TRAILBLAZER - ANANYA AGARWAL

MARRIED INTO THE VEDANTA FAMILY AND STEERING A BURGEONING START-UP, THIS ENTREPRENEUR JUGGLES A BUSY SCHEDULE. STILL, SHE ALWAYS MAKES TIME FOR HERSELF, ORGANISING HER SOCIAL LIFE WITH CALENDAR INVITES AND SNOWBOARDING TO BLOW OFF STEAM. SHE TELLS HELLO! IT'S ALL ABOUT FINDING BALANCE

- SONAL NERURKAR

There can be no greater thrill than landing an internship at the world’s greatest technology company. That is, unless you are made an offer by its biggest rival. For Ananya Agarwal nee Kejriwal, then an engineering school graduate with a keen interest in design thinking, deciding between Microsoft and Apple was a tough call. She chose Microsoft because she had given them a soft commitment and didn’t want to renege on her word.

In the end, her decision paid off. At Microsoft, she worked with a great team and learned about product management, skills she used when launching her own venture, the nutraceutical gummy brand Nyumi, years later. As for her principles, they continue to guide her, and she attributes them to the long line of strong women in the Kejriwal family.

A LEGACY OF LEARNING

Paying tribute to her grandmother and great-grandmother as “pioneers” in a LinkedIn post, Ananya credits them for giving her the “courage to break barriers.” “I think we all aspire to live in a world where you grow up with no gender differences,” says the Woodstock alumna, who considers herself fortunate to have been raised in a home that valued equality and education. Coming from an industrial family in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where women at home might have multiple postgraduate degrees but didn’t necessarily pursue careers, she reflects on the family’s commitment to education. “Education is the one constant that equips you for life. It instils a mindset of continuous learning and exposes you to a wealth of knowledge. While the world and our lives go through various cycles, education remains a permanent foundation,” she says.