JULY 2019 l ENTREPRENEUR l 39“A
yurveda runs in my DNA. I was always
passionate to join my family business.
I had a lot of interesting ideas for it,”
avows Siddhesh Sharma. He is the grandson
of Ram Dayal Joshi, the genius behind the
century-old pharmaceutical giant specializing in
Ayurvedic medicines, Baidyanath Group. Sharma
joined the company in 2006 after finishing his
education from the University of Nottingham.
“Today, I see a global trend where people are
more health conscious and are opting for herbal
options. Yoga has now become cool in the West.”
He has introduced modern technology to test
all products. “Documentation is very important
to bring credibility back to Ayurveda,” he avers.
The technology is being used for both evolving
new formulations while standardizing traditional
herbal preparations.
“There was a lot of resistance to the idea of
technology. But I figured out that it was because
our people felt that they will become irrelevant,”
recalls Sharma, “I told my staff that they are
indispensable for us and the technology would
improve the efficiency of our organization.”
Sharma is also using his entrepreneurial
impulses to move forward. The idea behind
his current venture, Naturedge Beverages,
was to have fun with herbs while expanding
the demographic market of the brand. The
beverages have zero sugar and calories.
Siddhesh Sharma, currently President of
Entrepreneurs Organization, Nagpur, says,
“What we are doing is solving a need, solving a
problem. So identifying that gap and to be able
to solve that gap more creatively and efficiently
is what entrepreneurship is all about.”SIDDHESH SHARMA, President, Baidyanath and
Founder & CEO, Naturedge BeveragesTHE NATURAL
THERAPIST
“B
eing a mom has given
me superpowers,” says
versatile entrepreneur
Deepshikha Deshmukh. She
dons many hats. She is a film
producer, founder of the organic
skincare brand Love Organically
and owner of a home store in
Mumbai. “My mantra in life is to
never say never,” she says.
Deshmukh started working
at the age of 16 as
a stylist in father
Vashu Bhagnani’s
produced film Mujhe
Kuch Kehna Hai.
Deepshikha started
her entrepreneurial
journey at 21 by
opening Homey
Home, a home decor
store. She followed her father’s
footsteps and produced the
movie Sarabjit (2016). Within
two and a half years, she has
produced six films. She ventured
into skincare products in 2017,
after two years of research. The
impulse to explore this unfamiliar
terrain was the health of her then
infant son who had suffered from
dry skin issues.
The journey into this
new territory was not
smooth sailing for the
mompreneur. It was after
customers gave their
feedback, realization
dawned on her. “We had
not put any information
on how to contact us,”
she giggles.PRODUCER OF HER
DESTINY
DEEPSHIKHA DESHMUKH, Film Producer, Founder,
Homey Home and Love OrganicallyMILESTONES
>Deepshika’s first
production venture,
Sarbjit (2016), was
screened at Cannes
Film Festival.
>She has produced six
films under her banner,
Puja Films, in the last
two years.EARNING
MILES
> Winner of a
silver medal
in tennis at
nationals.
> Brought Roger
Federer and
Rafael Nadal to
India to play for
an Indian team
named Indian
Aces.
> A travel
enthusiast.