Neil Banerjee
In India, where the rustle of a silk saree has long symbolised cultural heritage, a new sound is emerging—the hum of women-led start-ups weaving tradition into the fabric of modern entrepreneurship. The country’s business landscape, once dominated by rigid gender roles, is being redefined by women who blend ancestral wisdom with contemporary ambition. These entrepreneurs are not just building businesses; they are reclaiming identities, redefining purpose, and proving that tradition and innovation can coexist.
Priya Sharma, Gayatri Singh, and Monalisha Thakur are three visionaries who have turned personal struggles, artistic legacies, and societal gaps into thriving ventures. Their journeys are imbued with challenges, societal scepticism, and moments of triumph.
Journeys of craftswomen-turned-entrepreneurs
Priya Sharma: Light in the darkness
When the pandemic cast a shadow over the world, Priya Sharma’s life was further dimmed by her mother’s cancer diagnosis. “I spent nights awake, checking her breathing, drowning in fear,” she recalls, her voice trembling. “The uncertainty was paralysing. I needed an anchor.” In that darkness, she found solace in an unlikely place: candle-making. What began as a childhood Diwali ritual—moulding wax into diyas with her grandmother—became her lifeline.
“Candles and Co. isn’t just a brand—it’s ‘Cancer and Cure’ for me. Every candle I pour is a prayer for her recovery. When I light one, I’m reminded that even the smallest flame can pierce the darkest night,” she says.
Priya’s venture started humble. With no physical store, she turned to Instagram, posting photos of handmade candles in recycled jam jars and coffee mugs. Friends and family soon flooded her with Raksha Bandhan orders. “Customers could choose their jar, wax, fragrance, and even the wick. I wanted each piece to feel personal, like it was made just for them,” she asserts.
However, operating from her Kolkata home was challenging. “Smell is everything in this business. Without a store, customers can’t experience scents firsthand. I’ve had people back out of orders because they couldn’t ‘test’ the fragrance,” Priya recalls. The financial constraints did not deter her, though. Her home-based model kept costs low, allowing her to juggle a full-time job while nurturing her dream. “Some days, I’d work until 2 AM, pouring wax after my office shifts. Seeing a customer’s face light up when they received their order kept me going,” she says.
Today, Candles & Co. has blossomed into two offline stores—one in Kolkata and one in Mumbai, named Candles & Clay, where she sells handcrafted ceramic decor. “The Mumbai launch was surreal. I stood there, watching strangers walk in, smell the candles, and smile. It felt like my mom’s courage had seeped into every jar,” she says.
Gayatri Singh: Painting new canvas
For Gayatri Singh, art was a legacy that she initially walked away from. The daughter of a renowned art curator, she grew up surrounded by canvases and gallery catalogues. She chose a corporate career, climbing the ladder at Arthur Andersen and the Economist Intelligence Unit. “I was successful but unfulfilled. Art was in my blood, but I treated it like a distant relative,” she admits.
A return home to care for her ailing father changed everything. “In that quiet house, surrounded by his medicine bottles and my mother’s old paintings, I reconnected with art in a way I never had. It wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was a language of healing, a bridge between loss and hope,” she recalls.
In 2019, she launched Art Incept, a platform to uplift overlooked artists. Her flagship initiative, the Inception Grant, became a beacon for emerging talent. “When we started, there were barely any grants for young artists. The traditional market was obsessed with established names. Emerging artists are the soul of our culture, and they were starving for recognition,” she says.
The Inception Grant, which attracts over 1,000 applicants annually, offers more than funds. “We pair artists with mentors—curators, gallery owners, even psychologists. One artist, a tribal muralist from Odisha, struggled to price his work. Today, he’s exhibited in three states. Another, a single mother painting in her garage, now runs a studio. Their journeys aren’t rare—they are why we exist,” Gayatri elaborates.
Gayatri’s journey had its challenges, though. “Galleries would say, ‘Who’s going to buy this?’ as if art’s value lies only in its price tag. Art isn’t a stock market; it’s a mirror of society. Our job is to polish that mirror until the world sees its reflection,” she asserts.
Monalisha Thakur: Engineering mobility, empowering women
Monalisha Thakur’s venture, Tummoc, was born from frustration. As a daily commuter in Bengaluru, she faced the chaos of India’s convoluted public transport system. “Buses, metros, and autos are all disconnected. Women especially struggled with safety and reliability. I’d see mothers juggling toddlers and grocery bags, stranded because the bus never came. It wasn’t just inconvenient—it was dehumanising,” she says.
A techie and mother herself, Monalisha saw an opportunity: an app to unify transit systems. “I wanted to build something that didn’t just’ solve problems but restored dignity,” she says. Tummoc, her brainchild, now integrates 15+ transport modes across Indian cities, offering real-time tracking, smart ticketing, and safety alerts.
However, building it meant balancing boardrooms and bedtime stories. “Motherhood taught me multitasking; entrepreneurship demanded it. I’d draft code while packing school lunches and take investor calls during paediatrician visits. Once, I pitched to a transport minister while nursing a fever—my toddler had just started daycare and brought home every virus imaginable,” she reminisces.
Her platform’s “Safe Routes” feature, which highlights well-lit, crowded paths for women, became a game changer. “We partnered with local authorities to install GPS in buses and autos. Now, a woman can track her ride in real time, share her location with her family, and even rate drivers. It’s not just about convenience—it’s about trust,” she asserts.
Role of technology: From diyas to digital platforms
Social media has become the new marketplace. For Priya, Instagram became her storefront. “It’s where I showcase my candles’ souls—the textures, the glow,” she says. Her posts, brimming with behind-the-scenes snippets of wax-pouring and fragrance-mixing, resonate with raw authenticity. “Customers don’t just buy a product; they buy a story. One woman ordered a lavender candle for her late father—it was his favourite scent. She sent me a photo of it burning by his portrait. That’s why I do this,” she enthuses.
Gayatri agrees. “Technology democratises art,” she says, noting how Art Incept’s Instagram page has become a virtual gallery. Her dreams are bigger, though. “Imagine VR exhibitions where you walk through a digital replica of the Louvre from your living room or AI tools that curate art portfolios based on your emotions. That’s the future—where art isn’t confined by geography or gatekeepers,” she avers.
Tech has become a tool for inclusion. Monalisha’s Tummoc epitomises tech’s power to solve grassroots issues. “We didn’t just build an app—we built a bridge,” she says. For women like Radha, a nurse in Delhi, Tummoc’s real-time alerts transformed her commute. “Earlier, I’d wait hours in the dark for a bus. Now, I know exactly when it’s coming. I feel safer, like the city finally sees me,” says Radha.
Challenges and triumphs
Priya faced doubts about home-based businesses. “People would say, ‘It’s cute, but when will you get a real job? Even relatives asked, ‘Why waste your engineering degree on candles?’ But this is my real job. Every sale is a validation that passion can pay bills,” she says.
Gayatri battled elitism in the art world. “A gallery owner once told me, ‘Your artists are too raw.’ Raw? They’re real. We’re dismantling this idea that art must be ‘polished’ to be valuable. Beauty lies in the unfinished edges,” she emphasises.
Monalisha, meanwhile, had to navigate male-dominated tech circles. “I’d walk into meetings, and they’d ask, ‘Where’s the founder? I’d smile and say, ‘She’s right here.’ Now, when I bring my daughter to the office, I tell her, ‘This is what resilience looks like,’” she says
For Priya, success came in waves. Her mother’s improved health, her first store opening, and a customer’s note that read, “Your candles lit my darkest days.” Gayatri’s proudest moment? “Seeing a grant recipient’s work auctioned at a major gallery. His painting sold for Rs 2 lakhs—he’d never made Rs 20,000 before,” she says.
Monalisha’s milestone was crossing 500,000 users. “Every download is a step towards equitable mobility. When a college student told me that Tummoc helped her land her first job because she could finally commute reliably, that’s the impact we’re here for,” she says.
Stitching tradition into tomorrow: Fabric of change
Priya plans to expand her eco-friendly line. “Imagine candles in seed-embedded jars that grow into plants,” she grins. Gayatri envisions AI-curated art portfolios, while Monalisha aims to partner with governments for smarter cities. “Why can’t buses sync with traffic lights via IoT or metro stations have solar-powered charging docks? We’re dreaming big,” she says.
These women embody a quiet revolution. They are not outliers but pioneers of a movement where tradition isn’t discarded—it’s reinvented. As Gayatri puts it, “Art, like entrepreneurship, is about seeing the unseen and giving it wings.”
The journeys of the trio remind us that innovation isn’t about erasing the past but about endowing it with new possibilities. As Monalisha says, “The future belongs to those who dare to merge their roots with wings.” For every woman still weaving her dream, these stories are a beacon of hope.
