Leaders

"Only the strong can die multiple times and rise from the ashes like a phoenix," believes Pooja Phoenix. Applying the same philosophy to her professional life, the determined business leader has never let adversities knock her down. Driven by her passion for entrepreneurship and vision to succeed she has risen up like a phoenix in the immigration consultation industry.

Pooja, a Business graduate from Kerala, moved to Dubai for work, but the desire to start her own venture was deeply rooted in her. In 2017, without informing own families or any financial backing, she started a document consultation business for which she had no clients for the first six months.

From working alone in a 50 sqft room to building a team of 15 across three branches in an industry where gaining people's trust is incredibly hard has been a great transition. She has also successfully assisted over 600+ customers over the past five years. She was bestowed with 2020 Women Entrepreneur of the Year award by Kerala Chambers of Commerce and the UAE Cultural Event Management Group.

Although she calls herself a survivor, but we believe Pooja is an inspiration. Here is the entire journey of Pooja Phoenix from a document consultant to the founder of Phoenix Gate Group, as shared with the Women Entrepreneur Magazine team.

Tell Us About Your Early Educational And Prior Industry Experience. What Led You Towards Entrepreneurship?

I completed schooling in Kerala. I have a bachelor's degree in English literature and have always been fond of art & literature, especially music. After that, I went on to Chhatrapathi Shahuji Maharaj University to pursue an MBA and later in 2021 I enrolled for a PhD in Business Administration and Management.

Despite coming from a non-business family, I've always wanted to do something on my own and be self-dependent. Being an entrepreneur has always been my dream. That's how I came up with the idea of starting a business, and shortly after graduation, I launched an event management company back in Kerala. Circa 2013, I moved to Dubai and began working as a document consultant for my relative's company who was always an inspiration for her. In 2017, I quit my job, which my family was unaware of, and launched my own documentation services business with the help of my friends and well-wishers and later in 2018, we added immigration services to our business.

Tell Us About Phoenix Gate Group And The Various Services That The Firm Specializes In.

Phoenix Gate Group deals mainly with the immigration services. Our core business is assisting individuals who want to relocate to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or other European nations. We also offer business formation services in multiple nations, particularly in UAE, Europe and Canada. The company also deals with documentation such as embassy registration and other works as per various nations' requirements, such as Canada's ECA- Education Credential Assessments.

My expertise lies in self-motivation, and I also conduct career advice and motivational sessions for students and their families.

What Are Your Various Roles And Responsibilities At Phoenix Gategroup? What Are The Most Challenging Aspects Of Your Role? How Do You Drive Growth Within The Organization?

Despite being the founder and CEO of Phoenix Gate, I am still an employee of the company. My current responsibility is to establish relationships with international ventures that can provide genuine job opportunities so that I can send as many people as possible to countries with the best remuneration, accommodation, and other amenities. Finding genuine job providers with the best package is challenging because there are many fake job providers in the market.

The pandemic hit has become a huge challenge for everyone. Many projects that were meant to be finished last year are still on hold due to Covid 19, as most of us are waiting for updates from other nations. This has been the most challenging thing we've had to deal with for the past two years.

Response is a responsibility, if you're committed to your industry, you'll figure out ways to get things done somehow. However, if something goes wrong, you have to be responsible for responding to your clients. I take pride in never shying away from giving refunds to clients. Despite the fact that I have lost millions of dollars, I am fully committed to returning money if something goes wrong.

“Response is a responsibility, if you're committed to your industry, you'll figure out ways to get things done somehow”

How Has Your Journey Been As A Business Leader So Far?

I moved to Dubai when I was 21 and am 29 years old now; my journey has not been easy. I started the firm when I was 25 years old, and I had to deal with several challenges initially. I didn't have any financial backing because my family was unaware of my business in the initial stage. That was the first time I realized what it was like to go without food and water.

I created my own campaigns, designed posters, and sent them to all of the migration companies, conveying that I can handle all of the documentation services. After six months of launching my firm and running campaigns, agents began approaching me. Since then, I've been occupied with documentation services.

From the end of 2018, I began establishing an immigration business as well. In the beginning, it was just me in a 50-sqft room with my laptop, doing everything. With only a few employees, we moved to a larger office in 2019. However, it was not a linear growth; when Covid hit, we were reduced from 15 to 3 employees. However, since September, when countries began to open, we are doing quite well, and we are now a team of 15 employees spread across three branches.

What Would Your Advice Be To Aspiring Women Business Leaders And Entrepreneurs?

Whatever you want to do, go for it because you have no idea what you are capable of! Go for it as long as you can be yourself and have a dream that you want to achieve. You will not be successful on the second day of business itself, have confidence and one day you will make it possible.

I am still a survivor and not a successful business leader yet. But I am confident that in the next three years I will be able to employ 25 to 30 people.

Pooja Phoenix, Founder & CEO, Phoenix Gate Group

Pooja, a Business graduate from Kerala, moved to Dubai for work, but the desire to start her own venture was deeply rooted in her.