Tamanna Dhamija Empowering Mothers and Building Communities with Baby Destination and Convosight

In December 2016, Tamanna Dhamija embarked on her entrepreneurial journey with unbridled enthusiasm. Armed with a successful career and a promising future in finance, she took a leap of faith to relocate to India and create a community for new mothers. Her story is one of determination, innovation, and the pursuit of a unique vision. Tamanna Dhamija’s journey began in 2007 when she joined General Motors Asset Management, becoming the youngest woman to manage a portfolio worth $250 million. Over the next eight and a half years, she climbed the corporate ladder and developed tools for investment and risk analytics for global public markets. However, she yearned for a bigger role and a deeper sense of purpose.

The idea for her venture was ignited in early 2014 when she faced a common parenting challenge. Her toddler son refused to take a bottle, despite trying various solutions. Fortunately, a suggestion from a friend in a WhatsApp group of new mothers provided the breakthrough she needed. This incident made Tamanna realize the power of community. Over the next two years, while visiting India, she recognized that many mothers faced similar challenges. She envisioned a platform that would create communities for mothers dealing with specific pain points. The opportunity was vast, and in December 2016, Baby Destination was born, with initial support from angel investor Tariq Khan.

Tamanna’s entrepreneurial journey began ambitiously. She aimed to onboard every new mother into Baby Destination within two to three years, even planning to expand the venture to the United States. However, her dream had a challenging start in India. The stark contrast between her small Indian office and the spacious American workplace, coupled with the workload and loss of work-life balance, took a toll. She also faced disagreements with her co-founder. Within seven months, Baby Destination faced its first crisis. The plan to combine community building with e-commerce didn’t work as expected. Users were confused about whether the platform was for information or shopping. Realizing her mistake, Tamanna decided to focus on building the community and abandoned the e-commerce component. In 2018, Baby Destination faced another critical moment when a cash flow crisis left them with only one month of runway. Tamanna reached out to her former boss, Tariq Khan, who transferred $100,000 within 15 minutes, saving the startup from impending doom. In the same year, Baby Destination secured its first institutional funding led by Aditya Gupta of GEMS Partners.

In 2018, during a Facebook community leadership program in Menlo Park, California, Tamanna realized a larger opportunity. She saw the potential to create a platform that aggregated existing communities. This concept would benefit both brands, by tapping into millions of community members, and community administrators, by providing a new revenue stream. Thus, Convosight was born in April 2020. Fast forward to March 2023, and the double engine of Baby Destination and Convosight is thriving. Convosight boasts over 1 lakh communities with more than 900 million members worldwide. It has raised approximately $19.6 million and is used by over 150 brands, including global giants like Unilever and Nestle. While Convosight’s growth is impressive, it comes with its share of challenges. Remaining disciplined and focused on a singular path can be difficult, especially as the startup scales rapidly. However, Tamanna’s ability to stay committed to her vision gives confidence to investors like Vikram Gupta of IvyCap Ventures.

In her entrepreneurial journey, Tamanna has been comfortable in her skin, facing no direct instances of gender bias or discrimination. She believes women possess unique strengths and encourages them to be confident in themselves. She also emphasizes the importance of products designed for everyone, transcending gender stereotypes.