Falguni Nayar, 

Started in 2012, Nykaa was a late entrant into the Indian e-commerce space. But Nayar, a former managing director of investment banking at Kotak Mahindra, has over the years built a market-leading brand in the Indian beauty industry. Nykaa leapfrogged into the unicorn club with a valuation of over $1.2 billion after it received funding from Steadview Capital early this year. Her company’s focus on authenticity and commitment to customer experience has paid rich dividends: over 8 million customers, 60% organic and direct traffic, 75% customer retention, and a continuously lowering customer acquisition cost. All these meaningful growth drivers ensured that Nykaa was in the black in FY20, having generated revenues of ₹2,000 crore. Along the way, it also diversified from being a beauty-focussed retailer to a lifestyle retailer. Nykaa Fashion, a curated fashion e-commerce platform, is on track to generate revenue of ₹500 crore in FY21. Nykaa Man, a men’s grooming platform, has grown 10x (in customers and orders) over the last year.