Falguni Nayar, the founder of Nykaa, is presently India’s richest self-made female billionaire
Falguni Nayar started Nykaa, India's first unicorn startup led by a woman, in 2012. Nykaa sells beauty and personal care goods through its mobile app and website.
In an ongoing initial public offering (IPO) boom, Nykaa creator Falguni Nayar became India’s eighth woman billionaire and wealthiest self-made billionaire on Wednesday. The e-commerce behemoth had a sensational debut on Dalal Street, with its parent company FSN floating on the Mumbai stock exchange. Nykaa shares were listed at 2,018 with an 80 percent premium shortly after the markets opened on Wednesday.
According to Bloomberg, the beauty and fashion retailer’s market capitalization reached 1 trillion rupees ($13.5 billion) in the first five minutes of trading. Nykaa’s market cap had already surpassed industry titans Britannia, Godrej, and IndiGo within an hour and a half.
Falguni Nayar started Nykaa, India’s first unicorn startup led by a woman, in 2012. Nykaa sells beauty and personal care goods through its mobile app and website. After eight years, the 58-year-old Nayar has become the wealthiest self-made billionaire in India, joining only six other Indian women billionaires.
“I believe the Nykaa journey – an Indian-born, Indian-owned, and Indian-managed dream-come-true – may inspire each of you,” Nayar said during the listing ceremony on Wednesday.
Nykaa (the Sanskrit word for actress) immediately became popular among young tech-savvy Indians, mostly women, who preferred the large range of brands to what was available in their local stores. Sanaeya, a 30-year-old dedicated customer, told the AFP news agency, “The nicest part about Nykaa is that it allows me access to so many foreign brands that had never been available in India before.”
Nykaa’s brand appeal increased in tandem with its popularity, with prominent Bollywood actors like Katrina Kaif and other social media influencers and celebrities assisting the e-commerce site in breaking new ground in the skincare and makeup carts of tech-savvy Indian women. Since 2015, the company has also been producing its own in-house brand of products and has lately begun selling clothing and household items. With 80 storefronts in 40 Indian cities, it is expanding its high street presence.
