Purdue Alumna Making a Sustainable Impact
Purdue alumna Mayura Davda-Shah comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her father was a persistent, resourceful, and driven businessman who instilled the priorities of kindness and goodwill in Mayura. She shares that her father was her “pillar of support” and “first angel investor”, and ever since his unexpected passing in Fall 2018, she has taken on his entrepreneurial ventures and tried to carry on with his passion and generosity towards others through her work.
Mayura graduated from Purdue in 2013 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. After graduation, she worked as a Project Manager at Gulfstream Aerospace, earned her Master’s degree from Babson College, and founded two companies. While a student at Babson, Mayura combined her passion for relationship building and social impact by creating her first startup, Facet, which brought together fine artisanal goods, conscious consumers and creative, skillful makers.
Since her return to India, Mayura is working with Precision Foundation on social impact initiatives, and she also founded MAYU, a lifestyle brand that creates sustainable luxury goods. Mayura says that her position as CEO and Creative Director of MAYU gives little room for boredom as she takes on “designing the brand, its products, the online store and packaging as well as seeking and building retail partnerships to structure the company’s legal, administrative compliance and operations.” Reflecting on her experiences, Mayura says, “Entrepreneurship is a thrill ride where there is no designated track or road to follow and that is what I find to be most enjoyable!”
Mayura credits her education from Purdue’s College of Engineering for giving her a thorough understanding of engineering principles and the ENTR Certificate Program for equipping her with the skills necessary to work in teams and execute effective project management. “The ENTR Certificate Program created an important bridge between my engineering skills and practical skills required to work with people to solve problems that rely on understanding basic finance, accounting, negotiations, and communication, which allowed me to translate my engineering knowledge into real world problem-solving from the moment I started my first summer internship experience to today.”
Mayura Davda-Shah has taken her Purdue education and the values instilled in her by her father and is applying them to her business and social initiatives. She is a Purdue alumna to watch as she continues to contribute towards the betterment of society and our planet while offering sustainable luxury goods that also make a statement, including an innovative upcoming collection of goods made from vegan materials derived from plants and fruits.