Mumbai: With a sweeping response to it’s newest women empowerment campaign – UnStereotype, LXME is set to spend a month celebrating women of substance who challenged the conventional ways of the society. The country’s first financial planning platform for women kickstarted this initiative this women’s day, and through its various live sessions, panel discussions and workshops, UnStereotype had successful women talking about their stories, inspiring other women to become financially independent.

The campaign saw renowned names like Navya Nanda – Founder of project Naveli, Vanshika Goenka- Founder of Kool Kanya, Faye D’souza- Journalist, Masoom Minawala – Luxury Blogger, Nivedita Bhasin – youngest woman pilot in world civil aviation history and many others- come together on a single platform to share their experiences and motivate upcoming professionals.

The objective of the campaign is to drive women of the world to get what they seek without being held back by the shackles of stereotypical rules laid down for generations. The initiative is broadly divided into three main segments – 

Panel Discussions – Women from across industries share their success stories to reinforce the ideology ‘Women CAN and Women WILL’

Master Class – Curated workshops with experts on career and financial planning 

Live Sessions – Inspiring stories on breaking barriers; the power of women through ancient and modern times, Body Positivity, Career Switch, Building a Brand for your Business, Civil Rights and Laws every Woman should know and women & sexual health. 

Talking about the initiative, Founder of LXME – Priti Rathi Gupta says, “We conceptualized UnStereotype firstly to appreciate every woman out there who remained unfazed by the gender-based restrictions placed on her, and made her mark as an achiever. Secondly, to encourage aspiring professionals, by presenting to them stories and examples of the go-getters. UnStereotype had participants from across the spectrum, belonging to various industries, and this was instrumental in sending across our message – success in any field is possible as it entirely depends on the attitude you foster and outlook you possess.”

“I’m extremely pleased to see the event unfold as several motivating stories came to the forefront allowing clarity to many young minds yet to foray into the business world. The panel discussions resulted in fruitful discussions and immensely insightful conversations that a lot of women found valuable”, she added.

The participants of Unstereotype with LXME on the panel were Navya Nanda, Masoom Minawala, Capt. Nivedita Bhasin, Faye D’souza, Devika Patel, Vanshika Goenka, Aleena Gandhi, Neha Motwani, Manasi Chaudhari, Kanika Tekriwal, & Mansi Sajeja with Priti Rathi Gupta who discussed money matters and financial independence with their experiences.

During the panel discussion on Money mindset of the young woman entrepreneur, Digital Influencer and Entrepreneur Masoom Minawala said – “I have always been very ambitious and have had very clear financial goals. When you think of a goal once, you just have to keep going at what you’re going at. You automatically become an expert at something when you are passionate about it.”

Aleena Gandhi – Founder, Social Media Dissect one of the panelists said – “I handle my own finances and I also don’t take money from anyone since I was 18 years old. So then I knew I had to have an emergency reserve. I know I don’t like to ask anybody for anything and so I’m going to make that contingency fund for myself.” 

“I was very clear from early that I want to be known for my own successes as with privilege comes responsibility. We’ve built a self-funded organisation without taking funds from our family. One thing I learnt is cash is king. Say no when you have to, don’t over promise. Be brave and more confident in yourself.” said Navya Nanda, Co-Founder of Aara Health & Founder of Project Naveli who also was a part of discussion.

Neha Motwani- Co-Founder & CEO, Fitternity said “Raising funds may be tough, but not because of your gender. It all depends on the product you’re building. Creating a safety net and having a Plan B when you start your own business is important.”
Manasi Chaudhari – Founder of Pink Legal added “Almost 90% urban women did not know about their legal rights and as a lawyer, I wanted to do something for them! Being prepared to work hard and making money management an absolute priority should be the aim of every individual woman.” Devika Patel – Founder of Clarity Business Lab and The Bombay Legal states “Treat your business like you work for your business. You have to be at the service of your business.”    

On the panel speaking about If financial planning had to be a curriculum taught to women- what chapter from your life would you use as lessons – Renowned Journalist Faye D’souza spoke about how- “Women as young girls are not encouraged to make mistakes, we are afraid to make mistakes and learn from them, that reflects on why we are also afraid to make money decisions independently. We need to encourage girls that it’s ok to make mistakes because that leads to learning.” 

“Money is more than just an enabler. There is also a sense of self-worth and confidence that comes with money. What always helps women when they are getting back from a break is writing on the cover letter what they did during the time they took a break. Highlight what you learnt during the time. Life is your biggest teacher.” CEO and Founder Kool Kanya, Vanshika Goenka added.

Capt. Nivedita Bhasin- The youngest women pilot in world civil aviation history during the discussion told us her struggles while growing up – “I went to the flying school when I was in class 10 to get admission. There they scoffed at me and scolded me saying you are too young to become a pilot. You must study and that really angered me and I said this is what I want to do and this is what I am going to do. When they said you can’t do it, in my mind I said I will show you how I do it!”

Kanika Tekriwal – Founder & CEO, JetSetGo Aviation says “Setting up a business can be very unnerving at the early stages, but it’s up to you to look at the advantages. As you look at the advantages the world is your playground.” Mansi Sajeja who is a fund manager at SBI Mutual Funds also mentioned: “Money lessons for women should be don’t be afraid to ask questions, take that first step and learn from your experiences, and keep emotions away from your financial matters.” 

Various workshops on Financial Fitness, Growing a Brand Digitally, The Power of Storytelling, Idea to execution and growth. will be moderated by Priti Rathi Gupta, Aleena Gandhi, Tanya Bhattacharya, and Devika Patel respectively. The month of March is set to see many more such sessions and discussions involving inspirational personalities on Unstereotype with LXME. 

LXME is India’s first financial platform for women that supports, educates and encourages women to take independent investing and financial decisions. Recently, Team LXME decided to take a survey focusing on Women, Childhood and Money and ran the survey over 15 days across the country. Last year, LXME had organised an interactive discussion with Women Achievers known as “Girls Just Want To Have Funds” featuring all the badass girl bosses we all love, followed by an open mic.