SHRADHA SHARMA, 

They say a successful startup has five ingredients: an idea, the team, the work, financial backing, and perfect timing. But often it also has another constituent: a messenger. That’s the role YourStory founder Shradha Sharma has been playing with aplomb. YourStory is perhaps the most influential—or at least the most vocal—platform for startups in India today. Since its launch in 2008, YourStory has published nearly 72,000 articles, and has over 10 million “engaged readers every month”, according to the company. “Sometimes you just need to listen to people, they don’t need solutions from you, they will find solutions themselves…they just need someone to hear them out,” says Sharma, the founder and chief executive.