Back

Meet the woman who started with 20,000 and sold her company for 2500 CR. 1. Vandana Luthra was inspired by her mother, who ran a charitable Ayurveda initiative, Amar Jyoti, for low-income people. She also wanted to impact people's lives, so she went to Germany to complete her studies in nutrition and cosmetology. There, she noticed something. 🤔 2. The health and wellness industry thrived in Germany but was an untouched topic in India. She wanted to build and returned to India. With a meagre investment of Rs 20,000, she started her company. In 1989, Vandana Luthra Curles and Curves (VLCC) was born. 🚀 3. The idea was simple⏩ Provide high-quality dietary modification and exercise regimen-based weight management programs for people to reduce their weight scientifically. Vandana started her first centre in the busy market of Safdarjung Enclave in Delhi. ✅ 4. When wellness was all about glam, Vandana wanted to work with expert doctors from day 1, as she wanted her brand to be clinical and not glamorous. But the problems were many. 👇 5. Nobody believed this would work, and no doctors were willing to use her methodologies. Vandana had just married and faced immense backlash as a woman starting her wellness chain in the 90s. Vandana kept going, and finally, magic happened. 🪄 6. As soon as the 2000s began, VLCC scaled to a revenue of 50 CR. At a time when the industry could not charge more than Rs 12,000 per customer, people were paying Rs 20,000 at VLCC centres. But still, she needed a big break to prove everyone wrong. And it came in 2005. 👇 7. Vandana decided to makeover the main character, Jasmeet Walia, from the hit show "Jassi jaissi koi nahi." The unattractive-looking Jassi became the show's glam, courtesy of Vandana Luthra. On 12 August 2009, VLCC raised 14.4 CR from Shine and became a 125 CR company. 📉 8. As VLCC scaled to 100 centres by 2010, Vandana came with an industry first: It started training women to become beauty entrepreneurs and start salons. As VLCC trained 10,000 entrepreneurs, it became global with salons in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. 🌏 9. By September 2013, VLCC acquired the third-party manufacturer Gvig in Singapore and entered its third line of business: beauty products. Through its two GMP-certified manufacturing plants at Haridwar and Singapore, it made 170 skin, hair, and body care products. And the big moment came. 👇 10. By 10 January 2023, VLCC had expanded to 210 centres, 100 training institutes, 118 cities, and 11 countries, and PE firm Carlyle Group acquired a majority 62.3% stake in them for 2500 CR. 💰 11. Today, VLCC has a revenue of 986.8 CR and operates 311 centers in 144 cities and 12 countries. It continues to train 10,000 women annually, and 70% of its employees are women. With a 6% market share, it is worth 4500 CR. 💪 ➡️Who would have thought a woman everyone doubted would win the 2010 Asia's Women entrepreneur of the year?🙏