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With over a decade of entrepreneurial experience, my journey as the Founder & CEO of…
Articles by Harlin
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How I became an accidental entrepreneur - Part 1: The Beginning
How I became an accidental entrepreneur - Part 1: The Beginning
Quarantine has surely become a little bit of quaran-teen for me. This weekend, I was reflecting on my teenage years…
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Valuable lessons that solo travelling taught me
Valuable lessons that solo travelling taught me
I love travelling. Growing up I didn’t get to travel a lot.
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Managing Time When you have All the Time
Managing Time When you have All the Time
Let me begin by saying, I am no Management Guru. I am just someone who likes to get back up on her two feet after…
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisLaunching a new series: BTS (Beauty Truths & Secrets), and here's the first episode, where I share why we spent ₹35L on product testing, even though we didn't have to. A little about BTS: This is me stepping out of my comfort zone to share my story of building HouseOfMakeup.com, what happens behind the scenes in the beauty industry, from product development, cosmetic testing and ingredient selection, to formulation, innovation and building a homegrown beauty brand. No marketing spin, no fear-mongering, just honest beauty insights, information and experiences. I hope you enjoy this series, and I genuinely look forward to your feedback and hearing what topics you'd like me to cover next. #BTS #BeautyTruthsAndSecrets #BeautyIndustry #ProductDevelopment #CosmeticTesting #Makeup #Founder #HomegrownBrands #StartupIndia #NonComedogenic #Hypoallergenic #SensitiveSkin
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisThree years ago, we relaunched HouseOfMakeup.com But the story really began in 2019, when we launched House Of Makeup. Then 2020 happened. Like many young businesses, COVID nearly wiped us out. The goal wasn’t growth, profitability, or scale. It was simply to keep the lights on. I still remember those days, walking into the office every morning with my accountant Dharmeshkumar Pasnani and two team members, not knowing what the day would bring, what decisions to make, or how we would navigate the uncertainty ahead. But we showed up. Every single day. In 2023, we managed to raise a small round of funding. While it wasn’t a large amount, it changed everything for us. More than the capital, it gave us belief. To our investors( Avinash Sir, Asief Sir and Rajendra Sir) thank you for backing not just the business, but the vision and the people behind it. Today, three years post relaunch, I feel incredibly grateful that we’re still here, stronger than ever. And if there’s one reason for that, it’s our customers 💜 In an industry where loyalty is hard-earned, HouseOfMakeup.com has an 88% repeat purchase rate. That’s not a metric we take lightly. It’s a reflection of the trust our customers have placed in us, the love they’ve shown us, and the confidence they’ve had in our products. Every order, every review, every recommendation, every repurchase has helped us get here. To our customers, investors, creators, partners, and team , thank you for believing in us. We’re only 3 years into this chapter, and it feels like we’re just getting started. #HouseOfMakeup #StartupJourney #FounderLife #BeautyBrand #Entrepreneurship #CustomerLove #D2C #BuildingInIndia #Gratitude
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisStill taking this in: HouseOfMakeup.com won Best Highlighter at Femina Beauty Awards 2026! What started as a vision to create makeup that genuinely performs, feels luxurious, and makes people feel confident… has now received this incredible recognition. This award belongs to every customer who trusted us, every creator who supported us, every partner who believed in us, and the team that works tirelessly behind the scenes every single day. Grateful. Emotional. Motivated for everything that’s ahead. #award #feminabeautyaward2026 #bestinbeauty #besthighlighter #startup #beauty
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisMoments like these make the journey worth it. Grateful to Grazia India and our amazing community for the love and support. Our Zoom In concealer is officially an award winner! Worldwide Media Pvt. Ltd. (A Times Group Company) #beautystartup #beautyaward #cleanbeauty #concealer #GraziaIndieBeautySuperstars2025 #awards #awardwinningconcealer #homegrownbrand #startup #cleanmakeup #nocompromisemakeupHarlin Sachdeva shared this🚨 Big news! 🚨 Our Zoom In crease-free concealer has just won the Grazia Indie Beauty Superstars Award in the category Beauty On A Budget! 🏆✨ Since our launch, we’ve been driven by a single-minded mission: to offer the best of beauty at an affordable price—without ever compromising on quality. ✨ We're beyond thrilled and grateful to have these efforts recognized by a prestigious platform like Grazia India. 🏆 Compared to international bestsellers, Zoom In delivers high performance at just ₹699 for 6ml. Like all our products, it is infused with skincare ingredients, 100% vegan, and clean—backed by our commitment to the strict EU Cosmetic Directive that bans over 1300 toxic ingredients. 🌱 A heartfelt thank you to @GraziaIndia for this recognition—and to our incredible community of supporters, brand loyalists, and champions, who’ve believed in us from the very start. This win belongs to you, too. ❤️ Harlin Sachdeva Worldwide Media Pvt. Ltd. (A Times Group Company) #concealer #GraziaIndieBeautySuperstars2025 #awards #awardwinningconcealer #homegrownbrand #startup #cleanmakeup #nocompromisemakeup
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisI’ve just launched a new series where I’ll be breaking down the formulations and science behind each HOM product — what goes in, why it matters, and how it works. If you’re curious about ingredients, product efficacy, or anything specific you'd like me to cover, drop your questions in the comments — I’d love to dive into them in upcoming posts! Stay tuned, and hope you enjoy the series! #HouseOfMakeup #Nocompromisemakeup #CleanMakeup #MakeupMatters #CleanBeauty #VeganMakeup #Makeup #BeautyIndustry #Entrepreneur #Founder #StartupHarlin Sachdeva shared thisMAKEUP MATTERS! We’re thrilled to introduce our new content series, Makeup Matters, with our Founder & CEO — and the visionary behind our products — Harlin Sachdeva. In this series, Harlin will take you behind the scenes to share her expertise on product creation, ingredients, formulations, and the science that brings our favorites to life. We're opening this up to you too—we'd love to hear your questions/thoughts on our makeup, or makeup and beauty in general—and Harlin will address those in subsequent episodes. Until then, do check out our first drop which addresses 3 most-commonly-asked questions on our hero product: the Face Anything luminous skin tint. 😊 . . . #HouseOfMakeup #NoCompromiseMakeup #CleanMakeup #MakeupMatters #CleanBeauty #VeganMakeup #Makeup #BeautyIndustry #Entrepreneur #Founder #HarlinSachdeva
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Harlin Sachdeva posted thisWe’re currently on a hiring spree, and I’ve come across a surprisingly high number of candidates who don’t meet even the most basic expectations. So I thought I’d share a quick note — in the hope that it helps future applicants put their best foot forward! Here are 5 simple but essential things I always look for before moving forward with an interview: 1) Being on time is essential > Please do be on time for an interview. > If you’re running late due to unforeseen circumstances, a quick heads-up and a brief apology at the start goes a long way in showing respect for the interviewer's time. 2) Be presentable: for offline and, more importantly, for online interviews > We’re doing a lot of interviews virtually, and unfortunately, I’ve seen too many candidates join in PJs, lying in bed, or looking like they just woke up. Yes, we want you to be relaxed, but not that relaxed. Showing up well-groomed and attentive reflects that you value the opportunity. 3) Do your homework on the brand & the role > This one’s big. At the very least, check out our website, social handles, and understand what we do. I've interviewed Social Media Manager candidates who hadn’t even looked at our Instagram. You don’t need to be an expert, but 15-20 minutes of research shows interest and effort. 4) Please present an updated resume, with correct details, and no typos > So many candidates have given me old resumes, with wrong dates of previous job stints or filled with typos. In this age of ChatGPT and AI tools, it doesn't take much time or effort to put out a well-crafted, error-free resume. Also, pro tip: Do try to keep your resume to a single page, no matter your years of experience. 5) Prepare questions beforehand to ask about your role, the work you will be doing, the office culture, etc. > I appreciate interviews that are a two-way discussion, where candidates come with questions that help them better understand what we're looking for and if we are a good fit for each other. Often candidates have no questions to ask. Even if everything was explained clearly, use “Do you have any questions?” moment to show what you’ve understood — and what you’re curious about. Would love to hear other people's take on this. #Hiring #InterviewTips #CareerAdvice #Recruitment #JobSearch #hiringtips
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisWhat a great way to start the new financial year... recognition like this really gives us that extra dose of motivation. Extremely grateful and thrilled to be featured here...big thanks to Local Samosa for this recognition 🙏🏻🙏🏻Harlin Sachdeva shared thisThe wait is over- announcing Local Samosa Brands to Watch-out for in 2025!! From fashion to fintech, wellness to sustainability, this edition highlights brands transforming consumer experiences, aiming to identify and showcase brands that have not only caught our attention but have inspired us beyond measure. Swipe through >>> Here’s celebrating the remarkable brands and the individuals behind them. Homegrown Brands are featured in the comments below!!
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisWhen this Femina feature landed on my table this morning, my first thought was: "I need to send this to my Mom!" While I still have a long way to go as an entrepreneur, the success I've achieved until now has all been because of my people, my tribe (Padmini V.,Vidisha Soni, Ria Dcosta,Chaitanya Chavan, Dharmesh Pasnani) and my entire team at HouseOfMakeup.com. I like to say that behind every successful woman (entrepreneur), is her support network, and my mom has been the biggest champion and supporter of my entrepreneurial journey, right from the very start. And not just my mom—I've been buoyed and propelled forward by my amazing circle: right from the investors who believed in me and saw my potential, to my family members (Akash Dongre) who have made countless sacrifices so I could focus on work, and to all those wonderful, unforgettable customers who kept supporting us, and even bought our lipsticks by the handful during Covid. Heartfelt thanks to everyone and grateful to Femina Worldwide Media Pvt. Ltd. (A Times Group Company) for this feature 🙏
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Harlin Sachdeva shared thisMarketing in 2025 is all about treating meaningful connections and hyper-personalisation as brand philosophy, not just marketing strategy. We still have a long way to go but this is something we are leaning into now. Would love to hear your thoughts… Thanks to Medianews4u.com for this mention!Harlin Sachdeva shared thisIt's the time to persuade influencers before you can expect their support, says Harlin Sachdeva, Founder & CEO of HouseOfMakeup.com. As the beauty industry evolves, the focus has shifted to authenticity, trust, and meaningful connections. House Of Makeup is redefining the beauty space with clean, vegan, and cruelty-free products, all made under the strict European Union Cosmetic Directive. No compromises. Just pure, high-performance makeup. In 2025, marketing is all about: *Influencers with an authentic voice that resonate with consumers *Digital & social media marketing that speaks to millennials and Gen-Z *Hyper-personalization to cater to every unique skin type & tone Harlin believes that as brands evolve, so should their approach to marketing. It's time to build real connections with influencers—and consumers—by focusing on quality, transparency, and inclusivity. #CleanBeauty #InfluencerMarketing #AuthenticityInMarketing #BeautyInnovation #PushMarketing #DigitalMarketing #Beauty2025 #HarlinSachdeva #VeganBeauty #CosmeticInnovation https://lnkd.in/gE7q348Y Harlin Sachdeva HouseOfMakeup.com
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Harlin Sachdeva liked thisHarlin Sachdeva liked thisThree of the biggest beauty brands globally launched the exact same product, in the exact same packaging, days apart. Couldn't have picked a funnier case study to kick off Breaking Through The Clutter if I tried. Fenty Beauty, Glow Recipe and Huda Beauty all launched a hydrogel eye patch within days of each other. Same twist and grind mechanism, same fresh sliced format, same week. Internet is calling it Eye Mask Gate. Iconic. None of this “innovation” is new though. A Korean brand called Wonder Bath launched the exact same slice format, months before any Western brand touched it, at roughly two thirds of Fenty's estimated price. A packaging vendor did all three of them dirty. Most brands would go quiet, instead Fenty leaned in and showed how to do reactives right, even if it is a little cheeky. But step back and the bigger question is the one creators and beauty writers are debating about online. Is this peak K-beauty? Has product innovation quietly died while everyone was busy sourcing the same vendor? Three global brands with enormous R&D budgets went looking for the next big thing and landed on the same packaging trick a Korean brand had already shipped months earlier. Everyone is chasing innovation. Almost everyone seems to have handed the actual inventing to Korea. This is exactly the clutter problem this series is built to call out, playing out at the very top of the industry. When three of the biggest brands in beauty can't tell each other apart, the real differentiator was never going to be the packaging. All the more reason for founders to go all in on product and R&D. What are your thoughts? #BeautyAndPersonalCare #BreakingThroughTheClutter #EyeMaskGate #FentyBeauty #GlowRecipe #HudaBeauty #KBeauty
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Harlin Sachdeva liked thisHarlin Sachdeva liked thisMaybe the secret to avoid disappointment is to not want anything in the first place 🤔 No, that can't be it - because every single person, who has ever aspired for a "stretch" future goal, well-beyond their past and present knows that every attempt comes with a caveat... That nothing is given. Everything is earned. And when your efforts are measured in split seconds There is either success or failure - no middle ground. Deciding to push to break the elusive 90 mins At HYROX Mumbai - was a choice. Choosing to share the audacious goal With her circle was also a choice. But what happens when you miss it By 3 mins and 33 seconds? Is the pain worth it? It depends. On how much the goal means to you. And how much you don't care about people thinking That success has always come easy to you. Because there is no BUILD without BREAK. Every rep at the gym puts your muscles under stress Microscopic disruptions - tiny tears in your muscle fibres Your muscles learn to adapt to the stress When they repair after recovery And the ability to bear that short-term pain The discipline to invest time in recovery The courage to show up to train with the discomfort That x 1000 reps and more Is what helps us build a stronger version of ourselves. I guess that's what they meant when they said: No Pain. No Gain. 💫💫💫 Thank you for the learnings and the moments of self-realization HYROX Mumbai and the man behind it all Deepak Raj. Immense gratitude to my brother from BITS, Raj Ganpath for all the selfless guidance in the days leading up to the event and Nisarg Trivedi for this candid click 🙏 Vineeta Singh • HYROX INDIA
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Harlin Sachdeva liked thisHarlin Sachdeva liked thisYesterday, Vineeta raced HYROX INDIA Mumbai . She finished the singles in 1:33 and stood 3rd on the podium in her age category. This happened in a week where the Internet woke up one day and decided to choose “violence” against SUGAR Cosmetics . Nobody is talking about this, because why would you? Because this takes guts and will and grit and determination and discipline. And that’s the kind of story most of us can’t relate to, because choosing the hard things daily is not everyone’s cup of tea. :)
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Harlin Sachdeva liked thisHarlin Sachdeva liked thisCongrats team Prasol for going IPO today! Prasol Chemicals Limited 🎉🎉🎉 Big shout out to my brother Dhaval Parikh for growing the business over 20 years to get to the phenomenal place it is today 🏆🏆🏆
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Harlin Sachdeva liked thisHarlin Sachdeva liked thisCongratulations Prasol team well deserved ... This IPO for our family is dedicated to my father who gave 15 years of his life to Prasol during the most difficult times … miss you dad and love you always … Prasol Chemicals Limited
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Harlin Sachdeva reacted on thisHarlin Sachdeva reacted on thisThe headlines are exaggerated, but not wrong. We did raise a round. It was at a haircut to our peak valuation. We're back to building. I'm truly grateful for all our customers, partners and friends who have been messaging in solidarity, but Kaushik Mukherjee and I are not getting pulled down by the criticism on social media. When you get more than your fair share of the applause, you have to be ready for the boos when you make mistakes. It's part of the deal, and we did sign up for it :) My team and I are back in the arena and I'm taking the liberty to reword Roosevelt for them as I always do: The credit belongs to the woman/ man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again; but who, if she/ he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Picture abhi baaki hai…
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Harlin Sachdeva reacted on thisHarlin Sachdeva reacted on thisThoughts at 2:59AM on Friday night The last time I updated my Linkedin bio was in 2021 and it still says "sharing hits & misses of building a winning brand from scratch". I've shared a lot of the hits & learnings over the years but the last 24 hours have pushed me to a point where I need to either live up to the claim I make in my bio or quietly change it in the dead of the night. For better or for worse, let me attempt the former. On Friday morning, everyone's favourite business news outlet reported on our latest fundraise - except that the focus was squarely upon one single metric. A decline in valuation of our company. While the print article was careful enough to word the title as "value may melt" - the online headline was a doomsday-declaring "valuation to crash". The pressure of selling subscriptions must be real - but, that's fine - I guess everyone's just doing their job. Which brings us to ours. What exactly is Vineeta and my job? To delight our customers with best-in-class products and purchase experience. To scale SUGAR and our other brands to it's full potential. To build a world-class organization with world-class professionals. To generate superior returns for our investors and channel partners. Have we, at all times, managed to do all of the above? No, we have not and there's no glossing over that fact. But what else is our job... Maybe, at times, to take calls that may be perceived as risky and "biting off more than you can chew"? Definitely, to ensure that full-time employees and beauty advisors never face delays in their monthly earnings. And strangely enough, to browse through 1,200+ tweets on a trending topic that seems to have become a troll fest and yet, keep our mind focused on the glorious possibilities ahead. It's all good. All a part of the game. A game we willingly signed up for 14 years back. And now, there's no turning back. What we have now: Renewed commitment from our largest shareholders right before festive season, a team that has walked through hell with a smile and above all else - a deep burning desire to make up for lost time. What we do not have now: Any excuses. To the many news outlets who have reached out to us with "tell us what exactly happened" queries, there's an article on The Morning Context from a little while earlier that I had hoped nobody would read. It has most of the story you want to know. To the fellow builders from the pre-Covid era who reached out after reading the news - thank you, we'll keep building through good times and bad. And to all the glorious new startup founders who have followed my posts earlier, maybe there's a lesson in this too. Never let anyone else decide When it's time for you to quit trying. _________________________________________ कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ - Chapter 2 Verse 47 of the Bhagavad Gita _________________________________________ Onwards. p.s. It's 4:20 AM now - well, that took a while but at least I get to keep my bio :)
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