A product from Nykaa is almost a must-have in every cosmetics lover’s cabinet. Falkuni Nayar established Nykaa in 2012 when she was 49 years old. She is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Prior to Nykaa, Nayar worked with Kotak Mahindra Capital, where she was the managing director and head of its institutional equities business. As an entrepreneur, her father ran a small bearings company with the help of her mother. She met Sanjay Nayar while attending business school, and they got married in 1987.
Having grown into the largest beauty retailer in India, the company boasts more than 70 physical stores and video demos featuring Bollywood celebrities and actors. Nykaa, derived from the Sanskrit word for heroine, offers items such as exfoliating creams, bridal makeup essentials and hundreds of colors of lipstick, foundation and nail polish to complement Indian skin tones, skin types and local climates. Taking about her venture she said, “We have built the business for multi-year growth to serve the very large beauty and fashion e-commerce market in India.”
Falguni Nayar made headlines on Wednesday when her company Nykaa’s share price nearly doubled upon its listing. Falguni Nayar is one of India’s richest female entrepreneurs and holds a stake in the company worth over $6.5 billion. Unlike any other CEO, she is not a social media person. In fact ever since Nykaa was founded, she has tweeted just once in nine years. “The size of the prize is really unimportant,” she said adding, “What matters is being rewarded for doing what I love. Share prices are just a bonus.”
Speaking to Money Control about starting her career at 50 Nayar said, “I think women put constraints in their minds that are not so necessary. Many women today are managing their businesses while caring for young children. I do not believe there is one playbook. I am glad I at least tried it when I did.”
The wealthiest woman billionaire in India has proven that gender, age, background and education are not at all obstacles to becoming an entrepreneur. Touching upon her Nykaa journey Nayar said. “I started Nykaa at the age of 50 with no experience. I hope it inspires you to live your dreams. It takes a lot of time and effort to be active on social media, and I prefer to spend my time in another way. I am very motivated by numbers and I can spend a lot of time on a spreadsheet.
“India is going to be a massive retail market,” Nayar predicted. “The Indian consumer will aspire for more, their purchasing power will increase, and they will increasingly purchase lifestyle brands and services. Nykaa is in a good position.”
