Successful Women entrepreneurs in India are causing a stir in the corporate world, and they’re achieving remarkable success as catalysts for change and innovation. These trailblazing figures have inspired subsequent generations by redefining achievement in the face of cultural and social constraints and significantly reshaped the corporate landscape. These women are role models for grit, determination, and relentless pursuit of dreams that have propelled them to the top of new businesses and shaken up long-standing industries. This massive anthology explores the stories of thirty remarkable women who have broken down barriers and helped create a more inclusive and varied corporate environment in India. Dive into the world of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India and be inspired by their stories of triumph, resilience, and leadership.
TOP 30 SUCCESSFUL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS in INDIA
Aditi Gupta – The Co-founder of Menstrupedia
Aditi Gupta, a pioneering Indian woman entrepreneur, embarked on a mission to challenge societal taboos around menstruation. Together with her spouse, she authored the revolutionary comic Menstrupedia in 2012. Her groundbreaking work was acknowledged in 2014 when she was featured in Forbes India’s prestigious 30 under 30 list. Today, Menstrupedia stands as a symbol of empowerment, used in over 6,000 schools and reaching over 10,00,000 females in over 14 languages. It has revolutionised how menstruation is understood and discussed and significantly impacted women’s health and education, a testament to the power of her vision and dedication.
Chitra Gurnani Daga – The Founder of Thrillophilia
In 2011, Chitra graduated with an MBA in Strategy and Leadership from the Indian School of Business. She leveraged her degree to create Thrillophilia.com, one of India’s leading travel experience websites. Her entrepreneurial prowess was acknowledged and celebrated by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which hailed her services to the tourism sector, particularly in promoting lesser-known experiences in India and Asia. With an estimated annual income of US$ 74 million, Chitra’s success story is a testament to her vision and leadership and a beacon of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs, showcasing the significant impact one can make in their chosen field.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw – The Chairperson & Managing Director of Biocon Lmt
First-generation and now billionaire businesswoman Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has over forty years of leadership experience. Having begun her dream enterprise in a garage, Biocon has since touched and transformed lives. She has ensured that Biocon goods are reasonably priced and accessible to as many people as feasible as the chairwoman. With a revenue of 350 crore today, Biocon is well-known for Ms. Shaw’s unorthodox move in the medical industry.
Divya Gokulnath: Co-founder Byju’s
Divya is one of the co-founders of Byju’s, an educational website designed to help students study more effectively. After earning her engineering degree at RV College, she prepared to take the GRE to further her studies overseas. This was the time she began taking classes with Byju Raveendran. Not long after, Divya married Byju and began working as a teacher. She was the one that Byju decided to establish the platform.
Falguni Nayar – The Founder of Nykaa
Founder and visionary of Nykaa Falguni Nayar has transformed the beauty industry in India. Her 2012 debut of the distinctive beauty e-commerce website Nykaa cleared the path for Nykaa Beauty and Nykaa Fashion, which evolved into a complete lifestyle brand. Her path is a perfect example of energy, originality, and acute knowledge of what customers want.
Vandana Luthra: The Founder of VLCC
Renowned among women business owners, Vandana Luthra transformed the wellness sector with her ground-breaking firm, VLCC Health Care. 1989 was the start of her adventure when women business owners were uncommon in India. A monument to her outstanding leadership is her enormous staff of 4,000 and her management of over 3,300 stores spread across 150 cities in 13 countries.
Malini Agarwal: Founder & Creative Director of Miss Malini
The creative director and company creator is Miss Malini Agarwal. One of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India, she began her career as a presenter before becoming a digital influencer, a best-selling book, and finally, an entrepreneur. Her notoriety increased; therefore, she looked for fresh chances. Some people rank her among the most powerful women in India. She has been named to Fortune India’s 40 Under 40 and GQ’s 50 Most Influential Young Indians.
Farah Nathani Menzies – The Co-Founder of The Mumum Co.
In partnership with Shreya Lamba, Farah Nathani Menzies launched The Mumum Co., a woman-led business focusing on nutrition and better living. Originating from the founder’s desire to provide her children in India with healthy snacks, the firm was named a Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Most Admired Start-Up in 2020, sparking conversations on how women balance work and family.
Vineeta Singh – The Founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics
Vineeta Singh, who graduated from IIT and IIM, is well-known nowadays. Her daring ventures and appearance on the Shark Tank India series deserve all the credit. But what now seems like a triumph was once written off as a failure. After several failed early businesses, her cosmetics company, SUGAR, has raised 720 crores! SUGAR is profitable as Vineeta believes in offering cosmetics in an approachable manner. She has emerged as the most successful businesswoman in India.
Richa Kar: Co-founder & Ex- CEO, Zivame
Richa Kar is co-founder and CEO of the online lingerie retailer Zivame. She had the idea while researching the lingerie store business. She learned that ladies were uncomfortable buying lingerie at actual outlet shops. Apart from that, most cities lacked decent lingerie brands—the top ten being an exception. Her idea to make buying lingerie more accessible led to the founding of Zivame. Richa is among the woman entrepreneurs in India who have transformed the lingerie industry in her country.
Dr Florida Tilton – The Founder of Biozone Research Technologies
Honoured with the 2018 All India Women Entrepreneur Award, Dr Florida Tilton is a University of Madras postgraduate with honours in plant biology and a master of philosophy in plant genetics. Her scientific training brought her into business, especially when students asked her for advice after she left Hindustan College. In her line, she is among the most successful women in India.
Radhika Aggarwal – The Co-Founder of Shopclues
Since the company’s founding in 2011, co-founder Radhika of ShopClues has transformed Indian e-commerce by challenging male-dominated behemoths like Flipkart and Amazon. In five years, with little money, she and Sanjay Sethi made Shopclues a unicorn valued at US$1.1 billion. 2019 saw the acquisition by Singaporean company Qoo10. Radhika is now the CEO and founder of Kindlife, a contemporary beauty and wellness marketplace with 150+ carefully chosen in-home care, cosmetics, and nutrition businesses.
Shivani Poddar: Co-founder, FabAlley Indya
Tanvi Malik is another serial entrepreneur, and so is Shivani Poddar. After Hindu College, she completed her MBA at Delhi’s Faculty of Management Studies. She has won many national honours and participated in the Hindustan Unilever Programme. Shivani has also had a position with Avendus Capital, working in investment banking. At FabAlley, she oversees both product purchases and the production process. In addition to FabAlley and Indya, Zyra is a new fashion jewellery company that started a few months ago.
Ghazal Alagh – The Founder of MamaEarth
Ghazal Alagh decided to start her own company after facing difficulties in finding healthy baby products for her child. In response to a demand in the home babycare market and a mother’s desperation, a lady and her husband, Varun Alagh, founded Mamaearth. More than 500 cities have joined Mamaearth’s five million customers. Last year, it achieved two milestones: becoming a unicorn and making its first profit of fourteen crore rupees.
Vani Kola – The Founder of Kalaari Capital
After founding the venture capital company Kalaari Capital, Vani Kola was named the most prominent Indian woman entrepreneur in 2014 by Forbes. Following her intuition, Vani Kola brought new life to the term “entrepreneurship” by investing in visionaries and advocating for the digital economy, therefore empowering young entrepreneurs.
Shubra Chadda – Co-founder, Chumbak
Along with Vivek Prabhakar, Shubhra established Chumbak, an online store selling unique, Indian-inspired jewellery and accessories. Like many other Indian women entrepreneurs, she started a design-led company, and the world is better. They saw that different countries have a wide selection of exciting souvenirs to sell, but India, with all its eccentricities and culture, doesn’t. So, they came up with the concept. In the beginning stages of her company, Shubhra successfully balanced the needs of her two-year-old child.
Hemalatha Annamalai – The Founder and CEO of Ampere Electric
When her husband called from Japan, Hemalatha was inspired to create Ampere Electric in 2007. The electric bike, scooter, and three-wheeler manufacturer, with a 2018 valuation of $16.28 million, saw an opportunity in India’s growing demand for electric transportation. An innovator among female business owners, Hemalatha improves access to clean transportation in rural India. She gives voice to women in the mill workers of Tamil Nadu with Ampere Electric’s women-centric Trisul three-wheel vehicle.
Gurleen Kaur – Founder of Hareepatti
Among the 30 most successful women entrepreneurs in India, Gurleen Kaur Tikku is known for creating the Hareepatti brand. If you want to reach sensible financial goals, Hareepatti can help you with that. Among them are medical, life, vehicle, mutual fund insurance, and claims assistance. Everyone can find what they’re looking for in Hareepatti!
Shraddha Sharma – Founder of YourStory.com
Popular media site YourStory.com, founded by Shraddha Sharma, gives business owners a platform to share and chronicle their stories. The developer of YourStory.com, Shradha Sharma, is from Patna, Bihar. Her original intention was to share the stories of India’s unique companies. Shradha hopes to one day create a space where she can freely talk about all that has happened to her, from her first moments of triumph to her darkest hours of introspection.
Khushboo Jain – The Co-Founder and COO of ImpactGuru.com
Khushboo Jain co-founded Impact Guru to revolutionise India’s crowdfunding startup landscape. Her responsibilities as COO include marketing, communications, and design. Impact Guru has donated ₶150 crores (US$21 million) to global NGOs and social enterprises, with ▎3.3 crores (US$460,000) coming from funds in Southeast Asia and the remainder of the money that RB Investments of Singapore contributed.
Indra Nooyi – The Founder & CEO of PepsiCo
Indira Nooyi ranks high among the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. As Pepsi’s first female CEO and chairwoman from 2015 through 2019, she played a pivotal role in the company’s development and success. Her forays into entrepreneurship continued beyond this point. Now, she’s a member of the ICC, Amazon, and Philips boards. Starting her career as a product manager for Johnson & Johnson and the textile manufacturer MetturBeardsell, Indra is a graduate of Science and Maths and an IIM Calcutta alumna.
Suman Agarwal – Co-founder & Director of Image Consulting Business Institute
The visionary Indian entrepreneur Suman Agarwal founded the Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI). Suman decided to pack her bags, leave her comfort zone, and pursue life on her terms when she was eighteen. 2011 saw her become one of the most well-known female entrepreneurs and the senior-most image consultant in the Indian subcontinent when the Federation of Image Professional International, UK, awarded her the Image Master title—currently serving as President of the Image Management Professional Association (IMPA).
Sudha Murty – Teacher, Chairperson of The Infosys Foundation
A lady always encourages a guy to plunge and do something extraordinary. In 1981, Narayan Murty started Infosys with a loan of Rs. 10,000 from Sudha Murty. This loan catalysed the creation of a multibillion-dollar firm that is well-known to everyone. The Padma Shri Awardee finds books, social work, teaching, and being grounded unique and charming. Despite the widespread belief that electronics engineering was mainly male-dominated, Sudha boldly pursued this path. Soon after, she became the first female engineer for TELCO (now Tata Motors).
Mehak Sagar – Co-founder of WedMeGood
Mehak’s difficulties in preparing for her wedding inspired her to start WedMeGood. She saw an opening and capitalised on it. The wedding business is agog with her today. Mehak worked as a data modeller for American Express after finishing her degree. Like the rest of us, she was creative and loved everything related to style and cosmetics. Peaches & Blushes is the name of her blog, which she launched on her own. However, she was only at the start of her adventure to change careers. She documented on her blog the challenges she had in locating a wedding location, photographer, and beauty artist while organising her wedding in a different city.
Meghna Agarwal – The Co-Founder of IndiQube
Joining up with IndiQube, Meghna has spent most of a decade honing her manufacturing, HR, real estate, and consulting skills. She has a degree in corporate secretary in addition to an MBA in finance from IMT. She had an “aha!” moment when she realised that firms looking to sublease space required services like a gym, food, transportation, and IT. This realisation inspired IndiQube to create flexible coworking spaces. Last year, they raised $15 million with the support of WestBridge Capital as a sponsor.
Naiyya Saggi – The Founder of BabyChakra and Co-Founder of The Good Glamm Group
Due to her fitness difficulties, Neha began Fitternity in 2013. This online booking firm is doing quite well, with 10 million users and $16 million in annual sales. Quickly finding new training routines is a breeze with our fitness search engine, one of India’s most popular.
Neha Motwani – The Co-Founder & CEO of Fitternity
The inspirational story of Fulbright Scholar and Harvard Business School alums Naiyya Saggi showcases the game-changing potential of an entrepreneurial spirit. She created BabyChakra, an online platform for baby monitoring, in 2015, and it has been beneficial for pregnant women. She launched her next enterprise, The Good Glamm Group, in 2021; it would be the first unicorn in India’s cosmetics sector, with an expected worth of $1.2 billion. The story of Naiyya is both an inspiration and a testimony to the fact that there are different paths one may take in the economic world.
Namita Thapar – The Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals
Under Namita Thapar’s leadership, the pharmaceutical company situated in Pune has a market worth of ₹61 billion and manufactures drugs for various ailments. Under her leadership, Emcure’s India business doubled its revenues to ₹25 billion in 2021 from 2007 to 2021. On her YouTube channel, “Unconditional Yourself with Namita Thapar,” Thapar discusses topics related to women’s health. She served as a judge on Shark Tank India for its first season and all future seasons.
Suchita Salwan – The Founder and CEO of Little Black Book
Delhi was known for being “boring,” but Suchita Salwan changed that by creating Little Black Book (LBB). The idea began on Tumblr and has now expanded into a directory featuring local businesses to a user base of 25 million+, with 1 million+ people active daily. The Series A funding round for LBB raised $7 million from seven investors: IAN, Rajan Anandan, Sachin Bhatia, Blume Ventures, Inventus India Ventures, and Chiratae Ventures.
Swati Bhargava – The Co-Founder of CashKaro
Together with her husband, Rohan, Swati Bhargava launched CashKaro. She is a maths wiz and has an economics degree from the London School of Economics. They returned to India and were very successful in the expanding e-commerce sector, with their platform enabling customers to take advantage of cashback and other offers. Top young businesswoman Swati has a net worth of $2 million and was recognised by Fortune India as one of the 40 Under 40.
Conclusion
The stories of these 30 successful women entrepreneurs in India demonstrate how strength, tenacity, and resolve may transform lives. Considering the seemingly endless opportunities of their travels, we understand that we can all change the world. We celebrate their accomplishments, give voice to them, and promote equality and empowerment. India has to continue assisting women entrepreneurs and their goals to ensure that their ambitions and achievements are unrestricted as it works to become a major centre for innovation and entrepreneurship. Working together, we can create an environment where women can prosper in business.
