Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

They might be boasting of a trend they have rightly caught up with. But they aren’t really ready to set the equilibrium. The start up culture in India has given India an entrepreneurial identity in the global map, yet none of the companies has a single woman employee in its executive leadership. 
 
India's biggest, most funded and perhaps the fastest growing startup, Flipkart, is beginning to reflect the problem haunting the country's much bigger technology industry that of gender diversity at the top, informs a news report by The Economic Times. 
 
Not only Flipkart, Myntra Ola, Quikr, Freshdesk and several others have long ignored the need to achieve gender diversity at the top. The ET report believes, perhaps the founders have been too busy building their startups. 
 
But building an equitable culture and at least trying to put together a diverse leadership team is a responsibility they cannot shy away from, especially if more than third (and in some cases nearly half) of their employees are women. 
During Women’s day and other ‘seasonal’ events, these companies bring out a hyped gender diversity debates. But this issue is far too important to be raised only during the season, and secondly, March is too far, far away to wait, states the news report by the financial daily. 
 
The ET lists out some dynamic founders of startups such as MapMyGenome (Anu Acharya), Limeroad (Suchi Mukherjee), Tracxn (Neha Singh), Mad StreDen's Ashwini Asokan and Trucksfirst (Gazal Kalra). But other than this it's really difficult to spot women entrepreneurs and top startup executives. Some of them may lack experience in managing large, complex organisations. But that's an area of improvement for many, many professionals of the opposite gender. 
 
The ET asks the right question- if founders and startups can spend so much of time debating, arguing, calling each other names, about issues of hiring, evil investors, intellectually challenged boards - why not set some time aside on solving the global tech's oldest problem? 
 
Perhaps somebody in India could put together "a list of boss ladies" the way Silicon Valley veteran Sukhinder Singh Cassidy did with this Boardlist. 
 
For its part, Flipkart seems to have realised that it needs to do better in terms of gender diversity. Couple of weeks ago, it announced an attractive maternity package to retain its women staff across the company. 
 
But a detailed questionnaire sent on last Friday to Flipkart, Zomato, and several others remained unanswered. In fact, Paytm was the only company to have responded. 
 
Some would argue (and perhaps rightfully so) that with the rise of new breed women founders at startups such as Trucksfirst, MapMyGenome and several others, things are much better off and there is no need to demand gender diversity at companies such as Flipkart. 
 
But the real issue is not just about having a good number of women founders in the ecosystem. It's more about ensuring diversity at startups such as Flipkart that are no more small; employ thousands of staff, and are seen as role models for the entire ecosystem. They need to urgently address the aspirations of their (potential) women leaders and set an example, suggested the news report.

Startups in India: No place for women?

Mothers are superheroes who handle household chores and professional work with aplomb. They juggle between house and office work, look after children, make sure nothing is neglected. Apart from working in offices, many women also give wings to their entrepreneurial dreams. They walk a tightrope and are excelling in managing offices, running an organisation and managing affairs at home. On Mother’s Day, <keyword id="74945" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women-Entrepreneurs">women entrepreneurs</keyword> share how they nail it and where does all this energy comes from: 1.Suchi Mukherjee, Founder &amp; CEO, LimeRoad “Instead of chasing that balanced state, I am just highly deliberate about how I spend my time, the way I allocate my hours, the trade-offs I make, the choice of place to live, the type of staff I choose, etc. These decisions made wisely will help minimize the frictions that tend to heighten the sense of imbalance. When I set up home in India, I chose to live as close as possible to my nearest family. To find reliable domestic staff, I approached my extended network of friends. Some of the trade-offs can be hard. For instance, after years of knowing that I am a die-hard Delhi girl, I decided to move to Gurgaon driven by a single reason – to spend more time with my kids in the mornings and making sure I am dropping them to school. Moving home was also the only way I could see my kids before they went to bed! Finally, you need a supportive family to ensure you aren’t guilt-tripping due to the unavoidable imbalances. On this one, I am blessed with a highly supportive partner, parents and in-laws for which I am utterly grateful.” 2.Jimmy Kaul, CEO, Shopotox “Since my childhood, I was always being inspired by working women, particularly mothers. Even my own mother had to work and I have grown up seeing how women are great at managing their profession and family and can have a balance in their lives. Though the decision was tough as I had a toddler to handle, but I must admit I didn’t give much thought to the added toll it would have on my family when you have a kid at home. For me, my venture is another baby that needs my full-time attention. We still live in a society where people say that as a mother we should spend more time with children. I really think that having a family, motherhood and career building are correlated. But this is also true that managing both family and career demands a lot of patience and learning. All we women need to well organized and wilful to fulfil both the roles successfully.” 3.Priya Kumar, co-founder, Rummy Passion “There has never been a better time in history to be a woman entrepreneur in India. We face fewer challenges now than ever before. Things have changed but it is still a tightrope walk for all working women who try to balance family life and work, let alone women entrepreneurs. It's helpful to have a good support structure at home and at work. Waking up early helps me to prioritize, organize and delegate. With two teenagers in the house, life can be a roller coaster ride. Though both our kids are quite independent, its crucial to make sure that they are never shortchanged for time. Juggling schedules and PTMs with work related meetings have to be done on most days. As parents, my husband and I often split our responsibility and pitch in. It’s very important to have each other’s back on this one. Time management and good planning is key. My strength comes from my team which is my hat, my husband who is my cloak and my kids who are my magic wand.” 4.Purba Kalita, Co-founder, SaleBhai.com "Growing a startup is like nurturing children - your life centres around it. Joy, pain, worry, excitement, and fear that you experience with your children are felt as much with a startup. Your family's support becomes the bedrock as they make sacrifices and adjust themselves to your world. It's common for a working mother to feel guilty when she's unable to devote time for her children. It’s during such moments that I remind myself of my mother whom I have seen make personal sacrifices as a doctor. I remind myself of the larger objectives with which we started Salebhai.com. I want my children to be rounded personalities with humanitarian values and I hope they pick up the positives they observe at home - whether passion about work, drive for excellence, or the desire to touch lives." 5.Prachi Kagzi, Founder, Littlepassports “Seek support! Contrary to common belief, I think a successful mom is empowered by a great support system. It could be her husband, parents or even a good nanny! Above all, I feel the key for me is to not feel guilty about being a working mom, and I come back to my son with a renewed sense of spirit after a fulfilling day at work.” 6. Kanchana TK, Director General, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India " As a single parent, I have been so busy juggling career and home that I never really caught with the super involved moms. I struggled with parent teacher meetings where I was a lost and confused person, who did not have her child's scores or number of assignments that weren't done. But I was there. I joked with my child on how paranoid schools were on scores and how it finally did not matter! Later on, I struggled when she became a teenager. I again never understood how to implement curfews and deadlines. She said I was living in my generation. Be true to yourself, you may find you are not a part of the crowd it's okay. Be financially independent, give your career your everything, a job will never wake up one morning and say it's over! 7. Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN "Being an entrepreneur, I have flexible working hours. This is something which allows me to take care of my children, as and when they need me. I quit my job when my kids were very small so that I could take care of them. They went to a boarding school when they were 10 or 11 years old. When they come back during the two-month-long term breaks, I keep all work aside and be with them throughout."

7 working, mother entrepreneurs share tips on work-life balance

The spotlight has been on <keyword id="1105689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women-entrepreneurs-in-India">women entrepreneurs in India</keyword> recently. Women-led new age startups have been the toast of the town, such as LimeRoad by Suchi Mukherjee, Sheroes by Sairee Chahal, Zivame by Richa Kar, YourStory by Shraddha Sharma, Wedmegood by Mehak Shahani and mydala by Anisha Singh to name a few. Studies have pronounced a 50 per cent growth in women entrepreneurs in just one year, and accolades have been pouring in on women entrepreneurs for their new found successes in the world of business. 
 
Before we get carried away with this polite applause, think again! The phenomenon of women entrepreneurship in India is not new. Look around. You might not see too many in the stratosphere of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw but you will see no dearth of women entrepreneurs in lifestyle businesses like beauty, fashion, gems &amp; jewels, education, food, logistics, social enterprises. They have just been outside the radar of the new-age definition of startup entrepreneurs. 
 
So what’s new? The fact that women in India are ready to play a new game in business: The game of big, scalable startups funded by private investors. 
 
Let me be clear at the outset. I do not differentiate between the different kind of women entrepreneurs. I believe any woman in business faces the same challenges and is driven by the same entrepreneurial spirit. The difference lies in the sport they choose among the vast selection in business – and that decides the rules of the game. Here’s my Hi-5 to women preparing to grow and build in this new arena. 
 
Pick the sport &amp; master the rules 
While local lifestyle businesses can be played as an individual sport – the neighbourhood boutique, the local beauty parlour, the customized jewelry designer – the startup business built on funding from venture capitalists is totally different. This is a competitive team sport. Played on a large playing field. And women in India are ready to break through the old boys’ network to make their mark here. They just need to be clear about the sport they are picking and be the best in it. Understand that this is a game of scale. This is a game where the VC enters only to exit – at a profit. These cannot be played like a lifestyle or family-based business. 
 
According to The emergence of the Millipreneurs a recent <a href="http://www.bnpparibas.com/en/news/bnp-paribas-global-entrepreneurs-report-2016">report</a> by BNP Paribas, worldwide women entrepreneurs are a little more successful today as they are more ambitious than their male counterparts. In India’s bounding startup ecosystem, women entrepreneurs could learn from this and pursue larger than life goals without fear. And to do so successfully, women must reinvent themselves and break out of the typecast accorded to them. 
 
Get off the emotional roller-coaster 
Simply put, a VC-funded business is a game played from the head, not heart. Yes, of course passion is important. But if I was to put a weightage to it, I would say building a successful business in 30% Passion and 70% hardcore numbers. 
 
I have accompanied several women startup founders to their meetings with investors and VCs. Having witnessed the discussion as a silent observer, I truly believe we undersell ourselves, and do not do justice to our potential. My tip to them: Get over the shyness! Don’t trip over your emotional story. Be a consummate professional. It takes just a few simple steps, to achieve a metamorphosis from a timid chrysalis to a self-assured butterfly who can hold her own in the colossal arena of big business. 
 
Project your confidence 
Even the most hardened male entrepreneur admits to nervousness while pitching to investors. It’s only normal. The trick is to project an image of confidence. And this can be done by doing your homework. Just as you practice pitches to win new business, you need to perfect the pitch to investors and VCs. 
 
In a KPMG <a href="http://www.kpmg-institutes.com/institutes/global-enterprise-institute/articles/2015/10/women-entrepreneurs-passion-purpose-and-perseverance.html">report</a> Women Entrepreneurs: Passion, Purpose, Perseverence, a whopping 83 percent of women entrepreneurs ranked self-confidence as a must have trait for successful leadership. Confidence goes hand in hand with risk taking, enabling the bold decisions, deemed necessary in today’s disruptive environment. 
 
Speak the language 
Big business has a certain innate and unchanging dialect. You need to master this language. 
 
No matter what your weakness, be it finance or technology or anything else, get over with it. Get comfortable with “valuation” and “share of wallet”. Lead and participate in a smooth dialogue on cash flows, income projections, budgeting, cost efficiencies, risk analysis, financial modeling and even digital transformation. Take a colleague/advisor along if necessary to these meetings. 
 
A Deloitte <a href="http://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/women-entrepreneurs-report.html">report</a> recently pointed out that despite being more responsible borrowers, women face higher barriers in accessing capital. This disparity is the result of a complex interaction of factors, including the way private equity works, the way financial institutions operate, and the behavior of women themselves. 
 
Yes, the financial system needs to change its bias, but women themselves need to blaze through this bias by mastering the game themselves. So, test yourself, over and over again, take feedback, make the necessary changes. And at that all important meeting, lead the discussion and break the typecast! 
 
Learn to network 
Last but definitely not the least, you need to remember that to be successful at scale, you need to go beyond your own resources. Networking can get you access to knowledge, opportunities, capital, mentorship, even other startups that you can partner with in the ecosystem. Ever wonder why all the IIT and IIM graduates seem to do so well? Is it just the magic of their curriculum or their brains? Not to undermine either, the third big factor is their ready access to a core group – a strong alumni network. 
 
In India, women have traditionally been the window to the extended family or the neighbourhood community. Yet, in business, I have often met women entrepreneurs who confess that they find it difficult to network and think it is a waste of time. My advice to them is, weave that web of influence. Networking does not necessarily imply extending work-hours and neglecting your family. Be smart about it. Leverage your lunch-hour. Take small steps. But do not limit yourself by trying to go it alone. The power of a network can add exponentially to your strength. It is a necessary component of scaling up. 
 
There is heartening support for women entrepreneurs coming in from various directions today. The TiE Special Interest Group for Women Entrepreneurs, TiE Stree Shakti, <a href="http://www.nasscom.in/readying-women-entrepreneurship?fg=880017">Girls in Tech</a> programme by Nasscom, the funding of women ventures promised under <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=134220">Standup India</a>, the special focus on women entrepreneurs at an event like <a href="http://www.lhrunwaytosuccess.in/startupexpo/">The Startup Expo</a>. And the launch of a <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/now-a-venture-fund-for-women-entrepreneurs-115091400024_1.html">VC fund</a> focused exclusively on women entrepreneurs. While this is all adding to the momentum, there are miles to go. 
 
The battle of the woman entrepreneur in the Indian startup ecosystem is still herculean as she breaks long held perceptions, cultural biases and typecasts. But it is important that she continues to push past these to chase her dreams. I believe the success factor lies in an important shift in mindset of women themselves: We need to own our destiny. At the end of the day, only we are going to write our future. 
 
(The article is authored by Gita Dang, Founder &amp; Director, Talent Advisory &amp; TiE Delhi-NCR Board Member) 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Key success factors of women entrepreneurs in Indian startups

MUMBAI: Flush with funds and hungry for growth, a bunch of startups is gearing up to stake claim on talent at India’s top campuses. 
 
As placements unfold over the next few months at the IITs, IIMs and other institutes, these startups look on track to give traditional heavyweights a run for their money in the battle for talent. 
 
Ten startups that ET spoke to are collectively looking to hire more than 850 graduates across leading business schools, engineering colleges and graduate schools this fiscal. 
 From established names such as <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, TaxiForSure and <keyword id="1006428" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Olacabs">Olacabs</keyword> to campus newbies like Vizury and <keyword id="2463175" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="CodeNation">CodeNation</keyword>, almost all are hiring in greater numbers than before, armed with attractive pay packages and the promise of greater responsibilities and faster growth for potential hires. 
 
Barely six months after being registered as a company, enterprise software developer CodeNation is already one of the most coveted recruiters at engineering campuses such as National Institutes of Technology (NITs), offering salaries of Rs 24 lakh. One of the last to go to the campuses last season, it hired 12 engineering graduates in March 2014. 
 
This time, it plans to net the best early on from the IITs, NITs, IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology), DTU (Delhi Technological University) and PESIT (PES Institute of Technology). "We went to campuses very late (last time), but do not want to do the same this time. We plan to hire 50 students from the best colleges," said Anuja Sivaram, head of operations at CodeNation. 
 Another relatively new name is Bangalore-based big data analytics startup Vizury. Last year, it went to two <keyword id="2470783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="BITS-Pilani-University">BITS Pilani University</keyword> campuses with seven offers. The startup, which in June saw a third round of <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> totaling $16 million from new and existing investors, is planning to recruit more this year. "We plan to hire 25-30 engineers from IITs, BITS Pilani University, NITs and IIIT campuses for our product engineering team. Students will be working on cuttingedge analytics and advertising technology platforms," said Subra Krishnan, vice-president in charge of products. 
 
Taxi-service startup Olacabs, fresh after raising Rs 250 crore last month, is on an expansion mode. 
 
To drive its growth plans, the company is in the market for 100 new hires from IITs and IIMs, compared with 40 it recruited last year, said co-founder and Chief Executive Bhavish Aggarwal. 
 
Rival TaxiForSure, on its part, is heading to engineering campuses for the first time this year. Until now the company hired engineers laterally. "We will head to IIT-Madras and IIT-Bombay for the first time. Now we have five engineering managers who can train the new recruits and therefore there is sufficient leadership to hire from engineering campuses," said human resources head TN Hari. 
 While it hasn’t decided on the number of engineering students to be recruited, the startup will hire 25 from IIMs in Bangalore, <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword>, Ahmedabad and Lucknow as well as the <keyword id="6357275" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-School-of-Business">Indian School of Business</keyword>. 
 Online retailer Flipkart, last year’s biggest <keyword id="41007" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="recruiter">recruiter</keyword> in the startup space, declined to share numbers for this year but is expected to at least match last year’s hiring tally. 
The Bangalore-based company, which made an entry into the ET Top Recruiters at B-schools survey for the first time this year, hired more than 275 students from across campuses, including 90 management trainees, 115 graduate trainees and 70 software development engineers last season. 
 
<div style="page-break-after: always;">
	&#xa0;</div>
 
What helps these startups attract talent other than strong hiring numbers is a vibrant work environment, and salaries that are as competitive as many established organisations. TaxiForSure, for instance, will be offering packages ofRs 8-10 lakh at IITs. At IIMs, salaries will range between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, compared with Rs 12-18 lakh last year. 
 Mobile marketing and communications startup <keyword id="416397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZipDial">ZipDial</keyword>, which intends to hire around 20 students this year, says while its fixed salaries may be slightly lower than market rates, top performers stand to make much more in terms of variable bonuses and employee equity grants. LimeRoad.com, which operates an online shopping platform for women, will offer employee stock option programmes. 
 Restaurant-guide startup <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> is offering around Rs 15 lakh a year while property listings portal <keyword id="1960231" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Housing-com">Housing.com</keyword> will be shelling out anywhere between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 18 lakh. 
 Mumbai-based Housing.com, which raised Rs 115 crore in a new round of funding in June, was in fact, a <keyword id="2470782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-day-recruiter">first-day recruiter</keyword> at <keyword id="2470784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IITKharagpur">IITKharagpur</keyword> placement rounds last December, sharing space with the likes of <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> and <keyword id="43340" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Oracle">Oracle</keyword>. 
 
This year, as well, several startups are likely to be among the first and second day recruiters at prestigious campuses, a privilege usually reserved for big-ticket recruiters. 
 
"The culture of entrepreneurship that startups provide, the growth opportunities and the challenging work environment are all very attractive to a number of students," said Punj Rajan, a student placement committee member at IIT-Kharagpur. "They actually want several startups to be among the companies slotted in the first few days of placements." Rajan had interned with Jabong.com during summer. Even B-schools are ready to make extra efforts to attract more startups. 
 
IIM-Bangalore last year organised a separate day for startups to come and hire from the executive MBA batch. "Startups often offer senior positions and if they need more time and rounds, we are ready to stretch for them. In the near future, we may have separate startup fairs for our flagship PGP batch too," said Sapna Agarwal, head of career development services at IIM-Bangalore. 
 
Not surprisingly, Advitiya Sharma, co-founder of Housing.com, says he has been flooded by invitations from top colleges. His plans are not firmed up as yet, but he intends to hire around 25 people from IITs and a similar number from IIMs across software, analytics, operations and tech roles. 
 
Another startup, Wooqer, has already made three pre-placement offers at Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. It plans to hire 25 students across IITs and a couple of NITs, and intends to reach out to IIM-Indore, IIM-Bangalore, SP Jain Institute of Management &amp; Research and NMIMS soon. 
 
Salaries will range from Rs 13 lakh toRs 17 lakh. Other institutes including graduate and design schools are also being targeted by these startups. 
 
Upasana Nath, chief recruitment officer at Zomato, said besides the 40 students it will be hiring from engineering colleges like the IITs and senior leadership profiles from IIMs and ISB, it will be taking on board 200 for front line sales and content operations from graduate colleges in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Suchi Mukherjee, CEO &amp; co-founder of LimeRoad.com, said the startup intends to get 30-50 people from campuses alone. IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai and Chennai will be the focus for technology and IIMs in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata for product managers, marketing and category managers.

You Searched For "suchi mukherjee" and got 4 results

Startups in India: No place for women?

BI India Bureau

7 working, mother entrepreneurs share tips on work-life balance

Akanksha Jain

Key success factors of women entrepreneurs in Indian startups

Guest Author

Indian Startups Compete With Bigger Firms For Campus Recruits

Economic Times

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides