As part of our endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from India and around the world, we invited Parul Bhargava for an exclusive interview with us to understand more about her promising entrepreneurial journey so far. She is an Angel Investor, Speaker, Leader and the Founder of vCommission Media Private Limited. Let’s learn more about her story, background and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Parul:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please
Firstly, I don’t hail from an established business family, or anyone even remotely related to entrepreneurship. I have been brought up in a modest, gender-neutral environment at home and completed my academics in a similar set up too. On the educational front, I completed my B. Tech in IT from Amity University.
I didn’t know I could be a successful entrepreneur until I dived right into it. Gender biases or challenges of being a woman entrepreneur dawned upon me when I started my entrepreneurial journey. It wasn’t a cakewalk but having Tarang as a supportive partner in life and in business made things easier for me. He is my best supporter and also my worst critic.
Our journey started way back in 2006, this was a time period when we were very young and open to trying out new ideas, gaining fresh perspectives about the business world and also seeing how far we could go. In fact, during those times, several brands didn’t even accept Indians as someone with whom they could foster business partnerships. This was surprising for us.
However, we continued to persist and eventually our grit helped us sail through and take vCommission where it stands today.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
For me, the zeal and power to leave an impact is something that made me take up entrepreneurship rather than a corporate career. It’s only when you own up things that you can bring about a change.
To be honest, my entire professional journey from being a content writer in my initial years to becoming the CEO of vCommission has been about discovering and rediscovering myself constantly. And in all these years, I have surprised myself not just once but many times over.
For instance, I didn’t think that I could ever do sales, or maybe manage such a huge team of people with such efficiency. But then again, it was a mix of my failures and success that taught me all this. Today, I only feel gratitude that it did.
For me, everything narrows down to two things. The first being highly aspirational and the second being that I as a person have always been very open to learning new things. These two factors have played an instrumental role for me to chase bigger goals in life while also pouring all my energies to achieve what I really wanted for myself.
Plus, being an entrepreneur gives me the opportunity to explore, innovate and perpetually optimize myself as a business professional.
‘vCommission Media Private Limited’ 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.
vCommission infers ‘we all win’. Since we offer managed services to the brands, they earn sales, and we earn a commission which is shared with the publishers.
We offer customized performance-based advertising solutions to brands that are transparent, innovative, and effective.
As a brand, vCommission relentlessly focuses on delivering top-notch performance through its services. It works with the singular objective of generating maximum revenue for its partners, scaling at a rapid speed without compromising on the quality of business deliverables.
Within a span of a decade, the company has aggressively scaled as an uprising digital brand. It is currently working with 100k + affiliates, generating 80 M in monthly traffic, 2.5 Million conversions, and $2B monthly GMV. Right now, the brand’s major areas of focus are E-Commerce, Travel, iGaming, Finance & Insurance.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
There is no doubt that post-covid, the dynamics of doing business have changed drastically not just in any one country but all across the globe. However, even with the hindrances of the “new normal”, vCommission has flourished and closed several business targets. We further aim to continue and explore new waters at a global level while retaining our strategic focus at the home base – India.
Although, with the vaccination drive taking place at full throttle in our country, things are settling now for good. And in all this, vCommission strives to work around the changes that have taken place in the market while we keep an eye on our competitors.
This keeps us on our toes, motivates us to keep on hustling, innovating, and rise above the limits; thereby realizing our true potential. Also as a brand, we heavily invest into R&D that acts as a crucial ingredient in driving success for us and also helps us grow with the right approach.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I would say that ups and downs are an inevitable part of anyone’s journey. I proudly admit that they have been a part of my life and have only taught me and have helped come out victorious preparing me for greater success.
However, in the end, it’s my trust in my team that keeps me going and gives me the motivation to push myself to do better every single day.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
There is no single point of motivation for me; I draw it from multiple sources. Tarang, my husband, is my biggest motivator. Along with that, the fire to impact and revolutionize the digital industry always keeps me on my toes.
I also believe that being an entrepreneur has given me the opportunity to explore my inner potential to the fullest.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
A very interesting question, indeed! However, I would like to say that there is no set of strategies or rules to grow as a person. Life’s experiences eventually help you learn and become wiser.
However, I strongly believe that it’s our values which help us become who we are. In fact, it is our values, which have helped me personally come this far in my journey.
Apart from that, commitment towards work and people is a crucial factor that can decide if you come out victorious or not. Along with all this, the right knowledge, integrity, and teamwork, has helped me grow as a human being.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I am a cheerful person by nature; being happy comes naturally to me.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Everyone has their different parameters of success. For me, the key to success is:
1) Taking risks
2) Evolving with changing times
3) Keeping an optimistic attitude
4) Continual learning to keep moving ahead
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Always be open to learning and unlearning, don’t shy away from taking risks, find and follow your passion, and keep upgrading your skills.
Always remember that nothing is done overnight, satisfaction doesn’t come overnight. You need to preserve; there is no other alternative for that.
And if at some point in your life, you feel confident and motivated enough that you are ready to take the plunge, then you should do it.
There is no age, no gender, no degree required to take the plunge.
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.
