Superwomen - Critical summary review - Prachi Garg
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Superwomen - critical summary review

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Startups & Entrepreneurship and Career & Business

This microbook is a summary/original review based on the book: 

Available for: Read online, read in our mobile apps for iPhone/Android and send in PDF/EPUB/MOBI to Amazon Kindle.

ISBN: 9382665633, 978-9382665632

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Critical summary review

This book brings forth the stories of twenty women entrepreneurs who have struck a perfect personal-professional harmony, and a chord with their immediate consumers. Their innovative ventures encompass a varied range of services – from supporting victims of acid attacks, to providing free skin care solutions; from online retail of lingerie, handmade bags and fashion accessories, to eco-friendly products of everyday utility; from pet care products, to quirky merchandise; from empowering folk artists, to providing clinical assistance to those going through tough times; from image consulting to house hunting; from arty solutions, to innovative marketing and corporate communication; from creating happy readers to making religious ceremonies simpler. Let's explore their journeys together in this microbook. Shall we begin?

The Revival of Art, Culture and a Country

Medhavi Gandhi - Happy Hands

Medhavi Gandhi founded Happy Hands to revive traditional/folk art and craft with an aim to empower rural artisans and hone potential in women and young people. The basic idea was born out of the distress of the artisans who were forced to sell their products not at the value of their effort and skill but at throwaway prices that was threatening their mere survival. “I knew right away this is what I had to work for", she says. Happy Hands found itself expanding and diversifying into different means for promotion of art and craft of the country. From workshops, to engaging in art, to corporate linkages for product supplies; from the innovation of a residency studio of art for artists, to a platform of education of heritage to rural and urban population. Feeling passionately for the artists she works with, the business woman also associates her moments of pride and success with the benchmarks of their achievements. Envisaging a socio-economic prosperity where a son doesn’t have to be embarrassed about his father’s craft, Medhavi is close enough to inspire a restoration of the art and heritage of the country which was on the brink of a silent demise. Combining her passion with a commercially lucrative blend, Happy Hands is an example many aspiring entrepreneurs can learn and be inspired by. You can check out Happyhands at www.happyhands.in

Beauty – More than Skin Deep

Ria Sharma - Create Love Not Scars

Make Love Not Scars, an NGO that works to stop acid attacks and other forms of gender-based violence, along with supporting the survivors. Ria Sharma was studying fashion at the Leeds College of Art. Coming back to India for research and documentation of her final project was a blessing in disguise for the young crusader. She went around the country recording instances, experiences and consequences of acid attacks on women. About these experiences, she said, "The journey consumed me with one experience after another. I knew I would never be the same again.” From understanding the situation of the survivors, to learning about the legal, medical, financial, social or emotional aspects of acid attacks and what it meant to support such survivors, Ria took small yet significant steps to embracing each of these hard hitting facts. Hundreds of survivors have found support and shelter in the organization. “I thought I was going to save them. But I eventually realized they were the ones saving me. They were rescuing me from all the material, inconsequential and superficial engagements of life. They were helping me embrace my own identity, my own existence with pride.” As a step towards internalizing this cause, Ria took a pledge to go make-up free 365 days. The twelve core team members were joined by some of the survivors who are now active participants in our daily activities. From being a self-conscious student studying appearances to a dynamic fighter who works hard to help women shed the boundaries of their looks, Ria has come a long way. Learn more about her organization at www.makelovenotscars.com

Your Friend in Need

Richa Singh - Your D.O.S.T.

Richa Singh founded Your D.O.S.T to provide online counselling and support system to anyone in need through trained individuals. As an engineering aspirant preparing for entrances in Kota, Richa had first-hand experience watching people around her collapsing due to stress and pressure of their careers, emotions and expectations. During graduation, a friend, who had been going through severe anxiety owing to her job placement, committed suicide one evening. That was the turning point of Richa’s quest. With fond partnership and support from her now very good friends Puneet and Satyajeet, she started Your D.O.S.T -  a service that enables people to vent out their problems, discuss them anonymously with compassionate and non-judgmental individuals. "Your D.O.S.T. stands by you with honesty and trust – something very hard to find these days”, she says. Heading a venture in the field of psychology, without her having any background of the subject also posed a considerable challenge. She spent a lot of time researching on the issue, and spending time through visits or calls with the experts to strengthen her understanding. In a fiercely competitive and self-centered world where almost everyone is stuck feeling alone in the crowd of many, she has brought hope and companionship into the lives of those who need it the most. She adds, "We need to break the shackles of taboo we have built around seeking psychological support in India." She also sends out a strong message to bring the men and boys of the country to be completely conscious about respect for women. As someone who closely encounters the challenges both men and women face in times of emotional crisis, Richa believes that equal and empathetic conduct towards one another can work as the best friend one needs in the world. Find out more at www.yourdost.com

She works in Style!

Masoom Minawala - Style Fiesta

Masoom Minawala’s passion for fashion led to her brain-child Style Fiesta, an online destination for trendy fashion jewellery and accessories. As a child, her mother chided for her blatant ignorance of her feminine instincts. While interning at a brand marketing organization, one of her projects with the brand was involving fashion bloggers. This is where she had her first brush with the phenomenal concept. For her, it was love at first sight! Having explored and understood the dynamics of commercial blogging, the young learner, fresh out of college, started her own blog on fashion. About two years into blogging, Masoom had identified the opportunities and gaps in the online fashion space just waiting to be tapped. “I had travelled outside the country with my parents and had realized there was a huge gap between international fashion and what the Indian perception of international fashion was. This is the gap I wanted to bridge,” she speaks in a tone of determination. She then pursued six diploma courses in the Business of Fashion at the London College of Fashion & Central Saint Martins. Having returned, she started Stylefiesta.com in 2012 - a platform that offered attractive, affordable and accessible fashion from across the world. Now, Style Fiesta today has hundreds and thousands of customers from across the country, ranging from big metropolitan cities to small towns. With the support of her team of fifteen members, Masoom is an embodiment of what Style Fiesta stands for: sharing of style, elegance and joy with everyone. She aims to expand through a range of bags and shows. “If anything, we’re blessed with an undeniable charm that the opposite sex lacks, and we’d be foolish to not make use of it,” she adds, about being a woman. Visit www.stylefiesta.com

Business of Happiness

Rachana Nagranee - Pitaraa

Rachana Nagranee kick started Pitaraa with the motto of making Handcrafted Happiness available to one and all in the form of bags and other fashion accessories. Raised in the city of Lucknow, she graduated from National Institute of Fashion Technology and moved to Bangalore. Her trigger came when her husband gifted her a Singer sewing machine, and she ended up designing and stitching her first bag in a week. With the idea to kindle smiles on people’s faces, inspire joy around, and in doing so, to connect with their inner creative side, she started Pitaraa, which in Hindi means a chest or box to keep things. Five years on now, Pitaraa is a brand that is known for its personal touch and affectionate understanding of its users – a perfect blend of fashionable happiness. Their range of fashion solutions includes a collection starting from clutches and tote bags to jewellery and accessories of the latest styles. Signaturing typically with its unique style and spectacular designs of colour palettes, with an Indianized touch to fabrics and prints, the products offer an experience which is exclusive. “The pleasure of watching someone opening a ‘pitaraa’ and feeling the same affection and flavour that has gone into designing the product is exactly what we have to offer in the form of a box full of happiness,” explains Rachana. Pitaraa is now spreading its wings fashionably in the US, UK, Malayasia, Singapore and Hongkong. Showcased at the Rosemount Australia Fashion Week in May 2010, Pitaraa has found representation in front of some of the most renowned names in the fashion industry. Rachana envisages to bring Pitaraa to the reach of people of all ages and tastes. “Fashion solutions from seventeen to seventy years of age,” she states. Handcrafted bags and fashion accessories are just a click away at www.pitaraa.com

What Shines Underneath?

Richa Kar - Zivame

With a vision to change the entire convention and experience of lingerie shopping for Indian women, Richa Kar founded Zivame – an online lingerie retailer. After completing her MBA, Richa was placed in one of the coveted IT stalwarts of the country and delved into various segments of retailing, branding and operations. “I always knew I had to build something of my own. And I had clearly realized through my experience that if I did build something, it would have to do with the end consumers", she says. It was this eagerness to learn and her encounter as a consultant to a global lingerie brand that it occurred to Richa that this was an industry waiting to be explored. In 2011, she launched with the name of Zivame, which translates from Hebrew to 'radiant me'. "I wanted to create a place for women where they would be free to embrace their bodies and build their confidence; a place where her intimate necessity does not make her feel judged and disrespected, but rather makes her feel liberated and celebrated." Using the online platform for its privacy, Zivame aims to educate its customers about the category, and also provides for discreet packaging. To understand the buying patterns, likes and dislikes of her customers, she used to receive calls from users under the pseudonym Sindu. When Richa's mother first got to know that her daughter was getting into a business of selling lingerie, she was shocked. But that didn't dissuade Richa from building Zivame into an organization of over 200 members. Each new employee has to go through a signature 'lingerie knowledge test'. Zivame today sells more than one bra per minute and has has been the first online shopping experience for about 20% of women in the country.

A Store Full of Fun

Sneha Raisoni - Tappu Ki Dukaan

Sneha Raisoni, fondly known as Tappu, opened her very own shop Tappu ki Dukaan to exhibit bjects that are quirky, unique and fun in their appearance and utility. A vocatioanlly qualified chartered account, Sneha's always had a desperate wish to develop her own free space to work and express. One day, she quit, just like that, and started Tappu ki Dukaan, a bustling nest of creative exhibition in the posh locality of the fort area in Mumbai where routine and normalcy echoes in every structure and habit. "In Tappu Ki Dukaan, you don't get things that you merely need; it's a place where you'll find things hat captivate your attention enough t make you want to own it," she explains. The store offers anything from ash trays shaped like commodes, shot glasses, playing cards, bookmarks made of cow dung, etc. It's a buffet of humour, creativity and style, all mixed in packs of fun and ingenious products priced between rupees forty and four thousand. With an imaginatively designed ambiance , the store sports a mural of a spider web spun around, creatively dangling photo frames across the web, colours and presentation all sprinkled, encouraging customers to spend plenty of time in the store. "Whether it is a 5-year-old kid or a 50-year-old man, we all need to keep our creative side alive," she reflects. Have sourced from the wackiest, most creative and unique brands like Happily Unmarried, Haathi Chhap and Pop goes the Art, she now aims to build her own line of creative products, and to expand to other parts of the country. Stressing on the importance of accessibility, she adds, "My store is a platform for design...all those youngsters and people who are gifted with talent to create something can easily approach me and showcase their products through my store". Visit www.tappukidukaan.com or the real store for some fun, quirky merchandise.

Nurture of Nature

Swati Maheshwari and Sunita Jaju - Rustic Art

Sunita Jaju and Swati Maheshwari are environment enthusiasts who got together to launch Rustic Art - a portal creating and selling eco-friendly and organic products of everyday utility. Born in Kanpur and nourished in the lush valley of Nainital in the north of India, Swati aims to bring back the pristine and natural into common everyday lifestyle. Her aunt, Sunita, lives in the lap of the serene hills of Mysore and works as an environmentalist and entrepreneur. They started Rustic Art, an effort to create organic life with a range of personal, health, child care and laundry products that are eco-friendly, in both composition and usage. Believing that the strongest influences and changes begin at home, the two partners started with distributing samples to their friends and family, and only then moved ahead after positive feedback. True to their spirit of harmonious existence with nature, the team appreciates any other 'competitor' in the vertical who helps to spread the 'green' message with intentions of coexisting with brands of similar ideologies.

The packaging of their products include a key message that helps to create an understanding and awareness about the origins and specialty of the products, voicing an appeal to adopting an organic way of life. They envisage building production units locally in Maharashtra in the near future. Find eco-friendly, pure products for body/baby/hair care that are made of natural ingredient at www.rusticart.in

The Art of Life

Alicia Souza

Alicia Souza is a born artist and skilled illustrator, with many brand names like Google, Yahoo, Penguin, Cadbury, AOL and others on her list of acquired clients. With a lively, spirited attitude, Alicia Souza is one of the most conspicuously rising stars in the arena of professional illustration in India. Her first work of art was at the age of three. Happy, curious, full of words and exciting stories - the description fits her just as precisely as her illustrations. She runs her own studio from Bangalore, India. Having lived a major part of her life in the Middle East, and holding a degree in communication design, she moved to Bangalore. Lacking a mentor, she had to find her own way into becoming a professional, and credits her success to her diligence, discipline and love for her work. Quinten Blake has been an important influence for her many expressions, however her source of inspiration comes from anywhere and everything around her. "Maybe I did not learn all that much in the classrooms. But when I was a student, I learnt about myself,about things I didn't like, and about the importance of how to schedule and research well," she adds fondly. Living her life to the fullest, reflecting her love industriously in her work with honesty and diligence, and steadily expanding Zen in her inner space, she reflects strongly a life worth learning and following. Visit www.aliciasouza.com for more.

The E-market Mantra

Anisha Singh - MyDala

Starting off as an entrepreneur in the software solutions domain, Anisha Singh founded Mydala.com, an easy way to indulge, save and shop. The ambitious mother of two moved to the US almost two decades ago to pursue her higher education. "Even as a child, I was a rebel without a cause", she says about her childhood. She pursued her graduation without a strong sense of ambition or a clear direction in her head about where she was headed. One of her professors encouraged her to pursue an MBA. The beginning of what would become many of Anusha's entrepreneurial engagements began with her role in association with the Clinton Administration. "I was suddenly submerged into this world of dynamic women who had built their own enterprises." She then moved home to India and set up her first company, Kinis (Software) Solutions which till date provides customized e-learning solutions for Fortune 500 companies. One day, she realized that Kinis did not need all of hr attention and time. She started exploring the evolving model of discount platforms in China and US, and decided to start try it out in India by starting Mydala.com. Dala in Sanskrit means group(s). Mydala helps business reach the right set of consumers through a group buying deals site. Over a 100,000 retail businesses have used Mydala in over 196 Indian cities, with a team of over 400 employees. "Everyone who enters the web market should come to us first!", she concludes. For online discount coupons on anything and everything, check out www.mydala.com

The Perfect Spot for Life and Learning

Charnita Arora - Perfect Life Spot

Charnita Arora came up with Pefect Life Spot to turn her dream of overall development of every student into reality. Currently, PLS stands proud as an institute of language and holistic development. A teacher by profession, she completed her bachelor's degree and went on to explore her journey in Germany with the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Scholarship to pursue a Master's degree. with a quest for the secret to a peaceful, happy and healthy life, Charnita went on to study and experience the theories of many learned scholars like Thich Nhat Hanh who inspired her to look at life and its learning from a deeper perspective. She started a blog and started rigorously documenting ideas, anecdotes and concepts relating to the need for a more emotionally integrative system of education. Her experience as an assistant professor in the Delhi university helped her reflect on the limitations of the present system of education. Even while teaching in DU, she would often bring along her laptop and projector to attempt to make education more interactive and experiential. Eventually, she established Perfect Life Spot. "I really believe that for true learning to happen, the learned must feel emotionally safe and positive. Creating an environment which is warm, respectful to emotions, and encourage learning through experience. PLS works as a platform for teaching English language and important employability/life skills to young adults aged between 17 to 24 years. More than merely being an academic substitute, PLS is a journey of self-discovery and self-actualization. Thanks to PLS, students are not only emotionally stronger, but have statistically shown major improvements in their academic performances as well. Along with sessions and workshops for students, PLS conducts courses in Mindfulness and Emotional well-bring for Corporate audiences.

All in her Good Books

Falak Randerian - My Little Chatterbox

Falak Randerian is an avid reader herself and her brainchild My Little Chatterbox helps encourage children develop healthy reading habits. The lending library called The Reading Room offers a selection of handpicked books. Falak always knew she'd build an enterprise of her own. It had to truly combined her two passions - her addiction to books and reading, and her affection for children. So, she setup My Little Chatterbox in 2012, a start-up that engaged children in communication workshops, and later dived into creating a platform for book clubs and lessons in phonetics. "Children need activities that are fun an creative, which fuel their imagination, keep them busy and leave potential for more...books do just that and more," explains Falak. With a degree in Corporate Communication, Falak was 30 years old and was a certified Phonetics trainer when she started My Little Chatterbox. Along with the objective of encouraging youngsters to read and associate with books, My Little Chatterbox also offers a unique platform for children to collectively understand phonics and grammar, creating a holistic experience of reading and sharing knowledge from books. Three years old, the organization now plans to expand through the franchise model. "My son joined MLCB Phonics before he turned four and by the time he finished at 4-and-a-half years, he could read and figure out spellings like a pro," she adds proudly. TLCB is now all set to venture into The Reading Room which is a library cum reading lounge where children can come, read or even borrow books through a membership, helping parents raise readers. Visit www.mylittlechatterbox.in.

Masterpiece at Work

Geetika Chadha - Imagenie

Geetika Chadha is a certified image management graduate and puts her knowledge and experience as an image consultant to assist and empower individuals and organizations to be their own masterpiece through Imagenie. With her roots in Haryana, she pursued her bachelors in Computer Science from Miranda House in Delhi University. With a traditional agriculturist and a dedicated home-maker for parents, she's grew to be an studious academician. Always a huge fan of aesthetics and creativity, she got accepted into the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad. "I still remember when my father and I had reached the college campus. He asked me even then if I wanted to turn around," she reminisces. After a few jobs in the top fashion and retail brands of the country, she married and moved back to Hyderabad to start India's leading image consultancy and makeover service, Imagenie. Working through a series of individual consultations and group workshops or trainings, Imagenie equips people with the life skill of creating their personal brand by managing their appearance, etiquette, body language and communication. "Our aim is to help people discover the best versions of them," Geetika adds about heir tagline - 'Be your own masterpiece'. Crediting her husband for support, she says, "Maintaining work and home balance is the mantra of our marriage, which is why we stand up for each other, n matter what." For some, just finding who they are is enough to inspire them into becoming powerful. For fashion or image consultation, visit www.imagenie.co.in

Home is where Grabhouse is!

Pankhuri Shrivastava - GrabHouse

Pankhuri Shrivastava started Grabhouse as an online platform where both landlords and tenants could post their requirements, without any brokerage or fee. A graduate with B.E. in Computer Science from the city of Bhopal, Pankhuri was always encouraged by her parents as a child to explore sports, theatre, dancing, singing, academics, volunteering, etc. Having completed a two-year stint at anon-government organization where she volunteered as a teacher, Pankhuri wanted to start something of her own. When she was 23, she started Grabhouse with the help of her co-founder Prateek Shukla. It is an online enterprise that supports people in finding houses within their specific requirements of design, budget and locality, all without the extra brokerage charges. Currently, operating in 7 cities, Grabhouse has raised 13 million dollars in funds. Quoting networking as a challenge, Pankhuri says, "Often my rapport building is mistaken by many potential clients and funders as something more personal." Now growing to over 80 members, Grabhouse has maintained over 40% employees as women, along with the achievement of not having a single person from the starting leave the organization to date. Pankhuri states, "There's so much to do in this world, so many people to reach. We all need to step up and take the leap of faith. You have to realize that right now is the best time!" One stop shop for grabbing a house on rent, without any brokerage at www.grabhouse.com

Petting One’s Dreams

Rashi Narang - Heads Up For Tails

Heads Up For Tails is a loved brainchild of Rashi Narang that arose out of the need to provide essential as well as exclusive merchandise for pets. The Human Resource team member in a reputed organization in London returned to India after her wedding, wanting to do something of her own, "Something big, original and unique, something that would make a difference." In taking care of her beloved pet, Sara, who she considers a family members, she realized that the Indian market did not serve to the needs of pets and their parents in the way a family member needed. So, she setup Heads Up For Tails in 2008 starting with a single product. Originally only an online store, she opened her retail stores within an year, with products ranging from orthopedic beds to personalized collars health products to fashionable accessories and apparel, all created with personal attention and unique designs. However, she found it overwhelming to handle it single-handedly. "If I had more funds at that stage, I would have been able to hire help and a team in all those building years." She faced another challenge when she moved to Singapore with her husband in the middle of stabilizing her business. "We had to shut down the online stores for almost a year." Rashi later returned to India, and grew HUFT into a family of 15 members and expanded into USA. For a wide range of pet products, visit www.headsupfortails.com

The Ceremony of Success

Saumya Vardhan - ShubhPuja

ShubhPuja was founded by Saumya Vardhan and aims at offering religious and astrological consultancies, helping conduct religious ceremonies and services for all occasions and needs, and providing logistical support from scratch to summary. Having studied business administration and finances from the Imperial College London and received a Master's in Operational Research and Bachelor's in Statistics from Lady Shri Ram college, Saumya added feathers in her professional cap by working at KPMG and Ernst & Young. Returning to India, she started Shubhpuja.com, a first ever online portal dedicated to organized vedic ritual services and offering science and facts based auspiciousness to people. "I only understood the sensitivity of the situation when a close friend's father passed aware. Since all close relatives were living abroad, it became a big challenge to arrange for all rituals for the departed soul.  There as no one to guide, and he family members were already in so much pain that I felt disturbed the lack of help available." Saumya decided to collaborate with top Vedic educational institutions of the country to take their guidance and bring them on board with their expertise and resources. To increase her knowledge of the field, she even enrolled herself in a course in Vedic Astrology. This helped her design better products with appropriate rates and requirements. Her team currently consists of 15 members. She later tied up with the largest spiritual channel in the country, and all this in just 2 years. For any customized puja or astrological consultation, visit www.shubhpuja.com

A Web of Women’s World

Sneh Sharma - Ittisa

Ittisa is an only-girls digital media agency creating catchy content, exemplary designs and doing path-breaking work under founder Sneh Sharma. Born and brought up in the quaint valley of Shimla in northern India, she moved to Bangalore to pursue her MBA. At 23, she co-founded a digital marketing firm. However, two years into it, she was restless and wanted to start over again. Partially inspired by Sheryl Sandberg's sensational book Lean In, she started an ingenious all girls' platform int eh world of digital marketing called Ittisa. "All our projects are creatively inspired and technically and analytically empowered," she explains. Initially dismissed by clients and associates as a 'far-fetched and futile idea' for being gender exclusive, the organization has evolved into an 10-member team. Within one-months, they had already bagged their game-changing project with an international client from Africa. Having crossed the milestone of one crore rupees within seven months of operation, they have acquired and retained over 20 clients. Sneh plans to expand in three hot dimensions of marketing - digital, mobile and wearable. She is supported by her friend and husband Bhupendra who runs his own enterprise. Visit www.ittisa.com

Beauty beyond Skin

Surbhi Mahajan - Dermatocare

Dr Surbhi Mahajan was inspired to found Dermatocare to offer skin care solutions that are accessible and affordable, and provide free consultation sitting at home. An inquisitive scholar and researcher, a dermatology consultant by profesison and an entrepreneur by passion, Surbhi Mahajan holds an MBBS degree and is a university topper. Regularly bombarded with categorical questions about the best skin care products, best treatment methods, homemade remedies for skin types, etc., she felt the urgent need to dive deep into research and experimentation to find out the answers myself. Commenting on the skin care industry, she says, "Making you look five years younger with a simple cream instantly has more to do with expert make-up and onscreen editing than the miracles of medicine. And once I had figured this out, I knew I had to find an authentic and unbiased solution for skin problems." She organized a blog for skin care advice with democratic access to readers. This was the first time free consultation on skin care was being offered online, open to everyone and free. The blog grew into dermatocare.com in 2012 - an unconventional online portal with professional medial aid offering online consultation, Q&As, and access to genuine, authentic product information for free. The step by step process of Dermatocare attempts to build faith in its customers by understanding their needs. Once this relationship has been built, consumers are encouraged to try credible and relevant products and meet consultants in clinics for advance treatments of further care. Surbhi has faced a lot of opposition of offering free consultancy as professional suicide. She was recommended to read the Bhagwad Gita which helped her find connection to her spiritual self. "I always see women around me being apprehensive of taking up their own work because they don't want to compromise with the family. I always tell them that on the contrary, it helps to bring independence and understanding that'll make you feel stronger and more motivated to balance all shades of your life." Find out more at www.dermatocare.com

A Refreshing Taste of Creation!

Tina Garg - Pink Lemonade

Tina Gard, is the founder of Pink Lemonade, a creative agency specializing in communication, content and design. The young Tina of a few years ago may have seemed like any other engineer in the field of computer science. "Even while I was in the tech filed, I knew my interest lingered in writing and communication." She decided to pursue a Master's in Marketing and Communications. Using her flair of professional writing as a freelancer, she went on to publish 300 by-lines in mainstream publications within a period of two years. With the e-commerce boom in India, she got to work with the best brand in Bangalore, heading a team of 350 writers across the country and curating content for the web portal. She then started Pink Lemonade - an agency specializing in web, copy, design and client servicing. She explains, "We're an agency with a heart." Operational for 5 years, the creative hub operates out of Bangalore and has acquired a clientele of about 250 brands, many of which include the top names of the country. "My husband Tapan runs his own business and his mentorship has been one of the key strengths for Pink Lemonade. Encouraging people to have a good life outside the work space, the organization offers innovative concepts such as 'Pink Holiday' - a sponsored day off for an employee through monthly draws, fun Fridays and awards for performance. Try www.pinklemonade.in for strategizing, branding and creative and business communication.

Advertising a Balanced Life!

Vidula Kanitkar Kothare - Think Creative AdSolutions

Vidula Kantikar Kothare is the co-founder of Think Creative AdSolutions, which provides end to end solutions for marketing, advertising, branding, event management, among others. More than two decades ago, an art teacher in Mumbai was advising a set of parents to let their daughter pursue a career in art, a though very far-fetched and seemingly impractical at that time for the humble Brahmin couple. Nobody in the family had taken up the field of arts as a serious career choice. There were apprehensions through the years, but the teacher's recommendation resonated through the little girls' mind all along. Vidula grew up to study Applied Art and a dedicated specialization in Digital Media, and gained experience with some advertising agencies. Noting her strength in selling her creative ideas to people, and in coming up with out of the box ideas, she realized it would be more productive and lucrative to start something of her own. She and her friends formed a group that started freelancing. In one of their early assignments for a potentially big client, their only computer system crashed, and they had to borrow a local printer's machine and office space to get the work done. When they ended up bagging that client, they officially set-up as Think Creative AdSolutions, an agency that grew to be known as being heart-warming, cooperative and extremely meticulous. Vidula encourages her now 15-member team to read up and understand about all verticals that include the network of existing or potential clients. "Every opportunity to know and learn show be grabbed." Identifying women as multi-tasking geniuses, she revels in the true strength of being a woman who, as an individual is capable of independence, strength, responsibility and leadership. For creative ad-solutions, visit www.thinkcreativeindia.com

Final Notes

As we saw through these tales of 20 exceptional and inspirational women who created a niche in a world largely dominated by men, these entrepreneurs have opened avenues formerly unexplored. Superwomen is an interesting journey of how they played all their roles to perfection, aligning their families with their ambitions, showing the world their true mettle.

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Who wrote the book?

Prachi Garg is an Indian columnist, speaker, author, and entrepreneur. Garg has a degree in computer science and business administration, and her work revolves around the themes of entreprene... (Read more)

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