Veenoo Sharma, who has recently been appointed roles on the Commonwealth Businesswomen's Network, feels the 'difficult times' her family have been through contributed to her resilient spirit.
14:04, 18 Dec 2025
'I really believe that if you try, you never know where you’ll end up'(Image: Supplied)
An Edinburgh entrepreneur and mum has spoken of how 'difficult times' in her life have contributed to her resilient spirit. Veenoo Sharma has had a career spanning law, investment banking, property development and more.
The mum-of-two, who grew up in Duddingston, says her motivations came 'as a result of survival'. After enduring a 'difficult financial period', Veenoo and her family were struggling.
However, they persisted and Veenoo's father 'got back up'. They rebuilt their lives, and she now believes this ethos has given her a can-do spirit.
This comes as she's appointed two roles on the Commonwealth Businesswomen's Network, focused on championing female entrepreneurs globally. Veenoo is also launching the Power Diaspora Forum, a global initiative designed to bring together female leaders and inspire long-term impact for the next generation.
Speaking with Edinburgh Live, she told us: "I originally came into entrepreneurship as a result of survival really. Law traineeships weren’t paying much, and my family had been through a difficult financial period.
"In the South Asian community, when people see bankruptcy, they see it as almost like a failure. What people don’t realise is there are so many successful people who have been bankrupt. I know millionaires who have been bankrupt a few times. There’s a direct correlation between taking risks and success, and it doesn’t always work.
"I think my father was quite inspirational in the sense that he turned that stigma around. It did not deter him, and he was still willing to carry on with the same business. Like things like bankruptcy and, and failures that come as part of your challenges, they actually really help you for the future.
"My father was kind of the key backbone behind most of my work. I think he’s one of those people that it doesn’t matter how many times he falls, he keeps getting up. I’ve got that resilience and spirit, which came from him."
Veenoo believes there is 'no such thing as balance' when it comes to business and her family, and is firm believer in having both at the same time. She told us: "Whoever I work with, I make sure the first thing I say to them is, I travel with my children and I work with sometimes my children in the background.
"I say to people they’ll need to accept this new style of working where my children might be in the background or in a meeting. I'm trying to break the stigma around the idea that you can't be a mother and entrepreneur and all these things at the same time. I think when we become mothers it actually makes us better businesswomen if I’m honest, you learn to juggle and balance things so well.
"Particularly in South Asian families, you’re not always supported to go out and work. Women are seen as the primary caregivers, which is fine, but that’s seen as the ‘only’ thing you can do.
"I was lucky, my parents have been hugely supportive and have helped me balance everything. I’ll be on planes with my family holding meetings, or I’ve taken them into podcast studios, it’s that kind of thing - now my teams are used to it.
Veenoo has had, and continues to have, several ventures. When she was starting out, she thinks entrepreneur wasn't the 'buzzword' it is now.
She added: "It’s become a very common and understood concept, but at the time it was more about survival. During that difficult financial period we had, I went through some jobs and then started earning quite well in the investment banking field.
"I started in the property business, but at the same time having ventures on the side with my father. We were really rebuilding our lives together. He’s always encouraged me to try new things, to be a risk-taker. I really believe that if you try, you never know where you’ll end up.
"Eventually what I realised was I wanted to do something that wasn’t based on earning money but giving back. Money is important, and we want that, but I wanted to do something more service based."
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Veenoo created the Power Diaspora Forum to bring together influential women, and lift up the next generation. She told us: "That's where the Power Diaspora Forum came in -a global initiative for influential women leaders to drive economic opportunity for women. It just so happened around that time, I was appointed in the two roles in the Commonwealth Businesswoman's Network.
"I think a lot of South Asian women, especially when first coming to the UK, really struggle to find jobs. A lot of them automatically went to business and as a means to survive.
"Motherhood is also quite challenging when you balance that, so the forum looks to help lift each other up. I wanted to help other women who were also maybe not supported by their families or who don't have the access and don't have the funding. We’re looking to help plug those gaps for women and help them become a success.
“Lifting other women up and and completely providing them with, with, with all the life experiences and making sure that there's enough women, at the top of their games. The idea is to provide them with an ecosystem, which provides access to all of this mentorship and skills and access to funding."