Falguni Nayar – The “Nykaa” of her own story

Have you ever thought of quitting your well-settled job and start something new in your life? Well, it takes a lot of guts to do so, right? For someone who is already in his 50s, it is very difficult, almost impossible, to think about starting a business from a scratch. However, some of the self-made billionaires like Falguni Nayar, founder of Nykaa, have actually proved it that “Nothing is Impossible” when you have a strong will and fire in your belly.

Who is Falguni Nayar?

Falguni Nayar is an Indian businesswoman and billionaire who is the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail brand, Nykaa. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, she worked as a venture investor and merchant with Kotak Mahindra Group for around 20 years. In 2005, she was named the Managing Director of the Group.

Falguni, who was born on February 19, 1963, raised in a Gujarati family in Mumbai. Her father was a businessman and used to run a small bearing company, assisted by her mother.

As per Falguni, the seed of entrepreneurship was planted into her mind at a very young age. Stock market and trades were common topics of discussion in her house during her childhood days.

While the idea and the dream to become a successful businesswoman lived inside her, Nykaa happened when Falguni Nayar found some spare time on her hands, after her children – twins Anchit and Adwaita left for their studies to the US. Soon she turned 50 years old, Nayar took a leap of faith and decided to quit her job at Kotak Mahindra.

“I’m an adventurer. I was never a good swimmer but I would always be the first to jump in. The thought, what if I break a leg?, doesn’t occur to me,” she was quoted as saying by Livemint.

The success you know, the story you don’t

In April 2012, Falguni founded Nykaa and invested a hefty amount of $2 million in it. Well, the bold decision of leaving a well-established career behind and entering the world of business was driven by two factors – One, her love for makeup and second, her curiosity to explore the online marketing platform which she recognized to have a lot of potential.

Falguni was quick to observe that beauty, as a niche, was untapped in the Indian market and it would only boom in the future. So, taking an inspiration from some of entrepreneurial giants like Ronnie Screwvala of UTV and Ajay Bijli of PVR Cinemas, Nayar mustered the confidence and readiness to start a business of her own. And in the process, she has become the wealthiest self-made woman in India. Not only this, she is now among the country’s top 20 richest people. – Coworking Office Space 

Moreover, Falguni has always stressed upon the need for women, across the India, to come out of their shell and be confident about handling their personal and professional lives with equal spirit.  

“Think big but start small!” – Words of Falguni Nayar

Building Nykaa

Aiming to change the way women shop, Falguni Nayar has successfully curated more than 850 brands and 35,000 products. If we talk about Nykaa, the company has its presence in many cities with 17 stores across India. There are two store formats – Nykaa Luxe and Nykaa On Trend. Luxe has both Indian and international beauty brands along with Nykaa Beauty, the in-house beauty products collection, while On Trend is a collection of popular market products.

Derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’, which means actress or someone in the spotlight, the multi-brand beauty company has evolved to become one of the key players in the cosmetic industry.

Presently, Nykaa has opened avenues to produce 400+ curated beauty products right from their own sources. They haves warehouses in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, and offers all leading brands including Kaya Skin Clinic, Lakmé, L’Oréal Paris and much more.

What makes Nykaa different from others

In this tech-savy generation, where you can get each and everything online, it is really hard to compete with other e-commerce websites, providing similar services. So, what makes Nykaa different from the rest of the brands? In Nykaa’s case the main reason behind its success is proper planning, good professional knowledge and passion towards business. Most importantly, it focuses on a particular niche of beauty products, making it more better platform to buy from.