They left Oxford and LSE to care for their mother, then built a global business
Sisters Mrinalini and Nyonika Mitra gave up careers abroad to care for their mother in Lucknow, and turned their Sunday board game ritual into a business selling in over 40 countries.
Mrinalini Mitra had a degree from Oxford. Her sister Nyonika had one from the London School of Economics. Both gave up internship opportunities and plans for careers abroad to return to their Rajendra Nagar home in Lucknow and care for their mother, who was battling cancer.
To cope with the stressful period, the family spent every Sunday playing board games together. That ritual planted the seed for a card game the sisters built themselves, centred on their dog Yasu, ‘a cheerful companion who always wants to play with us even during challenging times.’
They first introduced the game’s characters through YouTube, where the response encouraged them to build a full card game. What started as a stress buster has since grown into a global business, now with buyers in more than 40 countries including the US, the UK, Germany, Australia and Canada, and revenue past the $100,000 mark.
The sisters deliberately avoided outside investors, choosing crowdfunding instead to retain full ownership. Nyonika, who runs operations and international fulfilment, said building a supply chain to serve 40 countries from day one was their biggest challenge. Mrinalini, who leads design and brand, added: ‘There is a persistent myth that work perceived as feminine or handmade lacks commercial rigour, but that has not been the case with our card games.’
Image: Wikimedia Commons/by Gamester81
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