Women in Business Committee
Capital Club Dubai hosted a panel discussion, moderated by Greg Jasmin from the Women in Business Committee, on the transition from the corporate world into become an entrepreneur. Here are a few highlights from the conversation.
Greg Jasmin, CEO and co-Founder, GoTech RDC; Managing Director, X2X Group.
Anisha Oberoi, CEO and Founder of Secret Skin
Deepti, CEO and Founder, Vaasara
Indu Varanasi, Founder and Design Director, IRDesign
Why did you become an entrepreneur?
- In large organisations, often silos are created, and this just did not work for me. I needed to have a more wholistic perspective to the work I was doing, so decided to open my own firm.
- I saw a gap in the market and a purpose for my life through my own struggle, so I decided to leave the corporate life and pursue my own business.
- Even as I was being promoted in the corporate world, I suddenly realized that this is not what I wanted to spend my days doing and decided to start something that made sense to me.
What values have you intentionally designed in your team?
- We look for people who have an attitude of a ‘maverick’ and know how to get the job done, and from this we have been able to create a very diverse team.
- We look for people who have an attitude of ‘continuous learning’ and a willingness to experiment. Having a team with counterviews and diversity of thought is very important.
- We were able to gain traction quickly because everyone was aligned with our values of sustainability and being customer centric.
 What was your biggest fear in transitioning from a corporate life to entrepreneurship?
- Not receiving a regular paycheck.
- Not knowing how to regularly pay employee salaries.
- Not knowing how much fundraising would be required.
What retrospective wisdom can you share on being an entrepreneur?
- Fast-track fundraising.
- Learn more about the business side of running your own company.
- Develop effective and clear messaging about your brand and purpose and communicate these through the correct channels.
- Understanding better how to strategise in stocking inventory.
- Conduct thorough reference checks before hiring.