A few women have the courage and skills to become leaders in their desired field of work. Saakshi Mhadgut, the Co-Founder of Bombay Marketers is one among the few who has carved a niche in the digital marketing space with her outstanding leadership skills. Here’s Saakshi’s exclusive interview.

Give Us A Brief Overview Of Bombay Marketers. What Are The Major Facets Of Your Expertise As A Leader In The Digital Marketing Sector That You Want Us To Highlight Through The Article?

Bombay Marketers is a Digital & PR Agency headquartered in Mumbai catering services across the globe. I founded the agency in 2019 with my co-founder, Henil Sheth. We have worked with more than 50 elite brands from different sectors such as E-Commerce, Real Estate, Healthtech, Edtech, Safety Industry, Fintech, etc. thereby achieving an extremely diverse portfolio.I am a part of the Google for Startups Global Community for Women Founders. We have always aimed to be an extended part of the brand where we seamlessly align ideas and strategies to achieve their long-term goals. Bombay Marketers has also been an educational partner for K.J Somaiya College of Arts & Commerce Summer Digital Marketing for a three-month program (2019 – 2020). We are currently Visiting Partner Faculty & Course Creators for Digital Marketing at NMIMS JDSoLA Mumbai, India (2020 – 2021).

Take Us Through Your Early Education And Priory Industry Experience. What Factors Led You To Found A Digital Marketing Agency?

I graduated from Whistling Woods International (Mumbai, India) with a BA in Filmmaking & Specialization in Screenwriting. Reading, Storytelling and Visualization have been an integral part of my life. My father was a first-generation entrepreneur, and my mother is a multi-talented creative person. Therefore, my leadership skills came from my father while I imbibed creativity from my mother. Back in 2018, while working as a screenwriter I soon realized that storytelling need not be restricted to just films or video content. Brands too need good storytelling to build their position in the market. With that epiphany, I left my job as a writer and started from scratch to build our agency by growing honest partnerships with small and medium businesses. Towards the end of 2020, we expanded bases from Mumbai to Bangalore and have never looked back since.

From The Standpoint Of An Experienced Professional, How Would You Say The Digital Marketing Industry Has Evolved Over The Past Few Years? What Are Some Of The Most Impactful Trends Developing In The Industry Currently?

The beautiful and challenging thing about Digital Marketing is the changes taking place here every day and you have to adapt with that speed even with technological/software advancements. After TikTok was banned, Reels took over bringing new opportunities to explore short-form content with all the other additional features of Instagram. The newest upcoming revolution is the way we are moving from creating content for digital ads to creating digital experiences such as Augmented Reality for E-commerce, from wearable products to furniture to wall painting. Digital Marketing is an underappreciated yet competitive field. Anybody can make a Facebook ad; it takes a strategic mindset and the approach to put it to its best use.

“Listening and reading between the lines to hear the unsaid is key to becoming a successful strategic digital partner to a brand which helps us achieve the business goals for the client in the long run”

Throw Some Light On The Approach You Take While Working On A New Project Or Campaign.

The approach is to keep it simple and listen carefully. Every brand has its language, culture, and story. As a Digital Marketer, it is important to stay aligned with all these three components. Once that level of partnership is achieved, any project or campaign begins with a few brainstorming sessions between our team and the brand. The execution stage is dependent on how fruitful the brainstorming sessions are, that’s why like I said, listening and reading between the lines to hear the unsaid is key to becoming a successful strategic digital partner to a brand that helps us achieve the business goals for the client in the long run.

Although The Digital Marketing Industry Sees Several Women In The Initial Ranks, Yet There Is A Dearth Of Women Representation In The Top Leadership Roles. In Your Opinion How Can This Situation Be Rectified In The Near Future?

We need more Women leaders in Digital Marketing to encourage other women to take up leadership roles. I understand I come from a privileged background but many women are not that privileged and go through a lot of challenges to fulfill their dreams. For them, I know it is hard but once they jump with courage, they would find their way. I would suggest the readers read Sheryl Sandberg’s book – “Lean In” which helped me understand why we need representation, community building, and myth-busting towards Digital Marketing to solve this.

What Would Your Words Of Advice Be For Women Aspiring To Be A Foray Into The Field Of Digital Marketing And Entrepreneurship?

I would suggest three areas where aspiring women entrepreneurs should focus on. First, they should have a creative sense, empathy, a problem-solving mindset, and a lot of patience to stay successful. Secondly, they have to know everything about the field. Therefore, skilling up is important. The more you know, the more adept you will become to leap into entrepreneurship. Lastly, people will always judge you, but you should know where you are, what you want, and where to go from here to get what you want.

Saakshi Mhadgut, Co-Founder, Bombay Marketers

Formerly trained in Filmmaking & Storytelling from Whistling Woods International (Mumbai, India), Saakshi started out as a fiction writer but found her true calling working with brands and amplifying their stories. Worked as a writer assistant at Story People, visiting professor at NMIMS Jyoti dalal school of liberal arts, Cofounder of Bombay Marketers.