What inspired you to start your own business?
I come from an entrepreneurial family, and they were very encouraging. I had already spent nine years in the corporate world, so I guess it was a calling. I also wanted to start something of my own, and my parents were extremely supportive. So, I started from there.
Please share a quirky moment from the early days of your entrepreneurial journey?
I think the quirky moment would be the fact that I’ve worked with very large MNCs and organizations, and then when you start working on your own, you are both the peon and the CEO. I used to do door-to-door sales of my products, carrying bags of samples and visiting salons. As a founder, when you go yourself, people assume you don’t have a sales team. Sometimes, you get made fun of, and all you can do is take it in stride.
How do you maintain a work-life balance? Any unusual rituals or habits that keep you energized?
I believe there’s no work-life balance for a startup. You often end up working more and giving less time to yourself, your family, and your priorities because the startup demands so much of your energy and time. What keeps me energized is my passion. Every morning, I wake up thinking, “I’m going to make the world even more beautiful,” and that thought keeps me motivated. Your passion and love for your work truly keep you energised.
What’s your favorite part of a typical workday, and how do you unwind after it?
My typical workday starts when I reach the office at 11 am and work until around 9 or 10 pm. I unwind by eating a meal with my parents and spending some time with them at the end of the day. I also enjoy feeding animals, such as stray dogs, cows, and birds. Feeding or spending time with animals is a great way for me to unwind, so I do that often.
What has been the most surprising challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it?
When we launched Mintree, it was a very premium brand. And in India, nobody was willing to accept premium brands coming from India because it’s just the mindset that if it’s Indian, it’s cheap; And it cannot be luxury. For some reason, people think that if it’s luxury, it’s from France, or from Europe, USA, or even Korea. So we were not allowed to think of luxury coming from India. When I used to go to sell to salons, they used to tell me “Oh, but Italian products are the same price as you, Why should we pay you this price?” But I said that I’m using the same quality or even better and why wouldn’t you trust me when I say this? The biggest challenge was that nobody was willing to accept the luxury brand coming from India, but I persisted. I used to give a lot of demos and I used to tell people that try my products, to give me a chance. I used to ask for demos and trials, and I used to push to be there for the demos. I used to tell them to compare with whatever brand they’re doing on, with the right leg of another brand and mine on the left leg or half a face for each brand, show them the results and tell them to see the performance of my product. So generating trials and demos and infusing faith in them via trials is how I overcame it.
Please share a particularly rewarding story from your entrepreneurial career?
So rewarding memories for me will be the fact that today we are the most expensive pedicure in the market. More expensive than some of the international brands. Now people see us as luxury and treat us as luxury. Trust us for our quality and give us the same pedestal as they give international brands. And this is very, very meaningful for me. And I’ve always dreamt that I will be a luxury brand coming out of India. Now we see a lot of Fashion Designers like Rahul Mishra and Sabyasachi making it to the red carpets in different parts of the world. But when it comes to Indian beauty other than Forest Essentials, there aren’t many brands that have made it and I want to be one of those who make it. I want to be known for quality R&D packaging and everything else.
What keeps you motivated during tough times in your business? Are there any mantras or quotes that you live by?
During COVID all the saloons were shut, and we had no business but since we are an 80% Women’s organisation and their livelihood depends on us, run their houses feed their kids and support their education via us. We are very motivated to make sure that we take responsibility to make sure that their household runs, immaculately and so we made sure to pay their salaries on the first and never delayed. And we take a lot of pride in it. So because we know that we have ownership of a 100-person team and so many of them are dependent on us, that really keeps us motivated. It makes us feel so responsible and thrive and do better each day so that we can hire more people and employ local artisans because our packaging is all about, handcrafted bottles and giving more and more employment to people. Empower women more, have a stronger powerful and community of women who step out and work and add value and create magic via our brand
If you could achieve one dream for your business, what would it be?
It would be so beautiful to see my products on the shelf of Duty-Free. When I come across the Duty–Free stores across the world not even a single store has an Indian brand on the shelf, I see Shashaido, Clinique, Clarence and Chanel and whatever but you never see an Indian brand. So the dream would be to make it like there, that would be the ultimate goal.
As a woman leader, how do you inspire and empower your team members?
It’s the opposite, the women in my team inspire me. Women actually show up against all odds, they show up in the factory, and there are people in packaging, production, R&D, accounts and also in the supply chain. And it’s beautiful to see how women do every job with so much precision. All our departments are led by women and it’s beautiful how they work. And we of course put in systems but they inspire me by doing their roles so accurately, and they’re so passionate about the company and there’s so much love and you know emotional strings attached like when there are women working together they have invested so much of their emotion and energy so that’s inspiring.
Any advice for women entrepreneurs on effective networking and relationship-building?
As a women entrepreneur, I have only heard stories as to how women are jealous of each other and women pull you down. And let’s be hush - hush about stuff. This is what I grew up hearing but honestly I experienced something completely different. I think women today actually fix each other’s crowns, people actually stand up and pull each other up. Like I’ve had friends in communities that have really stood up and helped pull each other up and found a lot of joy in each other’s success. So I think it’s our responsibility to give it back and pull each other up. Because like 50% of the world’s population is women. And if we all pull each other up, we will create more opportunities for each other and we will be stronger, more powerful.
