Everyone who enters Mumbai with a suitcase full of dreams is a risk-taker. For Vineeta Singh, who is currently seen on Shark Tank India, the journey to build her brand wasn't an easy one.?
At 17, her teacher told her she should be an entrepreneur, and Vineeta didn't look back. After cracking two of the toughest exams in India, she followed her dreams. She went into the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Madras), followed by an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad.?
Sharing her journey and how her dreams were more substantial than the failures that came her way, Vineeta shared her story with Humans of Bombay.
¡°At 23, I moved to Bombay. I lived in a matchbox house which would flood during monsoon,¡± recalled Vineeta Singh.?
¡°My savings were diminishing; I¡¯d hardly ever go out because I was on a strict budget. But I pushed on. I even started a venture, but it didn¡¯t work as planned. After a year, I felt brave enough to give entrepreneurship another shot with Fab Bag, a beauty subscription company. But after research, I realized the need for quality cosmetics for Indian women¨Cthat¡¯s how Sugar Cosmetics was born."
She added,?
¡°Once, an investor refused to hold a meeting just with me. He wanted to have the business talk with a ¡®man'. But I decided to let my work do the talking."?
¡°I was 17 when a conversation with my professor set the course for the rest of my life. While speaking about my career, he said, ¡®You should be an entrepreneur!¡¯ That was it; that's what I was set on becoming.
So, I studied hard, got into IIT & then did my MBA. There, I learned, ¡®You can be an entrepreneur only by being one!¡¯ So even though I got a great job offer, I declined it. Several people, including my parents, asked, 'What are you proving by not taking the job?' But I didn¡¯t let it get to me.
At 23, I moved to Bombay. I lived in a tiny house that flooded easily. I¡¯d hardly go out because I was on a budget. But I pushed on. I even started a venture, but it didn¡¯t work as planned. For the first time, I doubted myself¨Chad I taken the job, I wouldn¡¯t be struggling.
At that point, I began running. It helped me clear my head & eventually, I started running marathons. Each finish line brought me a sense of clarity.
After a year, I gave entrepreneurship another shot with Fab Bag¨Ca beauty subscription company. But after research, I realized the need for quality cosmetics in India¨Cthat¡¯s how SUGAR was born!
I invested my own money & even got funded! But being a woman in a ¡®man¡¯s world¡¯ was tough¨Conce, an investor refused to meet me. He wanted to talk business with a ¡®man¡¯. But I let my work do the talking; I continued to run & even completed the Ironman Triathlon! That win kept me going, especially when the company ran out of funds.
I¡¯d also just become a mom.?
So at times, I¡¯d be pumping breast milk, working out, handling office calls, & hoping to not wake my son up. I¡¯d have sleepless nights, but I loved what I was doing. After a year, it paid off¨Cwe were recognized as the best lipstick brand!
It¡¯s been 5 years since; we¡¯re now a team of over 1500¨C75% of which are women! And I¡¯m doing everything I love. I run my company, I¡¯ve run marathons when I was 6 months pregnant & I run circles around my kids. Still, I¡¯m often asked, ¡®How will you raise 2 kids & run a company?¡¯ Why is it so tough to believe a woman can play more than 1 role? I walk into the office with files in one hand & my baby in another. The juggle is real, but it¡¯s also totally worth it.¡±
Did you know Seventy-five percent of its 1,500-plus workforce is women??
Vineeta Singh has become a household name and inspiration after her stint as one of the judges or ¡°sharks¡± on Shark Tank India, the Indian adaptation of the global startup reality show.?
The other six judges on Shark Tank India are Ashneer Grover of BharatPe, Namita Thapar of Emcure Pharma, Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com, Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth, Peyush Bansal of Lenskart, and Aman Gupta of Boat.
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