Mumbai, 2019. Pallavi Utagi’s maiden venture was all set to hit rock bottom. SuperBottoms, an eco-friendly, reusable cloth diaper brand started by the software engineer in 2016, was in the midst of its first major crisis. And literally, it was a man-made crisis. At a Monday morning meeting in April, Utagi’s retail manager displayed his naked ambitions. “Madamji, aap aurat ho ke ye brand bana sakti hain to main kyon nahin [Ma’am, if despite being a woman you can build this brand, then why can’t I],” he praised his boss, dropping a vague hint about his plans.
(This story appears in the 24 March, 2023 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)