Hyderabad: Breaking the glass ceiling, Poonam Gupta, an entrepreneur embodies the phrase in several ways. Born in a wealthy business family in Delhi where women are considered to be suitable only for being housewives, not only did Poonam become a successful businesswoman without any monetary help from her father or husband, but now she runs a company with a net worth of over Rs 1000 crore and branches in several countries.
Since childhood, she was advised by her family members that born in a wealthy family, she would get married into another well-to-do family and enjoy a comfortable life and there was no need to bother about earning herself.
She was a meritorious student since childhood and despite reservations from her other family members she gained her father's support and successfully completed BA in Economics and MBA in International Business and Marketing.
When she was thinking of joining an MNC to start her career her family members started to urge her to get married. Despite her initial reluctance, she eventually caved in and got married to Puneet Gupta, a successful professional settled in Scotland.
She still had the urge to stand on her own feet and make name for herself. One day she asked her husband whether she can take up a job to which he agreed. Confident of her own abilities and armed with her impressive degrees she started applying to several major companies.
Also Read: India's unique poetry school in Kutch now gathering dust
But she suffered a jolt when all the companies rejected her application citing lack of experience. She started working for a chartered accountancy firm for some years without a salary. It was during that time she noticed that a company near her office throws out a lot of good quality paper as scrap and it struck her that it can be used as an excellent material for packaging if recycled properly.
With this, the journey of Poonam's 'PG Paper Company started in 2003. It did not take her long to get an order worth Rs 40 lakh. But then she faced another hurdle. She did not have adequate funds to buy machinery and was unwilling to take help from her family. So Poonam took a loan of Rs 1 lakh through a government scheme in Scotland.
Then there was no looking back. She then reached another personal milestone. Initially, when she asked her husband to join her company, he turned down her offer saying that his current annual package of Rs 80 lakh and she will not be able to afford him.
However, as her business grew her husband eventually joined her company with an annual salary of over Rs 1 crore. The couple's hard work paid off and the company is now a Rs 1000 crore behemoth with offices in India, China, Turkey, and Sweden.
However, Poonam is not all about money. She is also an eminent philanthropist dedicated to the cause of women's health issues. ''My mother died when I was newly married. I also suffered from bone tuberculosis during pregnancy and was confined to a wheelchair for 18 months. Girls who care about everyone at home neglect their own health. That's why I started the Gupta Charitable Trust which is working on the education of orphans in India and the UK. I am also working on the health problems of women and children and investing in women's start-ups" said Punam.
