This Women’s day, MediaNews4U.Com is acknowledging women leaders of the Media, Marketing, Broadcast and Advertising fraternity who have given more than expected.
In this segment, Akshaara Lalwani – Founder, Communicate India & Anindita Gupta – Co-Founder – Scenic Communications shares their experiences as Entrepreneurs and breaking the gender stereotypes and how she continues to inspire many other women who are true leaders in the making.
Journey
It has been a 12-year-long journey for me and my company, Communicate India, and I am both elated and humbled in equal measure. What started out as a one-member operation at the age of 23 has now turned into a thriving company with over 150 employees. With the support of my stellar team, the company has been able to grow and pivot despite the myriad challenges thrown our way by the pandemic. As an entrepreneur, my resilience was tested like never before, but I believe that I have emerged stronger than ever and as a business leader, the pandemic has only made me even more confident and determined to push Communicate India to new heights. Thus, my journey as an entrepreneur has been akin to many others, it has been full of highs and lows, successes and failures, and through it all, I have learned to navigate the toughest of times and find opportunities amid crisis. This is why I continue to learn and upgrade my skills and I apply this same mindset to Communicate India which has expanded from being a purely PR-centric agency to a 360-degree brand solutions company. My journey as an entrepreneur, thus, continues and I am excited to see what the next decade brings my way.
Inspiration & Inspiring the Team
We can talk extensively about ethics and attributes such as hard work and resilience, but unless business leaders don’t walk the talk, their teams won’t have anyone to look up to or be motivated by. Hence, I truly believe in leading by example. As an entrepreneur, my endeavour is to do what I expect of my team, which is to work hard and go the extra mile so as to truly become partners to our clients, instead of being just an agency or a vendor. As for inspiration, I look up to a whole cohort of maverick minds in history. Whether it is Albert Einstein, whose quote “In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity” I take to heart every day or modern-day female tech CEOs, who are constantly breaking barriers and proving themselves to be leaders par excellence; inspiration can come from different places and people. What I try to do is take the best traits from all sources and synergise them into one vibrant whole.
Empowerment of women
The Future is Female – is more than just a catchphrase for me, I truly believe that this is the era of women leading the way. Whether it is in business or other spheres of public life, women bring a whole new perspective to the table, thanks to their truly unique life experiences. It is no wonder why numerous studies show that women make better business heads because of their skills in leading a team. In order to truly empower women to unleash their potential, we need to stop slotting them into different categories and pitting them against each other. A woman who chooses to look after her family cannot be viewed as less than a woman who chooses to prioritise her career and vice versa; this stereotypical dichotomy must be done away with, only then can we truly support women all over the world.
Anindita Gupta, Co-Founder, Scenic Communications
Journey:
My journey in PR began quite early on, while I was still pursuing my Mass Communication Degree. I used to freelance as a journalist with a publication and that is where I first encountered the scope and potential of PR as a field. I always had the entrepreneurial bent of mind and wanted to start something on my own. So I decided to work for some time, understand the nuances of the business, gain experience and save some money, before I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey. My stint at some of the reputed PR agencies, like Genesis Burson & Marsteller, Percept Profile and Mileage Communications etc., allowed me to work closely with clients across verticals, such as, travel, hospitality, F&B, Fashion & Lifestyle, Entertainment, IT and corporate.
I started Scenic in 2014, and today, after 6 years, it continues to be one of the most thrilling, adventurous and exciting part of my professional journey! Over the last 14 years of my experience as a PR professional, I have loved every moment of my career, and I am honored and blessed to be able to do something that I love! Every morning the thought of going to work, building brands and strategizing creative campaigns, gets me excited and I think, for anyone to be successful, this is very important! Though there have been and shall continue to be several challenges, both big and small, I think the passion, dedication and the support of an efficient team, has helped me making this a powerful learning experience and grow through it all!
Inspiration & Inspiring the team:
My biggest inspirations are my parents. I was never brought up any different than a guy and my parents never made me feel that I am any less than a guy. This made me believe that all work is equal irrespective of gender. So it was very difficult for me to face the challenges in the world but accepting that as the reality of life I fought all the challenges with all my might. But thankfully things are changing and changing fast and we can see girls are excelling in all the fields now.
Everybody’s dreams and journeys are different. It is not necessary to follow anyone and do exactly the same. Anyone can be an inspiration but there is no need to copy someone and follow that person blindly. In terms of my team, I try to explain to them that you need to understand your strengths and weaknesses and work on it. That will help you understand your goals and eventually succeed in life. And finally be happy with what you have. Both financially and mentally. Although money does matter and is very important in life but that should not be your only focus or primary. Aim for success, aim to do well in professional life, to excel in what you and finally love what you do. Money will automatically follow.
Empowerment of Women:
To the Women out there, it does not matter where you are, which background you are from or from your schooling is. Only things that matter is you need to have a dream and perseverance to fight for the dream. Unfortunately in our country still now there is a biased perception towards women that we are weak and cannot do everything. Due to this mindset we have to face more challenges but that should not deter us from achieving anything.
I am what I am today because of my focus towards achieving my goals. I am very clear on what I want from my life in future. Once your goal is determined the journey becomes much easier. So always have a goal and give your best. Always have a dream and work hard towards achieving it. And never ever think girls are inferior in any way. It is the society who has projected this image and we have to get out of it.
