The journey of Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth and Shark Tank India judge, is an inspiration to millions of young entrepreneurs across the nation who wish to set their own startups.
Ghazal Alagh, along with her husband Varun Alagh, founded Mamaearth in 2016 with an initial investment of ₹25 lakhs, under the parent organization Honasa Consumer Ltd. What sparked the idea of establishing the company was her deep desire to safeguard her children from toxins and provide them safe babycare items.
Little did the couple knew that the simple idea would emerge as a behemoth business, worth Rs 9,800 crores, as per media reports.
What intially debuted as babycare brands later expanded to skincare and haircare products. Moreover, the company also houses brands like Ayuga, The Derma Co., and Aqualogica, apart from ts investments in the salon firm BBLUNT, Momspresso, and the beauty brand Dr. Sheth’s.
Notably, Mamaearth takes pride in being the first Asian brand with a “MADE SAFE” certification, which confirms that the products were created with toxin-free ingredients.
Journey of Ghazal Alagh
Born on September 2, 1988 in Haryana's Gurugram, Ghazal Alagh was brought up in a middle-class family.
She finished her early education in Haryana and later pursued BCA in Information Technology from Punjab University. She also pursued the Summer intensive course in Modern Art, Design and Applied Arts from the School of Visual Arts along with an Intensive Course in Figurative Art in Modern Art in 2013 from the New York Academy of Art.
Alagh's career beganwith a salary of Rs 1,200 per day. She was designated as a Corporate Trainer with NIIT where she trained managers and engineers in coding languages and software from various IT companies.
In a social media post, she revealed that she began her career with merely Rs 1,200 per day and took her mom out for shopping and a memorable dinner.
"My first income was modest, earning Rs 1,200/day as a weekend corporate trainer. I recall the joy of taking my mom shopping and sharing a memorable dinner", Alagh had said.
Biggest leap in Ghazal Alagh's career
The biggest turning point in Ghazal Alagh's career came when she and her husband were in quest of safe babycare products which were free from toxins. Unfortunately, they did not find such products in the market.
However, this made them come up with the idea of establishing a babycare brand that could be free from harmful ingredients.
It is not hyperbolic to say that Mamaearth has become a household brand today, that delivers toxin-free products to every home.
Moreover, Ghazal Alagh also revealed that she did not just sidestep after establishing the company, but also tried every product on her own skin.
In one of her LinkedIn posts, she wrote, "I still personally try every single product before it opens up for sale to our consumers. When Varun Alagh and I started our first brand Mamaearth, it was for our child and all the babies of India. We would never launch something we won’t use on our baby. And that paranoia has stayed with us as our core value."
