PRNewswire
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 26: Award-winning business journalist, author and entrepreneur Shaili Chopra has spoken candidly of her journey to founding SheThePeople, a women’s channel which has grown into a community of more than six million people across India.
Speaking on the FounderMetrics podcast, hosted by Vestd founder and CEO Ifty Nasir, Shaili reflects on her career path so far. From broadcast journalist to heading up two hugely successful female-focused businesses – women’s news platform SheThePeople and nutrition brand Gytree – Shaili is amplifying women’s voices across the country and paving the way for a new generation of female leaders.
“Curiosity is the common thread that ties together everything I’ve done,” explains Shaili. “The question I kept asking was: whose stories aren’t being told?”
Shaili began her career in business journalism at NDTV in the early 2000s, when there were very few women in the newsroom – let alone reporting on complex topics like stock markets, politics and conflict. She recalled being the first female journalist to report live from the Taj Hotel during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
“We had no idea we’d be covering India’s biggest terror attack. We headed over to the hotel thinking we’d be filming a siege. We were live when the first grenade blast went through. By some stroke of luck, the stream didn’t break. That moment tested everything I had learnt about journalism and what I believed in. I had to keep my humanity alive.”
Shaili’s 15 years in journalism cemented her as one of India’s most recognised faces in business news. But as traditional media slowed down and social media soared into popularity, she saw a gap: “We weren’t telling women’s stories, because we weren’t looking where the women were. Newsrooms always looked at the boss’ office – and in it there was always a man. I wanted to tell ‘people’ stories. Not just the story of the CEO, but the person behind them. Not of the chairperson, but how they got to the chair.”
In 2014, Shaili launched SheThePeople to fill this gap – an online platform dedicated to telling women’s stories on their own terms, across its own website, YouTube and social media channels. In just over 10 years, it’s grown into a community of more than six million, with an average of 4.5 million viewers every month. The channel features a range of topics, from celebrating milestones in women’s health – such as India’s first menopause festival launching this September – to spotlighting the unsung female heroes behind the country’s athletic stars.
“If you give women a stage, they’ll climb onto it. But if you don’t create one, where will they go? The world wasn’t building them a stage – so I did.
“We gathered women CEOs, writers, entrepreneurs, creators – women who knew where they wanted to be and the change they wanted to create.”
Shaili initially faced skepticism – even from other women in journalism – who thought that the platform would only fuel the gender divide. “There were many admirable people who sat me down very seriously and asked: ‘why are you doing this to yourself? Who goes out there to set up a platform for women? It’s too niche. You’re pouring your career down the drain’.”
Though Shaili admits she didn’t always have the answers to these questions, she continued on with SheThePeople. The platform isn’t exclusive to women and Shaili has actively recruited men onto the platform too: “I applaud men for supporting women’s voices. Think about it – why should men not be part of the conversation? They live with women, raise women, and come from women. We can’t make exclusive spaces. 35% of our following is men, which is a very heartening number for me.”
Leadership lessons and advice for founders
Reflecting on her journey so far, Shaili shares her three key takeaways for female founders:
1. Own your lived experience
“If you’re building a women’s health solution as a woman, coming from that place of knowing matters. Lived experience is a competitive edge – don’t underestimate it.”
2 Embrace new ideas
“Everyone’s looking for an attractive company to invest in, like a SaaS business. But if you find someone working for a company or doing something you haven’t really heard of much – pay attention. These are the opportunities of tomorrow and you’ll miss the bus if you don’t invest in them now.”
3. Build businesses beyond transactions
“Selling isn’t everything. Awareness, values, community – these things are just as important. The next generation isn’t transactional. They’ll make the transaction when they believe in what you’re doing, and that you’re doing it the right way. If you are a VC, ask yourself: would your daughter trust this brand?”
For more information about the FounderMetrics podcast and to listen to Shaili’s episode in full, visit: https://www.vestd.com/en-in/foundermetrics
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