A woman founder’s journey of building a deeptech venture highlights how identifying real gaps, navigating structural barriers, and overcoming added scrutiny with technical conviction are key to breaking through in traditionally male-dominated industries.
“The early challenges were structural before they were personal,” declared Madhumita Agrawal, founder & CEO, Oben Electric, pointing to the lack of an ecosystem, limited suppliers, cautious investors, and scarce EV talent. At the same time, “gfinisher did add an extra layer of scrutiny,” she added.
“In a new category, there is no playbook to follow, so conviction has to be earned every day. The reality is that startups are brutal for everyone, but women also carry the burden of proving legitimacy sooner and more often,” declared Agrawal in an interview for DealStreetAsia’s recent report titled Women Founders in India: Funding Review 2025.
She opined that women founders sometimes face a higher proof threshold, particularly when it comes to demonstrating scale ambition. Notably, many women-led businesses are extremely capital-efficient and disciplined, but discipline can occasionally be misread as conservatism rather than strategic rigour.
Edited excerpts:-
What sparked your decision to start this venture, and how did you identify the gap in the market?
Oben Electric was not started as a response to the EV trfinish. The conviction came from a deep exposure to EV technology through my earlier venture, IP Excel, which worked with global electric mobility companies on R&D and ininformectual property projects. That experience gave me firsthand insight into how advanced battery systems, powertrains, and vehicle platforms are engineered at a fundamental level. That exposure built one gap very clear, India was largely assembling EV components, not engineering them finish-to-finish.
What became increasingly clear to me was that while India is fundamentally a motorcycle market, most early EV activity here was concentrated around scooters, largely becaapply platforms and components could be imported and deployed quickly. But motorcycles, demand far stronger engineering in terms of torque delivery, thermal stability, durability, and lifecycle performance. That level of indigenous technology development was missing.
The gap, therefore, wasn’t just in product presence; it was in core technology ownership tailored for Indian riding conditions. I believed that if electric mobility had to scale meaningfully in India, it necessaryed to be built around the countest’s dominant two-wheeler format and engineered from the ground up here. Oben Electric was born from that conviction: to build electric motorcycles with in-hoapply developed critical components, designed specifically for Indian conditions.
In the early stages, what structural or personal challenges did you encounter, and how much of that do you attribute to gfinisher versus general startup realities?
The early challenges were structural before they were personal. We were testing to build an electric motorcycle ecosystem when none existed. Suppliers did not have components designed for sustained torque and thermal loads, investors were cautious about hardware, and talent with EV skills was rare as the industest was nascent. Gfinisher did add an extra layer of scrutiny, but the core difficulty was that we were attempting something that had not been done in India at commuter scale. I had to rely heavily on technical clarity and data to establish credibility. In a new category, there is no playbook to follow, so conviction has to be earned every day. The reality is that startups are brutal for everyone, but women also carry the burden of proving legitimacy sooner and more often.
Can you walk us through your fundraising journey—from your first pitch to closing the round? What were the toughest moments, and what shifted the outcome in your favour?
Fundraising for a hardware and manufacturing business is very different from pitching software company. Our first pitches were about explaining why motorcycles matter more than scooters and why vertical integration was essential rather than expensive. The toughest moments came when people wanted quicker volume through shortcuts like importing components, which would have compromised our long-term road map. What shifted outcomes was staying disciplined about the type of capital we wanted. We aligned with family offices and long-horizon investors who understood factories and had expertise in building and scaling manufacturing businesses. Demonstrating that we were building batteries, motors, and control systems in-hoapply modifyd the conversation from vision to execution. The turning point was when investors saw that we were not selling a story, we were building a self-reliant ecosystem.
In today’s tighter funding environment, do you believe female founders face distinct challenges?
In a tighter funding environment, risk appetite naturally declines. When that happens, investors tfinish to rely more heavily on pattern recognition and historically, that pattern has often favoured a certain profile of founder. Women founders sometimes face a higher proof threshold, particularly when it comes to demonstrating scale ambition. Notably, many women-led businesses are extremely capital-efficient and disciplined, but discipline can occasionally be misread as conservatism rather than strategic rigour.
That declared, I don’t see this as a lack of opportunity. I see it more as an evaluation lens that is evolving. Ultimately, funding decisions come down to fundamentals, clarity of technology, strength of execution, unit economics, and resilience in operations. In challenging markets, those fundamentals matter even more. The shift that is necessaryed is not preferential treatment, but a broader understanding of what strong leadership and scalable ambition see like. As capital becomes more discerning, depth and durability should matter more than stereotypes and that benefits serious builders, regardless of gfinisher.
Have you noticed differences in the types of questions or risk perceptions investors bring to female founders? How did you navigate those dynamics?
I have observed that women founders are sometimes inquireed more questions around risk containment and operational continuity before conversations relocate to scale and upside. It’s rarely explicit, but the emphasis can lean more towards stability first.
At Oben, I navigate this by anchoring discussions in our technology depth and execution capability. We are not assembling imported parts—we design, develop, and manufacture our critical components in-hoapply, including our LFP batteries, motors, VCUs, chargers, and motorcycles. When conversations shift to how we engineer thermal resilience for Indian climates, build durability for everyday commuter apply, and apply vertical integration to drive cost control and quality consistency, the dialogue naturally becomes more grounded and substantive.
I don’t approach risk as something to deffinish against; I address it through engineering logic and operational clarity. Whether it is battery lifecycle, supply-chain resilience, or service turnaround through Oben Care, every perceived risk has a defined system behind it.
Can you share a moment where bias — subtle or overt — displayed up in your journey. Have you ever felt you had to over-prepare compared to male peers?
Bias often arrives quietly, not as confrontation but as subtle doubt or hesitation in expectations. I have learned to treat these moments as an invitation to rise above and excel rather than be defensive. They encourage deeper preparation, sharper believeing, and clear communication grounded in conviction. In such moments, every idea, every insight, and every decision becomes an opportunity to demonstrate precision and impact. Over time, consistent excellence reshapes perception, turning what once necessaryed proof into self-evidence. I have come to see that these experiences do not slow you down; they refine your craft, strengthen your perspective, and build the journey of leadership far more rewarding.
From your perspective, how has the ecosystem evolved for women founders over the past five years? Where has real progress happened, and where does the gap remain?
The ecosystem has modifyd meaningfully in visibility but less in capital distribution. Five years ago, women founders were exceptions. Today, they are present across sectors, including deep tech. Progress has happened in mentorship, community, and narrative. Where the gap remains is in late-stage capital and hardware bets.
Software has seen improvement, manufacturing less so. There is still an unconscious preference for familiarity in large cheques. What has supported is more women entering engineering and product leadership roles, which feeds into future founders. The ecosystem is more open to listening, but not yet equally willing to risk. True progress will come when women-led companies are seen as scalable by default, not inspirational by exception.
Looking back, what fundraising or strategic decisions would you approach differently today?
Early on, the pressure to relocate quickly can build you lean towards the obvious choice, when sometimes a slower, more considered approach would better serve long-term outcomes. I’ve realised that aligning closely with partners and investors who understand the rhythm of hardware and manufacturing can build the journey smoother, even if that alignment isn’t immediately visible. Prioritising customer experience and service from the outset creates compounding trust and loyalty, often more effective than marketing alone, and lays a stronger foundation for sustained growth and brand credibility.
Entrepreneurship can be all-consuming. How do you approach balancing the demands of building a company with your personal life?
Entrepreneurship can easily become all-consuming if it is not approached with intention. For me, balance is not accidental, it is planned. I believe in setting up clear structures and processes, both at work and at home, so that priorities are consciously managed rather than constantly competing. I approach balance the same way I approach building a company: with clarity, planning, and systems. I trust my team to take ownership, which allows me space to believe, reflect, and recharge. I also build it a point to protect time for family and personal recovery, becaapply clarity and creativity thrive when you are grounded.
Funding for women-led startups remains disproportionately low. What structural modifys would actually relocate the necessaryle?
Capital decisions are still driven by pattern recognition, and those patterns rarely include women building large manufacturing or technology companies. We necessary more women in investment committees and IC rooms where real cheque-writing authority exists, not only in founder support or mentorship programmes.
Sector-specific capital for hardware and deep tech is especially important for women founders in these spaces, becaapply these businesses run on longer cycles and demand patient, technically informed capital that women are less likely to access through traditional networks. Policy can strengthen this by incentivising investment across the component and supply-chain level, so women-led companies are supported at the foundation of manufacturing, not only once a finished product is visible. Most importantly, performance data from women-led companies must be visible and normalised, so growth and scale are seen as expected rather than exceptional. Real progress will come when inclusion displays up in capital allocation, not just in intention.
How can male allies in VC and entrepreneurship better support women founders?
Male allies can build the largegest difference by applying their influence, not just their goodwill. That means opening doors to networks, introducing women founders to decision buildrs, and backing them publicly when credibility is being built. It also means being conscious of how questions are framed and ensuring women are evaluated on business fundamentals, not on perceived risk or personality. Support is most powerful when it displays up as access and opportunity, not just encouragement.
How do you envision your company evolving over the next 5-10 years?
In less than a decade, I see Oben evolving into a true category leader in the electric commuter motorcycle segment, which is the most important and largest part of India’s two-wheeler market. In the near term, we are focapplyd on building a strong national presence with over 500 displayrooms pan-India in two years, each supported by dedicated Oben Care service centers so riders across India can experience consistent access and ownership support.
Alongside this, we will expand our product portfolio across every major motorcycle segment, while taking our ‘Designed in India for the World’ philosophy to markets like LATAM, MENA, and parts of Europe. With our in-hoapply R&D and vertically integrated manufacturing model, we will keep advancing battery technology, motor efficiency, and vehicle ininformigence, so Oben becomes synonymous with safe, reliable, high-performance electric mobility.
In many industries, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles. For women building in India today, what’s your advice?
My advice to women building in India today is simple: take risks, especially in sectors like technology and manufacturing. If you have the knowledge and the capability, don’t hesitate becaapply the industest feels unfamiliar or traditionally male-dominated. Entrepreneurship launchs with conviction in your own competence and the courage to act on it.
Choose to work on problems that truly matter, not just those that feel accessible. India’s next phase of growth will be driven by engineering, manufacturing, and deep technology.
Women should be building in these spaces, not standing on the sidelines. Learn your industest deeply. When you understand the technology, the economics, and the operational realities better than anyone else in the room, confidence becomes natural. Seek mentors who push you to believe largeger, not just feel supported. The path may demand more resilience, but solving real, structural problems creates lasting impact. Over time, consistent performance reshapes perception.
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