FLO Chennai, under the leadership of Chairperson Dr. Amulya Rao, hosted the Elevate HER: Conversations on Scaling Women-Led Home-Based Businesses roundtable on 21 July 2026 at Tamil Nadu Technology (iTNT) Hub, Chennai. It was a collaborative initiative of the FICCI FLO Chennai Chapter – Startup Vertical and iTNT Hub. The programme brought together women entrepreneurs, aspiring founders, home-based business owners, and ecosystem stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions on building and scaling successful businesses.
The session adopted an interactive format from the outset, with all participants introducing themselves, sharing details about their current businesses and entrepreneurial aspirations. This founder introduction session enabled participants to understand the diversity of ventures represented and encouraged networking and peer learning even before the formal proceedings began.
Following the introductions, Ms. Vanitha Venugopal, CEO, iTNT Hub, delivered the Welcome Address and Context Setting, highlighting the importance of creating collaborative platforms that empower women entrepreneurs with access to mentorship, industry expertise, and business networks. Ms. Surbhi Gupta introduced the speaker and welcomed the keynote speaker, Ms. Prasanna Vasanadu, Founder & CEO, Tikitoro.
During her Founder’s Talk, Ms. Prasanna shared her entrepreneurial journey of building Tikitoro from an idea into a successful consumer brand. She emphasised the importance of engaging domain experts during product development, identifying the necessary certifications, and establishing the right manufacturing and supply chain partners before entering the market.
Reflecting on her own experience, she shared that it took nearly 18 months to successfully launch her product, underscoring the value of patience, careful planning, and continuous refinement. She also highlighted that networking plays a crucial role in an entrepreneur’s journey, enabling founders to access expertise, partnerships, and new business opportunities. The session then transitioned into the interactive “Voices from the Ecosystem” discussion, where participants engaged directly with the speaker on practical aspects of business growth.
Ms. Prasanna stressed the importance of understanding customer personas and conducting market research before investing in marketing activities. She explained how startups can optimise customer acquisition by using targeted digital marketing platforms such as Meta Ads and focusing marketing spend where their target customers are most active. She further encouraged founders to seek support from specialised consultants, including growth and branding experts, and to leverage professional platforms such as LinkedIn to identify experienced professionals who can help businesses scale. She also highlighted the value of learning from fellow startup founders operating in similar sectors, noting that peer networks often provide practical insights and solutions to common entrepreneurial challenges.
The session concluded with a group photograph, marking the successful completion of an engaging and knowledge-rich roundtable that strengthened connections among women entrepreneurs while fostering collaboration, mentorship, and shared learning.