Here are the top 10 quotes from Indian women entrepreneurs everyone should live by. Learn from Vaani Kola, Shivani Siroya, Swati Bhargava, Richa Kar, Pranshu Bhandari, Shradha Sharma, Shuchi Mukherjee, Nidhi Agarwal, Manisha Raisinghani and Kanika Tekriwal.
1. Vani Kola – Kalaari Capital
“Having a great work culture is not an option – it is a necessity”
Kalaari Capital, a venture capital firm, has invested in more than 25 start ups including Snapdeal, Zivame and Urbanladder. Kalaari Capital has recently launched its third $290M India fund.
2. Shivani Siroya – Inventure
“Don’t be afraid of change and adjust – to solve social problems – you have to solve the problem at the core or at the system level, and that takes time and a real necessity to learn from your market and adjust your solution or product as needed.”
InVenture is a mobile technology and data science company that is flipping the traditional credit scoring model by putting power into the hands of newly empowered consumers in emerging markets.They have raised $10 million series A round to launch into additional markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
3. Swati Bhargava – Cashkaro
“I strongly believe in doing what you love because then it doesn’t feel like work at all. When it feels too difficult to push forward, I always remind myself, ‘This too shall pass,’ and then I redouble my efforts.”
Cashkaro.com is touted to be India’s largest & fastest growing Cashback & Coupons site. Cashkaro.com is planning its foray into new countries after raising a $3.8 million Series A from Kalaari Capital.
4. Richa Kar – Zivame
“If you are strong, focused and passionate about what you want to do, everything falls in place.”
Zivame is probably the first in the online lingerie space in India and has played a role in educating women across the country about intimate wear and shaping consumer behaviour. It has recently raised a Series C round of Rs 250 crore from Zodius Technology Fund and Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
5. Pranshu Bhandari – Culture Alley
“Women need to very show the investors that they’re committed to their plan and need to let the merchandise represent itself”
The startup launched its English language learning application in October 2014. In eight months the English app has seen 3 million installs on Android from India. They have recently raised $6 million from Tiger Global and Kae Capital.
6. Shradha Sharma – Yourstory
“When you know you have to fend for yourself every inch of the way, it gives you a different kind of grit and tenacity”
YourStory is a portal publishing original stories of entrepreneurs. They have received their first round of funding from marquee investors, Kalaari Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, T V Mohandas Pai and Ratan Tata.
7. Shuchi Mukherjee – LimeRoad
“You need to start off with basics and device a plan to deal with teething issues.”
Ask any woman today who binges on online shopping and this LimeRoad will definitely pop up. Founder Shuchi Mukherjee comes from a family with no business background and has managed to give biggies like Flipkart and Snapdeal tough competition. A post grad from London School of Economics, Shuchi has worked with companies like eBay, Skype and Gumtree.
8. Nidhi Agarwal – Kaaryah
“Every Woman Deserves To Feel And Look Good”
Kaaryah is a brand of western formal wear for Indian women focused on providing the best possible fit with its 18 sizes. The brand focuses on bridging the gap between western formals and the Indian silhouette. Recently Ratan Tata has picked up a minor stake in Kaaryah.
9. Manisha Raisinghani – LogiNext
“I am free of labels and I am glad to have a team which perceives my role as leadership and not ‘bossiness’”
LogiNext funded by Indian Angel Network is a technology based startup, providing real- time visibility and optimization solutions to logistics companies. LogiNext Solutions had raised its seed round of funding of about $600k from Indian Angel Network in March 2015. This was followed by another funding round in September 2015, wherein it raised a whopping $10 Mn Series A funding from Paytm.
10. Kanika Tekriwal – JetSetGo
“Cancer made me a strong person ready to face any challenge; and most importantly, to never give in. So when we began work on JetSetGo and things didn’t go my way – I didn’t get upset, but just focused on what we could do next.”
JetSetGo is India’s first and only marketplace for private jet and helicopter charters. JetSetGo raised nearly Rs 12.73 crore from Puneet Dalmia and others in 2015 in pre-series A funding.
