💗Founders, Techies, Creators and Marketers - all under one roof one evening!! What an amazing turnout it was... 💯at Draper Startup House organised by eChai Ventures!!

Yes, and we all bonded over one common interest - #MarketingStrategy!

After all, who doesn't want it?? And doesn't get excited about it??

Right from #SteveJobs to an Aman Gupta!! And that's exactly what Penchala Tharun 🚀, the dynamic host made us do - think, ask, grill, imagine, visualize, find answers and have some serious fun.

As an experienced #BrandMarketer, it was always on my list to:

1. Quash doubts about Marketing for Startups - especially in Tech domain.
2. Clear misconceptions around Budgeting for Marketing
3. Guide them on how to go about GTM.
4. How to crack the Sales/Investor Pitch or Presentation.
5. And last but most important, the DON'Ts!
💗
I did try my best to address these in the short span of time that we had. If you still have any queries, please feel free to DM or write to: [email protected]

Special thanks to Jatin Chaudhary and Nivin Joseph to make this happen. 

That was a blast! On Saturday, I spoke at Draper Startup House x eChai Ventures with Rinky Pandey about:

- How to choose startup ideas
- How to pick the right channels
- How to build repeatable customer acquisition funnels

Rinky helped these budding entrepreneurs with insights on fundraising,
and what VCs look for, in founders.

1 hour of heavy rain from Whitefield to Koramangala,
made me feel it'd be an empty house.

Instead, the turnout was amazing!

Thanks to Mansi Baheti & Jatin Chaudhary for putting this together :) 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend eChai Ventures Ahmedabad Marketing Summit 2024 at GUSEC, Gujarat University.

A premier event that brought together top marketing professionals and innovators. The sessions provided valuable insights into the latest industry trends and strategies, fostering meaningful discussions on how to navigate the evolving marketing landscape.

Grateful for the opportunity to learn from the best and to network with like-minded individuals passionate about driving marketing excellence.

Looking forward to applying these new insights to our ongoing projects! 

🎥 Presenting RENÉE Cosmetics's First TVC Starring Mrunal Thakur! 🎥

We are thrilled to unveil a new chapter in the RENEE journey with the launch of our very first television commercial. Featuring the ever-talented Mrunal Thakur, this film is more than just an introduction to our latest product—RENEE Midnight Kohl Kajal. It’s a celebration of bold beauty and timeless elegance.

Our Midnight Kohl Kajal isn’t just a makeup essential; it’s a statement. Designed for those who believe in the power of their gaze, this kajal delivers intense, long-lasting color that lets your eyes do all the talking.

A special thanks to Mrunal Thakur for embodying the spirit of RENEE, and to our incredible team who brought this vision to life. This is just the beginning of what we have in store, and we can't wait to share it with you.

Stay tuned, because the magic is about to unfold on screens everywhere. ✨

https://www.reneecosmetics.in/products/renee-midnight-kohl-pencil-1-5-gm

TVC:

 

Is #Community Building Just a New Buzzword That Has Recently Popped Up?

Last week, I attended the #Bangalore Community Builders Mixer at Urban Vault. It was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with friends in this space.

One interesting discussion we had was about whether community building is just a new buzzword. While the term might be new, the practice has been around for centuries. Religious institutions are prime examples of communities coming together for the betterment of humanity and their beliefs, continuing their processes and rituals even without the physical presence of their leaders.

A personal favorite example of modern community-led growth is #Bitcoin. It has no CEO, CFO, or COO, yet it is widely adopted globally. At Draper Startup House, we firmly believe in the power of community, and we love building it every day. Communities like eChai Ventures and The Product Folks have been thriving for over half a decade.

Sohail Khan pointed out beautifully that communities with great SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) endure forever without needing their creators to constantly manage them. I completely agree.

Benefits of Building a Community:

1. Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
2. Increase Brand Loyalty
3. Direct Interaction with Your Customers for Feedback
4. Foster Collaboration Leading to Partnerships
5. Enhanced Customer Retention
6. Create a Support System for Members
7. Drive Organic Growth Through Word-of-Mouth
8. Build a Strong Brand Identity and Reputation

#Communitybuilding is not just a trend; it's a timeless practice that drives real results.

Special thanks to the Urban Vault team for putting this mixer together: Amal Mishra, Devishree A and Simran Chanda.

Meeting people is my passion, and listening to their stories is my fuel.

Thanks Jatin bhai( eChai Ventures ) for building a platform to connect people at great places (GVFL Limited) to exchange notes, ideas & most important to help each other in anyway possible.

Participants & Do connect with them:

Satya Mehta: A Wonderful human being & entrepreneur by heart (RoomPe (Hostel & Space Management Company) & MealPe - checkout), running eChai Social at Savvyswaraj Sports Club.

Christopher Fong: He is super smart & helpful guy. He is the founder of Xoogler (Ex-Google Community) , More than 33000 People community. He is Hiring for senior engineer, Growth Marketer, & Business Analyst - do connect with him.

Jitendraa Lakhwani: A Dear friend & running a leading HR firm based in Ahmedabad serving the globe. The sky is the limit to what they can deliver in Hiring. Do reach out to him for hiring requirements, especially overseas hiring.

Aditya Dave: Founder of Cibos Techno Solutions Pvt Ltd, He is building something innovative for food tech space.

Harsha Bhurani : Founder of Humming Bird Consulting, If you are looking for a hiring partner for senior roles then she is the one to be in touch.

DEBOPRIYA CHAKROBORTY: She is CEO of Antrapreneur The Business Incubator, if you are running a startup looking for ecosystem support & mentorship, she is the person to be in touch.

Anay Mashruwala: Promotor of M/s. Venus Engineering Works a company in field of Manufacturing and marketing of Industrial Valves. And A prof. In the field of Entrepreneurship.

Tanmay Shanishchara: Storyteller by heart & marketer by passion. Founder of MeDigit Advertising Private Limited. If you're in the marketing field looking to brainstorm ideas, he is the man to brainstorm with.

Niraj Harlalka: Education is passion for all but few execute on his passion & Niraj bhai is one of them,ON a mission to help children to learn Decision Making as a skill.

Balkrishna Agarwal: Founder, Tezi App - Connecting Brands to Retailers. If you are building in Fashion Tech reach out to him.

Ketul Shah: Computer Vision and Machine Learning (MLOps Enthusiast), AI team lead at Groundup.ai .

As some of you may know, I was a panellist at the eChai Ventures x GrowthSchool Marketing Summit on Saturday. It was an incredibly enriching discussion with my fellow panellists, whose insights across multiple industries were a goldmine of information 🙇🏻‍♀️

If I had to summarize the entire session into exactly 3 key takeaways, these would be:

1. Knowing your customer is an iterative process. Your customers will behave differently across geographies, markets, scales of operations, and sizes. Research, read, engage with them on social media, and learn everything you can about them.

2. Gone are the days of “shiny,” “buzz-worthy” marketing. Data is the best tool in a marketer’s arsenal. Excel is your best friend, and analyzing trends is your protein supplement. 😉

3. When it comes to content creation, don’t try to reinvent the wheel by focusing on creating “trends”. Unless you are Kim K 💁🏻‍♀️ Observe what is working, and then leverage it within your industry.

What floored me completely was the diversity of participants in the session—from Bitcoin to fintech to influencer marketing, we had them all! They asked tough questions and made the session even more fruitful.

Kudos to Jatin Chaudhary for moderating the session, and punctuating it with his thoughtfully curated questions and marketing puns. And thanks to the GrowthSchool team for being such wonderful hosts.

If you met me and want to discuss a specific problem in depth, feel free to block time via my Topmate!

Feeling grateful about interacting with co-panelists from various industries for a marketing panel discussion organised by eChai Ventures & Growth School in Bangalore.

Some 'Ahaa' moments for me were:

1) Ayushi Mona Singh gives an incredible example of vimal panmasala to showcase how key it is to know your customer
2) Siddharth Kumar (SK) talking about how topicality can be leveraged for addressing key consumer pain points in your industry
3) Sanjeet Kathuria discussing challenges of tough industries like fintech especially while planning GTMs of various markets
4) Chandana Pitta having an incredible B2B SAAS marketer journey with a hypergrowth start ups and she sharing snippets of this wonderful journey
5) Deepu Sukumaran Nair explaining the 'why', 'what' and 'how' of personal branding on Linkedin.

The audience was incredibly wonderful and Jatin Chaudhary thanks for moderating the session so well :)

Imagine gathering a few marketing experts in a room and guess what they do.

Probably an intellectual fight over who is more 'creative'. 😄

Well, that was not the case yesterday when we met at eChai Ventures - social at GVFL Limited office yesterday. A productive session conducted by forever smiling Jatin Chaudhary was more than a chai-biscuit gathering.

Very very helpful to learn insights, marketing hacks, AI driven marketing and business strategies. Truly, a #CoRise moment.

Folks, here's an open shoutout to everyone - happy to meet again in person, to discuss more than just hacks. 😎

Jaydip Parikh, Amit Panchal, 🚀Jignesh Thakkar, Nikita Lalwani, Arpan Shah, Parth Brahmbhatt, Himani Kankaria, Viraj Rajani, Ankit Agrawal, Anil Salvi 🍉, Sahil Shah, Tarjani Shah

Contributing to streaming conversations around marketing in #Surat is a great delight and also the need of the hour. We've all witnessed events centering around startups, funding, finance, art, textile, auto, energy, and various other sectors but one pivotal factor "Marketing" still remains overshadowed & undervalued.

There's clear lack of education on marketing, both from the standpoint of brands and marketers themselves. It's time we marketeers collectively come together, uplift the significance of marketing in our ecosystem.

Let's ensure every voice in #Surat is equipped with ample knowledge and tools to harness the potential of marketing.

Glad eChai Ventures & Manoj Adwani is taking initiatives forging the culture of strong brand image!

Had an amazing time attending the event last Saturday evening hosted by eChai Ventures and LOGICWIND 🚀 It was an incredible opportunity to connect with amazing founders, exchange ideas, and gain insights into the latest trends shaping our industry.

The panel (Saurabh Pacheriwal,Hardik Dawar, Anushi Shah,Meghna Kherajani,Roshan Chaudhari,Radhika Agarwal) shared some valuable insights for new startup founders:

🔍 To establish client connections and nurture them, keep the approach very personalized based on the client. This results in better client conversion and retention.

📞 Quick responses to client queries play a major role in client satisfaction. It's not just about great numbers and results; it's about being attentive and responsive.

💼 As a founder, having an authoritative or strong point of view of what you bring to the table and what results you can help achieve is crucial.

🚀 Confused about when to start marketing for your product? The answer: even before the product hits the market. Start by sharing free resources and insights for your target audience to identify the first adopters for your product.

Thanks to Manoj Adwani for making this event possible. It was an enriching experience, and I'm excited to be part of more such upcoming events.

Thank you for joining us as I hosted the eChai Ventures Marketing Summit at Urban Vault, HSR!

My key takeaways:

Sharuti Mittal: Paying more attention to the labels on our foods is crucial.

Ajitesh Shankar Das: Working closely with the product folks enables in targeting the ideal customer profile.

Parasar Sarma: Talking to the customer is everyone's job. Stories that stay with us exist there.

Aquibur Rahman: There's immense value in talking to your customers on why are they coming to you and how can you serve them better.

Thank you for making this gathering happen, Jatin Chaudhary!

To HSR, With Love ❤️
Your Cheerleader from HSRisHome

Join me on March 16 at 6 PM IST at Urban Vault for a conversation about marketing along with Parasar Sarma, Sharuti Mittal and Ajitesh Shankar Das.

Hosted by Radhika Mohta for eChai Ventures.

RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gdzcTjRp

Saturday evening spent at this networking hub of startups at eChai Ventures in Pune. Thanks Malav Warke for having me.

I had more to learn than to share, thanks to the wondeful co-panelists Nidhi Thakkar Shikha Pakhide Richa Singh. Breaking away from jargons of marketing strategy to dicussing web 3.0 and Gen AI... it covered whole spectrum of marketing.

Interesting was that the participants opened up about thier apprehensions towards marketing. Marketing is not always big bang budgets. Its understanding your product, your market and your customer deeply.
Choosing channels, means, metrics of mesurement, ROI and attribution are topics which will then follow.

🌟 What a weekend! Had the privilege of engaging with amazing audiences on two different stages, discussing startups, brand building, and product marketing.

On Saturday, I shared the stage with esteemed founders Ankita De
and Rapti Gupta at an eChai Ventures event, moderated by the fantastic Penchala Tharun 🚀. We delved into topics ranging from marketing and communities to startups and product marketing, with a special focus on the fintech space. A big thank you to eChai and Jatin Chaudhary for this opportunity! 🙏

Simultaneously, I had the pleasure of interacting with numerous entrepreneurs who are passionately building their own ventures. The insights gathered from diverse industries, from healthcare to the evolving Indian solar market, were truly enlightening. 🙌

On Sunday, the learning journey continued at a MyCaptain event, where I connected with over 80 individuals exploring the intricacies of Product Marketing.

We delved into the different strategies of product marketing, and I had the opportunity to walk them through a real-life campaign from Cashfree Payments, viewed through the lens of product marketing. Witnessing the participants' demos and the depth of insights they brought to the table was inspiring. 🎊

A huge shoutout to everyone who attended and engaged in these discussions. Your enthusiasm and curiosity made these events truly memorable. Special thanks to Tejaswi Vuppula and the entire MyCaptain team for this opportunity. 🙏

Looking forward to more such enriching events and interactions in the future!

Spent a dynamic Saturday morning with a group of dedicated entrepreneurs with eChai Ventures, exchanging invaluable insights and strategies for startup success. 🙌

We delved into key takeaways crucial for entrepreneurial success: 📈

1. Importance of Product Marketing: Emphasized the pivotal role of product marketing in effectively communicating the value proposition and benefits of your offering to the target audience.

2. Understanding CAC and LTV: Discussed the significance of Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV) metrics in guiding sustainable growth and profitability strategies.

3. PLG and SLG Strategies: Explored the power of Product-Led Growth (PLG) and Sales-Led Growth (SLG) approaches, highlighting their respective advantages and suitability based on business models.

4. Finding Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Stressed the necessity of identifying the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to optimize marketing efforts and enhance customer acquisition and retention rates.

5. Achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF): Recognized the importance of attaining Product-Market Fit (PMF) to ensure that your product resonates with the needs and preferences of your target market.

6. Importance of User Research: Underlined the critical role of user research in gaining deep insights into customer behavior, preferences, and pain points to inform product development and marketing strategies.

7. Significance of Customer Interaction and Insights: Highlighted the value of ongoing customer interaction and feedback loops in refining products, enhancing user experience, and fostering long-term customer relationships.

Here's to the power of collaboration and hustle! 💼🚀

It was such great fun sharing the panel with Ankita De and Varun Trivedi today talking about my favorite things - marketing, community, and founders.

We talked about user research, validating ideas, product marketing, saas market and more. The crowd was brimming with new ideas and entrepreneurial energy.

Thank you Penchala Tharun 🚀 for asking such great engaging questions. I had fun!

Thanks Jatin and eChai Ventures for having me.

For everyone that asked to join HSR Founders Club please dm me. And for anyone that wants to use Bugasura - go right ahead and give it a try.

We'll be hosting 'Marketing Strategies for Startups' meetup in Bengaluru today morning at Urban Vault HSR Layout 1515 from 11 am to 1 pm.

🎙️Rapti Gupta, Co-Founder & CMO, Bugasura
🎙️Ankita De, Founder & CMO, Utsav™
🎙️Varun Trivedi, Product Marketing, Cashfree Payments and Ex Co-Founder, IconScout

It will be moderated by Penchala Tharun 🚀, Founder, Wanderfly.in.

Free registration at eChai.Ventures

Back at eChai Ventures tomorrow chatting about marketing at early stage startups. 🚀

Bang in the middle of COVID - I remember Jatin reaching out for a session on content and I got to join a really rich panel of experts with Sujata and Taniya from Suta, Riddhi from Avenue Ecom and Smita from Delloite, ex Duroflex.

I learned so much from their diverse opinions and experiences.

I’m joining another panel tomorrow with Ankita De and Varun Trivedi to chat about marketing at early stage companies in HSR Layout, 11 AM onwards.

Join us if you’d like to catch up. Im looking forward to learning from this panel as well.

Details ⬇️

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of participating in an engaging panel in Hyderabad organized by eChai Ventures in collaboration with Draper Startup House, where we discussed #MarketingStrategies for #Startups.

It was truly an honour to share insights and experiences with a diverse group of entrepreneurs at various stages of their journey, each with their own innovative ideas.

During the session, I had the opportunity to delve into B2B marketing strategies, while my fellow panellist, Shreyes Manyam from inflooo, expertly addressed B2C queries. The discussion was skillfully moderated by

Lakshman Rupanagunta

, ensuring a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences among all participants.

I want to express my gratitude for being a part of such enriching sessions where I could share my knowledge and experiences with fellow entrepreneurs. It's always a pleasure to give back to the #community and contribute to the collective growth of startups and aspiring business owners. Thank you Jatin!

Together, as a community, we are stronger, and I look forward to more opportunities to collaborate and learn from each other in the future.