Falguni Nayar Success Story | Founder & CEO of Nykaa

Introduction    

‘The First Woman Unicorn of India’ Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO of Nykaa is a well-known figure in India and the World because of her smart work in the form of one of the famous beauty and wellness e-commerce platforms Nykaa. Nykaa CEO Falguni Nayar's journey started during her student years when she met Sanjay Nayar, then how friendship and love spread in their air is history, and then the couple married in 1987 and they are blessed with two bi-products Adwaita Nayar and Anchit Nayar. At Nykaa Fashion, Falguni Nayar daughter Adwaita serves as CEO, while Falguni Nayar Son Archit is in charge of the retail and e-commerce divisions. Falguni Nayar husband Sanjay Nayar is currently the CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts India.

In this blog, we are discussing the Falguni Nayar Success Story and also we will see how a woman at 50 despite being in a comfortable position with a lucrative salary laid the foundation for the comfort and wellness of millions of women in India.

Early Life and Education

On February 19, 1963, Falguni Nayar was born in Bombay and comes from a well-known Gujarati family with a strong entrepreneurial background.

Nayar started her academic career at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She built on this foundation by enhancing her business skills by pursuing her Master's degree at the esteemed Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. She worked as a Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra for 18 years. 

 

Entrepreneurial Journey of Falguni Nayar

The origin story of Nykaa is fascinating since it gives meaning to the saying "Better late than never!" At 46, Falguni wanted to launch her own business in 2009. In 2011, she had a few ideas, one of which was to create a multi-brand e-commerce site. She thus left her position in 2012 to start her own company.

This leads us to conclude that Falguni Nayar's career did not have an easy ride. She had to take a chance by quitting her comfortable and well-paying position after 18 years as a Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Group Company Limited.

The Nykaa CEO, who enjoys beauty items and cosmetics, thought that India lacked holistic beauty retail establishments. In light of this, she imagined creating her own online store where a variety of cosmetics would be offered.

She formally established the retail establishment in 2012 under the name Nykaa. As it happens, the journey wasn't as easy as it seemed. Nykaa was neither wealthy nor well-liked when she started her own business. Three employees from her father's company were employed by her; her daughter eventually joined her firm. Her father gave her a tiny office to start, and she took care of everything there with three people.

 

Challenges Faced By Falguni Nayar

After Covid-19 struck in April 2020, the company was looking at a loss of Rs.42.5 crore as compared to a loss of about Rs.26 crore for the entire year. In just one month, she experienced a 42.5 crore deficit. But rather than panicking and hiring less staff, she made the decision to lower its marketing expenses. She cut in half the company’s marketing expenses, which account for 5.6% of its total income. This kept the company alive and helped make up for the year's losses.

Nykaa’s Performance

• The quarter's revenue from operations increased 28% year over year to Rs.16,680 million. The quarter's gross profit increased 23% year over year to Rs.7,102 million. The gross margin was 42.6%. FY 24 saw an 80% YoY increase in profit before taxes to Rs.690 million.

• By 2027, Nykaa is anticipated to generate over Rs.300 crores. It is expanding at a CAGR of 6.32%.

 

Personal and Professional Achievements

• Fortune India’s Most Powerful Women in Business

• Economic Times Most Powerful Women in Business

• Forbes India’s Most Powerful Women

• Entrepreneur of the Year

• India’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.

 

Falguni Nayar Net Worth

As of 2024 it is estimated to be 32200 crore and Falguni Nayar’s net worth in billion is Rs.6.5 Bn $.

So this was the Nykaa founder story. Hope you liked this blog on Falguni Nayar Success Story.

 

Did You Know?

Falguni Nayar is India's first self made billionaire woman.

 

Conclusion

Falguni Nayar is the embodiment of tenacity and resolve in India's current business model, where men own the majority of unicorns. The success story of Falguni Nayar opens the door for more motivational tales from young female business owners. The 50-year-old Nykaa founder's experience building a company from scratch demonstrates her market understanding and acumen. It also inspires women and individuals globally to make a fresh start.

The tale of Falguni Nayar embodies bravery in every language. It implies that you can pursue your goals at any age. Nykaa is expanding on a greater scale in both physical and online markets, and following its growth initiatives only partially reveals the extent of its future growth.