In the third of our Independence Day special #OutlookMoney, Rajat Mishra is in conversation with Meenal Sinha, Founder & CEO, Meetings & Office. In this video, she is talking about her professional journey and telling us whether women in India have achieved financial independence or not.
#IndependenceDay #FinancialIndependence #MeenalSinha #Money #OutlookMoney #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
#IndependenceDay #FinancialIndependence #MeenalSinha #Money #OutlookMoney #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
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00:30 - As an entrepreneur, I'm fortunate enough
00:32 not to have had any major let downs.
00:35 However, as a woman, there have been a succession
00:38 of inappropriate comments, less than sensitive behavior,
00:42 and you know, when people don't treat you seriously enough.
00:46 I remember this particular instance
00:48 when a senior partner in a firm
00:50 was holding my visiting card in his hand,
00:53 saying founder and CEO.
00:55 However, he kept on asking me,
00:57 and rather telling me that he knows the main guy
01:00 in my firm, which was just very hilarious.
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01:10 Since 1947, a lot has changed for women in India
01:13 in terms of financial independence.
01:16 But I think although a minority
01:19 of the progressive Indian female living in the metros
01:22 has been able to achieve financial independence,
01:25 the majority of the female population
01:28 living even in the metros is still financially dependent
01:32 on either their spouses or the joint families.
01:35 What happens due to this is it opens the doors
01:38 to exploitation and unfair treatment.
01:41 As a society, we need to accept the fact
01:46 that financial independence is of utmost importance
01:50 for women so that we can protect their interests
01:54 and create conditions where they do not have
01:58 to take favors from any other person,
02:00 whether it is their own spouses or joint families
02:03 or even their own parents for that matter.
02:06 So when I started my entrepreneurial journey,
02:19 my platform is an online booking platform
02:23 for meeting rooms and office spaces.
02:25 So it is a tech platform,
02:27 and I did not have a tech co-founder.
02:30 And we went out looking for a tech co-founder,
02:35 and I never realized just finding a tech co-founder,
02:39 finding somebody whose wavelength matches mine
02:42 would be such a humongous task and such a difficult journey.
02:47 And it was almost like a second marriage for me.
02:52 And what we joke about today,
02:55 me and my husband, who's also my co-founder,
02:58 that we jointly had three failed marriages in that process.
03:01 I think that was the toughest part of my journey.
03:05 And we really had, the first conversation we had
03:09 with the tech co-founder,
03:11 it was almost like everything signed, sealed.
03:14 And we met multiple times with this person
03:18 and families met, and we thought we really gelled well
03:21 together and we found the perfect match.
03:24 And then I don't know what happened.
03:26 He went and spoke to somebody else, an external advisor,
03:29 and suddenly he wanted the largest stake in the company.
03:33 And I was so taken aback,
03:36 and it was literally like I was shattered
03:39 into a zillion pieces, and I didn't know what had hit me.
03:43 And from there, I literally had to put together
03:47 all my pieces back together and say,
03:50 this is not the end of the world.
03:52 I will still be able to start my startup.
03:54 And I started on the journey again,
03:57 started my conversation with the second tech co-founder.
04:01 And I don't know, I guess I was not supposed to work
04:06 with that person also.
04:08 Everything worked beautifully, signed, sealed.
04:11 I in fact still have his signed agreement on a stamp paper
04:15 when he decided he wanted to pursue further studies.
04:18 Well, I'm sure he's doing well for himself,
04:21 but I guess it was destiny
04:25 that I was not supposed to work with him.
04:27 So those were the first two failed marriages.
04:30 And in the third instance, everything was going well,
04:35 and I thought work had started.
04:38 And again, the families were involved.
04:41 They were a husband-wife duo.
04:43 We were a husband-wife duo.
04:45 We had known each other for some years,
04:48 and we had multiple conversations.
04:52 We had been to their office.
04:54 We had met multiple times outside.
04:57 We had exchanged all plans,
04:59 brainstormed multiple times, met with their team.
05:02 And we had already started working and seeing some stuff,
05:07 and they had already given their inputs.
05:09 Then they just decided that they had taken on
05:12 some other project that they were more keen on.
05:14 And this was again after an SHA
05:16 and everything had been drawn up.
05:18 So yeah, that is how life is, I guess.
05:22 And at that time, I was so devastated
05:26 that I was talking to my husband, Amit.
05:28 Maybe it is not meant to be.
05:31 And some people from the industry, in fact,
05:34 angel investors and all told me that,
05:37 without a tech co-founder,
05:38 there is no way that you can take off
05:41 and your business is not gonna do well,
05:43 and there is no way you can start a startup.
05:45 And I thought maybe it's time to give up
05:47 and just take up another job.
05:50 But I'm just so lucky that I also had my mentors
05:53 who said, "Never say die."
05:56 And here I am.
05:58 I have a perfectly working tech product.
06:01 And all I have to say to all the startups
06:05 who have all these problems,
06:07 never give up and never say die.
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06:17 I think some of the Indian women have forgotten
06:28 who they truly are and what they are capable of.
06:31 What I'd really like to do is remind them of that.
06:35 As a civilization, we record and celebrate
06:38 women achievers throughout our history,
06:41 whether it's our warriors, our scholars,
06:45 our artists, or our change makers.
06:48 Women have been traditionally the guardians of value.
06:51 We women have to be very careful
06:53 of inculcating the right values,
06:56 of being honest, transparent,
06:58 and of being ethical in our business dealings as well.
07:02 I believe it is up to more than anyone else
07:06 to ensure that business does not remain a dirty word.
07:11 Our business ecosystem needs many more women
07:14 because women bring a sense of calm
07:17 and urgency simultaneously.
07:20 It is true that men will try to belittle you,
07:23 ignore you, and outvote you.
07:26 Don't ever let them stop you.
07:28 Don't shy away because someone with an outdated outlook
07:32 passes a sexist remark or makes inappropriate gestures.
07:36 Tell them off.
07:37 Talk about it.
07:38 It is not your fault.
07:40 Also, as a woman, empathize with other women.
07:44 Women are driven, result-oriented,
07:47 and will create success stories.
07:49 Keep achieving.
07:50 Keep inspiring.
07:51 More power to you.
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