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| Team SoCheers |
Back in 2011 during his college days, Mehul, at the age of 19, pioneered Socheers.com to
address the need of college students for sharing notes, presentations &
videos online; a website also known as being a small community of their own
which isn’t public. Though it gained popularity amongst the batches in MPSTME,
unfortunately, website it didn’t survive college with everyone’s corporate
dreams and rat races. Soon after completing his education from Narsee
Monjee Institute of Management Studies with a degree in Engineering & an
MBA in Marketing, Mehul started working at J. Walter Thompson and Naaptol (to name a few)
that made him understand the nitty-gritties of e-commerce and the digital
world.
During his Naaptol days, he met Siddharth (Co-founder & Partner,
SoCheers) and together they decided to quit their job to fulfill their
Entrepreneur dream. Here is where their journey began of a small social media
agency by operating on personal laptops, self-schooling themselves on Photoshop
and content writing as well as taking business decisions & grooming to
become leaders. What started from working at home, to a 3BHK flat as an office
to a 2000sqft office in a swanky glass building, SoCheers today employs 50+
people and services 105+ brands from varied industries in India as well as
global specifically in London & UAE.
SoCheers) and together they decided to quit their job to fulfill their
Entrepreneur dream. Here is where their journey began of a small social media
agency by operating on personal laptops, self-schooling themselves on Photoshop
and content writing as well as taking business decisions & grooming to
become leaders. What started from working at home, to a 3BHK flat as an office
to a 2000sqft office in a swanky glass building, SoCheers today employs 50+
people and services 105+ brands from varied industries in India as well as
global specifically in London & UAE.
In an exclusive interview with Startup Terminal; Mehul
Gupta, Co-founder & Director, SoCheers shares more insights about his venture and future goals.
Gupta, Co-founder & Director, SoCheers shares more insights about his venture and future goals.
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| Mehul Gupta |
Excerpts:
ST: What inspired you to
make your mark in the field of entrepreneurship?
make your mark in the field of entrepreneurship?
Mehul Gupta: Curiosity- I’ve always had this curiosity to learn more, which was
somewhere getting stalled at the companies I worked, be it my first internship
in J Walter Thompson or in the Strategic Alliances Manager role I had at
Naaptol; I realized there was so much I wanted to do & give back to the
society but couldn’t find any avenues to do that while doing a job. I had to
get rid of that helplessness hence, decided to quit the well-paying job to
chase my Entrepreneur dream. What added on was that the digital industry was
booming & the market conditions were favourable for start-ups hence, re-launching
SoCheers in 2013 was one of the best decisions I took. None of this would have
been possible without the support of my family though, they inspired me &
kept me going always.
somewhere getting stalled at the companies I worked, be it my first internship
in J Walter Thompson or in the Strategic Alliances Manager role I had at
Naaptol; I realized there was so much I wanted to do & give back to the
society but couldn’t find any avenues to do that while doing a job. I had to
get rid of that helplessness hence, decided to quit the well-paying job to
chase my Entrepreneur dream. What added on was that the digital industry was
booming & the market conditions were favourable for start-ups hence, re-launching
SoCheers in 2013 was one of the best decisions I took. None of this would have
been possible without the support of my family though, they inspired me &
kept me going always.
ST: When did you start your
venture? Please tell us more about your venture.
venture? Please tell us more about your venture.
Mehul Gupta: SoCheers
was first pioneered in 2011 in MPSTME as a social networking website – a mash
up between Facebook & Google docs for college students to share their
projects, connect with friends and share pictures. However, after a few
successful months, we shut it down to pursue our corporate dreams and rat races.
In 2013, Siddharth & I revived SoCheers
as a social media marketing agency.
was first pioneered in 2011 in MPSTME as a social networking website – a mash
up between Facebook & Google docs for college students to share their
projects, connect with friends and share pictures. However, after a few
successful months, we shut it down to pursue our corporate dreams and rat races.
In 2013, Siddharth & I revived SoCheers
as a social media marketing agency.
We started as Social Media
Marketing agency with 2 clients and 2 interns. We took up every job that came
our way which helped us gain an exposure in different fields. One year in, we
started offering everything related to marketing on the internet – media
planning & buying, content marketing, etc. thus becoming a full-fledged
digital marketing agency.
Marketing agency with 2 clients and 2 interns. We took up every job that came
our way which helped us gain an exposure in different fields. One year in, we
started offering everything related to marketing on the internet – media
planning & buying, content marketing, etc. thus becoming a full-fledged
digital marketing agency.
Having explored digital
marketing, SoCheers recently forayed into offline marketing by providing
services right from designing offline advertising to buying media for radio,
hoardings & majorly video production. Our clientele includes brands like Global Citizen Festival India, Marriott Group of Hotels, Zee,
Mahindra Rise, Development Bank of Singapore, Audi (Gurgaon & Delhi
Central), Apple (iZenica Delhi), Deltin Group of Casinos & Hotels, Dremel,
Phoenix Marketcity, Pensol Engine Oils and a lot more. SoCheers services clients across the globe
catering specifically to London & UAE.
marketing, SoCheers recently forayed into offline marketing by providing
services right from designing offline advertising to buying media for radio,
hoardings & majorly video production. Our clientele includes brands like Global Citizen Festival India, Marriott Group of Hotels, Zee,
Mahindra Rise, Development Bank of Singapore, Audi (Gurgaon & Delhi
Central), Apple (iZenica Delhi), Deltin Group of Casinos & Hotels, Dremel,
Phoenix Marketcity, Pensol Engine Oils and a lot more. SoCheers services clients across the globe
catering specifically to London & UAE.
ST: What business
opportunities do you see particularly in your sector-Marketing?
opportunities do you see particularly in your sector-Marketing?
Mehul Gupta: Every brand wants to put
themselves out there for customers to notice them – so there are unbelievable
opportunities for every marketing/advertising agency out there. There’s so much
to explore every day. We get to work with the best in all industries and what
we love best is the fact that we can plug in the latest technology into almost
everything.
themselves out there for customers to notice them – so there are unbelievable
opportunities for every marketing/advertising agency out there. There’s so much
to explore every day. We get to work with the best in all industries and what
we love best is the fact that we can plug in the latest technology into almost
everything.
There’s so much scope for any advertising agency/person to
explore different opportunities.
explore different opportunities.
The best way to capitalise these opportunities is by standing
out of the clutter with your service.
out of the clutter with your service.
In the service industry, if you service your clients well –
word of mouth goes a long way in bringing in business. At least that’s how we work it!
word of mouth goes a long way in bringing in business. At least that’s how we work it!
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| Siddharth Devnani |
ST: How has your
entrepreneurship journey been so far?
entrepreneurship journey been so far?
Mehul Gupta: If I said that the journey has been good, I’d
be lying. It’s not been easy but
be lying. It’s not been easy but
it’s not been bad either. It’s just difficult.
Difficult to the level that you’ve to wake up every day and push yourself to
strive for more. Especially when your ideas fail. But then as an Entrepreneur, I
have realized that
failures are very important. Unless you don’t fail, you don’t learn how to make
things work at the worst of times. And when you fail, learn to keep an open
mind – it gives you a perspective which I wouldn’t have otherwise gained or
noticed.
Always be true to everything you do, never give up & give your best
and trust that everything will happen according to plan. I love waking up
every morning with a purpose, a list of things to do and to do them
differently. What helps is to have a team who executes every idea to
perfection. If it hadn’t been for my team, I don’t think it would have been
possible to do half the things we do currently.
and trust that everything will happen according to plan. I love waking up
every morning with a purpose, a list of things to do and to do them
differently. What helps is to have a team who executes every idea to
perfection. If it hadn’t been for my team, I don’t think it would have been
possible to do half the things we do currently.
ST: As an entrepreneur, what
challenges do you face in your day to day professional life, if any?
challenges do you face in your day to day professional life, if any?
Mehul Gupta: Well, there are quite a few. First
and foremost being – your people’s problems are your problems – personal or
professional, irrespective. If its personal, it’ll affect their work; if its
professional, it’ll affect their work. Second would be motivation – constantly.
For yourself and for the team, you’ve to drive them to achieve your company
goals.
and foremost being – your people’s problems are your problems – personal or
professional, irrespective. If its personal, it’ll affect their work; if its
professional, it’ll affect their work. Second would be motivation – constantly.
For yourself and for the team, you’ve to drive them to achieve your company
goals.
On the technical front, compliances are a major concern. It’s not even
the focus of your start-up but something you can’t survive without. Without knowing, they drain the most time
& energy out of you.
the focus of your start-up but something you can’t survive without. Without knowing, they drain the most time
& energy out of you.
ST: How big is your team?
Are you planning to hire more?
Are you planning to hire more?
Mehul Gupta: When
we started in 2013, we had only 2 interns. Today in 2017, we are a team of 50+
full-time passionate people and 100+ outsourced people who we work with on a
day-to-day basis. Our team is driven by their passion to change their fields of
work and we fuel them with adrenaline.
we started in 2013, we had only 2 interns. Today in 2017, we are a team of 50+
full-time passionate people and 100+ outsourced people who we work with on a
day-to-day basis. Our team is driven by their passion to change their fields of
work and we fuel them with adrenaline.
We are growing at a strong pace and we plan to hire
accordingly.
accordingly.
ST: What are your future
plans?
plans?
Mehul Gupta: Starting off in 2013 with barely-there funds,
one intern, 2 brands- we have grown at a speed where we’ve been able to keep
up. We have achieved some amount of success but the journey doesn’t end here,
we are just getting started. Our next milestone would be to multiply our
turnover 10x and to make an actual impact in the world with our marketing
campaigns & make a difference in
how customers see brands and engage in whatever way possible that adds to the
society at large. Our aim is to make SoCheers a preferred advertising
agency worldwide.
Send us your feedback at startupterminal@gmail.com
one intern, 2 brands- we have grown at a speed where we’ve been able to keep
up. We have achieved some amount of success but the journey doesn’t end here,
we are just getting started. Our next milestone would be to multiply our
turnover 10x and to make an actual impact in the world with our marketing
campaigns & make a difference in
how customers see brands and engage in whatever way possible that adds to the
society at large. Our aim is to make SoCheers a preferred advertising
agency worldwide.
Send us your feedback at startupterminal@gmail.com
