As part of our endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from India and around the world, we invited Anusha Mehta for an interview with. She is a “budding entrepreneur” who is on her mission to be the next Unicorn of India in a literally virgin business territory of Customised gifting solutions.
Anusha started an entrepreneurial journey as a Founder of “Wrapping Happiness”. She’s Pursuing her passion to create Customised gifting solutions for Corporates and Retail, a One-stop shop for premium and Personalised Gifting & Experiences.
Anusha is a seasoned industry professional with knowledge, skills and proficiency transcending multiple sectors in Banking, NBFC, Social Enterprise, Management Consulting and Strategy Advisory.
Equipped with professional work experience of Circa 2 decades. The expertise spans profit-centre management, launch, scale-up and leadership roles in multi-disciplinary, multi-locational matrix organizations. Recognized as a distinguished thought-leader, growth catalyst, motivational speaker, and management consultant – focused on driving disruptive innovation, organizational excellence, leadership development and human capital management.
She possesses a 360-degree vision for organizational growth and development ~ having been part of some of the most reputed multinational & Indian blue-chip organizations, across heterogeneous sectors, namely – HDFC Bank Ltd, Barclays Finance and consulting in various Social Enterprises.
Anusha is a Management postgraduate, with a Major in Finance from The Department of Commerce, Lucknow University (LUMBA) and is a Winner of the Chancellor Silver Medal by the Vice President of India, 2000-2002 session.
In parallel, she holds a fiduciary position as an Independent Women Director of “Asian Oilfield Services limited”, Listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and Actively participates as a Volunteer for Change, a program run by Heritage Xperiential Learning School, Gurgaon.
Here are the excerpts from our exclusive interview with Anusha:
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Entrepreneurship is something that comes naturally to me. I’ve spent a lot of time working with some of the finest companies in India, which had pretty well-defined policies and clearly laid down procedures, but I used to always question the status-quo and used to always find ways and means of improving those laid down policies and procedures. In fact, I was always admired to question and challenge the status quo.
I’ve always believed in the fact that if you have an idea for a product or a service that has the potential to make a huge impact – one should just straight away go for it!”
For being an entrepreneur, you need to have a strong conviction on your project, a deep passion, a positive attitude, a sharp focus and an eye for detail.
There is no greater shot of adrenaline than the one you receive after reaching a goal and knowing you worked extremely hard to get to that point.
‘Wrapping Happiness’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
As the name suggests- Wrapping Happiness is built on a strong foundation and its three pillars are – “Emotions”, “Relationship” and “Happiness”.
Anything we curate and offer, be it a gift, service, or an experience is driven and influenced by these three pillars, hence the end result is nothing but Customer delight.
We are in the business of giving an experience to our customers & the end-users by creating memories which can be cherished for their lifetimes.”
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
For us, Covid-19 worked as a proof of concept – for the success of the project.
We all realized how much our relationships matter to us. How much every moment counts and how unpredictable life could be. One needs to live and love the people around every time. It’s important to make special moments more special.
Everyone loves gifts and when this comes with quality, convenience and experience, it becomes absolutely amazing! So, it made us realize and plan things more effectively.
Experiences leading to birthday celebrations, dinner dates at home, movie nights for kids at home, milestone celebrations at the safety of home were a few ideas which thrived well and made us build some theme-based properties around them.
On the other hand, the corporates wanted to be there with their employees during these uncertain times and we worked and supported many corporations with unique ideas to drive employee engagement.
Our logistics and warehousing team worked with all safety precautions and all Covid protocols were followed very diligently with a clear mandate of Health and Safety first.
Our designers, product developers and digital marketing team worked from home and we encouraged HYBRID working – with colleagues visiting the office on a need basis. The actual productivity of the team increased as the travel time was reduced and those many hours which were wasted in travel came back in their lives. For us, Hybrid working is here to stay and we will embrace this.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
There is power in passion. It drives and pushes you harder to achieve it because you think about it all the time and that you badly want to do and succeed in it.”
If you want to succeed in life, you should develop your passion and for me making Wrapping Happiness work is my passion.
The other thing which really drives me big time is the happiness and positive feedback of our customers. Voice of the customer is a litmus test of your product or service. It’s also essential for measuring customer satisfaction among your current customers. Getting a handle on how customers view your product, support, and the company is invaluable.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My family, who believed in me and supported me unconditionally. I work with the aim to always make them feel proud of my actions and me.
My team, who stands by me in thick and thin and helps me take my leap of faith. When you have a great team, going to work in the morning feels joyous, exciting and so much fun. I’m blessed because my teammates are working towards the same goal as I’m and we share an amazing camaraderie.
My fellow successful entrepreneurs- who constantly inspire me with their success stories and actions, reminding me that Sky’s the limit and it’s a long way to go! Still, a lot left to be achieved!!
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
1) Constant learning and development. Believe in byte size learning with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies on a daily basis.
2) Collaboration – “Individual commitment to a group effort–that is what makes teamwork and the organization succeed -I’ve always believed in the fact that the great things in the business are never done by one person but by the team of people.
3) Two-way Communication- communication works for those who work at it!
4) Problem-solving – believe in solving the problem or leave the problem and do not live with it.
5) Integrity
6) Change with changing times
7) Being nimble, agile and resilient
8) Critical Thinking
9) Actively Seek Opportunities to Grow
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I start my day with positive affirmations! In order to “feel positive” I always try to “think positive” and “act positively”.
For me the “why” part is more important than “what” and “how”!! “why” is the purpose of my life.
Being absolutely clear about what I’m working that gives me the energy and the desired adrenaline to stay on course.
What does providing excellent customer support mean to you?
The modern-day customer is spoilt for choices, and there can never be too much support on offer. I think an excellent customer support model is one that adapts well and adapts quickly) the mediums that the customer prefers.
It’s the identification of the right touchpoint and satiating the customer’s thirst for information at the right junctures that leads to loyal customers and that transforms these customers into brand advocates.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
“Whatever you do always give your 100% unless you’re donating blood”
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
