Yahoo Movies Meet 5 Mother-Daughter Entrepreneur Duos Serving Major Goals in Business Success
In business, as is in life, the one thing that determines how successful a partnership will turn out to be, is chemistry. It is, after all, the mutual understanding, equal shouldering of responsibility, and the willingness to plug in and guide whenever and wherever one faulters, that decides whether an entrepreneurial duo could make it big and in the long term.
And who better to exemplify this kind of harmony in business than mother-daughter duos who have successfully doubled up as business partners in real life. From high-end fashion to rural craftsmanship, critical research relating to novel coronavirus to AI and robotics, these mother-daughter entrepreneurial teams have achieved great milestones in their respective fields.
As Mother’s Day approaches, we take a look at some of these successful mum-and-daughter duos:
Dr Jayanthi Shastri and Dr Aditi Shastri, Research on COVID-19
As the world grapples with the novel Coronavirus outbreak, several scientists have joined forces to find out more about this virus and a possible antidote. One such team of researchers is mother-daughter duo Dr Jayanthi Shastri and Dr Aditi Shastri.
Dr Jayanthi Shastri heads the Microbiology Department at the Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Disease in Mumbai. Her daughter Dr Aditi Shastri, on the other hand, is an Assistant Professor of Oncology at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in Bronx, New York. Together the two have collaborated on a cross-continent research on why coronavirus cases are more common among men than women. Their yet-to-be-published study proposes that due to the testicles, where coronavirus can linger, men are more prone to longer and severe infection.
Shanta Ghosh and Sulagna Ghosh, Sienna Store & Café
Around 165 kms from Kolkata is located Shantiniketan, a small town which also houses the Viswa Bharati University established by Rabindranath Tagore. And it was in this small, culturally inclined town that Sulagna Ghosh decided to set up a small pottery workshop to retail wares and train and provide employment to local artisans. The entrepreneurial venture was prompted by her experiences, but also it was the aim to convert her mother, Shanta Ghosh’ part-time business into a full-fledged one that guided her decision.
What started out as a small-scale workshop has today turned into the multi-outlet Sienna Store & Café in Kolkata, raking in an annual turnover of Rs 3 crore. Shuli claims that what separates their store-café from the rest – their new Park Street branch also doubles up as a co-working space – is the aesthetics.
Divya Bajpai and Aditi Bajpai, Almirah
For someone with a Master degree in Political Science, fashion and designing might not seem like an obvious choice. But that is the leap Aditi Bajpai took when she joined her mother Divya Bajpai, a seasoned entrepreneur with almost three decades of experience, to incept Almirah in 2011.
Born out of the love for Indian textiles and techniques like weaving, quilting, printing, and hand embroidery, Almirah is a treasure trove of quirky clothes and bedding with an Indian, hand-made vibe.
The brand is also conscious about the cause of the artisans, craftsmen, tailors, and quilters. By locally sourcing products and creating everything in-house, the duo behind Almirah is also creating a source of livelihood for these rural workers.
Tanvi Shah and Mira Shah, The Millennial Kitchen
All the young adults, living away from home will relate to this – “what’s for dinner” is the biggest question in our lives. One that mother-daughter duo Tanvi and Mira Shah aims to solve with their cookbook, The Millennial Kitchen, which is basically a selection of easy-to-cook recipes that "will warm your heart".
From 'Party Starters and Cool Platters' to 'Meals for One and Two', the cookbook covers a wide range of recipes for – as the name suggests – millennials and their mothers. “Millennials are liberal, tech-savvy, and have the propensity to eat but not the bandwidth to cook. This book shows a simple way to cook healthy yet delicious food,” said Mira about the inspiration behind the cookbook.
All proceeds from their cookbook goes to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, a philanthropic organisation based in South India.
Jaya Parashar and Ankita Parashar, STREAM Minds
Gurugram-based STREAM Minds aims to introduce technology to school- children, break it down to them in simple and exciting terms, and get them hooked to tech for life. The startup, founded by mother-daughter duo Jaya Parashar and Ankita Parashar, has been achieving this goal by providing an experiential experience to learning.
Through seasoned storytelling techniques and simple paper circuits, the duo explains the concepts of electronics to these young kids, giving them an understanding of technology and it role in our lives.
“Our product is a fun new way to integrate the knowledge of science that’s all around them and also cover crucial concepts that are otherwise not taught as part of their school curriculum through stories, attractive visuals and art, culminating into a comprehensive learning experience,” Ankita has stated.
