From Mirzapur to unicorn and beyond — I joined Cars24 with no offer letter, no pay, and turned chaos into scale. Now I run Pawfect Chefs, a pet care company. We don’t blitzscale, we slow-cook success — one handwritten label at a time. Single, never-married mother by choice, I juggle pitch decks and playground slides. Courage is showing up anyway — chai in hand, sleeves rolled. Manika Tandon is a bold tech leader and entrepreneur driven by grit, empathy, and innovation. An IT engineer with an MBA in Strategy & Marketing, she built a strong foundation at Accenture, Sapient, Wipro, and Cognizant before joining Cars24 as a founding member. There, she played a key role in scaling the company to unicorn status, eventually becoming CEO of one of its verticals. Today, she leads an AI-powered pet care startup that blends technology with deep personalization, reshaping how pets are cared for in India. A single mother by choice, Manika challenges stereotypes and builds businesses with heart and resilience. She proves that the extraordinary isn’t about privilege—it’s about showing up, staying in the game, and building with intent. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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