By Rupinder Kaur & India Lacewala

In today’s fast-paced and unforgiving world, so much importance is placed on outcomes, on metrics, on what can be measured. The process often fades into the background, reduced to something mechanical, almost incidental, especially when you’re building something larger than a product or a brand.

But community doesn’t work like that.

In today’s conversation with Insia Lacewala, founder of EmpoweredByWe, we spoke about what it really means to build a community, and how that process is less about scale and more about people finding each other, staying, and slowly turning that into something that matters.

Why did you start building a community like EmpoweredByWe, and what gap were you trying to address?

They say loneliness is the disease of today’s generation, and living in Goa can be quite lonely, especially considering the distances and the lack of public transport. Many women like me have moved to Goa in the last decade, either seeking a slower way of life or a new sense of purpose. I moved to Goa during the pandemic (like many others), and I missed my big-city social structure and most importantly, my friends. I started WE to solve that problem.

How has building this community shaped your own journey as a woman entrepreneur?

I ran an experiential F&B curation company over a decade ago in Bombay which was my first real stint as an entrepreneur, so I did have some experience when I started WE. I began WE in March 2023 by building a small community of women who could come together to upskill themselves professionally, find like-minded voices, and, most importantly, make friends. What I did not anticipate was that this would soon become a full-time job. To be an entrepreneur who now leads a community of women entrepreneurs is the most gratifying role I’ve ever played in my professional career.

What has come out of this community for the women who are part of it?

A lot of people want to join WE because they think it’s another “networking” group. It’s not. WE is a closely knit community that empowers like-minded women in Goa. Our community focuses on both professional and personal growth through skill-sharing, network-building, and working together to create a support system for working women in Goa. This wasn’t something I initially set out to build, but over time, I listened to what women were truly seeking and shaped the manifesto around real, lived challenges. The one thing that has come out of WE that makes me happiest is the friendships that members have found.

Can you share one moment that showed you the real value of community-led growth?

I have seen members collaborate in business. I’ve seen deep friendships bloom. It’s hard to pinpoint a single moment because at every meet-up, I see something new blossom. It’s all of those moments combined that show how powerful a community can be when it comes together.

Why do you believe community is an overlooked form of capital in women-led businesses?

I believe community is an overlooked form of capital because it doesn’t look like traditional success. It doesn’t come with numbers, valuations, or instant returns but it shows up in loyalty, trust, shared growth, and long-term sustainability. In my experience, especially in women-led spaces, businesses thrive not just on what we sell but on the relationships we build, the safe spaces we create, and the sense of belonging we foster. Yet this kind of labour which is emotional, relational, and invisible is often dismissed as secondary. For me, community has been my biggest asset. It has opened doors, sustained my work through slow phases, and created an impact that money alone never could.

Where we’re left

What feels important here isn’t just that a community exists, but what it’s doing. Creating work, enabling collaboration, and giving people a sense of continuity in a place that can otherwise feel transient.

Through EmpoweredByWe, Insia has built something that moves beyond connection into actual support. And that shift, from knowing people to showing up for them, is what makes it matter.

It’s easy to dismiss community as something soft or secondary, but conversations like this make it clear, it’s infrastructure. The kind that supports everything else.