After centuries and decades of being ruled over by men, the current era of women has evolved equivalent to men. Not only do women today walk shoulder-to-shoulder with men, but have showcased exemplary qualities in leading nations, governance, industries, and almost every facet of life. It makes us immensely proud to present the list of the most powerful and influential women entrepreneurs of this year who have crossed all boundaries and reached phenomenal heights as far as business and growth are concerned.
Read this list of the top 8 biggest women entrepreneurs and inspire yourself with their journey.
Divya Gokulnath
Born to a nephrologist father and a programmer mother, Divya Gokulnath, the only child of her parents, understood the importance of education early on in her life. She grew up in Bangalore and aspired to be a teacher. Although she started with Byju’s offline teaching setup, she soon adapted to the tech-first environment. She is quite passionate about teaching and believes that India would be the next hub for teachers.
She married Byju’s founder Raveendran, and together, they have been ranked 46th on an India-rich list. Together they have a total net worth of $3.05 billion as of 2020. Although the company is facing its worse crisis currently, Divya Gokulnath has not left hope and believes that together they will stand up once again. She believes that every child’s learning journey is different and Byju’s specializes in giving special one-to-one online coaching to students.
Falguni Nayar
High-end makeup and cosmetics are now widely available online in India thanks to Falguni Nayar, CEO and founder of the beauty and lifestyle retail business Nykaa. She founded this company when she was 50 and is now a self-made billionaire. Falguni, who comes from a modest Gujarati family, worked as the managing director of the Kotak Mahindra Group for the majority of her life. She had always had a passion for cosmetics and was aware that women in second or third-tier cities didn’t have easy access to name-brand cosmetics and beauty products. Why not alter the way women purchased cosmetics, she pondered. In 2012, she launched Nykaa with this concept and a $2 million personal investment.
Nykaa quickly rose to prominence and reached a value of $2.3 billion in 2021. She became one of the few self-made billionaires in India when her personal wealth grew to about $1.1 billion. Nykaa’s valuation increased to $13 billion by November 2012, bringing her net worth to $6.5 billion. Falguni Nayar has established herself as one of the top 20 richest Indians.
Supriya Paul
This young lady is a co-founder of Josh Talks, India’s largest regional platform that provides youths living in Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India with inspiration, soft skills training, and growth opportunities who lack access to role models, the appropriate education, upskilling jobs, etc. Supriya Paul and Shobhit Banga formally co-founded Josh Talks in January 2015 with the goal of showcasing stories that motivate young people to achieve more in life. Josh Talks, an organization with the goal of maximizing human potential, has developed into an ecosystem of resources and goods for young people.
The platform works to improve a section of society that has been largely ignored by creating a strong enterprise that addresses practical issues. Even just listening to someone speak can completely alter their life trajectory. More than 51% of youth believe that the main obstacle to finding a desirable job is a lack of professional guidance in identifying jobs that match their skills. Josh Talks is providing rural youth with access to relatable role models on an ed-tech platform to impart the necessary skills to succeed in life in order to address this issue.
More than 110,000 people have already registered for these courses, which include English speaking, personality development, public speaking, and computer skills among others, in 10 local languages. Josh Talks has impacted a community comprising over 9.3 million subscribers.
For defining and influencing the constantly evolving world of news and content, she was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list in 2018. Supriya also serves as a mentor and advisor for the Founder Institute, Atal Innovation Mission, and Women’s Economic Forum.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is India’s Biocon founder who became the first Biotech queen. The Bangalore, India-based Biocon Limited was established by Kiran Majumdar Shaw. She was awarded the Othmer Gold Medal for her outstanding contributions to the advancement of chemistry and science. She was ranked among the top 50 women in business by Financial Times. She was ranked 65th among the world’s most powerful women by Forbes. She is expected to have a net worth of $3.1 Billion by the year 2022.
Within a year of starting her business in her garage, Kiran was exporting enzymes all over the world. She was a forerunner of Bangalore’s technology district, and her name quickly came to represent India’s biotech sector. With 11,000 employees, she expanded Biocon into one of the biggest employers in the area. She entered the world stage thanks to her success and commitment to making a difference and is now acknowledged as a global thought leader.
Kiran has recently taken the lead in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by reorganizing Biocon labs for testing and repurposing medications to help COVID-19 patients. The Biocon Foundation is also helping some of the affected people’s financial needs. Her objective is still to “create affordable blockbuster medicines that have the potential to help a billion patients.”
Karishma Mehta
The Humans of Bombay website has transformed the lives of several people in their real lives and impacted several others who have read their stories. Karishma Mehta, writer, photographer, and founder of the Humans of Bombay website and book has made a great impact on society with her work.
She initially started with a Facebook Page that gathered more than 6 lakh followers 2 years later. She has posted more than a thousand stories where random strangers’ lives and struggles are documented. Common people get a glimpse into the issues faced by people on issues like drug abuse, abusive relationships, and social exclusion. She has also documented all these stories in a book.
Mehta never had any commercial intentions when she started the page; she only wanted to share the experiences of regular Mumbai residents. But through her page, today she had managed to raise more than 15 crores, paying for surgeries and the education of the lesser privileged.
Today, Humans of Bombay has expanded to include the moving tales of Mumbai’s businessmen, celebrities, and many other residents as well. Humans of Bombay is now more than just a place to share stories; through crowdfunding, it has assisted a number of people.
Karishma Mehta may not have made millions for herself through her company, but has definitely won billions of hearts across the nation through her social media handle. She is a strong and powerful entrepreneur who is working selflessly for society.
Vineeta Singh
Vineeta Singh, CEO and founder of Sugar Cosmetics, broke social norms and rejected the career models that the majority of Indian parents instilled in their offspring. She made the decision to forge her own path to success, but only after fulfilling the expectations of her family and society. She had a lifelong fear of failing. This idea and a wise quote she had read at the time inspired her to face life’s challenges head-on and never be afraid of anything. She gained fame when she participated as a judge on the popular program Shark Tank India.
She saw great potential in young women of India as customers. She desired to take action that would empower young women. At that point, she and her husband discussed starting an online store selling cosmetics and other personal items. They launched Sugar Cosmetics in 2012. After facing teething initial problems, their brand finally picked up. Through word-of-mouth advertising, sugar products sparked a market uproar as more and more women began praising them and starting leaving reviews on social media.
Today, their valuation is around 3000 crores and Sugar Cosmetics does not stop here. Vineeta Singh’s journey has been about failing, learning and trying. She feels one needs to be consistent to succeed.
Ghazal Alagh
Ghazal Alagh is the face behind the Indian brand – Mama Earth. She got her kick to start her venture when she could not find any chemical-free baby products for her infant baby who was born with an extremely sensitive skin condition. Mother’s love and an earnest desire to make available chemical-free products to India are the two main reasons why Mama Earth was started. The brand today is close to touching the INR 1,000 Cr revenue mark.
After facing initial reluctance from mothers to try her products, her brand slowly shot to fame through word-of-mouth publicity. In her initial years, she connected with mothers personally to know their requirements. Mama Earth’s profit quotient has risen over 100% in FY2022. They have also decided to increase their product line and the brand will soon be making family care products as well.
Shraddha Sharma
The Founder, CEO, and Chief Editor at YourStory.com, Shraddha Sharma has been cited as the biggest storyteller of India’s digital space. She initially worked as the Brand Advisor at the Times of India and then the Assistant Vice President at CNBC Tv18 until 2007. She launched YourStory in 2008.
TechGig featured her in one of their stories naming her as one of the most influential women entrepreneurs in India. Having a degree in journalism and later working in the media, taught her how to deal with and create great content. While working with CNBC Tv18, she developed an interest in writing stories about successful people and sharing them with the world through her blogs.
Today, despite of not having a great business model, her platform has received investments from Ratan Tata, Vani Kola, Karthee Madhasamy and T.V. Mohandas Pai. The masses love reading her stories and her website has become quite successful. According to reports, YourStory has an estimated net worth of $678K and a monthly net income of $4000. It tells tales in 12 different Indian tongues.
One of India’s top online media companies for startups and entrepreneurs, YourStory has three flagship websites: YourStory.com, SocialStory, and HerStory. On YourStory.com, more than 40,000 entrepreneurial stories have been published. These stories reach over 10 million active readers each month.
Conclusion
These successful womenpreneurs have shattered glass ceilings, shot to fame, created billions of dollars worth of revenue, and made a name for themselves and their families. These women are the most influential and successful women entrepreneurs on our list today. Their stories inspire us and motivate us to follow our dreams and not give up mid-way.
