Celebrating the enterprising entrepreneur in every single woman

Bhavika Shah, the founder of Mumbai-based Beyondesign, is a first generation entrepreneur. She crushed the monotonous belief related to brand designing and founded an all women team as brand strategist in 2006. CEO of Hyderabad-based Hyve Global, Sneha Redla comes from a family owned enterprise background. However, she has successfully created her own identity in the male dominated sector of civil engineering. She also holds position as vice president at Aarvee Associates and Director on board of Aarvee Australia.

An intrapreneur by role, Archanna Das is a sustainability, brand and communication professional, who handholds entrepreneurs as the CEO of Ascent Foundation. In conversation with Bizz Buzz, on the eve of Women Entrepreneur Day falling on Nov 19, the three women leaders put forth their stance of not letting the society to overlook their contribution to the nation as woman leaders.

The comments you heard as being the first to create a trend...

Bhavika Shah: Design, when I started, had a 'decorative' function. I was keen to convey that design could make or break your business. Minimal design has maximum impact and back in 1996, this was not accepted. I did hear talks that a 23-year-old is set out to change things, how will she manage, she has no experience, she wants to have an all-girls team. Every comment only made me more determined to make sure my story, and what Beyondesign is set out to be is conveyed loud and clear. Most people thought that minimal design was no design and was a western approach due to my Master's from America, but they forgot that I am a huge fan of Indian colours and culture. Using these colours effectively in the Indian target market was my end goal.

Why an all-women team?

BS: Many design studios start work later in the day and end in the wee hours of the morning. I did question why one cannot work from 9 am to 6 pm like other industries and this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to provide a platform where women could work until they retire. Today, I can proudly say we are 18 years in, an all-girls team with girls of all age groups and I would not have it any other way. Let's face it; no one can multitask like women.

20 years in the field, what changes you have noticed?

BS: It's been 20 years of seeing change, we have gone from handwork to print to digital and are embracing print again. Trends have changed multiple times and today minimal communicative design is appreciated. It has become easy for new entrants with social media in hand to promote one self. 20 years ago - this was a struggle - to tell a story to a client I would walk in and wait for hours. Brand design and strategy are in exciting phase and I enjoy the collaboration with the more recent entrepreneurs.

What one mindset, would you want the stakeholders in your field to change?

BS: On the client front - minimal communicative design is the hardest to achieve - less is more. On the design community front - collaboration is the way forward - we are all in this together.

On the vendor's front - print is not going anywhere – it is only coming back stronger.

Your roots belong to a successful family enterprise. Did you ever think, if not an entrepreneur then…

Sneha Redla: I used to accompany my father on on-site visits throughout my childhood. Even then, for the longest time, I wanted to be a doctor. Only towards the end of 10th class, I decided to become an engineer. When I visited a road project that we were working on, I fell in love with civil engineering. My parents never insisted me on joining the business, entering Aarvee was solely my interest. Even now I get ideas of starting something new in a different field.

Is there gender disparity in civil engineering field?

SR: I grew up in a gender bias free environment. My belief is that effective communication happens when you speak in a way that the opposite person can resonate with. I feel that gender does not make a difference until you are not thinking about it. In my father's generation very few women joined civil engineering. Gender diversity increased only in the later years. So there are fewer women in senior leadership. Also, during the early 2000s, a lot of women civil engineers whose husbands were in IT migrated abroad with them. All of these factors show the dearth of women in senior roles. We do have women in design roles now, so the scenario will change in the years to come.

An uncomfortable situation and most satisfying one as a woman entrepreneur…

SR: The uncomfortable situation that I face as a women entrepreneur is that some people from the older generation tend to get paternal in their mentoring approach towards me. While it is genuine affection, I sometimes wonder if the way they mentor me would change if I were a man. The most satisfying moment is every time a woman who works in our team says they have approached their life differently because they have seen me do it. I find it very satisfying that I am able to motivate another person to break out of the biases they have been subjected to and live life to their potential.

Women in top positions are more visible in IT compared to civil…

SR: My father's B Tech class had no women at all. This has changed over the years. My B Tech class had 21 women. So in the 20-odd years, the ratios have changed. Whereas in IT there have been many women right from the start, which is represented in the leadership positions there. The scenario will change in the years to come and lot more women will lead this sector.

How far are we yet in the discussion about breaking the glass ceiling?

Archanna Das: When I started to head Ascent, seven years back, I did face some challenges and judgments as it was predominantly a male-dominated entrepreneur community. Over the years things have evolved naturally. I think women leaders have shattered glass ceilings and paved the path for others. We are evolving into a world that sees and reacts beyond gender. Women now have more opportunities to demonstrate their potential and they don't need to prove themselves again as they advance to top position. Every woman leader-entrepreneur I engage with resonate the same.

What trait makes a successful women entrepreneur?

AD: Successful women leaders share attributes found in all successful leaders - intuition, multitasking, brilliant conversationalists, and hence superb networkers. However, to succeed and overcome the numerous hurdles they experience at home and work, they must also develop other attributes. Women have risen through the professional ranks to account for more than half of the Indian workforce. Nonetheless, women continue to hold a considerably lesser number of leadership roles in numerous sectors than men. They must play to their strengths while compensating for their weaknesses.

How common is work and family balance conversation?

AD: The work-life balance always is a topic among women entrepreneurs, but what I was surprised to observe lately (especially post-Covid) is that male entrepreneurs have been active in conversations around family and making it a priority. However, women continue to be guilted about prioritising work over family and children.