Women-led businesses back on track

Women entrepreneurs in Bengaluru are looking back on a year of pandemic challenges. Ahead of Women’s Day, they spoke about the many hurdles they have crossed in the past months.

. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO, Bare Necessities

. “Accidental entrepreneur” as she calls herself, Sahar set out with the aim of promoting a minimalist lifestyle. She started small by creating organic skincare products in her kitchen and educating people around her on the importance of eco-friendly living.

. As more and more people began to show interest in natural and organic products, she took a leap of faith and started her own company in 2016.

. “There were many times my ideas were belittled. Someone at a startup mentoring session told me not to register it as a company. He said I should be content where I was, making products out of my mom’s kitchen,” Sahar told Metrolife.

. Sahar now makes chemical-free personal care and home care products.

. When the pandemic broke out, Sahar’s company had to face some tough times. “Initially there were several setbacks. We had trouble shipping products, our production was affected, but one of the biggest challenges we faced was getting our entire team acquainted with the new normal where everything happened online. We have a very diverse team of people coming from all walks of life, so it took some time getting everyone used to the Zoom meetings and heaps of excel sheets. But thankfully we pulled through.” says Sahar.

. Alicia Souza, illustration artist

. New mum Alicia is back to work. Passionate about graphic design and illustration ever since her college days in Melbourne, Alicia knew this was what she wanted to build a career in. After completion of her studies, she started freelancing.

. “When I moved to Bengaluru, about a decade ago, I decided to give freelancing a shot. My design soon started gaining some popularity online, and I decided to put up my first pop-up stall at a flea market. My products were sold out in a few hours,” she says.

. That was the moment she realised a market exists for her work in Bengaluru. In the years that followed, Alicia set up her own online store. “It was honestly too much for me to handle on my own. It got too hectic to handle the online store and my freelance projects. But thankfully an amazing support system kept me going. Especially my partner Saurabh Sharma, who helped me bring stability into the whole process,” she said.

. Today, Alicia retails everything from stationery to home decor, accessories, and apparel under the Alicia Souza brand. As an online business, Alicia Souza escaped the pandemic woes that plagued brick-and-mortar businesses. “In 2020 we were concerned that our sales would suffer, as our most popular products are planners and calendars. But luckily, that wasn’t the case at all. We didn’t notice a dip in our sales at all throughout the year. People were more than excited to buy our planners and other stationary, ready to make the most of the year even if stuck at home.” she said.

. Ira Guha and Anuradha Mahadevan, founders, Asan

. Bengaluru-based Ira Guha and her business partner Anuradha Mahadevan are on the mission to address what they call “period poverty” in India. Their goal is to provide affordable eco-friendly menstrual cups to women.

. “We run a campaign called “1-for-1”. For every Asan menstrual cup purchased, we donate one to a woman in India who cannot afford period products,” says Anuradha, who quit an engineering job to join Ira in this project.

. The work on Asan began when Ira was pursuing masters in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School in 2018. Ira bought all varieties of menstrual cups and studied what was lacking.

. It took over a year at the Harvard Innovations Lab to design the Asan cup. “None of this would’ve been possible if I weren’t passionate enough about the cause to go up and speak to important people. If I had shied away from talking about period products to men because that’s what society tells us to do, Asan wouldn’t exist today,” says Ira.

. Her advice to young girls with dreams: ‘Never shy away from a room full of people.’ About the pandemic challenges, Ira says: “Our launch was delayed due to the pandemic by six months. We also had supply chains problems, but I believe it was all for the greater good. Throughout the lockdown, we saw the trouble women were facing trying to get hold of period products every month. We realised our menstrual cup solves this problem. Once you buy a cup it can last up to 10 years, making it the perfect post-pandemic product. The pandemic made us realise the importance of conscious consumerism. Buy less but buy better.” Ira opened up about Asan’s journey through the pandemic.

. Mistletoe Asia

. A bakery in Koramangala, run by four women, is making exotic cakes.

. Priya, Jhanvi, Rukmini and a friend who prefers to remain behind the scenes are the Mistletoe Asia team. They launched their business in late 2019 but had to close soon after, as the pandemic broke out.

. “It was extremely disheartening as we had put our heart and soul into the business. We had spent the whole of 2019 traveling abroad, sourcing the best ingredients and learning authentic recipes,” says Jhanvi.

. The team worked behind the scenes to return with renewed strength. They are not hiring for now: they do all the work themselves, given the safety concerns. They believe that is one of the reasons customers trust them.

. Located on the ground floor of Raheja Complex, they deliver all across Bengaluru. “It is just the four of us now, and there’s no denying that it’s been hard. But we have a vision, and are not giving up till we realise it,” Rukmini told Metrolife.

. The team knows women have it hard. “They call you a drama queen or tell you that a woman can’t run a business. But pay no heed. Here we are, and we have built a business from scratch,” Rukmini says.

Women-led businesses back on track

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