IWD 2022: Sonam Motwani, a Unicorn on many fronts
By Elise Tan and Kanika Mayar
This International Women’s Day 2022, we are sharing beautiful stories of our female founders overcoming the odds and obstacles to build businesses that are disruptive, yet transformative to the lives of many.
Sonam Motwani, founder of Karkhana.io, is a unicorn on many fronts — a sole founder in a male-dominated industry, a rare woman who led a team of 20 to make electric race cars at Formula Student UK back in college and studied aerospace engineering at IIT Bombay, just to name a few. She is smart, tenacious and decisive, yet unbelievably humble.
I (Elise) was curious about how she came to be the sole founder of Karkhana.io — an online manufacturing platform that streamlines manufacturing processes by connecting businesses with manufacturers for their custom products such as those used in machines, robots, drones, etc. Sonam shares that one thing led to another,
“I kept focusing on things that I was good at. Also, the ambition of most children of middle-class families in India in my generation was to become a doctor and engineer. I chose the latter”
Sonam grew up in Gwalior, a major city in central India. Her father is a banker while her mother is a homemaker. Growing up, she aspired to be an astronaut, and that was what led her to enroll in the Aerospace Engineering graduate course at IIT Bombay, one of the most prestigious engineering institutes in India. At IIT, it was her experience at the Formula Student UK as well as her later stint at consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, that helped uncover her passion for hardware. It dawned upon her that manufacturing is a traditional industry waiting to be disrupted.
“I didn’t jump right into starting my startup as I wanted to make sure I was making the right leap of faith. I spent several weekends meeting hardware startups, design firms and manufacturing suppliers across cities in India, such as in Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune. It then became obvious to me that the entire manufacturing industry was pretty much the same as it was ten years ago. I saw an untapped opportunity to bring transparency and efficiency into the industry,” she shares.
As she shared this, I thought to myself that this is another strength of hers, making sound informed decisions.
One of her most Testing Moments — Delivering Cribs
One of her most memorable experiences building Karhana.io took place in early 2019, whilst helping one of her first clients, Cradle Wise, to deliver their smart IOT-powered crib to expecting mothers on time. They had only six weeks to deliver the orders, a seemingly impossible timeline which a typical manufacturer would not be able to meet. I (Elise) could only imagine it as an incredibly stressful project, as the customers would be disgruntled if the product was not delivered by the time their child was born. What intensified the stressful situation was the fact that Sonam’s wedding was in three months’ time. Weddings in India are known to be elaborate celebratory events, with an endless list of tasks to be undertaken by the bride-to-be.
“Looking back, I honestly don’t know how the four of us managed to do it. We needed to take the product from an early design stage all the way to production. But we were very determined, even if it meant waiting at the airport to pack the crib components into boxes so that they could go on the next plane,” Sonam mused.
Sonam’s determination to deliver and succeed was so strong and under her leadership, they were able to help Cradle Wise to deliver their products on time.
Her Ideal Investor — a Partner who adds Value beyond Capital
As I (Elise) only joined Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India back in August 2021, I took the opportunity to ask Sonam what made her decide to choose us as her lead investor. Her reply was unexpected for me, “I like the idea of having two women on my board board.” I thought it was a beautiful reply that captured the rarity of women within a male dominated industry. Kanika Mayar, my colleague and senior executive director, sits on the board of Karkhana.io. Sonam shares that “I feel at ease working with a female investor and working with Kanika has been a comfortable experience. I was expecting her to be a typical investor, but she has been very founder-centric instead. She makes sure to support me on as many fronts as possible, from providing operational advice to preparing me for my next round of fundraising.”
On Building the Right Team
Sonam is well aware that as a sole founder, she has a lot more on her plate, and that the key to success is to be highly sensitive to the different competencies that are required as the business grows.
“I often have this honest conversation with myself on the value I bring to the business and what else is needed to bring our company to the next stage. Constantly planning and hiring talent to power the next phase of growth is part and parcel of what I do. It also helps to have Kanika as a sounding board.”
Her Advice to Other Female Entrepreneurs
At times, we may feel the need to comply with certain ideals of a “strong leader”, which may come at the expense of expressing our true self. I believe it is important for us to be aware of our genuine self, our traits as women leaders, our natural instincts and emotional intelligence and bring that authenticity into our work and in the way we lead. By being authentic, we create room for our team and others around us to also express themselves and use their full potential.
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