Saumya Misra
“For people like me who are fortunate and have the resources to take care of problems, we should do something more useful, more meaningful with our time.”
Company: Avataar
Founded in: 2022
Growing up in a small city, Saumya Misra felt like she already had her life mapped out for her. Everyone in her family had taken up government jobs and after pursuing a Bachelor’s in Engineering from NIT Bhopal, she did the same. She joined Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.
As she interacted with suppliers at BHEL, she became curious about company-building and that eventually led her to an MBA at IIM Bangalore after which she joined Bain & Company as a consultant. From optimising operations at a mine in Papua New Guinea to leading sales integration for a large merger to turning loss-making companies profitable to advising funds on their investments, she helped companies transform their businesses and got the opportunity to understand the nuts and bolts of building and scaling.
After a five-year stint with Bain, Saumya had an opportunity to help another consulting firm build a practice in India from scratch. It was just what she was looking for. The role gave her a deeper understanding about starting something ground up – and the confidence to launch her own venture.
While growing up, Saumya had gone through decades of skin problems with no long-term solutions. She realised that there is a huge opportunity to make laser treatments, which is already a sizable market, more accessible, reliable, and affordable. Saumya deeply understood customer pain points in this space and leveraged those insights to launch Avataar, a platform that provides at-home, dermatologist-supervised and tech-driven skin treatments. She is building Avataar on a strong tech backbone, using AI/ML to provide customised treatments for effective outcomes. Additionally, Avataar has automated every process, which ensures flawless service delivery at scale.
“I know what it is to live with damaged skin and how it impacts your confidence. I remember spending at least an hour before all the important events – from college gatherings to weddings to even job interviews just concealing my acne. And when I underwent just a few laser sessions, my skin drastically improved and my life changed.”
Providing customised treatments is just the first step. Saumya plans to create a holistic beauty ecosystem, which brings together service providers, brands, beauty artists, and content creators on a single platform. She aims to build a one-stop-solution for all beauty needs so that users can find everything they need; from the right treatment to reliable recommendations for products, salons, gyms, and beauty artists to being able to chat with a nutritionist and dermatologist at the click-of-a button.
Avataar is currently operational in Delhi-NCR and offers a full suite of non-invasive skin treatments with a growing customer base.