admin Powerful women make their presence felt by the quality of the work they perform. Manju Mastakar’s saga is no different. She has created a uniquely niche space for herself in the expansive world of finance and asset management by establishing Armstrong Capital Advisory Pvt Ltd and leading it through the unconquered terrains of success.
A Tale of Deterministic Resolve
Manju Mastakar’s journey is an enigmatic tale of strength and perseverance. Her journey commenced with her relentless interest in the stock markets of Mumbai in the year 2000. She was working there with a stock broker as a part of her articleship. Her expansive and varied expertise emanates from these employment experiences. It was during these days of her illustrious career that Manju had the opportunity to multitask and gain in-depth understanding of the way the stock market operated. Manju Mastakar has worked as a dealer and relationship manager with several notable brokers.
Her arrival in Bangalore initiated a new phase in her career. Here she had the opportunity of working with a renowned Multinational Bank and Wealth Management Firm. However, the economic recession of 2008 was a severe setback to her career trajectory as she lost her job in the retrenchment process. However, her persevering attitude propelled her forward to begin operating from home with just a handful of clients and a few contacts. She got empaneled with mutual fund distributer & service providers as their sub-broker and started doing mutual fund and direct equity advisory. Finally, in 2010 she created the now revered Armstrong Capital.
Securing an Edge over the Market Competition
As the Founder and Managing Director of Armstrong, Manju Mastakar is the staunch foundational base for all the key offerings of the firm. She intimately handles all processes of Financial Planning as well as Wealth Management. Manju Mastakar maintains that the moral obligation of the enterprise outweighs their commercial obligations.
Every woman must be financial independent to secure fiscal stability – Manju Mastakar
Challenges Encountered as a Female Entrepreneur
The roadblocks faced by Manju were myriad. She started her journey of motherhood and entrepreneurship simultaneously. Both were equally challenging and needed dedicated time, energy and patience. She was often critiqued for not adhering to the socially dominant feminine ideals of managing the household chores and singularly supervising the responsibilities of childcare. However, Manju’s creative spirit enabled her to ideate a harmonious balance between her dual roles. This obstacle taught her the most valuable lessons in prudent time managing and prioritization.
Proving her Mettle in a Patriarchal Industry
Asserting her brilliance in a patriarchal arena was another encumbering experience for Manju. In 2001, when she was interviewed for an equity dealer’s position at an esteemed broking firm. Manju was informed that women executives were not generally privy to such dealing room proceedings and an exception was being made for her to prove her mettle. Moreover, there were several instances when men were aversive to taking financial council from her as she was a woman. After securing several notable accolades for her outstanding performance, many still believed that her success was a result of a familial male presence in the business arena. Thus, Manju propounds, “If a woman penetrates into a male dominated world she can kill the competition and get on the top.”
A Welcoming Counsel for Women
Manju posits that she would like to urge women to continue their professional careers, even if they return after a brief hiatus post childbirth. Expanding on the welcomed addition of more women in the professional field, Manju emphasizes on the significance of financial independence and the very need for dual incomes to achieve fiscal stability in the concurrent economy.
When an industry is generally male dominated the women who made it must be on the top. She would have the caliber, the drive and the determination to do exceedingly better than others and move to the top to claim her rightful place – Manju Mastakar
Creating a Healthy Work Ambience
Armstrong was ideated by Manju with an in-built work ambience that promoted peer motivation. She believes that the best way to ensure productivity is to accord each member of the team their own free space to perform optimally. However, this was severely hampered with the mandate of remote working.
Her brilliant innovative drive helped curate a potent solution to this obstacle. She soon devised an idea to keep the team rapport healthy and members of the enterprise connected. Sharing emails of small achievements of the employees soon became a norm at Armstrong Capital.
Discovering the Silver Lining in Each Storm Cloud
Manju has been blessed with the skill to envision opportunities in any adversity. She was able to utilize the overwhelming health crisis as a time for reskilling of the workers. They were trained in new skillsets and this helped augment the productivity of the firm.
Future Conquests
With the annuity-based model of the firm, the revenue generated each year amplifies considerably. The opportunities for growth remain boundless for Armstrong Capital under the capable and ingenious leadership of Manju Mastakar. She believes that the firm needs to make people aware of financial planning, while simultaneously enhancing its online presence.The key goal for the firm will be to capitalize on the awareness generated among the common people about the profession as well as foster the practice of saving.
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