Fact:  Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw started her uber-successful bio-pharmaceutical company “Biocon” in a garage with Rs.10,000 as the initial capital, failing to find any financial institution for investment.

Fact: Today, ‘Biocon’ is worth billions of dollars.

Can you even begin to imagine how many other successful entrepreneurial dreams must be facing doom and dying every day due to a lack of adequate seed money? It’s time for a reality check, fellas. A number of women fail to become the alpha leaders of tomorrow because of a dearth of investors.

Maybe you have a terrific, highly profitable idea but the person to whom you’re pitching the idea is unable to see your vision. Hence, the two things which you require are: A kick-ass idea and a right investor who would help you reach the stars.

So, in order to make your entrepreneurial dream come true, Jaipur Women Blog collaborated with Jewel Saga’s Sonal Sawansukha (You might remember her from our Aid-to-maid campaign) and duly launched a campaign called “Angel Investors”. Just to add a little fun to the campaign, Sonal Sawansukha specially designed beautiful “Halos” for our “Angels”!

The main motive behind this social campaign is to introduce affluent businessmen of Jaipur (Read: Possible Investors) to our budding entrepreneurs searching for either finance or knowledge. These businessmen have a keen eye for lucrative business proposals along with a sharp business sense, and JWB seeks to find out what exactly are they looking for?

Our first angel is Mr. Vijay Chordia, Owner of Valentine Jewellery Pvt. Ltd., Jaipur and Honorary Secretary of IIGJ, Jaipur. His firm deals in gold & silver jewelry, in addition to gemstones. 

 

His immense entrepreneurial talent helped in the vast and enormous expansion of the ancestral enterprise.

“When I started handling this company, there were no women at all in the field of jewelry. Due to a lack of infrastructure too, the field of jewelry had a limited scope. But, times have changed drastically. The young generation keeps on evolving, and has started coming up with such brilliant new ideas. I have always encouraged women to work, since I feel that they possess better organization skills. My wife handles our retail outlet, while my daughter has a keen interest in graphic designing. I would be happily willing to invest in an interesting and innovative business proposal!

Yes, women entrepreneurship could prove to be tricky since a woman’s life keeps on changing due to marriage, child birth, and things alike. In this case, it is imperative that women entrepreneurs create a set-up/system which enables them to take leave from work, without resulting in a chaos. Always remember: Your work should never suffer. As far as emerging women entrepreneurs are concerned, I advise you to maintain balance between home and work, and most importantly, never be frightened to take risks. You have more power than you can imagine!”

 

Our second angel is Mr. Ajay Agarwal, Owner of the famous Lakshmi Misthan Bhandar (LMB) restaurant & hotel. For decades, Jaipur has been considered synonymous with the  delicious sweets and snacks of LMB. LMB has been utterly successful in establishing its own distinct identity in the Hospitality & Food sector of Jaipur.

 

 

Mr. Ajay Agarwal was never forced to join the family business. Rather it was his passion for work, and the greed to meet new people every day which turned him into an entrepreneur.

 

“In today’s times, technology has proved to be a boon for entrepreneurs. The world rests at your feet at the click of a mere button! This has helped women become more powerful, even if they’re forced to sit at home.

In my opinion, women have the capacity to become better entrepreneurs than men. They are not easily distracted, in addition to being more focused. They have a greater amount of willpower along with a better grasping power.

Entrepreneurs need to understand that that there truly is no shortcut for success, if you wish to operate a long-term business. As an entrepreneur, it is highly imperative that you hold on to your values of honesty, punctuality, transparency, etc. and that you constantly pursue what you aim to achieve, without letting frustration ruin you. A good entrepreneur encompasses a lot of patience and is not ashamed to ask for help. Also, the presence of a solid support staff holds utmost importance, since your work should never suffer from a break. Remember: it is more difficult to restart a business than starting it in the first place.

When it comes to investing, there are three things that I look for: the dedication of the entrepreneur, her zeal towards work, and her priorities. Lastly, I would advise all budding entrepreneurs to tackle their field of work as an employee first, and only after knowing the in-and-outs of the same should you jump into it whole-heartedly.”

 

Our third angel is Mr. Mahavir Sharma, from Rajasthan Angel Investors Network (RAIN). We indulged in an exclusive interview with him, you can read it here!

 

If you look around in Jaipur, it’s very rare to find women who have startup ideas apart from boutiques, while there’s nothing wrong with it, investors need intelligent, scalable models. On the other hand, metropolitans like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have promising, emerging female lead startups, which have a lot to do with technology.

When it comes to investing, It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman. If they have the right kind of knowledge and the right kind of idea that has a bright future, we’re always up for it. Women who have thought out of the box in any area have always succeeded.

 

Our fourth angel is Mr. Sachin Sogani, Owner of Finesse Advisory Services. His firm creates algorithms in order to provide highly professional & statistical trading services. Mr. Sogani has Masters in Marketing & Communication from SIBM, but emerging market trends turned his boat around and he set sail into the world of numbers and statistics.

 

 

After quitting his job as Senior Relationship Manager at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., he started his own firm from scratch and became successful in building a name for himself in the world of equity.

“A good entrepreneur has to have an open and undying attitude towards his work. He/She needs to be persistent and open-minded, while being good at maintaining and handling interpersonal relationships.

An idea is an idea. It does not see gender. What matters to me is the attitude of the person that is coming to me for help. The one thing that all entrepreneurs should keep in mind is that; times change, the pace at which things are done changes, and so do the markets. An idea which might seem profitable now, might not have a marker for itself in the near future. Therefore, one should constantly keep track of changes, and he/she must be willing to mould itself as per the requirements. Good ideas can run out too!

Also, setting up and handling a business requires a ton of time and commitment on the part of the entrepreneur. So, yes, it’s not easy being an entrepreneur unless you possess that die-hard attitude.”

 

So ladies, if you have a lucrative business idea, and you’re looking for some capital, knowledge or guidance, these angels are ready to help you out!

Good luck, future entrepreneurs!