‘You had the opportunity of a lifetime’: Entrepreneur recalls grandfather’s disappointment over her return to India from Harvard

Entrepreneur Naiyya Saggi’s decision to return to India after studying at Harvard came with an unexpected family fallout. Her grandfather, who believed she was giving up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the US, stopped speaking to her for three months after she moved back in 2015.

Speaking to content creator Viraj Ala in a recent vox pop-style interview, Saggi recalled how her family reacted to her decision to leave the US and build a company in India. Her comments were reported by Hindustan Times.

Saggi, who is best known as the founder of BabyChakra and co-founder of The Good Glamm Group, is now building her third company, consumer-tech venture EDT.

A full scholarship to Harvard

Saggi told Ala that she received a full scholarship to Harvard for her MBA.

She had earlier studied BA LLB (Hons) at the National Law School of India University before pursuing an MBA from Harvard Business School. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was a Fulbright and JN Tata scholar at Harvard.

After completing her MBA, Saggi worked as a consultant at The Bridgespan Group for a year. She eventually returned to India in 2015 with a clear ambition.

“I came back to change the world. I came back to India in 2015. Built my first company out of India and now I'm on building my third company,” she told Ala, according to Hindustan Times.

Don't Miss: 'India was number one': Sergio Gor applauds Indian companies for $20 bn US investment

Why her grandfather was upset

Saggi said her decision did not sit well with everyone in her family. Her grandfather, in particular, felt she had walked away from an opportunity that many would consider difficult to turn down.

“When I moved back to India in 2015, my granddad didn't talk to me for 3 months. He was like, ‘You had the opportunity of a lifetime to be in the US, job offers, full scholarship—why do you come back to India to build?’” Saggi revealed, according to Hindustan Times.

Despite the criticism, Saggi went ahead with her plans. She founded BabyChakra in 2015 after seeing her sister struggle to find reliable information during pregnancy.

In 2021, BabyChakra merged with MyGlamm. Saggi subsequently became a co-founder of The Good Glamm Group alongside Priyanka Gill and Darpan Sanghvi.

Must Read: More cards, more savings? How young Indians are using multiple credit cards to cut everyday costs — experts say this is how to make it work

‘I don't come from money’

Saggi also addressed perceptions about her background and said she did not come from generational wealth.

“My parents were in the government, they were government servants. I don't come from money, actually,” she said, according to Hindustan Times.

Saggi is now building EDT, her third company. Her three companies are worth upward of $1 billion.

Ending the conversation on a broader note for entrepreneurs, Saggi said Indian founders do not necessarily have to move abroad to build companies with global ambitions.

“Indian founders and Indian teams can build globally-defining companies from India to the world,” she said.