Page 15 - 10 Futuristic Women Entrepreneurs in India 2022

COVER STORY

HOW DID FALGUNI NAYAR Bridging the gap and changing the way women

STAND OUT FROM THE shop, she has successfully curated more than ADVICE
CROWD? 850 brands and 35,000 products. The company
also has its presence in many cities with 17 stores
Nykaa, in its early years, was funded entirely by
across India. There are two store formats – Nykaa “Any entrepreneur-
Falguni Nayar and her husband Sanjay Nayar. The Luxe and Nyka On Trend. Luxe has Indian and inter-

focus was on building an inventory-led business. Her national beauty brands along with Nykaa Beauty, ship needs a lot of
company ran on family funds for almost two years. the in-house beauty products collection, and On passion, hard work,
The company turned unicorn only in March Trend is a collection of popular market products. conviction, and time.

2020, after just five rounds of funding—of The young yet super successful online beauty
which only three involved institutional inves- company has a target audience in the age group When I started, if I
of 22 – 35, and has also launched private labeled
tors. Nykaa is also considered to be most prof- thought I would be
products in the bath and body care category, in
itable startups among its contemporaries here in three years or
March 2016. Working in an inventory based model,
When Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar took the Nykaa has warehouses in Mumbai, New Delhi and five years, it wouldn’t
entrepreneurial plunge in 2012, she was pushing Bangalore, and offers all leading brands including

fifty with about twenty years of experience as an Kaya Skin Clinic, Lakmé, L’Oréal Paris and more. happen. It needs long
investment banker. Nearly a decade later, she has EARLY DAYS Falguni Nayar has now become a singular iden- innings. Somehow, I
listed her startup at a valuation higher than those tity in the market. The brand’s association with
An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, she worked as was very clear that I
of some of the biggest legacy businesses in India. a venture investor and merchant with Kotak its founder is deeply engraved everywhere and

In the process, she has become the wealth- Mahindra Group for around 20 years. After working is a result of the passion she had for her dream. would need 10 years
Nykaa, derived from Nayika, which means the
iest self-made woman in India, is among the for the group’s global operations in the US and plus, and that is why
UK, she headed the institutional equities divi- actress of one’s life, is certainly the perfect name
country’s 20 richest people, and worth more I started before I
sion. 2005 saw her as the managing director of to beautify and inspire women at the same time.
than her peers who have either listed their the venture saving money business of the group. Kudos to the brand, and to the woman who never turned 50. My sugges-
startups or are in the process of doing so. In April 2012, leaving her ‘ideal’ life behind, stops working and exceeds her own expectations.
she gave herself the risky tag – CEO of Nykaa. OFF THE BEATEN PATH tion to entrepreneurs
She observed the online market and its growth is to choose what
in India. The choice of the beauty segment I There were certain trends and models that
came both from her love for make-up Nayar chose not to follow. One of them being you love because
and the potential online market waiting for an inventory-based model over a market-
someone to come up with such a platform. place, something most ecommerce players you will have to do it
She headquartered her company in Mumbai, follow that made Nykaa stand out from the rest. with a lot of intensity,
where she was born and brought up. Seeing her
She and her entire team was clear from the begin- commitment, passion,
father run a small bearings business, she knew she ning that beauty had to be run as an invento-
had it in her to become an entrepreneur and apart ry-based model. According to Nayar ``Beauty and hard work for a
from that stock market and trade were a common
discussion in her house during the growing years. has a lot of variety, and customers knew exactly pretty long time for it
what they wanted. One of the pain points in the
While the idea and the dream to be an entrepreneur to reach the finishing
lived inside her, Nykaa happened when Falguni market was that they wanted shade XYZ, but it
Nayar had some spare time on her hands, after her was never available. We felt the way to deliver line.” – (Her interview
children left for their studies to the US. With a dead- on availability was by holding stock,” she says. with MoneyControl)
line of 50 (which was self-imposed), the one-woman Another reason was that they can have supe-
army took a leap of faith and quit her job at Kotak, rior delivery timelines and customer experience.

14| Thecorporatereview.com | India | Vol. 3 | Issue 1 | January 2022 |15