Falguni Nayar Net Worth: Founder of Nykaa

Falguni Nayar, a self-made billionaire in India, is the founder and CEO of the innovative beauty and fashion retail company Nykaa. Just so you know, she sure is one of the few women in this country who have made it to the top ranking of the business scene. Falguni, born on February 19, 1963, in Mumbai, left a successful banking career to create Nykaa, which has become a beauty giant now, and we all know how big of a company or brand it is. Now, she has a net worth of more than $3.6 billion, which makes her among the wealthiest women or businesspeople in India. Let’s have a closer look at her life story, and how things went for her throughout, shall we?

Early Life and Education

Falguni Nayar, who was raised in a Gujarati household in Mumbai, spent most of her childhood surrounded by entrepreneurs and business people in general. And just so you know, her entrepreneurial spirit was ignited by her dad’s small bearings business. Later she completed her commerce degree at Sydenham College and obtained her postgraduate finance degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, where she also met her husband, Sanjay Nayar, you know? Right now, they have two kids, Adwaita and Anchit, who now have important positions at Nykaa.

Career at Kotak Mahindra

Initially, though, Falguni was in the financial field at Kotak Mahindra Bank, one of the main players in this sector in India, for 19 years. Right there, in the role of the Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, she helped in getting great exposure related to investment banking, mergers, and acquisitions. No matter how successful she was, she was not all that happy about it, thus she started looking for something personal for her to do. This was the start for her, when she left Kotak Mahindra Bank and started Nayka in year 2012, and we all know how that turned out for her, don’t we?

Founding Nykaa

When she turned 50, Falguni Nayar made kinda a bold choice by quitting her high-ranking and high-paying job to start Nykaa. Back in those days, she observed a significant opportunity in the Indian beauty retail market regarding the desire of the customers to access a wide array of beauty products hassle-free, you know? And just like that, she brought Nykaa into being in the year 2012, investing her own money and starting off with a handful of employees. Even though it was a difficult start, Falguni upheld the principle of making Nykaa the household name in beauty products in India, and that’s precisely what she did. And just so you know, the name “Nykaa” is derived from the Sanskrit word “Nayaka” which signifies a person of prominence in society, which exactly satisfies the mission of the brand of helping people feel confident and beautiful.

Nykaa’s Growth and Success

Just so you know though, it took Nykaa a while to get on the growth track. The brand recognition process took its own sweet time, but in 2015, it launched the beauty products of its own label, which suddenly became the talk of the town, you know? From there onward, the company increased in size substantially. Today, Nykaa has a whopping range of over 200,000 products under its wing catering to millions through its online platforms and over 100 physical stores. The IPO the company had in 2021 put it out in public, which was a huge success that raised its valuation to $13 billion.

All in all, starting a business at 50 was not an easy thing at all for Falguni, but it paid off really well. The brand Nykaa is built upon a sturdy yet easy concept, facilitated through an encompassing, yet simple mobile platform of high-quality, beauty products. Also, Falguni ensures that Nykaa’s products are authentic with superior quality and customer trust as is reflected in Nykaa’s growth.