Innovation, Opportunity and Entrepreneurship: Neha Govindraj’s ’11 Path to Success

By Asha Gandreti ’25

Neha Govindraj ’11 has built a career on innovation, passion and a keen eye for opportunity. After co-founding Glowbar, a fast-growing beauty service offering 30-minute facials in New York City, Neha went on to found Bonside, a brick-and-mortar financial tech business. From an early interest in beauty and wellness to hands-on experiences in business strategy, Neha's journey reflects a deep commitment to creating and scaling category-defining businesses as she carves out a unique space in the entrepreneurial world.

After graduating from Pine Crest, Neha attended Northwestern University where she obtained her bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in computer science. Her first post-graduate job was with the management consulting firm Bain & Company. From there, she went on to co-found Glowbar in New York City. 

“I always found beauty, fashion, wellness and fitness to be integral aspects of life," said Neha. “At the time I started Glowbar, the consumer era of startups was just starting to ramp up. It was nowhere near where it is today in terms of direct-to-consumer companies and consumer businesses. I knew I wanted to be a part of that world.” Neha is—and always has been—passionate about entrepreneurship, knowing that she would want to start a business from a young age. 

“When I was at my first job at Bain & Company, I was able to work for a few months at Glossier and at the time, it was in its really early stage,” said Neha. “I had an inside view into what it was like to be on the ground floor of building a beauty business, and I knew I wanted that for myself." After networking and meeting individuals with similar interests, Neha connected with Glowbar Founder Rachel Liverman and joined her in making the 30-minute facial concept a reality. 

The journey of bringing Glowbar to market and scaling operations led her to realize that multi-unit operators needed more intuitive, flexible options for growth capital. In 2021, she founded Bonside to fill the capital gap for brick-and-mortar businesses. “Physical businesses are the lifeblood of our communities,” said Neha. Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted that “we went through a period where brick-and-mortar was totally taken away—and we hated it! So now, we're going to continue to go out to dinner, get a cup of coffee, get a haircut, get our nails done, go to a workout class and do what we love to do.” She stresses the importance of experiential retail in not just her life, but for everyone. "Brick-and-mortar is everything that we do and run our lives with. Most times that you leave your home, you're going to one of these businesses."

To date, Bonside has funded nearly 35 scaling businesses nationwide and has $25 million in assets under management. Their portfolio includes notable regional and national names like José Andrés Group, Wundabar, Spark Car Wash, Black Seed Bagels and more. 

During her time at Pine Crest, Neha was an active participant in the Indian Heritage Club, danced in the annual multicultural assembly, played the flute in the Upper School band, was a member of the Steering Committee and played lacrosse. She enjoyed an accelerated math course path while exploring other unique talents within and outside of the curriculum. Neha affirms, “I think the beauty of Pine Crest is how the curriculum and your experiences are structured. Everyone was very involved in their coursework and had other things they did at Pine Crest other than just going to school. You may have been on a sports team and/or you were part of a club or student government.” 

Neha also notes that the life lessons she learned from Pine Crest are ones that she will never forget. “I think a lot of what I learned at Pine Crest was how to not get overwhelmed,” she said. “That's a really important life skill—to be able to manage stress in that way and be able to compartmentalize and tackle things based on where you are."

Neha’s journey to success was shaped significantly by her relentless passion for both innovation and entrepreneurship. As a founder and business owner, Neha serves as a compelling testament to the power of her deep understanding of the industries she has influenced, as well as the strength of her perseverance. Her work is undoubtedly breaking barriers and inspiring the next generations of entrepreneurs.