Meet woman who quit her job to start her own business at 50, now owns India's first women-led unicorn company worth Rs 58,100 crores; she is...

This woman defied conventional norms by launching her entrepreneurial venture at 50, the age at which often women plans retirement. After nearly two decades in banking job with hefty salary, she quit job to start her entrepreneurial journey with a beauty and wellness brand. Now her company is the leading Indian retail company headquartered in Mumbai. Founded in 2012, the company sells beauty, wellness and fashion products through its website, mobile app and nearly 200 physical stores. In 8 years, the company became the first Indian unicorn startup headed by a woman. Today, she's a trailblazer, known as the "Queen of Indian Startups” with a remarkable net worth of $3.6 billion (approximately Rs 30627 crore ), as according to Forbes as of 2025. She is ranked 89th among the wealthiest woman CEOs in India (as of 2024) and 1265th globally, per Forbes. She is none other than Falguni Nayar, founder of Nykaa.

Falguni Nayar's entrepreneurial journey after she quit her lucrative job at 50 to launch Nykaa, which quickly gained prominence in the fashion and beauty space. She holds key positions in her company, FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd., serving as Executive Chairperson, Managing Director, and CEO. Born on February 19, 1963, in Mumbai, she built her career from scratch beginning as a management consultant with AF Ferguson and later joined Kotak Mahindra Capital, where she spent 20 years, rising to become the Managing Director by 2005. She held this position until 2012, when the entrepreneurial spark ignited with Nykaa. She has pursued MBA from the elite Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. She completed her B.Com at Mumbai University.

In 2014, Sequoia Capital India invested $1 million in Nykaa. The company went public in 2021, the IPO listing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) took place on November 10, 2021. It garnered significant attention making the market cap of Nykaa at Rs 58,100 Cr as of 22 May '25, according to Grow. Nayar has twins, a daughter and a son, who are actively involved in the business, holding seats on Nykaa's board.