Meet the SHEROES - Dhara Mehta

From a full time corporate working woman Dhara became an around the clock hands on mommy and was very content with her new responsibility. What seemed to be a sabbatical taken to enjoy the new role eventually turned out to be her final goodbye to the corporate world! That is when she started The Kids Company. More about her here –

Tell us more about yourself

I am an M.B.A. by qualification and a certified Early Childhood Care and Education provider. Six years ago I quit the corporate world to embrace motherhood. Back then I was a media professional with a promising career path. Today, I am a passionate entrepreneur - founder of 'The Kids Company' an intelligence building activity centre for kids.

My inspiration through this journey is and will always be my 6 year old inquisitive and very demanding SON! If it wasn't for him I would have never explored this career path. Being a full time mommy to him has taught me some lessons which no formal course or degree could teach me!

Motherhood for me has been (and still is) an overwhelming experience and I was completely in awe by the wonderful surprises my little boy would have for me every day. With each passing day I was convinced of not getting back to the ever demanding corporate world.  However, the question ‘Where am I heading professionally?’ kept daunting me.

What is the story behind The Kids Company

While I was raising my son from an infant to a toddler I picked up a very important insight. 'Play is the work of childhood and is the highest form of education!'

On observing other mommies and children around I realised that while play was a part of a child's routine it was often used by parents and teachers as a form of relaxation or break from learning. However as a mother I realised that PLAY was the best educational tool an adult could have at his disposal for teaching a child!

It was this thought which ignited a spark in me. To create a service which would bridge the gap of play and learning was my vision then. Reaching out to pre primary children with this service became my goal. It sounded vague to many but I believed in my dream.

I decided to learn everything about child development and care and took up a formal one year course for the same. Theory and practical knowledge both complement each other when it comes to learning something new. To gain practical knowledge I worked in a day care and an activity centre for more than a year. These were systematic and planned steps to help me reach my goal.

The formal course and practical experience both reinforced my belief that early childhood education should be filled with lots of enjoyment and play, allowing children to live their childhood to the fullest and not miss out on the most important ingredients of growing up. That's the insight I worked upon and thus was born 'The Kids Company’

‘The Kids Company’ is an intelligence building activity centre for children between 3 -7 years of age where we integrate learning with fun for children. Our mission is to create an environment for children, which combines intellectually engaging activities along with fun, play, thrill and loads of excitement! And probably that’s the reason whenever you walk in any of our sessions, you shall see smiling faces … our biggest testimony!

What is work life balance for you?

For me work and life are two exclusive sets. Work starts the minute I kiss bye to my son and husband at 8:30 am. Have an action packed day till 3:00 pm, juggling between emails, planning my sessions, filling up on groceries and all the regular chores! Once my sons back its time to shut down my laptop and switch roles to become an exclusive mommy till it’s time to read a story and tuck him in bed. Yes there are some days when I need some extra hours for The Kids Company and on those days I explain my son and prepare him well in advance that he needs to spare me an hour or two!

Where do you see The Kids Company 3 years from now

15 months ago, ‘The Kids Company’ started off with one centre and just one child and today is present at multiple centres in the suburbs of Mumbai (including a top Mumbai school). We have managed to reach out to students not only from the vicinity but pan Mumbai. After being featured in the top 20 summer activities in Mumbai Mirror, we had an overwhelming response with children not only residing in Mumbai but from Goa as well as U.S.A.!

Having said that we often get enquires from parents across Mumbai who wish we were closer to their residence. So 3 years from now I see The Kids Company reaching out to all those children and let them experience the excitement and joy The Kids Company’s fun filled intelligence building program has to offer!

A message to all the SHEROES out there

I believe each woman is a SHERO in her own way. However would like to share the mantra which inspires me and keeps me going every single day - ‘Organise your life around your dreams – and watch them come true.’

Dhara also nominated The Kids Company for Women Take Charge – Business Plan Competition.