Leaders

Every new or old organization needs constant and impactful marketing to make their stand firm and strong in the market. With the aim of supporting start-ups, companies, non-profits, and leaders who are looking to create an impact, Milan Global, founded by Malini Srikrishna, is a multidisciplinary consultancy that provides a wide range of services, from marketing to full stack development and human resource management. The company is focused on providing cost-effective services to help organizations and leaders grow. Malini Srikrishna received her Bachelor of Science in Social Work from The Ohio State University.

While in Columbus Ohio, she advanced socio-economic justice & equity through public relations under the Director of Communications at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. She completed her Masters degree in Entrepreneurship, Liberation Studies, and Spiritual Leadership at the Harvard Divinity School. During her time at Harvard, she was elected as the President of the Harvard Divinity Student Body and the Director of Social Impact at the Harvard GSAS Business Club. Her team was the first to bring social entrepreneurship to the forefront of the Business Club programming.

Malini Srikrishna engaged in an exclusive interaction with the Women Entrepreneur Magazine, here’s the snippet.

What motivated you to establish Milan Global? What is the underlying idea behind the venture and some of its most unique features?

I believe that businesses are powerful vehicles for ideas, change, and opportunity in society. My vision while establishing Milan Global was to help business leaders make slow change happen faster, ethically, effectively, and uniquely. We do this by providing end-to-end marketing, human resource, and technology solutions.

Through networks like the Harvard Innovation Lab, we are connected with leading entrepreneurs working towards change in cutting-edge ways. Our most unique feature is that we are not only solving complex problems with leaders, but we are also empowering underserved people by training them to be meaningfully employable through these projects.

Tell us about the various responsibilities you shoulder as the COO. What are your primary focus areas?

As the COO, my primary responsibilities are strategizing, goal setting, team management, quality assurance, and individual & company growth. I also work closely with clientele and partners across sectors to build evolutionary products and services across the world. My primary focus as a founder is to keep our company true to our vision and values and take responsibility when we face the inevitable challenges that come with this.

What are some of the critical challenges you had to face as a business leader, and how did you overcome them?

When we began hiring full-time employees, it was a huge challenge for me to let go of key tasks and delegate to team members. This can easily come off as a lack of trust, but it was really that it took me so long to learn how to master those tasks, only to finally let them go. Managing the balance between creating space for individual growth and ensuring we meet the growth goals of the company was another challenge for me. During my journey, I understood that to effectively value our people and our business, we must make sure that our team is actively involved and well-rewarded in the growth of the business. To overcome this challenge, we chose to be completely transparent about our expectations, priorities, and willingness to support the growth of every individual.

For the first two years, me trusting my own instincts was the challenge but after having a conversation with my co-founder about second-guessing, we began operating on our instincts and gut as much as evidence and expertise.

"Constantly learn new ways to live, learn, & lead"

What are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been your success mantra?

The most significant milestone I have achieved throughout my professional journey is making the leap to create something that I can call my own. Being an entrepreneur means being a creator of new possibilities that could otherwise never exist. There is no success mantra, rather we must constantly be learning new ways to live, learn and lead. I have a lot of respect for people who take this plunge of entrepreneurship because it is in no way glamorous, but it certainly teaches you everything you need to experience life with resilience, integrity, and joy.

What would be your advice to young women who also aspire to become entrepreneurs in the future?

Develop a growth mindset where every barrier becomes an opportunity for growth. To do this, you must recognize and let go of every identity that others have placed on you. Life is challenging and full of limitations, but you do not have to accept them or be limited by them. If you want to explore this further, you can join us at the Growthosphere.

Malini Srikrishna, Founder & COO, Milan Global

Malini Srikrishna is driven to transform the future of how people connect and build a community that weaves different histories, identities, and geographies around shared values. She started this journey in her early teens when working with social entrepreneurs across sectors such as journalism, media, microfinance, rural development, and vocational training. Throughout her time abroad, she continued to develop her storytelling and problemsolving skills through writing, community organizing, and activism.