PANKTI AGARWAL, INSPIRING WOMEN BY GOING AGAINST SOCIETAL NORMS TO PURSUE HER PASSIONS
“A strong woman accepts both compliments and criticism graciously, knowing that it takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow.”
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart—anyone who’s tried to start their own business knows this. And being a female entrepreneur in this dynamic Indian market takes that truth to a whole other level. Being a woman leader in a predominantly male environment has taught Pankti Agarwal so much about herself, and what it takes to succeed.
She has been forced to learn lessons that all business owners need to master, and more quickly than she expected, but the payoffs have been huge. Pankti Agarwal is the operational director at Laser Technologies Pvt. Ltd., her journey started with ease but faced a lot of challenges along the way. She joined LTPL at an early age and developed it from a startup to a well-established company and at the moment it has almost 40% market share in the Indian Laser Industry which is remarkable. She played a major role in growing LTPL because she believes that small business or MSME can only grow if you understand the importance of processes and planning and the importance of fundamentals in business such as giving the customer value, working as a team, listening empathy, and fairness.
LASER TECHNOLOGIES – PROVIDING INNOVATIVE AND COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
Laser Technologies was founded by Rakesh Agarwal with a group of technocrats in June 2011 to create an organisation that provides quality laser solutions for the growing Indian industry using the technical expertise of more than 15 years of the Laser Technologies team.
The main objective of Laser Technologies is to provide their customers with innovative and cost-effective solutions, supported by their dedicated sales and service teams. To help the customers better, they have built offices in 5 major cities of India; Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. From the beginning, the Laser Technologies vision is to create an international laser community in India to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and to bridge the gap between customers and manufacturers. This led them to organise India’s first exclusive Laser Exhibition in 2010 which was a common platform for customers and manufacturers to share applications and solutions.
Today, they represent global manufacturers such as Steifelmayer (Germany), Alpha Laser Germany, Sei Laser (Italy), HSG Laser (China), GCC (Taiwan) and many more. They offer a wide range of laser solutions like laser marking, laser welding, 2D laser cutting, 3D laser cutting, laser cladding, laser hardening which are capable of processing a variety of materials such as metal, paper, acrylic, wood, textile, leather, plastic and more.
ENTREPRENEUR PUTTING CREATIVITY OVER EXPERIENCE
“Being an entrepreneur is amazing as it gives you the control and freedom to innovate new ideas and bring them to life.” – Pankti Agarwal
When Pankti took entrepreneurship at an early age, she instantly became the role model for family, friends, employees and community members as she believes that your success serves as motivation and inspiration for others. Creativity is valued over experience in entrepreneurship which helped Pankti Agarwal to tackle every hurdle gracefully. An entrepreneur’s mind is never empty, she is either working on a new idea, a new product or a technology for utmost customer satisfaction. She is always setting new goals and striving towards achieving them.
Pankti Agarwal further added, “Being entrepreneurs gives us a chance to build a legacy and helps us motivate our peers.”
BUSINESS SUCCESS FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
The experience of Pankti Agarwal as mother, daughter, wive, primary caretaker, employees, businesswoman, and community leader has made her uniquely qualified to address the issues faced by growing companies.
Pankti Agarwal said – “Being the master of a subject and the ability to communicate clearly and adjust your phrases according to the individual or group you’re attempting to reach is the key for effective organizational growth. To be a successful businesswoman one needs to be voracious curios, learn quickly and listen to what is being conveyed and sometimes, more importantly, to what isn’t being conveyed.”
MAJOR CHALLENGES WHILE BREAKING STEREOTYPES
We know that diversity is good for business, and yet we still have fewer women at the top position of an industry. At a time when equality and inclusivity in the workplace are big topics of conversation, it is important to understand what’s holding women back from the C-suite. A woman has the responsibility of not only the company but of the household too which is extremely challenging. This is because men of our society are not equipped with basic life skills like cooking or other household works. Well, it is important to understand that both men and women need to work side by side at organizational as well as the household level to create a thriving society.
BOOK THAT INSPIRES
Becoming by Michelle Obama is the favourite book of Pankti Agarwal and she is amazed by her struggles in her early childhood which is very inspiring. Few points that she has picked up from that book are:
- Choose the right people in your life who push you towards doing better.
- The right time is now, not in another 5 or 10 years, it is now.
- Just do what’s best for you, because there will always be someone who thinks otherwise.
- Set your goals and make sure you stick to them till the very end.
- There is no limit to what we as women can accomplish.
- The scars that you have are reminders of what you survived.
- Failures are the essential building stones for success.
ROAD MAP TOWARD FUTURE GROWTH
They began their journey with a trading business and providing excellent service support that is helping LTPL to scale new heights. They are planning to open their own technical centre and manufacturing unit soon, so that they can also target the international market.
MAJOR MILESTONES
- Laser Technologies is the first company ever to host India’s First Laser Trade Show called Laser India.
- 2012: Early adopters and promoters of fibre laser technology in India
- First to install a 6KW and 12Kw Fiber Laser in India
- 650+ fibre laser metalworking machines installed
- More than 7x YOY growth for 3 consecutive years
- The team expanded from 5 to 60
- Offices in 7 major cities
- Global industry-leading partners
ADVICE FOR YOUNG ENTRANTS
Slow and steady wins the race. There is an expectation of multiplying the growth every consecutive year but sometimes it takes time to get something right and it’s ok to embrace a slower pace. Work less and make more. Most people tend to work more and make more; however, this philosophy is not good for your mental health or physical health. Delegate your tasks and responsibilities.
“We need to trust our people and believe in them when we have the utmost faith in our team, they can do wonders.” Quoted Pankti Agarwal
