Startups should be launched and led by a woman who competes against the best in the business and wins.

Lizzie Chapman

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Post: CEO, zestmoney

founded in: 2015

based in: Bangalore

Major Investors: Ribbit Capital, PayU, Goldman Sachs, Kwana Capital, Florish, Xiaomi

claim to fame: Chapman has been working in the Indian fintech space since 2011. His current venture, ZestMoney, Buy Now, a major player in the Pay Later (BNPL) space, has gained significant traction on the back of Covid-19. Chapman says that the company is building the most advanced BNPL platform with the widest network of businesses that accept ZestMoney.

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More ETSA 2021 nominees;  500 employees of Freshworks become millionaires

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Vineeta Singh

Vineeta Singhmore tech



Post: CEO, Sugar Cosmetics

founded in: 2012

based in: Mumbai

Major Investors: Elevation Capital, India Quotient, A91 Partners

claim to fame: Singh founded Sugar with her husband Kaushik Mukherjee, which faced challenges in raising funds in its early years. That began to change when investor interest in direct-to-consumer brands began to rise. Sugar, led by Elevation Capital, has raised $21 million this year.

Prakalpa Shankari

Prakalpa Shankarimore tech



Post: co-founder, atlanta

founded in: 2019

based in: New Delhi

Major Investors: Insight Partners, Waterbridge Ventures, 500 Startups, Sequoia Surge

claim to fame: Shankar developed the core product of his current venture Atlan, a data-ops company, as an internal tool for his previous venture, SocialCops. The product is a data collaboration software that exists as a layer on top of a data warehouse, which has gained traction at an early stage, allowing Atlan to raise $16 million in May of this year.

Joe Agarwal

Joe Agarwalmore tech



Post: CEO, Wysa

founded in: Bangalore

based in: 2015

Major Investors: Pai Ventures, KE Capital, W Health Ventures, Google Startupbootcamp, Philips Healthworks

claim to fame: Agarwal founded the AI-powered mental health app after he couldn’t find a product-market fit to help him cope with depression after the failure of a previous startup. Wysa is one of the few well funded businesses in the field of mental health in India.

Bhavna Suresh

Bhavna Sureshmore tech

Post: CEO, 10club

founded in: 2020

based in: Bangalore

Major Investors: Fireside Ventures, Secocha Ventures, Class 5, Heyday, PDS International

claim to fame: Earlier this year, Suresh’s startup 10Club raised $40 million to enter the buzzing roll-up space, the largest seed round ever in India. 10Club acquires e-commerce product vendors with the intention of operating and growing businesses. Before founding 10 Club, Suresh sold an online real estate platform he helped build.

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