Leaders

In Case Of Failure, People Can Do Two Things: They Can Either Lose Hope, Or They Can Take The Opportunity And Time To Become Better. Those Who Choose The Second Path Are The Ones Who Remain In History As An Epitome Of Success. Sanober Surani, Chose The Path Of The Restart, A Path To Do Things Better Due To One Such Failure; Losing Her Job Due To The Pandemic. But That Isn’t It. She Failed Over And Again With Two Of Her Startups As Well.

Cut To The Present, She’s One Of The Most Powerful Women In The Influencer Marketing Segment And Made A Name For Herself.

She Is Currently The Co-Founder And Cmo Of Budding Influencers, An Influencer Marketing Agency That Bridges The Gap Between Brands And Influencers. Our Brand Connects Brands With The Perfect Influencers To Boost Their Reach And Impact. Sanober Tells Women Entrepreneur India About Her Journey.

What Motivated You To Co-Found Budding Influencers?

There Were Actually Two Things That Motivated Me To Establish Budding Influencers. First, Entrepreneurship Runs In My Blood. My Father And Grandfather Have Always Been In The Business Field, So It Was Always My Ultimate Goal To Become An Entrepreneur Myself. When The Pandemic Hit And I Lost My Job Like Many Others, I Saw It As An Opportunity To Start My Own Business, And Fortunately, I Had A Lot Of Support From My Family.

The Second Thing Was My Experience With Influencer Marketing. While Working In My Previous Organization, I Did A Campaign For Influencer Marketing Just To Understand What It Was All About. That's When I Realized That There Was A Big Loophole In The Influencer Marketing System, And I Saw An Opportunity To Bridge The Gap Between Brands And Influencers. In 2019, Influencer Marketing Was Still A Nascent Concept, And People Were Not Very Aware Of Its Potential. I Saw This As A Whole New Business Opportunity, A Way To Help Brands And Influencers Connect And Solve Each Other's Problems.

"Sanober is committed to making a positive impact in the world of influencer marketing"

Throw Some Light On The Different Responsibilities You Shoulder At Budding Influencers. Describe Your Leadership Approach.

My Role Is To Oversee The Entire Influencer Marketing Department, From Ideation To Execution, Social Media Management, And Content Creation.To Me, Leadership Is All About Creating A Friendly And Open Environment Where Everyone Feels Comfortable Approaching Me With Their Problems. I Believe In Maintaining A Personal Connection With My Employees, So I Keep My Door Open At All Times, Encouraging Them To Come To Me With Anything That's Bothering Them, Whether Work-Related Or Not.

In Addition, We Have Regular Team Bonding Activities Every Friday, Which I Like To Participate In As Much As Possible To Help Build A Strong And Connected Team. And Every Once In A While, I Take Some Random Days To Sit Down With A Few Employees And Talk To Them About Themselves, Outside Of Work. This Helps Them Relieve Work-Related Pressure, And It Gives Me A Chance To Listen To And Counsel Them On Any Issues They May Have.

Tell Us About Some Of The Key Milestones You Have Achieved Throughout Your Professional Journey.

We've Successfully Registered Over 50,000 Influencers To Date And Worked With More Than 350 Clients. We're Thrilled To Have Executed Over 1000 Campaigns For Our Clients, Each One Of Them A Testament To Our Expertise And Dedication. Our Team Has Grown To Around 30 To 35 Employees, And We're Still Expanding As A Startup And Hiring For New Positions.

We're Especially Proud To Have Won The Startup Of The Year Award In 2022, Which Was An Honor And Recognition Of Our Hard Work And Accomplishments. Every Day, We're Committed To Learning And Achieving New Goals. Despite Challenges Along The Way, We Remain Dedicated To Our Vision And Mission. For Example, We Started As A Small Team Without Any Revenue, But Today We're Able To Provide Our Employees With A Good Ctc, And Many Of Our Original Team Members Now Hold Managerial Positions.

What Has Been Your Success Mantra?

Sometimes Things Don't Work Out The Way You Expect Them To, But I Believe That It’s For Good. My Success Mantra Is To Keep Pushing Forward And Never Become Complacent. I Instill This Philosophy In My Team As Well Because The Moment You Become Satisfied With Your Achievements, You Stop Striving For Better. It's Important To Always Have A Hunger For More And To Continuously Improve Because That's The Key To Success. Some People May Say That I'm Never Satisfied, But To Me, That Just Means There's Always Room For Improvement And Growth.

Your Advice To Young Woman Business Aspirants.

If You Have Confidence In Yourself And Your Ideas, Nothing Can Stop You. Unfortunately, Some People May Try To Stereotype You Or Discourage You From Pursuing Your Dreams, But You Don't Have To Compromise Anything In Your Life. You Can Create Your Own Identity Through Your Work, And If You Fail Along The Way, That's Okay. This Is My Third Startup, And It Took Us A Year To Get Budding Influences Into Profits. If You Believe In Yourself And Your Vision, You Can Achieve Anything.

Sanober Surani, Co-Founder & Marketing Head, Budding Influencers

Sanober pursued a BBA in HR from Pune University and completed a correspondence course in BA Organizational Psychology. She then moved to Mumbai to pursue her PG in digital marketing. Her strong organizational skills were honed during her time as the women's representative and cultural secretary in college. Before co-founding Budding Influencers, Sanober worked in a digital agency where she started as an SEO intern and later transitioned to being a content writer. Her diverse experience in the industry, coupled with her marketing and organizational expertise, has made her an indispensable part of Budding Influencers' success.