I Identify As An Onion!
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
By Falguni Patel
When She Wins Magazine set out to profile founders thriving through community, innovation, and grit, the story of Falguni Patel offered a compelling reminder that leadership often begins where life feels most fragile. Falguni an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, mentor, and education coach, describes herself as an onion. The analogy first came from a tipsy stranger at a hen party in Poland, but it stayed with her far longer than she expected. Only later, whilst cutting an actual onion and peeling back the layers of the hard, glossy tough exterior, how accurately the metaphor captured the layers she had been hiding beneath: the brave face, the cultural expectations, the fear of judgment, and the long-suppressed parts of herself.
She went onto identify that many of us,
Her journey began in 2015, during what she once believed would be the start of her family. Instead, unsuccessful IVF treatments led to anxiety, panic attacks, and eventually a divorce. Within her Indian community at that time, divorce was whispered about, never embraced. The backlash from friends and family cut deeply, adding shame and isolation to an already painful chapter. Despite being surrounded by loved ones, she felt profoundly alone, lost, confused, and unsure of who she was beneath the expectations she had grown up with.
What held her together, was the small tutoring business she had started just before everything fell apart. It wasn’t yet a thriving enterprise, but it was a lifeline. As she navigated personal upheaval, she began questioning the stories she had been raised with: Were her decisions truly her own? How much of her life had been shaped by cultural norms rather than her authentic desires? These questions, marked the beginning of what she now calls her decade of “peeling back the layers.”
As she confronted her inner barriers, she identified, she had, what she calls “The Limiting Factor Syndrome”. She began stepping beyond her long-held comfort zone. This journey took her across the world, from trekking Machu Picchu to meditating in the foothills of the Himalayas; from teaching in Cambodia to supporting charities that aligned with her values. From the outside, it looked as though she had bounced back stronger than ever, however on the inside, she was rebuilding the foundations of her identity brick by brick.
Ten years on, the tutoring business that once kept her steady during the tough times, has grown into a global online platform, serving students around the world. Earlier this year, she became a keynote speaker and was honoured with the title The Women WHO Solopreneur of 2025 - a milestone that reflects both her entrepreneurial impact and her personal transformation. Her lived experiences now power her talks and her entrepreneurships allows her to work as a mentor for Business start-ups, helping founders identify their own limiting factors and step intentionally into growth.
Her mission today is clear: to empower others to peel back their layers, confront what holds them back, and build lives driven by purpose rather than expectation. She believes that not everyone has ten years to rediscover themselves, but everyone has the capacity to begin.
Actionable Tip for Women Who Want to “Win” Their Way
Identify your limiting factors. When women recognise the habits, beliefs, or fears that keep them within their comfort zone, they can consciously challenge them. This shift builds confidence, strengthens mindset, and sparks the inner resilience needed to create meaningful, lasting change.
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