Exploring Opportunity for Ms. Akshi Khandelwal, Founder & CEO, Butterfly Ayurveda

Akshi is an entrepreneur, an Indian classical dancer, and a martial artist.

Akshi started Butterfly Ayurveda in 2014, with the view to integrate health into people’s daily lives. Always having found roots of health in raw, organic and natural sources of foods, medicine and ways of life, Ayurveda, as a science, had always intrigued her since years before. Her experience in dance and other somatic practices has only helped her delve deeper into the subject.

Ayurveda has given her a deeper understanding of the body, mind and spirit. It has helped her in her own journey of healing and transformation.

In 2013, she started a research unit dedicated to Ayurvedic products that can be consumed as a part of modern daily lifestyle, and helped heal lifestyle-related ailments. In 2014, Butterfly Ayurveda was established and decided to market its formulations. In 2018, she launched BA Bakery, an Ayurveda-inspired baking (unit).

About her:

Akshi finished her schooling at Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, and went on to graduate in Economics Honors from Hansraj College, Delhi University in 2006, and did her Masters in International and Development Economics from Yale University, U.S.A. in 2008.

After her return to India, she worked with micro-finance institutions like BASIX, and research organizations like CMF (Centre for Microfinance). She worked extensively in rural parts of Rajasthan, Orissa and Maharashtra where she was involved in different projects that included working with microfinance institutions at an operational level, and at an analytical level. 

A Bharatanatyam dancer, with over twenty years of training and performance experience. She has studied dance under different teachers ( Gurus), and also completed a Diploma in mixed Movement & Performance Arts at Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore and then at a Japanese Contemporary Performance Art school in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. She has conducted several workshops, organized international dance associated festivals, participated in international dance residency programs ( USA)  and also ran her own dance studio by the name of Quiet House.

Along with a passion for health & dance, she is a martial artist at the Damo Shaolin Kung Fu School, where she trains in Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Kung Fu. 

She was also selected as one of the women entrepreneurs from across several countries to be a part of the Fortune Women’s Mentoring Partnership program in 2019.