To celebrate International Women’s Day, we wanted to challenge stereotypes that limit women. We caught up with a few women who have managed to make a mark in their field despite the various challenges and obstacles thrown their way.

Kreena Khandelwal: Founder, Yellow Umbrella Creative

Kreena always believed in perfection – be it getting dressed till the last strand of her hair was in place or shifting the logo of her design by 0.2 mm till it’s all aligned. But, today she has achieved what she has because life hasn’t always been perfect.

Kreena got into designing to join her father in his printing press, but it wasn’t meant to be, as she lost him to cancer. Her unconventional love story like the movie 2 states ended up in her entering a gigantic Marwadi family after quitting her ad agency job. But that didn’t stop her as her husband gave a push start to her career as an independent designer. A few months later, their brainchild Yellow Umbrella Creative was born, which built a reputation for delivering on-point design solutions with time.

She suffered through early struggles like any other startup, with fewer good projects but low on budgets. Slowly it grew to a point where she remembers checking her emails even when she was just out of the OT after delivering her son. And Maternity Leave…what’s that?

Soon after, she dared to move to a small studio space to increase her team size and outputs. Came March 2019, when on one hand she had the best design projects and on the other, she was holding her reports that detected Stomach Cancer. Her work desk used to be on the 15th floor at Hinduja hospital during her 5-day chemotherapy sessions. All of 2019 was learning about the new normal – wearing a fancy pagdi like bandana instead of long hair, struggling to keep up her immunity.

By the start of 2020, she had perfected the art of growing with a team, living without a stomach and savings ( as insurance never paid up). But there’s nothing like a perfect life, her husband got a brain stroke on march 16th 2020. So, her new office was the waiting area outside the ICU. 

After another challenging year, today, when she looks back at all the struggles in life and speed breakers in her career, she believes she has only grown stronger and unstoppable as a person.

“No matter what life throws at you, never leave your passion and your family. In my case, both have been the reason i am alive.” says Kreena

“For the world,  I am Kreena Khandelwal – the owner of a boutique design studio for 8 years, a Mom-preneur but I am simply mother to a 4-year-old, a cancer survivor with no stomach who is still learning how to make life perfect!” 

https://instagram.com/yellowucreative?igshid=1xxvllkec8i06

Karishma Bhalla: Founder, Foodstrong

Karishma is one of the founders of Foodstrong, a health food brand dedicated to bringing the joy of eating right to the everyday athlete. The brand emanates from the founder’s passion to create something that is truly healthy and delicious. 

Karishma describes herself as an old mom to young kids. After spending a decade and a half in the grunge of the corporate world, she realised that it has taken a huge toll on her mind and body. Between binge eating, stress-laden meals and eating mislabeled junk disguised as healthy food she had set her biological age further by a decade more than where she was. That’s when she co-founded Foodstrong with a vision to make eating healthy easy and accessible for everyone. Foodstrong is made for the everyday athlete, someone who wants to be stronger and live life to the fullest everyday. They have launched two ranges of protein shakes – shakes to be had post any form of workout and shakes to be consumed at 4 pm that help bridge the gap between lunch and dinner. 

“I started my business with a close friend of 16 years. We started this business in the middle of the pandemic lockdown and it was challenging to get operational, to say the least, but with a young energetic team and patience on day-long zoom calls we made it through! My leadership style is all about wearing my passion on my sleeve. All of us come into work looking to have fun pushing the boundaries every single day!” says Karishma.

https://instagram.com/foodstrong.co?igshid=yd6hcrmditeo

Devashree Sanghvi: Founder, Thecrazyindianfoodie

Devashree Sanghvi is a 26-year-old lawyer and entrepreneur. She runs Thecrazyindianfoodie, one of Mumbai’s leading Food, Travel & Lifestyle blogs with over 360k+ followers across social media and a popular website. She started Thecrazyindianfoodie over 5 years ago when she was a 20-year-old law student with a deep passion for food and travel, exploring places and sharing her experiences with the world. 

It started as a mere hobby in a world where bloggers weren’t as many in number as today and influencer marketing was still in its nascent stages. She worked hard, did a lot of research on high-quality content creation and put all her passion into building her blog into what now is a massive community with lakhs of people following and reading her views. 

Being a solo woman entrepreneur, the journey wasn’t that easy and she faced a lot of challenges on the way. Not being taken seriously by older male clients, beings deprived of payments for long periods of time, feeling unsafe sometimes while traveling alone on projects, being spoken to in a demeaning way by some who believe women can’t run successful businesses were some of the challenges she faced solely due to her gender. 

“However I believed that women have the power to do anything they put their minds to, and with the help of a supportive family, friends and some good people in the industry, I overcame these hurdles and emerged stronger than ever” she said.

Now, she has a small team of both young men and women who work with her in creating amazing content for various F&B, Hospitality, Travel and Lifestyle brands across the world. Her aim is to keep working hard and reach for the stars. 

https://instagram.com/thecrazyindianfoodie?igshid=1p2i68a8l6ab3

Anupriya Agarwal: Brand Marketer & Social Media Strategist, Maxworth Impact

A Lucknow-born & brought-up girl, Anupriya has made a mark for herself as a Brand Marketer & Social Media Strategist due to her impeccable creative and inquisitive skills. Volunteering and Networking have worked for her in the best manner possible. With an unapologetic fetish for traveling and meeting new people & minds, there’s never a dull moment around her since she has so much to talk about.

Under the aegis of Maxworth Impact, she offers Brand Marketing Strategies particularly Digital Media, Planning, and Execution. She provides content, coordination with the team, building up and training of the members if required to let the brand speak for itself.

Anupriya has always been inquisitive and excited to stay connected to people and the world around her. Right from the year 2010, when she started working in Lucknow till 2019 when she started working as an Independent Consultant, she has too many memories and milestones to share. In her work and life tenure, she has been immensely supported by female mentors, seniors, and women-centric organizations like She The People, Women Economic Forum, Sanatkada, Didis – Sisters in Solidarity to name a few – they have helped her grow as a person and as a professional. She has almost 10 years of experience in various sectors, juggling between Marketing strategies, Digital Media & Social Media Content, Visual content, and peer-to-peer communication and training.

It is always difficult to make people believe an individual and pay them in a manner that justifies all the hard work. First-year was a struggle to manage work alone and also difficult to find clients and projects. However, with self-belief and support from family and colleagues, she was able to sail the boat. As an individual player, it was very critical and necessary for her to stay stable with her own plans and strategies of work. It is a constant battle between what is right and what the world wants you to believe is right.

She has worked and trained a lot of students and young business enthusiasts, particularly girls who are waiting to conquer the world ahead. “In today’s era, I feel, for a Woman Entrepreneur, the sky’s the limit.” she said.

Their ability to adapt to innovations and consistently deliver and transform solutions with practical application is what keeps them going. She has a few young students (girls) as her team interns and she plans to expand further.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupriyaagarwal

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press visit – https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/

Women’s Day has been celebrated for over 100 years to recognise the achievements of women, the progress made in terms of gender equality, and a reminder of what still needs to be done. This includes achieving equal pay for equal work, removing the glass ceiling and eliminating discrimination. These women have done some incredible work in their respective fields and continue to inspire millions of young women to follow their passion.

Dhara Mehta: Founder, The Opposable Thumb

Dhara recalls being fresh out of junior college and being clueless about her future. She was filled with questions about who she really was, what were her likes/dislikes, and what she brought to the world. Through an open counselling session at a college, she was told that she had a strong aptitude in Architecture and further was convinced by the counsellor’s personal story, and so she went ahead with it. She continued her quest for self-discovery along with her study in architecture.

She learnt to play the guitar and tried many other things when she finally landed in Shiamak’s dance class and the experience of Dance moved her deeply. During the dance classes known as ‘batches’, she found herself feeling way happier than she had ever felt before. The happiness  seemed very surreal to her and she never wanted to give that up. Something inside her started shifting. Owing to her newfound passion, she quickly graduated to advanced batches that began alarming her parents. They were worried that she was getting distracted from architecture and eventually stopped funding her dance training. Hence, she continued her studies in architecture, and worked a part-time job, and saved money so she could continue her training.

Even as years passed and she graduated from Architecture and got a stable job, she could still feel the pull towards dance. At that stage, it was easier to fund her own training but she felt tired and drained of energy at the end of the day to train. She realised that she could afford all the dance wear and all the training she wished to attend but wasn’t really able to grow as most of her energy used to be directed towards her job and her commute to the job. 

There was a point where she was working more than 14 hours a day just so she could continue her dance journey. It came to a point where she didn’t even have enough energy to eat food at the end of the day. That is when she knew, this wasn’t a sustainable solution in any regard and she couldn’t go on like this forever. The next steps meant making some strong decisions for herself which translated to her leaving a stable income source to have the energy for a career possibility of her passion. Her boss was super supportive of her decision and suggested that she go on a part-time payroll and figure out what she would really like to do with this passion.

This smoothened the transition process for her. She was extremely clear that she did not wish to become an entertainer or teacher within the profession as she did not identify with any of these professions and they didn’t seem reasons enough for her to make the switch. Her only realisation being that dance as an experience changed her– her mentality and experience of who she was. She felt that if and only if she could bring that experience to someone else her making the switch would have any value at all. So she put a year into exploring the ‘dance as an experience’ angle further which got her to connect and learn from some phenomenal international teachers that played a huge role in guiding her.

At this period she came to the realisation that being a freelancer was not easy. It is an extremely unstable terrain and if one isn’t mentally or emotionally stable they could easily spiral down a black hole. So she decided to take charge of her mental and emotional health before she took the big leap of leaving the job altogether.

Ready to take the plunge, she finally left the job and enrolled for a course in Dance/movement therapy offered by TISS, Mumbai while simultaneously exploring the co-relations of space and body in theatre. By the end of this one-year course, she had done so much theatre that she had managed to exhaust her entire savings that she had set aside before leaving her job. She now had a certification with no money with a lot of skill that she had developed in the 2 years of diving deep into the study. She looked out for trainers, institutes and other movement therapy  professionals who could take her under their wings. But at the time, this was rare and these professionals worked individually and could not really afford to have a team. By this time, she was only left with a 3-digit figure in her bank account. She didn’t even have money to set out of the house for anything per se.

Soon came an opportunity, where she managed to connect with the CEO of a corporate event company that offered to give her a booth at their upcoming conference which was only a week away. With only 7- days at hand, she had to build a brand, educational content, and marketing material. That is literally how ‘The Opposable Thumb’ was born. She was actively presenting herself at any opportunity and continuously stretching out of her comfort zone. She had worked hard enough on her articulation of the concept and ‘The Opposable Thumb’ had a digital presence by the. Opportunities lined up to some big projects that kept her busy for most of the year. She was then being called for work all over the country while being paid for her service.

She finally managed to bring back the account balance, she had left the job with. She was getting tremendous work opportunities and was able to get proof of concept and so on only that at one point it stopped. She doesn’t know when and how but she stopped getting work and there was a dry period with no work at all towards the end of the year which made her question things. Not getting a stable income was one of the biggest trade-offs she had to make while giving up a job to take upon a business. That did not stop her, she consulted with professionals and continuously improvised on various techniques to position her brand.

The year after, she worked hard on some of these realisations and only when she thought she was on the brink of cracking it, the pandemic struck. She took a back seat thinking she could never do what she does online and so she decided that she should not do it. After a few months, very reluctantly she began experiencing virtual experiences that opened up a world of opportunities for her. She could now connect with the world and have them join her. It opened her up to an unexplored side of her work. She worked through 2020, connecting with people, innovating her work and so on.

It’s 2021, and she is on a pathway to sustain the movement practice and eventually generate employment for many artists who could offer tremendous value to make the world a better place. Through the many financial losses, her only gain continues to be her seld growth which she wasn’t able to achieve through a stable income flow.

https://instagram.com/_theopposablethumb?igshid=1c7qqj0ys1rwa

Mridu Goel: Founder, Bansiwalla

Mridu Goel pursued her Chartered Accountancy and MBA from SPJIMR, after which she started her corporate journey with Cadbury India followed by Unilever India. But from early on in her career, she always had an inclination to run her own show, being a foodie at heart commencing a startup in the F&B industry was always in the back of her mind. After the initial fear and hurdles, she launched Bansiwala. With a vision to offer authentic Indian sweets and savouries to her customers. “The true pulse of a city can only be experienced by its local fair,” Mridu Says.Initially, the learning curve was steep, everyday was filled with new challenges. “But I always focused on my team, If you take care of your team, they will take care of your customers,” Mridu added. They were an offline focussed company with a presence in Modern Trade like Big Bazaar, Reliance, Star Bazaar. But when the COVID-19 crisis hit, her business came under jeopardy. Malls shut down, most of the employees traveled back to their home town and Logistics channels were disrupted.

But as they say, crisis brings opportunities – Learning, innovating, and rising from disruptions to put the worst behind.  “We explored the unexplored and brought the concept of Online sweets. Increased the product range from 8 SKUs to 50+ SKUs. My website was up in 20 days straight and in the first 4 months of operations we have reached more than 4000 customers and received a Facebook grant for Small Businesses!” she recalled.

Apart from being a passionate entrepreneur, Mridu is a mother to a 9-year-old who she calls- “my biggest cheerleader and critic!” In her downtime, they bond over the love for food and also talk about business! Her daughter has a discerning taste even at such a young age and she gives her feedback on branding, product pricing, and the brands marketing initiatives!

https://instagram.com/bansiwala.co.in?igshid=1wjv1s2f6zs94

Disha Selarka: Founder, Giftract

Disha Selarka is a graduate in Bachelors in Information Technology and hails from a business background. Disha Selarka has her own start-up, which customizes APP for its customers.She started the venture fresh out of college and got in the initial funds by taking up commercial projects and adding personal funds. Their first client was a friend who needed an APP for a birthday. The thrill of the experience helped them define how to plan their next orders as well. 

Their biggest challenge was product validation. The idea was unusual and unheard of and  was very difficult to explain in the beginning. But they got it right when people understood what they were offering. All it took was word of mouth to get the next orders rolling in. 

She says that being an entrepreneur is a thrilling and exciting process, especially cause she is a young woman. She recalls going to interviews initially and get reactions like-  ‘oh so you really own this business? You will be taking the tech round? You actually know how to code?’ from people. And she had no other choice but to affirm their questions by saying ‘Yes! I do’.

Selarka’s mantra is ‘to believe even when nobody else does. And to give it all you have and not give up.’ We live in a time when we believe that it is easier to replace things rather than to fix them. And she thinks that that’s exactly the difference between success and failure.

She says that at Giftract, there were a lot of mistakes in their approach, product, pricing, website, etc. There probably still are a million things that they need to change to grow even further. And there always will be. The key to where they are today, was that instead of giving it up, they chose to repair it as and when they needed to. She recalls changing their website more times than she can remember, re-branded the entire brand, re-created the products, fixed them and more importantly developed skills that she did not possess, till they got it right.

https://instagram.com/giftract?igshid=be9nkao5dgg5

To read more Startup Stories on The Business Press visit – https://www.thebusinesspress.in/category/startup-stories/

All of us missed the office gossips and the team outings in 2020. Along with our other big plans, 2020 plummeted our Travel Plans and has been a year no one wants to go back to! While everyone worked remotely, some lost touch whereas some grew closer. So, why not take this year a year to rekindle the old team bonds through some team activities? 

Here are 9 resorts you can take your employees to make up for last year and get them pumped up for the new year! These are just a few hours’ drive away from Mumbai and Pune, so they are perfect for your weekend corporate getaways. Read below to check which resort perfectly fits your Ideal Corporate Outing.

Lefarm- Luxury Farmstay

The luxurious property located in Kamshet, Lonavala, is alluring to the eyes at the first glance itself. Carefully positioned on the backwaters of Vadivale Dam, it represents an amalgamation of modern and traditional cultures. Every room gives a panoramic view of the landscape outside, which reminds you of the charming French Highlands.

The villa is built on 15 acres of the private estate with 6 grand bedrooms equipped with the best amenities. The spacious rooms greet you with fresh air and aromas from the farms that breeze through the rooms. They also have a private pristine pool for you to unwind. Additionally, if you are looking for a fresh farm to fork experience, you’ve landed at the right place! Farm trips, lake trip and seasonal Mango Orchards are the property’s major attractions. 

Surrounded by a verdant green cover, placid lake and undulating hilly terrains, coupled with the farm itself, this property is the perfect choice for your weekend getaway.

Highlights:

• Luxurious living and lounge space
• Gorgeous lake view
• Swimming pool
• Indoor & outdoor games
• Organic vegetable farm
• Outdoor barbecue & bonfire facility

Website: http://lefarm.in/

Shambhala

The Shambhala resort in Kamshet will offer you all the luxury with a glimpse of mother nature. The resort name is derived from Sanskrit and translates to a place of peace/tranquility/happiness. This resort has multiple facilities for the guests, such as comfortable accommodation for individuals and groups, plenty of open space to chill, healthy, homely food, pristine lakefront, and surrounding mountains view. The help desk of the resort is available 24×7 and for all kinds of assistance

Highlights:

• Lakeside
• Lake view facing
• Beautiful surrounding
• Modern amenities
• Barbecue Food
• Paragliding Activity

Website: https://shambhalabythelake.com/

Ratna Resort

This beautiful resort is located right in nature’s lap alongside the Indrayani river.

Owing to the variety of choices available in rooms, they have something for every tourist. The resort has an amazing multi-cuisine restaurant that offers delicious food.

Highlights:

• Gaming Center
• Multi-cuisine restaurant
• Swimming Pool
• River Side View

Website: https://www.ratnaaresort.com/

Treasure Island Resort

This resort is located amidst the beauty of Lonavala. This resort showcases outstanding hospitality, plush decor and impeccable services. The resort has a beautiful garden and a pool. They have a wide range of rooms designed for a comfortable experience and ample amenities to ensure that all your conveniences are met.

Highlights:

• Amazing Food
• Garden
• In-house restaurant
• Swimming pool

Website: https://www.treasureislandindia.com/m/

Greenwood

Nested in Lonavala, Greenwood countryside resort is a beautiful property featuring a swimming pool, a great restaurant and breathtaking views. This is one of the best choices when it comes to choosing an accommodation option for a family vacation.

Highlights:

• Swimming pool
• Restaurants
• Mountain view in front

Sereniity

If you are searching for a peaceful location to spend your Kerala holiday, your search ends at the Sereniity Resort. It is at a prime location in Tungarli, Lonavala having a serene and picturesque location close to The Lagoona.

Lots of indoor games and outdoor activities are present.

Highlights:

• Beautiful place to stay
• Breathtaking garden
• Frequent sightseeing of birds and animals

Website: https://www.sereniityresort.com/

Honeybee Resort

If you’re searching for a blend of nature, heritage, culture and foods, you arrived at the perfect place.

The ambiance of the resort and beautiful surroundings make for an ideal location for a get together or any event.

Immerse yourself in the peace and beauty of nature at its most brilliant.

Highlights:

• Gym for all
• Multi-cuisine restaurant
• Swimming pool
• Located at a peaceful location

Website: http://honeybeeresort.in/

Emerald

This resort is set in the heart of the Mavals, just 20min peaceful drive on the Old Pune Mumbai Highway. It is perfectly located in between Lonavala and Pune; away from the hustle bustle of the city, yet extremely accessible with excellent connectivity. This resort has multiple facilities like Laundry service, Free Parking, and Complimentary Breakfast.

Highlights:

• Furnished AC rooms.
• Free Wi-fi
• Multi-cuisine restaurant

Website: https://www.theemeraldresort.in/

Hill Forest Resort

This resort is located near Tungarli Dam and 500m, away from the main market. It has all the basic amenities such as Swimming Pool, indoor games, Wi-Fi, Restaurant. It has a 24hr check in facility. The rooms are quite spacious and beautifully designed.

Highlights:

• All modern amenities
• Close to market
• Free Wi-fi

Website: https://dmhospitalityservices.com/