■ Falguni Nayar is one of the leading CEOs in India. The businesswoman is known for creating the online beauty and wellness platform ‘Nykaa.’ In September 2022, she was named as the richest woman in India on the IIFL Wealth Hurun India rich list; she surpassed Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to become the richest self-made Indian woman on the list.

■ She came from a business background with her father owning a Bearing Company.

■ Falguni began her career in consulting with A.F. Ferguson & Co. after graduating from IIM Ahmedabad. She then spent 18 years with Kotak Mahindra Bank, where she was the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Investment Bank and a director at Kotak Securities, the bank’s institutional equities section

■ She met Sanjay Nayar (her husband) in IIM Ahmedabad, who is a member and CEO of KKR India. KKR is one of India’s top global investment organizations, managing several alternative asset classes such as private equity, credit, and real assets in collaboration with strategic partners that operate hedge funds.

■Falguni Nayar began her professional career as an investment banker with the Kotak Mahindra Group in 1993. She was promoted to managing director of Kotak Mahindra Capital in 2005. Falguni abandoned her employment with the Kotak Mahindra Group after more than 19 years of service to embark on her entrepreneurial path. Falguni Nayar, 50, chose to take a step ahead in 2012, believing her sense that India needs an online platform for cosmetics and wellness, in which India lagged far behind international standards, prompted her to bring that to India and opt to launch an e-commerce platform called Nykaa. Yalking about her company, she said,

I started Nykaa at the age of 50 with no experience. I hope the Nykaa journey can inspire each of you to be the Nykaa of your lives,” Nayar said ahead of the listing of Nykaa at the National Stock Exchange. Falguni Nayar has had a noteworthy career, from being the managing director of Kotak Group to starting a business at 50. Before launching Nykaa in 2012, the entrepreneur boasted of a 19-year-long career with Kotak Mahindra Group, retiring as one of the top officials in its investing banking wing. Her roots, which start at graduating from IIM Ahmedabad, are probably why Nayar makes such a good investor-quashing all the myths of age being a deciding point of life’s journey.”

■ Falguni founded Nykaa, a multi-brand online beauty retailer, in 2012. It is one of the leading cosmetic online brands in India. Nykaa came about when Falguni Nayar had some free time after her children (twins Anchit and Adwaita) left for their education in the United States. With a self-imposed deadline of 50, the one-woman army took a leap of faith and quit her job at Kotak, “where everything was going right,” she told Livemint. “I’m an explorer,” she says. “I was never a great swimmer, but I was always the first to dive in.” “It never occurs to me to think, “What if I break my leg?” she continued

■ She and her husband, Sanjay Nayar, the India CEO of U.S. private equity firm KKR, invested $2 million in the early years.

■ Shopping for beauty goods has changed in the country since Nykaa entered the scene. Using a Sephora-like model, in which many brands are available under one umbrella rather than brand-specific stores, Nayar decided to capitalise on the large demographic of a country like India in a way that provided adequate information about competing products while also providing a large number of choices to empower the customer. Shealways believed in the online business, and was convinced that the new generation will rely more on reviews and peer recommendation rather than going to stores.

■ Talking about her love for make-up to she says,

I love make-up but I don’t have time to put it on any more!” and laughs loudly. along with the instinct that India needs an online platform for cosmetics and wellness, drove her. Bridging the gap and changing the way women shop, she has successfully curated more than 850 brands and 35,000 products. The company also has its presence in many cities with 17 stores across India. There are two store formats-Nykaa Luxe and Nyka On Trend. Luxe has Indian and international beauty brands along with Nykaa Beauty, the in-house beauty products collection, and On Trend is a collection of popular market products. The young yet super successful online beauty company has a target audience in the age group of 22-35, and has also launched private labeled products in the bath and body care category in March 2016. Working in an inventory based model, Nykaa has warehouses in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, and offers all leading brands including Kaya Skin Clinic, Lakmé, L’Oréal Paris and more.”

In 2018, Nykaa joined hands with Femina to organise Nykaa Femina Beauty Awards 2018. UNCUT – Nykaa FEMINA Beauty Awards 2018 | Aish

■ On 3 August 2021, Nykaa filed IPO papers with SEBI. Reportedly, the IPO comprised a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 525 crore, and the equity shares of the company were supposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

■Soon after Nykaa’s IPO launch in November 2021, the shares of the firm surged as much as 89% when they started trading on 10 November 2021, and Nayar’s net worth rose to $6.5 billion, making her India’s wealthiest self-made female billionaire. [2]

■ Falguni has gamered numerous awards over her career. She received the “Woman Ahead” award at the 2017 Economic Times Startup Awards. Falguni was named Businesswoman of the Year at the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2019 in recognition of her contributions to the Indian beauty industry in just the last year. She was also crowned Businessperson of the Year 2019 by Vogue India and named one of Asia’s Power Businesswomen 2019 by Forbes Asia. Ernst and Young has named her EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019-Start-up Award winner. ACC, Dabur, Endurance Group,

In 2021, Nayar has won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 award at the Founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of speciality beauty and personal care platform

■ Nykaa, the ecommerce beauty giant, has acquired stakes in three brands in April 2022, including an 18.5 percent stake in Gurgaon-based Earth Rhythm for Rs 41.65 crore, a 60 percent stake in Nudge Wellness Private Limited for Rs 3.6 crore, and assets–including intangibles such as brand trademark, domain, and copyright-from Aneesha Labroo, the owner of the activewear brand Kica, for Rs 4.51 crore. On the investment from Nykaa, CEO Earth Rhythm said,

We are thrilled to have Nykaa as an investor in Earth Rhythm. Their investment is a clear endorsement of our efforts to build a clinically effective and technology- driven skincare and haircare brand. Through this investment, our commitment to our customers and the planet is only going to get stronger.”

■ When asked about the reason behind her successful joumey and advise to the young entrepreneurs, she replied

Don’t be afraid to take risks along the way. You are blessed to be entering a world which is now increasingly risk friendly. Spend the early years of your career taking the right risks and make some bold bets on yourself. Test what you like and what you don’t. Take on roles that put you outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Decision-making will not always be easy, and often there will be no straightforward answer. So, trust your gut to an extent, it will guide you well. Any entrepreneurship needs a lot of passion, hard work, conviction, and time. When I started, if I thought I would be here in three years or five years, it wouldn’t happen. It needs long innings. Somehow, I was very clear that I would need 10 years plus, and that is why I started before I turned 50. I feel women put constraints in their minds which are not so necessary. Today, many women are managing their businesses cum young children. I don’t think there is one playbook I did it when I did it, and I am glad that I at least tried it when I tried it.”

■ In 2021, she emerged as the richest self-made woman in India with a net worth of Rs 57,520 crore.