the wonderwomen of pakistan — episode 1
“If I can do it, then every girl can do it”
The latest edition of the daftarkhwan fireside chat was wrapped up by these words of wisdom by none other than the co-founder of Bagallery, Mina Salman. The session was a perfect ying yang as it was hosted by the Managing Partner of SiddySays, the super talented, fashionista and digital creator: Amna Niazi.
For those of you who are not familiar with Bagallery here’s a quick brief for you: Bagallery is known to be the game changer for Pakistan’s e-commerce industry of fashion and beauty. The idea came into being in 2011 when Mina decided to take a bold step to start her own venture. The company started with only three individuals back then with one dream: to make Bagallery one of the best e-commerce fashion hubs for Pakistanis from where they could buy products from their favorite brands with ease and convenience.
With the passion and sheer determination of the team, the startup now has a tribe of more than 40 individuals and has recently raised $900,000 from one of the leading venture capitalist firms in Pakistan. Bagallery now has a following of more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and is home to brands such as Procter & Gamble, Milano, L’Oreal, Unilever and many more.
Minas passion & joy regarding her entrepreneurial journey shone off of the screen and captivated audiences as a woman who unashamedly went after her dreams and conquered them with the support & love of those around her.
Her journey to success sounds something like this — she got married in 2007 and moved to Jeddah and after embracing motherhood, like every other mother, she felt lost & hopeless as she couldn’t find a path that could give her a satisfying career.
As Mina explains, one day her husband asked her what is that one thing that she is passionate about and being a shopaholic she happily told him that she loves shopping. That is how Bagallery happened with only one motto to provide the best quality of products from various brands across Pakistan.
Speaking about her weaknesses, she highlighted how she never understood numbers and she was never shy to seek help from her husband. She further talked about key learning aspects during her journey that allowed her to deal with various situations. Imagine having spent tons of money on your upcoming marketing campaign and the moment your campaign is launched, your website crashes. This is exactly what happened with Bagallery. For Mina this was a great learning experience as at first she was frustrated & confused but then soon realized that the only way to get out of this was to come up with possible solutions and take the right actions.
According to Mina, entrepreneurship is about resilience and constant failures that push us to fight back and come out stronger every time.
As claimed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report 2019, around 252 million women are entrepreneurs worldwide and 153 million women are already operating their own ventures. Mina holds a strong belief that women have so much potential and are capable of achieving milestones and what they need is a solid cocktail of belief, determination & zest.
To watch the full episode of daftarkhwan fireside chat with Mina Salman click here!
This comes just in time to remind everyone that the biggest sale of the year is just around the corner. Bagallery is celebrating White Friday from 27th — 29th November with some crazy discounts so get your orders booked now!
