Falguni Nayak- Nykaa

"India has a history of business tycoons who have built several entrepreneurial success stories while leading major multinational corporations in India and throughout the world." This is another product to add to the list. It's all about their missions in terms of industries, phases, and finding the greatest entrepreneurs for investors. "There is no bias or specific attention on gender," 

Nykaa- Beginning

Ithaka, a poem by Constantine P. Cavafy, was the catalyst for banker Falguni Nayar's foray into entrepreneurship in 2012. Adwaita Nayar, her daughter, offered statements like "...keep Ithaka always in your mind." You're meant to be there when you get there. But don't rush the road..”, Falguni realised the poem's meaning: enjoy the journey rather than the goal. This was a watershed moment for Falguni, who went on to found Nykaa, an online cosmetics marketplace. Nykaa was founded in April of 2012. In November 2012, a soft launch of the beta site was held, followed by commercial marketing in April 2013. Since then, Falguni, who is in her fifties, hasn't looked back. Nykaa is derived from the Hindi word Nayika, which means "actress" or "a person of beauty''.

Nykaa, dubbed India's Sephora, has subsequently expanded into a variety of categories, including fashion, home decoration, and more, and has also joined the prestigious unicorn club. Nykaa has become India's first profitable business on the verge of going public. The Nykaa IPO would include a fresh offering of up to Rs 525 crore in shares as well as an offer for existing shareholders to sell up to 4.3 crore shares.

A shop structure that sells a variety of brands- Multi-Brand Format

Falguni, an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, worked for the Kotak Mahindra Group for 19 years as an investment banker and broker. Falguni led the group's Institutional Equities business after an eight-year career with the group's foreign operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. She took over as Managing Director of the investment banking unit in 2005, and she quickly established the company as India's premier IPO banker, as well as being important in a number of major mergers and acquisitions. Falguni's experiences with a lot of successful entrepreneurs prompted her to seek business at this time, and a poem given by her daughter sparked the decision.

"I identified a need for a multi-brand retail structure that provides consumers unbiased counsel and can assist them on the proper products for their beauty and health needs," Falguni says''.

Leading the lead in the cosmetics industry

Nykaa joined the internet sector at a time when Amazon and Flipkart were already dominating. Instead of selling everything from books to phones, Nykaa partnered with local beauty artists to bring foreign cosmetic brands to India, akin to Sephora in France. Nykaa announced profitability for FY19 in December 2019, just before the epidemic hit India. The unicorn concentrated on expanding its retail footprint and expanding its product categories. It proceeded to expand in the offline area after acquiring D2C jewellery company Pipa Bella in April 2021. Nykaa Network, an interactive beauty forum where users may talk with one another, and Nykaa Design Studio, a clothing design studio for designer and luxury companies like Ritu Kumar and Masaba, were both introduced in 2018. Nykaa Man, an online portal for men's hygiene products in hair care, skincare, wellness, and sports nutrition, was also created by the beauty business.

"Given Nykaa's ability to build value while being profitable, we may expect strong interest from conventional investors who have been leery of loss-making firms seeking to go public." Nykaa will serve as a model for B2C companies looking to boost brand recognition and traction by going public. Successful IPOs by mature businesses would pave the path for early-stage startups to receive investment from a variety of sources." The Mumbai-based company has its own private label in the cosmetics and personal care category and operates on an inventory-led basis. Nykaa is now aiming for a valuation of more than $4 billion as it prepares to go public. Falguni is the center of attention, and Nykaa's IPO is being heralded as a watershed moment for Indian women entrepreneurs.