5 Women Entrepreneurs disrupting in Indian startup ecosystem

The Indian startup ecosystem has experienced huge development, fueled by favourable demographics, more investment, and developing technologies. The predominant Indian startup sector is fast changing as more women participate in a variety of economic sectors. Without mentioning a few remarkable women’s journey, the discussion on the Indian startup ecosystem would be incomplete. They’re not just in it for the wealth; they’re also playing and killing with huge movements to disrupt the ecosystem. Women entrepreneurs in India are not simply a part of the startup ecosystem; they are actually transforming it owing to their talent and sheer hard work.

Here, we have compiled a list of 5 influential women who have made their mark in the business world and who do everything in their power to set higher standards not just for themselves but also for the ecosystem.

Poem Kabra: Founder of Zavya

Poem is the Founder & CEO of Zavya, a premium D2C silver jewellery brand targeted at today’s modern women. She founded the brand out of her own experience in 2021 to address the daily wear jewellery market segment. Before Zavya, Poem joined Priyaasi – a fashion-inspired Indian jewellery brand in India as a Co-Founder in 2019 to 10X its growth in a span of two years. During her journey with Priyaasi, she gained strong experience in the eCommerce jewellery segment. With her great leadership, strategic and managerial capabilities, she envisioned building Zavya the largest and the most beloved silver jewellery brand in India. Poem is an IIT Delhi and IIM Lucknow alumna who spearheads the business to further experience in, passion and love for jewellery.

Falguni Nayar: Founder of Nykaa

Falguni Nayar founded Nykaa in 2012 with the vision of building a multi-brand omnichannel beauty-focused retail business. By empowering customer choices and enabling brands to reach the breadth and depth of the country, Nykaa has emerged as India’s leading beauty retailer playing a critical role in developing the beauty market in India.

Today, heading a team of over 1600 Nykaa-ites, Falguni has built a beauty and lifestyle retail empire with a portfolio of 1500+ brands, including its own private label, available online and across 68 stores in India. She was awarded the ‘Woman Ahead’ award at the Economic Times Startup Awards 2017.

Vineeta Singh: Co-founder & CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics

Vineeta Singh is the Co-founder and the mind behind SUGAR, one of the fastest-growing giants in the beauty industry in India. An IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad Alumnus has been hustling since the age of 23. Her passion for entrepreneurship was such that she declined a placement offer of INR 1 Cr per annum from a global investment bank. She founded the cosmetics company along with her husband which became a massive success story in no time and there was no looking back!

Yogita Tulsiani: Director & Co-founder of iXceed Solutions

Yogita is the Director & Co-founder of iXceed Solutions. The dynamic Ms Yogita Tulsiani is armed with a Master’s in Business Administration from ISB, Hyderabad. The versatile businessperson has more than a decade of experience in Business Development and Consultancy across various industries in the UK, USA, Europe and APAC. Her repertoire includes an illustrious clientele in the Financial Services, Telecom, Retail, Information Technology and Learning industries like Genpact Headstrong and HP.

Mona Singh: Co-Founder of India Accelerator

A Partner at India Accelerator, focused on seed stage investments, she works intensively with entrepreneurs to build transformative companies that improve the way we live, work and connect. With over 13 years of rich experience in MNCs, with technology at the core, she brings the large enterprise strengths to the start-ups to ensure a well-rounded perspective on successful business models, brand building and consumer trends. Prior to this, Mona was also a Co-founder at Wish A Mitr, which is a recommendation based gifting portal.