Vineeta Singh (born 1983) is an Indian entrepreneur and CEO, co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics. She has been a Shark (i.e. judge/investor) on the business reality TV show Shark Tank India since the show started airing on SonyLIV in 2021.[1]

Vineeta Singh
Born1983 (1983) (age 41)
EducationDelhi Public School, R. K. Puram
Alma mater
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active2007–present
OrganizationSugar Cosmetics
TelevisionShark Tank India (2021–present)
Spouse
Kaushik Mukherjee
(m. 2011)
Children2
FatherTej P. Singh

Early life and education

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Singh was born in 1983 in Anand, Gujarat.[2] Her mother holds a PhD and her father Tej P. Singh is a biophysicist at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences.[3]

Singh completed her education at Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram in 2001.[4] She then enrolled in IIT Madras that year.[5] Singh completed her electrical engineering studies at IIT-M and earned her bachelor's degree in 2005.[6] Afterward, she obtained an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 2007.[7]

During her MBA studies, in 2006, she worked as a summer intern at Deutsche Bank and rejected a job despite an annual ₹1 crore salary.[8][9] Singh and the other graduate who rejected the same offer wanted to start their own lingerie business,[10] but the idea did not take off as they could not raise the required funding.[7]

Career

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In 2007, Singh founded her first startup Quetzal.[11] However, providing background verification checks to recruiters failed to succeed. She started her second startup Fab-Bag in 2012, a subscription platform that provided monthly deliveries of beauty products.[12] Her third startup, Sugar Cosmetics, Singh founded together with her husband in 2015.[13] The company sells cosmetics and personal care products geared towards the Indian market.[14][15] After closing a $50 million deal with private equity firm L Catterton, Singh characterized the company's products as catering to the preferences of women with diverse skin tones.[16] In September 2022, actor Ranveer Singh invested an undisclosed amount and became a "brand evangelist" of Sugar Cosmetics.[17][18]

Singh appeared on the hard copy cover pages of business magazines, such as Forbes India, Business Today, and Businessworld.[23] To Business Today, she revealed that funding was once only granted under the condition that her husband joined the company full-time, which she viewed as gender discrimination.[24][25] In 2021, Forbes India listed Singh as one of its Forbes India W-Power list of women achievers.[26][3] In 2023, Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan formed a joint venture with Singh and her husband, to launch a Korean skincare brand Quench Botanics in India.[27]

Awards and recognition

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Singh has received the following awards and recognitions, either personally or in recognition of Sugar Cosmetics' entrepreneurial achievements:

Entertainment

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Singh is one of the major investors/judges on the business reality show Shark Tank India.[37][38]

In 2022, Singh along with the other Shark Tank India judges appeared as a VIP contestant in Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.[39] She also appeared as a guest on The Kapil Sharma Show together with other Shark Tank India judges in the same year.[40][41]

Personal life

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In 2011, Vineeta Singh married Kaushik Mukherjee and the couple have two sons.[42] She met Kaushik during their studies at IIM Ahmedabad.[43][44]

Singh is a triathlete and ultramarathon runner and has participated in 20 marathons, ultramarathons, and 12 half-marathons.[45] She also took part in the 89-km Comrades Marathon from 2012 to 2014.[46] She completed the 2017 Ironman Triathlon in Austria.[47] In the 2018 Mumbai Marathon, she ran a total of 21 km in 2:42:51s while being 6 months pregnant.[48]

References

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  1. ^ ""Hardest Part Is..." Shark Tank India's Vineeta Singh On Death Reports". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. ^ Kapoor, Eetika (25 January 2023). "Early Life". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b Meghani, Varsha (23 November 2021). "Vineeta Singh: Sugar Cosmetics, and the passion for the impossible". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Vineeta Singh Sugar Cosmetics CEO The Next Judge of Shark Tank India". SharkTank.co.in. 19 December 2021. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  5. ^ Pandey, Shree; Sundararajan, Shrikant & Shashin, Shibani (2022), The IITM Nexus (1st ed.), Chennai, India: Notion Press, ISBN 978-1-68563-906-8
  6. ^ Oberoi, Pragatti (18 August 2022). "How to become a CEO? Vineeta Singh guides on the role of mathematics, IITs, IIMs and the skills needed". TimesNow. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b Bagchi, Shrabonti (21 May 2021). "Vineeta Singh: On a SUGAR high". Mint. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  8. ^ Ghosh, Sutrishna (22 April 2020). "The IIM Alumnus Who Turned Down a Rs 1 Cr Job to Launch a Rs.100 Cr Cosmetics Empire". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Two IIM-A grads shun Rs 1-cr offer". The Times of India. 29 December 2006. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  10. ^ "No to crore-a-year to make lingerie". The Telegraph (India). 28 December 2006. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Angels dare to fly: Indian women are getting into entrepreneurial roles". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  12. ^ "The Sweet and Bitter Story of Sugar Cosmetic Founder: Vineeta Singh". startup insider. 12 April 2022. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Vineeta Singh: Sugar Cosmetics, And The Passion For The Impossible". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  14. ^ Punj, Shwweta (26 December 2021). "Vineeta Singh: Sweet success". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  15. ^ "As CEO, my job is to get out of their way". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  16. ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (31 May 2022). "SUGAR Cosmetics closes $50 million in series D fundraise". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  17. ^ Bhushan, Ratna (3 September 2022). "Actor Ranveer Singh invests in Sugar Cosmetics". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  18. ^ Verma Ambwani, Meenakshi (3 September 2022). "Ranveer Singh invests in SUGAR Cosmetics". Business Line. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  19. ^ Carvalho, Brian (22 November 2021). "Forbes India W-Power 2021: Role models who will inspire a generation". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023. ("Editor's Note" including image of cover showing Singh)
  20. ^ "Issue for 13 November 2022". Business Today. 13 November 2022. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023. (Shows cover of 13 November 2022 print issue which features and names Singh)
  21. ^ "Sugar Rush". 17 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2023 – via Twitter. ("Image of cover showing Singh and teaser to the corrosponding cover story)
  22. ^ Singh, Rajiv (9 September 2021). "Sugar cosmetics: Lips don't lie". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  23. ^ [19][20][21][non-primary source needed][22]
  24. ^ Zaidi, Tarab (21 December 2022). "Investors refused to fund Sugar until my husband joined it". Business Today (India). Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Sugar Sugar, Ah! Money, Money". Businessworld. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  26. ^ "W-Power 2021". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  27. ^ Verma Ambwani, Meenakshi (13 October 2023). "Kareena Kapoor Khan becomes co-owner of Vineeta Singh's Quench Botanics". Business Line. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  28. ^ Bhandari, Kabir Singh (14 June 2022). "Shark Tank India's Vineeta Singh Has Amazing Stamina And Fitness. This Is Her Secret". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  29. ^ a b c d "The Economic Times 40 Under Forty (2020)". The WIMWIAN-IIMA Alumni Magazine. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  30. ^ Joshi, Chaitrali; Ramani, Vyom (4 May 2023). "How Vineeta Singh's cosmetics startup is revolutionising the beauty industry". ET Edge Insights. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  31. ^ "17th IMAGES Retail Awards honours excellence in the business of retail". India Retailing. 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  32. ^ Anis, Fakeha (24 June 2024). "Shark Tank India's Vineeta Singh reveals TWO major tips to deal with entrepreneurship stress; know HERE". PINKVILLA. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  33. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ei was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ "MPW 2022 honours Ghazal Alagh, Roshni Nadar, Vineeta Singh and other star performers in business". Business Today. 29 March 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  35. ^ "DNA Women Achievers Awards 2023: Vineeta Singh wins in Startup category". DNA India. 3 March 2023. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  36. ^ "BT's Most Powerful Women in Business awards: Celebrating success". Business Today. 17 April 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  37. ^ Farzeen, Sana (17 January 2023). "Sugar's Vineeta Singh on how Shark Tank India changed her life: "My kids ask, why people want a photo with you."". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  38. ^ Panjari, Swagata; Salve, Priyanka. "What makes Sharks take the bait? Vineeta Singh, Namita Thapar share the idea USP that attracts". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  39. ^ "KBC: Here's how Vineeta Singh, Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal pitched for themselves to grab the hotseat". Hindustan Times. 29 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  40. ^ The Kapil Sharma Show S2- Sharks - Massive Contributors To Country's GDP -Ep 225-Full EP-30 Jan 2022. The Kapil Sharma Show. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023 – via YouTube.
  41. ^ "Kapil Sharma asks Shark Tank's Vineeta Singh about lipstick marks on husband's shirt, he has a funny response". Hindustan Times. 29 January 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  42. ^ Srivastava, Arushi (18 April 2022). "Shark Tank India: From an athlete to business leader under 40, lesser-known facts about Vineeta Singh". Pinkvilla. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  43. ^ "SUGAR Cosmetics journey a part of IIM-A's case study, founders Kaushik Mukherjee & Vineeta Singh over the moon". The Economic Times. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  44. ^ "PICS: Ashneer Grover to Vineeta Singh; sneak peek into the family life of Shark Tank India judges". The Economic Times. 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  45. ^ S, Vidya (25 September 2021). "Run, Vineeta, Run". Business Today. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  46. ^ Singh Bhandari, Kabir (14 June 2022). "Shark Tank India's Vineeta Singh Has Amazing Stamina And Fitness". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  47. ^ Ganesan Ram, Sharmila (22 October 2017). "Powai power couple on losing friends and becoming 'Iron Man'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  48. ^ Iyer, Sundari (22 January 2018). "Woman runs 21 km while being six months pregnant". Mid-day. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
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