Falguni Nayar, born on February 19, 1963, in Mumbai, India, is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder of Nykaa, a leading beauty and lifestyle retail company. Before starting Nykaa in 2012, she had a successful career in investment banking, serving as the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital. At the age of 50, she ventured into entrepreneurship, using her expertise to build Nykaa into a billion-dollar company. Falguni is one of India's self-made female billionaires and a trailblazer in the e-commerce and beauty industries.

Before founding Nykaa, Falguni Nayar had a distinguished career in investment banking. She worked at A.F. Ferguson & Co. as a consultant and later joined Kotak Mahindra Group in 1993. At Kotak, she rose through the ranks to become the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital, where she led mergers and acquisitions and institutional equities operations in India, London, and New York. Her extensive experience in finance and strategic planning equipped her with the skills and confidence to venture into entrepreneurship at the age of 50. This bold career shift led to the creation of Nykaa, which revolutionized the beauty and lifestyle retail industry in India.

Falguni Nayar made her fortune by founding Nykaa, a beauty and lifestyle retail company, in 2012. She started the business with $2 million of her own savings, leveraging her extensive experience in investment banking. Nykaa quickly gained popularity for offering a wide range of beauty products online, catering to the growing demand for premium and niche brands in India. The company expanded into physical retail stores and diversified its offerings to include fashion and wellness products. In 2021, Nykaa went public with a stellar debut, making Falguni Nayar India's richest self-made woman. Her wealth primarily comes from her ownership stake in Nykaa, which has grown into a billion-dollar enterprise. Her journey is a remarkable example of late-career entrepreneurship and strategic vision.