GHAZAL ALAGH

IN A FREEWHEELING CHAT WITH HELLO!, THE FOUNDER OF  ONE OF INDIA’S LEADING BABYCARE BRANDS LOOKS BACK AT HER JOURNEY TO SUCCESS, SHARING THE MOMENTS AND ROADBLOCKS THAT STOOD OUT ALONG THE WAY

- NAYARE ALI

 

The brain behind a Rs 920 crore brand, Ghazal Alagh speaks in soft, measured tones as she shares the saga that led to the birth of her business and the phenomenal success it’s seen in just six years. When you speak with the 34-year-old co-founder of Mamaearth, what comes to the fore is her fierce determination to succeed, hunger to achieve even more and ability to brush aside insensitive remarks and soldier on to reach incredible heights.

In conversation with HELLO!, the charming businesswoman shares snippets of her journey and beliefs around work and motherhood that paved the way.

During the brand’s initial days, a few team members had left because they seemingly weren’t confident about your inexperience at the time. How would you describe those days? One thing that massively stands out from back then is self-doubt. I had to fight the feeling for a while. That’s why I say that to build a strong business, you don’t need a professional degree; I didn’t have one either.

We tend to take any kind of feedback personally. So when those guys left, I was disturbed for some time and started to question whether it would still make sense for me to be a part of the business. When we got our first funding, hiring experienced people would have been one route. Instead, I chose to challenge myself, give myself time and see where I could take the business. Once our sales picked up, I grew more confident and it made sense to keep at it. Wonderfully, very recently, many of these ex-employees applied for jobs at our firm. They were told they would still have to report to me and are now fine with it.