Women of HUL: From Leena Nair to Prabha Narasimhan, Hindustan Unilever has created iconic female leaders

Dark side of dark stores: Q-comm brands like Blinkit, Zepto are quickly losing consumer trust

CMOs command premium pay in tepid job market. Find out how much CMOs earn

D2C brands take direct hit, influencer agencies ‘not fully aware’ of self-declaration certificate mechanism

Fashion influencer Nancy Tyagi: 'Influencer success is a blend of hustle and heart'

Time to 'Share The Spotlight': Storyboard18's one-of-a-kind initiative to bring together women sparking change

Nobody’s Perfect Retro Porsche Ad

In Conversation With Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard

Shahid Kapoor And Varun Ganjoo Speaks On PokerBaazi's Campaign

In conversation with IHCL’s Puneet Chhatwal & GroupM’s Kate Scott-Dawkins

Why are brands including e-sports in their sports marketing itinerary?

Storyboard18 x The English Nut: How to pronounce these 10 brand names

Experts' Take On Reinvention Of Ad Campaigns Through Technology

Experts Speak On Key Emerging Trends In Cannes Lions Entries

Leaders of the future have to be outstanding human beings: Nestle MD

In conversation with VMLY&R’s Hari Ramanathan

Sujatha Kumar, head of marketing at Visa has been working in the field of marketing for over 28 years. “When I started there were no women,” she said at Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event. 

Kumar shared that eventually when she became part of the leadership team at an organisation, she was part of a group of 14 leaders out of which 13 were women. 

“From a very young age I decided to try and get more women in the work world and try and keep more women in the work world. There are three M’s for why women stop working. Marriage, mobility and maternity,” she said. 

Kumar added, “In an MNC like Visa, we today have 40 percent women in the workforce. That’s almost half the size.”

At the event, Kumar shared the spotlight with Nidhi Chawla, CEO and co-founder of Silver Talkies, a social impact organisation focused on enriching and empowering the lives of older adults.

Chawla shared that one of the challenges in her career came from her home. Her father was fond of sketching and after retirement, Chawla’s gift to him was a bunch of art supplies so that he could enjoy doing what he loved. However, in a few weeks he got bored of sketching and painting. Chawla realised that her father had no intrinsic interest to keep him going. “He had gotten used to the lifestyle of running errands, watching TV, going for a walk. Secondly, he didn’t have any outside motivation from his social circle either that would keep him inspired. So, when I went looking for solutions for him, there was nothing happening for seniors,” she said. 

Chawla also made the observation that more often than not, when people ask their parents about their health, they are referring to their physical health and not their emotional and social health. Changing that mindset in people is one of the challenges that Chawla shared she is facing. 

Thirdly, she shared that whenever she mentioned that she worked towards doing something for seniors, people would always think that she was running an NGO. Silver Talkies is not an NGO. “There is huge potential to marry social impact with a profitable and sustainable organisation because that’s the only way to do it,” Chawla said.  




'When I started out, there were no women in marketing': Visa's Sujatha Kumar

Ritu Mittal, Head of Marketing and Digital at Bayer Consumer Health recently mentored over a 1000 women leaders program, where she engaged with a large cohort of mid-career professionals. 

At Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event, Mittal shared an observation from the mentorship program. One of the initial challenges that a lot of women in mid-career levels face if belief in themselves. 

She said, “This was an area where I could offer my opinion, my personal story. For others to believe in you, it is important to believe that you can do it.” 

A second observation that she noticed is rather common. A lot of women feel confused and wonder how they’ll juggle their personal and professional lives once they have a child. 

“As a result of this, a lot of women managers and leaders take a step back long before they actually need to. They start taking decisions to not travel here, not take up that project. That is what needs to change. It is very possible to have a career and a fulfilling life at home,” Mittal said. 

Mittal shared a piece of advice that she got when she had just become a mother and joined back at work. She said that she too was in doubt if she should continue, wondering how she would manage. 

“Focus on quality over quantity. Focus on what you are doing at that point of time. When you are at home with your child, focus on that. When you are in the office, just focus on work,” she said.  

Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event was a resounding success with women from all walks of life shared their diverse experiences and achievements with one another, illuminating the power of sharing experiences.

Share The Spotlight calls on us all to come out and share words of praise and encouragement for each other, appreciating and acknowledging the contributions of so many people who make businesses, brands and workplaces better. Learn and understand how to face challenges and seize opportunities while bringing along others on the path to progress.

'For others to believe in you, it is important to believe that you can do it': Bayer Consumer Health's Ritu Mittal

At Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event, Naiyya Saggi, group co-founder of The Good Glamm Group shared her spotlight with three other women. 

Saggi shared that in each of the women, she has seen a lot of grit. “A lot of times when I’m down in the dumps and looking for inspiration, I go back to their stories or to a conversation with some of them and that really inspires me,” she said. 

She added “Its not just the grit and resilience that they demonstrate. It’s the ability to switch careers. All of us have gone through similar pathways where we didn’t set out to be entrepreneurs, it just happened. We’ve gone through very tough journeys to reach where we have. It goes to show that there’s no right answer.”  

The first woman Saggi nominated was Neelu Khatri, who is the co-founder and SVP - operations of Akasa Air. 

Interestingly, Khatri’s first ever flight was in a MiG as an Air Force pilot. 

Khatri shared how similar to Saggi’s journey, earlier on, male cadets and other personnel in the Indian Air Force would not salute her despite her uniform thinking she’s a lady and they weren’t supposed to. Soldiers then, were typically thought to be big, tall, bulky men. A woman soldier was close to unheard of. 

When she left the force as Wing Commander fifteen years later, she joined KPMG for five years. She went on to become president for Honeywell Aerospace India, and finally joined Akasa Air, when the opportunity was presented to her by Vinay Dube, CEO of Akasa Air, suggesting that they wanted to create an airline and wanted her help. 

The second woman Saggi shared the spotlight with was Jyoti Bharadwaj, the  founder of TeaFit, an Indian beverage brand.  

“If I know the things I know today about running a business, I would not do a business,” Bharadwaj said. 

“I am an absolutely accidental entrepreneur,” she shared. Bharadwaj has had a great career overall. A degree from the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, a good run with a couple of start-ups. However, she shared that she was trying to figure a good work-life balance with two kids to take care of simultaneously. 

There were two reasons why Bharadwaj decided to venture out and build her own business. One, she wanted to give time to her kids, that was otherwise difficult. Secondly, she said that she was always concerned about the consumption story being built in India. 

“You go to any Indian beverage isle and you’d see a cola, an energy drink and a fruit based beverage. The only underlying commonality is that they were all loaded with sugars, sweeteners and chemicals,” she said. 

“I waited for a long time for someone to solve this but it wasn’t solved. So I decided to do it myself. If someone like me who is into real estate and e-commerce can get into beverages without knowing the first thing about manufacturing, then anybody can,” she added. 

Today, TeaFit’s packaging staff at the manufacturing plant comprises entirely women, the Mumbai office too has a 90 percent women workforce. 

The third woman that Saggi shared the spotlight with was Sujata Biswas, the co-founder of Suta, a fashion brand that deals mainly in sarees. 

Biswas shared that when she and her sister decided to start their brand in 2016, India’s startup ecosystem wasn’t as great as it is today. They had no one they could turn to for help or advice. 

She said, “When we started we didn’t have much money other than our savings. We started doing our own photoshoots. People would ask why we were modelling in our own photoshoots. I’d say that I needed to save money and this was the only chance I’d get to start something.” 

Suta was started with an investment of six lakhs. Today it is a profitable and bootstrapped company that does a revenue of Rs. 74 crore annually, Saggi stated. 

Who are the three women The Good Glamm Group's Naiyya Saggi shared the spotlight with?

“In the early days, the biggest challenge for me was not being taken seriously because I was a woman,” said Naiyya Saggi, group co-founder of The Good Glamm Group at Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event. 

Back when she founded BabyChakra, Saggi was the sole founder and was asked many a times if she had a male co-founder, she shared. “These questions were the most uncomfortable part. But it made me stronger,” she said. 

“The beauty of being an entrepreneur in India is that you are able to create impact at scale. Today, The Good Glamm Group has 65 percent women workforce, which is extremely rare in start-up India,” she added. 

Additionally, she shared that India probably has the highest ratio of women in STEM globally. What is being witnessed is a very big attrition and a very big fallout in the middle management and leadership level at organisations. That is something that needs to be solved in India’s thriving startup ecosystem. She shared that the community is working towards improving these situations and things are looking up. 



Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight was a resounding success with women from all walks of life shared their diverse experiences and achievements with one another, illuminating the power of sharing experiences.

Share The Spotlight calls on us all to come out and share words of praise and encouragement for each other, appreciating and acknowledging the contributions of so many people who make businesses, brands and workplaces better. Learn and understand how to face challenges and seize opportunities while bringing along others on the path to progress.



'The biggest challenge for me was not being taken seriously because I was a woman': The Good Glamm Group's Naiyya Saggi

Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event was a resounding success with women from all walks of life shared their diverse experiences and achievements with one another, illuminating the power of sharing experiences.

Share The Spotlight calls on us all to come out and share words of praise and encouragement for each other, appreciating and acknowledging the contributions of so many people who make businesses, brands and workplaces better. Learn and understand how to face challenges and seize opportunities while bringing along others on the path to progress.

Naghma Mulla, CEO at EdelGive Foundation spoke about the initial phases of her career where she was unsure of what she wanted to do in her life. She shared that she was a chartered chartered accountant who realised after working as one that she didn’t like it at all. 

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/65-percent-of-good-glamm-groups-workforce-constitutes-women-said-naiyya-saggi-at-storyboard18-share-the-spotlight-32948.htm">65 percent of Good Glamm Group’s workforce constitutes women, said Naiyya Saggi at Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight</a>


Fortunately for her, she was in a position where she could quit and take some time off, she said. “I know when I don’t want something. I thought that will get me far enough. But it doesn’t. Sometimes you have to step out and figure it out,” Mulla said. 

So, after a lot of waiting around and removing options that she didn’t like, Mulla learnt that she needed to go out and explore what she wanted to do. 

“Instead of emailing people, I put a 1km path on my map and decided to walk into every office and see what they do. That’s how I’ll know what I want to be a part of,” she said. 

She shared that with a printed CV in her bag, she visited multiple offices and made friends with the receptionists, the guards, the staff around to understand what the company was doing. “Otherwise it was just another car company or a hotel, etc.” 

Additionally, apart from figuring out that she wanted to do, Mulla also wanted to figure out how she wanted to feel when she got back home from work. 

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/akasa-co-founder-neelu-khatri-on-the-ad-that-made-her-join-the-indian-air-force-storyboard18-share-the-spotlight-32952.htm">Akasa co-founder Neelu Khatri on the ad that made her join the Indian Air Force: Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight</a>


She said, “I wanted to fell like I’d talked to a lot of people, made a lot of people happier, and come back richer with stories.” 

“What that made me realise is that I wanted a foot in the door. That’s the biggest learning I’ve had in the lat 10 years. You may not know where you’ll end up but having a foot in the door is important, then the path will clear up,” she added. 

“I entered Edelweiss as a program officer at a ripe old age of 35, something nobody does. But, it was a remarkable entry point for me and then it just took off from there,” Mulla said.

'Have a foot in the door, the path will clear up': EdelGive Foundation's Naghma Mulla

By Mansi Verma


Neha Nagar, today a finfluencer with over 1.8 million followers on Instagram, started her journey from a small village in Uttar Pradesh. When her family relocated to Ghaziabad, they faced immense pressure to marry off Nagar and her sister.


“At the time, people back in my village constantly questioned my parents about why they brought two unmarried, young women to the city,” Nagar shared, during Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event in Mumbai. “They insisted we would never study and might elope with someone. They urged my parents to marry us off as soon as we turned 18. This was the mentality we were up against.”


Nagar recalled how it was her mother who took charge and supported both her and her sister to study. This is what motivated her to put her efforts in. Fast forward a decade, Neha became the first woman in her family to graduate and land a corporate job. 


This milestone marked the beginning of her journey in finance. Today, Nagar is not just a finance professional but also an advisor and mentor, using social media to teach countless young professionals how to manage their money effectively. This was one of the many stories that incredible women like Nagar shared at Storyboard18’s - Share The Spotlight. 


Share The Spotlight


How often do those in the spotlight share it with others? The idea of “share the spotlight” started with a LinkedIn post. We asked whether anyone would like to nominate women whose stories should be amplified more, and we witnessed an outpouring of generosity. 


Finally on May 29, Storyboard18 brought together prominent figures from Indian businesses, giving them an opportunity to share their spotlight with accomplished women in the ecosystem who have charted their own paths and have numerous stories to tell. The event turned out to be nothing short of a gala celebrating women in India and their many achievements. 


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/65-percent-of-good-glamm-groups-workforce-constitutes-women-said-naiyya-saggi-at-storyboard18-share-the-spotlight-32948.htm">65 percent of Good Glamm Group’s workforce constitutes women, said Naiyya Saggi at Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight</a> 


Priya Agarwal Hebbar, chairperson, Hindustan Zinc and non-executive director, Vedanta counted the names of numerous women who have made India proud. 


From Nancy Tyagi, who debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, Ritu Karidhal, the leading lady in the Chandrayaan III, Guneet Monga, the first Indian producer to bring home an Oscar, to filmmaker Payal Kapadia, the first Indian to clinch the prestigious Grand Prix at Cannes this year, Hebbar began the evening applauding the grit and determination in Indian women.


“What do all of these names and all of you sitting here today have in common? It's grit, determination, and being adamant - to make a mark, to dance to the rhythm of your own calling, and to never listen to naysayers. These women and all of you have not only broken barriers, but also exemplified empowerment. All of you are an embodiment of India's progress as a nation,” added Agarwal, in her message. 


Dhvani Bhanushali, an Indian Singer, who has sung various heartwarming hits like Vaastey, Leja Re, and Dilbar, shared how her dreams and career have received a big boost from the first woman in her life, her mother Rinku Bhanushali. “The idea of sharing the spotlight is very natural to women. It starts with our own mothers,” said Bhanushali. She also gave a shout-out to her father, who has always been supportive of her dreams and career. 


Ankita Konwar, who is a yogini and a runner, shared how she has drawn inspiration from many courageous women around her, including her mother-in-law.


“My mother in law is 85 and she's travelling somewhere in Madhya Pradesh right now, exploring a forest range. She is a biochemist. She raised her four kids in London while she was studying. A woman of substance. She goes for a walk every day and she does her yoga, that is so inspiring,” said Konwar, who is married to actor and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman.


Bhanushali kicked off the event performing her latest hit, "Thank You God," which has been viral over Instagram reels for the past month. To top it off, Konwar, VISA’ Sujatha Kumar, Open Secret’s Ahana Gautam, Hero MotoCorp’s Pallavi Singh, and Suta's Sujata Biswas, among others, joined to perform the catchy hook steps of the song, opening the event on a fun note.


Untold Stories


The discussions through the evening revolved around creating a more inclusive environment for women to thrive, emphasising the need for community support, mentorship, networking and the allyship from men.


Many women in the speakers shared that one of the biggest obstacles in their career growth was that men, including their subordinates, often didn't take them seriously, undermining their authority.


Neelu Khatri, the co-founder and SVP International of Akasa Air, has over 25 years of professional experience and is an ex Indian Air Force Wing Commander from the privileged initial batch of women officers back in 1993. 


Khatri shared the struggles she faced as a woman in the Indian Air Force. “When we were in uniform, the javans wouldn't salute thinking that we only need to salute male officers. We women were used for decoration purposes, especially in those days, we were made to stand in front with crisp clothes and caps, to salute all VIPs especially coming from different countries,” she added. 


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/akasa-co-founder-neelu-khatri-on-the-ad-that-made-her-join-the-indian-air-force-storyboard18-share-the-spotlight-32952.htm">Akasa co-founder Neelu Khatri on the ad that made her join the Indian Air Force: Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight</a> 


Hero MotoCorp’s Singh resonated with Khatri’s experience in her own industry where as a young woman, men would often not take her advice seriously.


“I'm not so big, not so tall. Men would often come to me with the attitude that ‘what will you tell me?’ And these are people who ride big bikes. Only when you start talking to them about engines, customisations, and things like that, are you able to get through,” 


Singh advised women in the audience that it is very important to know one’s products well and have the courage to sell it. “One, you should be the best salesperson for your product, and second is to have the courage to do it,” she added.


Such behavioural issues, and gender based discrimination often stops women from taking on leadership positions and running their own ventures. 


Ritu Mittal, head of marketing and digital consumer health at Bayer, concurred and added that "marriage, maternity, and mobility" are significant reasons that often lead women to abandon their careers.


“Women are often hesitant to even ask questions on the off chance of being judged or ridiculed. Many of them have the question of how women before me or my seniors manage children and family with work,” she said. 


Open conversation and mentorship from both men and women in leadership roles can save successful careers, Mittal added.


Allyship from Men


Lakshmi Venkataraman Venkatesan recalled how mentorship from JRD Tata LH, an Indian aviator, business magnate, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group helped her build Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) for entrepreneurship development in India.


“I came to him, and I said, I have no idea how to do this. I've been asked to do this by someone in England, so can you help me? And he was 83 at that time. And he told me, what you want to do is to create entrepreneurs out of people who would not even have thought of entrepreneurship. I believe in it, so I will accept your request to be your founding chairman,” she recalled.


Naghma Mulla, CEO, EdelGive Foundation highlighted the importance of male allyship in advancing workplace equality.


“The world, our offices or our homes, were structured around men. For them to rise, for them to complain, for them to rest, for them to do work. In this world, when we're trying to fit ourselves in, do we want to force fit, or do we want to negotiate our way in? And in that negotiation, the man is very important. He has to make way and make sense of why we’re even there. And we'd be surprised, how many men don't understand that. Getting them to participate is extremely important,” she said.


“How can it be done without a man?,” added Mulla.


<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/tags/share-the-spotlight">Watch this space for more stories of women uplifting women and sharing the spotlight.</a>

Women leaders share each others' untold stories of challenges, triumphs at Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight

Neelu Khatri, co-founder and SVP Akasa Air, who was a part of the Indian Air Force before she joined the commercial airline as a co-founder, said she never had the luxury to fail. Khatri was speaking at the first-ever edition of Storyboard18's Share The Spotlight, where she was joined by Naiyya Saggi, group co-founder and Board Member at the Good Glamm Group, Jyoti Bharadwaj, founder of TeaFit, and Suta's co-founder Sujata Biswas.


“I did not have the luxury of failing. The only thing that was very clear in my mind is what I did not want to do, which is to get married in that small town where I was born, in Jabalpur. The moment you finish your graduation there, you typically end up getting married,” said Khatri.
 

Khatri, who co-founded Akasa in 2021, came out of the Indian Air Forces as Wing Commander. 


<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/tags/share-the-spotlight">Share The Spotlight</a>


Interestingly, it was an ad for the forces that first prompted Khatri to sign up. Her first-ever flying experience was in a MiG. 


Khatri recalled the coincidence of seeing an ad in the Times Of India. It said, 'Do you have it in you? Indian Air Force decides to induct women in the ground services.'


"And I was like I want to do it," she recalled. 


“In those days, the idea of a soldier in people's minds was always man, bulky, etc. My parents would have never thought that a woman could be a soldier so they allowed me to give the exam thinking that eventually she will get married to the guy we choose,” she added.


Khatri later was inducted to the Indian Air Forces in the first batch of women, alongside 17 others. The Akasa co-founder also shared the struggles she faced as a woman in the Indian Air Force.


“I'll tell you my experience when we were in uniform, the javans wouldn't salute thinking that we only need to salute male officers. We women were used for decoration purposes, especially in those days, we were made to stand in front with crisp clothes and caps and stuff to salute all VIPs especially coming from different countries,” she added. 


Neelu Khatri is the co-founder and SVP International of Akasa Air. She has over 25 years of professional experience and is an ex Indian Air Force Wing Commander from the privileged initial batch of women officers back in 1993.


She was previously with Honeywell in India and worked in KPMG as a Director for more than 5 years in the Civil Aviation and Aerospace industry and has published many thought leadership documents on the industry’s policies. Khatri is Senior VP and leads international operations, entrusted with successfully launching and managing new international destinations at Akasa Air. 


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/65-percent-of-good-glamm-groups-workforce-constitutes-women-said-naiyya-saggi-at-storyboard18-share-the-spotlight-32948.htm">65 percent of Good Glamm Group’s workforce constitutes women, said Naiyya Saggi at Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight </a>

Akasa co-founder Neelu Khatri on the ad that made her join the Indian Air Force: Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight

About 65 percent of Good Glamm Group’s employees are women, said Naiyya Saggi, co-founder Good Glamm Group and CEO, Good Community, at a time when women exiting the workforce reached a record high.


Saggi was speaking at the first-ever edition of Storyboard18's Share The Spotlight, where she was joined by Neelu Khatri, co-founder and SVP Akasa Air, Jyoti Bharadwaj, founder of TeaFit, and Suta's co-founder Sujata Biswas. 


“The beauty of being an entrepreneur in India is that you're actually able to create impact. We're very proud to say that Good Glamm Group has a 65 percent women workforce, which is extremely rare,” said Saggi on May 29, at Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event in Mumbai.


<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/tags/share-the-spotlight">Share The Spotlight</a>


Saggi added that she, who has recently joined the governing council of Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai (TEAM), is now running the charter to have more women in middle-level and leadership positions in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) roles.


“India has the highest number of women joining the STEM programs at about 45 percent. Still in the corporate circles women drop off by the time they reach mid-level and leadership roles,” she added.


The tech entrepreneur is now making an attempt to bring more women engineers and make them a part of the leadership roles, she said. TEAM includes founders from Mumbai-based startups, such as Nykaa, Pharmeasy, Upgrad, Upstox, Good Glamm Group, Zepto, Pepperfry, Infibeam Avenues, Pine Labs, BillDesk, Clevertap, Loginext, Rebel Foods, and Purplle, among others.


“I was a sole woman founder building a consumer tech company. And I was asked, "Why don't you have a male founder?" It is something I want to change,” she added.


This comes even as there is a widening gender disparity is evident in the Indian startup ecosystem, with 57 unicorns having no women on their boards.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/akasa-co-founder-neelu-khatri-on-the-ad-that-made-her-join-the-indian-air-force-storyboard18-share-the-spotlight-32952.htm">Akasa co-founder Neelu Khatri on the ad that made her join the Indian Air Force: Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight</a>

65 percent of Good Glamm Group’s workforce constitutes women, said Naiyya Saggi at Storyboard18 - Share The Spotlight

It started with a LinkedIn post. We asked whether anyone would like to share their spotlight with women whose stories should be amplified more, and we witnessed an outpouring of generosity. Women and men stepped up to give a shout-out to women who have made an impact. The movement grew organically into a series of stories where women leaders across industries came forward to share their spotlight with other women. Soon it took a life of its own.


<iframe src="https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:7019989599078821888" height="871" width="504" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="Embedded post"></iframe>


Now, Storyboard18 is taking this spark to the next level with a very special experience on May 29, in Mumbai. 

It's time to <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/tags/share-the-spotlight">Share The Spotlight</a>. 

As India continues to witness a remarkable rise in the influence, achievements, and empowerment of women across diverse domains, it becomes imperative to carry the momentum forward and celebrate the inspirational women around us.

<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2024/05/Spotlight-ILU-Final-2024-05-29f9cf4bf59c04e20e17a229d0c15953-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="750" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-32425" />

We, at Storyboard18 - Network18 Group, are thrilled to bring forward a one-of-a-kind initiative - 'Share The Spotlight' which endeavors to encourage leaders to share their spotlight and amplify the voices and lesser-known stories of women sparking change every day. 

The inaugural event is designed to showcase the diverse experiences and achievements of women from all walks of life - from homemakers to brand builders, from CXOs to interns, Spotlight evenings will illuminate the power of sharing experiences.

Share The Spotlight calls on us all to come out and share words of praise and encouragement for each other, appreciating and acknowledging the contributions of so many people who make businesses, brands and workplaces better. Learn and understand how to face challenges and seize opportunities while bringing along others on the path to progress.

This is just the beginning of a long journey to spotlight individuals who are empowering others and bringing change and growth for all. Together we rise.

As a woman entrepreneur navigating the dynamic landscape of Deeptech, every step of my journey has been an exploration of both triumphs and challenges. One of the most intriguing hurdles I encountered early on was the quest for acceptance within an industry traditionally dominated by male counterparts. In those nascent stages, securing the necessary support to propel our technology forward and carve out a distinct presence in the startup ecosystem was no
small feat.

My journey took a pivotal turn when I was selected by Google for Startups Accelerator. From day one, Google for Startups Accelerator Program not only accepted me but also actively promoted and supported my role as a woman entrepreneur. Their unwavering belief in my potential instilled a newfound confidence in me at a time when validation from the market seemed elusive.

One of my most significant personal achievements revolves around my journey in the tech industry, particularly my experiences at companies like Google, TikTok (ByteDance), and ShareChat. Despite my age of 27, I have had the privilege of immersing myself in the vibrant and innovative cultures of these tech giants, learning from some of the brightest minds in the industry. It was within these environments that I found the inspiration to venture into entrepreneurship.

The catalyst for my entrepreneurial pursuit stemmed from the dynamic ecosystem fostered by Google. In 2023, GoCodeo, the company I co-founded, achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the youngest entity ever selected for the Google for Startups Accelerator cohort. This recognition validated our vision and potential within the tech ecosystem.

Moreover, our dedication and innovative approach led us to another recognition, as we were also accepted into Nasscom's Generative AI foundry. These accomplishments not only underscored our potential but also opened doors to invaluable resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities.

However, if I were to pinpoint a singular achievement that stands out to me, it would undoubtedly be the organic acquisition of users for GoCodeo. Leveraging my expertise in SEO and marketplace strategies, we managed to onboard over 13,000 developers from more than 40 countries without allocating a single dollar towards marketing efforts. This achievement not only demonstrates the efficacy of our approach but also speaks volumes about the relevance and value proposition of our platform within the global developer community.

When it comes to sharing the spotlight with someone who has inspired and influenced me profoundly, I would like to nominate B R Sheelavathi, a remarkable
teacher by profession and an extraordinary mother by relation. To me, she embodies the epitome of strength. Growing up under her guidance, I witnessed firsthand the unwavering dedication she poured into every aspect of her life.

In every aspect of my journey, I find echoes of her resilience. Whether I&#39;m facing challenges in my career or navigating the complexities of life, her teachings serve as a guiding light, reminding me to stay true to myself, to never settle for mediocrity, and to always strive for excellence. So, when asked whom I want to share the spotlight with, there is no doubt in my mind that it is she who deserves to stand alongside me. Her unwavering support, her boundless wisdom, and her relentless pursuit of excellence have been the driving force behind my journey, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/special-coverage/sharethespotlight-amplys-anshika-parihar-on-resilience-and-trusting-the-process-27118.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">#ShareTheSpotlight: Amply's Anshika Parihar on resilience and trusting the process</a>

Note to readers: Storyboard18's Share The Spotlight aims to highlight inspirational stories of women who continue breaking barriers and setting the precedent for other women marketers, entrepreneurs and communication specialists.

The initiative aims to kick off a movement where people from across these communities step up and share their spotlight with other women.

Share The Spotlight calls on us all to come out and share words of praise and encouragement for each other, appreciating and acknowledging the contributions of so many people who make businesses, brands and workplaces better. Learn and understand how to face challenges and seize opportunities while bringing along others on the path to progress.

This is just the beginning of a long journey to spotlight individuals who are empowering others and bringing change and growth for all. Together we rise.