India’s Top 5 Female Entrepreneurs in Healthcare and Cosmetics
Entrepreneurs journey
“Start-ups” sounds cool! No one likes 9 to 5 work life and no one wants to be around yes boss culture but unfortunately the dreams dies over endless excuses. And that’s the only difference between successful entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs because it doesn’t matter how you start, but what matters is how you finish it.
Successful entrepreneurs build their businesses from zero to the next level. It takes years and years of hard work, patience, and the ability to bounce back.
Let’s see some inspiring stories of India’s top 5 female entrepreneurs in healthcare and cosmetics.
- Vineeta Singh: Co-Founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics
- Namita Thapar: Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals.
- Aditi Gupta: Social entrepreneur and co-founder of Menstrupedia
- Aishwarya Biswas: Founder — AULI Active Ayurveda (Skincare)
- Falguni Nayar: Founder and CEO of Nykaa
1. Vineeta Singh: Co-Founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics
Vineeta Singh is the Co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics. Sugar Cosmetics is an Indian cosmetics brand that sells beauty products across the globe. The company was started in 2015, which was inspired by independent women who refuse to be boxed into stereotypes. Sugar cosmetics’ most popular products are the Ace of Face foundation stick and long-lasting lipsticks.
Vineeta received a job as an investment banker with a 1 crore package offer after graduating from IIT-Madras and IIM-Ahmedabad, but she left her job and launched her own business because she wanted to do something new.
She began her e-commerce business in 2012. She managed this firm for nearly 9 years, although it was difficult for her to persuade people at first. Clients declined her offers because of her lack of experience, but she managed to make a living on ten thousand rupees every month. After that, Sugar cosmetics became a reality in 2015, and now it’s India’s number one brand in Cosmetics.
Vineeta’s message for new entrepreneurs is, “There’s no substitute for hard work, and there are no shortcuts in life, so stay consistence and focused”.
2. Namita Thapar: Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals.
Namita Thapar is an Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals. She was born into a traditional Gujarati family. In her childhood, Namita’s mother told her stories about business women, and that inspired her to be an independent woman.
She enrolled in the CA course and then took a master’s degree in business management from Duke University, USA. For 6 years, she worked in corporate sectors, and from there she learned so many things that she said, she couldn’t have learnt throughout her schooling. The only two things she knew were to do hard work and get high scores. She says, “We do not get trust and respect by itself; it has to be earned.”
In 1983, her father refused to run his parents’ family business and started his own manufacturing unit in pharmaceuticals, which is now a renowned pharmaceutical industry across the globe named Emcure Pharmaceuticals.
Namita took over her father’s pharmaceutical business in India after working in the United States for six years. She is a strong supporter of young entrepreneurs and is concerned about women’s health. She has always had a soft corner for female entrepreneurs.
One message she always gives to all women is that “Women are great at time management but terrible at guilt management.” She says, “Women should have to stand for their own choices and make themselves a number one priority.”
3. Aditi Gupta: Social entrepreneur and co-founder of Menstrupedia
Aditi Gupta is a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Menstrupedia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in new media design from Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design.
She had her first menstrual cycle at the age of 12 and, due to embarrassment, her mother advised Aditi not to tell her father or brother about it. During her periods, she was subjected to restrictions, such as having to wash her bed sheets after each period and being unable to visit temples.
In school, her teachers skipped chapters about menstruation. Nobody knew much about menstruation, and no one talked about it. There were a lot of unpleasant and shaming conversations going on.
During her post-graduation, she fell in love with Tuhin Paul, and she used to talk to him about menstruation. Tuhin didn’t know much about it either, but after hearing Aditi’s talk about menstruation, he did some research on it. After conducting an extensive investigation, they discovered that many people, particularly girls, are unaware of the situation. Girls feel awkward while speaking about menstruation.
Aditi and Tuhin came up with the solution and discovered “Menstrupedia”. Menstrupedia is a comic book where the story educates about menstruation, puberty, and hygiene. Menstrupedia is available in different languages. Aditi’s dream of the future is that menstruation isn’t a curse, not a disease, but will be a welcoming change for a girl’s life.
One message she wants to give the parents is, “Dear parents, if you would be ashamed of the periods your daughters would be, too. so please be period positive”.
4. Aishwarya Biswas: Founder — AULI Active Ayurveda (Skincare)
Aishwarya Biswas founded AULI Active Ayurveda skincare products. She belongs to Kolkata, the city of joy. She completed her MBA at the SP Jain Institute of Management. She is very concerned about skincare. She thought why not share her own skincare secrets with others, and that’s when AULI products came into the picture in 2017.
AULI is an independent cosmetic company. AULI’s revenue comes from her own websites, social media, classes, and workshops. The AULI is growing in the marketplace every year.
5. Falguni Nayar: Founder and CEO of Nykaa
Falguni Nayar is the Founder and CEO of Nykaa, an e-commerce platform in India that sells beauty products.
Nykaa was founded in the year 2012. Falguni Nayar, the founder of Nykaa, worked as an investment banker for Kotak for 20 years, during which time she met many entrepreneurs. She likes the concept of a startup, but she has noticed that many entrepreneurs do not believe in themselves and have given up over time, which encouraged her. She pursued an MBA in finance from IIM Ahmedabad and had no experience in retail, technology, or beauty, and yet she leapt into Nykaa at the age of 50 and quit her well-paying job.
Her advice to entrepreneurs is, “Enter into the entrepreneurship journey only if you enjoy riding roller coasters because there are so many ups and downs on this road.”
These women are not only successful businesswomen, but also India’s role models in the fields of healthcare and cosmetics.
I hope this article assists you in broadening your vision of the entrepreneurial journey.
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