“Don’t be afraid to take risks along the way. You are blessed to be entering a world that is now increasingly risk-friendly. Spend the early years of your career taking the right risks and making some bold bets on yourself. Test what you like and what you don’t. “Take on roles that put you outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself,” said the founder and CEO of Nykaa, Falguni Nayar, while sharing about her journey, and her words have been stuck in our heads since then.
A former investment banker turned entrepreneur, Falguni Nayar, has majorly impacted the robust industry of selling beauty products online. Nykaa, her startup, which is a retailer of beauty products established in 2012, is lucrative and has a solid omnichannel presence.
Falguni Nayar founded Nykaa with a $2 million net worth and is now one of only two self-made female billionaires in India, the other being Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. She was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021, and on June 9, 2022, she will be representing India at the ‘EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ (WEOY) in Monaco.
Falguni Nayar: The Nykaa Journey
Falguni Nayar joined the Kotak Mahindra Group in 1993 and worked there for 19 years. She became the managing director in 2005 and left the company in 2012. In 2012, Falguni Nayar, who was only a few months away from turning 50, came up with the concept of Nykaa, an e-commerce beauty store for women and men in India.
Back then, Indians purchased beauty products from small neighborhood stores. She noted the growth of the e-commerce market in India and decided to focus on the beauty industry, which likely stems from her love for makeup as well as the potential marketplace for such a platform. With the introduction of her start-up, cosmetics and skincare products were just a tap away, and the variety of choices expanded dramatically due to the launch of global brands.
Nykaa, which means “one in the spotlight,” sells over 4,000 brands online, as well as in over 100 offline stores across India, bridging the gap and revolutionizing women’s shopping.
The three most popular store formats of the company are Nykaa Luxe, Nyka On Trend, and Nykaa beauty Kiosks. Luxe features Indian and international beauty brands such as Huda Beauty, MAC, Dior, and Givenchy, as well as Nykaa Beauty, an in-house beauty product line, and On Trend, a line of popular market products. Nykaa is India’s only retailer selling international brands such as e.l.f, Charlotte Tilbury, Tonymoly, Becca, Sigma, Limecrime, Dermalogica, and Murad.
Nykaa Man, India’s first multi-brand eCommerce store for men’s grooming, was launched in October 2020, and the company also continued to expand into fashion by introducing Nykaa Design Studio, which was later named Nykaa Fashion. Nykaa has many in-house beauty and fashion brands. Some of them include –
- Nykaa’s in-house brands: Nykaa Naturals, Nykaa Cosmetics, Kay Beauty
- Nykaa Fashion: Nykd by Nykaa, 20 Dresses, RSVP, Mondano, Likha, Pipa Bella
In March 2016, the young but highly successful online beauty company of Falguni Nayar, Nykaa, launched private-label products in the bath and body care category, with a target audience of 22–35 years old. Nykaa operates on an inventory-based model and has warehouses in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore, as well as all leading brands such as Kaya Skin Clinic, Lakmé, L’Oréal Paris, etc. The company also introduced Nykaa PRO, a premium membership program that gives users exclusive direct exposure to professional beauty products and offers via the Nykaa App.
Financials: Fundraising and IPO
Nykaa has raised funds through various funding rounds since 2012. It raised 100 crores from Steadview Capital in March 2020, making it a unicorn startup valued at 85 billion. In May 2020, Steadview invested another 67 crores in May 2020. Through secondary funding, two Bollywood actresses, Katrina Kaif, invested 2.04 crore in 2018, and Alia Bhatt invested 4.95 crore in July 2020. Fidelity Investments, a global asset management firm, invested in the company in November 2020 through a secondary sale of shares from an existing equity investor.
Nykaa’s initial public offering (IPO) took place in October 2021. The IPO was 81.78 times oversubscribed, raising 5,352 crores at a valuation of $7.4B. Nykaa went public on the NSE and BSE on November 10, 2021, and its price increased by 89.2% on the first day, valuing the company at nearly $13B making Nayar India’s richest self-made female entrepreneur in the process, with her net worth rising to the tune of $5B, entering the list of top 20 richest people in India, with a 53.5% stake.
The Start-up Queen: Falguni Nayar
Falguni Nayar made a lot of sense when she said, “And remember, no matter what anyone says, it is never too late to start all over again,” as her Nykaa journey began at an age when no one dares to start something new thinking it’s too late, but Nykaa made it to TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2022 in March, and she made it to the wealthiest new entrant in the Hurun Global Rich List 2022, proving every statement of hers true.
Nykaa, derived from Nayika, which means “the actress of one’s life” is unquestionably the ideal name to both beautify and inspire women. Kudos to the brand and to the woman who never stops working and consistently exceeds our expectations. Falguni Nayar has established herself as a brand in the market. The brand’s association with its founder is deeply imprinted everywhere, owing to her devotion to her dream.
Written by: Arpita Chatterjee
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