CEO, Razorfish India www.razorfish.com www.expicient.com (Director) www.smartshift.com (Independent Director Orizonte Business Solutions Limited) Q: How have your academic pursuits and professional journey thus far influenced your current role as CEO of Razorfish India? Charulata: Growing up in Calcutta, a center of learning and creativity; and the strong foundations that my alma mater and university set for me paved the way for me to develop a curious mind that wants to explore the unexplored and constantly strive to learn something new. While I pursued commerce for a degree, what really gave me a strong understanding of business and professionalism was the intense experience acquired during my days in the many global markets in Middle East, Europe and Asia. Nothing compares to immersing yourself in different professional and social cultures and seeing life through the eyes of others. After all, there are many realities in the world and your’s should never be the only one. What influenced my role as CEO of Razorfish India was not so much my ambition to be a leader (I believe “to become a leader” is a misplaced ambition.) but rather my deep desire to live my life with many milestones of discovery and of setting examples that can bring out the best in those around me. And in this journey, what shaped me the most were the challenges at various points. Not because they were hurdles I had to cross but they were opportunities I learnt immensely from. Q: What are the prime challenges facing growth-stage businesses trying to build their brand in a competitive landscape? Charulata: Three big challenges that today’s world poses for growth-stage businesses are 1) How do you compete with an established brand that has strong brand equity? 2) How do you take on competition with limited means? and 3) How do you know where your next competition is going to come from? Unpredictability has become the norm and if growth-stage biz do not move in fast and get to a critical mass quickly, it is likely to be overthrown by an opportunist who has the means and scale to amass the consumers. This means that you will have to remain in a permanent state of Beta, continuously evaluating every aspect of your product usefulness, relevance, consumer shift in behavior and identifying likely competition from within and outside category. Furthermore, if you are operating in a competitive landscape, then your offering better be super-useful for the consumer to shed their inertia and at least try it. If your product story is not compelling enough it will come and go un-noticed like Bill Murray’s “The Kasbah” ! Q: What, in your view, are the key directional factors that a growing company should consider for a results-based marketing strategy? Charulata: Apply the 7 steps to success : 1. Firstly, it must start with a well thought out offering. No marketing strategy can make a hero of a dud. Your product and its communication must enhance your consumers life without interruptions, 2. At the outset, set targets for sales, trials, qualified leads, positive conversations, impact on brand scores and every area that the efforts are directed towards. Most marketing pillars can be measured. And a growing company must stay totally away from those that cannot be. 3. Integrate all efforts to create a seamless marketing strategy where all elements – communication, social, content, UX, ecommerce etc work together towards set objectives. 4. Create 3 month milestones to achieve long term goals. The world today is very dynamic and 3/5 year plans will only make you a Rip Van Winkle. Adapting fast to changes is crucial for survival. 5. Ensure that your technology is as agile as the business and your consumer needs demand. Integrating your front end with your back end seamlessly is imperative. 6. But you are only as good as your team. You need an agile, driven team that is innovative in spirit and result oriented. It must also be a mix of people who can multi-task across practices. 7. And finally, it’s the age of “Survival of the Disrupter”. Positive Disruption is needed to constantly stay ahead. And for this, the spirit of innovation, curiosity and wanting to push the boundaries of excellence must be in the organisations DNA. Q: What is your advice to young students who are unsure of their career direction? Charulata: It is not a bad thing to be confused about your career. Today’s students are so much more able and have access to many more opportunities than before, it is but natural. An initial phase of trying new things may lead to some interesting discoveries – about your choice and yourself. Finally and quickly, settle on one thought-through path you wish to tread. Along the way it is important to connect dots and string all your choices in the same direction. This focus will ensure the success in all that you try. Surround yourself with mentors… not one but many. Shamelessly seek advice and then follow your heart. At each step of the way keep your mentors with you. Many young people want to be known as “Self Made”. But it would be their folly not to learn from those before them. Create a team that knows more than you and can challenge your views and channelize it with you in the right direction. A life advice is that don’t depend on one dream to live your life by. Have many dreams. When one fails, pick up another. And live to create new benchmarks in excellence and the world will recognize you. Not because you want it to but because it will be forced to. Q: In your opinion, what are crucial pre-requisites for pursuing the entrepreneurial path? Charulata: One must critically evaluate three things : 1. Are you entrepreneurially oriented and be a one-person army if needed? 2. Do you have a great world/life changing idea that consumers will bite into and investors will take the risk? Of course this must have a thorough business plan in place. 3. Are you strong enough to take a failure and move on quickly to minimize losses? Being entrepreneurial is not a profession anymore. It is a philosophy. And now it must become a way of life. One must stay entrepreneurial in spirit no matter how large the business grows. It keeps you nimble, agile and adaptive to become the one that sets the market rules. After all, staying in an entrepreneurial state of mind can be highly exhilarating!