Vineeta Singh – Founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics and a Shark at Shark Tank India , shared her Inspiring life story with humans of Bombay.
Vineta Singh is the CEO and Founder of Sugar Cosmetics, as well as a judge on Shark Tank India, a reality show. Vineeta Singh is married to Kaushik Mukherjee. She has two children (both sons), whose names are Vikrant and Kaushik.
Here’s the Inspiring story of Vineta Singh, one of the top 100 mindful women in the world.
“I was 17 when a conversation with my professor set the course for the rest of my life. While speaking about my career, he said, ‘You should be an entrepreneur!’ That was it; that’s what I was set on becoming.
So, I studied hard, got into IIT & then did my MBA. There, I learnt, ‘You can be an entrepreneur only by actually being one!’ So even though I got a great job offer, I declined it. Several people, including my parents, asked, ‘What are you proving by not taking up the job?’ But I didn’t let it get to me.
At 23, I moved to Bombay. I lived in a tiny house which flooded easily. I’d hardly go out because I was on a budget. But I pushed on. I even started a venture, but it didn’t work as planned. For the first time, I doubted myself–had I taken the job, I wouldn’t be struggling.
At that point, I began running. It helped me clear my head & eventually, I started running marathons. Each finish line brought me a sense of clarity.
After a year, I gave entrepreneurship another shot with Fab Bag–a beauty subscription company. But after research, I realised the need for quality cosmetics in India–that’s how SUGAR was born!
I invested my own money & even got funded! But being a woman in a ‘man’s world’ was tough–once, an investor refused to meet me. He wanted to talk business with a ‘man’. But I let my work do the talking; I continued to run & even completed the Ironman Triathlon! That win kept me going, especially when the company ran out of funds.
I’d also just become a mom. So at times I’d be pumping breast milk, working out, handling office calls, & hoping to not wake my son up. I’d have sleepless nights, but I loved what I was doing. After a year, it paid off–we were recognised as the best lipstick brand!
It’s been 5 years since; we’re now a team of over 1500–75% of which are women!
And I’m doing everything I love. I run my company, I’ve run marathons when I was 6 months pregnant & I run circles around my kids.
Still, I’m often asked, ‘How will you raise 2 kids & run a company?’ Why is it so tough to believe a woman can play more than 1 role? I walk into the office with files in one hand & my baby in another. The juggle is real, but it’s also totally worth it.”
– Vineta Singh
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