"Felt Invisible": Mama Earth Founder Recalls Facing Sexism As A Woman Entrepreneur. See Post

Beauty brand Mama Earth's co-founder Ghazal Alagh recently opened up about facing sexism as a woman entrepreneur. Mrs Alagh shared a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter and shared an incident from last year that left her feeling invisible. 

The 35-year-old founder shared that an investor asked her husband, Varun Alagh, if he would have hired Ghazal had she been his wife. The entrepreneur expressed that it took her two days to recover from the feeling. 

The incident occurred last year when she and her husband were meeting hundreds of investors ahead of the Mamaearth IPO. "While most of the conversations were very valuable and enriching, a few conversations left a bitter taste. I learned the best and harshest of lessons as a woman entrepreneur," she wrote.

"An investor asked Varun: 'Would you hire her today if she wasn't your wife?' I was right there in the room with them," the former Shark Tank judge recalled. 

See the post here:

Last year before our IPO, we met 100s of investors during our roadshows. While most of the conversations were very valuable and enriching, a few conversations left a bitter taste. I learned the best and harshest of lessons as a woman entrepreneur.

An investor asked Varun:… pic.twitter.com/UWeFXOZdMw

— Ghazal Alagh (@GhazalAlagh) February 28, 2024

Mrs Alagh shared that her husband and Mamaearth CFO Ramanpreet Sohi helped her see things from a different perspective. "They said, Here's where our blacklisting starts. Now we know who we don't want on this journey of building our company. The people who work with me knew my worth."

She added, "Though it wasn't the first time I felt invisible, it took me 2 days to get over that feeling."

She concluded her post with a word of advice for other women, "That day, I learned that no matter where you are in your journey, there will always be people who won't believe in you. They are the noise you need to ignore."

Her post soon went viral and has amassed more than 37,000 views on X and an array of comments from internet users.

A user wrote, "Yes. As a founder - male or female, early or late stage - u meet investors who belittle others. Luckily there are a few. I remember 3 such VCs in our 25-30 odd pitches & 50 odd that I met. But as founder, we just move on. No time to waste on creeps."

Another user wrote, "Your resilience is inspiring. Upholding your worth in the face of adversity showcases true strength. Keep leading and paving the way for others in the entrepreneurial world."

The third user remarked, "Well said!"

Earlier, Mrs Alagh joined the debate over menstrual leave. Ms Alagh, in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), suggests a "better solution" instead of giving women paid period leave.

The 35-year-old said that for centuries women have fought for their rights and equal opportunities and now fighting for period leave might set back the hard-earned equality.