Lady Entrepreneurs Who Dazzled In
The Start Up World!

Business arena has always been a man’s world much like the rest of the planet. But in the past few years, Indian women have defied all the stereotypes and have taken the Start-Up world by storm. With their talent and resourcefulness, these ladies have established themselves as successful entrepreneurs. To inspire you further, we’ve made a list of these powerful women and you will be surprised to know how many of these famous ventures were actually a brainchild of women.

1)Yatra.com: Let’s begin with Seniority. Have you ever heard about Sabina Chopra? Probably not, if you haven’t been reading about startups. But, have you heard about Yatra.com? The answer to this has to be a yes. Yatra.com is everywhere – from your google search for air tickets to your honeymoon plans. However, what many of us don’t know is that it was co-founded by a dynamic lady called Sabina Chopra who has also served as its Chief Operation Officer. Prior to Yatra, Ms. Chopra headed India based Operations of ebookers, Europe’s largest online travel company. She has over 16 years of work experience, has a thorough knowledge of all facets of the Travel BPO Industry and an extensive network within the Indian travel community. Sabina Chopra spearheaded the travel revolution in India and helped in establishing the biggest travel website of our country.

2)Zivame: Who would have thought that lingerie could be bought online? Only a woman. Richa Kar was the woman who realized that there was immense potential in the lingerie sector. With her talent and experience, she single-handedly set up Zivame.com without any entrepreneurial background. She conceived the idea of Zivame while researching for her previous job and realized that there’s large blank space in Indian lingerie sector especially online. With her little savings and lots of support from her family and friends, she started off Zivame in Bengaluru. From rented space for an office to the leading lingerie online company in India, Richa Kar has surely broken many taboos with her entrepreneurial journey.

3) Nykaa: It took one female to revolutionize the complete cosmetic industry in India. Just a decade away from her retirement and well-settled in the plush position of the managing director in Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, Falguni Nayar took the leap of faith and started off Nyka. The IIM Ahmedabad Graduate says she has always had the entrepreneurial streak in her and it was the fear of complacency that led her to the decision of taking the plunge. Nykaa sells more than 35,000 products from 650 brands, both international and Indian, luxury and mass, and is constantly adding new labels to its stock. Last year, it brought global premium brand Estée Lauder on board, making MAC cosmetics available online in India for the first time. Two years ago, Nayar introduced her own brand—and it has gone on to become a best-seller. In her own words “One should be the Nykaa(Heroine) of her own life”. She sure is.

4)Chumbak: Chumbak’s Co-Founder Shubhra Chadha’s story is a golden example of how maternity changes a woman; she becomes a mother and in Shubhra’s case – also an entrepreneur. Shubhra always had the spirit of an entrepreneur but the perks of a well-paying corporate job never allowed the ideas to flourish. She decided to take a break when she had had her baby and that is when she finally decided to channelize her energies and ideas. With six months of planning, Chumbak was live and within 10 months, it was at the break-even level. What Shubhra started as a solution to India’s need for quirkier products has now become a leading brand people vouch for. Shubhra’s success story proves that perseverance and eye to detail is the key to make it big.

5)Yourstory.com: Shradha Sharma was born in the small town of Patna and all her life she wanted to make it big. She had another dream; her dream was to write stories. Combining her two dreams together and without any concrete business plan, she started to relentlessly work. What started with a blog on start-ups and small-time entrepreneurs soon turned into a website. Today, her venture is backed by the likes of Ratan Tata, Mohandas Pai, and many others. At the moment, yourstory.com is the only online platform that has over 500 inspirational, entrepreneurial and original stories. Shardha has also been included in the 500 Linkedin influencer of the world and has been awarded the Femina Award for Online Presence.