Vandana Luthra, a big name in the corporate and entrepreneurial world, is the founder of VLCC Health Care Ltd.; a beauty and wellness brand represented in Asia, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Africa.
She was born in New Delhi on 12th July 1950 to a mechanical engineer father and a mother who ran a charitable yoga ashram along with an Ayurveda doctor. VLCC was incorporated in 1989 as a beauty, slimming and wellness centre at Safdarjung Development Area in New Delhi when Vandana's elder daughter was merely 3 years old. she wanted to promote health and fitness, moreover, she loved cutting giving hairstyles to people and experimenting facials on her mother's face which later turned out to be an implementation in the form of such a huge empire.
Vandana went on to start VLCC on a small bank loan; she gave a tough fight to time, criticism and judgements against women when the ideas of start-ups or women entrepreneur were mere words with no support from either society or family. But Vandana was lucky to have a supportive and cooperative husband and family. Her husband was willing to financially support her to start her venture but she was adamant to not take money from anyone.
The venture grew from being a local Safdarjung- bounded start-up to having a huge presence in 11 countries in South Asia, South-east Asia, GCC and most recently East Africa. The first ever VLCC centre that was built overseas was in Dubai in 2005 and since then, it has seen a surge in its number of courses and centres all around the world.Her parents used to invite little kids who lived in a slum near their house to watch TV when they bought one. The idea of developing VLCC came to her when she saw her mother helping others feel better, that's when she decided to add beauty to it.
She has been felicitated with a Padma Shri, Women Entrepreneur Award, Rajeev Gandhi Women Achiever's Award to name a few.
Her sheer dedication and hard-work arose a sense of confidence among many women in today's era. Her family and most importantly her husband deserve equal recognition and respect as hers because if they would not have been there, she would not have been able to achieve such a huge feat. For the upcoming entrepreneurs, she says,
"Set your goals and work towards it. There is no stopping anyone from reaching the pinnacle of success if there were firm commitment and dedication."