging variety of products selling perfumes, laptop sleeves, bags, water bottles, other home decor items, apparels for women and more.
Having led many organizations like Lehman Brothers Incorporation, Virgin Media, eBay incorporation, Skype, Gum Tree and driving them to success with her potential, brilliance and skills. Sachi Mukherjee wows you with her knowledge graduating from the St. Stephens College in Delhi she holds a BA degree in Economics with Math’s from University of Cambridge. She is also a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholar and Fellow, a Chadburn Scholar who has completed her master’s from the London School of Economics in finance and economics.
Having received the Unicorn Startup Award in 2016 by NDTV is just one of the accomplishments among many for Lime Road.Lime Road is an e-commerce platform that in the initial stages only served as a platform catering to women, only now it has extended selling clothing and accessories for women, men and kids.
It started with the aim of creating a shopping experience that people find mesmerizing. Engaging users allows them to create personal looks and collections and have the option to share it with your friends.
Zivame
Year: 2011
Founder: Richa Kar
CEO: Amisha Jain
Going beyond just lingerie
Richa Kar
Think outside the box and the whole society calls you crazy. The story of Richa Kar is somewhat the same; she dared to do things differently and do it anyway, even though she did not have her parents supporting her idea of starting a business of selling lingerie online.
Her mother was embarrassed by the idea and had no support from her father. Zivame has both online and offline stores with new launches. The inspiration for starting Zivame that struck Richa was derived from tracking sales of Victoria’s Secret, and she realized that there was no such market in India.
Started with her savings and borrowing money from her friends with the vision to help women shop for intimates online. After going through tough times with receiving criticism came the positive feedback. Dedication and hard work got Richa through her journey to getting investors and later receiving funding for her venture. The story on the official site describes it as going beyond just lingerie. Driving with innovative ideas that were not given much thought about before, influencing women in different ways.
Baggit
Founded in: 1985
Founder: Nina Lekhi
CEO: Nina Lekhi
Fueling the road to success with failure
Nina Lekhi with Shraddha Kapoor
Home-grown premium brand: Baggit, made and designed in India. Which provides bags and accessories made in a vegan, sustainable, and cruelty-free way for women, was started by Nina Lekhi back in 1985 with her hardwork and following her passion. She started Baggit with only seven thousand rupees, which was borrowed from her mother. Now Baggit has one thousand retail stores in India, two hundred and eight employees, and the brand is worth Rs 111 crores.
A student who did really well until the eighth grade and an role model for others, things changed for Nina Lekhi when she neglected much of her studies, not putting much work and having fun in the world with her perspective of how college should be like she flunked in her first year of college at Sophia’s Polytechnic, Mumbai.
Giving failure a direction to feel the sense of purpose after being called with labels like “duffer” and “stupid” she tackled them by proving herself. Nina’s parents were very supportive and encouraged her to build on the lost self-esteem and confidence.
With a head full of curiosity for the world of the retail industry and parents that stood by her. She took up two part-time jobs, for Mike Kriplani Fashions in the retail sectorand at Shyam Ahuja, selling carpets at the age of seventeen, getting first hand experience.
Having people around her who were into businesses and an environment that cherished entrepreneurship starting her own venture felt like a natural move for her. Doing exhibitions and marketing her products at the retail stores where she worked and word of mouth getting her clients, setting up her first store at Kemps Corner with her brother to the slowly climb to the hill of success made it all work.
With a hint of inspiration, passion and courage, you can do it all. Quit that job, dare to dream, believe, fail, and break for, and stand out when the world asks you to fit into the box. Start small, start somewhere if you believe in what you do. There will be setbacks and a lot of society doubting you. Take it from these women, defy the odds, and do it anyway.
FAQ
Who is first woman entrepreneur in India?
Kalpana Saroj, CEO of Kamani Tubes is known as the first women entrepreneur of India.
Who is the richest female entrepreneur in the world?
Oprah Winfrey, Jenny Just, Michelle Zatlyn, and Katrina Lake are some of the richest female entrepreneur in the world.
Who is the first woman entrepreneur?
Madame C.J. Walker is the first woman entrepreneur in the world.
Radhika Ghai Aggarwal is the current Chief Business Officer (CBO) and Co-founder of the e-commerce ShopClues, which was established in 2011 with just 10 team members. She is the first woman Co-founder in India, whose company entered the Unicorn Club. Radhika’s husband was Sandeep Aggarwal, who founded ShopClues with her and Sanjay Sethi. Sandeep served as the CEO of the company before resigning in 2013. Soon after that, Sanjay Sethi was made the CEO of the company, and he is currently continuing with the same designation.
Radhika Ghai Aggarwal was born to an Army family. Her father was employed in the Indian Army and her mother was a dietician by profession. She got married to Sandeep Aggarwal, whom she met during her college days. However, the couple eventually got divorced in 2017. Their relationship started turning bitter when Sandeep was arrested by the FBI in 2013.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation charged Sandeep Aggarwal for insider trading. Sandeep worked as an analyst at the US-based Collins Stewart before he started the dotcom venture. This was when he was involved in leaking non-public information to a former SAC Capital portfolio manager. Sandeep was arrested by the FBI in San Jose, California after which he resigned from the company, giving way to Sanjay Sethi, another Co-founder of the company to become the CEO of ShopClues. The couple eventually saw their way to separation.
Radhika Ghai Aggarwal currently lives in Gurgaon, Haryana, as per her Twitter profile.
Radhika Aggarwal- Early Life
Being an Army ward, she grew up in ten different cities including Pathankot, Ahmednagar, and Jodhpur, and attended several schools throughout her childhood. Traveling to new places gave her the opportunity to meet new people and adapt to the formidable change, which further helped in running a business without getting affected by daunting changes and challenges.
Perseverance is yet another quality that she learned while growing up. Her attitude of not giving up helped her in standing against all odds in the startup world.
Radhika actively helped her father, who started his health club after he left the Army at the age of 45, in 1992. She served as a fitness trainer during the early days of her father’s entrepreneurship venture. This way she also earned her first-ever pay cheque of Rs. 400. Following her father’s entrepreneurial mind, she founded her very first advertising agency in Chandigarh in 1997. Though the entrepreneur in her was also there, founding her advertising agency happened primarily due to the dearth of options available there in Chandigarh, as she would like to put it.
Radhika Aggarwal on her success mantra
Radhika Aggarwal- Education
Radhika Aggarwal completed her graduation and eventually went for an MBA in 1999 after ending her brief stint as the founder of an advertising agency. Radhika pursued an MBA from Washington University, in St. Louis, US. She also holds another post-graduation degree in advertising and public relations. Furthermore, Radhika also participated in an executive program at Stanford University.
Radhika Aggarwal started her career in the marketing field at Goldman Sachs in 2001. However, the very next year she left the company to join Nordstrom, headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Along with strategic planning, she also learned the inverted pyramid structure there and studied how it works in reality. Nordstrom was a company where the customers were prioritized.
“Even the CEO would be seen on the floor being a shoe runner, just to understand the needs of the customer better. The entire company and its ethos revolve around this concept. It helps you understand what the customer wants,” recalled Radhika.
It was Nordstrom that founded the base of learning in her professional career, which was deemed to add an extra edge later while working on her startup.
She stayed with Nordstrom till early 2006 after which she took a pregnancy break. However, indomitable as her spirit was, Radhika rose up rather quickly from her break and resumed her career with Abhivyakti Infotech, where she worked as a marketing strategist.
With the start of the next year, Radhika started Fashion Clues in 2007, a fashion and lifestyle website that focused on the people of South Asia and the US, which she began to manage single-handedly.
Brimming with experience, Radhika decided to found another startup with her husband, Sandeep and Sanjay Sethi. She had quite an experience, close to 14 years by then, which she garnered while working at Nordstrom and during her stay in the US when she amassed considerable experience in diverse sectors like e-commerce, fashion, lifestyle, and retail. Radhika founded her e-commerce venture ShopClues with her husband, Sandeep Aggarwal, and Sanjay Sethi in 2011. She reportedly started with a team of 10 members. However, gradually the workforce kept on increasing as the company rose in popularity. Shopclues emerged as a unicorn company in January 2016, India’s fourth unicorn company. She currently serves as the CBO and Co-founder of Shopclues.
Radhika was once asked that whether she has been able to change the convention towards women employees across the industry she had served. On this, the Co-founder and CBO of Shopclues replied:
“The best way I deal with this is to avoid gender-based discrimination in the first place. At ShopClues, we empower a good worker and we provide equal opportunities that can help maximize potential. If you’re an able worker, gender doesn’t even come into the picture. At ShopClues, we have women leading our vibrant community of merchant partners. Our women employees know I have their back, and that they are at par with our male employees, with many of them in the leadership team.”
Radhika Aggarwal encourages women to share their opinions, voice out their challenges and any other issues that bother them. She is known to have discussions with her women employees at the cafeteria, which helps her keep a track of her women employees and their grievances to address them duly.
Furthermore, Shopclues follows a no-door policy in the office, where there are no designated cabins differentiating the co-founders and the employees. Both Radhika and Sanjay sit with their employees, which helps them maintain a strong bond with their employees.
Radhika Aggarwal- ShopClues
ShopClues Logo
ShopClues was founded in July 2011 and is currently headquartered in Gurgaon. This was 2 years before the emergence of Amazon India. The company served as an Indian online marketplace and saw a steady rise in popularity, revenues, and funding. It once became the only choice for millions of Indians. Seeing the potential in Shopclues, the company saw funds pouring in Tiger Global, Helion Ventures, and Nexus Venture Partners. It also successfully registered a GMV of $400 million in 2015.
Being valued at $1.1 billion, Shopclues achieved unicorn status between late 2015 and early 2016 and was recognized as the 4th Indian unicorn company, which was in talks for an IPO. However, destiny had it the other way round, as the Co-founders of the company were caught in an ugly spat, following which the revenues of Shopclues started to slow down, while the losses started to pile up. The company’s revenues increased by a feeble 5% in FY17, in contrast to the steady 50% with which it had been growing. Besides, the losses stood at around Rs 332 crores by then. Though the company started to cut costs, advertising expenses, and expenses on its employees in 2018, the competition was on a rise with Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm, and others, which were growing at dizzying speeds.
It also planned again for an IPO in 2018 but it didn’t materialize. Furthermore, the company saw too many exits, firing of employees, coupled with the loss of a legal fight with L’oreal. All of these beat Shopclues down and its troubles to thrive became public. The rumors of a possible merger or sale were also doing the rounds. After talks of mergers with Snapdeal and ebay.in were dissolved, Shopclues was finally acquired by the Singapore-based Qoo10, which acquired the company in an all-stock deal.
Radhika Aggarwal- Kindlife
Radhika Ghai Aggarwal, Shopclues Co-founder has started Kindlife.in, her next venture, as of September 6, 2021. Kindlife is deemed to be a marketplace for organic products spanning across a range of categories.
The website of the brand is equipped with different spaces, pages, and forums of varying topics like nutrition, grooming, wellness, and others along with a list of products that can be bought.
According to the website of Kindlife, Alphacama is registered as the parent entity for the brand and Vidit Jain is listed as the director. Deltacama Pvt Ltd and Zetacama Pvt Ltd are two other entities incorporated by Ghai where Jain also serves as a director for the other two entities along with Ghai.
Radhika Aggarwal- Awards
Radhika has been conferred with numerous awards and recognition in her professional life. Here are some of the prestigious awards that she has won in 2016:
Outlook Business Woman of Worth at Outlook Business Awards
Woman Entrepreneur of the Year at Entrepreneur India Awards
Exemplary Woman Entrepreneur of the Year at CMO Asia Awards
It was obviously not a cup of tea to build an e-commerce website from scratch, especially with a good amount of competition that was already in a rage back then. ShopClues was established when Flipkartand Snapdealwere already in the business and had raised a considerable amount of money and popularity. Jabong was also founded in the same year along with ShopClues.
As of now, September 8, 2021, the competitors of ShopClues further multiplied with Flipkart and Snapdeal already cementing their positions as homegrown eCommerce giants along with Amazon India, which emerge together to be nothing less than household names in eCommerce. Some other competitors of Shopclues include Jabong, Myntra, Naaptol, HomeShop18, Yepme, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
What is ShopClues net worth in FY20?
ShopClues has an operating revenue of INR 89 Crores in FY20, the year that ended on March 31, 2020.
Is ShopClues a unicorn?
ShopClues became India’s fourth unicorn firm valued over a billion dollars at $1.1 billion in January 2016 within just 5 years after its launch.
Is ShopClues an Indian company?
Yes, ShopClues is an Indian company headquartered in Gurugram, India.
Shreya Mishra is an Indian Entrepreneur, who co-founded an online fashion rental store, Flyrobe in 2015. She is currently the Founder & CEO of SolarSquare Energy and was co-founder of Mumbai-based Flyrobe. Her company reported a revenue of $2 million in 2018. She participated as a Speaker in the VCCIRCLE Startup Summit 2017 on 15 February 2017 held in Mumbai. She made an exit from her fashion rental startup in 2019. Thereafter, she founded SolarSquare Energy, where she currently serves as CEO for SME (Small and Medium-sized enterprises).
Former CEO & Co-founder, Flyrobe; CEO for SME at SolarSquare Energy
Shreya Mishra- Personal Life
Shreya Mishra was raised in a family of IAS officers and lawyers. She never thought that she would enter the world of business. However, her passion for following trendy fashion led her to decode the void in the fashion rental space. She explored this specific area and established her fashion startup in 2015.
Shreya Mishra- Education
Shreya completed her formal education from Carmel Convent Sr. Sec School, Bhopal. She further completed her graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay with a B.Tech and M.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2012.
Along with her education, Shreya was a part of many organizations. She was a Core Group Member for Competitions at Mood Indigo, Annual Cultural Festival of IIT Bombay, Fourth Wall, Dramatics Club of IIT Bombay.
She also worked as a Summer Intern at Procter & Gamble Company from May 2010 to June 2010. She was a Campus Ambassador for the organization “Teach For India” from July 2010 to 2011. Her internship journey continued with Accenture, where she gained experience as a Summer Intern from May 2011 to July 2011.
Shreya Mishra- Professional Life
After completing her education, she worked as an Associate for The Boston Consulting Group for two years (September 2012 to June 2014). Post which she worked as an analyst at private equity venture Everstone Capital for ten months (June 2014 to March 2015).
She launched Flyrobe in September 2015 with two of her fellow IIT batchmates. She made an exit from her rental fashion firm in June 2019. Currently, she is the Entrepreneur at SolarSquare Energy. Before founding her present venture, she successfully completed 7 past jobs.
Shreya Mishra is currently serving as the CEO for SME & Residential Solar at SolarSquare Energy. The company was established in December 2019. The company is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She aims to make a difference in India’s energy sector by promoting energy independence and reliability via distributed generation methods of clean power generation.
SolarSquare Energy is a venture that drives mass adoption of rooftop solar in India. It is basically a solar power producer working on the distributed generation model. The company offers its services to businesses, social institutions, and large residential complexes and aids them to go solar by providing turnkey support like investment, design, build, operate & maintain the solar power plant. SolarSquare Energy works with the vision of making clean energy affordable and accessible.
Shreya Mishra- Flyrobe
Shreya served as the Co-founder and CEO at Flyrobe since July 2015 and ended her position in June 2019. Flyrobe is a highly demanded apparel rental platform that offers premium designer wear. It is one of India’s largest online fashion rental services.
Shreya co-founded Flyrobe with two of her IIT Bombay friends, Tushar Saxena who serves as the Co-founder and CTO at the company, and Pranay Surana who serves as the Co-founder and COO at Flyrobe.
The parent company Omapal Technologies Private Limited incubated Flyrobe and launched the fashion startup on 31 October 2015. The fashion venture also collaborated with Rent It Bae!
Shreya did a personal investment in Flyrobe on 6 September 2018. This Series B investment was valued at Rs. 264 million. It has raised funding of over $7 million from IDG Ventures, Sequoia Capital, PayTM, and several existing angel investors. After serving for around four years, she made exit from Flyrobe in 2019.
Shreya’s initial experience as an analyst gave her insights into the market. She used to follow fashion trends and found a big void in the fashion apparel rental space. She thus came forward with the idea of launching Flyrobe that would let people rent trendy, fashionable clothes at a fraction of the retail price. The company is primarily popular for wedding fashions.
The business did really well in the US and China. However, it displayed a lack of audience base in India. This is because of the Indian mentality of not wearing “used” clothes. But, today a lot of things have changed in India along with this thinking as well. Many People do search for such ventures to rent fashionable clothes, that is all the way offered to them at a reasonable price through Flyrobe.
Shreya has been recognized in the list of Entrepreneur Magazine 35 under 35 (January 2018).
She was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia (October 2017).
Her work has been recognized in Bloomberg 50 most promising startups in the world (March 2017).
She was recognized in the CNBC 20 under 40 Asia (January 2017).
She elegantly represented India as a delegate at the Open Minds Start-up expo, San-Francisco conducted by NCIIA(January 2012).
She was honored as an International delegate at Stanford University’s E-Bootcamp (January 2012).
She was the Winner, Eureka! of Asia’s largest business plan contest held at Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Bombay (January 2012) among 3,600 entries pan-India.
She received Young Innovator Award from Villgro (January 2011).
She was the Winner in Ideas for India Challenge conducted by ITC Classmate among 60,000 entries pan-India (January 2010).
Endnote
Shreya Mishra is presently working as the CEO of SolarSquare Energy. The company aims to transform India’s energy sector by promoting energy independence and reliability through a distributed generation method of clean energy generation. Shreya shows strong leadership and perseverance skills in all her venture that has led her to feature in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia. She is an inspiration to many young entrepreneurs and to all young girls who are looking at her as a role model. We hope to see many more woman entrepreneurs and leaders like Shreya Mishra in the future.
Shreya Mishra- FAQ’s
Who is Shreya Mishra?
Shreya Mishra is an Indian Entrepreneur, who co-founded an online fashion rental store, Flyrobe in 2015. She is currently the Founder & CEO of SolarSquare Energy and was co-founder of Mumbai-based Flyrobe.
What is her Education?
She completed her graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay with a BTech and MTech degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2012.
What is Flyrobe?
Flyrobe is a highly demanded apparel rental platform that offers premium designer wear. It is one of India’s largest online fashion rental services.
What is she currently doing?
Shreya Mishra is currently serving as the CEO for SME & Residential Solar at SolarSquare Energy. The company was established in December 2019. The company is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Is she involved with Flyrobe now?
She made an exit from her fashion rental startup in 2019, after serving for around four years,. Thereafter, she founded SolarSquare Energy, where she currently serves as CEO for SME (Small and Medium-sized enterprises).
What is SolarSquare Energy?
SolarSquare Energy is a venture that drives mass adoption of rooftop solar in India. It is basically a solar power producer working on the distributed generation model.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by SHEROES
When India was busy talking about feminism and how it will change humanity for good, some entrepreneurs were actually taking steps towards making life better for the female section of the society. One such entrepreneur is Sairee Chahal, who founded SHEROES in the year 2013.
SHEROES is a platform to build a community for women by offering support, resources, opportunities, and interactions via the portal named Sheroes.com and the application- SHEROES.
Lets go through the Success Story of SHEROES along with getting a glance on SHEROES Founder, Business Model, How it Started, Funding, Revenue Model & more…
SHEROES, the women-only community is a safe and trusted space founded by Sairee Chahal. Here, women can discuss various aspects of their life like health, careers, relationships and also share their life stories, achievements and moments. The SHEROES application also offers a dedicated helpline where the community members can talk to counselors on aspects of their growth journeys.
SHEROES follows a platform-centric model that aims at connecting companies to women professionals. These include mechanisms like the digital product, channel programs, hiring initiatives, employee branding, custom and of course special projects. Also, this is an engagement platform for brand marketers who are looking to engage with urban educated women. SHEROES.in today’s powers some of the largest diversity initiatives, channel programs and returning professionals programs.
SHEROES being an intermediary platform offers its enterprise customers a wide array of products which includes Brand Solutions, SHE – which is originated for the prevention of sexual harassment at work platform and also there is a Managed Remote Solutions program. Additionally, this platform also hosts the #SHEROES Summit which is a multi-city annual flagship event and #theshift Series which is envisioned for changing the gender narrative, alongside the community meets across geographies.
Sairee Chahal is the Founder and CEO of SHEROES. Sairee is a technology entrepreneur and has straddled the best of both worlds in her multiple ventures like Newslink, Fleximoms and now SHEROES.
She started Fleximoms.com to help women in India to discover new opportunities. Sairee is widely credited for building up women at work and future-of-work conversations in India. Also, she is renowned for building a strong technology play to solve the problems of gender disparity in India. This brilliant entrepreneur is also the convener of The SHEROES Summit which is India’s largest women’s forum.
Sairee has an M.Phil from JNU and a PGDM from IMT Ghaziabad. She kicks started her professional career while she was still in college before cofounding her first startup. Back then she was working at corporates like Heidrick and Struggles and CII. Sairee seems to be the icon of the modern woman. She has spoken on the TEDx stage and has been featured in India Today.
The idea behind SHEROES is very simple. It is to partner with every woman in India so that she can stay on a career path of her choice and meticulously excel at it. Now, this includes all types of working women, be it that of a first-time intern, work at home mom or a top corporate strategist or an entrepreneur.
According to Sairee Chahal, “I have been an entrepreneur more than once and have also been on the corporate side story, with its own trappings of success and career ladder. However, one does realize the need to address what looks like a reducing peer group as you grow into your career. SHEROES.in was set up with the view of converting the talk about diversity into the action. We all know the figures, the data, the gender and women at work debate but how do we bring out solutions. SHEROES.in is a step in that direction. The response has been great and we are very early into this. This can only go one way – towards more and more solution-oriented change concerning the women at work”.
SHEROES revenue is mainly driven by companies, who pay for 3 things:
For set up of women centric programs and initiatives
For premium products provided in platform like Ad Space, Micro sites, postings etc.,
For helping the companies to establish diversity program for companies, do benchmark studies etc.,
SHEROES – Startup Challenges
When it comes to startups that create business alignment with what will be financial value plus social impact is definitely a challenge. When you are at an early stage in the process, you are likely to be written off easily. Also, being a bootstrapped startup with a big audacious goal is not easily acceptable in the community. SHEROES as an enterprise defies many startup formulas, making way for new and contemporary concepts, but germinating these ideas is tough
When it comes to women’s employment and platforms that create and mediate those, the market seems to be fairly crowded and competitive. SHEROES competes with big and small industry affiliates like LinkedIn, TheMuse, Jobs for Her, Women for Hire to name a few.
SHEROES – Funding and Investors
SHEROES has raised over $2.58M in 3 rounds of funding. Its most recent funding was led by Leo Capital and Facebook executive Anand Chandrasekaran for an undisclosed amount.
Otipy, the social commerce venture of farm-to-retail agritech startup Crofarm partnered with SHEROES to empower women.
This partnership will be based on a revenue-sharing model, with strong synergies between both the app-based platforms. With an aim to empower women pan-India by providing them with an earning opportunity as Otipy partner resellers, this partnership was fueled. The initiative is looking to partner with 1000+ women in becoming Otipy resellers
SHEROES – Growth
Has members from over 20,000 locations
Over 12,000 companies actively use the platform
Currently active in all the major metro cities of India
SHEROES till date (2020) has acquired 6 startups, thereby strengthening its offering to the community.
Date
Company/Acquiree
About
September 2016
LoveDoctor
A health counselling platform
October 2016
Gharkamai
An online platform that assists professional women in finding work from home opportunities
August 2017
Women Restart
supports women returning to work after career break
September 2017
Babygogo
A healthcare startup that offers a parenting platform helping new moms keep their children healthy
January 2019
Maya
It enables women to keep track of their health via a mobile application
June 2020
Naaree.com
Women-focused publishing platform
SHEROES – Awards
SHEROES was awarded by the IAMAI Digital Awards in the “Social & Economic Empowerment” category in the year 2018.
Onalytica’s “Future of work Top 100 influencers and brands” featured the founder of SHEROES, Sairee Chahal at number 53 in the influencer list and SHEROES at number 30 in the brand’s category.
In the coming five years, SHEROES aims to put more than 100 million women on the growth road map in the country. SHEROES plans on expanding its footprint and go deeper into TIER 1 and 2 cities in India, where the need for opportunities is vast and there are lesser resources or help available to women.
SHEROES – Frequently Asked Questions
What will I find on SHEROES.in?
The part of being on SHEROES is that you will be a part of urban, educated, and empowered women. You can find job opportunities, career guidance from the panel of mentors and access to career resources. If you are woman looking for career opportunities and other women like you, SHEROES.in is the best platform for you.
Who is Sairee Chahal?
Sairee Chahal is the Founder and CEO of Sheroes, A woman only community.
Can I find jobs on SHEROES?
Yes, you can. You need to complete your profile, search and apply for jobs of your interest. You can find jobs on sheroes.in/jobs. Nont only jobs but you can also get career guidance and resources.
How to join bloggers network on SHEROES?
You just have to sign up on the website. Being a blogger on SHEROES you can get blogging opportunities, work as affiliate partners, be an official and verified SHEROES.in blogger.
Crimes against women has been a worrying scenario all over the world. As we celebrate the International Women’s Day, women’s safety and integrity is an agenda on the portfolios of many campaigns. Amongst others, a corporate setting too can be a place for foul play with women.
Sexual harassment or sexism at workplace has been a key concern amongst women employees. Every company is implied to set up a committee to readdress the same.
How deep does this problem run in organisations? is the committee really effective in addressing this issue? Have they ever faced it themselves? We find the answers to these questions as we speak to the women in the industry.
Dr. Shikha Baghi Bhandari – CEO & Owner, Timeless Aesthetics
Dr. Shikha Baghi Bhandari – CEO & Owner, Timeless Aesthetics
Sexism is everywhere and of course I have faced it in my career early on where people were not even subtle about their prejudices. Blatant disregard of my education and skills despite me being a specialist in my field, were simply demoralizing.
To combat that, I excelled in my field and proved to people that I am the best. It may sound sad or unfair that men do not necessarily have to prove their skill like women, but to change people’s views, one must unequivocally become the best in whatever they do.
I am glad to say that I have risen to the challenge and made a name for myself. Now it’s time to inspire the youths and my peers. That is why I am expanding my operations by opening clinics in many cities. This will create opportunity for many who don’t have to worry about roadblocks like sexism or pay gaps.
Hardwork requires more than heart, one must be tough enough to face life’s challenges. Women must work hard to reach certain heights where they get to make the rules. Once that is accomplished, sexism will be eradicated from it’s root.
The most important thing to remember is to not repeat what men have been doing. Our priority has to be equality across the board.
To those who are feeling down, I say this, “Never lose focus and prove them wrong, because you can”.
Unfortunately, but thankfully, I’ve had only one experience wherein a certain client tried to undermine my ability to run my practice based on my gender. That’s when I decided it’s best to cut ties with a client who was more focused on my gender than my work quality. Sadly, I know of several independent women who run successful businesses who have been victims of similar instances.
This is why it’s important that women set the right expectations from the very beginning. It’s also important that women through their demeanour and conduct demand to be treated equally and rightfully. One can be polite yet assertive while putting a point across and these small measures can have a huge impact in the way a team or a client would approach you.
However, for this, it’s also important to adopt a professional conduct while interacting with team-members and clients. This could be in the smallest sense – avoid conversations post a certain hour (unless absolutely necessary), avoid conversations that disclose private matters, be mind of email etiquette; body language; tonality, dressing in a certain way, etc.
Unfortunately, one to many times. Being in the industry I am, its shameful to say that its very common. People are more responsive when it’s a girl on the opposite call, rather than when it’s a man.
Even if the man is a Rockstar in sales, the girl has more chances of getting through because of the notion that has become the untold truth that sexism sells.
As I said, we do everything we can to promote gender equality, and infact we have more male BD’s than female, and we also send our female employee to the production site, so not only they understand what’s happening, but also they become stronger as a person when they are in the field.
Although I was running an organisation, during the initial few days I have experienced sexism. It was evident in the little things that the artisans in my workshop would do, like be hesitant to take orders from a woman and expect a male to be a decision-maker.
When I started my business, it was my passion project but these small things that you face can be bothersome in the beginning. It took me some time to get used to being comfortable in my role and I have managed to train and, even change my workforce wherever necessary.
It was mandatory to make those difficult decisions and hold my ground whenever necessary to make my workplace conducive not only to me but also to other women artisans.
When it comes to business, nothing can fully prepare you for challenges, you have to face them and if you don’t rise above your difficulty it makes your survival in the industry strenuous.
To maintain a healthy and functional workspace, I treat all my artisans and employees with respect and expect the same from them but if I feel someone is being sexist at my workspace, rather than turning a blind eye to it, I chose to have a conversation with them even if it gets uncomfortable.
If I don’t stand up for the things I believe in, I can’t expect anyone else to. I have to be the change I want to see.
I think a lot of women are still hesitant to show their confident side to the world because of the scare of how people will react, I think every woman who works at my organization is given equal rights to voice their opinion and to express their thoughts.
I think listening to everyone and not over talking helps an individual grow, because it helps you look beyond the judgmental instincts that you might have otherwise.
The world has become a more inclusive place now and what matters are the skill set and the dedication to bring to the table, it’s no longer whether you are a man or a woman.
I have never personally faced any sexism at my workplace and I am working towards building a secure environment for every individual who is working with me.
For me, it’s always been an evaluation of a role based on performance and giving everyone an equal opportunity at work. Alongside we have a very detailed clear guidebook for what is considered acceptable behavior.
No, I haven’t faced such issues in my workplace. In general we can’t say it’s not happening in the workplaces but it’s considerably reduced nowaday through awareness programs and organisation’s initiatives.
Women should be strong enough to voice out without any fear if such cases happen in their workplace so that we can take proper action.
In our startup we ensure that we will be alway open to hear such feedback from anyone in workplace and will take action on such cases if it’s reported in our workplace and also its individual men’s responsibility to treat their female coworkers as a friend and ensure their safety, only then we can make sure not to happen in any workplace.
Naina Aggarwal Ahuja – Founder & COO, Talking Point Communications
Naina Aggarwal Ahuja – Founder & COO, Talking Point Communications
I took the plunge as an entrepreneur at quite a young age when most people would rather get into a comfortable corporate job.
My work is all about managing people’s reputations and communicating a brand’s messaging aptly to its target audience. This means I practically work round the clock.
Being a woman makes this a tad bit more challenging given the different things I need to balance on a day-to-day basis – from running the company, being the trustee of an NGO, managing home, and also finding the time to follow my passion.
However, what has kept me going in all these years is my ability to prioritize, set the right expectations across all aspects of my life, and staying true to my commitments.
I think being at the helm of affairs does not have anything to do with gender. It is about believing in what you have set out to achieve and going full-steam ahead with diligence and perseverance. Even during COVID-19, when most business sectors suffered a setback, I did not let it deject me. We kept it going and tried to look for newer avenues in times like these.
Dr. Malini Saba – Founder & Chairman, Saba Group
Dr. Malini Saba – Founder & Chairman, Saba Group
Sexism at workplace happens every day in a lot of small things; it is slow & toxic, a death by a thousand cuts. Positioning at predominantly held male dominated space is not been easy.
I have met the best minds and the worst, frauds and cons, been fooled & bullied, sexually harassed and assaulted. I focus on hiring mainly women to create a culture for women in all ‘boys club’.
The pandemic has intensified sexism challenges that women already face, working mothers have always worked a “double shift”—a full day of work, followed by hours spent caring for children and doing household labour. Now the supports that made this possible—including school and childcare—have been upended.
To curb sexism at workplace was not just about having one issue fixed, we tried addressing all the small things that add up to a bigger problem for women to succeed at work. We allow flexible work arrangements and focus on productivity and results, and not time spent at the desk. We support pay transparency & ensure that there are no gaps in our workplace by doing a wage audit.
We hold regular events, workshops, campaigns and also engage outside speakers to conduct sessions on discrimination, harmful behavior, defending & supporting women and building trust. To liven up these sessions we incorporate them into company retreats or other outings to associate it with fun events. We have expanded our services related to mental health, such as counselling and enrichment programs, and give training to help managers support the team mental health and well-being.
Chahat Aggarwal- Founder and CEO of Impact Study Biz
Chahat Aggarwal- Founder and CEO of Impact Study Biz
Yes, I have faced sexism in the workplace and I can go on and on about it. Sexism sometimes is so subtle that many a time one is left wondering if it really was sexist or is overthinking it. But trust me, 9/10 times it is sexist. And then there are situations of blatant in-your-face sexism. I remember once sitting in a meeting where a man kept talking to the male colleague throughout the meeting whilst completely ignoring me. It was supremely awkward to sit there and be treated invisible.
Coming to the second part of the question. Firstly, we are a women-led company. We have women across all functions and hence, I feel we subconsciously are ingrained with the principles of discouraging sexism in a big way. However, if someone feels they have encountered it, we give them complete right to red flag it then and there. No need for any further process. And of course, we will make sure to look into the matter thoroughly and take the appropriate actions. But luckily, so far our culture has steered us away from all such incidences.
Although this happens to both the genders, women are more susceptible to sexism and workplace harassment. Giving their promotion to a male worker or luring them into an early promotion offer, sexual favours for quid pro quo are some of the common incidents reported by employees.
Sexual harassment at workplace can be unnerving and can jeopardize the confidence and self esteem of the person going through it. An open door policy, a solid readdresal structure and empathy towards the victim are the key essentials to prevent the unthoughtful at source.
India has mostly been a male-dominated society and women in India have always been fighting for equality. There are a lot of issues persisting in India like female infanticide and child marriage. Women don’t actually feel safe in India. This is not just in India and is common in different countries and on the whole, the world is moving towards building a society that respects and treats women equal to men.
With these issues, the Government of India is working on empowering women using various schemes. Now, we can find a lot of women trying to come out into the world in spite of having a conservative background. Most girls have access to a good education. Government of India has brought a lot of schemes into existence to make this possible and has been a huge contribution to this. Here are a few schemes introduced by Government for women empowerment.
A Few Schemes Introduced By The Government Of India
Bhartiya Mahila Bank Business Loan
Women are making mark in all the fields. Although a huge number of women have emerged to be successful, there are plenty who needs motivation and support to start or continue their venture. Bhartiya Mahila Bank Business Loan is scheme that supports women by giving them loan upto Rs.20 Crore. This bank has the vision to provide economic empowerment to women. The loan limit via this source is Rs.20 Crores.
Mudra Yojana Scheme
It is a Government of India initiative that provides business loans to women who want to open day-care-center, beauty salon or a small venture like these. The loan granted loan amount lies in Rs.50,000 and Rs.50 lakh. Also this scheme does not require any collateral or guarantor if the loan amount is below 10 Lakh. The women are given Mudra cards with which they can withdraw 10% of their loan.
Annapurna Scheme
Most of the Indian women have a talent of cooking delicious food. This loan is provided to women in the food catering industry, still establishing their small scale businesses. The loan allows these women entrepreneurs to avail it as capital requirements like buying equipment and utensils, setting up trucks, etc. Under this scheme, women can sell packed food items and snacks which is one of the most common businesses that women entrepreneurs scope out and excel in since it is something that housewives have been managing all their lives and are accustomed to. This boosts their sales since they have a chance at better capital and new products to kickstart their business than they could otherwise afford. The loan limit is Rs. 50,000 under the scheme.
Dena Shakti Scheme:
This scheme is limited only to women entrepreneurs in the fields of agriculture, retail, manufacturing, are small enterprises The maximum limit is decided according to the sector they are exploring or planning to open business in. The loan limit is Rs.20 Lakhs
Pradhanmantri Rojgar Yojana:
The Pradhanmantri Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) supports women financially and socially. This scheme aims at creating skill-based, self-employment through women entrepreneurs and smart minds at work being utilized for monetary independence. This scheme covers both urban and rural areas and was developed through several amendments in cost, eligibility, and subsidy limits. The loan subsidy amount is up to 15% of the project cost with an upper ceiling of Rs. 12,500 per borrower as a restriction. The scheme applies to all types of ventures in industries, trade and services. The age limit is 35 years and loan limit for business is Rs. 2 Lakh while for service and industry, Rs. 5 Lakh.
Udyogini Scheme:
This scheme provides loans with low rate of interest, comparatively less than skyrocketing private sector banks. This is only valid for those who have a family income of less than Rs. 40,000 per annum. They especially encourage loans in the trade and service sector and the cap amount for the same is Rs. 1 Lakh.
Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme:
This scheme aims to meet the gap in equity. It promotes MSMEs and small sector investments in different industries to grow and excel in their areas. This also encourages the reconstruction of SSI units that are deemed incapable but are actually viable to save. A period of 10 years is given to the debtor to repay the loan and the limit for the loan is Rs.10 Lakhs.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
This is a social campaign that was launched in 2015 and is run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The initial funding was about 100 crores.
The main reason for the government to come up with this scheme was that the child gender ratio kept declining majorly because of female foeticide and selective abortion. The main objective here was to save the girl child and also educate the girl child. This has proved to make girls financially independent and self-sustaining. With this scheme, girl child or birth of a girl child is celebrated and girls are encouraged to study and follow their dreams.
Ratio of male to female in India
One-Stop Center
This is a 24-hour helpline dedicated to women. This was implemented with the help of the Nirbhaya fund. These are established in multiple locations in the country and has various services. This includes a shelter for women, legal or medical help, counselling and so on. The toll-free number is 181. They also provide video call facility to people who need to record a statement for police complain registration. This can be used even in case of domestic violence and sexual assaults. This has hence proved to be useful and is a place where women can open up and come up with their problems and try to get a reasonable solution for the same.
Working Women’s Hostel
Not all women in India have a safe place to stay. With crime against women rising in the country, it is a requirement for women to have a safe place to stay and travel to work. Under this scheme, the government provides a safe place for working women with the family. It also provides facility for daycare for kids. This can be availed only if the gross income of the woman is less than Rs. 50,000 per month in metropolitan and less than Rs. 35,000 per month in other cities. This is a very successful scheme as statistics prove that nearly 66,000 women have benefitted from this and more than 890 hostels have been sanctioned. A minimal rent is charged from them depending on whether it is a single bedroom, double bedroom or dormitories.
Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme For The Children Of Working Mothers
Services under Rajiv Gandhi National Creche
It is always difficult for working women to manage family and especially kids who are too young to take care of themselves. This scheme is for helping such women to take care of their children. This scheme provides daycare for the kids of working mothers. This is when the kid is 6 months old to 6 years old. The scheme also helps kids get better nutrition and hence improve the health of underprivileged kids. It has also proved to help kids develop emotionally and socially and also get some education.
Many working women find this very useful and try their best to utilize this as they don’t just take care of kids but also make sure that they are healthy and educated in the meantime.
SWADHAR Scheme
This is to help women who are going through difficult times. This is more of psychological support. For example, there are women who are released from jail, survived through disasters, trafficked and rescued, run away due to issues, widows left out of the family and so on. This scheme is to help those women survive and get back to normal. This scheme also supports women who are affected by HIV and mentally challenged. Women in these situations are given proper psychological treatment and support.
STEP here is short for Support to Training and Employment Program. This is to help women get themselves a decent paying job to support themselves and their family. They provide specific training to get a job or even become an entrepreneur.
Mahila E-Haat
Mahila E-Haat is to support women entrepreneurs. We know that there are a lot of women entrepreneurs in India now. This is an online marketing platform wherein entrepreneurs and Self-help groups can put up their products and let others know about it.
Mahila Shakthi Kendra
This is majorly for women in rural areas. This scheme was launched in the year 2017 to develop the lives of rural women. There are a lot of women, especially in rural areas who do not have the access to proper education and skill development. Under this scheme, women get access to digital education, nutrition, health and even skill development. They also get a chance for employment.
There are a lot of other schemes too. Government has been doing a lot towards developing women and ensuring the safety for women. There is not much awareness of most of the schemes yet. Promoting awareness of these can help women a lot in developing themselves and their family. Employment opportunities for women and mental support have now become essential for most of the women in the country and the Government of India is doing a good job with it. Better awareness and proper usage of these schemes can be a huge advantage.
We find all sorts empowering posts flying around social media when women’s day is around the corner. No, this article isn’t going to talk about the same old mediocre state of women in the Indian ecosystem. Well we’ve certainty risen above that. We are rather going to be talking about how the women workforce is at it and shattering the society glass ceiling and climbing the corporate ladder one step at a time.
Although social media tries to push the feminine button a dozen times, what we know is a drop in the ocean. The state of Indian women in corporates is notably growing but the pace is that of the tortoise who wins slowly and steadily.
It is safe to say we have come a long way from assuming that women were only confined to kitchens and producing babies. Especially in India, where so many women have little to almost no agency to take career oriented decisions, corporate offices still experience male dominance.
According to the Fortune 500 list published in march 2020, only 29 Indian companies had women at senior management and executive levels. The number has grown by a measly 6% in the past decade. Today, women own around 20% of micro scale business in urban and rural parts of the country.
In July 2020, more than 1.3 billion people will have lived in India. Women constitute 48% of this large figure. Women account for 19% of India’s total labor force. Around 3.8% are CEOs and Managing Directors of listed companies in India. This number has seen a slight uphill from 3.2% in 2014.
Whereas only 8% women are found to be in top management positions, 13.8% women are board of directors in companies listed on the NSE. Chief Human Resource Officers, a global domain where countries like the US and South Africa overrule positions, and India is still trying to reach a mark, women attributes are only 30%.
Smita V Krishna has been named the richest women in India with a net worth of 434 billion INR and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was named India’s richest self made women and was ranked third in the overall ranking in 2019.
While we cannot stop raging about how Indian women are reigning top positions, we cannot forget the dip in the total female labor participation. One would rejoice as the country’s GDP has grown over 6% from 2014 resulting in more employment opportunities, but there has been a considerable decline in the rate of female labor participation, from 42% in 2005 to 23% in 2018.
It is as if half the female workforce just dissolved themselves. This could be a huge concern to the Indian Ecosystem, since it has abundant labor power and according to one estimate, India has the potential to grow its GDP by $2.9 trillion USD by 2050.
In 2019, only 78 of 542 seats in the lower house of the Parliament were filled by women. This is a record high figure. However, this percentage amounts to only 14% which is still a long way from equivalence.
Strength of Women in Lok Sabha
Stats Around the Globe
The global participation of women in senior management has grown to 29%, the highest number ever recorded. In 2020, it maintains the status quo. 87% of global mid-market companies have at least one woman in a senior management role in 2020.
The women employees seem to crowd the areas like administration and support functions, while men are deep into Operations, R&D, P&L, qualities that are often reviewed for positions for CEO and Board of directors. Around the globe, 40% of women are Human Resource Directors, 17% are chief marketing officers and 16% are Chief Information Officers.
Reasons for declining numbers of Female workers in India
Although Indian women are resiliently grabbing a chance at education, it seems that not many of them are looking forward for paid work. As said earlier, women, especially married and from rural towns, have no agency when it comes to the decision of taking up a paid job.
Many families believe that men are the primary breadwinners. This assumption is keeping women devoid work and are confined to schooling kids at home and taking care of the elderly. The gender roles are so engraved in our society that women are calling it quits and returning home to take care of their families.
Apart from this, gender pay gap, sexual harassment and proximity to work are major reasons why female workers don’t engage themselves in paid jobs.
FAQ
What percentage of the workforce is female in India?
19.9% of the workforce is female in India.
Who is the first woman CEO in India?
Indra Nooyi is the CEO of Pepsi and ranked as the world’s 100 most powerful women.
Who is the Highest paid female CEO?
Lisa Su is the highest paid female CEO according to the Associated Press’ annual report on CEO salaries.
Who is the most powerful woman in India?
The non-executive director of Reliance Industries Nita Ambani is the powerful woman in India.
Conclusion
India is far from parity when it comes to gender based policies. We have to get better at giving women the agency and opportunities, and in such a way that women don’t hesitate to accept jobs and excel in their fields. Women contribute to nearly half the country’s population.
We need to believe in the female workforce to accelerate the growth of Indian economy. We hope that more women empower themselves by not just being a meal maker but by becoming a meal earner.
Women have been entering many fields and industries that they were absent in the past. They have been breaking through the glass-ceiling for quite some time now, and there are many professions they are taking up and excelling in. In this article, we will take a look at the most profitable business ideasfor housewives and women who want to do some side hustle. Remember, the list is limited in this article but not in real life. You can be whatever you want to be as long as you have the motivation and passion to do it. We have come up with some of the best business ideas for women in India which need very little investment and still provide high profit.
Let’s start with the list of best business ideas for women:
Yoga & Fitness Center | Best Business ideas for Women
Yoga is an ancient Indian fitness technique that is becoming popular worldwide, so being a Yoga trainer has a lot of potentials as it has a huge demand. You can learn Yoga at any good training centre and once you get the certificates, you can start advertising yourself through the means of pamphlets in a newspaper, or hoarding in nearby regions, or even through communicating with your friends, family and neighbours. An investment is required, though it is not as significant but you will need a place to conduct your sessions, yoga mats, dumbbells, and other paraphernalia. Then you are ready to become a Yoga instructor.
“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”, said by John F. Kennedy
And to become a fitness trainer, it will require a bit extra investment to set up but the resulting profit is great, as gym equipment are a one-time investment. Almost everybody is health conscious these days and therefore this business will be profitable.
Photography
Photography | Best Business ideas for Women’
If you love photography then photography is the perfect business idea for women. If you click photos of your family and friends then you can start clicking pictures of wedding, parties, real estate building, wildlife, etc and get paid.
What you need are the best quality camera and a few accessories. You can start with local customers and then you can share your portfolio on socialPhoto media like Facebook, Instagram, etc. You can sell your pictures to magazines, Shutterstock too.
Restaurant
Restaurant Business | Best Business ideas for Women
In today’s busy world, restaurants play an important role in every person’s life. Most women are passionate and talented about cooking, and it is more than a stereotypical assumption. It is one of the best startup business ideas for women. Restaurant businesses do very well in today’s economy. Our nation is developing rapidly and the food and beverage industry is prospering as well.
A woman can start their own restaurant or cafe and earn profits as people love food everywhere. And if your restaurant offers good food and quality, there is only a little more you will need to do. There is undoubtedly high competition in this sector, but once the business settles there are only returns to your investments that are going to be much higher. You can also start a catering or take-away services as an addition to running a restaurant.
Clothing can be other startup ideas for women. There are many talented women who know how to work with a piece of cloth. The clothing business is gaining a lot of popularity in these past few decades and women are doing great. With a little bit of investment in the tools, clothes and machinery, you can turn your talent into a business. It could be a business from home too which will be perfect for a housewife.
As a beginner, you can design your own clothes and set up a space in your home to stitch them. Once your business starts gaining enough profits, you can move on to making it bigger. Customers want better quality, a variety in the types of clothes, accessories they wear and all this at a reasonable amount. That is your market and it is very profitable to get into the clothing business, considering the rapid rise in the fashion industry.
“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.”, said by Rachel Zoe
Consulting Business
Consulting Business | Best Business ideas for Women
It doesn’t have to be the ‘traditional’ businesses that women get to choose from. Many women are taking their years of corporate or IT experiences and turning it into a full-fledged business.
A consultant is an expert who advises others in a specific field or to fix specific problems.
Companies and corporates are always looking for people with enough experience so that they can consult them for a variety of challenges or strategies with their organization. If you are well aware of the market around yourself and have a good network of contacts with professionals from different industries, you could set up a consultancy firm on your own and share the information with others. It doesn’t require much capital investment as even a small room can be turned into your business office. Although, you would need the required qualification, certificates and experience in this area. There are many types in consulting business like Career Consultant, Leadership/Team Building Consultant, Marketing Consultant, Organization/Efficiency Consultant, etc.
Beauty Parlor Business | Best Business ideas for Women
If you enjoy styling hair, performing manicures and all other aspects of the cosmetology industry, a career as a beauty salon may be a rewarding and lucrative career choice for you. It is the best business for women. This business requires only a little investment in training, quality products and basic equipment. The customer base of beauty parlour and salon keeps increasing every day.
People spend a lot of time on their looks and want to be at their best physically. And hence, Gym and Beauty Parlors are the top priorities of today’s generation. You will need a space to set up your business and advertisement in initial stages, and then rest can be left to word of mouth as people will be drawn to you when there is an ease in access to your outlet. This beauty business will suit women of every age and housewives can easily turn it into a profitable business with her neighbour friends.
Blogging
Blogging | Best Business ideas for Women
For the females who want to work from home, or have a family to look after, blogging is a very good idea of business for them. These days there are hundreds upon thousands of blogs out there, covering just about everything you can think of. And business is no exception. They come in all formats about all subjects, from marketing to finance to entrepreneurship.
Blogging is for people who love to write, and you will find many examples of women around you to prove that. When you are blogging, you can work completely on your own schedule – that is when you are also meeting the targeted work each day, or week. You can set up a blogging site of yours and monetize it. Once you have an ample amount of audience, your articles will earn you income through the ways of ad placement on your web page. You do not need to be an excellent writer, however, you will need an understanding of what is your niche, how can you get the most traffic and the required SEO techniques to establish and earn well through your website.
Affiliate Marketing | Best Business ideas for Women
Affiliate Marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards their affiliates for each customer brought by affiliate’s own marketing efforts. You find a product or service you like, you promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make. You will need to get connected to a firm or business that uses this marketing strategy and the work is done through your performance on the field.
An e-commerce merchant wanting to reach a wider base of internet users and shoppers may hire an affiliate. An affiliate could be the owner of multiple websites or email marketing lists; the more websites or email lists that an affiliate has the wider his network. The hired affiliate then communicates and promotes the products offered on the e-commerce platform to his network. The affiliate does this by implementing banner ads, text ads, or links on its multiple owned websites or via email to its clientele. You will need good communication skills, a good convincing skills and good approach to convert the leads into sales. There is no education qualification required as such in this field.
Writing is one profession that is especially suited to people who want flexibility in where, how, and when they work to fit their lifestyle goals. That’s because most types of writing today only require a computer, an Internet connection, and word processing software. Also, it is the best business for ladies with low investment and one of the best side business ideas for ladies.
A freelance writer is a person who works on a self-employed basis. They can work for a magazine, a publication, or any other content provider and get paid for the written work they do. Freelancers commonly present in creative industries. You can make a lot of money as a writer and start your own business of Freelance writing. You just need to know the right techniques to write and charge the right rate for your work. There are many online training programs for the same. A wide variety of types of writing are available, including articles, copywriting, and more.
Teach or Tutor
Teaching | Best Business ideas for Women
You can become a teacher for a private or public institute, or start up your own education centre where you teach yourself, or with a group of other teachers. You will need the necessary education qualification, correct advertisement techniques, a decent space to conduct classes and a passion to spread your knowledge. Home-tuition is also a good source of income for women.
If you enjoy working with people and helping them reach their goals and potential, a home-based coaching business might be for you. One of the great advantages to coaching today is that technology has expanded your ability to provide coaching services. These days, even online education is growing rapidly, thanks to the advancement of technology. You can post your video tutorials on any platform on the internet where you can monetize and earn from those videos. The profits are very high, once you have established your reputation.
Craft Business
Craft Business | Best Business ideas for Women
Women have a lot of unique characteristics of intricate and delicate handcrafting. Many customers look for handmade objects in craft stores. Thus, it is advisable to start a craft store. Since a majority of customers at craft stores are women, a female owner would make a better connection with them, thereby, allowing the customers to shop with ease.
One more business, craft-making business is also a good option of artistic woman. This business is different from the craft store because the craft store only sells products whereas craft-making requires things to be made from scratch. In the craft-making business, people require the skills of knitting, sewing by hand and so forth. Maintaining a craft making business requires neatness, precision, and aesthetic value. This is perfect for women who like art. Women with creativity can also start teaching her craft skills to children.
So there you have it, our list of best business option and ideas for the ladies. Women only need a little bit of self-assurance to develop their confidence and the rest can be left to their potency and proficiency. There are many emerging entrepreneurs that are female. With an ample amount of knowledge, understanding of business administrations and training – anyone can become an entrepreneur and a successful one if they have passion and determination to do more in them.
There are many types of designing businesses a woman can try like graphic designing, web designing, interior designing, fashion designing etc. She can do maximum work sitting at home. In the case of interior designing, the designer has to go for a visit to the site to look after work progress.
Graphics Design
If you have an eye for design and experience in graphic designing platforms like Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, then there is a profitable market out there for you in Graphic Designing. You can become a freelance graphic designer if you have creative skills that are required. A good computer and appropriate software are sufficient as an investment.
Businesses these days require graphic designers to make their creative artwork such as logo, or web design. The advantages to this business are that, provided you have a strong design and colour sense, you don’t need to be able to draw, you can work full time or part-time and you can do it at home. Hours are flexible, so as long as you meet clients at reasonable times and meet your deadlines, you can work ’til dawn and sleep ’til noon if you want to. Graphic designing with printing is a great source of earning income.
Interior Design
An interior designer plans, researches, coordinates, and manages enhancement of buildings from inside. Interior designing business needs conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming, research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction management, and execution of the design. The interior designing business is also suitable for women because women have a knack for decorating and keeping things neat. Thus, women who are already in the field of designing can try their hands at interior designing.
Web Design
Web designing is a trending business in the present day. The number of people who want to hire a web designer has made many people switch their professions to pursue web designing. Any woman who has the knowledge of web designing can follow this career path.
Fashion Designing
Fashion is loved by all women. Thus, becoming a fashion designer is one of the most profitable businesses. A fashion designer should be able to combine the elements to make any person look more attractive just by the clothes they are wearing.
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‘Education is freedom’ said famous Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. Education is meant to liberate us from ignorance. Education in its real sense should allow us to experience the joy of knowing the unknown. However, when we look around we see that in our country education has become a matter of fear rather than freedom. Today’s education system merely seems to be a tool to make children job-ready rather than life ready.
The education system in India is simply letting the children absorb information and data rather than developing the thinking capabilities of the child. Chitra Ravi, a parent concerned over the damage that the present education system could do to her child, came up with certain solutions. Chitra started EZ Vidya, currently known as Chrysalis, that has come up with products that help in developing the thinking capabilities of the child, and makes education joyful, not fearful for the child. They also have a Chrysalis Home Learning program.
Recently, Chitra Ravi, founder of Chrysalis conducted Home Parent Webinar on 13th June 2020. The recording of the webinar gained 40K+ views on YouTube in just 2 days. You can watch the recording of the webinar at live.chrysalis.world.
StartupTalky interviewed Chrysalis’ Director Ganesh Subramanian.
Chrysalis has innovated an academic program for the formative years (2-12) years of a child’s education – “ThinkRoom”. Through the name itself, schools can easily understand the function of this program, which is to awaken thinking, and where it is applied – in Classrooms. ThinkRoom is designed with a vision of awakening human potential in every child. The Curriculum (pedagogy) is created with a child-centric philosophy.
Framework for Human Potential
Our school system produces children who are tested for memory in exams and not conceptual or thinking skills. In the past children were handed down information, without considering the development of their social thinking, emotional thinking, academic thinking, or meta-cognitive thinking.
Chrysalis does not wish to hand down information. They ensure that the children develop and practice the vital skill of thinking in relation to the subjects being taught, they form habits of collaboration and self-management very early on when their personalities are forming very deep notions about life and how to live in this world.
Chrysalis’ learning solutions can be adopted by any board or any school, as the solutions are designed under the guidance of NCF (National curriculum framework) 2005 in terms of the design of the pedagogy. ThinkRoom is an integrated academic program for maths, English, science, and social studies in school. Chrysalis ThinkRoom is a synthesis of Product (Subject Books called Studios), Service Design (Continuous Professional Development training for teachers), and (Mitra Tab) Technology for Authentic Assessment. You can login to the ThinkRoom platform at mitra.chrysalis.world.
Chrysalis ThinkRoom though works within the constraints of the school syllabus, but completely transforming the way education is delivered. ThinkRoom awakens “thinking” in a child’s brain, and takes into account the whole brain, not just thinking that is academically brilliant, but while doing academics, they learn social and emotional and metacognitive skills, as the curriculum integrates learning in all dimensions within the context of the chapter being taught.
A management graduate, Chitra has a great passion for education. Chitra deftly combines her skills in conceptualization, story-boarding, and instructional design to deliver products and services which are dynamic and on par with any international curriculum standards.
Chitra has widely traveled to the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and South East Asia and has participated in many international training programs and conventions including the Project Zero conducted by the Harvard University exclusively for educators. She has also presented a program on the effective use of technology in the K-12 curriculum for one of the biggest satellite channels in India.
An English graduate and MBA degree holder, Chitra worked with Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank after graduation and later joined her family real estate business. She had no plans to venture into the education sector until she realized that what her daughter was being taught at school was contributing nothing to bring out her innate potential.
Being a parent she was genuinely concerned to see that most of the energy of the children at school was spent in rote learning rather than gaining practical experience. She noticed that even computer science which should be taught practically was being taught through textbooks rather than through practical training.
Children were wilting away due to the pressures of the system instead of blossoming into beautiful human beings – Ganesh says.
Chitra wanted to make a difference to a way computer science is being taught at schools, and she started Chrysalis. Chrysalis initially was into the development of a teacher training module (focused on both skills and dispositions) and ICT curriculum, which was designed to deliver computer literacy.
The ICT curriculum was designed based on Chrysalis’ philosophy of making the children learn better through thinking. This later paved way for Chrysalis ThinkRoom, where Chrysalis developed a curriculum based on its framework which is a combination of practices adopted by every progressive country in the area of education. You can check out ThinkRoom at mitra.chrysalis.world. The company was initially known as EZ Vidya and in 2016, it was named Chrysalis.
Chrysalis – Name, Tagline and Logo
Chrysalis’ logo is a butterfly. Chrysalis is the state of transformation from a pupa to a butterfly, and butterflies are as colorful as the different kids who Chrysalis reaches out to. Nothing better communicates what they intend to do and with whom, they intend to bring a transformation in the education system and love to make products that benefit the children.
Chrysalis’ team members were in communication with some schools through ICT program and when they came up with ThinkRoom, they promoted it organically, presented it in a lot of Principal forums, like sahodaya and more. They conducted Principal connect events across their reachable geography according to their capacity at the time.
The startup focused on consistent great product design, direct sales, and events that connected them to the stakeholders. Chrysalis is very organic in the way they proceed.
Chrysalis – User Acquisition
Schools are a complex ecosystem and the teachers, principals, school owners, parents; all of them are crucial, and it is important for Chrysalis that its curriculum is trusted by all these stakeholders. Therefore, it is different from SaaS products or other services offered in the market.
“School partnerships are an emotional bond”, says Ganesh.
Chrysalis team strives to maintain and nurture these valued bonds with its partner schools through continuous communication. Their campaigns are built to inspire transformation in the mind-sets of the stakeholders and, mostly BTL (Below the Line) in nature.
There is one campaign that brought Chrysalis a lot of traction – “Dream for the Child”, written by Chrysalis’ marketing head and recorded in Chrysalis CEO – Mrs. Chitra Ravi’s voice, it had a huge impact, and attracted 2000 members from different walks of life to join Chrysalis.
Chrysalis has a B2B businessmodel and their financial transactions are with the school authorities, specifically, the school owners. Chrysalis ThinkRoom is Chrysalis’ flagship product. A good part of their revenue is from this product.
Chrysalis – Funding and Investors
In 2018, Chrysalis raised an undisclosed amount of funding from investors like Artha India Ventures, Menterra Venture Advisors, and Gray Matters Capital (GMC).
Actually, it is the children who motivate us to do our best – Ganesh says.
As competition is concerned, the Chrysalis team does not see the school ecosystem as a marketplace. Neither, they try to size up the competition to remain ahead of them.
Our product is designed to fundamentally change the nature of education while our competitors, to say it simply, are focused on making the delivery of the current education in its old state itself, faster, easier, better, etc. Yes, the market does perceive Chrysalis in the same category, so we don’t try to stay ahead, but simply communicate the divergent benefit that we are offering, and it requires an empowered school leader who is looking for such curriculum to associate with us – Ganesh says explaining Chrysalis’ view on competition.
In 2002, Chrysalis (EZ Vidya) entered into Wipro’s ‘Quality Education Forum‘. EZ Vidya within just 6 months from its inception became partners with Wipro for research in education.
In 2011, EZ Vidya received mBillionth Award for innovation in education for ‘Bridge IT‘, an initiative to use standard mobile phones for improving quality for teaching.
In 2013, Buzzle App was introduced by Chrysalis ( EZ Vidya). Buzzle was India’s first personalized learning and assessment app which is integrated with ‘Studio‘ ( Studio is a component of Chrysalis’ product – ‘ThinkRoom’)
In 2013, E Z Vidya Pvt. Ltd. was chosen as the Game Changer of the year from a pool of 63000 companies, by ET NOW Leaders of Tomorrow.
In 2017, Best Academic Innovative Curriculum, by Indian Education Awards.
In 2018, Chrysalis was featured among the top 7 companies in KIES EduAwards.
Chrysalis Founder, Chitra Ravi at The ET Now ‘Game Changer of the Year Award’, 2013
Chrysalis has partnered with 700 schools till now and has reached over 4,00,000 students. Chrysalis enjoys the highest retention rates in the industry with over 80%.
Besides, Chrysalis is now operating in 10 Indian states including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and also Nepal and Africa. The company is also slowly reaching Maharashtra, Delhi, northern states of the country.
The company is aiming to scale up and reach as many schools they can, with a growth rate of 40%+.
We are organic in our leadership as well, so we have to see how this shapes up. Education is going through a transformation now, and we are rightly positioned to take a lead, because we already have a well developed curriculum framework, and as a proof of concept, we have 700 schools operational in the existing design.
Chrysalis envisions to awaken Human Potential in every child, and is aiming to scale from its current 700 partner schools to 1500 schools in 2020-21.
Chrysalis – FAQs
What is Chrysalis ThinkRoom?
Chrysalis has innovated an academic program for the formative years (2-12) years of a child’s education – “ThinkRoom”. The learning solutions can be adopted by any board or any school, as the solutions are designed under the guidance of NCF (National curriculum framework) 2005 in terms of the design of the pedagogy
Who founded Chrysalis?
Chitra Ravi is the founder and CEO at Chrysalis.
How much Funding did Chrysalis raise?
In 2018, Chrysalis raised an undisclosed amount of funding from investors like Artha India Ventures, Menterra Venture Advisors, and Gray Matters Capital (GMC)
Mahenoor Mansuri
