From a Tier 2 city to the World: Journey of Grace & Global Impact
A story of a woman whose entrepreneurial spirit would take her far beyond its familiar streets. Rooted in tradition but always curious about what lay beyond, she charted her own path one that blends creativity and courage. Born and raised in the cultural capital of Karnataka, Smriti studied Business Management and later Law at Mahajanas, graduating between 1999 and 2003. But even during those college days, she felt the pull to do something different.
“My entrepreneurial journey actually began in 2000,” she recalls, thinking back to when she first started making customized jewelry and curating artifacts all from home. It wasn’t about making it big back then. It was about exploring, experimenting, and seeing what she could build with what she had. That small step turned into something bigger when she co-founded “Impressions” an exhibition platform that brought together home-based women entrepreneurs. This was back in 2000, long before “designer exhibitions” were a thing in Mysore. “We were among the first to try this out,” she says with quiet pride. This was way back in 2000, long before “curated pop-ups” were in fashion. It was fresh. It was bold. And most importantly it worked. “People didn’t really expect to see something like that in Mysore,” she recalls. “But we did it anyway. And it just clicked.” Though she stepped away from the venture in 2005, Impressions still continues, a lasting legacy of her early vision. Not one to stick to just one venture, she dived into co-founding an event management next with a company called “Dreamz,” where she brought salsa and jazz dance workshops to Mysore including the famous Lud Bucha. The city hadn’t seen anything like it, and the response was electric. In fact, Dreamz even caught national attention when it was featured in The Asian Age in 2004.
But perhaps the boldest leap came in 2005, when she launched her own design engineering firm, a field she didn’t study but grew to love. And so, with just two desks at SJCE’s STEP Incubation Center, Setty Mech Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (SME) was incorporated offering CAD, Revit, and MEP design services primarily for U.S.-based clients. “I wasn’t an engineer, but I was willing to learn everything I needed to make it work,” she shares. That meant diving deep into licensing, legalities, finances, and figuring things out as she went. A few years later, in 2015, she added another feather to her entrepreneurial cap: Kimaya Beauty Studio, she cofounded and ran for several years before passing it to a different management in 2024. Through Hair for Hope, Kimaya hosted donation drives for cancer patients experiencing hair loss helping them regain not just confidence, but dignity. “For me, business has always been about people. About impact,” she shares.
When we talk about women entrepreneurs today, it’s often with celebration and visibility. But it wasn’t always like that. “Back then, it was rare and honestly, a bit strange for people to see women wanting to run their own businesses,” she reflects. There were fewer role models, limited resources, and a lot of societal conditioning. What helped her push through? A strong support system at home, a natural hunger to try new things, and the guts to take risks.
Mysore, being a tier-two city, had its own share of pros and cons. Fewer opportunities and a more conservative outlook, yes but also a closer-knit community where you could actually get in touch with the people who mattered.
The jump from law and business into engineering wasn’t easy. “It was a steep learning curve, but I learned as I built,” she says. And build she did from a two-person operation to a team that’s now nearly 200 strong. A significant part of her growth came through a long-standing partnership with a U.S.-based firm, thanks to a suggestion from a cousin visiting from the States. He saw the potential in Mysore’s engineering talent and suggested she give it a shot. Despite patchy internet and the challenges of training engineers back then, they figured it out together.
What she’s proudest of, though, isn’t just the scale or numbers. And balancing it all work, life,motherhood without losing sight of what truly matters. Her daughter, now pursuing a Master’s in Finance in London, is part of that success story. She credits her husband, who has run his own business in security and facilities management since 2004, as a big part of how they made it work as a family. “We took turns, supported each other, and honestly, living in Mysore with shorter commutes made a huge difference.” She was an active member of Ladies Circle India for over 12 years, working on women-led social impact initiatives. Though she
never had one single mentor, she finds inspiration in many places. She draws deep inspiration from her grandmother, a warm, giving woman who was part of a women run committee of a government aided school “Bharathi Stree Samaj” without much formal education, yet made an extraordinary difference. “She taught me that you don’t need a title to lead. You just need heart.”
Over the years, Smriti’s work has been recognized through various awards including the Women Achievers Award from Mysore Chamber of Commerce & WISE, and being featured as one of Mysore’s Young Entrepreneurs in Star of Mysore.
Smriti is many things a builder, a singer (trained in Carnatic classical music), a traveler, and a lifelong learner. She loves podcasts, prefers a healthy lifestyle, and is always chasing inspiration sometimes from a quote, sometimes from a conversation. Her icons? Mother Teresa and Sudha Murthy, women who led with humility, grace, and purpose. For her, success isn’t defined by size. It’s about contentment, clarity, and knowing you’re doing the right thing even if it’s the harder path.
If she could tell her younger self one thing?
“Keep learning. Never stop.”
And her advice to young women in tier-2 cities?
“Be patient. Take risks. Build a strong, kind team. And always treat them well; they’re your biggest strength.”
She admirably adds, “I take pride in creating work/ job opportunities during the course of my entrepreneurial journey, that’s my way of giving back to my city.”
With 20 years under their belt, Setty Mech Engineers is entering an exciting new chapter. In 2025, they have expanded operations in a brand-new office in New Delhi, and are expanding & constructing a Mysore facility to house over 250 new team members. It’s more than a building, it’s a symbol of how far they’ve come, and how much more they’re ready to do. They work on green buildings, sustainable design, and net-zero projects quietly making a global impact from a quiet city. She’s keeping an eye on how AI is evolving in the industry too.
From a college student selling jewelry to the managing director of a global engineering firm, from Mysore’s streets to the international stage she’s never lost sight of where she came from or why she started. This wasn’t just an interview for us, it was a journey through a life well-lived and a career built on courage, connection, and an unshakable belief in what’s possible when you start small but dream big.