Falguni Nayar joined the rarefied ranks of self-made billionaire women this week as the beauty startup she founded went public and promptly doubled on its trading debut. Now she’s encouraging more women to seize control.

Ms Nayar runs FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, which raised ₹ 53.5 billion ($720 million) in its initial public offering and saw shares rise 96% on its first day of trading. That makes Ms Nayar, who owns about half of the company, worth almost $7 billion and India’s wealthiest self-made female billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“Women need to allow the spotlight of their lives to be on themselves,” Ms Nayar said in an interview after the trading debut. “I hope more women like me dare to dream for themselves.”

Ms Nayar founded her company, which runs the e-commerce site Nykaa, in 2012 after working in investment banking and guiding other entrepreneurs through the IPO process.

Back then, most Indian women bought makeup and hair-care products at neighborhood mom-and-pop stores where the selection was scanty and trials unheard of. She saw an opportunity in giving customers easy online access to high-end beauty items, complete with tutorials and testimonials.

“India is going to be a huge retail market,” Ms Nayar said. “Indians will aspire for more, their spending power will grow and they’ll increasingly spend on lifestyle brands and services. Nykaa is in a good place.”