Entrepreneurial journey is not a Sunday drive; it cultivates lows, debts and doubts at every curve. However, as they say, those who don't jump will never fly. Every day we read hundreds of miles of newspaper column inches and magazines pages dedicated to entrepreneurial success stories. But not many will talk about how these entrepreneurs dealt with hard times.

Stories like these are beyond every empowering and inspirational wave and need to be out in the open. These daredevils took big risks as the stepping stone for their future success. They dived into the lows and swam smoothly, better than before.

We wanted to find out how these entrepreneurs coped when major hurdle smacked them in the face. Therefore, we interviewed a young and energetic leader who is home to dynamic business acumen and is currently steering his entrepreneurial endeavour towards the new heights of success.

Words alone suffice to elucidate Haresh Nayak-Managing Director of Posterscope Group India, who is a great businessman and above all, a noble human to interact with.

As an entrepreneur when you are backfired to the wall, you always take steps forward carefully and this was the kind of focus that we conceived for the brand

Journey

World's leading out-of-home communication expert, Posterscope is a part of the Dentsu Aegis Network. Incorporated with a vow to continually build with a knack of the role of out-of-home advertising, Posterscope makes sense of how out-of-home advertising integrates with other media, including mobile and digital, and catches on the consumer behaviour in utilizing emerging technologies.

Posterscope India's voyage and Haresh Nayak's journey with the brand branched out from the same ground. What started as an out-of-home advertising brand, has positioned itself as a location-based marketing specialist, viable due to the indigenous efforts and industry knack of Haresh Nayak.

Nestling a progressively responsible experience of more than 17 years in directing businesses across OOH, Retail, Ambient, CSR advisory, Celebrity & Sports management, Mr Nayak has successfully spearheaded these businesses through start-up, survival, turnaround and growth modes.

At present Mr Nayak heads operations under the Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) umbrella for Posterscope (OOH), Brandscope (OOH), Ambient OOH, Hyperspace (Retail), InDeed (CSR Advisory) and C-LAB (Celebrity & Sports Management).

And this all is just the tip of the iceberg for a person who has been recognized by the industry as Professional of the Year 2011, 2013 & 2015 by exchange4media and has won more than 465 industry awards, both as an individual and a team.

Let's hear from the leader himself.

Being ranked 19th to becoming No.1 OOH agency in the country with 35% market share, Posterscope India's treasured endeavour is worth inspiring. Safely taking to the floor, how Posterscope India came into existence?

I, along with Ashish Bhasin started the brand back in the year 2008. During that period, financial meltdown was under the spotlight and market was teetering.

Posterscope as a brand, by that time, has made its exit from the market two years ago and reviving the brand again with its entrance on the Indian horizon stood as a major challenge for us.

From that background, we launched the brand in 2008 and that's how the journey was started. We anchored our vision well on this corrugated road. Fortune smiled early on us and our uniqueness was absorbed by the industry well.

Spilling the beans: how did you do it?

Well, by keeping two core ingredients-agility and constant reinvention close to our heart. We nurtured Posterscope as a brand germane for the industry, players and the media partners. Incorporated with an 11-membered team, the brand today homes 180+ people as its employees.

Today, the average growth of the industry stands at 10 per cent and we are evolving at 30-40 per cent constantly since the last decade. Hence, we can say that the number weaves our success better. We are living the best of our time in the industry with notable clients on board.

What have been the extensions to the Posterscope Group Network?

After the inception of Posterscope, Hyperspace was launched in the year 2009, followed by Brandscope. Today, we have created a space for our expertise across varied horizons including retail, ambient, out-of-home, sports, celebrity management, CSR and smart city solutions.

We have removed the physical part of our systems and this cut down of our operations has added value for the clients' business. A step ahead of the industry standards, we dived into automation in 2015-16.

Our digital deftness, OOHZONE has backed many clients to track the statistics of people watching their hoardings. Our OOHZONE tool has set new benchmarks in the industry and people are following our moves. The latest entrant under the hat of Posterscope Group Network is our digital out of home service.

People are running behind digital OOH. Despite the chalk talk, only the digital screens have surged up. What are your words?

Digital out-of-home does not revolve around digital screens; it's the engagement. To add value to our clients' campaigns, we are connecting these screens with the right audience and creating a platform for the brands.

This 'programmatic advertising' will infuse accuracy and optimization in spends. We stand ahead of the herd as we have already captured 28,000 screens out of those 70,000.

Finally, what's next for the brand? How well equipped are you?

We are looking ahead to taste the revenue of 100Cr by 2020. We are looking ahead to connect with like-minded people and invest in technology and people. With immense opportunities in digital OOH, the future looks sunny for us and we are ready to establish new benchmarks in the industry.

A piece of advice for the young entrepreneurs…

Passion is the ultimate key to success. Is it what drives your business and keeps you going despite the difficulties. The start-up environment is favourable in India and there are immense opportunities to be tapped on.

The Chronoscope of the pioneer

• 180+ Passionate People

• 17 Associate Offices

• 8 Regional Offices

• 200+ Clients

• 465 Awards

Bringing Change to the society: Posterscope's CSR Initiatives

"Where the vulnerable are equipped, shown the pathway to progress and prosper in life. Be it through entertainment or education, we make it possible with our perseverance and skills."

• DAN Disha

Keeping in line with the endeavour to educate the underprivileged and the marginalised children, DAN designed an annual campaign called 'DAN DISHA'. The campaign aims at becoming a guiding light for hundreds of children across India. Nearly 1,500 employees volunteered over 6,000 staff hours for the initiative, touching the lives of more than 2,500 children.

• Carbon Footprint Reduction: paper Recycling Initiative

DAN has tied up with Green O Tech, a company that recycles used paper, newspapers and magazines. The waste paper gets collected in waste paper bins. Against every 300 kg of paper they receive, Green O Tech provides DAN with 240 notebooks.

In addition; they plant 5 trees at any place designated by DAN at the end of the financial year. The notebooks received are donated by DAN to NGOs supported by the firm under DAN Disha.