In 2012, Falguni Nayar was 50 years old, sitting at the peak of her career. She’d spent 20 years as Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, one of India’s most prestigious investment banking roles. She had wealth, respect, and stability. Most people at 50 are thinking about retirement. Falguni was thinking about starting over.
Everyone thought she was crazy. “Why leave a lucrative career when you’ve already succeeded?” Her colleagues were baffled. Her family worried. Her son asked, “Do you think this looks like a midlife crisis?” She responded, “Definitely.”
But Falguni had seen something others missed. India’s beauty industry was fragmented and broken. Women had no reliable place to discover and purchase authentic beauty products. Brick-and-mortar stores offered limited selections. Online options were non-existent. International brands were inaccessible to most Indians. Men’s grooming wasn’t even a category.
The e-commerce infrastructure in 2012 India was primitive. Logistics were unreliable. Payment gateways were clunky. Consumer trust in online shopping was low. Selling beauty products online—where customers couldn’t touch, test, or try before buying—seemed impossible.
Falguni decided to bet $2 million of her own money on an idea: Nykaa, a multi-brand beauty and wellness e-commerce platform. The name came from the Sanskrit word for ‘one in the spotlight.’ She wanted to put every woman in the spotlight through beauty, confidence, and self-expression.
The challenge was brutal. She had no background in beauty or retail. She was competing against established players and international giants. She was building in a category that didn’t really exist yet in India. And she was doing it at an age when most entrepreneurs are considered too old to start.
The Turning Point
Nykaa launched in 2012 as an online-only platform offering curated beauty products from multiple brands. The early days were slow. Building trust took time. Logistics were nightmares. But Falguni’s investment banking discipline kept the company focused and financially sound.
The breakthrough came from her Sephora-like model adapted for India: offer multiple brands under one umbrella, provide extensive product information and reviews, educate customers through content, and guarantee authentic products. She didn’t just sell beauty—she taught beauty through blogs, tutorials, and forums.
Then Falguni made a counterintuitive move: she opened physical stores. While most e-commerce companies stayed digital, Nykaa launched retail locations in major cities. This omnichannel approach solved a critical problem—customers could test products in stores, then buy conveniently online. Or vice versa. Each channel reinforced the other.
By 2017, Nykaa had exceeded ₹260 crore in annual revenue and was profitable—an almost unheard-of achievement for an e-commerce startup. While competitors burned cash to acquire customers, Nykaa built sustainable economics from day one.
The company expanded aggressively but carefully. Nykaa Fashion launched, bringing the same curated multi-brand approach to fashion. Nykaa Man created India’s first multi-brand men’s grooming platform. The company grew to 4,000 brands and 80+ retail stores.
On November 10, 2021, Nykaa went public at a $13 billion valuation. The shares surged 89% on the first day. Falguni Nayar, who owned about half the company, became India’s wealthiest self-made woman billionaire overnight, worth $6.5 billion. She was 58 years old.
The Strategy
Falguni’s success came from applying investment banking discipline to beauty retail.
Profitability Over Growth
Unlike most startups that burned cash chasing growth, Nykaa was profitable by 2017. Falguni’s finance background taught her that sustainable economics beat hype. She grew deliberately, never sacrificing unit economics for vanity metrics.
Education-Driven Commerce
Nykaa didn’t just sell products—it educated customers through beauty tutorials, product guides, and expert content. This content-driven approach built trust and positioned Nykaa as a beauty authority, not just a retailer.
Omnichannel Before It Was Trendy
Physical stores gave customers tactile experiences while online provided convenience. This hybrid model captured both impulse purchases and considered buying, creating a seamless experience across channels.
Private Label Expansion
Nykaa developed its own beauty brands, creating higher-margin products while maintaining the multi-brand marketplace. This vertical integration gave Nykaa control over quality and profitability.
Women-Led Leadership
Falguni built Nykaa with a majority-female leadership team, making it India’s first woman-led unicorn. Her daughter Adwaita runs Nykaa Fashion while her son Anchit heads retail and e-commerce. Family involvement ensured long-term thinking over short-term gains.
The Results
Today, Nykaa operates 80+ physical stores and serves 27,000 pin codes across India. Over 60% of business comes from Tier II cities and beyond, proving that beauty demand exists everywhere, not just in metros.
Nykaa’s market cap remains in the billions, and Falguni’s net worth stands at approximately $3.64 billion as of 2024. She’s ranked among India’s 100 richest people—the only self-made woman in that club alongside Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
But numbers don’t capture the real impact. Nykaa transformed how Indians shop for beauty. It made authentic international brands accessible to millions. It created a category that barely existed and educated an entire generation about skincare, makeup, and self-care. It proved that profitable, sustainable e-commerce businesses could be built in India.
Most importantly, Falguni shattered the myth that entrepreneurship has an age limit. She started at 50 and became a billionaire at 58. Her message to women: “You are the center of your own life. I see women trying to meet the requirements of their families and not chase their own dreams. You are the most important person in your life. It’s important to dream.”
