Women entrepreneurs and start-ups - success cocktail

The number of women entrepreneurs in India is on the rise and their start-ups, many of which are in the booming e-commerce space, are also paving the way for gender parity in the workplace with some organisations comprising of as much as 50 per cent female staff. For instance start-ups like Zivame, Grabhouse, WheelStreet and 7vachan are ruling the roost. Zivame, a famous online lingerie shopping site headed by CEO Richa Kar, has a female to male employee ratio of 3:1.

Women account for nearly half of the employable workforce but not all companies have such high levels of gender parity. As entrepreneurship, once considered ‘a man’s cup of tea’, sees a sea change with many women taking the plunge, these new-age start-ups are seen encouraging female participation.

Start-ups help young people become entrepreneurs as they can get funds for their ideas and business plans in a relatively easy way. This trend has given the chance to lots of young people to be their own boss. In fact, it is this start-up culture that has given them a kind of self-belief and a way to achieve their dreams. 

“Being in this industry (male dominated), meeting the vendors, explaining them what exactly you are planning and convincing them (being a lady) to use tech as the renting platform was a bit difficult but with time they all agreed and now we are giving bikes to all the enthusiastic bike lovers across the country at minimum rent and in just few clicks,” said Moksha Srivastava, CMO and co-founder of WheelStreet, a bike rental portal which has given easy access to bike lovers to rent bikes. 

Srivastava sees the market for her product and services like this - “There are 80+ vendors only in Delhi having 200+ bikes each and there are 40 potential cities having bike rentals. So there is a huge market size of $5 billion.” In markets as financially big as these, there is definitely plenty of opportunity for women entrepreneurs like Srivastava and others to establish a successful business. 

Women entrepreneurs in India are making steady progress as business-owners through start-ups in the rapidly growing e-commerce industry in India. They are highly committed and totally dedicated in their quest of reaping a rich harvest and expanding their business far and wide. “Women entrepreneurs are not a new phenomenon in India. But the numbers have been limited and the sectors explored few. Needless to say that trend is also seeing a change with many women taking up ‘business’ ventures and earning the ‘successful’ tag,” said Minnat lalpuria, founder and CEO of 7vachan, a wedding planning website. 

In the start-up industry, an important thing to be considered are the specific and niche needs of the consumers and this is what these companies aim to do. lalpuria says, “Scouting for the perfect wedding venue was the most challenging part for couples. Thus our primary target was venue booking.”

“An analysis of countries where women are rising the fastest puts India as ‘South Asia’s Bright Spot for Female Entrepreneurs’. A study on successful women entrepreneurs across the world also states Indian Women leaders are the most powerful. Very encouraging statistics for a young woman entrepreneur like me. But I also realise that there is still a long way to go. But the change has begun and I am glad to be a part of it,” she further added.  

Some women like Richa Kar of Zivame and Minnat lalpuria of 7vachan were indeed lucky as women entrepreneurs. Kar says, “Being a woman entrepreneur is a blessing in disguise. Being a woman in the lingerie business, I understood my customer’s requirements much better. I learnt faster. So no, I never really faced any hurdle because I was a woman.” lalpuria only had this to say - “Behind every successful woman is her family.”

So, you must be thinking how easy or difficult it is to become an entrepreneurIJ India is one of the emerging e-commerce industries. To make it big you need to have a business plan and a will to go to any extent to make it successful. It needs a lot of hard work and dedication to reach the position of e-commerce giants like Flipkart and Snapdeal.

As India sees a revolution in its $300 billion retail industry with the emergence of online marketplaces, thousands of women are gaining financial independence by selling products across categories such as health care, home furnishing, jewellery, handicrafts and fashion apparel.These women now constitute about 20 per cent of the 1 million sellers on platforms that form the $12 billion online retail industry. They are gaining prominence in a country where the percentage of the female workforce has fallen from 39 per cent in 2010 to about 30 per cent currently. The shift is also empowering women who were formerly largely employed in sectors such as farming, textiles and construction.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, the total Indian retail market is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2020, with fashion and footwear being the leading categories by accounting for 40 per cent of sales. It is in these categories that women are especially leaving their mark.