In a world where entrepreneurship is increasingly measured in followers, visibility and speed, the very dynamic Kavita Sugandh believes in something far more enduring: trust. A business owner and direct-selling entrepreneur with QNET, Kavita’s entrepreneurial journey has taken her from starting work young and navigating corporate life to building her own HR consultancy and eventually finding her calling in direct selling.

Each chapter, she says, taught her a different lesson — discipline, professionalism, ownership, adaptability and, most importantly, the power of people and community. Today, as technology reshapes how entrepreneurs build businesses and women increasingly use digital platforms to create opportunities on their own terms, Kavita is equally vocal about what technology cannot provide: credibility, empathy, resilience and integrity.

In this exclusive conversation with Sumita Chakraborty, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, TheGlitz, Kavita Sugandh, Business Owner & Direct Selling Entrepreneur with QNET, explores the changing face of entrepreneurship, the rise of digital leadership, the growing opportunities for women and why, in an increasingly connected world, the businesses that truly endure will still be built on something deeply human — trust.

Over To Kavita Sugandh – Business Owner & Direct Selling Entrepreneur with QNET

A business like Direct Selling may offer a great product or an innovative idea, but ultimately, it is the people, values and credibility behind it that determine how far it can go.

– Kavita Sugandh – Business Owner & Direct Selling Entrepreneur with QNET

You started working at a very young age, moved through corporate roles, built your own HR consultancy and eventually entered direct selling. Looking back, what did each of these experiences teach you about what it really takes to build a sustainable business?

Kavita Sugandh – Every phase of my journey has taught me something different, and each experience has shaped the entrepreneur I am today. While starting work at a young age taught me discipline, responsibility and the importance of being willing to learn, my corporate experience helped me understand processes, professionalism and, most saliently, the crucial role of people in building an organization.

When I started my own HR consultancy, I got a much closer understanding of what it means to take ownership of a business. You have to build relationships, manage uncertainty, understand your team members, your customers and constantly create value to make your business successful. Moving into direct selling was another important learning experience because it showed me the power of community and the importance of helping people grow alongside you.

The direct-selling industry itself has evolved significantly in India. The Indian Direct Selling industry reached ₹23,000 crore in FY2024–25, growing at a 6.5% CAGR over the last six years. For me, that growth reflects how the model has evolved and adapted with changing consumer behaviour and technology.

Over the years, I have realised that sustainable business is not built overnight. It is built through consistency, trust, strong relationships and the ability to adapt. A business may have a great product or an innovative idea, but ultimately, it is the people, values and credibility behind it that determine how far it can go.

Digital platforms have fundamentally changed how entrepreneurs find customers, build visibility and create communities. From your experience, what has been the biggest shift in the way entrepreneurship is practised in India today?

Kavita Sugandh – The biggest shift that entrepreneurship in India has undergone, in my view, is accessibility. Entrepreneurship today is no longer restricted to people who have access to large physical networks, significant infrastructure or traditional business ecosystems. The scale of India’s digital ecosystem makes this very clear. At the beginning of 2025 itself, there were 806 million individuals using the internet in India, when online penetration stood at 55.3 percent[1]. Moreover, 491 million social media user identities existed at the same time, which, in my opinion, points to a fundamental change in how entrepreneurs can build businesses in today’s age. A person with a smartphone can now learn, communicate, build visibility and potentially reach customers well beyond their immediate geography.

I also think that this shift is not just technological; it is also behavioral. Entrepreneurs today have to be more visible and more connected to their audiences. You are not simply building a business anymore; you are building a personal brand, creating a community, and continuously communicating your value. However, digital access has created greater competition. Visibility alone is no longer a differentiator, making it crucial for entrepreneurs to assess how consistently they deliver value, how authentic they are, and whether people have a reason to trust and stay connected with them.

Today, an entrepreneur can potentially build a business from a smartphone and reach customers far beyond their immediate geography. But visibility is easy; earning trust is harder. How can entrepreneurs use digital platforms to build genuine, long-term customer relationships rather than simply chase followers and sales?

Kavita Sugandh – I strongly believe entrepreneurs need to look beyond numbers such as followers, likes and views. These metrics can tell you about reach, but they don’t necessarily tell you about trust.

India’s digital audience is already enormous. With number of internet users inflating every day, digital platforms offer entrepreneurs an unprecedented opportunity to reach people. But the bigger question is: what are you giving those people once you have their attention?

Digital platforms should be used to educate, communicate and create meaningful conversations. People want to understand the person behind the business. They want transparency, consistency and genuine engagement. So, instead of constantly selling, entrepreneurs should focus on sharing knowledge, experiences and solutions that are relevant to their prospects.

Trust is built when your communication matches your actions over a period of time. If you are accessible, honest about what you offer and genuinely interested in the people you are engaging with, relationships naturally become stronger.

Personally, the real measure of digital success is not how many people follow you, but how many people believe in what you stand for and continue to engage with you over the long term.

Your journey has involved building and leading a large community. What does effective digital leadership look like today, particularly when people increasingly expect authenticity, accessibility and constant engagement from the person behind a business?

Kavita Sugandh – Leadership today is much more personal. People don’t just want to follow a business or a brand; they want to connect with the person and the purpose behind it.

Digital leadership, therefore, requires authenticity and accessibility. As a leader, I believe you have to be willing to communicate, listen and learn. When you are building a large community, you cannot expect people to simply follow instructions. You have to create an environment where people feel heard, valued and empowered to grow.

The scale of digital connectivity has made this even more important. When millions of Indians are using digital and social platforms, leadership is no longer limited by geography. That gives leaders a much larger opportunity to influence and connect, but it also creates a greater responsibility to communicate responsibly.

At the same time, leadership is not about being available every minute of the day. It is about being present when it matters and communicating with consistency. Your community should know what you stand for and what they can expect from you.

I also believe that a leader’s role is to create more leaders. If your growth depends entirely on one person, it is difficult to build something sustainable. The real strength of a community comes from empowering people to discover their own potential and take ownership of their journey.

You have spoken about facing rejection and setbacks during your entrepreneurial journey. In today’s social-media-driven world, where success often appears instantaneous, how important is it for aspiring entrepreneurs to understand that sustainable success still requires patience, resilience and consistency?

Kavita Sugandh – It is extremely important because social media often shows us the outcome without showing us the journey behind it. We see the success, the recognition and the milestones, but we don’t always see the years of learning, rejection, uncertainty and hard work that came before them.

I have experienced rejection myself, and over time I learnt that rejection is not necessarily a reflection of your potential. Sometimes it is simply part of the process. Every setback teaches you something, about yourself, about people and about what you need to do differently.

Entrepreneurship requires patience because meaningful success takes time. You have to be willing to keep showing up even when the results are not immediate. Consistency may not always be exciting, but it is one of the biggest differentiators between those who start something and those who sustain it.

I would encourage young entrepreneurs not to compare their chapter one with someone else’s chapter twenty. Focus on your own progress, keep learning and remain consistent. The journey itself builds the resilience that ultimately helps you sustain success.

Women are increasingly using digital platforms to enter entrepreneurship, often while balancing family responsibilities and limited access to traditional business networks. What opportunities do you believe technology has opened up for women that simply weren’t available when you began your journey?

Kavita Sugandh – Technology has opened up tremendous possibilities for women. When I began my journey, opportunities were often closely linked to physical networks, geography and the ability to be present in a particular workplace or business environment. Today, many of those barriers have reduced significantly.

Significantly, NITI Aayog notes that more than 40% of UDYAM-registered MSMEs were women-owned as of January 2025 – this report throws interesting light on how women are increasingly shifting from borrowers to builders, with a focus on emerging trends in credit participation, financial behaviour, and self-monitoring.

We are seeing a massive digital shift in the direct selling eco-system across tier II cities too. Women are among those benefiting most from it. Technology has fundamentally lowered the barriers to entering entrepreneurship.

When I began my journey, building a business often meant having access to the right networks, and, importantly, the time to be present in the right places. For many women balancing family and professional responsibilities, these could be significant barriers.

Today, technology has changed that equation. A woman can build a customer base, showcase her products or services, learn new skills, network, and manage significant parts of her business through a smartphone — often from wherever she is. Digital platforms have also made entrepreneurship far more flexible, allowing women to work around their existing responsibilities rather than having to choose between the two.

We see this transformation quite clearly in direct selling. Women now account for 48% of India’s direct selling workforce — approximately 44.6 lakh (4.46 million) active female direct sellers out of an overall industry workforce of 93.2 lakh. That participation reflects how technology can make entrepreneurship more accessible and inclusive.

But perhaps the biggest change is not just access to technology; it is access to opportunity. Digital tools have helped women build visibility, confidence and networks beyond their immediate communities. They can learn from people across the country, reach customers they may never have met physically, and create an entrepreneurial identity on their own terms.

So, if I had to sum it up, technology has made entrepreneurship less dependent on where you come from, whom you know, or where you are physically located. It has made the journey more accessible, more flexible and, importantly, more achievable for women who may not have had the same opportunities a generation ago.

Looking ahead, what will distinguish the next generation of successful Indian entrepreneurs: access to technology, personal branding, community-building, adaptability or something deeper that cannot be taught by any digital platform?

Kavita Sugandh – Technology will certainly be an important enabler, but I don’t believe technology alone will determine who succeeds. Access to technology is becoming increasingly universal. The real differentiators will increasingly be adaptability, emotional intelligence, resilience and the ability to build trust. Qualities such as integrity, empathy, perseverance, and discipline cannot be downloaded or taught by a digital platform

Personal branding and community-building will continue to be important because people increasingly want to connect with people they can relate to and believe in. But a strong personal brand cannot be built on visibility alone. It has to be supported by credibility and substance.

For me, entrepreneurship will always remain a people business. Technology can help you reach millions, but it is trust that helps you build something that lasts. That, ultimately, is what I believe will distinguish the next generation of successful entrepreneurs.

[1] See Review: NITI Aayog Report Highlights Growing Credit Participation of Women While Challenges Remain. Factly. https://factly.in/review-niti-aayog-report-highlights-growing-credit-participation-of-women-while-challenges-remain/

TheGlitz Take

In an age obsessed with instant success, Kavita Sugandh offers a refreshing reminder that real entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a viral moment. Her journey underscores a simple truth: technology can open doors, visibility can create attention, but it is resilience, credibility and the ability to build genuine human connections that turn opportunity into lasting success. For TheGlitz, that is the real takeaway — build people, build trust, and the business has a far better chance of building itself.