A Communicator, An Entrepreneur & A Proud Maverick
I still remember my first job. I was 15 and an event management company had hired me to ‘talk to the crowd and make them participate in brand-related activities’. “Pulling the crowd is key. They should be interested in listening to you”, they said casually and left me on the stage. With no experience in the field, I nervously switched on the mic when instinct took over. After that, I was hooked.
The idea of communicating with people and getting paid for it can easily be listed as my dream job, and I get to do it every day. I know that it isn’t a “conventional” dream job, but I could never describe myself as conventional. At 10, when my class was asked what career we wanted to pursue, some said doctor, the others, teacher. I found myself to be the only person in a class of 30, who aspired to be a spy. The only thing that scared me more than lizards were math problems and it was extremely clear that I was not going to be an IIT graduate in this lifetime. Some of my aunts voluntarily took upon themselves the responsibility of finding me a ‘good husband’ when I dropped math and science in school. But what my English and Politics classes taught me has stayed with me till date — voicing opinions and thinking creatively.
Not many people understand what I do for a living and that’s when I tell them — I build a brand’s reputation. In simple words, I speak the language of the brand and make sure they are heard in the way they want to be, but also in a way that differentiates them from the rest.
A communication professional’s worst nightmare? Brands choosing plain-Jane over creative. It is very important to be able to express your views through your work and have a team that trusts you. And for that, there are few better places than at Mavericks. Here, we are given the freedom to imagine and decide how to communicate a thought or an idea in the most creative ways possible. While we work with seniors and highly experienced people in the agency on some very well-known brands, we always have the liberty to create, ideate and innovate, as communicators.
I have always yearned to showcase my creativity in different ways, to implement at least one of my many ideas and execute it successfully into an established business that I can call my own. I get this from my mother who has been my constant support system for 26 years now. I have been raised by fairly health-conscious parents. As a result, at 15, when most of my friends would crave for Lucknowi kebab parathas, I would specifically ask my mum to give me bhindi ki sabzi every day for lunch. When I left home to go to college, what I didn’t realise was that I was also leaving the home-cooked food behind. 3 years and 20 kgs later started my weight loss journey that pushed my mother and me to come up with an idea. We founded a health food startup called Nutriplate India which is inspired by our constant rigor to create and innovate, our personal eating habits and my weight loss journey.
On days when I’m not being healthy, managing a health-based startup and building brands, I like talking to new people but hate spending too much time in a crowd. I am a trained dancer but hate the loud nightclubs. I am an entrepreneur, a communications strategist, and a very proud and happy Maverick.
