1.

Meena Bindra, Founder of Indias largest readymade ethnic-wear brand Biba,

grew up in Delhi but lost her father at a young age. She married a naval officer
as a result of which she moved around across India, and got into the garments
business only after her children grew up. She started off with a local block
printer, initial sales to Mumbai stores, and then her own company-owned
outlets. Her sons joined the company for a while as trusted managers, then
struck out on their own.
2. Manju Bhatia, Founder of loan recovery company Vasuli, was born in a
business family in Indore. She started off as a receptionist in a pharma
company, then moved into the account recovery business from bank
defaulters. Though in a male-dominated industry, she used her patience and
diplomacy to learn the tricks of the trade and build a successful pan-India
company.
3. Rajni Bector, Founder of food empire Cremica, was born in Karachi and then
moved to Delhi with her family. After her children went to boarding school,
she noticed that there was huge demand for her desserts, which led her to
launch food company Cremica in Ludhiana. Despite setbacks such as the
violence in Punjab in the 1980s, she persevered and eventually got contracts
from the likes of MacDonalds for bread and vegetarian mayonnaise.
4. Nirmala Kandalgaonkar, Founder of vermi-composting tool provider Vivam
AgroTech, grew up in small-town Maharashtra and decided to launch a rural
venture after her children reached school age. She applied her science degree
to develop controlled-environment products for soil engineering using
earthworms. She had to travel extensively for promotion and training
activities, and eventually got government support after a Pragati Maidan
exhibition as well as a TiE award. The company now works with large
corporate and self-help groups for bio-gas projects.
5. Ranjana Naik, Founder of Swan Suites, grew up in a family of engineers,
doctors and teachers, but became more interested in PR and telemarketing.
Along with the IT boom, she leveraged her contacts to get into the serviced
accommodation business, and aims to become the Taj of serviced
apartments. She connected with fellow entrepreneurs via online forums, and

an ISB course taught her the importance of continuous market research; her
husband also joined the company.
6. Leela Bordia, Founder of pottery art firm Neerja International, grew up in
Calcutta in a family which strongly supported social work. She decided to
launch a social enterprise to help pottery artisans from her native Rajasthan.
Exposure to buyers from France as well as a visit to artisan communities in
Mexico revealed the importance of quality and process. She branched out into
furniture, mural and accessories, and now promotes her work internationally.
Her three sons also work in the enterprise. Han Qui Hua founded label
accessories firm Guangzhou Guanyi Garments in China. Even as a teenager
she would ride her bike to sell cakes in villages, and not stop till she sold the
whole stock. She got into the label business along with her husband during the
textile boom years, and doesnt really plan to retire.
7. Premlata Agarwal from Jamshedpur became a mountaineer and climbed Mt.
Everest at the age of 48 the oldest Indian woman to have achieved this feat.
She joined a gym while taking her daughters for tennis classes; she won a
prize in a hiking competition and was mentored by mountaineer Bachendri
Pal. Despite tough weather conditions, she scaled the peak and now wants to
scale mountains in other ranges.
8. Paru Jaykrishna, Founder of chemical giant Asahi Songwon, grew up in a
Jain family in Ahmedabad. She lost her parents at a young age, and married
the Patel son of a textile firm. She later moved into travel and construction,
and then switched to chemicals. She expanded her dye business (resisting
challenges of bribery and corruption), and struck good deals with Korean,
Japanese and Taiwanese companies and investors.
9. Patricia Narayan got into a love marriage at the age of 19, but her husband
turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. Though she was a college dropout, she
tapped her skills as a cook to become a caterer in Chennai. She got contracts
from government offices in and around the city. Once you start liking your
work you dont easily feel tired, she says. Success came from a deal at
National Institute of Port Management (NIPM). Despite a divorce and the

sorrow of losing her daughter in a car accident, she expanded to run four
brands of catering, and won a FICCI award.
10. Sudeshma Banerjee began her career as a teacher in Calcutta but one day
discovered that her husband was having an affair with her own friend. She
moved out of the marriage and joined an AutoCAD training company, which
she eventually took over to form DigiTech HR. She faced challenges in
getting a flat as a single woman, and from male managers who did not treat
her as an equal. Still, she moved on to get projects from Sri Lanka, Dubai and
Australia.
11. Jasu Shilpi, one of the few women sculptors in India, grew up in an
entrepreneurial family in Ahmedabad, and had an artistic flair right from
school. One day, she was inspired by a statue of the Rani of Jhansi in Gwalior.
She fell in love with and married a Muslim artist, but her family disowned her.
She pursued government tenders for statues, and after a good order she began
to receive deals from all over Gujarat. Proud moments were completing
statues of Shivaji and then Hanuman, as well as completing a tour of the US.
12. Dipali Sikand, Founder of Les Concierges, grew up in Calcutta. She was
active in politics, but then moved into HR. Her marriage unfortunately fell
apart and she was left with a baby and no financial resources. Still she carried
on with HR assignments in cities like Bangalore, and then discovered a need
for personalised concierge services for busy managers in IT companies.
Customers such as Wipro and IBM paid well for these services, and Dipali
also branched out to start music and dining venue Kyra in Indiranagar. The
next stop for Les Concierges is Cairo.
13. Binapani Talukdar, Founder of Assam handicraft trader Pansy Exports, grew
up in Assam. She herself began to make decorative handicrafts, then studied
garment design. She started an art and craft school also which she shut down
later because of pressure from her husband to focus more on their kids. But
she carried on with the handicrafts export company, learning the skills of
quality standards and international pricing for clients in countries such as
South Africa and Brazil