Shattering the stereotypes
Being an entrepreneur is never easy, each business brings along its own unique set of challenges and hardships. Apart from this, to break the stereotypes associated with being a female entrepreneur has never been an easy task in our male-dominated world. However, the only way to get through them and emerge successful is belief in oneself and hard work. Today, we are going to talk about one such entrepreneur who has not only broken the stereotypes attached with women entrepreneurs but has set a solid example for the aspiring businesswomen and entrepreneurs. She is none other than SaachiAgrawal, co-founder of Plotters Ink, a 360-degree creative agency.
With her background in creative and design, her role is to ensure the firm maintains a high-standard of creative output in all the client deliveries. She interacts with clients for key strategic tasks and chalks out long-term plans. Apart from this, she also loves to network and explore new opportunities for Plotters Ink.
Plotters Ink is a young, homegrown independent agency, which helps brands strategically communicate with their audiences. They believe in creativity with returns while acknowledging the power of brand value. They have been in the business for over 8 years now and have worked with some of the top brands in the country.The roles and responsibilities of a founder stretch across the horizon. Right from major business decisions, client acquisition, team selection & recruitment, creative output and quality, building & maintaining relationships and ensuring the workplace is happy and healthy, all these are something Saachi thoroughly enjoys.
Making obstacles the stepping stones to reach to the goal
They are in the business of ideas; they provide a service which is intangible at the beginning. Starting out as an absolute nobody, finding work was a challenge. They had no godfather, no investor and no legacy in the business of advertising. Getting a brand custodian to place their trust in Plotters Ink was the single-most challenging thing, and being a young woman didn’t make it any easier. “It’s a fact known to us, when a young woman approaches you persistently from the world of “Advertising &Media” the recipient is bound to misconstrue the intent”, says Saachi.
Their work is based on collaboration and human interaction. Last few years have been very challenging but the company has learnt a lot from the obstacles that came its way and made them the stepping stones to reach its goal. Their goal has always been to be recognized as a creative agency which can provide solutions with tangible returns to their clients. The industry has been dominated by global names which Indian clients believe can provide the best relevant solutions for their business. “We as a homegrown agency want to debunk this mindset. To achieve this, we are constantly evolving our talent pool and pushing our creative envelope to exceed the market expectations”, says Saachi.
Pandemic offered challenges and lessons to Saachi and her team. One of the biggest challenges faced during the pandemic was the whole remote working model. Daily tasks which would take a stipulated period of time, spilt into longer hours. The dependency on virtual mediums of communication was time and effort intensive. Secondly, something that the world was grappling with was – budget issues. The financial crunch was evident with brands across almost all sectors. Due to lockdowns and stringent guidelines, shoots etc were stalled. “We had to discover innovative and cost-effective ways of meeting with client expectations, while being creative”, asserts Saachi.
They had no plan B, no other business to fall back in case this didn’t work, which only motivated them to push harder and never stop.
Agility to adapt and deliver
After winning a few accounts in the initial phase of their journey, the bumps on the road did seem lesser as they managed to build a credible portfolio, with some smart and stunning work.
The company has worked with some of the top brands in the country. To name a few: Sodexo BRS India, JSW Cement, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, GoAir, Raymond, Vedant Fashions, Bisleri, Nykaa, Polycab, Bharat Petroleum, Edelweiss, Amazon, Glenmark, Calvin Kare and many more.
Their genre of business demands them to be very relevant, up-to-date and aware of the changing and evolving trends. Agility to adapt and deliver has been their key success driver.
Clients are depending heavily on social and digital media for reaching out to their audiences. Being Spontaneous and in the moment is making communication fast and informal. It is easier to have conversations with audiences but equally difficult to keep their attention. People from the creative domain tend to have very unique traits and personas, as this helps channelize their individualistic virtues in to work. “Plotters Ink is our labour of love, and I enjoy working on every small aspect of the business.”Saachi brings such level of attachment and ownership to the table for each and every deliverable or campaign which is incomparable. When it’s your own baby, you want to give it your 200% and that’s what sets her apart.
“Our objective is to grow bigger, do more amazing work and shatter the stereotypes”, she says in her concluding remark.
