Authenticity
as a Business Model
MY ENCOUNTER WITH GAURI MALIK
By Albert Schiller
The trajectory from interna�onal �nance to grassroots social entrepreneurship
focused on rural Indian ar�sans is not a conven�onal one. It suggests a profound
internal shi�, a rejec�on of established paths. Yet, in conversa�on with Gauri
Malik, founder of Sirohi, the journey appears less a single Damascene conver-
sion and more a complex convergence – a synthesis of seemingly disparate,
even contradictory, life experiences. Her background in economics and invest-
ment banking, the stark contrasts observed between her privileged boarding
school educa�on and the constrained lives of women in her hometown, a deep-
ly personal aversion to social conformity iden�fying herself as a “mis�t”, and a
single, harrowing incident witnessed in a village coalesced into a unique form
of pragma�c ac�vism. Sirohi, the brand empowering women ar�sans, emerged
not just from idealism but from experienced frustra�on, analy�cal thinking, and
a lived understanding of both independence and limita�on, ul�mately driven by
an “accidental ac�vist” naviga�ng her path.
Forma�ve Dichotomies: Independence and Constraint
Understanding Gauri’s drive requires acknowledging the powerful, o�en con-
�ic�ng, forces of her upbringing. Hailing from Muzafarnagar, U�ar Pradesh – a
town marked by both wealth and signi�cant poverty – she was sent to boarding
school at the unusually young age of six. This environment fostered intense
independence. “You have to make decisions for yourself,” she recalled, “You
don’t have your parents suppor�ng you... you take li�le decisions, and they start
becoming bigger decisions”. This enforced self-reliance, further honed through
athle�cs (sprin�ng and state-level basketball), stands in sharp contrast to her
observa�ons back home. She witnessed her own highly educated mother, pos-
sessing a Master’s degree, unable to pursue a career within the prevailing social
norms.
Financial Independence needs no Excuses