Young Innovators: Women Entrepreneurs Shine in 2024 Hurun India Under-35 List

By: WE Staff | Friday, 27 September 2024

Isha Ambani, 32, executive director of Reliance Retail Ventures, and Parita Parekh, 32, co-founder of Toddle, are the youngest women entrepreneurs featured in the 2024 Hurun India Under-35 list. This prestigious list includes  Anjali Merchant, director at Encore Healthcare; Saloni Anand, an entrepreneur at Traya Health; Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth; Aneri Patel from Ganesh Housing Corporation; and Aneesha Tiwari of USV Pharmaceuticals. The list highlights 150 entrepreneurs under 35, recognizing those with a minimum business valuation of USD 50 million for first-generation leaders and USD 100 million for next-generation entrepreneurs.

From ShareChat, Ankush Sachdeva, 31, is the youngest person featured in the list. This list includes Aakash Ambani of Reliance Jio Infocomm. Released on Thursday, the list highlights 123 first-generation entrepreneurs, making up 82% of the total entrants. Entrepreneurs from 41 cities are represented, with Bengaluru and Mumbai at the forefront, featuring 29 and 26 entrepreneurs, respectively. 

MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India Anas Rahman Junaid stated “Our research underscores the dynamic entrepreneurial spirit among India’s Under-35 demographic, particularly as the country’s economy continues to expand. These young business leaders have rapidly established successful companies, adeptly navigating challenges such as geopolitical complexities, inflation, and other economic headwinds."

He further added "We estimate that each of our Under-30 entrepreneurs has built businesses valued at around $10 million, while our more experienced Under-35 cohort showcases enterprises worth approximately $50 million, with some achieving valuations up to a hundred times that. Given India’s promising economic outlook, we expect many of our ambitious Under-30s to transition to the senior list as their ventures soar."

This list includes seven women and four of whom are continuing their family legacy. IIT Madras leads the institutions with 13 entrepreneurs, followed by IIT Bombay with 11, and both IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur with 10 each. The average age of these entrepreneurs is 33. Unacademy, founded by Roman Saini and Hemesh Singh, has the highest number of followers, followed by Meesho, founded by Vidit Aatrey.

Additionally, the list features Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal from the crypto exchange CoinDCX, Govind Soni from CoinSwitch, Vimal Sagar Tiwari and Ashish Singhal, Sushant Goel of Third Wave Coffee, Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar from Razorpay, Lal Chand Bisu of Kuku FM, as well as Ghazal Alagh from Mamaearth and Alakh Pandey of Physics Wallah.