How Falguni Nayar built Nikaa into a beauty e-commerce giant

Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO of beauty e-commerce chain Nykaa, is a self-made businesswoman. She is one of the richest women in India with a net worth of $3.1 billion (approximately 2500 crores). Nayar quit her job to start Nykaa in 2012. Today, the e-platform sells thousands of brands online through 124 stores across India.

Nika is backed by American private equity giant TPG Growth Company, as well as billionaires Harsh Mariwala and Harry Banga. Nair's husband Sanjay Nair is the India CEO of private equity giant KKR. Her twin daughter and son also work for the beauty brand. She is the recipient of several awards, including the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Startup Award by Ernst & Young and Business Woman of the Year Award at the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2019.

Nayar completed her Bachelor of Commerce from Sydenham College and then her MBA from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She then joined Kotak Mahindra Bank as Director of Equity Investments. Going from banking to running a beauty brand was no easy feat. She has been named one of Asia's Power Businesswomen and Vogue India named her Business Person of the Year 2019.

Born on February 19, 1963 in Mumbai to a Gujarati family, Falguni said in an interview that she was very apprehensive about quitting her job. When she told her son that she was quitting her banking job to start her own company, he was a bit shocked too. But in the end, she never gave up or got scared and her family was very supportive.

According to reports, Falguni Nair got the idea of ​​entering this particular business sector while visiting a store that stocked beauty products from multiple brands. Falguni felt that there was no single store that stocked everything related to beauty and cosmetics. So, she created a similar store.

In an interview, she said women need to get out of the mindset that their work will affect their personal life, adding that she believes if a woman is determined and wants to achieve something and sets it as her goal, she can achieve it no matter what the circumstances.