The Woman Behind "Nykaa"

Nykaa- a brand that all women can relate with, a brand that makes them realise that self-love should be their first priority, and last but not the least, all the credit goes to the woman who made Nykaa reach the highest heights of success.

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Nykaa- a brand that reached the global heights of success. With makeup brands ranging from Maybelline, Lakme, Accessorize London to Alamode Label, Beverly Hills Polo Club, and Bugatti, Nykaa is that one stop-store for all the needs. Though this brand has been in the spotlight for the last few months, little do we know about the woman who stood like a pillar to support her dreams. Falguni Nayar, the Founder, and CEO of Nykaa, a brand that lists at 13 billion dollars, is a name that has been the trending topic of discussion all around the world. But what's Her Story?

Born on 19th January 1963 in the City of Dreams, Falguni belongs to a Gujarati family. Her father owned a Bearings company and perhaps it was him who was her first source of inspiration. After completing her graduation in the Commerce stream, she went ahead to complete her master's from IIM, Ahmedabad. Soon after her studies came to an end, she went ahead to marry Sanjay Nayar, who was also from IIM, Ahmedabad. Together they also had two children named Anchit Nayar and Adweta Nayar.

Nayar initially started working at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and continued working there for the next eighteen years, as her journey started from an investment banker to Capital Investment Managing Director. Though this was the perfect dream job anyone could ever wish for, Falguni wasn't satisfied. She had the dream of achieving something big by walking on a road less travelled upon. Finally, her dream to establish her identity in the world became a reality in the year 2012, at the age of 50.

After quitting her job, when she thought of starting something new, neither did she have manpower nor money. Yet she went ahead to start a Beauty E-commerce Venture Pvt. Ltd. Nykaa.com in 2012.

Despite all the hurdles, Falguni never looked back and ventured on a journey that would bring her all the success. Her mark in the beauty and wellness sector brought in many local and international brands together under one roof. Yet again, she launched her makeup brand called Nykaa that gave tough competition to many other brands available in the market. Wanting the women of India to feel empowered, she gave chance to other women to come forward and get their brands listed on Nykaa.com.

In one of her interviews, Nayar said,

I wanted to introduce a multi-brand retailer selling the best beauty, plus a lot of education to help customers...I wanted to stand for those women who want to be beautiful for themselves, not for men or other women. Indian women were ready for that and that's why they related to Nykaa. It was a type of empowerment.

Today, more than 35,000 products of 400+ brands are available on Nykaa. With Nykaa stores in almost all the states, the Nykaa website and app receives over 45 million visitors every month. In 2017, Business Today gave Falguni Nayar the title of the most powerful woman in the country. She also won the 'Woman Ahead' award at the ET Startup Awards in 2017.