A platform to celebrate women achievers across the fashion, beauty and food industries in the country, TOI launched the SheUnLTD Entrepreneurship Awards 2019 on the International Women’s Day i.e. 8th March 2019.The awards will host an eminent jury who will evaluate the shortlisted contestants and felicitate women of substance while also providing them a platform to share their stories with aspiring women entrepreneurs.
An esteemed panel of judges including,Shantanu & Nikhil (Fashion designers), Rahul Mishra (Fashion designer), Rashmi Uday Singh (food author & TV host), Sanjeev Kapoor (Celebrity Chef & Author), RiyaazAmlani (Restaurateur), DorrisGodambe (Celebrity Hairstylist), Ambika Pillai (Celebrity Hairstylist and Makeup artist), Aalim Hakim (Celebrity Hairstylist), Pinky Reddy (President FICCI FLO), Harjinder Kaur (Sr. Vice President FICCI FLO) and SaireeChahal(Founder & CEO Sheroes) will be the national jury. Rashmi Dagga (Founder & CEO FreshMenu), and Manjul Gupta (Beauty Entrepreneur)& Gouri Kapoor (Celebrity Makeup Artist) will judge the regional rounds as jury for Bengaluru while Tarun Mahadevan (Restaurateur), Chef Koushikaka the Mad Chef, Karun Raman (Fashion Choreographer& Stylist), Rehane (Fashion Designer), Samantha Jagan (Celebrity Makeup Artist)and Sam Paul (Serial Entrepreneur) will be the region-based jury for Chennai.
The national jury will shortlist participants across all 4 cities along with the regional jury who will provide local insight for their respective cities. Each city will felicitate the winning participant and offer them each an opportunity to showcase their journey while also inspiring their fellow women entrepreneurs to aim higher.
Riyaz Amlani, known for his flourishing chain of restaurants and bars along withTarunMahadevan, who is known for his vegetarian food paradise (Chennai-based) and fresh-food expert Rashmi Dagga (Bengaluru-based) will judge contestants based on their industry know-how and entrepreneurship skills as national, Chennai and Bengaluru jury members respectively. India’s first and most popular celebrity chef, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor,food connoisseur Rashmi Uday Singh and Chef Koushik will judge contestants by understanding their journey, accomplishments so far and assessing their future plans.
Similarly, the fashion and beauty experts DorrisGodambe, Ambika Pillai as national jury; and Manjul Gupta as Bengaluru jury; and Karun Raman, Rehane and Sam Paul as Chennai jury members will focus on contestants’innovative ideas, digital presence and similar aspects. Entrepreneurs & community leaders Pinky Reddy, Harjinder Kaur and SaireeChahal, members of the national jury, will gauge the participants’ community enhancement, growth and inspirational aspirations to determine the winner among them.
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor said, “Today’s women are fierce and fearless, I believe that women are born entrepreneurs, it is now time to recognize and reward them. If ever there was a time to appreciate women, it is now, with Times SheUnLTD Awards.”
Shantanu from designer pair Shantanu & Nikhil said, “Times She UnLTD is a fabulous initiative by the Times of India bringing in real time entrepreneurs from ground zero where they have predominantly come out of home and come in the new challenging external environment I think it’s a fabulous concept.” While Nikhil added, “And to be able to see that talent being nurtured in the periphery of their existence and then coming out and showing it to the world with this platform it’s a great opportunity to see where India is heading and how incredible it is in terms of versatility.”
Celebrity hair-stylist Aalim Hakim said, “Women are physically very strong and mentally very strong. We should all support this, as men, as parents, as siblings – if any female member of our family wants to start a business and be something, we should all support her financially, mentally and in every other way possible. I feel like this is a great initiative by the Times She UnLTD Awards.I’m really looking forward to the awards, I’m looking forward to meeting the contestants. There are a lot of things I’m going to pinpoint when I pick the winner.”
Dorris Godambe of B&D Cosmetics said, “People keep saying Man Power, but the lady is the leader – both at home and at work. She handles everything, and the word ‘leader’ comes only with women.After going through such a long journey, today, when I have been made a jury member of the Times SheUnLTD Awards, it makes me very happy. It feels so great that this is happening for the first time.”
It is exciting times for entrepreneurs with the world opening to unique ideas and fresh points of view and rapidly evolving technology that is diffusing boundaries. In this debut chapter, Times SheUnLTD Awards will focus on the achievements of women who are successfully running their respective businesses (from home or a setup) and have had a significant influence in the society through their actions. This will cover a wide spectrum of businesses across food, fashion and beauty industry where she may be offering consultancy services or running the enterprise through owned or leased premises. This is a long list that will include, but not limit to, bakers, chefs, designers, stylists, seamstresses, boutique owners, restaurants owners, makeup artists, hairstylists, product manufactures and so on. One can nominate herself or someone he/she thinks is deserving on www.timesheunltd.com.
