“If you are strong, focused and passionate about what you want to do, everything falls into place.”
Richa Kar, founder of Zivame, hails from Jamshedpur and belongs to a middle-class background. Having pursued engineering from BITS Pilani, Richa later got her MBA degree from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) in 2007.
It was after a brief stint in IT that Richa later moved into retail consulting with Spencers and SAP, where she learned the ropes of the retail sector. While working with the SAP clients, she often got to know the various businesses, and that’s when she learned about the challenges women face while shopping for lingerie. After noticing a market gap, Richa saw a market gap and decided to build an online retail platform herself for intimate wear of women.
The idea of building Zivame was first conceived in 2011, the same time around which Richa resigned from SAP. Initially, she spent most of her time researching the lingerie retail market in India and consumer behavior, and soon enough, she was able to onboard brands like Triumph and Jockey. In August 2011, she finally launched Zivame with an investment of 35 lakhs.
Despite the journey being pretty tough, Zivame gained traction eventually. In 2012, she even secured $3 million in funding, followed by $6 million in 2013 and $40 million in 2015.
As of April 2025, Zivame’s valuation stands at $91.6 million, and it offers more than 5,000 styles in over 100 sizes. The brand also expanded from its online-only store to retail outlets all across India. Looking back at the time when she started and how far she has come, she says,
“I guess conviction in one’s belief is the greatest driver. If you are strong, focused, and passionate about what you want to do, everything falls in place. Being able to fulfill a certain need is most gratifying. It’s gratifying, but it’s never easy. Thousands of women in India have found a respectable way of making their intimate choices of gratifying feeling.”
The idea to build Zivame came from the mission to address the discomfort women face in India while shopping for lingerie. Because of this, they even introduced fit consultants, home trials and fitting lounges. And since she has big dreams for the brand, she made sure to hire men and women who shared the same vision for Zivame.
The journey has not been a cakewalk, and there have been several sacrifices along the way. Richa even had to rush through her entire wedding so that she could go back to her work the next day. For her work, she even had to skip vacation time again and again. However, she acknowledges that it was not just her but also her family who made instrumental sacrifices for her to get where she is today.
There have also been several criticisms on the journey, but what helped was having a strategic foresight of what you want and strong determination. Today, Richa is pioneering India’s lingerie retail sector with Zivame. She believes,
“If the criticisms are constructive, take it in; if not, walk past. Failures and setbacks are a part of life. When you are focused and hardworking, your journey to success is not too far.”
