After 20 years in the corporate world, where my life was all about meetings, presentations, and endless deadlines, I changed paths. I had the job, the stability, and the respectable career. But deep down, I knew I wasn’t really fulfilled. I had this constant itch to do something that felt more personal, something that actually touched people’s lives.
That turning point came when my dad started losing his hair due to his chemotherapy. Like most families, we went looking for wig options, and honestly, what we found in India was disappointing. The wigs were uncomfortable, itchy, poorly made, and far from natural-looking. So much so that my dad did not want to step out, was confined to his room and I watched him go through so much frustration, and it broke my heart. When my sister then bought a wig from the US is when we saw the huge gap between what was available there and what is available here. That’s when I thought: why not make something better myself?
And that’s how it all started. I traded my life with elaborate meetings to a laptop, project trackers, many samples of hair products and hair bundles. From a comfortable corporate career to stepping into a world I knew nothing about.
Let me tell you, starting a business from scratch is no fairy tale. Most of the industry is still very unorganised. There is a lack of standardisation, so when someone says “premium quality” it doesn’t mean much. The early days were full of excitement and pure chaos. I was figuring out suppliers one day and learning wig ventilation the next. My “office” at the beginning- A small corner of my parents’ home, packed with boxes, mannequins, and hair strands flying everywhere. I remember struggling to find the right team, people who didn’t just see this as a job, but actually believed in what we were building. Empathising with alopecia patients and chemo patients needed the right mindset. They too needed to believe in the cause we were trying to achieve.
I still remember when we partnered with our initial set of doctors and they saw the product and really appreciated the cause of fixing the issue of bad quality wigs with medical wigs, which were made with skin-friendly material.
Then, when we grew slightly, setting up a proper office felt like a big step, but it came with its own share of madness. Some days, I’d be running around fixing furniture deliveries; other days, I’d be silently wondering, What if no one buys from me?
I went from a BMW to a Baleno, it hurt every month my salary didn’t come on the 1st. ( it still doesn’t at times!!) That sales anxiety is real. When your savings are on the line and your studio doesn’t have customers for some days, you question everything. There were nights I couldn’t sleep, worrying if I had made the right choice, or if I should’ve stayed where life was “safe.”
But I kept reminding myself why I started, to make wigs that don’t just look beautiful but feel comfortable on the skin. I spent months researching why people get rashes or itching from wigs, and learned it’s all about the materials and how they’re put together. So I obsessed over every detail, the lace, the knots, the adhesives, because I never wanted anyone else to go through what my dad did.
Slowly but surely, things started turning around. The first time a customer told me, “It feels so natural, I forgot I was wearing it,” I cried. I still well up every time a customer comes and says something positive about my product.
A Note to Every Woman who want to Start Over
If you’re in your 30s, 40s, or beyond and thinking, “Is it too late to start something new?” I’m here to tell you it’s not. It takes courage to start again when society expects you to “play it safe.” But trust me, your years of experience are your biggest strength.
Here’s what helped me survive (and stay sane):
Just start! Waiting for the perfect plan is just procrastination in disguise. Your team matters. Hire for attitude before skill; you can teach the rest. Every no brings you closer to a yes. Don’t let slow sales or worse customer rejections crush your spirit.
Take breaks. Your family is equally important. My best confidant is my mother and my husband is my business advisor. Burnouts don’t help in any way. Balancing helps.
Today, every time I see a woman look into the mirror, smile, and say she feels like herself again, I know this was the right path. Starting Reeora wasn’t about selling wigs. It was about restoring confidence and more importantly self-worth, trust me hair does that to you.
If you’re on the fence about starting over, just remember, your next innings can be your most powerful one yet. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to take the first step.
About Reethika Nair
Reethika is a seasoned digital marketing and transformation leader with a strong track record of building scalable, data-driven growth strategies. In her role at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, she leads omnichannel initiatives across a diverse portfolio of 100+ brands, driving deeper customer engagement through integrated MarTech ecosystems and CRM excellence. Known for her sharp analytical approach and business-first mindset, she has successfully scaled the organization’s e-commerce business multifold while maintaining a strong focus on profitability.
In addition to her corporate leadership, Reethika is also the Founder & CEO of Reeora Hair Artists, a Mumbai-based venture that reflects her entrepreneurial drive and passion for building consumer-centric brands from the ground up. She brings deep expertise in category growth, customer lifecycle management, and advanced analytics, enabling both established enterprises and emerging businesses to translate insights into impactful, measurable outcomes.
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