This is how Aastha Almast was able to expand her vision for the New Shop as part of Anthill’s Athena – a program specially crafted to empower women entrepreneurs.
“Attach yourself to a purpose, not to an idea, and be open to rejecting quickly the idea that’s not working by completely detaching yourself.” – Aastha (Founder, The New Shop)
Convenience stores are not really convenient to find in India. Or at least that’s the problem that Aastha was tackling when she came up with the idea of ‘The New Shop’ — a quick and easy solution to your daily needs. It was 2019 when Aastha traveled countless hours to work and had a tough time looking for basic stuff like good food and
stationery. In the midst of these, she realized that India needs its own modern convenience retail stores.
Aastha’s family is a diverse mix of businessmen and doctors and she spent most of her childhood absorbing the value of hard work and persistence. She was a problem solver driven to build something, and she just couldn’t miss her calling to give birth to ‘The New Shop’. She picked up the value of education and fighting for your dreams from her grandmother, who was one of the first few female gynecologists in India. She was driven to make way for something greater to provide a better future for the next generation.
The Life Of A Female Entrepreneur
“Timing favors the most perseverant.”
Being the gender bender across boardrooms isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible to make your mark if you’re bold enough. Aastha finds being a female entrepreneur has only empowered her and made her stronger. She is focused on building her dream and she is making sure that her fellow females get a fair stage alongside. She prescribes that one should use gender to their advantage when one enters a meeting to showcase your talent with sheer confidence. She insists that women should utilize the gift of compassion and deliver their values with more humility. “I like to see the best in all situations and hence I am able to make the most out of every situation.”
Incorporating Innovation for Growth
The New Shop works with an inclusive model where they focus on compassion and empowerment to aid growth. They’ve recently initiated a learning academy that trains and grooms freshers to handle omnichannel retail jobs. With a motive of holistic empowerment of
women, The New Shop also conducts quarterly self-defense training programs with Delhi Police for all their women employees.
Growth with Athena Anthill Ventures
“Network, network, network – You could be speaking to your next co-founder, employee, investor, customer, or just well-wisher.”
Aastha’s ardent efforts in bringing The New Shop to life and building it further brought her to Anthill Ventures, who helped her scale her brand’s ecosystem through Athena – a program exclusively crafted to empower women entrepreneurs. While bringing in the resources, Anthill assisted them by infusing interest and action into the system. They connected with investors, growth, and business partners while Anthill helped mentor them and helped them engage with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.
The Glorious Future
“The more you work on an idea, the more clarity you will keep getting, please keep an open mind.”
Aastha comes with a positive mindset and is determined to make her dream of building The New Shop into the largest convenience retail network in the world. In her next steps, she aims to expand her brand’s presence to countries across South Asia and South Africa. While driving this new venture to newer heights, her personal goal lies in making society more gender-equal, and feels that our future generations deserve much better than us.