Dr. (Hon) Jalpan Lala

I think in the early stages, every entrepreneur naturally looks at people who have already made it and thinks, "This is how it happens." That is human psychology. I don't see imitation at the beginning as wrong. The problem starts when imitation becomes copying and you stop discovering your own identity.

For me, the shift from "How do I compete globally?" to "What can I uniquely contribute to the world?" is a shift from comparison to contribution.

My approach to business has always been around the 3 Ps, Planet, People and Profit. Profit is necessary for a business to survive and grow, but I don't believe it should be the only measure of success. What we create should also consider the people involved and the planet we leave behind.

I believe Indian entrepreneurs have enormous potential to contribute globally, but we don't have to become a western version of ourselves to do that. We need to understand what is genuinely ours, our knowledge, resourcefulness, experiences, culture, skills and ways of solving problems, and then give it global quality and relevance.

To me, global positioning is therefore not about looking global. It is about becoming valuable beyond your geography.

And perhaps the bigger question an entrepreneur should ask is not "How can I be better than them?" but "What can the world be better off having because I exist?"

I have learned that men and women are different, and I don't think we need to keep comparing them. Men may naturally bring protective capabilities, while women often bring nurturing capabilities. Both have their own strengths, and neither needs to become the other to succeed.

When I am doing business, I don't see myself as a "woman entrepreneur" first. I see the entrepreneur in me. Saying "I can earn" does not mean I stop being a woman, a mother or a nurturing person. One of the biggest conflicts women face is trying to prove that ambition means giving up their nurturing responsibilities. It doesn't.

I have personally experienced being unheard simply because I was a woman. I have even been advised by people in positions of authority to focus on cultural businesses for women rather than corporate sectors. Honestly, I took that as a challenge. I am grateful for those experiences because they pushed me towards where I am today.

I never wanted to prove that I could be like a man. I simply focused on my work, my ethics and what I could contribute. If one door was closed, I looked for another, or created one.

I have learned not to chase acceptance or validation. If you chase a butterfly, it flies away. Create a beautiful garden and let the butterflies come to you.

Leadership books often talk about success. My experience taught me something different: make mistakes, because sometimes a mistake forces you to discover a solution that success would never have made you look for. I don't see failure as the opposite of success; I see it as another door that some people are willing to find.

And whether you are a man or a woman, whatever you choose to build, be responsible, be conscious and own your choices.

That, to me, is navigating the room, not asking the room to change for you, and not changing yourself to belong in it.

I believe everyone has the will to do something, but often not the clarity, what to do, how to do it, whether it will work, or whether it will be accepted. When you become clear about your purpose and decide that you are going to work towards it, that is where ambition begins for me.

I also believe ambition can mean different things to different people. It can be about education, earning, building a business, family priorities, or simply creating a better life. There is nothing wrong with ambition as long as you don't forget your responsibilities towards your family, society or your workplace, and you don't take unethical shortcuts that hurt others.

I am grateful that we are living through a transformational era for women in India, where there are far more opportunities and support systems available to women to start and grow. A woman can be deeply ambitious and still nurture her family, I experience that myself because I have a supportive environment at home.

I have been asked to explain some of my choices too. But I learned to ask myself first: does this person actually hold the authority or proximity to ask me for an explanation? Will my explanation be understood and reviewed neutrally? If not, why should I give it?

That became an important boundary for me. Not every person deserves access to every explanation.

For me, ambition and ego are completely different. Ambition says, "I want to do something, so I am willing to leave my comfort zone, accept responsibility, learn, research, update myself and keep working." Ego simply wants the result without necessarily accepting everything that comes with it.

I don't believe we should sit and say "I want this" while disturbing everyone else's peace or making others responsible for our ambition. Work for it. Take responsibility. Set an example.

And when you are clear about your purpose, don't keep looking outside for permission. Very often, the first person who can stop you is yourself.

I don't particularly look at my journey as a series of dramatic "No's." For me, life and work have always been about making choices according to the situation I was in at that point.

Whether I say yes or no, it is my decision, and I take responsibility for it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't, I don't consider it a failure, I learn from it and make a better choice the next time.

There have been opportunities I have walked away from because they did not fit my circumstances, principles or direction. But I don't believe every decision needs to be justified to the world. I evaluate, decide and move forward.

I have also never believed that learning from someone means losing your identity. I remain open to learning, even from competitors. If they are doing something better, there is something to learn. There is nothing wrong with that.

Over time, these choices have allowed me to keep reinventing myself instead of becoming stuck in one direction. Teaching led me elsewhere, business exposed me to new possibilities, insurance taught me ethics and problem-solving, and later experiences opened doors into mentoring, branding and global work.

So for me, the real lesson is not about the price of saying "No."

It is about having the courage to make your own choice, the responsibility to own its outcome, and the openness to learn from it.

Then you simply make your next choice better, and keep moving.

Honestly, I don't remember a room where people immediately recognised me. Why would they? A big room has many people, and everyone is at a different level.

Earlier, I would feel frustrated and wonder, "Why aren't they seeing or hearing me?" I tried proving myself, explaining myself, even observing how others created their presence. None of it really worked.

Then I asked myself a very simple question: why do I want them to see me or hear me?

My work should do that.

That changed something in me. I stopped chasing recognition and started focusing on what I could actually contribute.

I believe it is not important who knows you when you enter a room. I have always believed it is more important what impression you leave when you walk out.

That impression doesn't have to come from a designation or an introduction. It can come from your intent, your clarity, your conduct, your knowledge or simply the value you added to that room.

That is also how I look at my journey into HBL ATRIUM. Nobody handed me a ready-made path. I had a clear intent, I found my way, HBL recognised it, and Hendrick's leadership helped guide that vision globally.

So today, I don't enter a room trying to establish that I belong there. I enter to contribute something meaningful enough to be remembered after I leave.

For me, that is presence.

I don't think I ever completely left one version of myself behind. I kept evolving.

What I had to leave behind were some of my bookish perceptions, my comfort zone, my idea of having enough time for parties, fun and even sometimes the luxury of taking proper recovery time when I was unwell. As life and responsibilities grew, I had to learn how to manage my time differently.

When I was new to things, I did hesitate. But gradually I became more honest with myself and more original about what I knew and what I didn't know. Clarity became my strength. I learned to meet the right people, have the right conversations and speak openly when something needed to be discussed. There should not be unnecessary fear.

As I evolved, I also became more comfortable acknowledging my weaknesses while embracing my talents. I continued meeting people with the same respect, regardless of their position or work, listening to their problems with empathy and trying to find solutions.

What I consciously never changed was my ethics, my principles and my respect for people.

I don't believe reinvention means becoming a different person every time life changes. Sometimes you simply move to the next level. And then perhaps you repeat that level until you are ready for the next one.

"Darr ke aage result hai!" (There is a result beyond fear.), haha, that's probably my version of reinvention.

I never really changed who I was. I explored more of who I was.

Before I let anyone spend a single rupee on branding, I want to understand their intent first.

In my conversations, I ask questions around "why". I keep going deeper into the why until the how starts becoming clear.

Why do you want to build this business? Why this product? Why this audience? Why do you want visibility?

Because for me, before you build a brand, you need to have a romance with your business. You need to genuinely know it, understand it, believe in it and enjoy what you are building. If that romance isn't there, no amount of marketing can create a lasting relationship between your brand and its audience.

If I feel someone simply wants to build a brand for flexing or showing off, I would rather ask them to pause and reflect before spending money on logos, websites or social media.

For me, branding doesn't begin with what people see. It begins with what the entrepreneur believes, why they are doing it and whether they can genuinely deliver what they want people to believe.

Once that clarity is there, then we decide how to communicate it.

First the WHY. Then the HOW. The visible brand comes much later.

No one can replace you yourself.

You can outsource design, marketing, communication, technology and even parts of your strategy. But you cannot outsource what you personally bring to the business, your behaviour, your quality, your values and the experience you create through your product or service.

An agency can communicate your brand, but it cannot become you.

I also strongly believe that other people's time and energy are as valuable as ours. If someone gives me their time, attention or trust, I feel responsible for giving them the best value I can, not wasting their time with something superficial or something that doesn't genuinely serve a purpose.

People may first come to you because of your marketing, but they stay because of the experience, trust and quality they receive.

That is why the most important part of a brand must remain deeply personal to the founder.

Your business may have many hands working on it, but the experience you promise, the value you deliver and the credibility you build must still carry your signature.

That, for me, is what cannot be outsourced.

I have never told people to hear me. I am heard because I lead with what I have to say.

Sometimes, when you speak about a real challenge, you realise that your voice is also carrying the voice of many women who want to speak but may not yet have found the space or confidence to do so. People relate to that authenticity.

I have learned that what you speak matters, but how you speak matters just as much.

Influence is not about demanding attention or using authority. It is about bringing the real issue to the table, driving the conversation forward and still respecting the people sitting across from you. Challenge the problem, not the dignity of the person.

I also believe in knowing how much to speak and when to stop. Being heard doesn't mean speaking the most. Sometimes one clear, relevant thought has more influence than a long explanation.

For me, influence without authority is therefore not about being authoritative or demanding.

It is about clarity, relevance, courage and the way you carry your words.

When people hear the thought, relate to it and choose to act on it, not because they were instructed to, but because they found meaning in it, that, to me, is real influence.

Behind all the titles, work and professional identities, I am a simple human being.

I believe in staying within the laws of nature, respecting people and situations for what they are, and enjoying life along the way.

I enjoy small happiness, good conversations, humour, relationships and simply being myself. I don't think every part of life needs to become a professional achievement or a public story.

Perhaps the part my professional profile doesn't reveal enough is that I am not trying to become someone extraordinary. I am simply trying to live an extraordinary life in my own way, while remaining a human being first.

That balance of ambition and simplicity, purpose and enjoyment, strength and humanity is probably the real Jalpan behind the professional identity.

I don't say this to boast, but I have rarely achieved anything at the first attempt. I have made mistakes, taken wrong decisions and learnt through experiences that didn't work.

When I was in Nairobi, for example, I crossed my credit-sales limits based on trust and suffered significant financial losses between 2011 and 2013. One very practical lesson stayed with me from that experience: today, my businesses work on advance payments. Hahaha.

But there were many such lessons.

I eventually stopped looking at these experiences as failures that needed to frustrate me. I developed a kind of romance with my failures. Each one made me look at things differently, explore another possibility and find a new way towards success.

Success taught me what worked.

Failure taught me why it didn't work, and what I could do differently.

So today, I don't carry frustration or haste when something doesn't work. I carry the will to keep exploring, learning and trying another way.

For me, there is nothing wrong with not succeeding at the first attempt.

You learn. You adapt. You try again. And sometimes the failed attempt becomes the reason you eventually find your own way to success.

My journey has never been built alone. There are people who changed my trajectory in very different ways.

Harshvardhan, Harsh, was my first corporate mentor. He didn't simply encourage me; he challenged me. His criticism pushed me to look at myself differently, improve and build myself stronger. I carry that lesson even today: the right criticism can build you, if you are willing to listen.

Dr. Pravin Parmar, Founder of Peers Global, gave me an opportunity through his Greenpreneur platform and later Fempreneur. That became an important turning point. It was where some of my work started receiving public recognition, including magazine features and other recognitions. It gave my work a platform and, perhaps more importantly, gave me the confidence to keep going.

I am also grateful to the people who told me I couldn't. They probably don't realise it, but they gave me another kind of fuel. Every "you can't" made me explore another "how can I?"

And then there is Hendrick Henningson, who believed in the concept of HBL ATRIUM and trusted me with the HBL platform. That belief allowed an idea I carried to find a larger, global direction.

Alongside them, my family and Gurus have shaped much of who I am, responsibility, business vision, dedication, continuous learning and spiritual evolution.

I actually keep a diary where I write people's names and something good I have learnt from them. It could be something I want to follow, something I admire, or simply something that made me think.

I don't believe only great people teach us great lessons. If you remain open to learning, every person, and sometimes even an ant, can teach you something.

What I carry forward is not just gratitude for the people who helped me. It is the responsibility to become that person for someone else someday.

If someone discovers my work twenty years from now, I would want them to understand that a meaningful professional life is not only about what you achieve for yourself, but also about what you make possible for others.

Nothing can heal better than time, and no one can heal better than emotional touch. So be the person you are, respect the life you have, and create possibilities for helping others.

If you were unable to climb, create a ladder, not only for yourself, but for those who can use it to climb ahead.

Keep your intentions simple and clear. Be constructively visionary. Keep learning, keep evolving and do your efforts responsibly.

I have learnt that life doesn't always give you the perfect circumstances, the right opportunity or an open door. Sometimes you have to create the possibility yourself, and then leave that possibility open for someone else too.

For me, legacy is not about how many people remember my name.

It is about how many people found a way forward because I left something behind that helped them climb.

Ohhh... 25 is still too young to have everything figured out! Hahaha.

Live your life for you. Love yourself, understand yourself and start building your own financial independence. No one else is going to earn your life for you.

Make attempts. Make mistakes. Learn. Make more attempts. Build your own highway through your work and career.

And yes, keep making mistakes ahead, but make sure you have filled your pockets with experience, wisdom and some financial independence along the way! Hahaha.

Don't wait for everyone's approval or validation before you begin. You will understand many things only after you start walking.

Own your life responsibly. Respect your responsibilities, but don't forget that your life is yours to shape.

And if I had to leave her with just one thought: don't spend your life proving that you are capable. Spend it building a life that proves it for you. — jalpanoholic

You have been a corporate professional, investigator, entrepreneur, homemaker, mother, writer, healer, mentor, speaker, women's advocate and now a global platform builder. What is the one inner quality that remained unchanged through every version of your life?

And my answer for you would be: curiosity. I have never been able to stay in one version of myself for too long. Life kept introducing me to new situations, new people, new problems and new possibilities, and I kept learning.

I learnt business from business, responsibility from family, resilience from failures, spirituality from my Gurus, innocence from my children, and sometimes the most unexpected lessons from people I never thought would teach me anything.

I don't think my journey was ever a straight career path. It was more like a continuous exploration of who I could become without losing who I am.

I made mistakes. I changed directions. I started again. I entered rooms where nobody knew me. I was sometimes underestimated, sometimes challenged and sometimes disappointed. But I never stopped exploring.

Somewhere along the way, I realised I don't need to have everything figured out. I only need to remain open enough to learn, honest enough to accept myself and courageous enough to keep moving.

I don't want a perfect life. I want a meaningful one, with work that matters, people who matter, responsibilities fulfilled, some madness, some laughter and enough freedom to remain myself.

Perhaps that is the simplest way to describe me: perfectly imperfect. Still learning. Still becoming. Still me.

And if there is anything I would want the next generation to take from my journey, it is this: don't be afraid to outgrow your own identity. You are allowed to become many versions of yourself, as long as every version remains authentically yours.