FALGUNI NAYAR

Founder of Nykaa
 INTRODUCTION
 It is unlikely for many people to choose to quit their jobs at 50 and
start a business venture from scratch. Not only does this require
courage and commitment, but it also requires tons of time and faith.
However, Falguni Nayar was clearly willing to put in the blood,
sweat and toil needed to succeed in such a scenario as she quit her
job and went on to found Nykaa.
 Nayar graduated from IIM Ahmedabad and went on to work for
Kotak Mahindra Group for close to two decades. While employed by
KMG she served as a venture investor as well as a merchant and
focused on the group’s global operations in the UK as well as the US.
Here, she led the institutional equities division. By 2005, she was
employed as the group’s managing director and was responsible for
saving them tremendous amounts of money.
 Exploring the Origins of Falguni Nayar’s Nykaa

 In April 2012, Nayar chose to mix up her career and added the title of “Nykaa’s CEO” to
her repertoire. Her desire to change the course of her career was perceived to be
strange. However, Nayar had kept tabs on the growth of the online consumer market in
India. She opted to go for the beauty segment as she enjoyed make-up and saw the
potential it held in the online retail space.
 She chose to headquarter her company in Bombay where she had been born and raised.
Her exposure to her father’s small bearings business also helped instill a level of
confidence in her and made her feel that she would have what it took to be a successful
entrepreneur. The fact that her family frequently discussed the stock markets and
trade around her while she was growing up helped cement this feeling.
 She was able to devote more time to Nykaa after her twins Anchit and Adwaita left
home to pursue their academics overseas. Given that she imposed a deadline of 50 to
start this venture, she quit her job at Kotak and took the leap to start Nykaa.
Understanding Nykaa’s Business Model

 Ultimately it was Falguni Nayar’s love for make-up and

her understanding that the Indian market needed an
online cosmetics and wellness platform that drove her.
With Nykaa, she was able to bridge this gap and
transformed the way women in India shop. Under her
helm, Nykaa has curated over 850 brands and is home
to 35,000 products. Further, the company has a
physical presence evident from its 17 stores spread
across a number of Indian cities.

 While Nykaa is a young online beauty company that has

a long way to go, it has successfully managed to
penetrate its target audience which is aged between 22
and 35 years.
 CONCLUSION
Today, the Nykaa founder has become a
singular entity in the space of wellness and
beauty. Her impact is thoroughly evident
across the company. In just a decade, Falguni
Nayar has transformed the space within
which her company operates. The future for
Nykaa looks exciting and tracking its
expansion and growth will help indicate just
how far it goes. The Falguni Nayar story is
one of hard work and perseverance and
shows us that you can attain tremendous
success at any age.