Over recent years, there has been a notable increase in the proportion of funding directed towards startups led by women. This upward trend in funding is reflected in the success stories seen on platforms such as Shark Tank India. The way people view entrepreneurship is slowly changing as more women succeed in it and break down conventional boundaries like Aditi Gupta’s Menstrupedia, Kanika Talwar’s Cosiq Intelligent Cosmetics, and Surabhi and Chetna Shah’s Carragreen to name a few.
Entrepreneurship is like a roller-coaster of ups and downs where one needs to be glued to the seat and sail through it. This was well illustrated when Ganesh Balakrishnan, Founder of Flatheads shared a heartfelt gratitude note–‘Down, but not out’ on LinkedIn about the pitch on Shark Tank India, which garnered appreciation from millions of people. But the Flatheads founder’s post gets the unique context when his wife, Anuradha Pasupathy shared her side of the story stating, ‘Main kamati hun, wo udata hai’ (I earn and he spends). The role of women has been crucial whether leading the enterprise or supporting the start-up idea like Anuradha Pasupathy.
Given Indian patriarchal society, male-female household responsibilities invite paradoxical connotations and make one think about the differentiated societal norms for men and women. Unfortunately, when it comes to female entrepreneurs, the startup journey suffers from the preconceived notions and stereotyping. The statistics support this notion, women comprise only 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs in India according to the Ministry of Statistics1 and India falls behind some of the other countries- both developing and developed.
It’s time to witness more female entrepreneurial narratives. Many women entrepreneurs feel that a woman’s business ideas are not taken seriously. An instance shared by Priyanka Gill, the founder of POPxo, a women-focussed digital community platform, “Raising capital is hard. For female entrepreneurs, it is harder,” says Gill2. Many women entrepreneurs feel that their ideas are considered secondary. For any start-up, the harsh reality is survival. A young entrepreneur Shefali Shah says women don’t take women seriously. Mother of two toddlers thinks, ‘being woman means wearing multiple hats with resilience, today women can achieve so much, each woman has a hidden potential and we all can maximise it with a little push and a lot of compassion, so don’t sell yourself short, you are stronger than you think’. She is a co-founder of Bliscent, a natural luxury skincare brand.
An interesting study from BCG found the female founders outperform the male founders7. Data by First Round Capital, found that the female-founded companies it had funded performed 63% better than the all-male founding teams it had funded. As per a survey taken by KPMG, 43% of women are willing to take more risks. One such risk was taken by Gurdip Wadhwa, Founder and Owner of G-Corp Media, who calls herself as a Voicepreneur, was a pioneer in the field of voice-overs and voice casting.
A banker-turned-Entrepreneur, says “if you really want to do something, you will create that 25th hour from your 24 hours to pursue it”. Gurdip moved to Mumbai from Punjab to pursue MBA and become an entrepreneur, believes that there is a very thin line between impossible and possible and that is willingness. Her zeal for life and commitment to work is epitome of women entrepreneurial spirit.
Another inspiring entrepreneurial venture, Proactive For Her, a digital clinic for women’s outpatient healthcare that has raised $5.5 million in Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India with participation from existing investor Nexus Venture Partners. Founded by Achitha Jacob in August 2020, an Alumnus of IIT-Bombay, Achitha dropped out of Harvard Business School to build a company solving women’s healthcare needs with patient centricity at its core8.
In the Budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledged the pivotal role startups play in propelling India towards becoming the world’s fifth-largest economy. She emphasized that a robust ecosystem is essential for startups to navigate the uncertainties and challenges inherent in the entrepreneurial journey.
So, what’s in the gender if there is growth and success is assured. Women entrepreneurs’ strength reminds of the African proverb, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”, similarly, a woman entrepreneur contributes to a diverse and profitable ecosystem. It is time to celebrate the women entrepreneurs and women-led startups in India who broke all the barriers and have established a platform for themselves in the startup ecosystem, which was largely dominated by men.
1. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/womens-entrepreneurship-day-4-lady-bosses-from-indian-startups-on-how-to-slay-the-challenges-and-whats-the-reality/articleshow/95608701.cms?from=mdr 2. https://www.businesstoday.in/specials/most-powerful-women-in-business/story/mpw-why-women-remain-a-minority-in-indias-startup-ecosystem-315121-2021-12-10 3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2022/05/31/lack-of-investment-in-women-founded-startups-is-a-missed-opportunity/?sh=264e24b721d2 4. https://www.embroker.com/blog/female-founders/#:~:text=Female%20Founders%20Outperform%20Males.,generated%20a%20fraction%20of%20that. 5. https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-in/news-and-trends/india-lacks-quality-market-research-firms-says-narayana/446385 6. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/20/top-reasons-why-startups-failed-in-2022-study.html 7. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/why-women-owned-startups-are-better-bet 8. https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/proactive-for-her-raises-5-5mn-in-series-a-round-led-by-vertex-ventures-122021700326_1.html 9. https://www.bain.com/contentassets/dd3604b612d84aa48a0b120f0b589532/report_powering_the_economy_with_her_-_women_entrepreneurship_in-india.pdf
Shared by: Dr. Krupa Rai,
Associate Professor – Marketing & International Business, K J Somaiya Institute of Management
