What happens when you combine 12 years of international business experience with a burning desire to give back? Rashmi's story is a masterclass in purpose-driven entrepreneurship. After working in retail, wholesale, and manufacturing across Singapore and Australia, she and her husband sold everything and returned to India in 2004 with one goal: create social impact while building a sustainable business. Twenty years later, ItsyBitsy operates across 39 locations, empowers 3,000+ rural women, and proves that doing good and doing well aren't mutually exclusive.

From Singapore to Australia: Building the Foundation

Rashmi's international journey began in 1992 when she joined her husband in Singapore after marriage. They worked for a Chinese company importing Indian handicrafts - a role that would prove foundational for their future venture.

"We worked for a Chinese company that was importing Indian handicrafts. We were actually instrumental in importing it. It was really nice - I enjoyed our life in Singapore."

After a couple of years, Singapore felt too small for their ambitions. They migrated to Australia, settling in Sydney where they worked for a large discount retail chain. Her husband worked as a buyer while Rashmi managed the wholesale division.

The Skills That Connected Later

Their Australian years were a period of intensive learning:

• Retail expertise: Working with aggressive retailers in Sydney
• Entrepreneurship: Started their own store "New Age Bazaar" selling Indian handicrafts
• Manufacturing: Husband worked for a chocolate manufacturer, Rashmi for a plastic hose manufacturer in Melbourne
• Design: Rashmi completed courses in graphic designing

"We had all these different skills - retail, wholesale, manufacturing, graphic designing. We couldn't connect the dots back then. We didn't know how it would be useful."

Those dots would connect beautifully when they returned to India.

The Calling: Why Social Impact Became the Goal

Throughout their years abroad, one thought persisted in the back of their minds: the desire to give back to society and do something meaningful in their own country.

"There was always this thought at the back of our mind that we wanted to go back and give it back to the society, do something in our own country which could impact the society."

The Husband's Eye-Opening Travels

As a buyer importing Indian goods, Rashmi's husband traveled extensively to remote parts of India - "probably a million miles to remote corners." What he saw shaped their mission:

• Tremendous skill among rural artisans
• Many unemployed women with talent but no opportunities
• Stories of people who could thrive with just a little support

"He used to come and tell me stories about all these people. Somewhere we thought, if we could make a little difference in their lives - we didn't know how, we didn't know what we would do, but that thought was always there."

The Timing Decision

They wanted to move while the children were still young. When their older daughter was 8 and the younger just over a year old, they made the call.

"If we want to go back, let's do it now rather than wait. Once the kids grow older, it's difficult to uproot them from another country. If not now, when?"

The Leap of Faith: Selling Everything and Moving

Unlike many NRIs who keep one foot in each country, Rashmi and her husband went all in. They sold their house in Melbourne and landed in India with a one-way commitment.

"We just packed our bags, sold our house in Melbourne, and just landed in India. It was just a leap of faith. We didn't think too much about it. We just wanted to come and figure it all out here."

Preparation Despite the Leap

While the move was bold, it wasn't entirely unplanned:

• Family helped find a factory location in Bangalore
• The facility was ready by the time they landed
• Day one, they went straight to the factory
• Started with 20 women in Bangalore

"Kids were young but we didn't want to lose any time. We dived right in the very moment we started - went to the factory."

Why Full Commitment Matters

Rashmi observed that many friends who tried returning with backup plans ultimately failed:

"A lot of our friends also tried moving back but they had one foot in India, one foot in Australia. It never works that way. It never works when you compare India to another country."

The key was coming wholeheartedly with no negative energy, no comparisons, and a determination to make it work regardless of challenges.

Bureaucracy and Challenges: India in 2004

The India of 2004 was vastly different from today's digital landscape. Bureaucracy was the biggest unexpected challenge.

The Partnership That Fell Apart

They had planned to establish a factory with an Australian partner as a foreign investor. The process was nightmarish:

"That process itself took more than a year. It just didn't happen. The partner lost trust and it all fell apart. The delays were unbelievable. Getting to know what you had to do - it was all very difficult."

Persistence Over Perfection

When the partnership collapsed, they didn't give up. They proceeded without the foreign investor:

"We weren't going to give up on our dreams or the passion that we had. We just persisted. What it meant was everything took longer, much longer. You need to have a lot of patience."

India Today: A Different Story

For NRIs considering the move now, the landscape has transformed:

"Today it's a much different India. It's a Digital India where things happen easily. If somebody wants to come back today, it's not that difficult to start something. Now it's a breeze compared to what we went through."

Building ItsyBitsy: Urban-Rural Partnership Model

The business model Rashmi and her husband developed addresses a fundamental challenge: how to create employment without displacing people from their homes.

The Philosophy: Jobs to Villages

"People from cities are educated, they can always find jobs. Our focus was women from rural areas because they don't have what their counterparts in cities have. Rather than displace them from their homes and bring them to a city where cost of living is very high, we wanted to take jobs to their place - to the village."

Starting in Chamrajnagar

After establishing the initial operation in Bangalore, they expanded to Chamrajnagar - a rural part of Karnataka chosen specifically because:

• Highest unemployment in the region
• No rainfall - agriculture wasn't viable
• Women had skills but no opportunities

They partnered with GSS, a large local NGO that provided space and helped connect with local women. Initial resistance gave way to participation as women saw the opportunity.

The Urban-Rural Partnership

"What we do is an urban-rural partnership. What you do in the rural can benefit people in the urban, who in turn support their livelihood. Every store that we open, we can support some more women."

Scale and Evolution

Twenty years later, the impact is substantial:

• 39 retail locations across India
• 3,000+ women supported directly and indirectly
• Export business alongside domestic retail
• B2B wholesale operations
• Quick commerce: Now on Zepto, BigBasket, Swiggy

"The way people shop has changed. It's no longer opening one store and sitting there. We need to gear up if we have to sustain what we started and continue to create social impact."

Children's Journey: From Australia to Indian Success

One of the most common concerns for returning NRIs is how their children will adapt. Rashmi's daughters' journey offers valuable insights.

The Deliberate Choice: Indian-Focused Education

Coming from Australia, they made a conscious decision against westernized schools:

"We didn't want to put them in very westernized schools. That was a very conscious decision. We thought, we're coming from there, we're getting away from the western world - let's put them in something more local, more regional."

They chose CBSE curriculum at a local school near their home.

The Adjustment Period

The older daughter (8 years old at the time) faced significant challenges:

• Initial resistance: "Why did you bring me here?"
• Accent differences made it hard to be understood
• Different ideas from local children
• Difficulty making friends

"Back then, children wouldn't understand her accent. It was pretty difficult for her to make friends because she sounded different and her ideas were different. But it took maybe a year or so, and slowly she started understanding and made very good friends."

The Outcome: Two Successful Entrepreneurs

Both daughters have grown into successful professionals:

• Elder daughter: Did industrial engineering, started Cosmix (plant protein supplements business) with her husband
• Younger daughter: Did media and communication, now heads ItsyBitsy marketing

"They have grown up to be such amazing people, beautiful human beings. They're proud to be here. Somewhere you feel you've done the right decision when they are successful and they are happy."

College Admissions for OCI/PIO Children

For families wondering about college admissions:

"Before she got into engineering, they were here for so many years - you're supposed to be here for 7 years or something to get into the system through general merit. She just had to take the exams along with the others and got in through merit."

Fresh arrivals from abroad may need to go through a different quota - check current regulations for your specific situation.

Key Lessons for NRI Entrepreneurs

1. Come with an Open Mind

"Every country has its own advantages and disadvantages. Come with an open mind and I'm sure you will enjoy the new India. We didn't come with much of any expectation."

2. Don't Compare

The comparison trap is the biggest enemy of successful R2I:

"For everything, if you think 'traffic is like this, traffic was better there' or 'the government is like this, it's better there' - I don't think we spent any time on that. There was no negative energy. We came here wholeheartedly and wanted to make this work."

3. Commit Fully

Having a backup plan often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy:

"If you have an option of going back, then you give it up easily. One foot in India, one foot in Australia - it never works."

4. Find Your Community

Culture fit concerns can be addressed by choosing the right location:

"There are certain pockets of India which are very westernized where there are lots of expats. In Bangalore, if you live in Indiranagar or certain other places where there are a lot of NRIs that have come back, you can find people that can relate to you. There are many pockets like that in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata."

5. Expect Patience to Be Required

Even with today's improved systems, building something meaningful takes time:

"You need to have a lot of patience in doing anything. But eventually things got better."