Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

MARCH 2021

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Women Entrepreneurship A Systematic Review to Outline the Boundaries of Scientific Literature

Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

Women’s Rights in India Problems and Prospects

Special Edition for International womens day 2021

KRITIKA SHARMA Founder

Gender Inequality xxxx Co-Founders

MediaXpedia Technologies

www.armstrong-cap.com

Swiftnlift Media And Tech SwiftNLift is the Best Business Magazine across the globe for enterprises.

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wiftNLift magazine is not just a print or digital anymore but everything we do derives from its long-standing character, approach and quality - while we continue to produce the print publication with as much dedication as ever.

It gives me an immense pleasure to present this magazine to all our readers on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Many thanks to my team for the work undertaken. I’ve wanted to be there not just by virtue of being the editor but because I had something to say something that might join us for a moment in that miraculous way words can.

Some print pieces have complementary components such as additional coverage, advertisements and still photography.

There are regular columns by the editors with reflective articles to provide a window onto gender equality and women rights.

The cover story has featured Ms Kritika Sharma (Founder) of Mediaxpedia Technologies. It pioneers at managing the brands in multiple channels.

- Nilesh Sabe Nilesh Sabe Chief Editor

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Chief Editor

Managing Editor

Nilesh Sabe

Ravi Borse

Executive Editor

Amar Rathod

Business Developement Manager

Aarti Gandlewar

Graphic design team Art & Design Director

Assistant Designer

Kalyani Patil

Somesh Junavne

Marketing and sales Advertising & Promotions Manager

Vaishnavi Sabe

Digital Marketing

Tejas Sasane

Marketing Manager

Snehal Bandekar Sales Executives

Pranav Raundale Diksha Purohit

SME-SMO Executives

Arjun Suthar

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Technical team Technical Head

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March 2021 For Marketing & Advertising Reach us at: sales@swiftnlift.in Follow us on

CONTENTS COVER STORY 10

ARTICLE 22 Women Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review to Outline the Boundaries of Scientific Literature 30 Women’s Rights in India: Problems and Prospects 44

MediaXpedia Technologies

GENDER INEQUALITY

16

iContent

18 Write Design Deliver Advertising

24

Pietos

26

28

32

BLUE BUZZ

DIQUERY

Shail Digital

36

Strateworks Solutions

40

DTERNION

42

REIN Digital

KRITIKA SHARMA Founder

Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

“A woman with a voice is by

definition a strong woman But

the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult”

Melinda Gates

MediaXpedia Technologies MEDIAXPEDIA pioneers at managing the brands in multiple channels. It aims to build a communication bridge between advertisers, customers and publishers.

One of the effective ways employed by Mediaxpedia for branding and promotion is by obtaining a thorough understanding about the demands of the customers. The company was incorporated in the year 2018 and its office is located at Gurgaon. The company has gained momentum with its hard work, determination and amazing strength of 15+ employees.

For Swiftnlift Business Magazine, it was a wonderful experience to interview Kritika Sharma (Founder – Mediaxpedia). We are glad to share this exclusive conversation with you.

and innovative ideas for a customized solution for different businesses. This will further help in curating a long-lasting impact for a long-term relationship.

Mediaxpedia's vision to create an impact in the online world. With different companies making their way to enhance their profitability, we assure growth and global branding, creating a positive impact in their respective industries.

Tell Us Something About Yourself.

Your Struggle and Achievements.

I have never let struggle to create a hindrance or impact on my professional or personal growth.

Since the time I started understanding the market, once completing my Bachelor's in Computer Application, I wanted to be my Tell Us About Your Company. Its own boss. I did take up my MBA in HR and Vision and Mission Answer.

Marketing. My instincts kept telling me that Mediaxpedia is one of the leading, developing I was made to achieve something big and better in and most reliable digital marketing companies in marketing. Digital marketing had been flourishing, India. We have the expertise and knowledge to help by the time I took an Internship in the same field in businesses, regardless of their size and typography, to 2011. Since then there was no looking back. help them in the complete process of branding.

Working diligently for 8 years into online marketing

As per our mission, we analyse the competition and understanding all the concept and proceedings, of the current market for the generation of new I just knew when I was ready. The biggest milestone

was set forth when I began my career in understanding Affiliate Marketing at a renowned company. I knew that I could make something big and that's when I hit the journey to reaching the success ladder with Mediaxpedia.

What incident triggered you to choose this field as a career?

To be honest, I never came across any such incidents in my life. Everyone has their set of highs and lows and so did I. But one particular incident never changed the perspective of choosing my career goals or taking the right turn after a mistake. I always knew what was meant for me and I pursued my dream without any hindrances.

What were the constraints you faced at the time of inception?

During the initial stage, everything was new.

Commencing life with a start-up is never easy.

I would rather say, I never sought the help of investors or any finance for setting up my company. I used the complete savings that I did save while I was working under someone and finally without a pause, commenced with Mediaxpedia Technologies Pvt Ltd. Being a start-up, the challenge is to find a dedicated team of professionals. And apart from me, everyone else was fresher. Till date, we are working as a dedicated team of professionals.

Learning new trends and technologies together as a family to create a change and set an impact for a better tomorrow.

What qualities make any women a great leader?

Every woman is special in their own way.

You or I cannot define them with quality. But definitely, the one who possesses leadership quality can conquer the world. Since historical times, we women have always impacted society, breaking barriers and stereotypes. It is just taking the right step and not feeling guilty. As a woman, you will rise and fall and then regain the power to defeat all.

and when they are working for it, there is no looking back. Success will open a myriad of doors.

How do you keep yourself updated with the latest developments?

As a dedicated digital marketing company, I need to keep myself updated. To stay ahead of the competition, there is constant research, study and analysing the market. I am not here just to make decisions. My prime focus is delivering the best apart from the rest. We, as a team will be curating something innovative and unique for our clients that they should not seek help elsewhere. It is the dedication and complete passion we put forth to make ends meet.

What are the major trends in advertising today?

What are the assumptions in the industry about women entrepreneurs that you would like to change? Why? Well honestly, the idea of gender biasedness needs to stop. And right now, let's just delve into most of the success stories, women are achieving it, for themselves, their family and even making the world proud. The idea of making a good decision is never restricted to one particular gender. As a woman, I am no less than a man. I take care of my family, my child, my company and my second family and even enjoy my life.

Content is the king. Marketing, remarketing and choosing the relevant form of content to reach out to the audience is something that will make you a brand. The right form of strategy and wireframing is needed to implement for transforming any business into a brand. The process is slow and steady. But you never know which content could make you go viral. So, there is a constant need for innovation and uniqueness to represent one's brand.

How do you define success?

Success never comes easy. There is a lot of hard work and patience needed to reach what you have been dreaming for. Dream, Dream big and to convert that dream into a reality; work hard.

What are your upcoming projects?

There are loads of things that we have in our mind.

As a woman, one should never be questioned, that Already, Mediaxpedia Technologies have been being in a good position, how do you take care of presenting their best to the Indian market. We also your household work or other daily chores of life? want to expand and reach a global base to garner We can do it all. Women are career-centric because attention and long-term association with the foreign they do not want to be dependent. It is their choice market.

www.inziteglobal.com

Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

iContent APEKSHA FOZDAR FOUNDER

N

obody ever said that being a leader would be easy. If you’ve taken more than a couple of steps down the path, you know that leadership comes with challenges and complications at every stage. In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, organization leaders are expected to do much more with less; like leading a project from inception to completion with scarce resources, short delivery deadlines, and limited budgets. All of these while maintaining utmost efficiency and not to mention preserving the growth of the team members. This is possible only if an individual possesses some important skills & competencies like teamwork, responsibility, decision making, communication, trustworthiness, ethics, and most importantly leadership. Also, according to Richards and Engle, leadership is all about articulating visions, embodying values, and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished.

holder (Masters in Digital marketing and Masters of Commerce) whose contribution has been considered instrumental in the growth of every organization with which she has been associated to date, which includes Citibank, Crisil Research, Tata Group of companies, and Smmart Training. She has achieved success by seamlessly integrating her motivational, zealous, and goal-oriented attitude with exceptional leadership qualities. With a professional experience of 15+ years in the industry, and while working under several reputed corporates, Apeksha gained a lot of experience and expertise about businesses and the code-cracking factors related to it. However, she always had a spark inside her which led her to begin her entrepreneurial journey in 2014, establishing her own organization iContent.

Apeksha Fozdar, Founder, iContent, is one such leader Tell us about your company. Also, what is who truly manifests the aforementioned quote as well ‘entrepreneurship’ according to you? as context. Apeksha is an ace leader and a dual degree While working in my previous workplaces, I learnt 16

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a lot of things, which also helped me to understand that specific treatment is required for each niche of business. The process of learning has been very natural to me. I consider it a necessity for both personal and professional career as it makes us capable of understanding and handling things in a better way in life. Also, as I was kind of very observant from the beginning, I did a need gap analysis and realized that content writing is extremely essential for Indian clients to reach their target audience. That was the time when I decided to be at the right place, at the right time, which is ‘Entrepreneurship’, and this is how iContent was born. For me, entrepreneurship is like - living a legacy.

It comprises of lots of responsibilities and I actually like to take those responsibilities to create a better world around me. The basic traits of an entrepreneur are - ownership for their actions, responsibility for their work, healthy attitude and most importantly gratitude and care towards clients and co-workers. My endeavor is to excel in all of these traits while achieving success in the business of future that is so ahead of the curve.

mention a couple of them, which I consider as the most prominent one. As a business owner, I would say, delivering 1000 projects in a time span of five years, which also means delivering one project every single day, is a major milestone of ours.

Talking as an Individual, despite having personal and professional life, meeting a number of entrepreneurs of various niches and understanding their concern areas and translating it into digital strategies is like a passion converted into a profession for me. This is also a chief milestone, which makes me proud and about which I can boast without hesitation.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

In the coming future, I want to be a serial digital entrepreneur and cater to newer venture. For iContent, we expect to enhance our service portfolio beyond regular digital marketing and content writing. The aim is to add solutions pertaining to the education realm.

We also have started new Edutech venture named ‘Digisiksha’ that caters to some few lakh of the young What services do you provide? How do you and enterprising individual. Apart from that, we want stand different than those who are already to spread our geographical presence and cover new territories, while adding more affiliations to strengthen in the industry? our capabilities and offer new analytics to our clients iContent is an organization that is predominantly adhering the latest trends. Not to mention, technologies involved in content writing and digital marketing. Our are advancing rapidly, so are the innovations in every service portfolio includes content writing, branding, industry. So, we aim to keep ourselves updated with website designing, website development, and all the the technology that can lead us to a new growth in digital marketing operations such as Search Engine the digital marketing sector. Though, iContent as an Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), organization has always strived hard to proffer the best innovative strategies in SEO to clients, in the future we Online Reputation Management (ORM), and more. will continue to do our good work while helping our We are positioned uniquely in the market with our clients to grow their businesses with measurable and 360-degree approach, because with a belief that one long-lasting results. size does not fit all; our team of passionate content writers, digital marketers, business brains, designers, web developers, and advertising experts are able to customize the solutions to meet the requirements of our clients. Also, we offer research-based solutions that are crafted with innovation & value-addition. This is a major factor that has helped us to achieve high customer retention rate.

Tell us about your achievements and recognitions.

Though there are many milestones, I would like to MARCH 2021

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

Kimaya Balki CO-Founder & CEO

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Write Design Deliver Advertising

W

DD – Write. Design. Deliver. We deliver subjects, I wanted to grow up to be a scientist but later quality content and design that identifies and I realized that my need to fulfill my creative side was communicates your values to the right people. stronger.

For Swiftnlift Business Magazine, It was a wonderful experience to have conversation with Kimaya Balki who speaks about her journey to founding Write Design Deliver Advertising and her growth on the marketing landscape.

I graduated in Biotechnology and changed field of study to business when I got my Master of Business Administration degree from University of Newcastle, Australia. Marketing communications and branding always had a strong appeal and hence, marketing was my primary focus for MBA.

Tell us about your company. Its vision and mission.

I had over a decade of corporate experience in Finance, Hospitality, Education, Real Estate and Healthcare sectors before starting Write Design Deliver Advertising in 2017.

Write Design Deliver Advertising is a boutique design and digital marketing studio in Pune. We believe advertising and communications are more than creating a short What incident triggered you to choose this window of increased sales. It needs to be a sustainable field as a career? effort of building a relationship between a brand and its My first lecture with Dr. Doreen Kum in Marketing was target audience. an exhilarating experience. She asked the class seemingly We’re the bridge that connects a business with its customers simple questions on how to market a few products. Less & stakeholders. We help brands build every brick of that than 10% of a class of brilliant students got even close bridge with flawlessly baked communications. We help to answering them. The right answers (though there are WRITE, DESIGN, DELIVER everything from that ‘push’ none) when revealed however, seemed so simple and sign on a front door to that gorgeous advertisement logical. pulling the big bucks in.

The process of successfully marketing a product seems

Tell us something about yourself. Your struggle and achievements.

easy only after it’s finished. However, the journey is new and ever evolving every single time. It is the first glimpse of this journey that hooked me to marketing, specially advertising.

Growing up, my father’s job moved our family to a new city every 3-4 years. Between 11 schools and colleges, I have been always the new kid in the school. But this gave What are your upcoming projects? me the opportunity to experience diverse cultures and I’m starting a new venture dedicated for creative varied perspectives at a very young age. copywriting with kimbalki ink. Writing copy is an Through all the changes in locations, my love for reading amazing creative process that combines strategy with stayed constant. For a creative person, it is very important expression. I’m excited to be working with some fantastic writers, I handpicked for my team. to have active imagination.

Growing up, Science & Mathematics were my strongest Digital spaces are now smarter than ever and with technologies that can precisely track and predict customer MARCH 2021

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behaviors and interests, digital spaces and tools are now immensely powerful. The speed with which digital platforms are moving, traditional modes of advertising will soon cease to exist. In this day and age, it is important not to lose the focus on human aspects and develop content that generates authentic value.

What do you think about the challenges and opportunities faced by a woman entrepreneur in the Industry?

One of the major issues is being taken seriously. A lot of men, even today, have trouble dismissing repressive gender roles and aren’t able to receive information without being subjective.

Additionally, an entrepreneur needs a massive support system just to have enough time to solve the complexities of a new business. Though the process is tough on everyone, it is specially more difficult for mothers. In addition to maintaining a work-life balance, working mothers experience added guilt.

What support/change Entrepreneurs need professional world?

should from

Women today’s

In addition to technical, financial, and marketing support and mentorship that every entrepreneur requires, women require an additional sense of security. Self-funding is a crucial aspect for women in entrepreneurship, since they do not own property or assets in their name to present as collaterals. This creates more dependency and involvement of external sources for financial security.

In most industries, women tend to be underrepresented from entry-level to C-suite levels. Not only underrepresentation of women leads to fewer role models, it is a missed opportunity, from both social and economic standpoints.

Women are discriminated in more ways than men.

From the way women look or dress to employment discrimination related pregnancy. These factors have no reflection on their skills, ideas or potential but result in lower pay-scale.

Even if nothing else changes, the best thing for women in workplace will be to be treated any other human being – with respect, dignity and equal validity.

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www.armstrong-cap.com

Women Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review to Outline the Boundaries of Scientific Literature In recent years, the study of women entrepreneurship has experienced great growth, gaining a broad consensus among academics and contributing above all to understanding all those factors that explain the difficulty of women in undertaking an entrepreneurial career.

Female entrepreneurs represent the fastest growing category of entrepreneurship worldwide and have received, especially in recent years, the attention of many academics. According to the emerging literature, women can make a significant contribution to entrepreneurial activity and economic development in terms of creating new jobs and increasing the gross domestic product (GDP), with positive impacts on reducing poverty and social exclusion. The percentage of women who decide to pursue an entrepreneurial career is; however, lower than that of men, and this difference is greater as the level of development of the country increases.

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A theoretical framework used to explain this difference underscores the importance of economic and regulatory conditions. For example, in the literature it is possible to trace substantially two macro-categories that have a different impact on the entrepreneurial activity of men and women.

The first refers to the role of property rights underlying an entrepreneurial productive activity.

The second focuses on a group of governmentdetermined regulations and policies, such as welfare and system taxes. Some studies have found that a larger state sector militates against entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, tax and social security provisions can influence entrepreneurial entry through their direct impact on expected returns from entrepreneurial activities and opportunity costs. High levels and rising marginal tax rates can weaken incentives for opportunityoriented entrepreneurs by reducing the potential, while higher levels of social assistance provide MARCH 2021

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alternative sources of income and, therefore, by increasing alternative wages, they can reduce incentives for entrepreneurship. This appears particularly important in the case of women as a large state sector is dedicated to women offering security, educational services, health care and housing, but inevitably reducing their premiums.

A first theme of analysis useful to explain the gap between men and women in entrepreneurship can be represented by the social roles and stereotypes that are culturally assigned to men and women.

The term gender was first introduced by Stoller to describe people based on biological physical characteristics; this would determine the individual's behavior. Based on these characteristics, men are expected to behave well masculine while women should think and to behave feminine. According to the social role theory, gender stereotypes can make a person socially acceptable. When a role is associated with men, women they are not suited to the role because they do not have the necessary skills. The behavioral differences related to gender specific perceptions and preferences could explain the different inclination of men and women toward entrepreneurship.

Literature shows that entrepreneurs are described as aggressive and with high-risk proclivities, as well seem more socially inclined to achieve and obtain economic benefits, an image which does not fit in women, who seem closer to care and the emotional sphere, therefore, in pursuit of social value.

Additionally, in an analysis aimed to investigate how academics contribute to the perpetuation of stereotypes about female entrepreneurship, it is found that in all the texts reviewed, women entrepreneurs were considered secondary to men.

The reasons for this “negative representation” remain the subject of international debate, for which there are no common results.

This stereotyped and male-centered vision discourages some women from participating in business activities, which could also have a consequence on people who interact with women at the community level, creating an additional barrier. The attributions of society and the different socialization processes relating to men and women may create obstacles for women due to the unequal distribution of assets and services, educational MARCH 2021

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objectives and daily life activity expectations.

According to a study, females are 63% less likely than males to obtain external financing in terms of risk capital, and the most significant part of the gap derives from differences in gender.

The social construction of the entrepreneur as an independent and stereotyped man calls into question a second theme of analysis that can be limiting for women, namely the responsibility that women seem to have on the family/work discovered that women who care most about the family have negative behaviors at work, consequently, the balance between family and work is more difficult for women entrepreneurs, which represents a fundamental obstacle to the growth of their businesses.

According to a study, work-family conflict can be an important factor that motivates women to start a business. For example, business creation can offer women considerable flexibility in terms of work hours (for example, work only a few hours a week or work at home) allowing them to find a balance between work and family commitments.

In a study which analyzed differences in the workfamily conflict between women who work as employees (98 employees) and those who work as entrepreneurs (91 entrepreneurs), showed that most female entrepreneurs have very low conflict in all aspects: time, tension, and behavior; unlike women who work as employees who tend to have higher conflict. One possible explanation may be in the gap of the annual income received. Specifically, the higher the income, the less the stress caused by the work- family conflict.

The literature has paid little attention to the analysis of women's motivations and expectations about entrepreneurship and how it really offers a better “balance” between family and work.

However, entrepreneurship offered a partial answer. In some cases it has acted as a trigger for women to take a positive step they have been contemplating for some time. On the other hand, the negative realities of the company posed serious challenges to these women. For most of them, obtaining and maintaining an adequate balance between the domestic and working spheres of their lives has remained a constant challenge, a source of stress.

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

Pietos Barsha Chakraborty FOUNDER

R

eliability and trust are two vital components to run a firm successfully. In every domain, these are the most sought after traits to make things work in the favor of a company. To this end, background verification is a quintessential element. In recent times, the need of background verification has increased owing to rising fraud cases. So, people have been looking for a tried and tested background verification service provider. And Delhi based Pietos brings a ray of hope to numerous people.

company since its inception.

Its Mission is to be the most sought after background Verification Company through client's word of mouth globally. And its vision is to become an organization of repute that is trusted by everyone for its service quality and expertise.

How do you manage to run the company smoothly?

I have been fortunate enough to get support of my family Tell us about your company. Its vision and in every step I took. With my family’s support I have been able to achieve many milestones. Without them, I mission. would not be able to give so much time to Pietos. There Pietos is a leading provider of background verification are days when I use to work for more than 11 hours at services, providing the most dependable, compliant work and then again start off when everyone at home and cost effective background screening solutions has slept. A huge part of my success can be attributed in India. Its services include employee background to my mother who has anchored my family while I have screening, vendor partner screening, insurance and been away at work.

KYC verifications etc. Today Pietos has a client base of over 50 clients and many more who have been with the 24

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What impediments you did face at the time of inception?

Anything as such you would like to share?

Starting any venture comes with many obstacles. One has to overcome all the hurdles. Every woman has to face the patriarchal mindset and the challenges. Today’s business world is no longer a man’s world. Sadly, a lot of us still think that it’s easier to push a woman and dare her. What patriarchy has done is to convince people that a strong and intelligent woman represents a problem. Navigating career and motherhood is another big problem that sets many women back in their career graph.

Pay gaps are rampant and not much is being done on that front.

What services do you provide?

We help businesses (large corporate, companies or recruiters) and individuals (consultants, landlords) assess the risk of dealing with another individual through our comprehensive background check services.

Our expert team can investigate and verify the following and much more:  National Identity Check  Address Verification  Education Verification  Previous Employment Verification  Reference Check  Court Record Check  Criminal Records Verification  Drug Test/ Substance Abuse Test  Global Criminal Database  Credit Check  Social Background Verification  Social Media Check

What advice would you give for aspiring women entrepreneurs?

I would like to say –

“Follow your dreams even if the whole world tells you it’s impossible. Every time you fall, start all over again but do not give up. If you can dream it, you can build it. On a micro level, scrap what is not working, look for small wins if larger ones seem far, plan in advance and be motivated.”

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BLUE BUZZ

NEHA K BISHT Founder

B

lue Buzz is a key to building trust, and accordingly fulfills all your brand communication needs, right from engaging in PR activities to creating unique Social Media Strategies as well as providing Design Studio services. It was a wonderful experience to interview Neha K Bisht (Founder) for our magazine. We are glad to share this exclusive conversation.

Tell us about your company. Its vision and mission.

Just as every individual has his or her own fingerprint, every brand has its own brand print. Our core belief is that each brand is different, so every brand needs a bird’s eye perspective so that a detailed strategy can be prepared keeping the brand’s market positioning and communication needs in mind. That is why we have a highly customized approach towards each brand’s communication. We believe in taking a holistic approach for our communication strategies, deeply rooted in research and amplified with the latest communication tools.

Tell us something about yourself. Your struggle and achievements.

After spending nearly, a decade in the PR industry, when I felt I had earned enough credibility and experience as a seasoned professional, I decided to set up my PR agency – Neha K Bisht group. After 4 years of success, I decided to take it to the next level, with a major rebranding vision for the firm, about 2 years ago. Evolving from a vanilla PR firm, NB group its steroid avatar as Blue Buzz is positioned to be a complete boutique agency. It offers brand solution across four verticals - PR, Social Media, Media Buying and Design Studio. Focusing on MSMEs, SMEs and start-ups, I personally lead the different verticals across the agency, and have been instrumental in providing an edge to my clients across sectors.

Blue Buzz is a media powerhouse with a focus on creating unique brand stories. Today we are a force to reckon with in the world of Public Relations (PR), Social Media, and Creative Boutique services.

Brand communication can make or break a brand, and we understand this fact very well. We are on a mission to address the communication needs of varied lifestyle and entertainment brands. The Some of my noteworthy awards & achievements focus is on interweaving the brand’s vision and include: content strategies in a way that builds customer  Woman of Worth: By CMO Global and World Women Leadership Congress, 2021 trust and confidence towards the brand.

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

 PR Agency of the Year - 2020 at CMO Asia Awards  Best Social Influencer campaign at CMO Asia’s Digital Marketing Awards

What do you think about the challenges and opportunities faced by a woman entrepreneur in the Industry?

I believe the times are definitely better for women  Best PR Agency of the year 2020 at CMO Asia’s today. Women entrepreneurs earlier first had to Digital Marketing Awards battle societal and familial stereotypes and then  Silver trophy at Afaq’s Digies for Best Use of struggle to be taken seriously at work. Today, the Facebook tribe of women entrepreneurs is surely growing.

There are lot more opportunities out there today.  Publicist of the Year award in 2018 With the government also announcing special  30 under 30 list of PR professionals by PR initiatives for women as well providing taxation Moment benefits, it’s certainly an encouraging atmosphere for women entrepreneurs.

What incident triggered you to choose this field as a career?

What support/change should Women I have always been intrigued by the field of Entrepreneurs need from today’s advertising, which led me to pursue a formal professional world? qualification of BMM, with a specialization in advertising. In fact, I even went on undertake an internship in advertising in a media house.

However, it was during this stint that I discovered how PR works and felt I was better suited to be in PR. With Blue Buzz growing as a boutique agency that offers complete 360-degree media solutions, I am able to explore different aspects media communication and employ a combination of advertising, PR, marketing, et al, to create the best solutions for our clients.

I think we need more women who will support other women. We need to reshare each other’s posts, promote our businesses, buy each other’s products and exchange referrals. Growth is a collective effort, as is change. Blue Buzz life stems from this premise.

I certainly agree that homegrown entrepreneurs are the future of the country.

What are your upcoming projects?

In keeping with our mission to create communication avenues for growing brands, we are developing Blue Buzz Life, a platform that helps promote them, digitally.

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

DIQUERY Shonell Thakker Co-Founder & CEO

T

taking up science because that is what everyone does. But later I could not perform well there hence, made a move towards Arts and did my Psychology. After three years of my graduation, it made me realize that this is not the profession that I really want to do. And, I was lucky enough to be able to given that opportunity to shift from one career to another. It is fine to not have a clear career path for over a period of time; this is also a part of learning eventually. Innately I have always been an introvert, gradually Kindly enumerate on the I worked towards myself and as the points or factors that have a growing process went on, was able major contribution to your to interact and talk to more people. entrepreneurial journey.

My journey might not be exactly So primarily, while choosing for the same as someone else's. As time my undergrad subject I ended up passed I definitely became stronger he digital marketing platform is growing immensely; women are making a huge difference in this segment putting in all their creativity and are standing out as tough marketers. Imprinting their attainments some women marketers are offering accurate digital marketing services using various cardinal tools. Henceforth, through Diquery, Shonell Thakker is creating awareness regarding actual digital marketing approaches.

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and got a lot more clarity. As to this is a potential possibility, there's a number of opportunities opening up then. So, that's been my biggest contributor, where being able to talk to a lot more people than humanly possible. I've had friends that are made in Singapore; I met them in the elevator. And by the time we came out of the elevator, we exchanged numbers, and I'm very good friends with them even today.

What inspired you to established Diquery and how has been your journey so far? Explain your current roles & responsibilities at Diquery.

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growth, a lot of change of opinion. I have managed to have a few clients who stayed with us through all these years. Around 70 percent of our clients who choose to try something unique and creative with their digital marketing have always come back to us. Also, I have witnessed a lot of openness in terms of accepting digital promotions, but, the challenge is when, people don't understand the notion of the platforms used clearly. If I talk about television or the traditional media, this has been around for hundreds of years. So a lot of common man or a normal non-marketing person understands some of these things. But with digital, they do not get it and a lot of jargon that we use within the digital ecosystem. We strive to develop concepts at Diquery through digital marketing that can be comprehended by any individual.

Brief us about various offerings of your company. As a CEO of the firm, what are the new strategies that you are looking to leverage in coming years to significantly improve the performance of Diquery.

Diquery is leveraging upon the content, instead of just focusing on one platform, we look for more collaborations, potential possibilities to help a brand grow. From Tech, to within the tech ecosystem, it could be website development, 3d rendering walk through, app development, machine learning. Then there is content, which could be blog posts, to any other aspects that we work with, such as videos, memes, and creative conversations. Our idea is to have more futuristic approach collaborations on board, work with a lot of brands who can team up with each other.

Where is Diquery positioned in the current digital marketing industry and what are your thoughts on the present scenario and future of this space?

An individual, who probably knows Facebook, or does one part of the social media course, would claim themselves to be digital marketing experts. And that is not very helpful in general, because, they either are willing to work for free, or they keep undercutting their own services, which then impact the actual people who are talented, who are genuinely working toward making this as a proper, streamlined profession. It starts affecting them. So, it would be nice, if there is a certain kind of self-awareness within the market. To get business by the clients who can completely understand the digital platform in detail is one big challenge, that is where we are positioned, we are working with people who are totally aware that, what we bring on the table as a valuable service for them according to their expectations is, the veracious service they are looking forward.

Shonell Thakker, a digital marketing expert, Shonell has completed her MBA in Media and Entertainment from Whistling Woods International.

Prior to her current role she has worked in various prominent organizations like Excel Home Entertainment, Amir Khan Productions, Fox, Disney and many more. Presently she is serving her duties as Co-Founder and CEO at Diquery.

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Women’s Rights in India: Problems and Prospects Women emerged as a distinct interest group in the 19th century primarily because the bourgeoisie democratic revolutions of 17th and 18th century that excluded women from their concept of equality. This distinction was based on gender. Since then women as a commune had waged struggle for recognition of their rights as a human being. Women’s execute multilateral role in the society i.e. as a breadwinner of her family, as a care taker of her family as a mother, wife, daughter and service provider to the society. In spite of the fact that the women’s contribution to the country’s development is equal to that of their male counterpart, still they experience a number of limitations that restrain them from comprehending their potential for expansion. It was against this background that the government’s all over the world felt the need to prioritize the interests 30

of women and their participation at every stage of the development process. Women as a core group of concern emerged as a major theme in the Millennium Development Goal. The Millennium Development Goal are the eight goals set by the United Nations in 2000 which will act as yardstick to determine the advancement in the direction of the obliteration of global poverty. UN stated that ‘Gender Equality and Women Empowerment’ as one of the Millennium Development Goals to be attained by the year 2015. The term Women’s empowerment implies the ability of the women take all the important decisions independently related to her throughout her life span that will ensure her success in all aspects of life.

However these goals are far from being realized in a country like India. In fact often women in India are MARCH 2021

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deprived of their fundamental right to dignity also leave alone the question of gender equality.

Mapping of Women’s Rights Violations in India  Missing of girl child: The idiom “missing women” was for the first time used by Prof. Amartya Sen when he showed that in many developing countries the proportion of women as compared to men in the population is suspiciously low. The lopsided sex ratio in many states in India is one of the main reasons because of which women, and girls, go `missing’. The girls from the poor families in India are sold off by the brokers to the men’s in particularly in Northern India where the problem of imbalanced sex ratio is very much evident.  Dowry deaths: In India the unusual dowry deaths of the women at their matrimonial home has been increasing at a startling rate. Dowry disputes are quite a serious problem. Giving of dowry as a crime it is still been widely practiced in India. In fact ‘The Dowry Prohibition Act’ has not been adequately put into operation in India.  Domestic Violence: In spite of the fact that in India we have ‘Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005’, domestic violence still remains a serious problem. In fact a major scale of violence that a woman is subjected to in India is linked to the domain of domesticity. The reasons for Domestic aggression are primarily ingrained in the patriarchal nature of the Indian society which supports such violence at home.

These were some of the violence against the women, which are observed into various parts of India.

Protection of Women’s Human Rights by the Constitution of India The constitution of India confers special rights upon women. The constitution makers were well aware of the subordinate and backward position of women in the society. They made some efforts for uplift of women in our society. The state is directed to provide for maternity relief to female workers under Article 42 of the Constitution, whereas Article 51-A declares it as a fundamental duty of every Indian citizen to renounce practices to respect the dignity of women. Indian MARCH 2021

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Parliament has passed the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 for the proper implementation of Article 51-A. Indian Parliament over the years have taken significant steps for through legislations to achieve the goal of empowering the women in India. The significant among them are the Equal Remuneration Act, the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act, the Sati (Widow Burning the rights of) Prevention Act, and the Dowry Prohibition Act etc. Apart from these, the 73rd and 74th Constitution (Amendment) Acts14 provided for 33% reservation for women in both Panchayat and Nagarpalika institutions as well as for the positions of chairpersons of these bodies. These two amendments removed the bottlenecks from the paths of women empowerment at the local level. In order to facilitate equal participation of women at the national and state level politics, the bill providing for 33% reservation of seats for women in national and States legislatures has been introduced in Parliament15.

Apart from this, in India, National Commission for Women had been established in 1990 to look into the women’s problem. NCW have engaged them to deal with the cases relating to the violation of women’s rights.

Strategies of Women Empowerment in India The women in India are positioned at a receiving end primarily because they have remained ignorant of their fundamental civil and constitutional rights. Patriarchal system impinges on every sphere of a woman’s life. In such a situation often a majority of them are forced to accept the traditional practices that are detrimental for both their and their children’s development. Although women have acquired a level of financial and political autonomy and consciousness about their rights, yet they experience helplessness in bringing about basic changes for eliminating gender inequalities from the society.

Conclusion Thus in short, the Millennium Development Goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment can be realized in India only when the traditional practices like female infanticide, dowry deaths, and honour killings by khap panchayats, domestic violence, or sexual abuse is eliminated. It is only then that gender equality and women’s empowerment can become a reality.

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Shail Digital and creating awareness about disruptive technologies. She has been speaking about Cyber Security, Safe internet Practices, E-waste management to middle and high school children.

Shweta Baid Founder

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“When you believe in yourself you don’t have to convince others, your actions are enough”, says Shweta on taking the adventurous path of entrepreneurship. Her ideas, positive approach and curiosity, has led her experiment a variety of things in life. And her dedication and adaptability has led her attain success eventually.

Shweta Baid has completed her M.S. Electronics in the US, B.E. Electronics, in Pune. She has a Certificate in Digital Marketing from Singapore and also has an Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing from AIMA. She is Hubspot certified Email Marketer, Hubspot certified Social media Marketer and has in-depth knowledge on Google ads and Google Analytics. She is also volunteer for NASSCOM Digital Marketing working group for future skills.

hweta Baid, the founder of Shail Digital, is a meticulous marketer and extremely passionate about technology and engineering.

She is a brand consultant, digital marketing trainer and career mentor and a motivational speaker who has influenced professional and personal lives of people around her through her thoughts and guidance. After gaining diverse industry experience in various roles including tech support engineer, tech content writer and marketing communications professional, Shweta decided to go independent and launched Shail Digital, a What was the primary inspiration that B2B digital marketing agency based in Bangalore. led you to start a digital marketing Shail Digital helps companies, especially start- business of your own? ups and SMEs, establish a robust digital presence.

It’s a very tough decision to leave the job and start Shweta is also known for founding Shikshaantara, your own business, a project for educating school children on technology-related topics

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021 when you are employed with a good corporate organization. You are always puzzled whether the timing is right, whether the decision is right.

Sometimes financial constraints also play a role.

But you then decide and take the step!

techniques and relevant resources to serve what the market demands. Then only there is a chance of sustainability.

Another important lesson learnt – leveraging your network. Being in industry for more than a decade, I have a network of professionals whom I I faced a moment in my career when I felt the need can count on. They may appoint us or recommend to take a bigger dare and satisfy my inner thirst to us for services. So there is no point in hesitating to grow. I knew I had the potential and only if I gave ask for help or recommendation. As rightly said, wings to it, I could fly higher. Digital marketing your network is your net-worth. was a natural choice for me as I have been serving the domain for about a decade. My engineering background helped me gain better understanding With the current economic situation of data, tools and technology. and the pandemic, how has been

Any Entrepreneur's path involves a series of ups the business for you? What are your and downs. Which were the significant obstacles strategies for sustainability in such you encountered in your entrepreneurial journey, situation? and what lessons have been learned from The two pillars of digital marketing are these obstacles?

For any start-up, getting e n o u g h business for sustainability is the biggest challenge.

Market research states 90% of the startups fail eventually and less than 40% make it to their fifth year. In my 2 years of entrepreneur journey, I have learnt one thing – think of scalable and agile business solutions.

If you were offering “A” and there is demand for “A + x” or “A – y” be ready to serve it. Adopt tools,

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“strategy” and “creativity”. It’s easy for companies to reach out to the market, study the competition, assess the analytics and derive a strategy for marketing their businesses. But converting the data points into smart content is a challenge for many organizations. They face creative fatigue and there is imaginative exhaustion that organizations can't get out of the box thinking. This is where we come in.

How do you differentiate your firm from others in the market?

Although Shail Digital is a start-up, we behave and work with extreme professionalism and empathize with client’s pain-point. Our clients recommend us for our subject matter expertise, time to delivery and budget management. We maintain transparency in our operations and strongly believe in documenting each step. We take up those projects It’s our job to create, recreate and rejuvenate the where we are sure about completing it with full content on a regular basis. We work with pool of quality and satisfaction. As digital is a vast sector, freelancers on regular basis to break this creative new initiatives and approaches can be introduced fatigue and come up with new ideas every time. regularly in this industry. There are new algorithms Since digital marketing is a very dynamic space, and new technologies in the market every day. We we cannot have all expertise in-house. So we do are always in the “learning and development mode”. a lot of collaboration with other agencies and We were able to gain expertise in digital domain partners and share the work. through multiple projects of varied scale in first year. This helped us become a Certified HubSpot What is the USP of the organization? Solutions Provider Partner as well as Mail chimp

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Partner.

How do you stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies in the marketing field?

As mentioned above, we are always in “learning and development mode”. As a company as well as an individual, we ensure participation in various conferences, webinars and events. Personally, I am member of Society of Women Engineers, Corporate Diva Tribe by The HOW Forum; actively follow LinkedIn Groups and Social media community for getting updates and industry news. I am part of Digital Vidya Trainers community where a lot of meaningful exchanges happen related to new tools, softwares etc.

Do you have any advice/ suggestions on your mind for the budding entrepreneurs in the marketing segment?

My advice to all budding entrepreneurs is be “SMART”

S - Socially Active (if you are not active, you are not known) M- Master a Tool (if you are not good with technology, you fail to get the logic) A - Adapt new trends and thinking (if you don’t adapt, you will not be satisfied) R - Real (if you are fake, you will be caught in digital world) T - Tenacious (Be stubborn to achieve, don’t give up)

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

Strateworks Solutions Tanvi Panchal Bangera Founder

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ntrepreneurship is a whirling journey, filled with ups and downs, the highs and lows, the peaks and valleys - routing from ideas to establishment. Not everyone’s cut out for it. In addition, gender plays an interesting role in determining how much work will interfere with life. Especially being a woman, while figuring things out, there are numerous factors you may come across, and it may make you wonder why anyone willingly sets out on such a treacherous path. Yet, despite all these hardships, every year, countless entrepreneurs embark on this journey determined to bring their vision to fruition, and fill a need they witness amidst the society. One such challenging yet inspiring story is of Tanvi Panchal Bangera (Founder) and her venture – Strateworks Solutions Private Limited, a Mumbaibased Consulting Company.

Having completed her CA at a very young age of 36

22, Tanvi had her inner calling to work for herself; hence she never got interviewed for a job. Now, the counter fact is that she takes numerous interviews at Strateworks Solutions to create 1000+ jobs to help individuals and business organizations achieve their goals. Today, Strateworks Solutions stands firm and tall, driven by the inspiring zeal of Tanvi and her expert mentors Manish & Anil Kagathara. Working with large diversified organizations & even start-ups, the firm helps drive growth & manage a business effectively through its wide range of services like CFO Services, Analytics, Enhancing Human Capital, Cost Control services, Systematizing Compliance Framework & several other innovative & valueadding solutions. Indeed, Strateworks today silhouettes as a true manifestation of Tanvi’s dream; however, the journey behind it is quite challenging.

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A C.A. turned entrepreneur, Tanvi is an expert global advisor at Strateworks Solutions, with skills in Management Consulting & Compliance Division and works on CFO, Processes, and Systems & Compliance Services

10 Partners, backed by a total of 100+ energetic brains. Our mission is to build a team of 1000 energetic brains by 2025 enabling people development consistently.

Having started from Surat, now we are present What is your take on entrepreneurship? across three states Gujarat, Karnataka & Maharashtra (Mumbai, Nagpur, Surat, Rajkot, Every entrepreneur has a unique journey. I believe Morbi, Kamrej, Navsari, and Hubli & Bangalore). in “Do what you love and Love what you do”. If We are obsessed with enabling the business one has no concerns on ‘roti, kapda, makan’, then brains globally through innovative solutions & think beyond. Inspired by this thought, I keep value additions. moving and today, I find myself fortunate enough to have been able to serve my country creating We have two main areas consulting & compliance services. In consulting, we have CFO services, several thousand job opportunities.

Start-up services, Participative Internal Audit, I completed my Chartered accountancy at the Analytics, SOP designing, HR services, Cost young age of 22 and got married at the age 23. I control services, Accelerator program, ERP had always wanted to work for myself, Strateworks implementation, and more. Under Compliance made it happen for me. In the year 2016, getting division, we have Accounting support services, associated with Strateworks Solutions and my MIS, and others.

Co-founding partners was the turning point of my life. I am the global advisor of Strateworks for We have saved lacs and crores of our clients.

Management Consulting & Compliance Division We do not work on theoretical approaches; we since 2016. Based in Mumbai, I work on CFO, practically implement what we say. For example, In SOP Designing our scope is not limited to just Processes, and Systems & Compliance services. designing a document of SOP, we will actively participate in the implementation and then ensure Tell us about the inception story of that the client is following that SOP and getting a minimum 5 times value addition. Another Strateworks Solutions. Also, elaborate example is Participative internal Audit. Wherein on the variety of consultancy services we not only find out the revenue leakages but we your company is rolling out to its make sure that the client has complied with the corrective and preventive actions such that same clients? point never arises in the company.

The idea Strateworks came into existence in 2013 for helping businesses grow, make them scalable, more systematic and compliant through our processes. Having started new we were really doubtful about our modern consulting approach, without a close-packed team, assignments, plan of action, and more, but here we stand today as a niche consulting company.

Currently, we are a team of

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We do the root cause analysis and then find a permanent solution to it. There are many such examples which I can share. One can refer to the case studies on our website.

We work guided by our five core principles we embrace challenges consistently for growth, strive to be forerunner in adopting the changes, set the quality benchmarks higher continuously, integrity is in our DNA, and our team first is our culture. Five times value additions in all our services are the ultimate objective of strateworks.

What are some of the major challenges that you face as an entrepreneur How do you stay abreast with industry and how did you overcome those to trends? Also, is your business thriving achieve the pinnacle of success? during this COVID pandemic?

In a consultancy firm, people are our greatest assets, so talent acquisition & retention was a major challenge for us. There were other challenges like scalability, dependency on people at client’s end, being the sector quite unorganized, but we have been able to overcome those with well-defined policies, business strategies and innovative business models. As a result of which our first client is associated with us since 2013.

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With business dynamics changing vigorously, in our industry it’s very important to keep a close tab on the recent changes in the laws, business strategies, methods, business models, scalability matrix, trends, and more in the market in irrespective of various industries. Thus, to keep abreast with the industry trends & approaching matters, I keep attending a lot of seminar/ webinars, read newsletters, however, we also have MARCH 2021

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an inhouse knowledge hub which equips us with all latest information, and keeps our entire team updated.

Survival has never been a question for us.

Even during COVID, we didn’t have a single lay off, not a single client drop. Enabling 1000+ organizations scale their business portfolio, we have been doubling our ROI each year, and targeting on more keeping up the pace.

We are working on many different business models currently, apart from the standard services that we provide. One of which is investing in the startups, followed by a business model which will create mass employment opportunities in the country and contribute towards the nation building.

How did you manage personal and professional work life balance?

What would be your advice to the budding women consultants & entrepreneurs?

As women, we have multiple roles to play.

Even for me, managing work and personal life was never easy being the mother of a one year old infant. But, I didn’t sit back. Having faith in myself & my capabilities, with the support of my husband Prasanna and my entire family who have always encouraged me, I have been materializing my dreams.

My only advice to women entrepreneurs is come out of your comfort zone; pursue your dreams, as sky is the limit for you. Not only into consultancy but every walk of life, I say this to myself - “I can, I will and I must!”

Offices: Mumbai, Nagpur, Surat, Navsari, Morbi, Rajkot, Kamrej, Hubli & Bangalore Team: 100+ Businesses enabled: 1000+

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Shail Digital and web development start-up. Dternion is specialized in creative website development, brand awareness, lead generation, and provide effective digital strategies.

Offering: Digital Marketing, Graphic Design, Web Development, Web Design, Mobile Application Development, and Web Application Development.

Anushree Jayachandran CEO

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ver the past decade, the marketing industry has seen many women rise up the ranks to become influential thought leaders and trailblazers. Any digital marketing campaign is aimed at audience accumulation and streamlining the business/brand. Similarly, it was like a dream for Anushree Jayachandran to do something in the field of creativity. She completed her MBA in 2016 and started her professional journey in a start-up company. There she got introduced to digital marketing. The strategies and technologies used behind the whole marketing factor made her realize the importance of the digital era. Learning, experimenting, and exploring this field in depth made her provide stunning marketing strategies for various brands. The digital marketing platform pushed Anushree even faster to grow and venture out on her own. To help various small brands boom faster digitally, Anushree Jayachandran started a company under the name of Dternion.

Anushree is an experienced digital marketer and CEO of Dternion, an end-to-end digital marketing 40

What kind of market demands do you come across or have observed that have driven Dterion's services portfolio?

Going digital is the only way every business could go forward and grow faster. Many brands have updated themselves and understood the importance of this digital world. They expect faster and better results and stay on top of their consumers' brand choice. This made us craft our services. The prime goal of Dternion is to drive every single thing digital, and even our name states the same - D stands for Digital, Design and Develop. We focus mainly on website development & design, end to end digital marketing, graphics designing, software, and mobile app development.

Understanding the various requirements from our clients and wanting to provide them with new innovative strategies has made me stay updated to the latest trends and techniques.

What opportunities do you foresee in the digital marketing segment, and what are your strategies to leverage the best of the business opportunity offered by the Coronavirus Pandemic?

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

The world has started moving towards videos and voice rather than reads. We can expect many viewers to lean more towards segments like YouTube and Podcasts in the upcoming years.

Also, AI and ML seem to step ahead. I feel that digital marketing is going to be a need for every business. I firmly perceive that digital marketing is going to boom in the upcoming years.

Currently keeping the corona issue in mind, this has been a need for many brands. You can already start to see brands push their business to various digital platforms. We have many substitutes for our day to day activities. For instance, restaurants to swiggy or zomato, Gyms to fitness apps, small celebrations to virtual calls, business meets to skype calls, and so on. The current scenario is more than enough to make brands understand the need for a digital changeover.

Family plays an essential role in every person's life. How has your family supported you in your career so far?

Also, how do you manage to balance between your personal & professional life?

challenge for me. Since I have just ventured into my company, I have a lot to be done professionally.

I am still seeking to find a balance between them, and it is never easy. I guess with time and practice will succeed in balancing them.

Do you have any advice/suggestions on your mind for the budding entrepreneurs in the marketing segment?

A never give up the attitude with a pinch of persistence and a whole lot of consistency and discipline is very important to succeed. I have also learned that believing in yourself during your toughest times and pursuing to get out of your comfort zones will always push you forward. In my experience, I firmly believe that learning to fall in love with your failures and holding them as your guide with a positive attitude will help you reach greater heights. It's never going to be easy, but in the end, you will be satisfied and proud of your journey.

Being the only daughter in my family, I have always been pampered immensely. My parents have been my support system from the day I was born. Their sacrifices are purely the reason where I stand today. They had always believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. And now I have an add on blessing. I am glad to have found my perfect better half who supports and motivates me.

He has always been my backbone and strength in pushing me forward every single day. He is one of the prime reasons for me to begin Dternion.

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Most Fascinating Women Entrepreneurs in India to Follow – 2021

REIN Digital Reeta Gautam Co-Founder & CEO

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marketing was your realm? Brief us on your entrepreneurial journey.

When did you actually realize that

Ensuring smooth operations takes a lot of effort and time, especially when you are just starting out.

Quite honestly, REIN Digital was no less than a

oday digital marketing is the living legend possessing the charisma to lead, innovate, and create trends in the world of marketing. Sadly, people have been a bit skeptical about women entering this field of marketing, due to cultural mindsets and practiced behaviours. But, the truth is all different now, as the marketing industry has witnessed many women rise up to the rank of influential thought leaders and trailblaizers, absorbing around a third of the digital marketing space. Part of this changing marketing world is Reeta Gautam. Cementing her renowned existence through the establishment of her company Rein Digital, she has voiced her innovative capabilities in the digital marketing space.

Back in 2015, I kick-started my career path in Digital Marketing space with working in a startup, just after completing my Masters in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Though there are challenges day in and out, but it’s also a fact that a startup can really hit the roofs if you really believe in what you do and follow a pragmatic strategy. Working there, I gained an insider view on how things really work for a company that is just starting out. I slowly started to look at the opportunities in a business that provides full-stack marketing services to SMEs and realized PG Diploma in Journalism from Indian Institute that the market is huge. Combining my experience of Mass Communication, (New Delhi), Reeta is a with the identification of an available, underfed proficient digital marketer and entrepreneur with market, I knew it was time for me to embark on a strong business sense. journey of my own!

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gamble for me. I started out with limited, but not minimal expertise in the field of marketing. Building a company on my own was exciting as well as risky, to say the least. At the initial stages, when I was still figuring out a viable action plan, I used to have this compulsive need of taking care of everything on my own – from clients to operations. However, I took the leap of faith and as each day passed, we progressed, and I became surer of my path and putting in dedicated resources for handling the execution bit, I started allocating responsibilities. Since, I work best at on-boarding new clients; I decided to channel my energy in that area. As a reward, REIN digital kept evolving as a company and I kept growing as a likable leader.

standard procedure that a company can adopt for a particular project. Each client’s demands and needs vary, because of which, the only procedure we adopt is the one that yields tangible results, concerning client satisfaction. Devising, sharing a well laid-out, and result-oriented plan, we execute and track them on a month on-month growth basis, keeping a close eye at all aspects of operations and executions.

And, as for the budget part, we seek clarity on it only in the secondary stages of pitching since money does not always determine the successful and satisfactory deliverance of projects. Altogether, our unique strategy and methodology of delivering services helps us grow through each project, relishing clients an optimal return on investment.

Brief us on the excellence of Rein Digital. What future plans do you have for your Also discuss about your offerings. firm?

REIN Digital, a result-oriented full-stack marketing & technology services company is an onestop for all internet related solutions. It started off in the Indian market, but eventually branched out to markets abroad. As of today, our major clientele is based out of the UK & the US. Our core areas include, but are not limited to Empowering brands, Digital Analytics, Strategy Consulting, Digital Marketing (Creative Content Development, Organic Search Marketing), Paid Marketing, Email Panels and Mobile & App Design and Development. We are a bunch of people with highly equipped expertise in implementing scalable technology and finding viable digital solutions for small-medium enterprises and startups. As a CEO, I spend the majority of my time interacting with our clients and bridging the gap between them and the team to ensure smooth, foolproof execution of deliverables.

Talking about the relevance of the digital marketing sector in the present and future scenarios, in one line I would say – the future is online. Because of the prevailing COVID situation, businesses and governments around the world have realized the need to create a virtual presence. So, all in all, Digital Marketing is not only here to stay, but to boom!

You could call this a classic case of blowing one's own trumpet, but in all modesty, every time I take a look at our balance sheets, our numbers speak and it only gives me the reassurance of my work and my path.

Currently, experiencing a 300 percent YOY growth since our launch, we are growing expeditiously in financial numbers, clientele base, and even in terms of the team members as a whole. And, in terms of our future plans, we aspire to stay committed by providing success-based solutions, giving every project the utmost dedication it deserves. We are in discussion with on boarding a few big players based out of US, and if God permits, we will share the good news soon!

Could you highlight about the recent and upcoming projects that you have under your belt? What are your strategies and Office: Bangalore (Scotland) methodologies in achieving the best of the results?

(India),

Edinburgh

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GENDER INEQUALITY Gender Inequality has been a social issue in India for centuries. That in many parts of India, the birth of a girl child is not welcomed is a known fact. It is a known fact too, that discrimination starts from even before the girl child is born and sometimes she is killed as a foetus, and if she manages to see the light of day, she is killed as an infant, which makes up the highly skewed child sex ratio where for every 1000 boys in India, there are only 908 girls. In such a scenario, it is but obvious that for myriad reasons, many girls across the country are forced to drop out of school.

Patriarchal norms have marked women as inferior to men. A girl child is considered a burden and is often not even allowed to see the light of the world. It is hard to imagine this state of affairs in the 21st Century when women have proved to be strong leaders in every field possible.

From wrestling to business, the world has been revolutionized by exceptional women leaders in fields that were until recently completely dominated by men.

But in spite of such progress, even today, the girl child is discriminated against in most Indian households. The birth of a baby boy is celebrated with great pomp and ardour, but the birth of a girl child is received with dismay. The practice of female foeticide through sex selective abortion continues to be practiced in spite of the Prenatal Diagnostic Technique Act of 1994. In India the child sex ratio is at the lowest it has ever been with just 914 girls for every 1000 boys (Census, 2011).

And this discrimination continues in every aspect.

Be it education, health, protection or participation, 44

the girl child is always treated unequally. Indian society still hasn’t been awakened to the importance of empowering the women. The statistics still narrate a grim story of female foeticide, girl child discrimination and gender bias.  42% of married women in India were married as children (District Information System for Education (DISE)  1 in every 3 child brides in the world is a girl in India (UNICEF)  India has more than 45 lakh girls under 15 years MARCH 2021

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of age who are married with children. Out of  Education that helps create attitudinal shifts towards gender bias and activities to spread these, 70% of the girls have 2 children (Census awareness.

2011) The need of the hour is to make a change in the  Continuous efforts towards breaking myths and stereotypes around gender. mindset of the society and destroy the prejudices that damage the future of the girl child. What is  Ensuring State accountability to implement required is a concerted effort to sensitize the society various schemes, policies, laws, constitutional in eradicating this issue of gender inequality. It is guarantees and international commitments. high time that every child is treated equally and given every opportunity required to grow to his/  Institutionalizing gender sensitive processes within various systems such as law and her full potential. programs.

We have aim to create a world where the girl child Encouraging community ownership in is celebrated for what she is – where she has access  preventing violations based on gender to equal opportunities to study, to grow and to discrimination. prosper as her male counterpart. A world where the birth of a girl child is celebrated with equal pomp and festivity as that of a boy child.

Efforts must be taken to bring about a change in these situations which includes: MARCH 2021

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