Business / Global Beauty Entrepreneur Shalini Vadhera Shares Her Mission Of Empowerment With Ready Set Jet

Global Beauty Entrepreneur Shalini Vadhera Shares Her Mission Of Empowerment With Ready Set Jet

Business Nov 26, 2019

by Mrinalini Sundar

Serial entrepreneur and global lifestyle expert, Shalini Vadhera’s Ready Set Jet initiative creates products for travellers on the go and also has a socio-economic impact on disenfranchised girls in India.

As a celebrity makeup artist, author, global lifestyle expert, international beauty expert and a 3x serial entrepreneur, Shalini Vadhera truly has had an exceptional journey. Her entrepreneurial spirit was ignited at 19 years of age when her father sent her to India to start her own company. With little experience but a lot of dreams, Vadhera created luxury jewellery and fashion lines that were sold to Macy’s and Nordstrom.

However, she had her eyes on the beauty industry and soon started working for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2003 as a makeup artist. She then became the go-to multicultural celebrity makeup artist and global beauty and lifestyle expert. After being a part of several successful projects, Vadhera was frequently spotted on top television and news channels including Dr. Oz, Today and The View. In 2006 she published her first book Passport to Beauty which takes the reader on a global journey along with Vadhera who discovers and shares beauty secrets from around the world.

And during it all, Vadhera founded a $21 million US global cosmetics company, was named the #1 Person to watch by The Economic Times of India and won of the coveted Oprah Beauty O-Ward.

After a short hiatus, Vadhera officially launched Power Beauty Living in September 2014 (during a conference at the United Nations no less) a social platform that shares the knowledge of top female thought leaders and experts from around the world.

**Shalini Vadhera Shares Her Mission Of Empowerment: Shalini Vadhera, the founder of Ready Set Jet.** Photo Credit: Shalini Vadhera

The following year, she founded of Passport To Beauty, a luxury beauty and wellness brand launched in 2015 that curates and creates the world’s best discoveries from around the globe.

In 2018 Vadhera founded Ready Set Jet, a next-gen beauty and lifestyle brand built for the ‘Go Generation’ a group viewed by Vadhera as a generation who loves to be on the go and are part of a global online community. In that same spirit, Ready Set Jet’s consumer products are multi-use, double-duty beauty products built with a unique customizable product technology.

The company’s mantra is ‘beauty with purpose’ and works closely with disenfranchised girls in India by providing them with skill development, vocational training, and livelihood. Ready Set Jet goes beyond creating magic for the skin and looks at giving back to society.

Vadhera shares with us her thoughts on her latest venture, her major mission for women in India and what she has in store for the Go Generation.

Mrinalini Sundar: How was Ready Set Jet born?
Shalini Vadhera: I received the Mahatma Gandhi Award at the British House Of Lords in September 2017 for my work in leadership and women empowerment. Soon after that, I went to India and I had a few high-level government officials waiting to meet with me. They discussed the challenges faced by the girls in India and asked me to use my platform to find a way to give back and help them. I knew the importance of helping girls by teaching them a skill and mentoring them to become the next generation of entrepreneurs, thanks to my father who pushed me into being an entrepreneur at a young age. Ready Set Jet was the perfect way to use beauty as a vehicle for global change. I knew it was time to take everything I had done in my career and use beauty to make an impact in the lives of these women. Beauty is not just skin deep and is a universal language.

MS: What was the idea behind Ready Set Jet?
SV: The world is so beautiful. The people I have met on my journeys are so amazing. I’m my happiest when I’m living in a state of inspiration, wandering and discovering new places and getting lost in different cultures. Celebrating diversity, coming together as an empowered tribe, and using it as a vehicle for global change is why I created Ready Set Jet. I want women to realize that it is ok to be different and having a different skin tone is beautiful. I also saw this whole new generation of millennials who were as in love with traveling and discovering the world as I was. And I knew it was time to create something for them with a purpose.

Me: Tell us a little about the products?
SV: This brand was created for the Go Generation. Our travel-friendly and multi-functional products bank on prime ingredients (think global ingredient warriors to fight pollution, brighten, and keep your skin glowing from within) and universally flattering shades for the global citizen. We’ve created fuss-free products, so anyone anywhere can transform themselves on the fly. Some of my favourites include our sustainable skincare products made with the whole coconut (the milk, water, plant, meat, and husk) to our customizable beauty barons and of course we move into wellness with supplements for hair, skin, and nails. Most of the products are natural and have a very soothing and calming effect especially while most of us are running crazy lives and always on the go. Most importantly we have a strong Global Citizen Pledge creating colours and products that will appeal to all skin tones.

MS: How do you plan to make a change in the lives of these women?
SV: Power Beauty Living, a women’s platform that I launched at the UN has turned into a complete non-profit foundation. Through that, we have set up the Ready Set Jet Academy. We will be giving women access to job training skills, technology for educational and business advancement and beauty certification. My goal is to impact 100,000+ women through our program. We’ll be starting in India and will expand to other countries since we have a strong tech platform that drives this. My goal is to help create the next generation of women entrepreneurs and help them start and grow their business in beauty, grant scholarships for young women, and most importantly turn women from job seekers to job creators.

MS: What did you think of India’s changing beauty and fashion industry?
SV: I visited India in January and I spent a lot of time in Gurgaon and other cities. I think there is an incredible push as a society for progress. You can feel the entire country is working together towards the future. Besides supporting women in India, we are working with some global partners to bring the brand to other countries.

MS: How has social media changed the game when it comes to entrepreneurship, especially in terms of Ready Set Jet?
Social media has given people a platform to showcase their products or services. And it gives you access to anyone in order to grow — retailers, media, bloggers, etc. We have used it to bring together a 30k strong community that we call our Go Generation. We have an amazing Ready Set Jet tribe all over the world. This community has allowed us to crowdsource products and build an incredible like-minded group of people that share a common interest.

MS: Where did you find the most surprising global beauty secret?
SV: I found the best beauty secret in the Dominican Republic. The women there couldn’t afford to get their nails done at the nail salon much less get acrylic nails. Their secret is to chop up one clove of fresh garlic and add it to a bottle of clear nail polish. They let it stew for 7-10 days, then polish their bare nails. This makes their nails much harder than acrylic nails and it is so amazing.

MS: What is your career advice for upcoming female entrepreneurs?
SV: The first thing I would say is to find something you are passionate about. Go for it, obviously and find like-minded people who can support you. There has never been a better time in the startup world with so many resources — meetups, networking groups, female-founded events, etc. The best thing to do is to network and create your own tribe and remember the world is an abundant place. There’s enough for everyone and when we come together and support each other, the tide rises in the most incredible way. We all rise together.

Main Image Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/shalinivadhera

Mrinalini Sundar

Author

Mrinalini Sundar (new_girl_in_to) has worked with various Indian national, international publications including Times Of India and is currently based out of Toronto. She's constantly in search of high adventure, exotic food, and new experiences. She is the happiest amidst mountains, with no wi-fi.

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