Two's company

Virtual check-ins, venting by the water cooler and no-context-needed conversations at the workplace are only exciting and meaningful when you have a partner in crime to share it with. Vogue India explores how a work wife can be your happy place.

- Akshara Subramanian

Ever found yourself leaving thoughtful Post-it notes for a colleague, covering for them when they’re sick, playing the role of a therapist or missing them at the office when they’re not around? We’re seeing the rise of the ‘work spouse’ globally as more women find their ‘work soulmates’, inevitably depending on them as the singular source of comfort at the workplace and outside of it. Even in this time of Zoom and #WFH, a work wife is essentially a workplace go-to—someone who inspires you, keeps you sane and cheers you on. These co-founders are no different. Whether they’re friends who went into business together or met by chance and built a brand, one thing remains certain—their work wives are their safe space. They talk about why the best partnerships come in pairs.

KARLA GALLARDO AND SHILPA SHAH

CO-FOUNDERS, CUYANA

How they met: “We met serendipitously on a tour of Stanford University, where Karla was a second-year B-school student and I was a prospective student,” says Shah. “I introduced myself as an interaction designer and mother. At the time, she was working on a product for mothers, for which she happened to need an interaction designer.” They worked on it together, and two years later they were building Cuyana.