Women entrepreneurs from everywhere in the world have proven that with exhausting work and willpower, they will overcome any impediment and obtain nice success of their respective fields. Many of those girls, particularly in India, come from humble backgrounds and have needed to overcome challenges resembling monetary constraints, societal norms, and lack of help from their households and communities. However, they refused to surrender and continued till they achieved their targets. One such girl is Disha Singh, the founding father of style and way of life D2C model Zouk, identified for its vegan, cruelty-free and practical baggage. However, beginning a model was not a cake stroll for her. Born and introduced up in a middle-class household with no historical past in enterprise, Singh confronted a justifiable share of challenges to make Zouk what it is at this time. During the preliminary part of her startup journey, Disha needed to journey for greater than 4 hours a day, from Goregaon to Dharavi in Mumbai, in the hunt for artisans who might design the luggage as per her wants. “Women entrepreneurs or leaders are not taken as seriously as men in our country. When I used to go to Dharavi to find artisans for my brand, the people there thought I was just doing it because it was one of my hobbies. They didn’t see me as a professional who has come to find workers for her brand,” says Disha, speaking in regards to the hardships she confronted whereas constructing the model. Disha Singh, Founder of Zouk
An IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, who stop her well-paying job to start out her personal enterprise, Disha was all the time passionate about enterprise. At a younger age of eight, she used to gather books from individuals in her society and her two elder siblings to construct her personal small library throughout summer season holidays. She even used to lease these books at a minimal value to society residents for a short interval. This not solely depicts her business-mindedness but in addition her love for books as she is an avid reader. Things for girls change after they get married or develop into moms. But in Singh’s case, either side of the household (hers and her husband’s) have been equally supportive of her profession selections. According to Disha, it’s vital to get household on board in case you are beginning your individual enterprise as a result of that gives emotional help and power to beat challenges. “All the women entrepreneurs who are looking to start their venture or are in the initial phase of setting-up their own businesses should keep three things in mind: First, put in all your effort and dedicate yourself to it; second is to get family on board. Try to convince them because they will act as your pillar of support during hard times; third, and the most significant, is to ignore all the irrelevant and negative comments (unless they are constructive feedback),” she says. “People will always have something to say. You just need to focus on your plan and work on it,” Disha says, with a smile on her face. Equally inspiring is the story of one other set of girls entrepreneurs Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha of JhaJi Store , a model which gained traction after being featured on Shark Tank India Season 1. These sisters-in-law hail from Darbhanga, a small city in Bihar, the place conservative mindset round working girls nonetheless exists. Yet, these two girls didn’t let the society have an effect on their plan of establishing their very own enterprise. “JhaJi Store was created out of our urge to do something on our own after spending a major chunk of our lives serving family members,” says Kalpana Jha, smiling graciously. Uma Jha and Kalpana Jha, Founders of JhaJi Store
Both the sisters-in-law acquired help from their husbands and relations. However, there have been a couple of relations who criticized the duo for beginning the enterprise of their 50s. “My husband always suggested that I should start my own venture. He even asked me to quit my job and set up a business. When Kalpana ji asked me to join her venture, my family and I were elated. Irrespective of my age and experience, I said ‘yes’ and we started our journey and today we have come a long way. It gives me immense pleasure and is a matter of utmost pride for me,” says Uma Jha, reminiscing about her startup journey. Both the ladies have been born and introduced up in Bihar in middle-class households. Kalpana and Uma received married at a really younger age. Uma needed to drop out of her L.LB course within the third 12 months as she was married and was anticipating. However, this didn’t affect their urge to do one thing independently. In search of individuality and their very own identities, the duo began JhaJi Store which has grown immensely in lower than two years. “Still there are people who look down upon us because we have to sometimes head out of our homes in the evening or night for work,” says Kalpana Jha. While speaking in regards to the hardships confronted by working girls, Kalpana and Uma each agreed that security is a matter for girls, particularly in small cities. They have to attend for his or her husbands, son or another male member of the household to move out or come again at night time, they are saying with concern. However, the expression of concern offers option to happiness after they begin speaking in regards to the help, love and compliments they obtain from their households. From monetary backing to emotional power, Kalpana and Uma have been totally supported by their husbands. Their youngsters stored motivating them to take this enterprise ahead. “Hence, we did it!” they are saying. Another such story is of a MIL-DIL (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) duo who noticed a possibility within the Covid disaster and began ‘The Chhaunk’ to offer home-cooked meals to individuals in Delhi, NCR. Delhi resident Manjari Singh alongside together with her mother-in-law Hiranyamayi Shivani began her personal enterprise in 2021 with the aim of serving genuine meals to these caught at residence. As a lady entrepreneur , Manjari confronted a justifiable share of challenges together with self-doubts, insecurity and, most significantly, the truth that she was anticipating at the moment. “After all these challenges, we gathered a lot of courage to launch not just food but an experience that takes one back to home. Also, at that time, I was pregnant but still, I plucked up the courage and started our startup. With the responsibility of carrying two babies, I was simultaneously multitasking my family responsibilities and business,” says Manjari. Manjari Singh and Hiranyamayi Shivani, Founders of The Chhaunk
While speaking in regards to the hardships confronted by married girls entrepreneurs, she says, “Being a woman in business presents many challenges, but being a married woman in business is more of a duty or responsibility to treat your family and business fairly.”
However, Manjari and her mother-in-law managed all the things (from meals preparations to taking care of gross sales and advertising) on their very own. “I would like to give the following advice to all women who are currently or planning to become business owners, whether they are single or married: Never give up on your dreams. If you cannot find a mentor, be your own; if you cannot find support from anyone, start thinking of yourself as someone who is more powerful and capable than everyone else. You do not need financial assistance to run your business; all you need is to keep your dreams alive in every situation,” Manjari says. These girls are like many different girls entrepreneurs world wide with comparable tales of resilience and success. They show that with the suitable mindset and a willingness to work exhausting, anybody can obtain their goals, irrespective of their background or circumstances.

Zouk, The Chhaunk & JhaJi Store: Businesswomen who hit it big-Business Journal

Feb 23, 2023—7 min read
Located in the north of the Indian state of Bihar is the historic city of Darbhanga. Also known as the ‘cultural capital of the state’ and the ‘Heart of Mithilanchal’, it is a part of the richly fertile Indo-Gangetic Plains. According to history, it was the capital of the Mithila region and the seat of the Darbhanga Raj. Its rich culture boasts centuries-old traditions of literary arts, folk art, and musical form. Darbhanga is also a well-known tourist destination with palaces, ponds, temples, and wildlife. The city of Darbhanga is closely associated with the two great Indian mythologies – Ramayana and The Mahabharata. It is a deeply embedded belief that the Pandavas resided in this region during their exile. Mithila is also the known birthplace of Sita, the consort of King Rama. It is from this place of history, tradition, and beauty that meet the dynamic duo – Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha, the co-founders of JhaJi Store. Founders Of The JhaJi Store
Sisters-in-law Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha, both have their family roots in Darbhanga having lived and schooled there and later even married there. Kalpana Jha’s husband has been in the service of the Indian Government which meant they were moving cities every two to three years. The family finally came back and settled in Darbhanga post his retirement. Kalpana Jha has earned an MA in Psychology and has been a homemaker all her life. However, she always dreamt of doing something of her own. With constant encouragement from her family and initial financial support from her husband, she decided to convert her passion for making pickles into a commercial activity . Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha - Founders, JhaJi Store
Uma Jha shares her passion for cooking and developing recipes with her sister-in-law. Hailing from a family of Civil Servants, Uma has also experienced a life of constant transfers. Wanting to study LLB, her education was left incomplete due to her early marriage and children. Her husband pursued his career as a college professor in Darbhanga. Undeterred, she took up teaching in the same private school that her children attended and continued teaching children between the third and sixth standard for nineteen years. Her chosen subject was Hindi Literature and Hindi Language. When Kalpana shared her business vision with her, Uma willingly joined hands with her and so began their journey together. The Beginning Of JhaJi
Named after Kalpana Jha’s husband, whom she lovingly refers to as JhaJi, this is a business that pays homage to the deep-routed Bihari tradition of pickle making. Conceptualized during the trying period of the Covid-19 pandemic in the year 2020, the two co-founders began the arduous journey of procuring the necessary food licenses and conducting the all-important shelf life testing through an accredited laboratory. This process lasted for about 6 months as the nearest testing laboratory was located in Kolkata. Then began the small-scale operation of them procuring the raw material from their home garden and making the pickles in their own kitchens. Setting up primarily as an online business , and launching it in June 2021, their initial marketing efforts were concentrated within Bihar and the Delhi area through advertisements on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. The first-ever jar of mango pickle was sold to her neighbors. From then on, orders came in from the neighboring city of Sitamarhi, followed by Delhi. Quickly, JhaJi Stores built a customer base of 10,000 people within Delhi. It was Kalpana Jha’s dream to expand JhaJi Stores to a national presence , then, led them to Shark Tank India in 2021. JhaJi Inside Shark Tank India
Two months, growing popularity and a happy customer base led the ambitious duo to apply to Shark Tank India . They were first called for Delhi auditions in August 2021 and clearing that, were invited to Mumbai in October 2021 to present their business to the Shark Tank judges. Although unsuccessful at securing funding from the judges, they came away with invaluable insights and feedback from them. JhaJi Store in Shark Tank India
Also, their appearance on Shark Tank in 2021 gave them a publicity push as more people became aware of their business and the products. They returned home to an influx of orders that kept growing. In a bid to fulfill the rising demand the duo, then, applied for and received a bank loan . The business grew consistently as orders multiplied. Kalpana and Uma hired more staff from the village, primarily women who had worked as household help and had lost their jobs during the pandemic. In July 2022, the sisters-in-law received a surprise visit from two Shark Tank judges, Namita Thapar , and Vineeta Singh , resulting from the public support that they received through the show. Impressed with their ongoing efforts to grow the business, the judges invested in JhaJi Store. With the additional funding that they received, Kalpana and Uma have now built a larger factory that has been inaugurated very recently. Namita Thapar & Vineeta Singh invested in JhaJi Store
JhaJi Store - How Do They Do It? The journey to building a business operation began in earnest with the sale of that first jar of pickle. Every concern was dealt with meticulously. Packaging
Both women were sure that pickle packing would be in glass bottles. However, the biggest concern at that point was the unavailability of packaging materials like bubble wrap, cartons, and glass bottles in Darbhanga or the surrounding areas. Slowly and surely, they contacted various manufacturers in Delhi and began ordering larger quantities of these materials. Over time, they have built a system that operates on storing of advance inventory required for one quarter. JhaJi - Packaging in glass jars
Delivery
This was a bigger challenge for them as they realized that there were a few issues that needed careful handling. First was breakage and leakage. Packaging in glass bottles initially led to quite a few breakages as well as leaking problems. Over time, through trial and error, they developed a packing process that has significantly reduced both and they are now working to eliminate the problem in its entirety. The second issue was the delivery timeline . Couriering the orders from Darbhanga took anywhere between 10 to 12 working days to reach their destination leading to a few complaints. The resourceful duo dealt with this issue by opening warehouses in Patna and Delhi. Their products reach the warehouses by trucks and are stored there before being shipped to their respective destinations. This has reduced their delivery time to 3-5 working days. Staff Hiring
It was Kalpana Jha’s wish to provide work to the women of the village who had lost their jobs as household help during the pandemic. These women were not educated and came from impoverished backgrounds. However, their centuries-old traditions ensured that they were skilled in the art of pickle making. Hence their joining the workforce of JhaJi Store served a dual purpose. Slowly as the business grew, so did the workforce. What began as a business with only 6 staff members, currently hires a permanent staff of 50-55 employees and a daily-wage staff of 30-35 women. The business also hires 30% male staff that help in all the heavy work as well as delivery. JhaJi Store - Staff
Quality Control, Cleanliness & Hygiene
Every process at every stage of pickle making is currently done manually keeping to the highest levels of hygiene and cleanliness. Even the fruits and vegetables are hand-selected ensuring that strict quality standards are maintained. JhaJi Store - Quality Control, Cleanliness & Hygiene
Raw-Material Procurement
Conclusion
In just a couple of years, JhaJi Store has expanded its pickle repertoire to 15 flavors and they even fulfill special requests from their customers. In their first year of operations, they reached a turnover of INR 1.5 crore and aim to reach INR 3 crore by this year's end. It is their five-year aim to reach a total turnover of up to INR 12 crores. With their new factory, the duo is aiming at increasing their staff strength to a total of 150 employees and also installing machinery in the future. With increasing infrastructure like roads, electricity, and water within the state, Kalpana and Uma are looking forward to a bright future. Here’s wishing the enterprising duo the very best from the StartupTalky Team. FAQs
Do you use any preservatives to make these pickles? There are no preservatives, additives, or colors in the pickles. They source the ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, and spices from local farmers near Darbhanga, in Bihar. What is the shelf life for these pickles? The shelf life of these pickles is 14 Months. All pickles have been tested for shelf life by a NABL, FSSAI-accredited lab in Gurgaon. What type of oil do you use to make these pickles? The pickles are made using Mustard Oil, in the traditional Bihari way. How much is the delivery time? They take 3-7 days to make a delivery of a product. Must have tools for startups - Recommended by StartupTalky
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JhaJi Store - The Story of Pickles to Success

Kalpana Ajayan, Regional Head, South Asia, Women’s World Banking (WWB), an international non-profit enterprise, tells us that the challenges are aplenty as far as enrolling women from the economically constrained strata of society into the formal banking system is concerned. Kalpana Ajayan
14 Jan, 2023, 1:30 am
CHENNAI: Even as the roll out of ‘Jan Dhan’ initiative in 2014 has enabled India to establish a record with the country reporting one of the “highest growth” when it comes to access, there are several concerns. At 77.5 per cent, the access, as per the global Findex report is excellent, but the number of inactive accounts are too significant to brush it under the carpet. Kalpana Ajayan, Regional Head, South Asia, Women’s World Banking (WWB), an international non-profit enterprise, tells us that the challenges are aplenty as far as enrolling women from the economically constrained strata of society into the formal banking system is concerned. “Women do not realise the benefits that can accrue from a full-fledged savings bank account,” says Kalpana. She points out that except for direct benefit transfers (DBT) that happen out of such savings account, they do not avail the overdraft or other facilities available through a banking system. As there is no credit history available and in the absence of a formal saving habit, they tend to lose out all the benefits. Thus, the natural saving habit has not been used properly. Women customers feel intimidated as their perception is banks are only for the rich people, she says, citing the findings of a survey. “They don’t feel welcome enough,” Kalpana says but the good thing is the investment in the banking correspondent (BC) channel has been yielding good results. In fact, unlike other parts of the country where the ‘chaapa’ (thumb impression) is what gets the beneficiary through the KYC (know your customer) formalities, the state of Tamil Nadu has been seeing traction with the adoption of the mobile model. “In this case, the mobile agents come home,” she says, adding that TN is far up the curve. One of the banks with which WWB works has 50-55 women BCs. WWB entered TN about four months ago and is still in a data collation state. However, the research reports are indicative of the potential in the southern state as the not-for-profit bank thriving on gender intentionality aims to take India past the 25 million mark by 2027 (currently at six million) out of its global target of 1 billion. Even as it strives to play the advisory and advocacy role effectively, Kalpana also takes us through the innovative efforts of WWB. For instance, apart from camps at ground, the training session uses the easy and popular ‘snakes and ladders’ game to spread awareness about the length and breadth of services that women customers can avail. “We tell them that the ups and downs in life be it flood, drought or COVID-19 are like the game’s snakes and ladders,” she says, making a case that investing in women does make business sense. Considering the agrarian DNA of India, the contributions of the women in the field are totally side-stepped as she is unable to articulate her earnings despite her labour involvement. “Though they take loans to seed a business, when it comes to growth by expanding the business, women lack the vision to seek credit,” rues Kalpana, who points out that 85 per cent of the ‘Sishu’ loans in the Rs 50,000 range are availed by the fairer sex. Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper! Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!

Desperately seeking ‘Miss Moneypenny’

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand Jhaji Store, an online pickle store that sells authentic homemade achars, has raised an undisclosed amount from Velocity.in, India's largest revenue-based financier. This is the first round of external financing Jhaji Store has raised. Founded in March 2021 by the sister-in-law duo - Kalpana and Uma, Jhaji Store is a women-led D2C startup that sells traditional homemade pickles from Darbhanga district in Bihar through their eCommerce store. Jhaji Store offers over 15 different varieties of traditional homemade pickles free from artificial colours, preservatives, and other synthetic chemicals all made locally. “People in Mithila have traditionally enjoyed pickles since forever. Some flavors and ingredients are unique in this area. Over the last 30 years, my sister-in-law and I have been making and sending these pickles to friends and family everywhere from New Delhi to New York. " said Kalpana, Co-founder Jhaji Store. "Therefore, in October 2020, Uma and I started the Jhaji store to celebrate Mithila’s authentic taste and its food culture all around the country and the world. Jhaji Store’s unique Mithila pickles were an instant hit among their consumers, and they sold to over 2,500 customers within the first four months of starting the company. Inspired by their initial success, Kalpana and Uma also participated in Shark Tank India to raise capital for expanding their business. They asked Rs. 50 lakhs in exchange for 10% equity in the business, but none of the sharks were interested.. This is when Velocity - India's largest revenue-based financier approached Jhaji to offer growth capital. Talking about the financing, Uma said, "We are extremely excited to raise capital from Velocity. The team reached out the next day after our Shark Tank pitch aired on Sony TV, and was quick to give us an indicative offer on the same day. The terms were simple enough for Kalpana and I to understand, and as a result, we finalized them within 5 days. We’re glad to find the capital that will fund the next part of our journey, without diluting any equity. "Since the show has aired, it’s been an almost magical experience. There has been a massive surge in demand for our pickles from all over India. The money we’ve raised from Velocity will help us fulfill orders and free up the money we can invest in launching new product lines and ramping up production." she added. JhaJi Store is an honest and conscious business that employs underprivileged women and men, who have seen their family income triple in the few months they have been working with JhaJi. The business also spends 2% of its revenues directly towards the cause of girl child education. As per a recent study by YourStory, less than 6% of Venture Capital funding goes to startups with women co-founders. Through its objective, data-backed approach, Velocity aims to eliminate this bias from investing. Velocity already funds more than 5x women-led startups than Venture Capital. Speaking about the round of financing, Abhiroop Medhekar, Co-founder & CEO of Velocity, said, "We were impressed with the clarity of purpose and determination which Kalpana Ji and Uma Ji have showcased in their entrepreneurial journey so far. We started Velocity with a firm belief that it shouldn’t be so hard for good business to get funded. Velocity strives to democratise access to capital for all founders, regardless of their educational pedigree or geographical location. We make financing decisions purely based on the veracity of the business model as evidenced by a business’s online data." Velocity.in, a Bengaluru-based fintech, is India's largest revenue-based financier. Over 1,500 e-commerce businesses have signed up with Velocity since it commenced operations in early 2020. With over Rs 1,200 crore of fundable revenues connected to Velocity’s platform, the fintech has already processed 350 investments across 250 companies. Share this article:

Jhaji Store Raises Undisclosed Amount From Velocity.in

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Bharatpur (Rajasthan) [India], November 8 (ANI): The adage “Everything is fair in love and war” was proven true in the town of Deeg in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Meera Kuntal, a physical education teacher at the Government Secondary School here, has undergone gender change surgery to become a male and now goes by the name Aarav Kuntal. After the gender change, Aarav married Kalpana, his student from the school. They fell in love while in school, but the same gender was creating problems in their lives. That is when he decided to change gender. Speaking about their love affair, Kalpana told ANI, “I loved him from the beginning. Even if he had not undergone this surgery, I would have married him. I went along with him for the surgery.”
Aarav, informing about his gender change, said that he was unable to accept his body. He felt trapped within his body. It was way back in 2010 that he came across a newspaper cutting from where he got to know about the surgery and since then wanted to get it done. And, after much research and consideration, they finally zeroed in on Dr Narendra Kaushik of Olvec Hospital in Delhi. Speaking to ANI, Aarav Kuntal, the teacher who changed his gender said, “I always wished to undergo surgery to change my gender. I had my first surgery on 25 December 2019.” His surgery was conducted in phases and lasted three years, which ended in December 2021. Talking about his son, Aarav’s father Veeri Singh said that he never felt as if he was a girl. Aarav (Meera) was always proactive in sports and has never worn the attire of a girl. He always dressed as a boy and we supported him. Aarav’s father said, “My other four daughters tie Rakhi to Aarav now and their children call him ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle)”. Aarav (Meera earlier), was a physical education teacher and coach of Kabaddi in the school where Kalpana studied. Meera trained Kalpana and she performed excellently in tournaments. Under Meera’s guidance, Kalpana played for the nationals in Kabaddi while she was in senior secondary and currently is an international player. Their love blossomed during the coaching and Kalpana stood by Aarav’s side throughout his three-year journey of the sex reassignment surgery. They finally married on the 4 November 2022 and both their families have accepted their decision and are happy and supportive. Kalpana is all set to play in the International Pro-Kabaddi tournament in Dubai scheduled in January 2023. (ANI)
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Teacher undergoes gender change surgery to marry student in Rajasthan’s Deeg

Kalpana

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Kalpana pioneered the Ethernet switching industry with innovative technology such as low-latency, cut-through switching and full-duplex Ethernet.

Date	Round	Amount	Investors	Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model.	Revenue	Sources
10/24/1994	Acquired		Cisco		0 FY undefined	1
	Other Investors		Subscribe to see more		0 FY undefined	0

Date	10/24/1994
Round	Acquired	Other Investors
Amount
Investors	Cisco	Subscribe to see more
Valuation
Revenue	0 FY undefined	0 FY undefined
Sources	1	0

First funding	Last Funding	Investor	Rounds	Board Seats	Type	Location
10/24/1994	10/24/1994	Cisco	1 Acquired		Corporation	California
		Sprout Group	Subscribe to see more		Venture Capital	New York
		TeleSoft Partners	Subscribe to see more		Venture Capital	California
		Benchmark	Subscribe to see more		Venture Capital	California
		Canaan Partners	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more	Venture Capital	California

First funding	10/24/1994
Last Funding	10/24/1994
Investor	Cisco	Sprout Group	TeleSoft Partners	Benchmark	Canaan Partners
Rounds	1 Acquired	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more
Board Seats					Subscribe to see more
Type	Corporation	Venture Capital	Venture Capital	Venture Capital	Venture Capital
Location	California	New York	California	California	California

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