When Falguni Nayar launched Nykaa back in 2012, she was sure of one thing: her startup would be a destination store for all things beauty.

Global IndianstoryFalguni Nayar: The entrepreneur helming Nykaa, India’s only profitable unicorn to go public

Entrepreneurship

Falguni Nayar: The entrepreneur helming Nykaa, India’s only profitable unicorn to go public

Written by: Global Indian

(August 11, 2021; 7 pm) When Falguni Nayar launched Nykaa back in 2012, she was sure of one thing: her startup would be a destination store for all things beauty. Over the years, the e-commerce platform earned a loyal fan following and is now one of the most successful beauty stores in the country. From curating a range of beauty and wellness products to introducing some of the finest luxury beauty brands to India, launching several successful offline stores and now racing towards filing an IPO, Nykaa has come a long way. And former New York investment banker Nayar is being heralded as the game changer for the country’s women entrepreneurs.

While it may not be the first startup to go public this year, it will be groundbreaking as it is the first woman-led startup heading for an IPO and is one of the first profitable startups to be listed in the public markets. It is also one of the few startups in the country where the founder is expected to have a strong control over the company compared to other Indian startups also heading for a public listing. Nayar and her family own over 54% stake in the parent company. According to Bloomberg News, the company which filed preliminary documents for an IPO this week, could be valued at more than $4 billion.

Falguni Nayar with her husband Sanjay and kids

Journey to the top

Born in Mumbai in 1973, Nayar’s father ran a ball-bearing business. She went on to graduate from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics before doing her MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. Nayar then landed a job at AF Ferguson & Co where she worked for eight years, before moving to London in 1994 as Head of International Business for Kotak Securities. Three years later, Nayar was heading Kotak’s international business department in New York, where she worked for four years, before moving back to Mumbai as director and head of Kotak’s Institutional Equities Business.

In 2007, Nayar took over as the Managing Director of Kotak Investment Banking, a job that she quit four years later to dive headlong into the world of entrepreneurship.

Nykaa signed on Jahnavi Kapoor as its brand ambassador

Entrepreneurial journey

When Nayar founded Nykaa, the segment was relatively new and not as popular as it is today. Until then, naysayers were of the opinion that e-commerce and beauty retail don’t work in India. However, Nayar was confident of her venture and had done her market research before testing waters. Soon, the e-commerce platform gained popularity as it began bringing luxury beauty brands to Indian shores such as Charlotte Tilbury, Farsali, Chopard, Chloe, and even top Korean skincare brands such as Laneige and Sulwhasoo. In an interview with YourStory, she said,

“I felt that there is a lot of early-stage value creation by entrepreneurs, and yet, there are several naysayers. It was the entrepreneur’s drive and belief that intrigued me, and it was something that I wanted for myself.”

The idea for Nykaa came about from Nayar’s observations of how in the West, entire floors of high-end stores were dedicated to beauty products. In India, however, it was usually the neighborhood variety stores that women turned to. With limited choices and poor displays, Nayar was ready to change the beauty business – her goal was to create a slick shopping experience where women could also get first-hand tips from celebrities and beauty influencers alike.

For women by women

Falguni Nayar and Katrina Kaif

At the heart of the business was Nayar’s missions to help Indian women look after themselves. In an interview with The Print, she said,

“Our message to women has been that the spotlight of her life should be on herself. You are important in your story and should feel no guilt at being center stage.”

Nayar’s vision soon had the company grow from strength to strength and Nykaa introduced its own product line under Nykaa Cosmetics, Nykaa Naturals, Nykaa Man and Kay Beauty with Katrina Kaif. Today, the platform has close to 4,000 brands and has processed 19.5 million orders until March this year. Nayar also ensured she tapped into the power of influencers and Nykaa has a network of as many as 1,300 influencers from across the globe to help drive sales.

What the IPO means

According to YourStory, women-led businesses usually find less funding when compared to those led by men with the former raising only 5% of the total funding between 2018 to 2020. Nykaa’s IPO therefore, will be a huge leg up for India’s startup ecosystem, especially for its women entrepreneurs. The success of this IPO will draw more investor attention to women-led startups and attract more women to entrepreneurship.

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5 Indian Americans helming some of Silicon Valley’s most successful ventures

In the cut-throat world of Silicon Valley where startups bloom ever so often, the race to the top is fierce. But several Indian-Americans are ahead of the curve in shepherding some of the US' most innovative ventures, some that have gone on to become unicorns and even publicly-listed companies According to Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends of 2018, startups founded or co-founded by Indian-origin entrepreneurs were among the most highly valued private tech companies in the US. Over the years, several Indian-Americans have shot to the big league in Silicon Valley, the hotbed of global innovation. Global Indian traces the journeys of contemporary Indian-American entrepreneurs who are making waves, especially during the pandemic. Baiju Bhatt, Robinhood [caption id="attachment_4024" align="aligncenter" width="483"] Baiju Bhatt[/caption] The eight-year-old no-brokerage stock trading app has over 13 million users and is valued at more than $40 billion. The company, which is planning to go public later this year, was founded by Baiju Bhatt and his friend from Stanford University, Vladimir Tenev. The app lets users invest in top stocks of major companies gained immense popularity with millennials who earlier might have felt intimidated at the prospect of investing in the stock market. The COVID-19 pandemic, especially, saw

-year-old no-brokerage stock trading app has over 13 million users and is valued at more than $40 billion. The company, which is planning to go public later this year, was founded by Baiju Bhatt and his friend from Stanford University, Vladimir Tenev. The app lets users invest in top stocks of major companies gained immense popularity with millennials who earlier might have felt intimidated at the prospect of investing in the stock market.

The COVID-19 pandemic, especially, saw the app gain 3 million users and a 250% increase in revenue since 2019. 37-year-old Bhatt who grew up in eastern Virginia was born to immigrant parents from Gujarat. His parents moved to the US in 1984, when his father Praful Bhatt enrolled for a Ph.D. program in theoretical physics at the University of Huntsville in Alabama. The family eventually moved to Poquoson where Bhatt completed his high school and relocated to the West Coast for his under graduation in physics at Standford University. He stayed on at Stanford to earn his Master’s in Mathematics and it was here that he and Tenev became roommates and friends. The duo had earlier launched two companies in New York before striking gold with Robinhood.

Bhatt’s idea for Robinhood stemmed from the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests; offering no brokerage stock trading, the app cuts out the high fees charged by stockbrokers, which otherwise makes investing in stocks feel like an intimidating experience for those with low funds. In 2020, Bhatt stepped down as the company’s CEO to focus on product development, stated a report in Forbes.

Rohan Seth, Clubhouse

[caption id="attachment_4027" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Indian-American CEOs at the helm of Silicon Valley's most successful startups Rohan Seth and his daughter Lydia[/caption]

Launched in 2019, Clubhouse was founded by Indian American Rohan Seth and Paul Davidson. The invitation-only social media app gained traction early on in the pandemic when people realized the need for human interaction like never before. Some of its most noted users include the likes of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Within a year of raising funding, Clubhouse went on to become a unicorn and now has more than 8 million downloads.

The founders met when they were studying in Stanford University and after a string of failed businesses decided to give Clubhouse one last try. The app clicked and the two are on their path to success. Incidentally, Seth a New Delhi boy, who did his early schooling in India’s capital city, first worked with tech giant Google for six years before trying his hand at entrepreneurship. He met Davidson when he was looking for funding for Lydian Accelerator, an open-source platform that aims to customize genetic treatments for children born with severe genetic mutations. Seth and his wife Jennifer named the Accelerator after their daughter Lydia, who was born with a rare genetic mutation that causes mental and physical impairments. On his Medium page, he wrote, “We were told her disease was too rare, and there was no treatment, but neither is true.” His daughter is now undergoing gene-silencing treatments.

Apoorva Mehta, Instacart

[caption id="attachment_4029" align="aligncenter" width="341"] Indian-American CEOs at the helm of Silicon Valley's most successful startups Apoorva Mehta[/caption]

Backed by marquee investors such as Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures, grocery delivery and pick-up startup Instacart came as a godsend for many American users during the pandemic. The company recently signed pacts with grocery majors such as Loblaws, Alberstons, Kroger, Costco and CVS and reached a valuation of $39 billion in March 2021. Founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, Max Mullen, and Brandon Leonardo, Instacart saw a drastic increase in profits during the pandemic when social distancing and lockdowns forced a change in lifestyles.

Mehta, a former Amazon employee, was born in India and moved with his family to Canada in 2000. He studied engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario from where he graduated in 2008. He also worked with companies such as Blackberry and Qualcomm, before branching off on his own. Before he struck gold with Instacart, Mehta had launched over 20 startups ranging from an ad network for social gaming companies to a social network specifically for lawyers. In 2013, he was featured in the Forbes 30-under-30 list. In 2016, he made to America’s Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 list and in 2021 he was included in the TIME100 Next. Interestingly, Mehta had quit his job at Amazon after he found the work environment to be “slow and bureaucratic”. Today, Amazon has become one of Instacart's biggest competitors.

Jay Chaudhry, Zscaler

[caption id="attachment_4031" align="aligncenter" width="426"] Indian-American CEOs at the helm of Silicon Valley's most successful startups Jay Chaudhry[/caption]

Cybersecurity firm Zscaler was co-founded by 62-year-old Jay Chaudhry in 2007 and its two most popular products Zscaler Private Access and Zscaler Internet Access help provide secure access to locally hosted apps and external apps. It had an initial public offering in 2018 where it raised $192 million; in 2020 it purchased cloud security management startup Cloudneeti. Today, the company is listed on NASDAQ and is worth $28 billion.

Chaudhry, who owns 45% stake in the company, grew up in Panoh in Himachal Pradesh. As a child, he had no access to electricity and would study under the trees. In an interview with The Tribune, he said that would walk nearly 4 kilometers each day to attend school in the neighboring village. He went on to study at IIT-Varanasi before moving to the US for his MBA from the University of Cincinnati. Chaudhry then worked in sales and marketing at companies such as IBM, Unisys, and IQ Software for 25 years, before launching his own company. Today, Zscaler is the leader in cloud security, developing the world’s largest cloud-native security platform. Chaudhry’s estimate net worth of $13 billion has made him the ninth richest Indian in the world.

KR Sridhar, Bloom Energy

[caption id="attachment_4034" align="aligncenter" width="422"] Indian-American CEOs at the helm of Silicon Valley's most successful startups KR Sridhar[/caption]

Founded in 2001 by KR Sridhar, Bloom Energy worked in stealth mode before coming out in 2010. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company manufactures solid oxide fuel cells that produce electricity on site. It raised more than $1 billion in venture capital funding before going public in 2018. Its fuel cells are subsidized by government incentive programs for green energy.

Born in Tamil Nadu, Sridhar graduated in mechanical engineering from NIT, Tiruchirapalli 39 years back before moving to the US for his MS in nuclear engineering and PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He founded Bloom with the aim to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone. He initially led a project to build a device for NASA using solar power and water from Mars to produce oxygen. When it was canceled, he worked on reversing the process to use oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity instead. On his website, Sridhar writes, “The growing demand for essential electricity and the knowledge that the climate cannot sustain the status quo requires that we rethink how to shape this transforming global marketplace.”

RELATED READ: Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams

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India’s Unicorn Boom: How startups are changing the game

(May 11, 2022) In the last few years, India has emerged as the third largest ecosystem for startups globally with over 66,359 DPIIT-recognised startups across 642 districts. With many global leaders looking to invest in Indian market, the country is witnessing a boom in the number of unicorn companies - privately held startups with $1 billion valuation or above. Interestingly, India’s startup landscape has seen close to 100 unicorns being added since January 2019. Furthermore, the country is expected to birth more than 250 unicorns by 2025, according to the Iron Pillar report ‘India Tech Trends'. As the technology ecosystem continues to grow, Global Indian turns the spotlight on five companies, who recently made it to the country's unicorn club. MindTickle - Krishna Gopal Depura, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali In 2011, three Pune-based techies - Krishna Gopal Depura, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali started a group to take part in gamified knowledge-based treasure hunts as a hobby. The idea was not only to do something interesting, which could be at the intersection of fun and learning, but also transform the mundane life of corporates. Intrigued with the possibility of making a business out of their passion, they approached investors

the mundane life of corporates. Intrigued with the possibility of making a business out of their passion, they approached investors in 2011, pitched them MindTickle, and positioned the startup as a gamification platform for corporates.

[caption id="attachment_24360" align="aligncenter" width="699"] Krishna Gopal Depura, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali[/caption]

Ten years later, it was valued at $1.2 billion by SoftBank Vision fund, making it a unicorn company. Though MindTickle had its share of teething troubles, the founders never gave up on their vision. During an earlier interview, Krishna shared that though they were able to grab the attention of marquee venture capitalist (VC) fund Accel in 2012, over the next five years the business kept trickling in.

They had their eureka moment in 2015, when the founders realised that they were trying to sell their product in the wrong market. To set things right, MindTickle team used LinkedIn to gauge the need for training for sales executives. After realising that their product suited the US market, they focussed sharply on solving the pain points of business leaders who were looking for sharper and ready sales staff for their business.

Soon MindTickle started striking multi-million dollar deals with single customers. In 2017, MindTickle raised $27 million. Two years later, came $40 million in a series C round. Next to follow was a hefty cheque of $100 million from SoftBank Vision Fund in November 2020, which made MindTickle SoftBank’s first software-as-a-service (Saas) investment in India.

The startup now claims to have over 250 customers, and gets 80 percent of its revenue from the US, with the rest coming from Europe and Asia.

Follow MindTickle on Twitter and LinkedIn

PharmEasy - Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Dharmil Sheth

The pharma industry has never been an organised sector in India. However, a six-year-old company changed the game by bringing together patients, pharmacies and diagnostic centers on one platform. In 2015, two young Mumbaikars – Dharmil Seth, an alumnus of IMT Ghaziabad, and Dr Dhaval Shah, an MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, came together to digitalise the medicine industry, so that one could order their medicines from a wide range of e-commerce medical stores online and get them delivered online without any hassles.

[caption id="attachment_24361" align="aligncenter" width="741"] Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Dharmil Sheth[/caption]

Since then, its B2B business has grown manifold. In 2019, PharmEasy merged with Ascent Health, to form API Holdings, which brought in three new co-founders on board – Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Harsh Parekh. In 2021, the startup joined the unicorn club and became the first e-pharmacy to do so with a valuation of $1.5 billion.

However, PharmEasy has its share of challenges, including the supply chain logistics. The biggest roadblock initially was the lack of digitised records. To overcome this, the founders ensured that every retailer they work with has digital records and a proper system by offering inventory management and accounting tools.

Today, the B2B pharma distribution business connects over a whopping 100,000 retailers to around 4,500 distributors. Furthermore, PharmEasy is looking to expand its diagnostic business which has witnessed a massive surge in the past year.

Follow PharmEasy on Twitter and LinkedIn

Moglix - Rahul Garg

Backed by Ratan Tata and Accel Partners, Moglix was launched in 2016 by an IIT-Kanpur and ISB alumnus, Rahul Garg. Headquartered in Singapore, its mission is to tide over the gap between B2B merchants and consumers, and develop an exclusive digital-trade ecosystem, tailor-made to satisfy the diverse needs of buyers and sellers.

[caption id="attachment_24362" align="aligncenter" width="655"] Rahul Garg[/caption]

One of Asia’s largest and fastest-growing supply chain services companies, Moglix joined India's unicorn club in May 2021 after raising Series E round funding of $120 million that boosted the company's valuation to surpass the $1 billion mark. However, the company did go through some tough time during the global pandemic. In the wake of the massive global supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19, Moglix looked to partnering with enterprises across industry verticals to map their supply chain requirements and provide technology-enabled solutions that are customised and scalable. They even provided PPE, medical kits, cleaning and housekeeping items, and surface agents at economical prices through its e-commerce portal moglix.com.

At present, the company claims to provide solutions and industrial products to more than 500,000 small and medium enterprises as well as to over 1000 large manufacturers across India and the UAE. It has a supply chain network of over 16,000 suppliers, and operates across 40 warehouses along with an in-house logistics infrastructure.

Follow Moglix on Twitter and LinkedIn

CoinDCX - Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal

Even though the world of crypto is still volatile with no clarity on the legality of the digital asset, two college friends- Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal – pooled in all their life savings to start cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX in 2018. Unfortunately, it was the same year when Reserve Bank of India issued a banking ban on crypto transactions. Several crypto startups had to shut shop or continue operations while navigating numerous roadblocks. CoinDCX, too, decided to fight the uphill battle and was among the few players that contested the regulator’s ban in court.

[caption id="attachment_24363" align="aligncenter" width="707"] Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal[/caption]

In March 2020, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on cryptocurrency exchanges and one-and-a-half years later, CoinDCX became the first crypto startup to enter the unicorn club with a $90 million funding led by B Capital. During an interview, Sumit shared that the CoinDCX team has seen the total spectrum of fundraising in the space during their journey. What helped them was keeping their heads down and focusing on building their company.

With over 3.5 million users, CoinDCX is now aiming to make crypto more accessible in India and accelerate its efforts of bringing 50 million Indians into the crypto fold.

Follow CoinDCX on Twitter and LinkedIn

GlobalBees - Deepak Khetan, Nitin Agarwal, and Supam Maheshwari

Based on the Thrasio model, e-commerce startup GlobalBees was founded in May 2021 by FirstCry founder Supam Maheshwari and Edelweiss’ former President Nitin Agarwal. The idea was to acquire digital-first brands across categories such as beauty, nutrition, food, fitness, personal care, lifestyle, home, sports and lifestyle, which have a revenue rate of $1 million to $20 million, and help them scale up and grow. In just seven months, GlobalBees made it to the unicorn list in December 2021, by raising $150 million in a Series A financing round led by FirstCry.

[caption id="attachment_24364" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Deepak Khetan, Nitin Agarwal, and Supam Maheshwari[/caption]

In the last few years, many ecommerce brands have cropped up in India, owing to the evolution of the ecosystem with better logistics, deeper internet penetration, and increased consumer interest and trust. However, what make GlobalBees different is their ambition to build the product and focus on innovation. The company acquires and partners with sellers on Amazon and equips them with capabilities across marketing and growth, technology, distribution, sourcing, branding, warehousing, logistics, R&D, product development, and operations — all things essential to rapidly scale the brands in the digital space.

GlobalBees has acquired 12 brands across categories, including The Better Home, Prolixr, Absorbia, Yellow Chimes, HealthyHey, and others. Presently, the company’s strategy is to work with these and build them up.

Follow GlobalBees on Twitter and LinkedIn

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Mukti Bosco: The Indian social entrepreneur who is changing lives with her healing touch

(September 2, 2021) Twenty years ago Mukti Bosco, then a post graduate student in health management, was on a field visit to Hyderabad’s Charminar area. She struck up a conversation with some women from the area and asked them what they would do in the face of an unforeseen emergency, most of them said that they would mortgage their assets. But it was one woman’s response that changed Bosco’s perspective forever: she told Bosco that she had to pull her six-year-old son out from school and send him to work at a tea shop as she had borrowed ₹5,000 for her husband’s typhoid treatment. The incident moved her so much that Bosco decided she didn’t want to be a mere bystander, she wanted to do something to change things - and Healing Fields Foundation (HFF) was born. Headquartered in Hyderabad, HFF has been providing training and support for women as health change agents in their communities. The Foundation works in rural areas of poorer states to impact change in the areas with the greatest need. From working to prevent health problems and facilitate access to health services and entitlements from the government, HFF has been working across the sector and has done extensive pandemic relief work as well. In fact, HFF has recently been recognized

and Healing Fields Foundation (HFF) was born. Headquartered in Hyderabad, HFF has been providing training and support for women as health change agents in their communities. The Foundation works in rural areas of poorer states to impact change in the areas with the greatest need. From working to prevent health problems and facilitate access to health services and entitlements from the government, HFF has been working across the sector and has done extensive pandemic relief work as well. In fact, HFF has recently been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of India’s Top 50 COVID-19 Last Mile Responders.

[caption id="attachment_9131" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Indian social entrepreneur Mukti Bosco Mukti Bosco[/caption]

Rocky beginnings

Growing up with medical professionals at home - her father being an eye doctor and her mother a nurse - Bosco knew she would also follow in their footsteps. But her path was unclear until she finished her degree from Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore. "That is when I knew what I wanted to do something for the society," recalls Bosco in an exclusive chat with Global Indian. She graduated in Occupational Therapy from Vellore and later completed her Master's degree in Healthcare Management from the Administrative Staff College of India and John Hopkins University.

[caption id="attachment_9132" align="aligncenter" width="564"] HFF volunteers A Healing Fields Foundation CHE at work[/caption]

The Charminar incident shook Bosco more than she’d anticipated. "It broke my soul and that's how Healing Fields was conceptualized," she says. Mother to a 5-year-old son herself, Mukti resolved to do something in the health sector so that no underprivileged person had to sacrifice their children's future again.

The initial days of the Foundation were difficult. Few people took her seriously, but Bosco knew what she was doing. "When they saw I was determined, support started pouring in," smiles Bosco, who is also an Ashoka Fellow. With zero experience in the social sector, she stepped in with a positive mindset. "Social entrepreneurship is always in a startup mode and nothing can be taken for granted. I learnt most of it on the job," she says.

Working for impact

In the last twenty years, Bosco has been giving back to society by leading Healing Fields Foundation into several areas. From training and supporting health and hygiene initiatives for women in rural areas to training health professionals at the grassroots level and beyond, the aim has been to reach as many people as possible. Healing Fields has worked across the country in states like Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, and Jharkhand.

Healing Fields has so far has trained 5,000 community health entrepreneurs across 10 states, reaching 6.25 million people. This year, HFF plans to undertake a new project called TeleHealth. "This project aims to train a health leader to conduct basic health checks, as well as connect her to a network of clinics through a digital platform," says Bosco. "She will be therefore able to earn extra income for herself while bringing last-mile health services for her community," she adds.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usiLaSLakBg[/embed]

One evening in June, a health worker at the Healing Fields Foundation in Bihar received an urgent call from Bheriya village in Kaimur district. Around 20 children were vomiting and displaying symptoms of diarrhea in the village. Immediately, a team comprising Community Health Entrepreneur (CHE), the Gram Pradhan, Healing Fields staff, and the doctor was formed.

The CHE assessed every child who was unwell and advised the parents regarding maintaining hydration. ORS and medicines were given free of cost, and children with severe symptoms were shifted to a hospital. The team also coordinated with the local government officials and organized a health camp in the village to assess and identify the cause of the illness. It turned out that it was due to food served at a wedding.

The quick action by HFF meant that the problem was nipped in the bud. When a problem relates to children, the Foundation makes it a point to solve the problem as early as possible.

It may have been a twenty-year journey with Healing Fields Foundation, but for Bosco every day is new, filled with challenges and new ideas to serve the community.

Reading Time: 5 mins

Ashay Bhave: How this 23-year-old is getting “kicks” out of plastic waste, and is sold out

(November 27, 2021) "Don't just do it, do it right," puns the Thaely slogan, taking a dig at an international shoe brand. Rightly so, as Thaely sneakers are 100 percent recycled, and made from plastic trash. In fact, truth be told, CEO and founder of Thaely, an ethically produced ecologically fashioned sneaker brand, Ashay Bhave, is as honest, sceptical and idealistic in life as he is in deed. This, and a talent for art saw him create a niche with his vegan sneakers which he shrugs off – "This is just the beginning of greater things to come." Modest words. Interestingly, his first art installation at the Jameel Art Centre in Dubai, a show he curated too, got government attention, and he was given a UAE Golden Visa. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Thaely (@thaely.inc) Thaely has an ethos of sustainability as the 23-year-old Ashay upcycles plastic bags and bottles to create shoes. Named after the common place plastic bag's Hindi word for it, thaely, the shoes use plastic waste with cutting edge design. "We are the only company that uses plastic bags to make shoes. When you look at their aesthetics and design,

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thaely (@thaely.inc)

Thaely has an ethos of sustainability as the 23-year-old Ashay upcycles plastic bags and bottles to create shoes. Named after the common place plastic bag's Hindi word for it, thaely, the shoes use plastic waste with cutting edge design. "We are the only company that uses plastic bags to make shoes. When you look at their aesthetics and design, you would never know that they are made from plastic," says the creator. Each sneaker uses ten plastic bags and 12 plastic bottles – an overall whopping 50,000 plastic bags and 35,000 bottles have been used so far.

The sneakers won the PETA's Best Vegan Sneaker Award 2021. Head honcho Anand Mahindra tweeted his interest in funding and buying these ecologically attuned sneakers.

This is awesome!
A startup in India 🇮🇳 is making these sneakers (a $70 billion market) are made of garbage (12 plastic bottles and handful of trash bags). And for $110, they will be shipped anywhere in the world.@Thaely_inc

pic.twitter.com/ogNwVCFhXY

— Erik Solheim (@ErikSolheim) November 17, 2021

Today, Thaely sneakers are sold out. Behind the minimalistic and soft leather shoe is a boy with a curly shock of hair forming a whimsical halo around his artistic head, with an endearing schoolboy drawl. He rattles off the science behind the shoes, fabric, and his depth is clear to see. The boy who studied at DY Patil in Navi Mumbai, comes from a Maharashtrian family - his mother Sheetal Bhave is a counsellor, and father Sameer Bhave works in Dubai at an oil company, and he has a younger sister.

The birth of an eco-friendly sneaker

Thaely was initially developed as a design exercise by Ashay using recycled material from waste at the Eureka competition during his final BBA entrepreneurship semester at Amity University (Dubai) in 2019. "I wanted to find a solution to the 100 billion plastic bags used each year that use 12 million barrels of oil which kill 100,000 marine animals annually," quips Ashay, who finished 12th and went to the Big Apple to study accessory design. A year into the course, unhappy with his progress, what work the alumni were doing, job prospects and the cost of the course, he signed up for a BBA in Dubai.

"I was doing a few design projects for fun - one was Thaely. Plastic bags are a huge problem, most marine animals confuse them for jelly fish. I experimented at home with different household appliances - irons and hair straighteners. I got familiarised with some industrial equipment during design school, and tried to replicate the tech used in t-shirt printing to form a texture called ThaelyTex with PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) used for coating, shoe bands, etc while the soles are from discarded tyres," he explains. With a rough idea of the fabric that he developed over two years; a prototype was made at a neighbourhood shoe repair shop. That prototype and design, he pitched along with a business plan at Eureka as proof of concept. Ashay won the competition, was spotted by a judge, Matteo Boffa, a Dubai-based Swiss social entrepreneur, who funded and mentored Ashay who was only 20 at the time. "I definitely needed guidance when it came to business and enterprise," says the designer who has since sold out his inventory.

Quote Unquote

"As soon as I heard Ashay’s pitch about Thaely I fell in love with the concept. Being a serial entrepreneur in the field of sustainability and social impact, I saw a great fit. The idea was great but the person behind was even better! The brand can compete with the giants of the industry. We have a real and concrete positive impact on hundreds of people in India," says Matteo Boffa, Social entrepreneur, Forbes 30under30, and co-founder of Thaely.

[caption id="attachment_16837" align="aligncenter" width="851"] Ashay Bhave[/caption]

Ashay identified Trio Tap Technologies, a waste management plant in Gurgaon for plastic bags. Then, the pandemic hit. All work came to a standstill. Beginning 2021, Bhave again started work and finally launched the recycled sneaker.

"It is difficult to create a sneaker with those specs, so we designed a process that is scalable and efficient. Thaely is a casual sneaker. I took inspiration from the many basketball and skateboarding shoes of the 80s – the design is timeless, minimalistic and easy to style. It looks like a leather sneaker," explains the designer, who started off as a freelance designer creating album art, packaging, animation, toys, etc. A name in Dubai already, he now wants to impress the rest of the world with not just products but also his art.

"The installation show was a pretty important point - it helped me become more established. I got government attention, and was offered a UAE Golden Visa. I had designed a fake toy with a packing and gaming console - it was basically critiquing world leaders acting like children and sort of playing with our lives," says the avant-garde thinker.

With funding, the second prototype was made, and the recycled "kicks" were on their way to make feet accountable and responsible. Thaely sneakers are currently sold at Level One, among the biggest shoe stores in the world at Dubai Mall, and online.

[caption id="attachment_16838" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Thaely Thaely's vegan sneakers[/caption]

Tapping the market

"We were sold out on all the shoes produced – 1,600 pairs with 500 pre-orders – mostly from Europe, some from America and Australia. India is not a very big market right now," says Bhave, who is grateful for the acclaim, and success, "It was my dream to be in design or a CEO of a fashion brand - now that it has come true, I am thrilled," says the eco entrepreneur who wants to diversify, and add more colours too (Thaely sneakers are in white, white-brown and white-blue, and pre orders of all-black).

Like other 20-somethings, sneakers are an appendage and lifeline – his, he says, are comfortable and function like regular shoes. They are different though, "We are 100 percent recycled, completely transparent on production processes, our shoes have a QR code, and we are cheaper than other sustainable sneakers at $99 (others are $150, etc)," adds the Global Indian.

[caption id="attachment_16839" align="aligncenter" width="771"] Thaely sneakers[/caption]

Proud parents, a sister who is a tad intimidated by attention, and impressed friends, Bhave knew they all had "pretty high hopes" (for him), and admits they expect much more now.

Mentor Matteo has been instrumental in giving Ashay a deeper perspective, "He is pretty young – 30, and (is) always inspiring me to stretch my boundaries," says Bhave who loves sci-fi movies, art and fashion.

Not many know that Ashay was a national level rifle shooter from sixth to eleventh grade in Mumbai, and even today loves going to the range in Dubai when he visits his parents. His larger aspiration is to make Thaely a lifestyle brand – clothing, furniture, other accessories – recycled and sustainable. Sneakers done, now it’s back to the drawing board to create more from trash.

Follow Thaely on Twitter, Instagram

Reading Time: 6 min

Ramya Ravi: The Harvard educated entrepreneur bringing alive the magic of her grandmother’s biryani

(March 13, 2022) Growing up Ramya Ravi remembers feasting on the fragrant donne biryani whipped up by her grandmother. With each grain of the jeera samba rice coated in her secret blend of masalas and aromatic herbs, the greenish hued biryani left behind memories of its lusciousness long after it had been demolished. But the entrepreneur wondered why the donne biryani that filled her childhood with its deliciousness failed to enjoy its moment in the sun pan India like the Hyderabadi or Lucknowi biryanis. It was this desire to popularise the typically Karnataka style of biryani that led the Harvard alum to launch RNR Biryani as a cloud kitchen bang in the middle of the pandemic. However, the entrepreneur’s gamble paid off and today, RNR is a hugely profitable enterprise with dine in restaurants too. What started off as a cloud kitchen with an investment of ₹5 lakh in late 2020 is now a flourishing business clocking in a turnover of ₹10 crore. With a considerable presence across Bengaluru, RNR Biryani is set to spread its branches to neighbouring states this year. The fact that it was launched in the midst of a pandemic and managed to successfully grow at a

f a pandemic and managed to successfully grow at a time when the hospitality and F&B industries took a hit, makes it a unique story of spotting an opportunity at the right time.

[caption id="attachment_21258" align="aligncenter" width="670"] Entrepreneur | Ramya Ravi Ramya Ravi with her sister Shweta[/caption]

Born in Bengaluru into a family that owns a chain of hotels, Ramya and her two sisters – Shweta and Raveena – were always encouraged to be independent and come into their own. “We were always taught that it was all about what we brought to the table as individuals,” says Ramya, who schooled at The Valley School before doing her B.Com from Christ College.

“My father would always share stories of successful women entrepreneurs with us from early on,” says Ramya, who went on to do a short-term management course from Harvard University. “As I watched my father work, it influenced me to get into the hospitality sector myself,” the 27-year-old tells Global Indian. She also pursued multiple internships with various establishments and also worked with her father R Ravichandar, which gave her more exposure into the hospitality and F&B industries.

“But I always wanted to start up on my own,” says the entrepreneur, who often wondered why naati style Karnataka cuisine wasn’t celebrated across India; specifically the donne biryani. She launched RNR Biryani (named after her father Ravichandar and grandfather Ramaswamy) in November 2020 along with her sister Shweta as a tribute to their grandmother’s recipe. “The whole idea was to make RNR Biryani a family affair and dedicate it to my father and grandfather.”

Entrepreneur | RNR Biryani

They first began as a delivery-only model from a 200 square feet space in Nagarabhavi in Bengaluru with a single cook, two assistants and an investment of ₹5 lakh. “What gave us the confidence to start up in the middle of a pandemic is the fact that we saw an opportunity to deliver good quality donne biryani at a time when people were ordering in a lot,” says the entrepreneur, adding, “Given that during the pandemic hygiene was paramount, we found very joints that could deliver a hygienically made donne biryani; most of them were the small local joints.”

That became RNR Biryani’s USP – hygienic, authentic naati style donne biryani. Packaged in a blue tin box, RNR Biryani soon became quite popular as the startup tied up with Swiggy for delivery and in their first month clocked in over 10,000 deliveries. Soon, they’d launched their second kitchen in JP Nagar and there was no looking back. A year later, in November 2021, RNR also opened doors to its first dine in restaurant in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar. Today, RNR also has a delivery radius that covers almost every corner of the metropolitan city.

Entrepreneur | Ramya Ravi

So what is it that makes the donne biryani so unique when compared to other biryanis? To start off, it’s more robust in its flavours, says the entrepreneur. “Since it is made with jeera samba rice, as opposed to basmati, the rice itself absorbs the flavours of the masala and herbs very well.” The RNR offers its biryanis in chicken, mutton, and vegetarian variants along with a slew of sides and kebabs, ghee roast, tender coconut payasam and a fusion rasmalai cremeux. Another unique offering they’ve developed is the drumstick chilli, a hit with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

“We also paid great attention to packaging and opted for tin boxes that also become collectibles. It turned out to be a talking point when we first launched our donne biryani in the market,” says Ramya, a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.

As RNR has made its way into the hearts of Bengalureans, Ramya is now set to take her offering to other states as well. “I want to make the naati style donne biryani as popular as the Hyderabadi biryani. The plan is to first introduce it to other South Indian states and popularise it there,” says the entrepreneur, who also loves to travel, explore new places and cuisines in her free time.

Follow RNR Biryani on Instagram

Reading Time: 5 min