Influential Woman · Marketplace
Aruna Ramamoorthy
PMP
CEO, StyleMatch
Fairfax, VA
Her Story
About Aruna
I grew up in a middle-class family in Bombay. I wasn't the intellectual one, and growing up dark-skinned, the world made sure I knew I wasn't the pretty one either. But then I met my neighbor Shanta, dark-skinned (according to Indian standard) like me, tall, elegantly dressed and she taught me something I never forgot: you can be dark and still be beautiful, if you know how to dress.
Fast forward, like many Indian women, I got married and moved to the US. I've been here 28 years. I've always been resourceful. I bought a paint-your-own pottery franchise with zero training, five months pregnant, and built it into a top 10 studio out of 140 nationwide in just three years. I ran it for a decade, then launched a mobile silk scarf company, until COVID shut that down.
In the middle of all this, my 21-year marriage ended. I started over with nothing, no savings, no safety net. I took a job at Home Depot to pay my bills.
And it was during that time, in a conversation with Shanta, that StyleMatch was born. I wanted to help women dress in ethnic wear the way Shanta had taught me, but at scale, globally.
My first attempt fell short. So I went back to the drawing board, and enrolled into a MBA program at Cornell, worked with Cornell professors, stress-tested the idea through my MBA program, and pivoted until it was right.
That's how StyleMatch went from a personal memory to an intelligent marketplace.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Aruna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to perseverance. Don't lose hope, you're definitely going to face hurdles. As long as you don't let them bring you down, you can ask yourself: 'If this approach isn't working, what other options can I look at to move forward?' Or go back to the drawing board and assess whether this goal is practical, or makes sense at all. Perseverance is probably my biggest ally
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I never had a mentor, so I did everything on my own, based on my gut and my values. If I were to say something to somebody, it would be this: don't be quick to judge a person. Give them a chance, work with them, and respect what they bring to the table. But if they don't follow through on what they said they'd do, after you've set clear expectations , the sooner you cut ties, the better it is for you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Approach everything with humility, and respect people first, before you respect their title. When you're humble, you're not arrogant. People come and talk to you, and you listen, because you realize you don't know everything in life. There's something you can learn from everybody.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As for the business itself, bringing it in front of people is a process. The biggest challenge right now for my startup is fundraising
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Definitely at the top, I would say integrity, followed by humility and perseverance. Those three qualities are the ones that have kept me going, both in my personal life and my professional life. Integrity was inherent in me, having grown up in a middle-class family in India, where education was held to a high standard , a place that instilled in me the value of doing everything with complete conviction and genuineness.
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