“I didn’t build these brands to play the game. I built them to change it.”
Growing up, Kanika Durga never thought she would be an entrepreneur. Yet, she knew she would be building something of her own, however long the journey may be.
Living the Dream
An alumna of Queen Mary University of London with a law degree and a model for a decade, Kanika soon found herself at the crossroads of the beauty business and decided to pivot.
Fast forward to today, and Kanika now owns three ventures that, as she recalls, were never meant to be businesses but a means that would disrupt the beauty industry and the status quo. She says,
“My three ventures are the bridges I built between what I couldn’t find and what I needed to exist.”
Built in 2021, Luxe by Kan is a luxury beauty e-commerce platform curated by Kanika that sets itself apart from the other mainstream beauty stores in India by making global luxury accessible and onboarding exclusive homegrown luxury beauty brands. Since its inception, the platform has scaled its orders to thousands in a month and has partnered with leading international beauty and skincare brands.
A Delhi-based medical aesthetic clinic, launched in 2024, Skulpted by Kan, provides services that are built on ‘trust, subtlety, FDA-approved technology, and science over noise.’ So far, they have completed over 400 successful client transformations in 10 months. Targeting the elite clientele in Delhi, Skulpted by Kan even expanded to South Delhi (Green Park), with a second location within a year. Kanika adds,
“Skulpted by Kan doesn’t glamorise beauty treatments. We educate, empower, and guide. No fluff. Just facts. We stand apart because we don’t push treatments. We educate clients with honesty, and we talk about PCOD, hair loss, and hormone imbalance. We’re in the business of long-term confidence, not surface-level fixes.”
Likewise, Shoots & Podcasts is a Gen Z-focused studio space built in 2025 for creators and brands looking for aesthetic backdrops and modular sets for their shoots, content, photography, videography, podcast recording, and brand campaigns.
Interviewer: You built all your ventures under the age of 23. Was it all leading from a ‘eureka’ moment?
Kanika: “Most people think businesses start with a ‘eureka’ moment. Mine didn’t. Every business I run was born from frustration over how things were being done and a decision to raise the standard. I couldn’t find a platform that treated luxury beauty in India the way I saw it—clean, curated, and calm. So I built Luxe by Kan. I didn’t feel comfortable at most clinics. There was too much noise, not enough care. So I built Skulpted by Kan. I was also tired of seeing creators rent half-hearted, uninspiring spaces. So I built Shoots & Podcasts.”
While Kanika did not have a ‘eureka moment’ per se, every entrepreneur has an impulse that pushes them in the entrepreneurial direction. She recalls a quote from a TED Talk that said, ‘You don’t need to have the map. You just need to move.’ And that is exactly what Kanika did. She kept moving. She believes,
“We build not just from ambition, but from uncompromising vision. None of these were part of a grand plan. They were simply necessary.”
Walking a Tightrope
Each entrepreneurial journey is different and has its own set of challenges. Reflecting on her four years of entrepreneurship, Kanika says,
“I don’t have a dramatic failure story. But I do have mornings where I feel like I’m losing myself to everything I once prayed for. I’m not afraid of saying I’ve failed. One of my most painful moments was when Instagram took down Luxe by Kan’s account twice.”
Losing over 60,000 followers overnight, with no website or alternate funnel, made things difficult when the entire business was running on Instagram. Having to start from scratch with no explanation or refund in sight taught her what she could not learn in any marketing or business: “To never build everything on borrowed ground.”
Being a young founder brought its pitfalls, as she was constantly underestimated and unheard for being 22 and a woman. Looking back on such days, she reveals,
“There were rooms where people looked for a more ‘experienced’ face. I wasn’t that. There were moments I was managing chaos with one hand and convincing myself I could handle it with the other. I think about my mom in moments like that.”
Today, Kanika owes her strength to her mother, whom she always looked up to for working through the worst of days despite the pain. Kanika follows her mother’s footsteps now, carrying the same values and ethos in her work and career. She further asserts,
“I’ve done the same. I’ve had emotional burnouts, weeks where I couldn’t function. I’ve learned to protect my energy now, but I also know that sometimes, work is the thing that saves you from yourself. I’ve also learned one thing: you don’t overcome challenges by being louder. You overcome them by being unshakable. Quietly. Consistently.”
Flying High
Kanika had always associated success with magazine features and covers, and while she did get featured in publications like DailyHunt, ABP Live, Newswire Online, and Wow E, she later realised what the word ‘success’ truly meant to her, and it was no longer about getting media mentions.
With a glint of happiness in her eyes, Kanika talks about the thankful messages she receives from her clients six months after the services and purchases, her team that takes initiatives on its own, and how proud her inner child feels for how far she has come. She further divulges,
“Success, to me, is peace with your process. It’s when the chaos begins to feel aligned. The real win is that people trust what I’ve built. And they come back. That’s the only metric I truly care about. The results that matter the most will never fit into a spreadsheet.”
The Next Chapter
Kanika is not slowing down her hustle anytime soon, as she looks forward to getting better each day. Intending to go back to law school, she has also started working on a luxury skincare line on the side that will address a major gap in the Indian skincare industry.
Her plans for Luxe by Kan are to lead the luxury beauty space that is home to both international and homegrown brands. She will also be expanding Skulpted by Kan to two new locations and evolving Shoots & Podcasts into a creative playground.
Hear it from Kanika
While signing off, Kanika goes over lessons that B-schools never taught her. She believes that an entrepreneur doesn’t need to be fatidic about where the road goes or ends to take the first step. She further emphasises,
“You don’t need a huge team, or investors, or certainty. You just need conviction. And the discipline to back it. If I could tell a budding entrepreneur anything, it would be this.”
She also reminds the budding entrepreneurs that they don’t need to feel qualified to take a step; just take the first step and become the person you feel is qualified. Lastly, she reaffirms,
“Building brands in your 20s isn’t always sexy. It’s chaotic. It’s lonely. It’s full of self-doubt. But it’s also the fastest way to meet the strongest version of yourself. I don’t have it all figured out. But I have my vision. And that’s louder than doubt will ever be. The path isn’t clear when you begin. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear your own voice getting louder with every step.”
