Nikita Tanwani

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

I'm Nikita Tanwani, creator and founder of CONQUER, a full-service pageant coaching practice specializing in interview and brand strategy. I'm originally from Jaipur, India, and I'm now based in the New York/New Jersey area. Outside of work, you'll usually find me at the dog park or a ping-pong table, and I'm hoping to add rock climbing to the list.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

What I love most about New York City is that you can be whoever you want to be here, and people accept every version of you. The artist and creator community I've found here is unmatched: everyone is supportive, we cheer for each other and create opportunities for one another, which is something I felt I lacked when I began my creator journey. This city is full of possibilities, there's something in the air that fuels your ambition, and there's a place for every dreamer here.

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

CONQUER is a pageant grooming institute built around interview coaching and personal branding. It started in 2019, right after I competed at Femina Miss India and realized how little guidance existed for Indian women preparing for pageants. I left my tech career to pursue pageantry and YouTube full-time, began posting prep videos, and demand for workshops followed. My first two sold out within hours. Since then we've worked with 1,000+ clients, including 100+ titleholders worldwide. Clients leave with skills they use well beyond the stage: communicating with presence, telling their story clearly, and walking into any room, whether a pageant stage, a job interview, or a boardroom, as the strongest version of themselves.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

Start with a gap you've personally lived. I built CONQUER because I couldn't find the resources I needed when I was preparing for the Miss India pageant. Solve that problem in public, let your audience show you what they want next, and let real demand, not just passion, guide each step. And don't wait for perfect conditions to begin.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

The feedback I hold closest isn't about just winning a crown. Many of my clients become like younger sisters to me, and I take that role seriously. I've been fortunate to walk alongside women who went on to compete in several countries: a Singapore-based lawyer who first came to me nervous about speaking in front of an audience and went on to be crowned Mrs. Petite Global 2025; a Top 11 finalist at Miss Universe India 2025; a Jharkhand representative at Miss Universe India 2024; two national finalists at Miss Universe Canada 2025; and Miss England Manchester 2022, who credited me in The Telegraph India for teaching her the technical side of pageants and modeling. Many more are close to my heart, whatever their titles. The titles are moments. The confidence and the sisterhood are what last, and that is the feedback I won't forget. If you'd like to read my clients' words in full, my Pageant Planet coaching profile holds a 5.0 average across 49 reviews from clients around the world.

Where do you see your company in the future?

In 2027, I'm bringing CONQUER's on-ground grooming bootcamps to the US, which will give us an in-person presence in the country. Long term, I want CONQUER to be the go-to name for reinvention and personality development for women at every stage of life, who are rewriting their stories in their 30s, 40s and beyond, through programs, speaking and content. The US expansion is just the beginning of what I plan to turn into a global series of events and speaking stages.

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

That pageantry is just about looks and being pretty. The crown is the visible part, but underneath it are public speaking, interview skills, personal branding and so much resilience. To put yourself out there for judgement on a stage, answer questions within seconds and make the glam look effortless is not an easy feat.

That's why I say it's never really about the crown. It's about who you become on the way there and why pageantry is a reinvention you can gift yourself.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

Moving to New York in 2023 meant starting over. I'd built an audience in India where I understood instinctively what moves people. In the US, I had to relearn how clients think, decide and build trust. I dealt with it by listening more than I spoke: working one-on-one with American clients, adapting my offers, and learning from mentors like Ledi Vokshi, who guided me through restructuring CONQUER for this market. Two years in, CONQUER earned a place among the Top 10 coaches in the country at the Best in Pageantry Awards, as the only South Asian-founded practice on the list.

Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

Growing up in India, Shreya Ghoshal was, and still is, one of my favorite music artists. Her voice is stunning, and attending her live concert in 2019 remains one of the biggest highlights of my life. I wasn't an avid sports watcher, but the famous duo Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi have always inspired me, not just for their performances but for their life stories and personal accomplishments.

Any shoutouts you want to make?

I've been very fortunate to meet some wonderful people in the early stages of my big pivot to the US, and their faith in CONQUER has played a huge role in its success. Thank you to Ledi Vokshi, for mentoring me through the American-market reset; Steven Roddy of Pageant Planet, for putting CONQUER in front of a new audience; Rutvik Katuri, a mentor turned friend from my first week here; and Laura Clark of Miss Earth USA and Miss International Ms, for welcoming me onto her jury panel. And thank you to every client who trusted me with their story. Three years in, I have an excellent support system that is my anchor and the wind beneath my wings.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

Anyone reading this can find more about my coaching services at conquer.nikitatanwani.com, and for more personal content around my life, you can find me on Instagram at @nikitatanwani.