Four women professors who became mushroom millionaires

Education doesn’t only open doors to jobs. For some women professors, education has become the launch pad for mushroom entrepreneurship. The cultivation of mushrooms can be started from a hut or even a small room in the house. However, knowledge from agribusiness, microbiology, or biotechnology helps take the business from a room to a full-fledged lab or unit at minimal costs.

That’s the story of not one, but four women professors from different parts of India. Through their academic knowledge, these women understood the science of mushroom farming and designed efficient systems for its cultivation.

They kept costs low by using cheaper alternatives to expensive machines, and when business stabilised, they increased investments. Knowledge about mushrooms’ uses, adding value to the crop and market demand helped them turn book knowledge into real-life ventures. This translated into profitable, scalable mushroom businesses.

Because these women were teachers, they also extended training to other farmers, women, and youth, contributing to society.

Here are the four women professors whose stories show that a strong educational foundation can turn a niche crop like mushrooms into a robust business:

1. Annu Kanawat, Rajasthan

Annu was an assistant professor at a university in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Her exposure to agribusiness management gave her both the technical grounding and the entrepreneurial mindset to recognise an opportunity in mushroom cultivation.

She studied agriculture, secured a BSc from an agricultural university, and followed it with an MBA in agribusiness management. This knowledge allowed her to spot oyster mushrooms as a viable crop with a faster cycle and a good market. She turned it into a startup, Aamlda Organic Foods & Research Centre, which now clocks Rs1 crore annual turnover from oyster mushrooms and the value-added products.

Her firm offers 20 oyster mushroom-based products, available online and through retail stores.

Here’s her story: How this Jaipur professor set up a Rs 1 crore mushroom business

2. Trupti Bhushan Dhakate, Maharashtra

A gold-medalist in Botany and an MSc in Biotechnology, Trupti was teaching before moving into mushroom farming. Her subject knowledge of botany and biotechnology gave her a good understanding of mushrooms as a fungi, spawn quality and related technical aspects.

Trupti procured mushroom spawns (seeds) from an agricultural university and started with 20 beds in 2018. Her daily mushroom output is 50kg, and retails for Rs400 per kg. Because of her technical foundation, she runs a zero-waste mushroom enterprise, Quality Mushroom.

She makes vermicompost from spent substrate and offers value-added products like mushroom pickles and cookies. The monthly turnover is Rs 4 lakh.

Here’s Trupti’s story: Maharashtra professor turns mushroom entrepreneur; clocks Rs4 lakh monthly turnover

3. Nidhi Katare, Madhya Pradesh

Nidhi, an MSc in Microbiology, worked as an assistant professor before starting her mushroom spawn lab and growing facility. Her microbiology training has been crucial to her success.

She understood contamination, sterile protocols, spawn development, and culture isolation. This knowledge helped her set up her lab in Gwalior.

The woman entrepreneur now supplies spawns and dried mushrooms across India and also trains farmers. Her monthly turnover is over Rs 3 lakh.

Here’s her story: How this Gwalior professor became a successful mushroom entrepreneur

4. Dr Sonia Dahiya, Haryana

A professor of biotechnology (with a PhD in biotechnology and a master’s in biochemistry), Sonia used her technical education to build a unit with a controlled environment for mushroom cultivation.

At her unit in Sonipat, she produces mushrooms throughout the year. She has set up cold chambers using PUF panels and manages temperature and humidity for the production of button mushrooms at a high scale of 10,000 kg per month. Her monthly turnover is Rs 12 lakh.

Here’s her story: How this college professor clocks Rs12 lakh monthly turnover from mushroom farming