The 10 Most Creative Shepreneurs to Watch in 2019

2019 | Volume 10 | Issue 5

10 Creative THE

MOST

SHEPRENEURS TO WATCH IN 2019

E Sheprenures Bridging Empowerment and Entrepreneurship

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oday, there is an opportunity to accelerate the progress towards gender equality. Moments like #MeToo have highlighted an unacceptable status quo and demonstrated how too many women in the world continue to be deprived of respect and equal opportunities.

As per an independent report, there has been a little progress towards greater equality. Where, on the one side, the maternal mortality rates have dropped by over 50 percent. On the other hand, we can’t deny the fact that an equal number of girls and boys are now enrolled in primary school education in recent years. But, the overall progress remains too slow. Things need to speed up.

Everyone is well aware of the fact that setting up a business is a key means for women to empower themselves and break out of deplorable financial conditions. But just as becoming an employee is harder for women, so is becoming an entrepreneur.

Well, the good news is that despite all the constraints, the number of women entrepreneurs has been increasing day-by-day, also they have been particularly successful. At a global level, about 126 million women are running their own businesses and whereas in India, about 8 million women have started their own businesses. This has been possible for every woman through the gender-responsive funds, programs to support SMEs, and strong advocacy to ensure women’s entrepreneurship is prioritized in national policy making.

Women are seen as leading active members but also holding strong portfolios in the public and private sectors. As gender equality has risen over the years, this would make a huge contribution to achieving sustainable development and reducing the poverty in India.

Going ahead, supporting women’s empowerment will definitely help to eliminate gender inequality, protect fundamental human rights, and bring considerable economic benefits. As India wants to build a successful country to develop a genderresponsive entrepreneurial ecosystem; we can only hope that soon it will be seen as the most entrepreneurial country in the world about achieving equality and give women the support and opportunities they deserve.

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Making life easier for women entrepreneurs is to support women’s empowerment

Shruti P. Jambhale

Let’s build on this momentum for change, as women entrepreneurs have a key role to play. Thus, this month, Insights Success has come up with the special issue “The 10 Most Creative Shepreneurs to Watch in 2019 ”.

We have enrolled a passionate entrepreneurial figure, who has come up with the most unique solutions and building the unique path. Thus, we have featured a special story of Hema K, the Co-founder at DimenZion3 talent consulting LLP who is going beyond her talent with passion and curiosity. Meena Srinivasan, the Co-Founder & CEO at Scion Social who is one of the most sought after specialists in the emerging world of social media and the brightest mind working to deliver phenomenal results. Nirmala Kandalgaonkar, Chairperson at Vivam Agrotech—she is a real face of persistence and adaptability. And, she is the encouraging reminder to keep pursuing your goals–and succeed despite your age.

An ultra-modern leader, Surabhi Dewra, the Founder at CareerGuide—is one of the leading shepreneurs influencing and guiding young intellectuals to discover his/her true potential and interest. Pari Purohit, the Founder & Creative Director at Studio Glyph, who is showcasing the perfect blend of creativity and expertise.

Along with this, we have an exclusive ‘Interview with Insights Success’. In this interview, we get to understand one such creative and prolific entrepreneur, Shalini Gupta, the Founder and Director of Zorba Books which is one of India's leading self-publishing organizations. Here, Shalini talk about their overall journey and the influences made by their firm, service offerings, winning honors, current and future perceptions.

This magazine includes leader’s thoughts as well. Shriya Kolte, the Founder at Imagination Inc.—a company addicted to design, providing comprehensive solutions to finer things; discusses the topic “Significance of having Women in Leadership Roles”.

The editor’s thoughts are also part of this magazine where they have made some amazing info-graphic article “In Search of Success.”

So, flip the pages of our magazine and explore interesting insights into the world of business!

CONTEN Interview with Insights Success 18 Shalini Gupta Simplifying Book Publishing

CXO Standpoint

Signiď€ cance of having Women in Leadership Roles

34 Exclusive

In Search of Success!

ARTICLE

cxo

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NTS

10 Hema K Going Beyond Talent with Passion and Curiosity

14 Meena Srinivasan A Pioneer in Building Virtual Team Model

22 Nirmala Khandalgaonkar A face of Persistence and Adaptability

30 Pari Purohit The Art and Science of Creativity

38 Surabhi Dewra An Ultra-modern Leader

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Shruti P. Jambhale Contributing Writer Rajkunwar, Abhishaj, Sneha Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Associate Designer Poonam Mahajan Art & Picture Editor Savita Pandav Co-designer Sapana Shinde Business Development Manager Megha Mishra Business Development Lead Ashwini Pahurkar Business Development Executive Snehalata Lad Technical Specialists Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Prashant Chevale SME-SMO Executives Manoj, Ketki Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

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Copyright © 2019 Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success. Printed and Published by Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. RNI NUMBER: MAHENG/2018/75953

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Hema K

Going Beyond Talent with Passion and Curiosity As Albert Einstein says: “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious”

Hema K Co-founder & Director

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| October 2019 |

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Believe in yourself!

Have the courage to take the risk and fail.

Business is a long haul and not an overnight journey as perseverance is the key

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hen passion and curiosity intersect, innovation is born. To innovate is to emerge, and to emerge is to proliferate! That is how today’s generation works and functions. The diligence in work and determination for creativity is the bedrock for innovation.

Having a similar thought process as Einstein, there is one person passionately curious to learn new things, Hema K – Co-founder & Director, DimenZion3 Global Solutions Pvt Ltd. DimenZion3 was established with the vision of making the world a fair place to work. She likes to meet new people and be a part of positive change in their lives, thus also achieving the goals of DimenZion3. “My goal is to put DimenZion3 on the global map,” she claims. One of her goals remains to consolidate global presence and have delible footprints in countries like the U.S, Australia, Singapore, the U.K, and the U.A.E to provide holistic global diversity and inclusion. |October 2019|

Hema is a business management professional with about 22 years of experience. “I started my career in sales and later moved to customer service,” she tells. She started her journey in HR 15 years ago where she worked in talent acquisition and core operations. Some of the industries she has worked for are Hospitality, ITES, Manufacturing, and Consulting. “I set higher goals each time and working to achieving them is my biggest motivational tool,” shares Hema. Women like Kiran Majumdar and Indra Nooyi inspire her as they have shown the path which she can follow and travel. Reading books about other successful people, and how they influence other people, along with thinking about how she can incorporate their ways inspires Hema a lot.

“Personally, I am a great fan of Sudha Murthy, Infosys Foundation,” describes Hema. Sudha Murthy was a professor in her college who inspired her a lot.

Hema started the company in 2012 as an HR consulting and training company. “We were fortunate enough to get good brands to work with,” she adds. Their work quality paid off great dividends resulting in continued client referrals. By 2014, DimenZion3 transformed into a leading Diversity and Inclusion consulting organization.

And by 2017, they had started offering innovative theatre-based offerings through their brand Tiatr-O! and produced the first theatrical play ‘BLACK WHITE AND LIFE IN BETWEEN’ for corporate audience.

“We used theatre as a medium to train close to 1700 sales professionals from the Automobile industry in 2018!” exclaims Hema.

Whether one is an experienced entrepreneur or just starting, there are a host of challenges every day like building a brand and constantly innovating to keep the competitors off the market. In such conditions ensuring that the business remains profitable is a challenge. When the clients are looking for big brands to work with, convincing them how DimenZion3 can help them better by offering customized solutions to address their core issues is of utmost importance to Hema.

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Tackling Adversities Even after so many years of experience, hiring the right team member for a start-up is a challenging and daunting task. “It’s not that easy to find the right talent and we need to keep in mind their cost, cultural fit and competency to be a part of the team,” addresses Hema.

This becomes exceptionally hard when the company goes under the pressure of filling those positions as soon as possible. The world is becoming more complex and diverse. There are greater number of women and Gen Y employees in the workforce nowadays. Technology is also changing and upgrading at a fast pace. Therefore, clients require quick access to data, technology-based solutions, and innovative offerings. Gone are the days when day-long instructor-led training programs were the norms. The attention span is decreasing and there is a need for innovative solutions.

Exceptional Services DimenZion3 consults primarily in three areas: • Diversity and Inclusion • Sales Effectiveness • Interpersonal Effectiveness & Leadership Development Tiatr-O is a DimenZion3 brand. It is India’s largest theatre troupe focused on corporate learning using dance, music, and drama as powerful media to deliver powerful insights into the corporate world. Hema and her team at DimenZion3 have used this art form to deliver high impact learning in the field of: • • • • • •

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Along with providing great services to the clients, Hema and her team believe in making the world a fair place to work. Her mission includes helping the organizations inculcate inclusivity and diversity in everything it undertakes.

Forecasting ahead Hema states, “Our solutions have modern outlook yet very strong traditional flavor.

Therefore, we use traditional methods like Theatre, Music, Art, and present them in insightful ways.”

Diversity and Inclusion Gender Sensitivity Leadership Skills Selling Skills Intercultural Competence Interpersonal Effectiveness

| October 2019 |

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Meena Srinivasan A Pioneer in Building Virtual Team Model

Meena Srinivasan Co-Founder & CEO

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| October 2019 |

“

Rather than focusing on overnight success, focus on steady and sustained growth.

Keep doing small daily improvements and soon you will be on top of the summit

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or many, ‘Entrepreneurship is a Choice’, but for her, it was ‘Entrepreneurship by Chance’. Today she is one of the most sought after specialists in the emerging world of Social Media. As life and business evolve, some tough choices and decisions are part and parcel of every entrepreneur’s journey. And if you are women, your list of priorities is always in a shuffle mode.

As Meena Srinivasan, the Co-founder & CEO of Scion Social puts it, “As women, to wear many hats, with family & professional commitments that need our attention, so balancing priorities is the key to harmony. So, Dream BIG, Play BIG & Win BIG.” Her Enriching Journey With a Bachelor in Information Technology from C.I.T Coimbatore and an MBA from London School of Business & Finance, Meena has a fine blend of technical expertise combined with management experience, in both the Corporate & Business sector.

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“In my role as CEO, each day is exciting and challenging at the same time while working with our global clients,” says Meena. Her role involves business networking and building key client relationships. She believes that building key leaders and empowering them to shape the company, ultimately took her and the company to new heights.

Meena has participated in several industry forums across the globe. And, also recognized by CMO Asia Council as one of the ‘Top 50 professionals in Social Media 2016 ’ in India; Meena was also awarded as the ‘Woman Super Achiever Award for Excellence in Digital & Social Media 2018’ at World HRD Congress event at Singapore.

Passionate about giving the “gift of education” to underprivileged children, Meena actively supports the Building Blocks schools in Bangalore and serves as a Board Member of the BNI Foundation. She loves reading inspirational books, traveling with her family, and exploring new cultures.

Meena’s Giant Leap Forward Having lived and worked in the US in the IT & User experience areas for a decade, her family’s relocation to India gave a kick start for this amazing journey of entrepreneurship. Combining India’s talented youth with her passion for building high-performance teams that deliver world-class results, Meena Co-founded Scion Social. Over the past seven years, the company has expanded its footprint globally to have operations in India, the US, and now expanding Singapore where she currently lives.

Meena is pioneering the virtual team model of Social Media Specialists who work from multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and other global locations. As a woman, she understands the need for flexibility at work powered by technology. And, thus her team has several work-from-home moms who do a phenomenal job for their clients worldwide. It’s not a part-time opportunity, it’s a full-time professional career. Further, she said, “For me, growing this team of virtual professionals is very rewarding.”

Scion Social’s, its latest offering is TELESCOPE – a custom-crafted Digital Marketing strategy that provides a

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blueprint for its clients to achieve effective ROI (Return of Investment) for their online marketing spends.

Esprit de corps “We have put together a fantastic team of Social media strategists and Digital media experts and together we have built an esteemed list of clients, to deliver some of the best campaigns.” states Meena. Today, the company is proud to serve some of the biggest global brands and have done campaigns for the most renowned authors and speakers in the world like – Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, and Brian Tracy to name a few.

The primary challenge for Scion is to keep decision-making inline with the vision of the organization and keeping a check on the pulse on various aspects of the business. There are indeed a lot of new agencies mushrooming in this field of Digital Marketing. But, what has set Scion apart, right from the early days is its belief in creating a method to the madness though very simplistic yet highly effective processes.

As things have evolved rapidly in the Social Media world, today, the opportunities that Social Media platforms provide, for businesses and brands to leverage global connections and showcase their offerings, is humongous.

Also, receiving instant and effective feedback from their audience has revolutionized the way the world looks at marketing. It is also an ever-emerging industry with new platforms and features coming up each day. “So, we place a high value on educating ourselves with the latest trends and also share the knowledge with our audience.” says Meena.

Excellence through Foresight In this ever-emerging social media industry, Meena’s vision for the Scion depicts that she will help power up the world’s biggest brands along with her fantastic team using new-age Digital and Social Media Marketing techniques and platforms. Agile in adapting to new technologies, Scion plans to expand its TELESCOPE product to deliver custom strategy globally. Thus, creating a handshake between the Digital, Automation, and Real-world to drive ROI for its clients.

The adage, ‘Excellence is a Habit’ directly reflects on the way Scion is operating. Right from when a prospect reaches out to the company, to the way it works out the strategy and the way it onboard a new client all through to getting them effective results. “Stating the vision and mission of the company might be a cliché, but for us it is important to live our values. For us, at Scion, it always starts with the WHY?” says the management team at Scion.

To enrich the lives of team members who will be working virtually across the globe, using its unique virtual team model; the management team of Scion is aiming to empower the community by contributing in meaningful ways and giving the gift of education to several underprivileged children.

At Scion Social, their focus and goal is to help people grow.

They strongly believe that happiness and contentment are the foundation and a vital step in unlocking their own potential for achieving excellence. In the ever-changing industry of Social Media and Digital Marketing, the methods may change, but the values remain eternal. Its whole HR mantra is summed up in two words -the “Happiness Quotient” - which simply means the happier you are, the more productive you are!

Meena’s mantra is all about flexibility. She says Productivity starts with my daily morning yoga & walk and being amidst greenery and fresh air helps me super-charge for the day ahead. The day follows with key meetings during the day or late evening calls with clients abroad.

Learning to strike a balance and knowing when to push yourself or back off, will help prevent the proverbial ‘entrepreneurial burn-out’ syndrome.”

Meena’s Success Mantra

Social Media’s Move The world of Social Media is simply fascinating. It has evidently become the most effective marketing tool that no company can afford to ignore.

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Shalini Gupta Founder & Director Zorba Books

A Secret to Success – To enjoy what you do and be constantly learning, implementing and adapting

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SHALINI “ GUPTA

Entrepreneurial Mindset

Simplifying Book Publishing

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| October 2019 |

Interview with Insights Success

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ndian art and literature space have given some absolute gems to the world, especially women. From the devotional verses of Meera Bai, the agape love in Amruta Pritam’s work, the everyday emotions in Sarojini Naidu’s work to the contemporary and hard hitting take on society by Jumpa Lahiri, the women power is there to see. But every author needs a platform to showcase her work and that is where the publishing houses come in. But in this sector too, women have had their own share of fight. Determined, to make their own mark in the field of publishing, few Indian women left no stone upturned to make the most out of it. They are making a difference with their creative ideas, running successful ventures, and giving rise to a new sustainable ecosystem. Each of them is scripting her own new story in today’s world. Hats off to all these women entrepreneurs.

In the following interview, we get to understand one such creative and prolific entrepreneur, Shalini Gupta, the Founder and Director of Zorba Books which is one of India's leading self-publishing organizations.

Kindly brief us about yourself, your initial journey since the beginning of your career?

We had an exciting beginning. It began with a love for writing and reading books and led quite naturally into setting up a traditional publishing business. When we set up Zorba Publishers eight years back, we started from scratch – getting to know the book publishing business, building relationships with dealers as the primary distribution channel, etc. We were in for a surprise because though India has moved into the 21st century, in the book trade people seemed to be still stuck in the twentieth century, if not the nineteenth! It was haphazard and women were certainly not welcome. There was an element of discomfort and a casual attitude towards women. In Europe and elsewhere self-publishing was at its peak. The three years of trying to fit in and apply modern practices to the traditional publishing business did give us a lot of insights and connections in book publishing. We decided to move into the 21st century with book publishing services and in 2014, Zorba Books was born.

The excerpt below showcases Shalini's experiences, about what it takes to build a thriving business, to learn about Zorba Books and what it offers, and some insights about the current state of self-publishing in India.

State your passions, aims, and goals.

The fact that we were ruled by outsiders for centuries never sat well with me. Even after the British left, MNCs rule the roost. I aimed to combine books and business practices

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that were superior to those of an MNC. The warmth and customer engagement of an Indian business combined with the emphasis on honesty, transparency, quality, and timeliness of an MNC. Zorba Books’ book publishing services are already far superior to those offered by the largest MNC offering publishing services to Indians!

Please mention the challenges, issues you have faced in your professional journey and your efforts or solutions you have identified to overcome the challenges.

There were many challenges in the early part of our journey. The first challenge was to introduce to the Indian market the concept of selfpublishing or taking publishing services from experts in order to publish a quality book. This model is well-established in Europe and North America and many famous authors have tasted their first success through the self-publishing route. In India, we have Amish Tripathi who first tasted success through that route and many others have followed them. In India, aspiring authors were not aware that books can be published in a services model. We were the pioneers, we started by creating a lot of noise around self-publishing, reached out to the media and they supported us by writing about it in their newspapers like ET, TOI, HT, and others. Since authors stay far from the publishing

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house, it was a challenge to convince authors that Zorba Books is reliable and functions better than an MNC. Testimonials from our authors from all walks of life, the First Lady Air Marshal Padma Badopadhaya, Ambassador Prabhu Dayal and many many others helped.

Kindly describe in detail about the company and its unique services and products.

The uniqueness of Zorba Books is in the attention to detail and the passion we bring to each book. Since we are professionals and book lovers, with vast experience in the book publishing industry, Zorba Books can offer the authors a world-class product with highly effective promotion and worldwide distribution. We have an expert’s eye for storylines, book layouts, the manner in which the cover page and the synopsis should be crafted to attract the reader, the choice of the book’s title, the market positioning of the book to get the most traction for the book from the reader.

The result is there for all to see.

Our book Sirri was announced as a bestseller at the Jaipur Literary Festival in 2018, several of our books are in the Library of Congress the US and many of our books, because they are so professionally edited, formatted, etc they have been picked up by traditional publishing houses for release under their banner. Lots of our books regularly hit the Amazon bestselling charts too.

Share the vision and mission of your company.

Offer Indian writers exemplary, professional and transparent book publishing services to produce a world-class book that they can be proud of.

Share with us the noted milestones, accomplishments of your journey along with highlighting the company’s achievements under your leadership.

Our journey as traditional publishers began in 2011 as Zorba Publishers. We took our first step in publishing services with Zorba Books in 2014. In 2015 we introduced free self-publishing software. As pioneers in the field of paid publishing services, the task of creating awareness of this relatively new concept devolved on us. The years 2015 and 2016 were marked by creating awareness of the concept of paid publishing services in India through media stories devoted to self-publishing. In 2015, we were invited

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to the Gurgaon Literature Festival. In 2016, we were invited to take part in the Delhi Literature Festival and in the same year, our books were showcased for the first time at the World Book Fair, Delhi. In 2017 we put up our first stall at the New Delhi World Book Fair. In 2019 we are ready to launch a new platform called Poet and Author Spotlight where budding writers can upload their work free of cost and generate awareness of their talent at no cost to them.

Brief us about the industry scenario from your perspective.

While there is an awareness of using publishing services to publish a book in the Metros, we have a long way to go in spreading awareness in larger parts of India. As awareness grows, we expect to see a great future for self-publishing.

What is the one thing that is acting as your motivational tool? Or, who is your role model and how the person inspires and motivates you?

My motivational tool is myself, with huge support from my husband. I don’t believe any one can be ideal. I admire people who have worked hard and honestly to build businesses from the ground up like Kiran Majumdar, Rohini Nilkeni If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Before I give one piece of advice, I would like to say that it is a combination of factors that help you succeed.

Dedication, hard work and experience in the field in which you would like to work in are necessary conditions for success, which combined with a never-say-die attitude, leads to success How are you foreseeing the future in terms of expansion of your business, the advent of new technologies and increasing tech-enabled players in the market?

Yes, technology is already playing a big role in selfpublishing. Selling books online, reducing the role of the less organized distribution sector. Also, in terms of reach for authors with the reading public, through technologyenabled social media. With growing awareness and growing literacy in India, there is no reason the sector should not grow too.

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Nirmala Kandalgaonkar A face of Persistence and Adaptability

Mrs. Nirmala Kandalgaonkar Chairperson

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Inspiring Journey of the Shepreneur

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Hard work. Learn new things and innovation is necessary for the business.

Be honest while doing the business is my secret of success

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here is no deadline for success, and while some can adapt their career path out of a passion they’re born with, it takes time and trials for most people. For some entrepreneurs, finding out their ideal industry and initiating their gig didn’t happen until they already blown out 50(or more) candles on their birthday cake. After all, it’s more important to give yourself time to work out the kinks and build confidence, setting you the entrepreneurial road ahead.

So if you’re worried that you have run out of time to make a name for yourself, we at Insights Success bring an inspiration that goes by the name Nirmala Kandalgaonkar, a sole proprietor of “Vivam Agrotech”.

Mrs. Nirmala, a fifty-something female entrepreneur who is an encouraging reminder to keep pursuing your goals–and succeed despite your age. She is on a mission to make “Clean India, Green India” utilizing her scientific backgrounds and innovations into successful waste management business.

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Belonging to a family prioritizing education made her competitive in the academic career. Serving as a social worker while working with organizations like Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Rashtra Sevika Samitee were some of her life experiences. But a Biology background kept her inclined towards a green approach in waste management solutions.

Traditionally farmers made their manure. She aimed to discover a pathway or mechanism that could make the natural manure fashionable again. And the first step towards it made her study the techniques that had been passed on from generation to generation. According to her, a traditional method works but it lacks a scientific approach.

Mrs. Nirmala utilizing her science background and some fundamentals, started conducting experiments such as vermicomposting. To measure results she ensured having a controlled environment and through trial and error, she gradually learned the ins and outs of earthworm excretion making the experiment successful. As a result, realizing the benefits farmers started demanding manure making her manufacture few pieces initially and selling them at a minimum price range.

The surging demand made her decide to go commercial.

Thus a sole proprietorship by the name ‘Vivam Agrotech’ was born on 5th June 2001.

As she’s nurtured her company, she’s approached her career from a more eco-friendly perspective. Her business is focused on convincing people about the benefits of organic manure as many of them were unaware of the methodologies to make khaad and its lasting environmental benefits. Additionally, the farmers were given demonstrations and offered free samples.

Motivating Achievements Mrs. Nirmala’s work has been appreciated by many social institutes as well as corporates by giving her various awards. Most prestigious among them is “TATA TiE STREE SHAKTI Award as National Woman Entrepreneur 2009”.

“Udyogbodh Award” by Saturday Club, Maxell Award 2014 Great Businesswomen Award “PUNYRATNA 2013”,

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Innovative Leadership “CHANAKYA 2014” by PARCI, Mumbai.

Vivam Agrotech: Offering Environment-friendly Solutions Vivam Agrotech is in the field of solid waste processing such as Composting, Vermicomposting, Mechanical Compost, and Biogas since ten years and in City Solid Waste Management for the last five years. They specialize in Municipal solid waste treatment plants for power generation.

It is the maiden firm to create energy from waste and is developing a platform to benefit rural India. It provides varied services that can convert waste into manure. Each vermin-compost unit provides multi-faceted service comprising 200 cubic foot box, earthworms, free transport, and installation, as well as training at customer's residence.

The latest product the company has developed is an automatic waste processing machine in 24 hours where there is space constraint. Now the firm is diverting into effluent treatment plants on all scales small to large.

Solutions Ahead of Challenges Government funding is necessary and implementation of waste management rules is a bigger challenge. The Challenges concerning government funding, bank loan approvals and implementation of waste management rules can be solved by motivating the environment loving people.

They can influence the other individuals by making them aware of the benefits of waste management solutions therein creating a positive pressure on the government to incorporate the change.

Mrs. Nirmala feels, by creating awareness among the people and positively influencing people with the help of environmental loving people could solve the challenges concerning government funding, bank loan approvals and implementation of waste management rules.

The field of solid waste management has high potential in terms of employment and innovation which motivates Mrs.

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Nirmala. Her best advice to the people who just have started entrepreneurship is, “Be prepared for hard work; learn new things and innovation is necessary for the business. Be honest while doing the business.”

Converting plastic waste into fuel is the next big innovation her business is trying accomplish in collaboration with foreign ventures for bigger cities.

She asserts, “Every village should have one biogas plant to have a gas connection to all. Every river should have clean water by having a water treatment plant. This can happen with proper waste management. All Municipal Corporations, councils, Grampanchayat should have processing plants for waste management to get organic manure to farmers.”

To learn more about Vivam Agrotech and its offerings, connect with Nirmala Kandalgaonkar or visit http://vivamgroup.co.in/

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CXO Standpoint

Women Signicance of having

in Leadership Roles

“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”—Michelle Obama

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hat better path to take up to be successful than shattering the glass ceiling of all the prejudice?

Many columns have been written and papers have been published acknowledging this issue, as it goes without saying that women leaders bring a lot to the table may it be excelling at soft skills and emotional intelligence that prove to be a key competitive advantage. Women being in a leadership position in a firm brings in a diverse perspective to organize a potential team that brings in results.

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An analysis conducted in a global survey that included 21,980 firms from 91 countries suggests that the presence of women in corporate leadership positions may improve the performance of the firm. The existence of women in institutes has not only played an important role in the shaping of every progressive organization’s character but also has contributed to maintaining gender balance among corporates.

The gender pay gap is an aggravating phenomenon that despite the progressive corporate continues to remain unchanged in many organizations. Nonetheless, the huge gap in wages in almost every line of profession is an illusion of impartiality that continues in this

man dominated civilization and the gender gap in the workplace remains a big business problem.

Though a constructive change can be seen emerging as a number of countries, including France, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Spain, have taken a constructive step to mandate female representation on corporate boards, and other countries are considering following it.

Women potentially are more driven to achieve and deal with today’s business problems that require leaders with diverse skill sets, perspectives, and experiences. It’s high time now that more women take the front seat and emerge as a leader that they are.

Such a symbol of soaring leadership is the praiseworthy entrepreneur Shriya Kolte. As the saying goes, “Leadership is about vision and responsibility, not just power”, the leader and face of this prestigious design studio is Shriya Kolte, an interior designer herself. She is not just the founder of Imagination Inc. but also a navigator who continues to flourish the team and their goals towards new successful heights. She studied Interior Designing from Institute Callegari Milano and Central Saint Martins, London. With an educational background that

| October 2019 |

About the Author Shriya Kolte has been in the field of interior designing for over two years.

She is the Founder of Imagination Inc., a company addicted to design, providing comprehensive solutions to finer things.

Shriya always believes in promoting art and design in every form and through this vision the company offers design consultancy along with providing services for turnkey projects. She set foot into her first venture by taking on a premium project at Hinjewadi, Pune. In such a short span of time, she has actively delivered over 85 projects PAN India.

As the founder, she is responsible for formulation the of creative concepts, strategizing and planning, overall execution and management that concentrates on the growth.

Shriya Kolte is a BBA graduate from NMIMS, Mumbai. In order to enhance her design and creativity skills, she went to study further at Instituto Calligraphy Milano in 2012-2013 and then she conceptualized Imagination Inc. in 2015 in Pune.

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speaks for itself, she associated her passion for art to gain further expertise in the field.

Shriya goes on to set Shepreneurs goals with her enthusiastic leadership trait at Imagination Inc. Be it residences, offices or any commercial space, Imagination Inc. doesn't miss out on crafting expressions through art, originality and Finesse. Her accomplishments include over 100 projects in Pune that are known for its innovative designs, astute sense of style and grace.

As the corporate community strives to advance women in the workplace by securing an equal pay scale or by getting more women in board seats, there is one major key in influencing and creating a corporate culture that makes gender equity a priority that is to keep the desire to win and start out stronger with equal determination to succeed and enter leadership, after all as Helen Keller, American Author, Political Activist says ‘Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement’.

We have identified the 3 S’s to strengthen and empower our Shepreneurs: • Speak up: A major mistake many women make is being modest; they sit back and let others do the talking. Self-Branding may come handy to women leaders who often appear to be silent about their own accomplishments. It is necessary that women leaders learn how to brand themselves by sharing their achievements and skills with others and also to make sure they voice their opinions. If you have a strong point make sure that it is known, make people notice what you are capable of, as they cannot recognize your leadership qualities if they can’t hear you.

• Stand out: More than half of the women agree that, “as women,” they are more cautious in taking steps towards leadership roles, they spend more time in Planning and none in executing. Almost six in ten find it hard to see themselves as a leader. If you want to get noticed, you have to stand out so ladies quit playing it safe, try to blend in and make waves.

• Shine bright: Now that you have the S’s in your purse it’s time to take up the initiative and shine bright like a star. This does not involve obnoxious bragging about every job completed or milestone reached or letting your boss and others in the company know when you've made an important contribution, its more about developing the leadership qualities within.

Leadership has always been a deep-seated character in a woman and it’s yours for taking if you have the courage for it.

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| October 2019 |

THE10 MOST

CREATIVE

SHEPRENEURS T O W A T C H I N 2 0 1 9

Pari Purohit The Art and Science of Creativity

Pari Purohit Founder & Creative Director

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| October 2019 |

We like to think limitlessly, so we know that we are considering everything before recommending what's best for your brand

Inspired by the learnings which sculpted her into an adroit leader, Pari says, “I’ve learnt from people I’ve known, people I’ve read about, my teachers, my past employers, superiors, colleagues, my students, and am constantly being inspired by my team, my peers and clients. As someone who’s ever-curious, I’m always absorbing as much as I can from all my interactions.”

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and challenging convention, which contributes to Glyphs’ prowess and enhances the growth of clients in the long run.

Be it a brand launch, trying something on new software or toying with a new concept, Pari stands tall to disrupt the design universe with her courage to think differently, in good measure. At Glyph, we don’t entertain being creative for the sake of being creative.

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he Indian economy is growing like never before, and as it does, newer businesses and brands sprout and make dramatic entries into an already cluttered customer's cone of vision. It's become increasingly imperative, almost hygiene, for brands to stand apart. And consequently, branding and design companies are required to continuously raise the bar.

Business, brand and product success depends on it more than ever before.

At the same time, the Indian talent is striving hard to be at the forefront of innovation by outdoing international standards alongside with addressing the ever-changing needs of the ever-changing consumer.

Pari Purohit – Founder & Creative Director at Studio Glyph likes to convert challenges into opportunities, to get her hands dirty and deep dive into the guts of the brands Glyph works with, to simply create ‘work that works’.

Driven by sheer curiosity, she's constantly experimenting

|October 2019|

About Studio Glyph “We challenge our clients, and expect that they challenge us back,” asserts the founder.

Housed in a heritage bungalow of 1929 vintage, Studio Glyph is a multidisciplinary design company providing creative and strategic, goal-oriented design solutions to positively impact their client’s business. It is a boutique agency which believes that the best output comes by enabling its thinkers and doers to directly interact with the clients. ‘We’re selective about projects we take up, since we’re keen to demonstrate how design makes an actual difference to the top and bottom line of a business. How design can solve a lot more than just surfacing blemishes for a brand' says Pari Purohit.

Acknowledging that satisfied employees are the driving force behind the quality of work in a creative studio, Glyph believes in enabling people, and investing their growth.

Harboring an open milieu, where new ideas are encouraged, the company acts as devil's advocate for its partners as well as the clients. It helps brands and businesses in meeting their objectives by offering strategically surgical design and decision-making solutions through its collaborative approach. To push the creative envelope within the category, budgetary and changing consumer perceptions are really where the challenge lies - And Studio Glyph has successfully proved their mettle in this regard.

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Hoots and Cheers to Achievements Within a short span of time, Pari has knitted Studio Glyph into a one-of-its-kind design studio. She believes that the effective work from the studios past projects is the best testimonial or credential. Under her aegis, the company has proved their mettle and worked with renowned Indian and international clients. Her 360o approach blended with a solution-driven design methodology has helped the company effectively craft brands from paper napkin sketches and transform their business outcomes to the best.

“Our clients value us to the degree that they consult us even after our engagement is over. That is the biggest reward for us and proof that we made a cognizable difference,” she adds.

A Note to Remember Pari believes that it’s the ‘never giving up’ attitude which can take beginners to the places they have never been before. Recognizing the current scenario of the Design industry, she advises young graduates to “Always be objective and critical of yourself. Question everything.

Absorb as much as you can. Sharpen your powers of observation. Master your craft. Read - Design is as visual as it is about philosophy, the socio-economic and cultural fabric of people. It’s human.”

A long way to go Pari is a ‘karigar’ who would never stop creating. For her, Studio Glyph has always been her first love and will always be her springboard for future pursuits. Speaking of her teachers, she states “I may involve myself in academics more actively. I think of my teachers often, and owe to them my creative courage and thinking. I would like to pay it forward someday.”

Pari is all set to go beyond the realm of communication & brand building with an aim expand beyond design. Her passion and love of design is what keeps her going and enables her to march forward with a greater gusto. Her words “Our pursuit would be to do more, and even better.” reflect her limitless ambition.

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| October 2019 |

Success!

IN SEARCH OF

Success might be a relative term but is very crucial for human beings.

Various dictionaries define success as the achievement of the desired result, mostly positive results. But truly speaking, our whole existence is defined by success however small or big. If we scrutinize our single day at the end of it, we can see small success as well as failures. But what makes successful people really successful is that they analyse and learn from their failures and turn them into success.

So what constitutes a success story? Especially for an entrepreneur who takes a giant leap of faith in themselves and their ideas to look for success.

What do they consider their key and their moment of success? Here’s what a few have to say when asked “Success according to you is- ……

“Hard work that has no replacement; keep going and you shall get your dues. Also never get carried away.”

Ashok Rajpal, Managing Director, Ambrane

“Success means to find happiness in the little things and to achieve the goals you set for yourself however big or small.”

Shefali Desai, Founder, BASE 501

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| October 2019 |

Exclusive

Hard work, persistence, setting clear goals and working towards them sure seems to be the key.

So with Going forward, what motivates them to keep going even when things are not the way they wanted to be?

“Whether you need to watch motivational videos on TED Talks or YouTube, listen to music that gets you revved up, or simply embark on an empowering mental journey that will help you to envision your goals lucidly, you have to do what it takes to stay Motivated.

Because, at the end of the day, it’s up to you to stay focused on your goals, and not someone else. The only person you would be cheating by not putting in the effort every single day to achieve your goals is yourself. Do your best to avoid distractions and time wasters, and work towards your goals by staying motivated”

Here’s what Arjun Bajaj – CEO, Daiwa India has to say about staying motivated:

Here what that sense of achievement feels like: “Each person has a different definition for success. Some measure it with money, some with ‘accomplishment, awards or recognition’. With Glyph, my intention was to work in meaningful ways with brands. To partner with businesses to help grow them with design. To create a work environment which nurtures individuals and the collective. To this end, we have been successful.”

Pari Purohit, Founder & Creative Director at Studio Glyph

“Success is the feeling of satisfaction when a customer recognizes you in a crowd, even after many years and communicates emotionally, the amazement and aura that my art has created in their home or workplace.”

Moiz Arsiwala, Founder Isra Glass |October 2019|

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“Success according to me is making sure you are personally happy and in turn, the people around you are happy as well and what you are doing is bringing about a positive change in this world and for our planet” Prateek Sethi, Founder, TRIP Creative Services

Hear it from the Editors: Motivation and dedication are required to keep the tempo going. An entrepreneurial journey is not a smooth one. It has its own share of ups and downs and loads of risks. But some risks are worth taking! The end result of success, recognition and the immense satisfaction of achieving what you set out for are worth it!

Here’s what they had to say...

“I believe that “Being Successful” is a feeling of freedom. Freedom to craft your own life.”

Shruti P. Jambhael, Editor at Insights Success

So here’s what the recipe for success looks like: • • • • • • • • •

Decide and choose what you love to do; Prepare yourself as you commit yourself; Give 100% of your efforts and maybe more; Grab the opportunities that come your way; Chop off negativity; Add love, loyalty, and praise for employees and co-workers; Season it with motivation; Have patience and faith as your work takes time to ripe.

Enjoy all the success that you deserve and worked so hard for!

Celebrate each day as it comes and stay grateful for the wonderful opportunity life has given you!

Sneha Sinha, Editor at Insights Success

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Happy Success! | October 2019 |

THE10 MOST

CREATIVE

SHEPRENEURS T O W A T C H I N 2 0 1 9

Surabhi Dewra An Ultra-modern Leader

Surabhi Dewra, Founder

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| October 2019 |

A Secret to Success- keep walking, when tired take rest but don't stop walking if you want to reach the destination

Meet the Motivating Personality: Surabhi This excerpt ehibits her journey that has been at the frontier of various professional paradigms, and how she has managed to stand tall by the virtue of her courage, and firmness. Surabhi is the CEO & Founder of CareerGuide.com. Surabhi graduated from the prestigious BITS, Pilani Institute of India.

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influencing, and guiding young intellectuals to discover his/her true potential, and interest.

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tudents develop consciousness of what they are doing in their education and highly motivated towards their future when they have a welldefined perception of themselves. It reckons how they might live and work when they leave school for higher education. This kind of perception has high relevance with his/her counsellor or guide that can mentor him/her to opt good education. Social media has become a hurdle for the young minds in their path towards a good career.

This is diverting them from opting a capable future.

Considering the current scenario where maximum of students are under the domination of social media, the role of a guide is becoming immensely important. But social media platform can also have a positive impact on students which can help them from getting derailed. These positive efforts are taken by some people to create a platform which can help the students act decisively. And women entrepreneurs are not an exception in this development.

Surabhi Dewra is one of the leading shepreneurs

|October 2019|

At regular intervals, she has donned different roles that have helped her to excel in her profession. Her responsibilities at CareerGuide.com include are product development, training & counselling, budget planning, and allocation. They also include designing marketing, PR communications, hiring talent, building team, fundraising and, investor relationship.

Surabhi has volunteered with the NGOs of several Indian states viz.,UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh to understand the psychology, and dearth in the learning pattern of young ones. Her engineering degree brings in a strong tech understanding, whereas her passion for education brings her close to the venture: CareerGuide.Com. Translating her passion into a business where every student can have answers to their career questions is what she dreams of. She is a task-focused leader and coordinator.

With her passionate aim and zeal Surabhi has secured Medical Association Award-2019, Indian Education Award2018, and Top 100 Social Entrepreneur -2015. Also Listed in India's Top 40 Women Entrepreneur -2015, Award by Assocham in 2012 for the best initiative in career counselling.

Recently she is awarded as the “50FabEduTech” by the WorldEducationCongress which is her 7th award in the last few years apart from other mentions and acknowledgements. Besides this achievements she is also honoured with “CEO with HR Orientation” award at the Asia Pacific HRM Congress.

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Withstanding Challenges Initiating a venture led her to put in big bucks and sacrifice a job. Raising money, team building, initial sales, etc were some of her bothers but she faced the shortcomings firmly making herself a confident founder. Handling half a million students queries every month, she believes is her biggest achievement. Whereas, the ability to make a change and impact lives through CareerGuide acts her motivation tool.

Her source of inspiration are people from all the spheres where she tries to inculcate their qualities like perseverance, hard work, confidence, and determination.

As a woman entrepreneur, she believes more women should join leadership roles. She says, “A Simple Mantra to overcome challenges which I try to follow is stay the course, stay deaf to naysayer and work not to prove anyone but to yourself.”

The firm has helped not only the students to choose a perfect career but also several people who work for the firm. It has helped the career counsellors to find means of an additional source of revenue. This has also generated microentrepreneurship by helping them with tools, technology, and processes for setting career counselling practice. The organization's objective is, to be a one-stop destination for career guidance in the country.

A Leader’s Perception Surabhi feels, “The world of work is changing and new-age careers are taking over conventional careers and wisdom.

But there is a massive shortage of talent in many sunrise industries and sectors since many obsolete careers & courses are still mushrooming of colleges, and universities.”

Surabhi believes, just getting a college degree is not worth, yet advice, guidance, and mentorship in a student’s life can make a difference in the hyper-competitive world.

Providing Inclusive Services Surabhi’s venture, CaeerGuide solves challenges regarding career, education, and accessibility for students of the age group of 13-25 years. It helps to find an appropriate career, educational program, and imminent higher education opportunities.

Careerguide.com is an “On Demand career” guidance provider based in India. Under her leadership, the platform has become a marketplace of professional career counsellors and experts. The AI-driven Human+Hybrid counsellor provides live interactive call sessions with career experts and/or Q&A Forums. The experts address career concerns of students from all parts of the country and guide them thoughtfully. Besides 1000+ experts, the organization has 8+ psychometric assessments which have been scientifically designed by a panel of psychologists and psychiatrists.

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Another noticeable trend she has witnessed is, parents take an active interest in shaping the career of kids in India and often go out of their way to meet any demand required to enable a good education for kids. According to Surabhi this is a defining trend for Careerguide as parents & students are more serious about making career choices and are willing to pay for the right advice at any important juncture of a student’s life.

“Nothing succeeds like success, and career guidance is necessary for success”. Hence, though in India the trend of career guidance platforms is limited to big cities, the culture is to be defied and made best use of which could make things a lot easier for very youngster.

| October 2019 |