[100 Emerging Women Leaders] Meet Rashi Narang, the banker who went on to build a pet D2C brand in 2008

It's commonplace to see well-groomed retrievers, pugs, beagles and sometimes even Indies. And if you are a pet parent, there are many companies, online and offline, which can help you buy the best for your four-legged needs. But in 2008, this wasn’t commonplace and Rashi Narang, the Founder of Heads Up For Tails had an uphill task. 

There were many questions around why build a pet couture brand? Do we Indian pet parents need it? The idea for Heads Up For Tails came to Rashi when she moved from NYC to India in 2007. She realised her companion and source of solace was Sara, a Labrador, whom she describes as a fur ball of naughtiness and love. 

“Wanting to get the best for her, I tried procuring the most stylish and cute pet products for my little furry family member, but unfortunately, I wasn’t really satisfied with the quality and options available in the Indian market,” says Rashi. It is where she decided to make them on her own. 

Once she started making these products, she realised there still was a long way ahead. She faced rejection from over 200 Indian retailers. “So I decided to sell the products on my own via an online store, and a few months later through a kiosk at Delhi's premier Select Citywalk. I was also a one-person army, and it was insane working 18-hour days for almost six months until I hired my first employee,” says Rashi. 

For Rashi, it was venturing into unknown territory. After completing her graduation at Cardiff University and her post-graduation from the London School of Economics, she was working in the top banking firms across the globe. Reminiscing, she says that she always wanted to open a shelter for dogs or do something that could highlight her love for animals. 

And while Rashi had a strategy in place, she soon realised it had to be thrown out of the window, as nothing was going according to plan. Everything had to be built from scratch—work on customer awareness, logistics, products, supply chain.  

“But the path unfolded nicely, if the 200 retailers hadn’t rejected us then, we wouldn’t have created a network of stores. Hindsight is always 20:20,” added Rashi. 

Heads Up For Tails, which is present all across India, raised $37 million in Series A funding in 2021. 

Rashi is no stranger to the challenges that come with being a woman founder. 

“There have been many times [I have been] told that I am too soft, and a leader needs to be stronger, and really chart the path out. My style is different, I want more opinions to be heard. So I can choose to tune in or tune out. There have been many situations where I have been brushed out, and people won’t make eye contact, even some investors that I had earlier met. But I realised that I don't want to tune into that and stay authentic,” she says.

Another issue is that women strive for perfection and they don’t flaunt achievements, she highlighted. 

“But from my learnings I would say we need to be committed to the journey and the process. Many times we wonder how we are going to manage home and business. The idea is to find the right support system and have clarity of purpose and why are you doing what you are doing,” Rashi adds.  

She says it is all about the B word - Balance! Some days you have to prioritise work and some other days your personal life. “I envy people who have achieved that balance every day, but I personally prioritise. Women as mothers have a lot of guilt, and that can be tough. However it is about being present wherever you are,” added Rashi.