She gave up a high paying, high profile job in one of India’s most reputed and well known financial companies, to begin her own little venture. Of course at that time, little did she know that her little business venture will be able to grow into a sizable operation. Today, Mudita Ghia, a successful entrepreneur from Mumbai, runs one of India’s successful online web optimisation companies along with her partner and spouse.
What did it take for a successful Vice President of a well known company to quit her job and to begin her own venture and what were her ups and downs? It is easy to find out, read on, as Mudita talks to Paroma Sen-Basu.
How long has it been since you started your own company?
My ex-partner and I began Clarus Media in early 2007. Today it feels like I’ve been working with Clarus for over a decade. I quit my job at IndiaInfoline when I realized that there was a lot more I could do, if given some independence. My career at IndiaInfoline was great, I learnt a lot and managed some really exclusive projects. However, in life there is only so much you can do when you work for others.
What does it feel like to be a woman entrepreneur?
Well to put it simply, entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted. The ups and downs could throw you into a complete state of disillusionment. The first two years for us were full of surprises, good and bad. But all in all, this entire journey is like no other. Being a woman entrepreneur in a man’s world isn’t tough, if you have the right spirit and the right attitude.
You need to be strong, strong willed. You need to have your basics in place, with regards to subject knowledge and principles. The rest depends on your confidence. I feel a sense of passion at the end of the day, when I go home knowing I have done a good day’s work for something I own. I don’t think any job can give you the satisfaction of working for yourself. What is the point of everything, if you can’t reap 100% of your own rewards?
What is the focus of your work?
We started out as an online media company. We use various online marketing tools to sell a lot of categories of products online, with an extended offline arm. Our online tools include using Internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing and email marketing to help you grow your business.
We started out in 2007, which means that the market was still in a nascent stage in India at the time. There are several companies that offer online marketing tools, but most are advertising agencies, or stand alone social media agencies. It is rare for there to be a company focused only on online marketing, which offers customized options to promote a business.
