After marriage, Anshu shifted from Rajasthan to Bangalore & started her career with the HR of an eminent firm. Soon after marriage she was expecting and wanted to do something and not just sit at home.
Taking her love for footwear design ahead, Anshu started designing, got some inventory and started selling it through friends and family. She also started a social page but her efforts could not materialize as per her expectations. Then she was approached by Snapdeal who helped her bring her products online. Her passion and Snapdeal’s guidance has helped her to not just make a financial contribution but also gain independence and freedom to create her own identity.
Today she has a few hundred skus and a complete warehouse, She manages her business with her and family with equal ease. Her resolve has won her the respect and admiration of all around her and is a proud entrepreneur.
Mamta gets ready for the arrival of her little one.
At home, I’m the only one on the computer. I never thought my wife would get so involved. That is, till she became pregnant. She’d get so worried hearing myths and rumours about pregnancy. These days, you can’t raise a child on superstitions. There are so many resources online from real professionals, so I thought, what’s stopping her?
My company had guests coming in to conduct workshops on getting online. So I encouraged my wife to attend. I didn’t want her worrying herself at home, so the Internet would be a great way for her to learn facts on pregnancy, and spend time without feeling lonely. Now she’s like an encyclopedia on baby care! I trust her more than myself to take care of the little one.
Varsha discovers her dream, inspired by the web.
Weaving has been the primary source of income for our family for generations. Our parents and grandparents were in the same business. But my daughter wants to take this into a new direction. She wants to learn fashion designing and see how others are doing in this field. I don’t know much about the Internet, but I know people go online for information and convenience. I’ve taught my daughter everything I know about weaving, but designing fashion is another story. When I found out about the HWGO workshop, I realized Varsha could use the web to learn more about design. With new designs, she can take her weaving skills further.
She’s always thinking of new ideas. I’m so happy she found her love in fashion design. As a mother, I can support her passion by helping her realize her designs. Her ideas inspire me too. I believe that with the resources she has today, she can become a better weaver than I ever was.
Samvedna finds her perfect balance of home, kids and me-time.
When we had our second child, my wife and I decided that she would stay at home and take care of the kids while I go to work. Being a housewife is a 24 hour job, and staying at home all day can become extremely tiresome.
I didn’t want her to feel restricted, so I encouraged her to learn more at home by going online. She started using the Internet daily. Slowly she picked it up so well and used the Internet for paying bills, ordering groceries and even buying movie tickets online . She accomplishes so many things in the day while taking care of the kids at home. She’s even exploring a work-from-home job where she can find fulfilment with a job without compromising on our children’s care.
She is the perfect partner and a Wonderful Mom
Falguni follows a dream to become an entrepreneur
It was always a personal dream to be an entrepreneur. After 25 years as an investment banker, I decided it was time to pursue that dream. I explored a bunch of options, but eventually settled on the idea of creating an online shopping portal for beauty and wellness products - Nykaa.com. I didn't know much about technology or beauty products - so it was an unexpected choice - but one of the best I've ever made!
The internet turned out to be an incredible platform that enabled me to build a scalable business and a strong-brand, in a very time & cost-efficient manner. It's exciting to think that 2 years into the Nykaa journey we now retail over 300 beauty brands, have shipped products to over 5 lakh women across India and have a team 100+ strong.
The internet is a powerful force bringing the world closer and extending the influence each and every one of us can have. I've spent the last 2 years exploring this idea - I've learned about how digital marketing can extend a brand's reach faster and cheaper than traditional marketing forms. I've realized that due to the internet, we are closer to our consumers than we have ever been before, receiving immediate feedback on what they like and don't like! This ensures that we always remain highly customer-centric. The internet has often been my support during times of uncertainty: When I'm not sure of the right path for the business - i know that advice in the form of articles, an extended virtual network, or social media - is just a click away.
My daughter, Adwaita Nayar joined me a few months into the business and together we have been exploring the power of the internet in building, what we hope will be, a major consumer brand. Having her support professionally and personally in these early days, has been very important for me. We often reflect how we were always close, but the experience of building this online business has elevated our relationship multi-fold. She's not only my daughter, but now a best-friend, a business partner, a confidant, a mentor and a link to the younger generation.
Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO, Nykaa.com
Neela starts a life in a new city, and brings a community together.
With my husband transferring to Gurgaon from the US for his job, I felt very lonely with no family or friends. It was just me and my little one. Slowly, I discovered that a lot of women around me felt that same and I decided to do something to change both my life and theirs. With the power of the Internet, I started a website called Gurgaon Moms- a place where moms, just like me, can interact, share common interests and do so much more.
From there, it grew to become a community of over 5500 moms! Neela found a direction not just for herself but for many more moms. There is a new way on the web everyday!
Nafisa turns her talent into an online business.
My mother, Nafisa Kapadia was always very entrepreneurial and recently decided to monetize her cooking skills by inviting guests home for a fixed 3-course lunch menu. We called this venture The Bohri Kitchen.
I managed to get the word out via email and social. From there, we started getting customers and TBK went viral. So to take it further, I did a list of things for my mom:
- set up events and invite guests
- Stay connected with guests
- posts images, milestones, tag guests etc..
Today, my mother is capable of single-handedly managing her 3-month old TBK venture on her own, all from home. Thanks to her ability to embrace digital, TBK is now an Internet startup where marketing is almost 85% online, with the product, home dining, being offline.
Maa’s love for her little girl knows no distance.
She is my backbone. My best friend. There’s so much happening in my life that I feel like calling her every two minutes and telling her what’s happened. New places. New challenges. New schedules. New friends. It’s so exciting! But this fast-paced life is reducing my Maa-time. By the time I return from coaching, Maa has already gone to sleep. Whenever she calls me, I’m either attending classes or loaded with work.
My sweet little mother has learned to make video calls over the Internet. She’s so excited that she stays awake till I reach home just to catch a glimpse of me.
Maa keeps surprising me every day. She is learning to use the Internet so quickly. The other day, I was feeling nostalgic about home and couldn’t sleep. So she recorded my favourite lullaby and sent me a voice note. She said it was for every time I feel insomniac. I play it on repeat and go off to sleep. This is the best feeling ever. It feels like she is so close to me despite the distance.
Nisha pursues her passion online and finds fame on YouTube.
My mother was always on the go and when she retired from her job, she had a lot of free time and didn’t know what to do with it. She was always passionate about food and when saw me and my dad blogging, she wanted to start her own, too! I suggested that she should share her recipes online. To my surprise, she agreed. I created a blog online for her to share with her friends. The next thing I know, her followers recommend sharing videos of her recipes for which she set up a mini studio in an extra room in the house and started recording videos to upload online!
Word spread and 10 subscribers became a hundred, and a hundred became thousands. Unbelievable! I’m so proud of my mom for achieving celebrityhood just when she thought her career was over.
100 Million Indians will shop 24/7, anywhere they are, with their phones, tabs and laptops in 2016. Will your mom be one of them?*
* (source: Google India and Forrester)
More than half of India’s internet population uses social media. Help your mom stay connected.*
* (Source: emarketer.com)