Kajal Sinha

Kajal Sinha: Finding balance in troubled water

It is a daunting task for a woman to survive in the man's world. The statistics show that female executives are disproportionally represented in higher positions and lagging behind as entrepreneurs, there are various reasons according to the studies; however, after the introduction of neoliberal economic policies, few women were able to challenge the stereotypes.

Yesteryears have witnessed a surge in the number of women venturing out their businesses and contributing to the economic wave of the country.

Counted among those is Kajal Sinha, a young soul who is currently busy in reinventing the 'brand communications' wheel to stand out with her venture, she is among those handfuls that have emerged as an influence not only on domestic but also on the international sphere.

Her internet expertise, a sound understanding of digital marketing industry and proven business development ability has contributed to scripting down her success story in the corporate world.

Media Conversion's beginning and Kajal's entrepreneurial journey ignited from a common ground.

Let's hear the plot of this advertising disruptor from the woman who assessed the flaws in the existing ways and found a new outline to innovate the way brands reaches out to its digital audience.

Edited Excerpts

It's not easy to be a trailblazer; what's your competitive advantage and why can't it be copied?

Brands spent crores on advertisements, however, only a little of such endeavor brings useful returns. Despite numerous channels that lead to audience, most do not convert as effective ways of brand recall. A junction of multiple problems resides here:

• First, Brands have standardized their marketing strategy following certain static approaches. It is like trying out the same pill for different ailments which obviously doesn't work.

• Secondly, even if brands reach their target audience, they are not able to attract them or sent the correct message. This is again due to lack of personalization.

• Brands somehow are unable to make users understand that it is the same product or service they have been waiting for. There is a serious communication gap.

• Thirdly, the approach to advertisement creates a roadblock for itself. The intrusive nature of digital ads has been a serious issue, creating systems like ad blockers.

• Apart from these, there are several other issues like ad fraud and lack of transparency in the industry.

Our objective is to eradicate these issues or find effective solutions to create a better ecosystem. It means, following some unconventional approaches that involves risk. I personally don't follow a predefined strategy because diverse industry or brands require different approaches to marketing.

For Media Conversion, technology and innovation has been the highest parameters of operation. Using technology, we sharpen audience targeting. We learnt that certain users, in fact, want to view certain types of advertisement.

Our dynamic approach towards advertisement is successful to reach maximum effective audience. We personalize each marketing strategy not only for a brand but also in our approach to promote it.

Our personalization is on diverse verticals that encompass creating innovative strategies for different digital channels.

Throw some light over the clientele of the digital advertising disruptor.

We have added multiple big brands into our portfolio from diverse industry verticals and fetched business from BFSI, automobile, entertainment, consumer durables, electronics and many more.

What do you think are the keys to professional and business success for women in India?

Balancing professional and personal life is the key to entrepreneurial success for women in India. Indian society is still healthy enough to raise children and a have a family to care for.

Life is not only about how we live it, but also about how we are preparing the world for generations to come. This makes family and providing time to children important. Also, traits like vision, dedication, hardworking are always the necessities.

A reason women recluse from business is lack of motivation. Women in India need to break those barriers of negativity surrounding her. The major ones come from the self, being cynic about their own capabilities. Women need to believe that she herself is the primary source of motivation.

"As a women entrepreneur, I came across both positives and negatives in general entrepreneurial landscape of the country. I am satisfied that glass ceilings are breaking gradually, even if there are miles to go in the direction of equality."

What has made you successful as an entrepreneur?

Success is relative, and its parameters change with time. After reaching certain goals, one becomes enthusiastic to touch more milestones ahead on the way.

There are long term plans and I have been accomplishing the short-term goals on the way to execute them. I am ready to adopt new challenges and take new risks, provided, I accurately calculate the depth of water I will be in.

What is the greatest obstacle you have faced in achieving the success you desire? How do you overcome it?

The greatest obstacle I have faced so far is the skepticism on me. At a certain point of time, my plans misfired, and it seemed I have to work for years to get back over.

I was successful to gather myself together and start. My plan B strategy always worked, and the condition never returned leaving me a good teaching.

What are the major leadership qualities that helped you grow within the company during the past two decades?

I maintain one-on-one communication with each employee. This develops trust and helps to make them give their fullest. I have aligned the objectives of my team to the objective of the company.

Since I started taking responsibilities, I have carefully managed to bypass hierarchy in any work process. I believe in a horizontal approach of managing employees rather than vertical.

How is entrepreneurship and working women important for India as a whole?

It is fairly clear that half of any country's population is women. If it is only men who work, it means 50 % of the total lot has not turned to human resource.

In India, the mindset towards entrepreneurship is gradually changing and the good news is; women have been a substantial aspect of this growth.

What advice would you give young women who want to follow a similar career path as you?

Learn to take risk and accept uncertainty". Uncertainty is an ingrained trait in entrepreneurship, which makes risk taking a necessity. A giant leap of faith is always there, but you should know where you will land in reality.

Entrepreneurship is about pragmatic application of the knowledge you learnt through experience.

What's next for the company? What do you see happening in the company/ industry in 2018-19?

We are expanding our portfolio. We will grow global and also push certain offline activities. Technology integration and adoption have become a routine task due to mushrooming consumerism. Changes in industry are dynamic and we are ready for any disruption or technology wave.

For instance, Blockchain is the current buzz in Market Technology, and we are looking forward to integrate it into our system. Expanding internationally and growing as a global Ad Tech platform is a milestone for me to achieve in 2018 and beyond.

2019 will be a rebuilding year for Market and Advertisement Technology in the prevalent wave of data protection and privacy. In here, technology like Blockchain will develop as a core system in our industry.

What are the big achievements?

For me brand building and reputation in the market is equally important to financial turnover. Media Conversion has achieved both. We are acquiring new clients while serving the existing ones, while, we are successful to built a strong reputation in the industry.

Creating Media Conversion as a profitable venture in a competitive market, within a short time, is a big achievement for me.

Is there anything I didn't ask or mention that you want to share?

Yes. I would like to thank my family, especially my husband, for all his support to keep me fit, both emotionally and mentally. He is the core of my motivation.

I would also thank my friends and industry colleagues for their guidance and help so far. Most importantly, I appreciate my team for their hard work and dedication.