Top 5 Entrepreneurial Women From India: Their Success Stories and Business Insights

Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs Of India That are Shattering The Gender Norms 

1. Hemalatha Annamalai – Ampere Electric

2. Falguni Nayar – Nykaa

3. Aditi Gupta – Menstrupedia

4. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – Biocon India

5. Vani Kola – Kalaari Capital

Let's examine the list of seven pioneering Indian women business owners that leave no stone unturned: 

1. Hemalatha Annamalai – Founder & CEO of Ampere Electric Pvt. Ltd 

An ambitious software developer from India had already created a modest revolution of her own before the world experienced Elon Musk's electric car revolution.

In 2008, Hemalatha Annamalai, who had successfully run the HR consultancy business Uni Connect in Singapore, relocated to India with her family to launch Ampere Electric.

After visiting a conference in Japan in 2007 with her husband Bala Pachyappa, she became aware of the concept when one of the speakers emphasized that electric mobility is the future of transportation.

She was successful in creating the first electric scooter from scratch after rigorous research and development, planning, and brainstorming. Hemalatha chose to market her idea to clients in rural and semi-urban areas rather than big metropolitan hubs throughout the nation.

Only Ratan Tata himself supported her in her endeavors. Kris Gopalakrishnan joined him as a co-founder of Infosys and was a significant early investment in the business.

The firm can currently produce 30,000 automobiles per year and has sold over 20,000 vehicles.

2. Falguni Nayar – Founder and CEO of Nykaa

The conventional stereotype assumes that a woman will leave her work following childbirth. Alternatively, think about getting a career when the kids have graduated.

Falguni Nayar was never concerned with such demands.  

At the age of 49, following a successful corporate career spanning more than two decades, she founded Nykaa.

Falguni Nayar picked up the ins and outs of networking and business at a young age thanks to her upbeat father's encouragement of a commercial atmosphere.

She began her second era by founding an online store that sells women's beauty items in 2012, after establishing her professional career with Kotak Mahindra Group. 

Nykaa, which primarily employs women, has progressively expanded its footprint by opening 80+ physical locations across 38 cities in addition to becoming a top e-commerce site. It quickly achieved another milestone with the establishment of in-house labels and the hosting of 2000+ brands.

As a result of Nykaa's IPO's roughly 82.5-fold oversubscription, its market cap increased to 1.05 lakh crore INR, turning Nayar into a self-made billionaire.

She asserts that without the steadfast assistance of her children, husband, and family, this would not have been possible.

3. Aditi Gupta – Founder & Creator of Menstrupedia

Even in the 21st century, menstruation is still taboo. It is one of the societal taboos that worsens concerns with inadequate sanitation for women and young girls equally because of the shame and beliefs associated with it.

Aditi Gupta made the decision to break this taboo while simultaneously teaching young girls about the science involved. This goal inspired the development of the renowned comic book reference Menstrupedia.

Since she was a child, Gupta has had to deal with feelings of embarrassment whenever her menstruation is brought up. She came to understand that over 120 young girls experience this on a daily basis across the nation. As a result, she founded Menstrupedia in 2012 with Tuhin Paul, her future husband and business partner.

For females ages nine and up, the comic book includes "a handbook to menstruation. In order to write the book, Gupta gathered real-life experiences from which to draw inspiration for all of the characters and plots. The book is available worldwide in 16 different languages.

The comic book became an overnight sensation and garnered several accolades, funding, and a partnership with Whisper India. Aditi was included to Forbes' 30 under 30 list for her outstanding work.

Aditi and Tuhin recently earned 50 lakh rupees at 20% equity for their start-up from Namita Thapar (CEO of Emcure Pharmaceuticals), as part of their fundraising through the reality program, Shark Tank India.

4. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – Founder of Biocon India

In compared to their male colleagues, female entrepreneurs still have a harder time starting their businesses.

Similar preconceptions existed in 1978 when Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, then 25 years old, founded the enzyme manufacturing business Biocon.

But she will to succeed led her to apply for a modest loan from Canara Bank, form a small team, and begin creating bio enzymes. Her work in Australia gave her a thorough understanding of fermentation, which helped us improve our R&D and grow operations effectively.

She made a significant step forward in 1998 when she started working in the pharmaceutical sector, producing things like monoclonal antibodies, statins, insulin, and immunosuppressants. Eventually, Mazumdar-Shaw increased both the production capacity and the range of goods offered by her company.

With a market capitalization of $1.11 billion and a 33-fold oversubscription in 2004, Biocon became the second Indian firm to surpass the $1 billion threshold on the first day of listing.

Mazumdar-Shaw has also received various honors, such as the Othmer Gold Medal, and in 2019 Forbes ranked her as the 68th most powerful woman in the world.

5. Vani Kola – Founder of Kalaari Capital 

Launching a start-up is one thing, but determining why a start-up has investment potential is another problem for women entrepreneurs.

The ideal person to manage the former and latter is Vani Kola.  

Vaani returned to India in 2006 after attaining her goals in Silicon Valley and a celebrated business career spanning more than two decades. She wanted to research the venture capital sector and discover more about the local startup scene. But the situation was predictable and ambiguous. 

Vani began spotting indications of possible start-ups after conducting comprehensive market research. These start-ups may help her create exceptional assets and change the future.

She established Indo-US Venture Partners (IUVP) with another Silicon Valley businessman Vinod Dham that same year in collaboration with New Enterprise Associates (NEA).

After four years in business, she made the decision to go it alone and changed the company's name to Kalaari Capital. Under Vani's direction, the business now manages over 200 assets and has raised USD 740 million in total capital.

She is referred to as the "Mother of Venture Capitalism in India" and was named one of Forbes and Fortune magazines' "Most Powerful Women in Business" in India.