Startup Savvy: Young Entrepreneur Pamika Horsaengchai Of Sapiens Growth Marketing Agency Shares Their Secrets For Rapid Growth and Success
An Interview With Eden Gold
Be Honest
The “fake it until you make it” mindset can be powerful but may lead to imposter syndrome. Over the years, I’ve learned to be honest with my clients and employees while keeping a positive, glass-half-full attitude. I believe that by being honest it fosters trust with my client and my team.
The entrepreneurial landscape is more vibrant and challenging than ever, with young entrepreneurs at the forefront, driving innovation and redefining the boundaries of success in the business world. These dynamic individuals are not only creating new products and services but also building sustainable business models that thrive in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven environment. Their journeys are filled with lessons of resilience, strategic innovation, and the relentless pursuit of growth. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Pamika Horsaengchai.
Pamika’s entry into the digital marketing domain was somewhat of a self-taught experience from where she started building her own fashion e-commerce business back in 2014, which contributed to her business experience and improved her knowledge about the online world. This experience was valuable in shaping her future career.
Her professional path started to develop when she became part of a digital marketing agency in Thailand. It was here that she acquired profound experience and proficiency in analyzing data and optimizing it. Pamika started learning more about hunting specialized business solutions for specific companies and identifying which companies started to need more digital marketing solutions. At this time, she managed to develop excellent working relationships with many clients such as many C-level executives.
After leaving the agency, Pamika started working for a young start-up company, where she gained insights into how businesses could be scaled. Soon, she found herself with many of her ex-clients seeking her consultancy services. This officially introduced her to independence by building her own business where she started driving business growth for start-ups. Her business grew exponentially due to referrals from some of these past clients.
As for today, Pamika is a highly effective strategic thinker and entrepreneur with the ability to lead a team of marketers, developers and designers and integrate them to work towards a common goal. She is dedicated to assisting businesses through strategy and consulting, with a focus on branding, product development, and growth marketing, and she plans to make an ongoing contribution to her clientele. Her dedication to service and knowledge sharing drives her to continue working on Sapiens.
Sapiens was launched in 2021 and reflects Pamika’s deep-seated values of ethics, sustainability, and innovation. Pamika aims to partner with businesses that share the same values and ethics, contributing her marketing expertise to help clients achieve their long term business goals.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about cultural sensitivity, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I launched my fashion eCommerce business at a time when digital marketing and eCommerce were still fairly new. I learned by doing and honed my skills over the years. After some time, I transitioned to working as a Digital Strategist at a performance agency, where I had the opportunity to work with enterprise clients and my learning curve were skyrocket. Upon leaving the company, many of my former clients reached out for consultation. This is when I realized I could monetize my knowledge and experience as an industry leader, so I started my own growth agency specialized in digital transformation and digital marketing.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I started my business with 0 capital investment and secured my first non-profit client. With an initial investment from a family friend, I was able to grow the business and bootstrap the development of a martech product for ad agencies.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
1. Resilience: The ability to withstand challenges and setbacks, maintaining perseverance and a positive outlook in the face of adversity.
2. Adaptability(PERSONAL FAVORITE): Recognizing when to pivot and change course, and knowing when to walk away, is crucial. Giving up is not always a bad thing. A great entrepreneur knows when to go all in and when to walk away from a business that’s not profitable. It’s essential to learn how to differentiate between running a business and chasing a dream.
3. Strategic Decision-Making: Making well-considered decisions based on thorough analysis and long-term planning, ensuring actions align with overarching goals and objectives.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview about young entrepreneurs secrets to rapid growth and success. To start, how would you define success?
There is no single definition of success; it comes in various forms. For some people, success might be achieving career milestones, even if their personal life is less fulfilling. Personally, I strive for balance. I call it the “wheel of life.” To me, success means having a smooth and balanced wheel of life, where different aspects — career, personal life, health, and relationships — are all in harmony. When my wheel of life is balanced, I consider myself successful.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly contributed to your startup’s growth, and why do you think it was so effective?
I’m still in the testing phase, experiencing trial and error, but I believe that having great team players is key to success. There’s no unconventional approach; it all comes down to dedicating a lot of time and effort to working with people, and continuously striving to become a better leader and manager.
Can you share a critical pivot point in your startup’s journey and how you navigated the decision-making process?
A critical pivot occurred when I realized my company was too small to transition from an agency to a SaaS company. It was a hard pill to swallow, and we had to take a few steps back, essentially starting from ground zero with the goal of bootstrapping ourselves when we are ready.
The decision process felt like a rollercoaster. It came down to realistically analyzing the situation, measuring our current capabilities, and identifying crucial risks. We designed two action plans and picked the one with the most viable strategy, then we stuck with it.
How do you balance the need for rapid growth with maintaining a sustainable and healthy company culture?
Company culture truly boils down to people. When you have motivated team members, they are likely to inspire their colleagues to work hard as well. We aim to avoid trauma bonding in the company. As a small boutique firm, we are easier to manage and foster a positive environment.
I always ask my employees what success looks like in their careers and strive to support them on their journey.
In what ways has your personal definition of success evolved since the inception of your startup?
Over the past year, my understanding of success has changed dramatically. I no longer see business achievements as the ultimate measure of success. Instead, I aim to find success in life according to my own sense of fulfillment, not how others perceive it. To me, success now means how my legacy impacts future generations.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Things You Need to Succeed as a Young Person in Business?”
1 . Be Honest
The “fake it until you make it” mindset can be powerful but may lead to imposter syndrome. Over the years, I’ve learned to be honest with my clients and employees while keeping a positive, glass-half-full attitude. I believe that by being honest it fosters trust with my client and my team.
2 . Ask for help
It’s okay to ask for help and not have everything together. When I started, I didn’t have an onboarding process; it took me a while to build and optimize a workflow, timeline, and set standards. Sometimes we run into bottlenecks, and I ask my team to help come up with solutions. When I have cash flow issues, I’ve learned to always ask vendors for help. You’d be surprised at how many people are understanding and willing to assist. When I face technical issues with a client’s campaign, I reach out to other experts. It’s okay not to know everything, even as a business owner.
3 . Sales Sales Sales!
Do your own sales, and just keep selling.
4 . Be patient
There’s no overnight success. I volunteered for a year for non-profits until I landed my first referral client in the US.
Each step, no matter how small, contributed to where I am today. It’s a journey of persistence, learning, and continuous improvement. Don’t get me wrong — I’m still not where I want to be, but im working towards it.
5 . Be ethical
It’s non-negotiable: we don’t work with unethical businesses. Our operations are sustainable, and we donate 1% of our revenue to causes we care about. It’s not much, but we try to do as much as we can.
What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring entrepreneur that you wish someone had given you at the start of your journey?
- Work towards a purpose, something that makes you excited to wake up every day.
- Your work does not define who you are, how you treat people around you (family, friends, strangers), and how you complete a project, how you build the business, how you treat your employees defines your value.
- Make sure to manage your finances and plan your spending before making any investment.
- We get it, we are ambitious, but try not to take yourself too seriously,
- Not every great business idea is worth taking over your life purpose, your ego is your enemy so set a deadline for yourself, so you are not chasing down a rabbit hole and don’t know when to stop. A great entrepreneur is the one who knows when to not give up and when to walk away.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Matching System: Develop an algorithm or manual matching process that pairs businesses with relevant community projects based on their offerings and the project’s needs.
How can our readers further follow you online?
Personal — https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamika-horsaengchai/
Growth Marketing Done for you service — sapienscorporation.com
Company LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
