Employee Spotlight: Aswathy Nambiar
In conversation with a brand manager who believes that a brand’s image is made not in the head; but the heart
Meet Aswathy Nambiar, our Brand Manager for Niyo Money and NiyoX Wealth who is ready to go that extra mile on any given day in developing and implementing striking marketing strategies for Niyo’s products.
“I think everyone at Niyo concurs with this fact that together, everyone wants to contribute to the growth of our company with all their heart. There is no micro-management and just the right amount of steering done towards new ideas which keep me encouraged to always explore more.”
Aswathy was born in Kerala, brought up in Delhi and is now a resident of Bangalore. She holds a degree in Journalism, Psychology, and English Literature from Jain University, Bangalore and a PGDM in Media and Advertising from Welingkar University Mumbai. She is keen on churning novel ideas that may appear grave and presenting them in a fresh and quirky way. She dares to experiment with out-of-the-box ideas to stay on top of digital banking trends.
Q: What has been your career path before joining Niyo?
I started my career with Interactive Avenues, a pan-India Digital Marketing agency, where I took care of social media for their clients. I got the opportunity to be a part of creating interesting content for various brands like Tanishq, Future Group, Puma, and Amazon. I then completed my post graduation and moved to a product company, into the brand marketing side of things — there started my journey specializing in branding. My next stint was at Freecharge where I was handling overall branding activities both online and offline. I was curious about Niyo while I was working at Freecharge as Niyo happened to be Freecharge’s competition. I was pretty excited when I was called for a position at Niyo.
Q: How has your career grown since starting at Niyo?
I must admit that I have had the best experience at Niyo when it comes to my career growth.
Everybody here has an opportunity to learn new things, we’re not restricted to just one role. So, if you are willing to learn new things, and are open to exploring and taking up new tasks, Niyo is the best place to be!
When I joined Niyo, I was handling the Niyo Community, and later when I felt like I needed to do more, I was given the opportunity to handle Brand Marketing for NiyoX Wealth and Niyo Money. With this fresh change, I got the freedom to explore the millennial + GenZ mindset and create marketing campaigns that help make managing personal finance smarter, safer and simpler for them.
Q: What makes you want to log on (or jump into work) every day?
Honestly, my job doesn’t feel like a job — the reason being, we’re given complete control of what we want to do and the leadership is extremely supportive. This sense of responsibility gives me ownership which is almost personal and hence, it’s effortless to start work daily. I think everyone at Niyo concurs with this fact that together, everyone wants to contribute to the growth of our company with all their heart. There is no micro-management and just the right amount of steering done towards new ideas which keep me encouraged to always explore more. I believe that this is one of the many other reasons people love their job at Niyo.
Q: What is the most inspiring part of your job?
There’s a multitude of things that keep me on my toes at Niyo. I like independence and freedom of judgment. I get that at Niyo, which is the reason why I don’t feel like I am working under pressure. I rely on my conscience, past experience, and, of course, market trends to know what will work best. Another thing that gets me going is the endless possibility to explore new things, things that haven’t been tried in the banking world at all. There’s always a ‘more millennial’ way of saying things. More than anything — I work with an amazing team of cool, sassy and skilled people — I couldn’t ask for a better team!
Q: What do you do at Niyo?
My day starts with a daily catchup call with the team, updating each other on the day’s requirements and planning the day accordingly.
As a Brand Manager, I get to create a personality for the brand, giving it a voice of its own. I believe in our products as they help transform our user’s banking experience — visualizing this and transforming it into easily consumable content is my job.
When there’s a new product or idea, we research the gaps in the market, what a customer is looking for, create a communication proposition, visualize it for maximum effectiveness and then produce it — it could be a video ad, influencer collaboration, app communication or one of the other possibilities!
Q: Do you have any personal favorite projects at Niyo?
My favorite project at Niyo would definitely be ‘Invest The Change’. It’s a one of a kind product feature that could be a life changer for first-time investors. Interestingly, as of today, 50% of our Invest the Change users are first-time investors. This was also a challenging product as this is one of the first micro-investing features launched in India and there wasn’t much to refer to. It required fresh thinking and a proposition that catches attention as well as explains how the feature works in detail. If understood correctly, I believe a majority of our customers would benefit from using this, as auto-investing doesn’t require a lot of time and effort on their part. The rewarding bit is, we now have over 25,000 users who have turned ON ‘Invest the Change’ within just two months of launch. Branding gives me the satisfaction of making a customer’s life easier by selling the product effectively, in a way they understand, without using too much complicated jargon and terms.
Q: Are there any specific traditions/habits/culture quirks in your team?
In our team, there definitely is no micromanaging. Nobody imposes anything on you. Argho has this interesting way of presenting things. He always has in his pockets various anecdotes and life examples to express his inputs — which makes the whole process of understanding a particular aspect easy and less stressful.
Q: What do you like doing in your spare time?
I am an enthusiastic plant mom. I buy, borrow or even steal a few cuttings from the road sometimes! Every time I visit a new place, I shamelessly go and ask them for a cutting or two. I could call myself a plant hoarder. I have around 60 to 70 different varieties of plants at home currently (Send me pictures of the plants you have please?)
I have an in-house entertainer too — my gorgeous cat Elsa. One fine day during last year’s lockdown, she majestically walked into our house and decided to stay! She adopted us and not the other way round (You don’t choose cats, cats choose you). She teaches me how to stay calm, even if the world is breaking down.
I paint on canvas sometimes, when I feel stressed or withdrawn. It definitely opens up a new world and soothes my soul.
Q: If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?
Unlimited happiness and a lot of chocolates!
I have always been a chocoholic, right from my childhood. You can wake me up in the middle of the night and hand me a bar of chocolate, I will gleefully accept it and eat the whole thing in one go! In fact, my Diwali was sorted when Vineet, our CMO, sent the whole team a big box of chocolates!
I am usually very giving and sharing, but when it comes to chocolates, I am shamelessly stingy.
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to join Team Niyo?
Hop in if you’re looking for a bustling, energetic, fresh new place to work. Looking for opportunities and have a head full of ideas? Niyo is the place to be!
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Always go the extra mile, it is never crowded.” I live by it.
Would also like to add a thought I’d like to share — Always keep your eyes and heart out for the less fortunate. Sharing our knowledge and helping them reach a better place should be a universal ambition. The things we think are trivial might not be the case for many of these people. So, if you can help someone achieve something, do so and be proud that you could make a difference.
Q: How would your family or friends describe you?
My friends and family find me a bubbly and energetic person. I always try my best to maintain relationships and to keep in touch.
Q: Is there anything that you would like to share with your colleagues?
I would like to take this opportunity to share with them how to pronounce my name correctly. It is Ash-va-thy and not assss-wathy.
Would you like to work with Aswathy on your next project? Do check out Niyo Careers for any open positions in your field of expertise. To get a sneak peek at Niyo’s culture and the cool people who turn ideas into reality, check out Niyo behind the scenes.
