Leaders

Kudos to this ideal lady, not only a courageous entrepreneur but also a straight-up inspiration to many young women. Losing a parent is one of the most devastating things to a child. The world went topsy-turvy to Gayatri Thakur (a.k.a Piyoosha) and her family when she lost her father at the age of 8. The only thing she was left with was the enterprising attribute and empowerment her dad fed her. Gayatri’s mom - a woman with a steel fist, raised her two little daughters in Karnal, Haryana. Here comes the determination, courage, and passion to thrive - from her parents!

She completed her schooling at St.Theresa's Convent School. Moved back to her hometown Chandigarh to pursue Bachelors Degree in Commerce. Later, she also completed Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations from Panjab University in 2009. As an ambitious, dedicated, and hard-working woman, she worked part-time for a company called Footprints media, while she was studying PG. In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur India, Gayatri shares her journey from being a part-time employee to becoming a founder and Principal Consultant of Ceyone Consultants. Kindly peruse the excerpts that take us through a virtual ride of Gayatri’s personal and professional journey, innovations that are saving lives, and many other interesting facts about her brand.

Throw Some Light On Your Journey Of Chasing Your Entrepreneurial Dream.

Fast-forward to 2008 when I started pursuing my PG Diploma in PR & Advertising. I got an opportunity to work part-time for Footprints Media through my teacher who was already working as a copywriter there. I was appointed as the PR executive and became a full-time employee after my studies. After a year, they made me the administrator alongside my PR role.

Footprints Media ventured an institute called the National School of Media- a comprehensive media institute for film making, public relations, animations, and more. With that, my responsibilities got bigger. I was playing the role of PR executive and administrator for both brands. However, the media school witnessed loss and the board members wanted to shut the company as it was no more profitable. I told my boss to give me a chance and with relentless efforts and competencies in Marketing and Sales Analytics, I could succeed in bringing up the company from a 30 percent loss rate to a 40 percent profit rate. With this, I mastered the ‘Zero-Budget Marketing Strategy'. Fortunately, I became the Youngest Director of Footprints Media & the National School of Media(youngest director of Tri-city).I left my job to start my own entrepreneurial journey and started Think Tank Consultants- a media consulting company and later started Ceyone in 2017 and merged Think Tank in Ceyone. I was 27 when I started my own consulting company- Think Tank. At the age of 24, I began to chase my entrepreneurial dream and established Ceyone Consultants.

What Led You To Establish Ceyone Consultants? Give Us A Brief Overview Ofthe Company.

I have learned a lot from my experience. Apart from the managing and media knowledge, one of the most important things I learned was the market need for research and data-driven analysis. I understood that organizations, especially in Tri-cities were proceeding with gut feelings. Unlike corporates, there was no structured marketing, sales, and customer care data-driven research for business success. With the help of my mentors, I started creating templates and algorithms that could predict accurate profits, RoI on marketing and sales initiatives. My objective for launching Ceyone was to offer data and research-backed strategies for small and mid-sized companies.

“Gayatri has been successful in guiding many companies in identifying gaps and creating strategies that maximize their roi. She has also worked on game-changing technologies that save lives”

I wanted to help companies with the ‘Zero-Budget Marketing Strategy' and guide them in identifying gaps and creating strategies that maximize their Marketing ROI. Initially, it was a tough task to make people understand the importance of data. The Tri-Cities are filled with family businesses driven by the expertise of elders. People had no idea about the wonders data could do. We had to personally approach hospitals and companies of all the industries. However, the companies and their teams in this region were not attuned to the data-driven approach. The scenario is changing slowly and brands understand the importance of research-based analysis to some extent. Today, Ceyone Consultants is a key regional player in business consulting, market research, project management, B2B (Business to Business) services, and advisory services and is among the best consultants in Chandigarh; bridging gaps between the management approaches and its actual implementation plans.

Highlight One Of The Most Interesting Facts About Ceyone.

Since its inception, Ceyone has branched out into many verticals such as Ceyone Business and Ceyone Technologies. Under Ceyone technology, I along with my husband who is a scientist in nanotechnology have launched several game-changing products that are research-driven, under the vertical NANO-VOX. When the pandemic hit our lives in March 2020, we started with the market research and launched an antiviral coating that stays intact for upto 3 months. We sold the product to a brand called Panacea, which will be launching anti-viral masks with this coating that could protect surfaces against microbes. We are the pioneers here to bring such technology.

In October 2020, we started our micro-unit in Chandigarh and launched antimicrobials coating for poultry farms to manage and mitigate bird flu. We observed phenomenal results in terms of reduction in transmission and mortality up to 90 percent. As an animal and bird lover, I feel happy to save lakhs of bird’s lives. We launched another product to diminish the toilet odour by truncating the growth of E.coli. The products came as a boon when the nation was in crisis for disinfectants and sanitization products. It is a bit highly prized but lasts for upto three months, ultimately reducing the cost to one-third.

Gayatri Thakur, Founder, Ceyone Consultants

She started her journey with Ceyone in 2014 and has been continuously delivering her best for the growth of the company since its inception.