Self-employed

Do get in touch with me (kart75@gmail.com) for these engagements.

1. Communications consulting:
As a communications consultant, I work with organizations to help plan their communications strategy in,
- identifying & building communication narratives
- digital/social media communication strategy
- marketing campaign strategy
- content marketing strategy
- crisis communications strategy
Clients include Google, Myntra, SunTec, The/Nudge Institute, Crio, Juniper, Himalaya, RedSeer, and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, among others.

2. Corporate workshops:
Communications team workshops: Meant for corporate PR teams, marketing teams, or internal communications teams to help expand their perspective, seek inspiration from relevant (category/industry-specific) campaigns and communications case studies, and start hands-on work on some of the immediate and pressing challenges at work. Clients include Cipla, Medtronic, Maersk, PWC, Omidyar Network India, Ashoka India, and Cleartrip, among others.

3. Personal branding for leaders:
Personal branding workshops for leaders in organizations where I help them understand the need for personal branding (as a subset of organizational branding), identify personal brand narratives, and hands-on efforts in managing their personal brands, using social media, with a clear plan and goal. Clients include Kotak Group, Carrier India, EXIM Bank, Citrix, Akamai, Omidyar Network India, Fullerton India, EY, MetrixLab, among others.

4. Personal branding for employees:
Employee advocacy workshops, to help an organization’s employees become its brand ambassadors. Key clients include Maruti Suzuki India Limited (trained 800+ employees across 200 departments), Radio Mirchi (training 100+ Radio Jockeys and 25+ Programming Heads), among others.

Communications Consultant

The Advertiser's Guide to the Galaxy

Subscribe to my weekly podcast on advertising: https://bit.ly/tagttghome

Podcaster

Ogilvy & Mather

National Lead, Social@Ogilvy

Flipkart.com

AVP - Corporate Communications

Edelman

Head of Digital Strategy

Text 100

Account Director

Pramod Shankar Associates

Chief Consultant

Subex Ltd

Manager - Corporate Communications

Birlasoft (India) Limited

Executive - Marketing Communications

Steria India Ltd (formerly IIS Infotech/Xansa India)

Assistant Executive - Corporate Communications

Summary: 

Communications professional with 2 decades’ experience in creating, building and managing perceptions of brands across agency and client environments.

Experience spanning corporate communications, public relations, marketing communications, investor relations, digital/social media marketing and employee communication for B2B (technology) and B2C brands.

Winner of gold at Socialathon India 2015, gold at Emvie 2015 (Best media innovation - social media) and bronze at DMA Asia Echo Award 2015 (Interactive - Creative use of data).

Guest lecturer at Tata Management Training Centre's Leadership Development Program for IAS Officers and Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru – Advanced Digital Marketing and Digital Marketing for CMOs

Award-winning blogger, across 2 areas of interest - professional blog, since 2008 (communications/marketing - http://www.beastoftraal.com) and music blog, since 2005 (http://www.milliblog.com). 

Frequent columnist in leading publications, on the intersection of corporate communications, social media and advertising/marketing. Samples:
- How to build a socially relevant brand | ET BrandEquity http://bit.ly/2NuutnP 
- From 'Log kya kahenge?' to 'Log kya keh rahe hain' | ET BrandEquity 
- http://bit.ly/2u0jydn 
- Amazon-Swara Bhaskar Issue: An Analysis | afaqs! http://bit.ly/2qTF9ll 
- How to avoid social media self-destruction | The Economic Times http://bit.ly/2MuxvrD

Frequent speaker and panelist in leading events to talk on and discuss perspectives on communications, branding and social media.


Karthik Srinivasan

They all had under 24 hours to write and release these ads. Ogilvy's own ad is the best, of course. It makes even strangers (to Piyush) feel like they got to know him a little. Piyush may have sold a lot of great products, but the truth was that he himself was a great 'product' that one could write a lot about. And Ogilvy lavishes the writing less on his craft (which was universally known) and more about the man himself (that only people who interacted or worked with him would know).

The ads by Cadbury's and Fevicol are by Ogilvy too, I presume, as the brands' ad agency. The Fevicol ad, in particular, is Lord Ganesha going around Lord Shiva and Lord Parvathi where the Ogilvy ad would be the equivalent of Lord Murugan going around the world.

Amul, of course, has a lot of experience in coming up with ads in under 24 hours on topical events. Crisp and beautifully framed!

#advertising #creativity

Communications strategy consultant. Connect with me for corporate workshops on personal branding. Ex-Ogilvy, ex-Flipkart, ex-Edelman. No paid posts - my words are not for sale.

Combined both my post-angioplasty lessons/new habits into an article for The Times of India's Health+ segment, thanks to Neelam Raaj. 
Web version: https://lnkd.in/gfDi63YR

#health #heart

Of all the photos or illustrations that Forbes India (or any publication for that matter) could have used, they had to create this AI-generated abomination that doesn't even look like Piyush Pandey! 🤦‍♂️ 

I can almost hear Piyush's roaring laughter seeing this picture!

BrandFame Digital

Co-Founder

Sandiip Porwal Consulting

Entrepreneur

Hire Content Writer

"Content is King" is a phrase dates back man years and we have to thank to Bill Gates who in his essays foresaw the internet as being marketplace for content in its many forms. Content is crucial for organisation and brand when you think "marketing". In the digital space more so because content is the very basis of engagement among people, between people and products and between people are organisations. 

With Hire Content Writer we are all set to serve the needs of the market with a focus on quality content writing and audio visuals. So be it content for blogs, articles, websites, ecommerce product descriptions, white papers, downloadable documents, landing page, youtube videos, short product videos and more customised offerings.

Founder

Virtual Snipers Digital Marketing Services

We provide Internet Marketing Solutions to small and large businesses. We also have team dedicated to businesses which are new to the Digital Domain and need training along with marketing solutions. We will help you understand  the Internet as a marketing medium and one which can play a critical role in consumer interactions to build long lasting relationships. The Internet can work wonders for your business with the right mix of strategy, innovation and technology.

Pinstorm

This was an opportunity to cherish as I was able to exercise my marketing strategy skills and work on some fabulous campaigns for some very excellent and demanding clients. Managing the young and raring to innovate team was a challenge adding to my zeal.

SMSCountry Networks Pvt Ltd.

Laid the foundation for Sales and Marketing process. Set up the Sales team and formulated and implemented Marketing and Sales Strategies.

The Model was innovative and the medium new and hence challenging. A really enriching experience.

Head Sales and Marketing

Mid Day Multimedia Ltd

Head - Automobile and FMCG verticals

Mercury Media Services

Numero Uno International

The big responsibility was to aid the rebuilding of the organisation. One of my finest experiences which helped me understand what goes into making an organisation.

My job was to ensure revenues / profits as also handle marketing of the programmes to ensure sales support.

Manager - Marketing & Sales

Arpan Events

Business Head

I help businesses and brands leverage the Digital Medium. I love simplifying the complexity of online marketing into practical, understandable concepts to leverage the right digital technologies & media to increase brand awareness, build authority and establish meaningful relationships to achieve defined business goals. 

25+ years of experience across Marketing, Advertising & Sales domains
12+ years in Digital Marketing Domain

I lead a Digital Marketing & Brand Storytelling Agency and a Digital Marketing Consultancy. I help businesses, and Marketing professionals understand the Digital medium. I help Startups improve upon their ideas to increase their chances of success. 

Before becoming an entrepreneur, I served in various roles for 15+ years in advertising, media, and entertainment businesses. 

I love to share my experiences with those who wish to learn to contribute to our fast-growing digital industry that needs Skilled professionals. 

Businesses and Startups can reach me for, 

Digital Marketing Strategy
UI / UX improvement
Website Navigation Design & Process Flow and Functionality Design
Search Engine Marketing (SEO and SEM)
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Digital Creatives and innovative marketing/start-up ideas.
Traditional Marketing Agencies looking to set up Digital SBUs can connect too. 

I am available for the following:
Speaking, Training
In-House Training Development
Collaborations
Consulting to set up Digital SBUs

I'm available and interested in speaking at Universities, Colleges and training marketing teams of businesses who want to leverage digital marketing.

For speaking opportunities, collaborations, and business, please email sandiip.porwal@gmail.com

Sandiip Porwal

McDonald’s tried to flex its size. and what did Burger King do? 
It seems they delivered the knockout punch. 

When McD bragged about being “everywhere,”
Burger King turned it into a punchline 🍟🔥, replying with a 258 km road trip ad, where a couple stops at McD just for coffee, before driving all the way to the nearest Burger King, which is quite far btw.

“Thanks for being everywhere, McDonald’s. You made it easier to reach us.”

 That’s not advertising.
 That’s brand aikido, using your rival’s weight to build your own narrative.
 No shouting, no panic, no defense.
 Just pure confidence and wit.

Here’s what makes this campaign genius 👇
→ It flips the obvious, turning McD’s biggest strength (scale) into a setup for humor.
→ It plays long-term by building brand personality, not just visibility.
→ It delivers every marketer’s dream: free virality through admiration.

What can you do when faced with such a competitor campaign? 

Most brands react to competition with anxiety. The great ones respond with strategy and style.

 → When a competitor flaunts size, highlight agility.
 → When they shout features, tell stories.
 → When they go big, go smart.
 → Build responses that amplify your positioning, not theirs.

Which brand do you think won this round?

Helping build India’s Largest Influencer Network. Helping Build a D2C Cross Border Commerce Business. Guiding startups & businesses to grow Faster. Entrepreneur, Digital Strategy & Business Consultant, Mentor, Investor.

Too many ideas can kill a great company. Is that even possible?? 

We glorify founders who brainstorm endlessly, sure thats what got us to some crazy businesess today. Unicorns even. 

But creativity isn’t the problem. Execution bandwidth is.
Every new idea adds a queue.

 A half-built product.
 A distracted team.
 A sprint that never ends.

The truth?

The best founders Release the Work. They don’t ship new ideas faster than your team can absorb, align, and execute them.

 An idea launched before your org is ready is just noise in disguise.
The best founders don’t just invent, they can sequence priorities.

Because focus compounds.
 And patience, not speed builds companies that last.

So next time you think of a “brilliant new idea,”
 ask yourself, 
 👉 "does your team need another idea, or more room to finish the last one?"

Sandiip Porwal

Which India are you building for? 🇮🇳
The one on the pitch deck — or the one that actually buys?

India’s numbers look exciting. 
1.4 billion young people.
Average age below 30.
A booming middle class.
A growing digital economy.

Do you know the real numbers ?

Theres roughly 1 crore people reporting income above ₹10 lakh. We are a 1.4Bn country. 
Even if you multiply it by 5 for unreported income — your real market is what?  5crore – 10 crore people.

Most founders build for a mythical India — 1.4 billion potential buyers, rising middle class, growing internet access.

But “India” isn’t one country. It’s many.
We’ve got Singapore levels of affluence in a few million households,
Poland in the aspirational middle, and Mexico and Sub-Saharan Africa across the rest.

So when you launch a D2C brand, you’re not building for India. You’re building for a version of India — a segment that can actually afford, understand, and value what you’re selling. The values that your Brand will stand for in their mindspace. 

GDP numbers and per capita income may look like growth on paper, but that doesn’t translate to purchasing power for your product across the populace.

If you’re starting out on your D2C brand building journey:

 → Define which India you serve — urban luxury, aspirational middle, or value-first Bharat.
 → Align your pricing, packaging, and positioning with that India’s spending psychology.
 → Don’t sell ₹2,000 skincare in a market that buys ₹199 creams — unless you’re solving an emotional or status-driven need.
 → Study your buyers, not your competitors. That’s where your real insight lies.

 So before you start building — ask yourself honestly:
 👉 Which India am I really building for?

--------------------------------------------------------------------
You can follow for more insights https://lnkd.in/dneaB3pf

No pitch. No sell. How a champagne strategy outperformed a $40 million ad budget?

Just a “Cheers to your success” did something much more important.
It made everyone talk.

In a world drowning in ads, one brand decided to skip the noise.
Instead of buying more impressions, they bought champagne.
The strategy : Get real attention.

Instead of shouting about their product, they sent personalised champagne bottles to founders and finance leaders celebrating milestones like fundraises, promotions, and product launches.

Just one line: “Cheers to your success.” A genuine celebration.

That $10K gesture did what millions in media couldn’t: it built relationships, sparked conversations, and made the brand memorable.

Because people don’t remember campaigns.
They remember how you made them feel.

You can’t outspend the noise anymore.
But you can outthink it.

Attention doesn’t belong to the loudest brand.
It belongs to the one who makes people feel seen.

There is something interesting for marketers here.
→ Stop thinking “reach”, start thinking “resonance.”
→ Replace part of your ad campaign with a connection campaign.
→ Don’t chase impressions, create impressions that last.

Creativity still beats capital.
In a world of automation, personalization is the ultimate means of differentiation.

What would your version of the champagne campaign look like? 🍾

“What’s your current salary?” - Its illegal to ask in New York.
But totally normal in India.

HR: What is your current salary? 
Candidate: hesitates, wants to avoid rejection 
This uncomfortable scenario plays out across many interviews.

Sounds harmless, right?
Do you think it is an unfair practice?

Here’s why I ask?

When your next offer is pegged to your last salary,
You are not always being rewarded for skill.
If you started low, your growth trajectory will be slow.
If you didn’t negotiate once, you will pay for over years.

And women pay that price more often
because they’re told to “not make a fuss” or “be grateful.”
That’s why this question is banned in places like the US and UK.
It perpetuates inequality wrapped in the language of “policy.”

You’re not obligated to disclose your current pay.
You’re obligated to know your worth.

And if HR asks anyway, flip the script:
Ask,
1️⃣ What’s the budget for this role?
2️⃣ What was the last person in this role paid?
3️⃣ What’s the salary band for this grade?

⚡️ And take Action Today:
• Know your market value
• Prepare your response
• Stand firm about your worth

So the next time someone asks about your “current CTC,”
ask yourself — are they trying to value your skill or just negotiate your silence?

#CareerTalks #HiringPractices #hr

Some Critical work and Life Lessons I Wish I had Learned Sooner

🎁 This Diwali, gifting something better than sweets — a few success mantras.

At 23, I thought talent was everything.
That good work spoke for itself. Logic and merit are appreciated.

Years later, after building businesses, hiring teams, and losing sleep over payrolls, I know better.

So here’s what I want to tell that younger version of me… and maybe you too 👇

1️⃣ If your job sucks, leave.
Staying “for stability” kills creativity. You’re not a tree — you can move.

2️⃣ You’re far more skilled than you think.
Most people underestimate their value until someone else overprices it.

3️⃣ HR isn’t your friend.
Their job is protect the company, not your career dreams. Navigate accordingly.

4️⃣ Always ask for more.
It's not always about Salary. Seek exposure, opportunities, wider roles - negotiation is confidence in action.

5️⃣ not all leaders are emotionally mature.
Don’t mistake position for wisdom. If you learn the difference early you will grow faster. 

And as you grow, here are 5 lessons if you ever dream of starting something of your own 👇

6️⃣ Your side hustle is your safety net.
Build it while you still have a paycheck — not after you’ve lost one.

7️⃣ Entrepreneurship isn’t freedom at first — it’s responsibility.
You’ll work longer hours for smaller rewards before it gets better. Stick with it.

8️⃣ Learn sales early.
Doesn’t matter if you’re selling ideas, products, or yourself — nothing moves until someone says “yes.”

9️⃣ Save money before you chase dreams.
Cash flow buys peace of mind. Passion doesn’t pay rent — liquidity does.

🔟 Build relationships before you need them.
Your network is your future runway — nurture it while you’re still on solid ground

If I could tell my younger self one thing this Diwali —
It would be: Play the long game. The spotlight can wait, but your foundation can’t.

Light diyas. Burn doubts.
Start small — but start.

Which of these lessons do you wish someone told you earlier?

No alternative text description for this image

Owning a Color: The Most Underrated Branding Strategy

Why is it important? Because a few years from now, when someone sees the color your brand has chosen in a creative, they shouldn’t just see a design. They should see the brand.

Think Airtel. Think Jio. Uber, Rapido, WhatsApp. 

This is how brand recall is built.

→ Zomato owns red.
→ Zepto is on its way to owning purple.
→ And when consumers repeatedly associate a color with a brand, even competitors hesitate to use it.

Think about it → If a competitor brand starts using your brand colours tomorrow, their message risks being mistaken for your brand. That’s wasted marketing spend and high possibility of a litigation. 

Strong recall is free marketing.

Every time a delivery partner in a red Zomato jersey crosses your street, you’re reminded of the brand — without them spending another rupee. That’s earned mindshare.

The lesson is simple:

→ Branding isn’t just logos or taglines.
→ Branding is about owning a space in the consumer’s mind.
→ If you can be remembered without spending extra money, you’ve already won.

For marketers, the job is not only to shout the loudest but to be remembered the longest.

What brands do you remember for their colours ?
Do you remember any brands that owned a colour but were phased out or died? 


#branding #marketingstrategy #brandrecall #consumerpsychology #startups #businessgrowth

Ideation and strategy won’t take you anywhere. Execution will. . 

Get ready to battle it out in the real battlefield. Don’t just think think think .::: start executing. 

You will fail in some but you won’t fail after your initial failures. Real experiences are just that REAL.  

#startup #execution #unicorm

Every hire comes with a hidden cost: a communication tax.
GUESS YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THIS WAY. 

If you think your company has a “too many meetings problem.” Think again - this could a very crucial issue you want to address immediately - A people problem.
 
No, not toxic people — Just too many of them.

I can across this interesting conversation and could relate so much; there was time when I had the same issue and lucky for me I had a good people on the personnel side and I learn quite a few lessons.

So this founder explained why he ditched layers of management and built a lean, elite team instead.

He said, “We didn’t need a bigger team. We needed fewer, sharper people.”

Because every new person doesn’t just add work — they multiply complexity.
They bring calendars, stand-ups, syncs, approvals, follow-ups — all in the name of collaboration.

That’s why “no-meeting Wednesdays” never work.
Meetings aren’t the problem.
People create meetings.

And here’s where it gets deeper —
B players don’t just hire C players.
They hire lots of them — because they love building empires, not efficiency.

But when three average people try to fix what one world-class person could’ve done alone…
you don’t get speed. 

So this founder stripped the org chart back to functions, not titles.
No “managers” unless they were hands-on experts.

That’s the difference between elite teams and bloated ones.
A-players want mastery.
B-players want meetings.

And companies that confuse “growth” with “headcount” slowly replace innovation with administration.
Lean isn’t just about cost — it’s about CLARITY.

→ Hire fewer, smarter people — and pay them better.
→ Remove layers that don’t add value to the work.
→ Reward problem solvers, not people collectors.
→ If you want fewer meetings, build a team that doesn’t need them.

What’s harder in your company right now — finding A-players or letting go of B-players?

Follow me on LinkedIn - https://lnkd.in/dneaB3pf

Everyone talks about scale. 
Zara and H&M made a profit of ₹287 crores last year but,

Manyavar made ₹414 crores. Alone. HOW?

While global brands obsess over global trends,
some businesses quietly master something far more powerful — local precision.

All tuned to micro-markets — not moods, not trends, not global fashion weeks.
Manyavar built a business that listens to the needs of smaller geographies within Brand India.

While global giants bet on mass behavior,
Manyavar bet on local nuance.
And that became their moat — efficiency through precision.

Every design decision.
Every supply chain move.
Every inventory bet.

Efficiency compounds because every product fits better, sells faster, and wastes less. The tighter your understanding of your customer, the less you’ll spend fixing mistakes.

Efficiency isn’t the opposite of creativity — it’s what gives creativity a budget to breathe.

Profitability isn’t about cutting costs.

It’s about avoiding the wrong decisions.
→ Study your audience like a map, not a metric.
→ Build systems that learn faster than they fail.
→ Chase precision before scale — profit hides in the details.
→ Efficiency isn’t built in meetings; it’s built in decisions.

Everyone’s scaling up.
👉 But who’s scaling smart?

While everyone was chasing Instagram ads, one brand conquered villages.

While metro brands were burning budgets on influencers and paid ads, this founder quietly built mass trust — bottle by bottle, village by village, town by town.

Here’s what most forget — India doesn’t only scroll, it saves before it spends.
The “aspirational middle” is still price-conscious, not brand-conscious.

And in Tier villages and small town markets, discovery doesn’t happen through Instagram reels — it happens through local kiranas, haats, and conversations.
A ₹10 price point isn’t just about affordability, it is also about accessibility.
It removes hesitation, builds trial, and creates trust at scale.

And when your unit economics make sense even at ₹10, you’re not chasing growth — you’re earning loyalty.

If you’re building for Bharat, remember this:

→ Start where others aren’t looking — small towns are big markets in disguise.
→ Build small-ticket trust before big-ticket brand love.
→ Design your packaging and distribution for dusty shelves, not Instagram grids.
→ Focus on repeat, not reach — in Tier 3 markets, word of mouth still beats ad spend.
→ Keep your price-point sweet and margins smart — affordability without profitability is a trap.

If you’ve ever wondered where India’s next 100 winners will come from? it’s from dusty roads, not glossy malls.

Most brands don’t scale with ads.
They silently drown in them.

 Every brand that scaled through performance marketing learns this the hard way: the higher you climb, the faster your efficiency dies.
 
There was a time when performance marketing felt like magic.
 Every ₹1 spent brought back ₹5.
 Founders believed they’d cracked the code.
Then competition arrived.

 Same audience. Same targeting. Same creative playbook.
Suddenly, ads cost more. Clicks cost more.
 But sales didn’t grow.

That’s when most brands panic.
 They double their budgets — trying to buy back what used to come naturally.
 But the more they spend, the worse the ROAS gets.

 Welcome to the law of diminishing marketing utility (something we all learnt in school/college) - where every extra rupee returns a little less than before.

And the worst part?
 By then, they’ve built their entire business on paid oxygen.
 Turn off the ads — and the sales graph flatlines.

 Paid marketing can scale awareness.
 But it can’t scale loyalty.

That’s where organic distribution, content, community, and conversations come in to change the game.

 It cushions ROAS loss.
 It keeps your brand breathing when media costs rise.

Because in the long run, it’s not your CPMs that save you.
 It’s your credibility.

 → Track organic reach with the same obsession as ROAS.
 → Build repeat customers before you chase new ones.
 → Create content that performs even when your ads don’t.
 → Use paid to spark demand, not sustain it.

 If your ROAS is halved tomorrow,
 Would your brand still stand or stop breathing?

Sandiip Porwal

#StartupGrowth #PerformanceMarketing #BusinessLessons

If time is your only non-refundable currency, spend it like an investor.

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

Here’s how to use this idea every day:

	•	tasks. Before you say yes, ask: How many life-hours is this? Is the return worth it?
	•	meetings. Decline or shorten anything without a clear agenda or outcome.
	•	energy. Do your highest-value work in your highest-energy window; push admin to low-energy hours.
	•	Reduce “leaks.” Batch notifications, cap screen time, and turn off auto-play.
	•	Invest in people. Spend life-hours where trust, growth, or joy compounds.

Two simple questions to steer your day:
	1.	Will future-me thank me for this trade?
	2.	If I had to pay cash for these hours, would I still buy this?

Make better trades, live a richer life—professionally and personally.

From the Fevicol bus that never broke to Cadbury’s ‘Kuch Khaas Hai’ to Vodafone’s loyal pug, he made brands feel human.

🕊️ Farewell to the man who gave Indian advertising its heartbeat — Piyush Pandey

A moustache that smiled more than most faces.
A mind that turned everyday India into unforgettable stories.
And a pen that wrote emotions, not just taglines.

Piyush Pandey was among India’s best storytellers. He wrote emotions, not just Tag Lines.

I remember one of his interviews, where he laughed, saying,
‘I joined the ad industry with no plan, just a moustache and a curious mind.’

That curiosity built a career that redefined how India spoke about itself.

He taught generations of us that creativity isn’t just about fancy words or awards, it is about truth, wit, and heart.
His words, warmth, and wisdom will echo whenever a brand speaks like a human.
Rest in peace, Piyush Pandey.

Your contributions didn’t just change the language of advertising, they changed its soul. 💛

#PiyushPandey #AdvertisingLegend #Fevicol #Cadbury #Vodafone #IndianAdvertising #Tribute #Storytelling

If you wouldn’t work for the person you are hiring, don’t hire them. 
Sounds extreme, right?

But this rule can play an important role in how your startup survies and grows. Before you start thinking, read a bit more of this post. 

When a company starts growing fast, hiring feels like a race. Trust me you will hate it if you did some wrong hiring.

It will feel like you need hands, roles, departments, yesterday.
That’s where most founders slip.
They hire in a hurry, not to raise standards.

The smart ones?
They pause and ask one simple question —
“Would I be happy working for this person in another universe?”
That thought changes everything.
It forces you to look beyond resumes and urgency.

It makes you search for people whose judgment, values, and clarity
you respect and not just skills you need.

Because every layer of hiring compounds.
When great people hire great people, you get an organisation that scales itself.

Hiring is not just about delegation.
It’s about replication of thinking, trust, and culture.
When you hire someone you’d be proud to work for, you’re not just adding talent.
You’re future-proofing leadership.

→ Don’t hire for speed — hire for strength. Add this rule to your hiring process today. 

Share your experiences in hiring in the comments. 

And the next time you’re about to close a candidate,
ask yourself, 👉 Would you work for them?

An interesting rule which probably played a very important role in building &  building Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and finally bringing it all together as #Meta. 

#StartupCulture #HiringRight #BusinessLessons

In 30 years of business, I’ve seen one truth repeat — great communicators win even with average products.

Everything in business flows from being Selling and being able to communicate right.

An idea doesn’t raise money without being sold to investors.

A product doesn’t move without being sold to customers.

A vision doesn’t inspire without being communicated to your team.

Most entrepreneurs naturally focus on product, operations, or finance.
Very few deliberately practice sales and communication. Yes a certain about of persistence is required in this department. 

Here are some simple yet important pointers - 

1.⁠ ⁠Selling
→ Learn to sell without a product: Pitch your idea to 10 strangers and see if they’d “buy” it.
→ Understand objections: Every “no” is data. Keep a record of the 5 most common objections you hear and design answers in advance.
→ Practice urgency: Frame your pitch so the buyer feels, “I need this now.”

2.⁠ ⁠Communication
→ Clarity over complexity: If you can’t explain your idea in 2 sentences, you don’t know it well enough.
→ Storytelling: Facts tell, stories sell. Wrap data in a story of a person, a problem, and a resolution.
→ Active listening: Communication isn’t only speaking. The best communicators make others feel heard.

This matters today more than ever. 

Markets are crowded. Only those who can sell and communicate better than others stand out.

Customers have choices. They buy from the one who connects, not always from one who shouts the loudest.


👉 Master these two, and every other business skill becomes easier.
Because at its core, business is human, and humans respond to persuasion + clarity.

What do you think, should an entrepreneur get better at selling and communication? 



#business #businessdevelopment #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #founder #foundermindset #leadership #businessmindset #finance #selling #communication

We are in the middle of a swadeshi movement - that statement by Shridhar Vembu of Zoho might reignite the startup ecosystem.  

After all the talks,  posts, views and criticisms about Arattai and zoho mail being mentioned by home minister amit shah the founder of Zoho came out to give an interview to clarify the company’s stand and his own. 

And I must agree with him
When he says “it’s Early days and it is a long road ahead”

Karmic Capitalism at work. 

#startups #successtips #zohomail

Predictability is the new “premium” every investor pays extra for. Why? 

Because every startup can grow once. Only a few can prove they can continue to grow.

Here’s the truth most founders should get comfortable with: Your valuation isn’t built on your ambition, your pitch deck, or even your latest funding round.

It’s built on one simple question:

“Can this business make money again next month, without luck or hustle?”

That’s what predictable revenue really means.

When investors (or buyers) look at your business, they’re not dreaming about your upside; they’re calculating risk.
If your sales are consistent, your customers stick, and your growth is repeatable, you’ve reduced their risk.
Less risk = higher valuation.

If your business relies on a single major client, a few viral months, or constant firefighting to meet targets, the risk increases significantly.
And so does the discount on your valuation.

Here’s how to build predictability into your business 👇
→ Focus on recurring revenue: subscriptions, retainers, or repeat purchase models.
→ Double down on customer retention: your best customer is the one already paying you.
→ Track your revenue stability: not just growth. A flat, consistent ₹10L/month is more valuable than a spiky ₹20L/₹2L pattern.
→ Build processes that reduce founder dependency: if it only works when you’re in the room, it’s not predictable.

Best wishes for raising money in this new year!

#StartupFunding #Entrepreneurship #Valuation

Great service isn’t about giving customers what they want.
Because people don’t leave companies that say “no.”
They leave companies that sound like they don’t care.
It’s about making them feel you tried.

In the first example in that Simon Sinek video, you can. "See the impact of zero empathy."
The traveler hates the airline.

If we replay the same request, but this time the agent says —
“Sir, I want to get you home to your family. Let me see what I can do.”
He attempts a solution. Nothing works.

She calls her supervisor. Tries again. Fails again.
Finally says, “Sir, I’ve tried everything. I do want to help you, but I am really sorry.”
He thanks her, feeling like someone did understand his problem and attempted to help him, even if it didn’t work out.
And now He loves that airline — even though he never got what he wanted.

That is the real definition of good service.
Not policy. Not perks. Not problem-solving.
Just proof that you care.
In business, customers can sometimes forgive failure, not indifference.
Your product can glitch, your delivery can be delayed, your system can break,
but if your intent shines through, they’ll stay.

“We tried” builds more loyalty than “That’s not possible.”

What can you do as a founder/entrepreneur?
→ Teach your teams to show effort, not just efficiency.
→ Don't employ Empathy as a soft skill — it’s a retention strategy.

When was the last time a brand made you feel cared for, even when they couldn’t give you what you wanted?

#CustomerExperience #BusinessLessons

Think low engagement means the Social Media algorithm hates your content?
truth is — it’s not the algorithm. it’s the audience that matters.

Shares and saves are the real currency of growth on #LinkedIn, Instagram, or anywhere else.

Just likes, comments and views wont be enough if you want to become an influencer. Because shares mean your content is worth showing off, and saves mean it’s worth coming back to.

so if you’re creating content that nobody’s compelled to share or save, you may be relevant for a few but not building influence.

heres what you need to do 

→ make people feel smart for sharing your post — give them one line they’d love to quote.
 → break a belief system — polarizing content travels fast because people pick sides.
 → speak to relationships — write something every manager would send to their team, or every friend would send to another.
 → design each post asking: “would someone want to send this to one more person?”

Next time you write — forget the “how do i get more likes?”
 ask — “why would someone share this?”

what kind of posts have you felt proud to share recently? Including this one ofcourse 😜 

____________

Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/dneaB3pf

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Karthik Srinivasan's LinkedIn Performance

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