At BrilliantRead Media, it is our constant endeavour to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this, we invited Debjani Mookherjee for an exclusive interview with us. She is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Mentor, and Change Enabler. Debjani is the Founder of Nanighar. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Debjani:
Could you please talk to us about your background and your journey?
My upbringing and my professional journey of handling large scale operations and leading complex projects equipped me with the skills necessary to navigate the challenges of starting and scaling Nanighar.
Moreover, my understanding of the Market and consumer behaviour, played a crucial role in establishing nanighar as a successful platform for empowering women through culinary entrepreneurship.
My 22 years of extensive career in corporate, roles in Corporate Branding, Marketing, Business Development PR and Sales, my education from IIM Calcutta, Marketing Analysis from Wharton bought a solid foundation.
My association involved notable groups and role as a CEO of one of the largest Conglomerate also helped to grow Nanighar. The journey has been challenging yet exciting and pleasant so far, there are always some challenges but you also get rewards if you keep persevering. It has been a great learning experience and there is more to come.
How did you discover your passion?
As they say, Necessity is the mother of Invention, I was struggling to get good food for my family especially for my toddlers, I was a busy professional and Family was the first priority like any mother and thus Nanighar came into life.
I belong to a family where cooking for ages was something we cherished, especially my Nani, Dadi and Mom. So, I combined my love for food with my passion for entrepreneurship.
Despite the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
Yes, it’s tough as it’s 5 years long. We are bootstrapped and yet to make a profit and often I thought the journey ended for various reasons.
I believe that I am blessed to have an education, I am empowered, financially independent but what did I give back to Society? I met many women in my career who have everything, but they lost their own self-identity. They (now the 500 plus) Mom chefs keep me going even when things are toughest.
At Nanighar we envision a Healthy India and Empowered women
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
If you are true to your passion and put in hard work, Honesty and perseverance, success will come.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Leverage Your Experience: Use the skills and knowledge gained either from education or previous work roles.
Embrace Challenges: Be prepared to face and overcome challenges.
Empower Others: That somehow end up empowering yourself
Finally, what about your journey that makes it satisfying/exciting?
The journey is very satisfying as well as exciting as the journey and the dream is not only mine but of thousands of women who want to be self-independent despite living a life of many years as a housewife.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
