Embracing The Challenge: Minal Vazirani

Off-white satin top, diamond stud earrings and pearl necklace, all from Minal’s personal collection.

The pioneer, who spearheaded a new forum for dealings in the art world, quit her job in management consulting to launch Saffronart.

It sounds so intuitive today to say ‘I’ll just google it’ when you don’t know something, but when we started Saffronart, Google was a one-and-a-half-year-old start-up and had not yet become a verb in the English language.

While working on a business plan for buying and collecting, there were three main challenges I wanted to address — transparency, access and parity of international pricing.

My success mantra is ‘Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them’.

We have gone through a global financial crisis and a severe art market contraction, and emerged in a leadership position without having to lay off anyone.

Royal Oak Selfwinding

Royal Oak Selfwinding

Royal Oak Selfwinding watch with 18-carat pink-gold case and bracelet, from Audemars Piguet.

With creative people, sometimes it’s best to buckle up and let them take you for a ride. The surprising perspective, the humility of being with a creator, the spontaneity of thought and practice can leave you with a greater curiosity.

The driving force for growth has been a general dissatisfaction with the status quo.

A painting that I loved and I was surprised when the owner offered to sell it to me is a quiet work by V. S. Gaitonde. It is the sort of piece that presents itself in different ways each time I look at it.