As part of our ongoing quest to get you meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Ishviene S for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. Ishviene is a seasoned entrepreneur, purpose-driven leader, mentor and change maker. She is the Founder & CEO of ISHKAA STUDIOS – the multi-media creative studio. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, her background, and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ishviene:
We are aware of your contribution to the media ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I come from a multicultural family with strong women role models and a focus on education. I consider my upbringing a truly Indian one – as I did my schooling all over the country – notably in Agra, Calcutta and Delhi. My B.Sc. (Hons) degree is from AIIMS, New Delhi followed by a Masters’ degree in Management Studies (MMS) from the prestigious SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) in Bombay.
I realized early on that I was good at many things – academics came easily to me and I was a passionate reader as well as a published writer even while in school. I had a full scholarship invitation to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in 1990 but was unable to go due to family reasons. I was a passionate debater, poet and MC during my school and college years.”
I can’t say I was certain I would be an entrepreneur, but I was totally sure I would be my own boss. From the time I was a conscious being, people around me realized that ‘I could not follow instructions’. I always found a different way of looking at things and doing them.
My entrepreneurial journey began in the late 90s with my first venture STRATIS TECH in Dubai. This was a partnership venture in a foreign country and it was a huge learning experience.”
It made me realize my comfort with cracking various technologies, and I was dubbed by IBM Middle East as the ‘Oracle of Lotus Notes’. Lotus Notes is a platform product of IBM which allows for app development and multi-location process automation within companies.
More importantly, the experience taught me about the entrepreneurial journey – its joys and tribulations.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
What attracts me towards entrepreneurship is simply the joy of being my own boss and setting my own agenda.
I wake up each morning with thousands of ideas in my head about how I can create something new and make an impact.”
I’ve been a serial entrepreneur. My first two ventures were in partnership – Stratis Tech (Dubai) and Koan Digital (Bangalore). Koan’s noteworthy client was Sony SAB TV and we were privileged to be their first social media agency from 2012 to 2015.
My solo ventures began with BRANDWAGON in Jan 2013, and we offered Website Development and Digital marketing services to an exclusive set of clients. BRANDWAGON still operates offering Branding/ Social Media consulting, website and app development and video services, especially Explainer Videos.
My latest ventures are ISHKAA STUDIOS (a collaborative Media House) and RESHI RESORTS (a breathtaking resort based in Kashmir)
‘ISHKAA STUDIOS’ 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?
ISHKAA comes from the word Ishq which means love and divine passion. IshKaa is about love, passion, collaboration, creation, stories, narration, music and magic.
The internal joke in the team is that ‘KAA’ is inspired from the Jungle Book character of the same name because my team sees me as KAA – the one who hypnotizes them into believing in the magical possibilities of life and work.
What does your company specialise in?
My media venture, ISHKAA STUDIOS is at the forefront of the Media 3.0 wave and even in its short 6-month existence, has over 100 creative collaborators, 2 music video releases, has been featured in all notable Business Magazines in India and has 5 web series projects under development with celebrity writers/ directors. We will be going to OTTs like Netflix and Amazon Prime by the end of 2021.
We provide a platform to upcoming artists – singers/ dancers. musicians, filmmakers, screenwriters, providing both work opportunities, visibility, teams to collaborate with, and a chance to enrich their portfolios and possibly work alongside established names.”
For the audiences, we bring a ripple of refreshing content in terms of music videos, short films, docu-series and web series.
For brands and small businesses, we provide an opportunity for sponsorship/ advertising in these releases and in-video subtle, subliminal product placement.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
1) Being lean and adaptable – We were working with remote teams even before Covid hit with my team spread out in Bangalore, Bombay and Delhi.
2) Collaboration as a way of life – ISHKAA is at the forefront of the Media 3.0 wave and even in its short 6-month existence, has over 200 creative collaborators and 5 web series projects under development with celebrity writers/ directors.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Dealing with Covid times is not the biggest challenge I have faced in my life. Losing my life and business partner in 2015 left me a single parent as well as forced me to take a hiatus from the entrepreneur life. I was back at work, notably with UNACADEMY in 2017.
I learned to adapt with the challenges life threw at me and I feel it made me more agile and adaptive when I restarted Brandwagon in 2020. The whole world was dealing with the pandemic crisis and even bigger agencies were folding up.’
But I was able to not only get my old team back but also start a Media venture, ISHKAA, which is at the forefront of the Media 3.0 wave and even in its short 6-month existence, has over 200 creative collaborators, 3 music video releases, has been featured in all notable Business Magazines in India and has 5 web series projects under development with celebrity writers/ directors.
Our web series – ‘SULTANAT – the war for power’ was released on MxPlayer on September 4, 2021.
We will be going to OTTs like Netflix and Amazon Prime by the end of 2021.
What drives me is my inner vision – of a more inclusive and compassionate world. All my ventures have an emphasis on Diversity and Inclusion and so do my teams.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
A leader is essentially a visionary, who can see how the world can be and see the steps necessary to get there. It is also essential for a leader to have integrity and great communication skills to be able to inspire others to follow the vision.
In these rapidly changing times, agility and adaptability are key.
For me, motivating and mentoring teams of people to create magic is the main key to success. As John Quincy Adams puts it,
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My motivation comes from an inner inexhaustible fountain of ideas of how the world could be.
But it is the teams that I work with – who are young, creative, passionate go-getters who keep me going on a day-to-day basis. My social media team is headed by Sonali Dutta and the 3 musketeers – Sid, Vineeth and Suhas. The music division is helmed by the famous young actor Ashish Sonkar and Finance and Legal matters are handled by Sameer Reshi.
I also enjoy the open exchange of ideas with collaborative partners like the famous music director – Vasu Dixit, the co-writer of Family Man – Manoj Kumar Kalaivanan, the famous Kannada actor – Deepak Subramanya, the Theater stalwart – Akhshay Gandhi, the music sensation of the North East – Rahul Rajkhowa and the celebrity Bhajan Singer – Shailendra Bhartti And last but not the least, the young Director/Producer, Reyhan Sharma, whose web series – SULTANAT releases on September 4, 2021, on MxPlayer.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow/succeed as a person?
(a) Introspection
(b) Self-reliance
(c) Curiosity and continuous learning
(d) Being agile and adaptable to changing circumstances
(e) Being decisive and owning the responsibility of my decisions
(f) Ability to take risks & venture into uncharted territories.
But the biggest secret I found which gives me an edge is the ability to be happy, regardless of the outer events or circumstances.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Follow your dreams. Follow your passion. Don’t treat work as a means to a paycheck but as the secret of a fulfilling life.
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.
