In This Episode:
In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Sridevi Raghavan, an entrepreneur from India who developed her business concept, a revolutionary idea in India at the time, for a business plan contest at HBS. They discuss her entrepreneurial journey from HBS student to building the real thing in India, and selling it to allow it to grow globally.
Sridevi paved her own path as a trailblazer in India’s childcare industry and successfully made the transition from an entrepreneur to a global manager. Tune in to hear this inspiring businesswoman detail how she overcame cultural and societal hurdles to build the business of her dreams, one that would allow Indian mothers to pursue a career.
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A Glimpse of What You’ll Learn
How academic mentors just might help you launch your business
How to brave cultural resistance for a concept you believe in
How to transition from manager to student to entrepreneur and manager
Why letting go of your business is like letting go of a child
The importance of shared values in an acquisition
What participating in classical dance can bring to your managerial ability
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Sridevi Raghavan, Senior Vice President - Education, Quality and Sustainability at Babilou
Sridevi Raghavan is today Senior Vice President – Education, Quality & Sustainability at Babilou Family, a global French company that is among the largest daycare and early education networks in the world. Babilou Family serves over 50,000 children across 12 countries. An entrepreneur, Sridevi joined the company in 2018, when they acquired her own daycare chain in India and she became Country Manager of India operations. In 2020, Sridevi took on her current headquarters role, thus moving to Paris from India with her family.
Building a daycare chain in India, a revolutionary idea at the time, was Sridevi’s business plan proposal at HBS. After completing her MBA, Sridevi Raghavan returned to India with that plan, to start the country’s first corporate onsite daycares in 2008. She grew the operation through several rounds of funding, until the sale in 2018. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Sridevi has performed in India and abroad.