In honor of Father’s Day, cofounder and CEO of TidyHomz, Pritika Chatterjee writes:

In a time when everyone still wanted a son, my father was the happiest person in the family with his two daughters. He made sure that we had all the facilities at our disposal and no restrictions were put on us. When I was young, my dad was still in the early stage of setting up his business as he was the first generation entrepreneur in our family. Even though he faced hard times in his business, he would never let his family be affected by it. He set up an example of a successful business person through his own struggle.

He was always there to support my sister and I and went to great lengths to make sure he was an active part of our lives. From school functions, parent-teacher meetings to co-curricular activities and shows we participated in he made sure to reach the venue early just to boost my confidence.

He is a man of high principles and told us that, “No matter how successful you are, what heights you reach in life, never forget your roots and where you started from”. He started his business from scratch and always wanted us to remember our humble beginnings.

My father also taught me how to plan for the future. The future is unpredictable but planning always help to reducing risk. My dad is an excellent planner and believes in facts and rationale. Foreseeing obstacles and working around them is something I learned from him and has always helped me streamline my work. 

When I was 18, I decided to go to Manchester; it was a big deal for us and the society we belonged to. Not many people from Aurangabad went abroad for their undergraduate studies so they questioned my father’s decision to spend so much money on the education of a daughter and advised him to save money for my marriage instead. I remember his response to them: “I would’ve done this if I had a son and I am doing this for my daughter because there is no difference and she deserves the best”.

He always stood up for us when people around decided not to. I was a 23 year old girl when I started working in his factory. There were times when I had to give orders to people older than I was. Suddenly everyone in the factory was taking instructions from a 23 year old girl instead of my dad which understandably must have been a difficult adjustment. I had to convince them that they could trust me and that I could handle the work I’ve taken on. My dad helped me through all this and taught me the nitty gritties of the business. He not only supported me economically but encouraged me to put in my best during low times. Later on when I told him about my dream of starting something of my own, he approved no questions asked and has been a great support in all my decisions. From relocating from Singapore to the planning stages of TidyHomz to actually executing it, he has been standing right behind me, guiding me through each and every step.

I feel very lucky to have a father who believed in my capability to scale great heights and I want to salute all fathers who stood with their daughters, believed in them and helped them in turning their dreams to reality. Support from her father is all that a girl child looks for. If her father is with her, she could fight with the world and achieve all her goals.