Meet Women of Wonder (WOW), a group of sassy, independent entrepreneurs from Magarpatta City. Women with a mission, many of them are talented homemakers juggling a busy home life with a small business.
We speak to Shilpa Venkatraghavan, a wonder woman in the true sense who has managed to catalyse change by pioneering this one-of-a-kind group to boost female entrepreneurs.
Evoking memories of the birth of WOW, Shilpa says, “In May 2015, I’d organised a little exhibition and sale in Magarpatta City, where I reside. Back then I had to post on different Facebook groups to spread the word and fill the stalls. That was when I thought of forming a business group exclusively for home-based women entrepreneurs in the neighbourhood.”
While they initially formed a Whatsapp group with 12 sellers, Shilpa soon realised there needed to be both demand and supply for WOW to flourish. “We needed buyers too. So, I started adding ladies exclusively as buyers and the movement slowly gained momentum. Today we have members from the vicinity as well.
This was when WOW gained prominence as a unique buyer-seller group, which in turn caused business to pick up. Shilpa passionately explains the WOW concept saying, “We believe in doing swift business locally, so the buyer can personally check the products prior to purchase. But with the addition of entrepreneurs from all over Pune we ship products as well.
“One of the most interesting facets is the variety of merchandise and services within WOW. We have doctors, bakers, teachers and daycare owners to jewellery designers, chartered accountants and caterers. From event managers, beauticians and nutritionists, women offering pathology services we have it all.”
Introducing us to her core team the spirited lady explains, “Bhoomika Desai, Jharna Ananthkumar and Shradha Agarwala, are all entrepreneurs who also assist us with organising exhibitions and conducting monthly meetings.
“In fact, the growing popularity of our group saw us move from WhatsApp to Telegram so we could add over 10,000 members without multiple groups.”
Hosting monthly meetings where buyers meet sellers, the women brainstorm solutions to issues faced by sellers. Having arranged five successful flea markets exclusively for members till date, the group has clearly boosted business for the home-based entrepreneurs.
Shilpa explicates that WOW helps create meaningful business relationships. “Today, the group has become a vibrant ecosystem where women have come together beyond the confines of business. Women of Wonder is a sisterhood where every member can find help and information within minutes, no matter the gravity of the situation.
Shilpa says that they see themselves as a fraternity. “For many of us, this group has let us do something different and feel motivated.”
The neighbourhood entrepreneurial community has touched close to 700 members.
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