Hello there, thank you for tuning in. This is Dhruti Shah and welcome to the Resilient Entrepreneur podcast, where every month I bring to you the story of an entrepreneur who is proven to be unstoppable because they're resilient. This podcast is a culmination of my own story of resilience.
As someone who taught herself early on to be mentally tough, I came to realize that success stories are great to remain motivated, but true learning happens when you fail, you stumble, you reflect, and you rise. This podcast is an attempt to bring to you, to my listeners, the situations that test your nerves, your grit, and your resilience. If you listen closely, you will hear the entrepreneurs reflect, and who knows, you may have some light bulb moments yourself.
The Resilient Entrepreneur is brought to you by C2COD, a firm that specializes in bringing people and strategy together. With that, let's meet my guest today, coming right up. Welcome back to the Resilient Entrepreneur.
My guest in this very first episode is an entrepreneur who's known for having truly reimagined women's wear and making premium fashion wear more inclusive. She's the one and only Ayushi Gidwani, founder and CEO of FS Life, which houses three brands, Fable Street, Pinkford, and March. Ayushi's entrepreneurial journey is really one of resilience.
She built the business from scratch without a co-founder and with her personal investments. Seven years later, she has grown Fable Street into a widely recognized and loved brand with an enviable following. And she has won several accolades while she was at it.
So check out our show notes for more on that. And I'm so excited to be speaking to her today. And here she is.
Hey, Ayushi. Welcome, welcome. We're so excited to have you on this podcast, the Resilient Entrepreneur. How have you been? I've been very well, and thank you so much for having me. It's a topic which is very close to my heart, so quite excited to share and talk more about it. Amazing.
So why don't we start by just understanding your journey a little bit, Ayushi, what has it been like? You know, it's a very long question or a very short answer. I think the shortest answer that I always gave around this would be that it's been really hard, really, really hard, but it is absolutely worth it. And I'm glad that I took it.
And that's how I would put this entire journey. And, you know, just learning, unlearning, getting into the grounds of the execution. I've been doing this for about seven and a half, eight odd years, right? So it's not a short journey.
And, you know, then building the team, figuring the journey with the team out, working with completely diverse set of people, leading a team of about 400-500 people now. So, you know, every stage has involved clearly learning and unlearning. There are fallouts in any shape and form across, but it's been very exciting.
And now I can confidently say when, you know, people would always say that it feels like day one. It does feel like day one. There is a meaning to those things today, because today also when you come back, you have so much to look forward to and so much more to be done.
Yeah, absolutely. So if we just kind of go back in history a little bit, how did Fable Street actually come into being? What got you started? The idea for me came when, you know, you would never get great clothes for women. And if you look at me closely, you will see that, you know, I'm on a larger size.
I love wearing clothes. I would all the time shop internationally. I was working in a consulting firm and, you know, I would not get great clothes which would look good on me.
So it was like a challenge consistently across. And that's when the idea, you know, came across that, you know, it would be a good idea to launch an apparel brand which would genuinely make real women feel beautiful and confident about themselves. So that was a meaning for me, of course, building an execution and executing a journey which has to be much more commercially savvy, etc.
But the idea started from me resonating with the problem. It translated into figuring out that this is a need gap, which gets resonated with the entire population and not just me. And it gets translated with my McKinsey background into a format that there is a real business case and an opportunity to build a multi billion dollar brand in that space.
And then both of these things combined together, you know, it allows you to build a startup that you're passionate about, but also something which is much more commercially savvy, and something you can dedicate your long future life or professional life towards. Absolutely. And, you know, having a corporate background, you said you were into the consulting firm McKinsey, right? And then having a startup, two very different worlds, right? In that sense, there's one is there's, I can imagine, you know, one, you have a little bit of a stability, you have a support system in place.
And one is where you just, you know, giving it your all and kind of starting solo and the team comes later, I believe. So what were some of the challenges that you faced, Ayushi? It makes me think a lot around this, but I think so. The first biggest challenge was actually to decide that you want to do it because you are so much in a such a stable job all the time, right? You're getting a recurring income, you are doing great.
And you also know that if you stay here, you're going to earn like 2x, 3x, 5x more in a very short period of time, right? And suddenly moving from there to a completely zero income, and you don't know what the path takes, right? So I think that was the first mindset, self inflicted challenge, I would say that you would face. And interestingly, I think, the best way for me to think about and get over that was and I said that, right, I think I've watched this movie called Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara. And it showed how consultant or you know, Hrithik Roshan's life was so closer to my life.
And I was like, dude, that is also the reality, right? If you don't give it a shot, then when will you give it a shot? And also the second thing was that really for people like us and you know, given my background, etc, what's in it to lose? I will lose some income for a couple of years, but in the long run, I'm not going to lose anything, my net present value in a very consulting language. Same, right? So if I can trade that off, and then give it a shot, and I think that was one element and one of the most critical challenge in my head. So it took me like almost three to six months to make that decision.
It feels very easy today. And in the hindsight, I was like, why did I take so much of time? But back then it was quite hard. And then of course, while building the business, you of course face a lot of challenges.
The typical consulting to entrepreneurial shift challenges were, we are trained to think strategy, but we're not trained to think execution. Execution is actually today, if you ask me, you know, it's very easy to develop strategy, it takes you like, you know, like 20% of the time goes in that and 80% of the hardcore job is actually execution and pulling it through and through. And I love it on the ground because you're all capable, but it was, it was interesting.
The second thing, which was an interesting personal challenge that I had to debate with was as a consultant, you're trained to share pros and cons, and this is good and all, but you are not making decisions and suddenly thrown into a thing that every minute, every hour, everything you're deciding who to hire, which agency to go with, like you're just filling yourself with decisions, right? So it would really slow you down because I was not trained to make decisions. I would think and overthink, and I would need two validations, and then I would go and take a decision, right? So it just took me a very long time to actually step back and get into the startup, setting it up and getting it done more. And then of course, there are other set of challenges, but this is my core shift on the entrepreneurial to consulting challenges that I saw.
I do want to share one or two more other snippets, right? But I do think that, you know, consulting and a lot of it, giving credit to McKinsey, that brings him back is that it also trains you to think, you know, things very holistically, which allowed me to actually learn aspects of business very, very tightly. Had I not been a consultant, you know, I would be good at one, not good at another. But as a part of my entrepreneurial journey today, I'm jack of all trades, and I could, I can pick up anything, right? And then the second thing, which a lot more comes to you is that, you know, dream big, and big.
So it, it doesn't hold me back today, right? I already have like XYZ entire chart, like even when I before I started, I knew what I wanted to do. If the idea was not worth multi billion dollars, I wouldn't have done this. So I didn't enter into this thinking, you know, personal association, passion is enough.
I knew that this has to have a potential around this. And then the third one is, I think you get the confidence by spending some time at various consulting firms, but overall, also the mindset that, you know, if there is a problem to solve, you are certainly capable of solving it. And that mindset, if you build as an entrepreneur, then you are fearless to say that, you know, you are competent to solve any issue.
And that is, I mean, as you've touched about the resilient entrepreneur is a core part of my journey, right? There's something that really makes me feel that if anyone in the world can solve it, I can certainly solve it. Yeah. Yeah, I love that quiet confidence that you have.
And it's very clearly coming across. Love how you practically thought it through that. Yes, I'm passionate about it.
But it is, is it also commercially viable? I think a lot of times entrepreneurs enter into this industry, into the startup industry thinking, you know, right now we have the funding available, not a problem. Market seems to be good. And I'm passionate about it.
Right. But they don't think through in terms of how is this business going to scale up? Right. But I also want to talk a little bit about something beautiful that you said. And a couple of points.
If not now, when? And of course, you said that what's the worst that will happen? How did you train your mind to be so, you know, tough in that sense that you will figure it out? Um, so there are two actually slightly different questions that you mentioned, right? If not now, and then actually is a consistent framing of the mind, right? And by the way, by being an entrepreneur, you go through it daily, because you're seeing the opportunity cost of being an entrepreneur in terms of what you are, you know, what your peers are doing and all. And I have, by the way, not seen the money as yet.
So it's been about seven and a half, eight odd years. Right. So you go through that journey daily. And you will also, how I train my mind is simple. One thing that would I be doing anything else? I ask my question that whenever I am feeling a little bit low or like saying, because every day you're faced by the world outside. Right.
And that was the same question I asked myself when I started also that, you know, yeah, I agree that. But then on a day to day, if not now, then when? But if you jump into it, then do you want to go back to the other world? Right? Or would you? Are you still learning? And then the answer to that was vehement know that, you know, I wouldn't be doing anything else. I'm happy doing what I'm doing.
And I'm like, this is my destiny. And this is what I have to go I have to stop getting influenced by what's happening to them. Everyone's at their own journey.
So that is one part of how if not now and then and also consistent reminder that what's in it to lose, which basically will remind you that or if you to tell yourself like, I tell myself and things are going so right, what's the worst? This will not work. This will shut down. Yeah, I have comfort and confidence that I will get hired any day and I can go back to a great job and a great salary.
And I can also ensure that my team gets great job and salary like this is how I think about it even today. So it helps me go back and say that let me not get worried about what I'm doing or what is going to be the end and then reminds me to just stay true to the course, what's the right answer, but like so thinking about the worst helps you prepare and then have a solution in your head. So those are the things you know, I would usually put my mind to I don't know if I answered your question, but you definitely did.
And even again, I'm hearing so much of self efficacy in everything that you're saying, right, that that belief, that strong belief that you have in yourself and your capabilities, that I'm going to make this work. And if, if, God forbid, time comes when you know, this doesn't, this is not working out, I know I can go out there. I mean, I'm sure in the last eight years, there are so many lessons that you've learned that can be applied.
And I think companies will be fortunate to have someone like you. But why do that, you know, I would rather work for me than somebody else when I'm so smart. Yeah, no, absolutely.
And I hope that that time doesn't come. But at least, and I also don't know when the time comes, how I will react, because we are all emotional beings. But at least, you know, I live by optimism.
And I find I find answers for myself, which will go get me back to driving more. Yeah. And that's, that's my way of dealing with the day to day questions I would have in my head.
Yeah, so you're definitely leveraging positivity in that sense, you know, remaining optimistic, but at the same time being cautious enough that you don't become overoptimistic. Right. And I think people have a tendency to do that, too, where you're overly optimistic, and you ignore all the other data points are like, not gonna happen.
And I'm like, okay, maybe not. Amazing. So and I also heard one more thing, which is quite interesting, right? When you said that, you know, I, my peers would have reached a certain point in time, you know, a certain stage of life or career, right.
And I'm not going to chart myself against that. And there is a beautiful article, I forget the name of the person has written this, but he talks about FOPO, F-O-P-O, which is a fear of people's opinion, and how that kind of limits you, right. And how to go beyond that.
So I think I'm hearing a little bit of that as well, that if I am competing against other people, I don't know, right? I won't be where I am today. Yeah, I mean, this was not a term in my head. But as you say, so I think, and as you say more, right, it makes me reflect more.
If I look back at my journey, and if I forget the entrepreneurial journey, but my journey of, you know, like, I'm turning 40 next year, but I'm 39 right now, you know, I have actually been an achiever throughout, I've grown up like I was the topper in the high school throughout. And that is a measure of success that people hold you to. So I have been on that measure of success, right? You know, high school topper, followed by being your undergrad topper, then followed by being your B school topper around this.
And then, and then similarly doing great in McKinsey, etc. around this, right? I think while we are doing this, in our heads, we believe that this will come to an end at some point in time, and you are just chasing one thing after the other, at least that's been my, you know, mindset consistently around it. And at one point in time, I had to say that, you know, hey, I've proven myself enough, I'm good.
And I don't need an external validation. And the other realization is that this rat race is not gonna end. Oh, yeah, going to be consistent.
So if you are going to be a part of it, you choose that consciously. Otherwise, be contended that you are good. And you want to carve out a different journey for yourself.
So, you know, I decided to get out of it, you know, the peer pressure or the external people's outcomes, etc. around it. Because I didn't need any more anything to prove.
And maybe I had not accomplished enough, I would still be consistently trying to be in that zone of But for me, the journey was I have accomplished enough, yet it doesn't end. So who am I chasing to prove it to, I have proven it to myself, that's enough, and I need to be happy about it. And I will pick up my journey around this and my own way.
And I'm glad I did that. Because for me, it is still a race in the world that I am working in.
But I'm building it on my own terms.
And I'm enjoying my professional journey. So I'm just glad I did it. Absolutely.
So creating your own path, defining your own success, having your own yardsticks against which you measure your success, right? Those are so important. And, you know, you've highlighted some beautiful principles of remaining resilient, actually, because that's what my research showed as well, that if you're able to do all of the above, and hey, we're all human, right? It may not be always possible, we are going to get into that phase again, where we are maybe comparing, not realizing that we are right, but I think to be kind of self aware, pull yourself out of that and say, absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, you bang on, and we need to figure out a way, by the way, when I say so, right, it's a good reflection. But that does not mean you go through that emotion daily.
It's not perfect equally, right? Like, but how do you prevent yourself to getting down a drain, then pulling yourself back is something I think I've become fairly self aware. So I do that to myself often. Yeah, and consistency.
That's another thing, right? You just mentioned, you do it often. So that consistency is important to in order to keep moving forward. It also taught a lot.
I think that's also been a learning journey for me. Yeah, yeah. Have you had any point in time, Ayushi, where you felt like, okay, this is really not working out for me.
And you really had to push yourself? Or, you know, what are some of the things that you did? If at all, you felt like that? You know, I don't fully remember if I've had points where I've gone said that, you know, this is not working out for me a lot, right? I think a because we've been in a little bit of a more fortunate zone that we've done well. But also, if I force myself, right, I think it's a lot more to do with my mindset. I'm a problem solver, consistency in my head, right? Like, if I force myself, for example, when COVID happened, we were actually women's workwear.
And therefore, technically, you know, within any external world concept, including my investors saying, hold back everything. Because when the moment work from home started, what will you do? Correct. So technically, it should be like business bandh ho jayega, it would just it has to hold off, pause, right? And then we'll figure it out.
So that has been like one of the low points. The point is, where in my head, I was just looking for opportunities on how to figure out an answer around it. And because my mindset was so strong around this, I never felt that, you know, hey, this is not working for me.
We kind of did pivot, we kind of like did a lot of elements around it, and we improvise on product, change it, etc. But I if I force myself to understand what my mindset was, it was because I was consistently I'm an opportunity seeker. I'm an eternal optimist, because of which these two things coming together, right, I found an opportunity where I could push my mind towards and I could come out of it.
So there have been I'm sure enough instances, because in a 40 year journey, right, you can't it will not not work for me. Yeah, everything is not on your side. But in my head, I believe that it's not been my case.
Yeah. And so I love that, because you just, it's a nice framework to have, if you think about it, right. So so what's going on right now? And what's the impact it is having on me? What am I going to do to make it work in my favor? I think if you just keep asking yourself those questions, like how do I and you're right, you know, things are not always in our favor, things are going to go south.
And I think we just need to have it in ourselves to kind of pull the situation together and say, Okay, what do I need to do now? Yeah, yeah, that's it. And and, you know, that eternal optimism, I love that I can hear it in your voice. And you clearly very, very bullheaded in that sense.
And, you know, yeah, in achieving your goals, or living up to your passion, or, you know, I think so. And I mean, I think so. Yeah, yeah. And also having that flexibility. Because you said you pivoted when there was a need. Yes.
Great. Ayushi, if there is one message that you would want to give to our listeners who are expanding entrepreneurs and established entrepreneurs, what would that be? Um, you know, I would say, think big, start small, execute fast. I think that's been the mantra.
And that's been the learning I may or may not have stood by it fully. But I think that really does a good job of entrepreneurship and building something big. Absolutely.
Thank you so much, Ayushi. It's been an absolute pleasure having you here on our podcast. I really appreciate the time you took out.
Thank you. And I wish you all the very best. Thank you so much.
Lovely chatting with you. And I hope the viewers enjoy it. What a brilliant conversation.
This never fails to energize me. Let's bring in my producer Ramana. So Ramana, what did you think of our first episode? Well, I think we started off with a bang with Ayushi's story.
Great first episode to have in the bag. Yeah. And you know, for me, like, as I was listening to the two of you talk, I love the whole concept behind Fable Street.
And Ayushi also spoke about that, right? About how Fable Street has brought fashionware that's inclusive, truly inclusive of all women of all sizes, you know, I think that alone for me makes Ayushi a visionary entrepreneur. Yeah. How about you? How about you? What stood out to you? Well, for me, you know, given that I'm so into the concept of resilience, what really stood out for me was, Ayushi comes across as someone with nerves of steel.
She did comment that she has a natural tendency to remain optimistic. And trust me, I was so jealous when she said that, because I know it's not easy. I still have to work so hard in order to remain optimistic and, you know, positive. And thankfully, that's a skill that we can build too. So to all our listeners out there, you know, you don't have to be born resilient. You can build your resilience. There are more stories coming your way. So tune in next month for another story of a resilient entrepreneur. Thank you for listening. This is Dhruti Shah signing off. Take care.