Founder and CEO of Synvestment
Hely Gadhecha takes you by surprise. Young at 28, she isn’t what you expect when you go to meet the CEO of ‘Synvestment’. Synvestment is a successful financial advisory headquartered in Ahmedabad. And Hely is Founder and CEO, both. “I had a constant urge to help women and youth to get financially independent,” she says.
Hely was born in a business class family in the small town of Bhuj in Gujarat. After completing her schooling at St. Xavier’s, she moved to Ahmedabad to complete her MBA from Nirma University wherein she got the opportunity to intern with the Reserve Bank of India.
Therein began her arduous journey. While all her friends sat for campus recruitments and joined corporates, Hely opted out to fulfill her own dreams. Getting married at 23 did delay her plans a bit but did not stop her from pursuing her aspirations. On the contrary, her new family gave her the support and wings required to take off. “Soon after starting Synvestment, I realized that women who give financial advice are not taken seriously, especially by men. My biggest challenge was to prove my knowledge and capabilities being a woman of 24,” says Hely.
Sharing how her father-in-law’s vision and belief in her capabilities was her biggest motivation, she says, “For a working married woman in India, it’s always a struggle to set your priorities right. Since there are family emergencies and work urgencies, one of the two always has to take a backseat, albeit momentarily. Luckily, I’ve got the backing of an understanding family and an amazingingly cooperative team at Synvestment who ensure my temporary absence of attention is taken care of responsibly. This gives me all the more reason to bounce back with gratitude towards work and family and deliver more.”
A picture perfect working woman, Hely does the balancing act with ease. Weekends are strictly family time. “I always look forward to the weekend family time. You can find me enjoying a leisurely brunch with everyone most mornings,” says Hely. In her ‘me-time’, Hely prefers to catch up on articles and news on Finance. She soothes her mind with music and gets out for brisk walks to get new ideas.
Hely turned her passion into her profession, and this is the reason she never finds it boring or tiring. Talking about it, she says, “I want to help women and youth to get financially independent. Also, when I see a product gap in the market or between me and my client, I cannot sleep in peace until I find a solution. It really boosts my confidence to know that my investment advice is proving useful to people in achieving their lives’ small and important milestones. For instance, a college fresher’s first own car, or a widow’s monthly expense planning. It’s always the small things that give most satisfaction.”
As her company grows from strength to strength, Hely works hard to ensure that complete transparency and the clients’ trust in her and her business remain intact.
She also takes care of her employees equally. Does she feel today’s organisational culture is supportive towards working women? Replying in the affirmative, Hely says that benefits like work from home, maternity and paternity leaves, safety at workplace, and day care facilities prove that we are progressing gradually.
She also lists ways for women to achieve a more prominent role in their organisations: “Women must showcase their decision making ability, speak up for their rights, unhesitantly lead male team members, and practise a disciplined delivery of work.”
For her exemplary knowledge and performance, Hely was awarded the title of ‘Best Partner for Highest Sales at National level in Gross Sales: Debt’ Category by Mutual Fund Distributors in the year 2019. She’s also undertaken ‘Advanced Goal Planning’, certified by the American Academy of Financial Management (2018).
Leaving us with an important message, Hely says, “I would like to urge all the readers to spend one hour a week to manage/understand their investment portfolio. I would also like to tell men to encourage women in their homes to do this themselves, as her capability to take financial decisions will contribute to the family’s and childrens’ overall progress.”
