Mariya Khilawala
Founder and Managing Director of Flip19.com
Mariya was born and raised in Mumbai, India. With a passion to travel the world, she started her career in the most natural of places to her, the travel industry. Taking the leap and moving to Dubai, her life took a completely different direction when she joined a leading lifestyle brand opening the door to the heart of Dubai “Shopping and Retail”.
After a successful start in her career, Mariya took a little time out to be a mother, but then decided to continue her career in retail, without sacrificing the upbringing of her children, and she started a unique retail distribution concept offering brands that were never seen or heard of before. After 5 successful years and travelling half the world and realizing just how many amazing ideas worth sharing were out there, she decided to launch flip19.com.
Flip19.com is a new e-commerce platform launched in Dubai that houses inventive, modern and environmentally-friendly products including home and lifestyle, kids and baby range, stationery, gadgets and toys. The retail concept serves as a curated platform for products that combine aesthetics with functionality to make daily tasks easier and more engaging. The website is home to unique brands sourced from all around the world and whilst still in its early days continues to go from strength to strength.
Mariya holds an MBA from S P Jain School of Global Management, one of Asia’s top-ranked global business schools.