Started with a simple idea of making good quality products that take care of all skincare concerns with a nice packaging at affordable prices, the brand Fixderma launched in 2010 with a sole focus on concern-based skincare product range.
The way Shaily Mehrotra, Co-Founder and CEO, Fixderma, recalls Fixderma’s initial days is that the brand started off with about a handful of 6-8 skincare products including sunscreen, moisturizing lotions and face creams that were being recommended via dermatologists predominantly in Northern part of the country, and later began expanding its footprint all over the country.
That said, Fixderma over the past one and a half decade has grown its presence to over 200+ Voice Operated Information Systems across India with about 15,000 dermatologists not just recommending the brand’s products but prescribing them to patients by making substantiated claims on the back of good documentation and the product ingredients speaking about their performance themselves.
From being focused on dermatologist recommendations to launching on marketplaces and stepping into the direct-to-consumer space, the brand’s evolution reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of Mehrotra, who comes from a business-oriented family.
“Coming from a family of businessmen, I always wanted to start something of my own. After returning to India in 2007, following our time in Southeast Asia where we were already in the trading and distribution business, we considered opening a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit. However, after assessing the competition and potential, we realized that skincare was the right space for us. At that time, the pharmaceutical sector in India focused more on ointments and creams for infections, with little emphasis on cosmetics. Having seen a wide range of cosmeceutical products abroad, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to raise awareness in this space,” she said.
In comparison to today when there are multiple players in the pharmaceutical space, Fixderma’s journey wasn’t very smooth. Being one of the pioneers, the brand had to fight against pricing issues and awareness gaps but navigated a landscape much less cluttered than the one companies face today.
Having said that, Mehrotra just not limits herself to donning the entrepreneur, CEO and Co-founder hat as a woman but also plays the roles of a daughter, a wife, a mother, a friend amongst others quite seamlessly. And the way she does it all simultaneously is by being extremely focussed or what she refers as ‘being stubborn’ to do things again and again until she meets success.
“In the beginning when you are young and you have kids, you have to play all the roles and always be a superwoman who reaches her kids’ school to attend all the PTMs, takes them to tuitions, spends time cooking and baking for them and even play with them at times. So like the young mothers I often meet when I venture out today, doing it all was definitely not very easy for me also. Hence, my advice to them is to slow down a bit and keep going because taking a break isn’t the right way to deal with it whereas learning to manage it well is,” she stated.
At the same time, she also highlighted how a lot of the challenges of maintaining one’s peace while working and doing all things at home at the same time also root from the societal conditioning that everybody has received and that only 30-40% of these major challenges are related with the organisations one works at.
“As a woman striving to balance both personal and professional life, there’s often external pressure from family, in-laws, and friends—unlike men, who are typically encouraged and supported even when they fail, as they are expected to manage both work and family. Women-led ventures, on the other hand, are often dismissed as side hustles, but it’s not just men who reinforce this mindset; they too face societal judgment which is why the key for women is to stay focused—block out the noise and stay committed to their goals,” Mehrotra explained.
Having said that, like many of her peers in the entrepreneurial space, Mehrotra was lucky enough to not face challenges of being considered not so serious in what she does or her teams following her instructions owing to her gender quotient.
“If somebody wants to judge you, factors like age, gender, etc. don’t have to play a role as the only task at hand is to know thy subject well and do the right amount of research to stay abreast of all that’s happening in one’s niche and engage in a good talk when you get the time and opportunity,” Mehrotra further explained.
For those wondering if Mehrotra had the added advantage of being a female when it comes to running her own business- Fixderma, such wasn’t the case and the only help she got from being a female was in fixing meetings with government departments and getting things done without much hassle or delay. But had she been in the colour cosmetics businesses, the case would probably be different she believes.
What began as a small, couple-led business with just three team members has grown significantly over time—a testament to the couple’s resilience and understanding. While maintaining both personal and professional harmony is a common concern for couple-led ventures in funding pitches, their journey wasn’t without challenges. They faced their share of disagreements, but over time, they learned the value of mutual understanding, ultimately finding ways to maintain peace rather than clashing whenever tensions arose.
For the Mehrotras, who have never actively sought funding, Shaily explains that Fixderma’s growth has been more organic than meticulously planned. What has truly helped them thrive as both spouses and business partners is their strong chemistry and their ability to keep work separate from home.
“When you start a business, you have no vision or plans as such to be very honest. At that time, you just want to run it for some time and that too in a successful and profitable manner as that’s rudimentary to all businesses. And once you’re profitable, the next step is to not just make all the payments- be it the salary of employees, payment of rental spaces and electricity, purchasing required goods etc. and withdraw a decent salary for yourself as well, all in time and then scale it slowly over time. And the same profitability continued for multiple years but then COVID shook us up since we had no online presence because we were selling largely via offline channels, which at the time were closed so there was a huge dip in our sales. But now, we started doing online and we’re right back on track,” she added.
Having said that, for someone who has received an award from Nirmala Sitharaman, not when she began serving the FinMin role but during her Ministry of Commerce days, in 2014, for being one of the leading exporters of cosmetics in India, the hunger for more continues to grow.
And what inspires her, isn’t just women entrepreneurs who’ve made their names in the industry by achieving remarkable success but women who are into sports as sports is nothing like an overnight thing but a process which demands a lot of sweat and blood along with zeal, commitment and a never say never attitude for being successful.
Being an advocate of women empowerment herself, Mehrotra believes that the power of the term empowerment for women doesn’t lie in giving them any added advantage or preferential treatment over men in hiring or escalation at her own company but viewing both genders at par.
“I am never partial to any gender and believe that the merit of a working professional lies in their qualification and experience. But in our company, we’d want to hire professionals based on their qualities and would ideally want their travel distance to work to be less ideally and in that, gender plays a role anywhere,” she asserted.
As a female entrepreneur making strides in every step she takes, she believes that while companies and working professionals dwelling in Tier 1 markets do have a role to bring about change in the way women work in any industry anywhere, they can solely not bring about change and can only play their part by voicing the concerns of Fixderma’s employees.
“Having grown up in a Tier III city myself, I believe it’s important for women to explore opportunities in bigger cities, because in smaller towns, working professionals—especially women—often face judgment and are answerable to their families and society. In India, every female is empowered enough to raise questions- the right ones of course and stay informed, but when it comes to Bharat, the landscape is quite different and it is where women need to speak up more. Hence, education plays a key role in equality, so much so that it takes an educated mother to become a powerful force in transforming society,” she said.
“There is a lot of work that is currently being done at a national level but there’s still a long way to go and in that the right and sensible messaging and usage of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, OTTs, TV serials, etc. will play a big role. In fact, if the government takes the onus and makes, say 20 odd films, where they talk about women equality and religious gurus speak about it, the whole mindset can be changed!” she echoed.
With this, she also suggested that when young girls think of starting a company of their own today, they should start off by doing a market analysis first, followed by a small roadmap to where they’d want to see themselves or their businesses in the foreseeable future and how would they want to finance the same and not just stop at an idea and begin immediately.
“Doesn’t matter if you are in Lucknow, Moradabad, Bombay or Bangalore, India has immense opportunity because of its good buying capacity and population and you have to think a bit out of the box to make your mark today,” she emphasised.
Concludingly, Mehrotra also Mehrotra emphasized the importance of women supporting one another, rather than letting jealousy or dismissiveness create barriers within the tribe. She noted that, unlike men who often show mutual respect, women must go beyond advocating for empowerment and equality—they must also understand and uphold these values in daily life.
