Vineeta Singh
Vineeta Singh is an Indian entrepreneur and CEO and co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics. She has been a shark (i.e. judge/investor) on the business reality TV show Shark Tank India since the show started airing on SonyLIV in 2021.
Vineeta Singh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 (age 39–40) Anand, Gujarat, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram |
| Alma mater | IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad |
| Occupation | Entrepreuner |
| Years active | Since 2007 |
| Known for | Sugar Cosmetics |
| Television | Shark Tank India |
| Spouse | Kaushik Mukherjee (m. 2011) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
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| Website | in |
Early life and education edit
Singh was born in 1983 in Anand, Gujarat.[1] Her mother holds a PhD and her father Tej P. Singh is a biophysicist at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences.[2]
Singh completed her school education at Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram in 2001.[3] She then enrolled in Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) in that year.[4] Singh completed her electrical engineering studies at IIT-M and earned the bachelor's degree in 2005.[5] Afterward, she obtained an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) in 2007.[6]
During her MBA studies, in 2006, she worked as a summer intern at Deutsche Bank and rejected a job from that company despite an annual Rs 1 crore salary.[7][8] Singh and the other graduate who rejected the same offer wanted to instead start their own lingerie business,[9] but the idea did not take off as they were unable to raise the required funding.[6]
Career edit
In 2007, Singh founded her first startup Quetzal.[10] However, the idea of providing background verification checks to recruiters failed to succeed. She started her second startup Fab-Bag in 2012, a subscription platform that provided monthly deliveries of beauty products.[11] Her third startup, Sugar Cosmetics, Singh founded together with her husband in 2015.[12] The company sells cosmetics and personal care products geared towards the Indian market.[13][14] After closing a $50 million deal with private equity firm L Catterton, Singh characterized the company's products as catering to the preferences of women with diverse skin tones.[15] In September 2022, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh invested an undisclosed amount and became a "brand evangelist" of Sugar Cosmetics.[16][17]
Singh appeared on the hard copy cover pages of business magazines, such as Forbes India, Business Today, and Businessworld.[18][19][20][21] To Business Today, she revealed that funding was once only granted under the condition that her husband joined the company full-time, which she viewed as gender discrimination.[22][23]
In 2021, Forbes India listed Singh as one of its Forbes India W-Power list of women achievers.[24][2]
In 2023, Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan formed a joint venture with cofounders of Sugar Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, to launch a Korean skincare brand Quench Botanics in India.[25]
Entertainment edit
Singh is one of the major investors/judges on the business reality show Shark Tank India.[26][27]
In 2022, Singh along with the other Shark Tank India judges appeared as a VIP contestant in Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.[28] She also appeared as a guest on The Kapil Sharma Show together with other Shark Tank India judges in the same year.[29][30]
Awards and recognition edit
Singh, respectively her startup Sugar Cosmetics, received the following awards related to her entrepreneurship:
- Start-up of the year award by Entrepreneur Awards, Delhi (2019).[31]
- W-Power Award by Forbes India (2021).[24]
- BW Disrupt 40 Under 40 Award by Businessworld (2021).[32]
- Fortune's 40 Under 40 (2021).[33]
- World Economic Forum's Young Global Leadership list (2022).[34]
- She won 2 Gold and 2 Silver medals for IIT Madras during the 4 Inter IIT Sports Meets attended from 2001–2005.[35]
Personal life edit
In 2011, Vineeta Singh married Kaushik Mukherjee and the couple have two sons.[36] She met Kaushik during their studies at IIM Ahmedabad.[37][38]
Singh is a triathlete and ultramarathon runner and has participated in 20 marathons, ultramarathons, and 12 half-marathons.[39] She also took part in the 89-km Comrades Marathon from 2012 to 2014.[40] She completed the 2017 Ironman Triathlon in Austria.[41] In the 2018 Mumbai Marathon, she ran a total of 21 km in 2:42:51s while being 6 months pregnant.[42]
References edit
- ^ Kapoor, Eetika (25 January 2023). "Early Life". Business Insider. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ a b Meghani, Varsha (23 November 2021). "Vineeta Singh: Sugar Cosmetics, and the passion for the impossible". Forbes India. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "Vineeta Singh Sugar Cosmetics CEO The Next Judge of Shark Tank India". SharkTank.co.in. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Pandey, Shree; Sundararajan, Shrikant & Shashin, Shibani (2022), The IITM Nexus (1st ed.), Chennai, India: Notion Press, ISBN 978-1-68563-906-8
- ^ Oberoi, Pragatti (18 August 2022). "How to become a CEO? Vineeta Singh guides on the role of mathematics, IITs, IIMs and the skills needed". TimesNow. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ a b Bagchi, Shrabonti (21 May 2021). "Vineeta Singh: On a SUGAR high". Mint. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Ghosh, Sutrishna (22 April 2020). "The IIM Alumnus Who Turned Down a Rs 1 Cr Job to Launch a Rs.100 Cr Cosmetics Empire". Yahoo. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Two IIM-A grads shun Rs 1-cr offer". The Times of India. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ "No to crore-a-year to make lingerie". The Telegraph (India). 28 December 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ "Angels dare to fly: Indian women are getting into entrepreneurial roles". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "The Sweet and Bitter Story of Sugar Cosmetic Founder: Vineeta Singh". startup insider. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Vineeta Singh: Sugar Cosmetics, And The Passion For The Impossible". Forbes India. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Punj, Shwweta. "Vineeta Singh: Sweet success". India Today. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "As CEO, my job is to get out of their way". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (31 May 2022). "SUGAR Cosmetics closes $50 million in series D fundraise". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ Bhushan, Ratna (3 September 2022). "Actor Ranveer Singh invests in Sugar Cosmetics". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ Verma Ambwani, Meenakshi (3 September 2022). "Ranveer Singh invests in SUGAR Cosmetics". Business Line. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ Carvalho, Brian (22 November 2021). "Forbes India W-Power 2021: Role models who will inspire a generation". Forbes India. Retrieved 14 January 2023. ("Editor's Note" including image of cover showing Singh)
- ^ . Business Today. 13 November 2022. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023. (Shows cover of 13 November 2022 print issue which features and names Singh)
- ^ "Sugar Rush". Twitter. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023. ("Image of cover showing Singh and teaser to the corrosponding cover story)
- ^ Singh, Rajiv (9 September 2021). "Sugar cosmetics: Lips don't lie". Forbes India. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Zaidi, Tarab (21 December 2022). "Investors refused to fund Sugar until my husband joined it". Business Today (India). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Sugar Sugar, Ah! Money, Money". Businessworld. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ a b "W-Power 2021". Forbes India. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ Verma Ambwani, Meenakshi (13 October 2023). "Kareena Kapoor Khan becomes co-owner of Vineeta Singh's Quench Botanics". The Hindu Businessline. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Farzeen, Sana (17 January 2023). "Sugar's Vineeta Singh on how Shark Tank India changed her life: "My kids ask, why people want a photo with you."". Indian Express. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ Panjari, Swagata; Salve, Priyanka. "What makes Sharks take the bait? Vineeta Singh, Namita Thapar share the idea USP that attracts". The Economic Times. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "KBC: Here's how Vineeta Singh, Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal pitched for themselves to grab the hotseat". Hindustan Times. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ The Kapil Sharma Show S2- Sharks - Massive Contributors To Country's GDP -Ep 225-Full EP-30 Jan 2022. The Kapil Sharma Show. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Kapil Sharma asks Shark Tank's Vineeta Singh about lipstick marks on husband's shirt, he has a funny response". Hindustan Times. 29 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ "Retail Start-up of the Year: SUGAR Cosmetics". Entrepreneur India. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "India's Top Entrepreneurs: BW Disrupt 40 Under 40, 2022". Businessworld. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Vineeta Singh, Kaushik Mukherjee - India's Young & Brightest Entrepreneurs in 40 Under 40 2021". Fortune India. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Meet the 2022 Class of Young Global Leaders". World Economic Forum. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Tripathi, Anuj (ed.). "Vineeta Singh". Linkedin. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Srivastava, Arushi (18 April 2022). "Shark Tank India: From an athlete to business leader under 40, lesser-known facts about Vineeta Singh". Pinkvilla. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "SUGAR Cosmetics journey a part of IIM-A's case study, founders Kaushik Mukherjee & Vineeta Singh over the moon". Economic Times. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "PICS: Ashneer Grover to Vineeta Singh; sneak peek into the family life of Shark Tank India judges". The Economic Times. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ S, Vidya (25 September 2021). "Run, Vineeta, Run". Business Today. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ Singh Bhandari, Kabir (14 June 2022). "Shark Tank India's Vineeta Singh Has Amazing Stamina And Fitness". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ Ganesan Ram, Sharmila (22 October 2017). "Powai power couple on losing friends and becoming 'Iron Man'". Times of India. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ Iyer, Sundari (22 January 2018). "Woman runs 21 km while being six months pregnant". Mid-day. Retrieved 10 February 2023.