Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mama Earth, recently talked about her experiences dealing with sexism as a female business owner. Mrs. Alagh talked about an experience from the previous year that made her feel invisible in a long post on X, the platform that was formerly Twitter.
An investor questioned the 35-year-old founder’s husband, Varun Alagh, about whether he would have hired Ghazal if she had been his wife. It took the businesswoman two days to get over the emotion, she said.
The incident occurred last year when she and her husband were meeting hundreds of investors ahead of the Mamaearth IPO. “While most of the conversations were very valuable and enriching, a few conversations left a bitter taste. I learned the best and harshest of lessons as a woman entrepreneur,” she wrote.
“An investor asked Varun: ‘Would you hire her today if she wasn’t your wife?’ I was right there in the room with them,” the former Shark Tank judge recalled.
Last year before our IPO, we met 100s of investors during our roadshows. While most of the conversations were very valuable and enriching, a few conversations left a bitter taste. I learned the best and harshest of lessons as a woman entrepreneur.
An investor asked Varun:… pic.twitter.com/UWeFXOZdMw
— Ghazal Alagh (@GhazalAlagh) February 28, 2024
Mrs Alagh shared that her husband and Mamaearth CFO Ramanpreet Sohi helped her see things from a different perspective. “They said, Here’s where our blacklisting starts. Now we know who we don’t want on this journey of building our company. The people who work with me knew my worth.”
She added, “Though it wasn’t the first time I felt invisible, it took me 2 days to get over that feeling.”
She concluded her post with a word of advice for other women, “That day, I learned that no matter where you are in your journey, there will always be people who won’t believe in you. They are the noise you need to ignore.”
Her post quickly gained popularity and received more than 37,000 views on X in addition to a wide range of comments from online users.
A user wrote, “Yes. As a founder – male or female, early or late stage – u meet investors who belittle others. Luckily there are a few. I remember 3 such VCs in our 25-30 odd pitches & 50 odd that I met. But as founder, we just move on. No time to waste on creeps.”
Another user wrote, “Your resilience is inspiring. Upholding your worth in the face of adversity showcases true strength. Keep leading and paving the way for others in the entrepreneurial world.”
The third user remarked, “Well said!”
Mrs. Alagh had earlier entered the menstrual leave discussion. Rather than offering women paid period leave, Ms. Alagh offers a “better solution” in a post on X, the former name of Twitter.
According to the 35-year-old, women have battled for equal rights and opportunities for centuries, and their current fight for paid time off could jeopardize their hard-won equality.
Read More
MCC Soon to Discuss Hike in Property Taxes
