This week we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Pulkit Garg for an interview with us to understand more about his entrepreneurial journey. He is the Founder at Aanya Wellness and is developing an invigorating community for the wellness industry. Let’s learn more about his exciting journey so far!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Pulkit:
Tell us a little bit about your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
So I am an engineer by academics, I completed my graduation in the year 2015 from ITM University Gurugram. Since starting, I always had a flair for trying new ideas and strategies. During my engineering days, I tried my hands on four different ventures but they all added to my stepping stones to success; alas introduction to failure had happened very early. As the journey ensued, I decided to take on a job at Fidelity International, but soon realised that desktop job wasn’t my cup of tea; with 8 months into the role, I decided to quit, and start my own content writing agency.
Content has been a common theme for all my ventures and it is close to my heart. I have evolved into a content strategist, over the years; helping brands, individuals with their communication strategies and creating content outreach.
Meanwhile, I am also inclined towards wellness a lot, so I decided to start a discovery platform for wellness centres that is Aanya Wellness. Aanya Wellness is an abode for all the wellness enthusiasts, enabling discovery of wellness centres in the vicinity, appointments by carefully analysing the reviews/ratings, and retreat breaks to rejuvenate the soul or have skill development sessions in the serenity of nature. It was launched only 6 months back in the market and has witnessed considerable traction this far. And now we have collaborated with a major player and I am bootstrapping this venture. I chose these two areas because I am very passionate about them.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I feel it is something that occurred to me naturally. I must have been in class 4 or 5 when I undertook my first entrepreneurial stint of selling some books. It reignited when I heard Harsh Narang, the founder of PhokatCopy in 2011 or 2012. I was hearing his Ted talk, and after hearing him out I decided entrepreneurship a chance. He inspired me to spark the passion which was dormant for a while.
Besides Harsh Narang, Jagriti Yatra also has a role to play in my entrepreneurship journey, though the entrepreneurial journey for me began in the year 2011, it was the odyssey of 2014 with Jagriti Yatra, that made me take the final plunge. From being a Yatri, and a part of the team, that works year-long to making it bigger every year. I feel grateful to be able to give back to the journey, which helped me shape my future.
In my capacity as a team member of Jagriti Yatra, I was responsible for managing the content and various channels of communication for the organisation, along with liasioning with the supporters, government officials and corporate partners.
One of the biggest achievements in my capacity as a core team member was to successfully execute and manage the event at Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2018, where honourable President Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the 500 Yatris as part of the 10th edition of Jagriti Yatra.
I’m thankful to Dr Suyogkumar Bhavare, who was at that time the COO ofJagriti Yatra for his continuous support, immaculate guidance, and belief in me for this event.
What I felt was in my past failures that persistence was missing. But now I understand that persistence is the key and you have to keep trying, you have to keep fighting on it and one day it will start making sense to you. An experience indeed is the best teacher. I resisted, tinkered and finally narrowed down my focus entrepreneurship.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
I would say this industry has a lot of space but a lot of work needs to be done. For us right now, what matters is – work…work…work; Go back home, get up then work…work…work, so that’s how the daily schedule is. The industry has a lot of gaps that need to be adjusted. We are trying hard to leverage it.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
Majorly it’s about creating an impact. The goal is to make Aanya Wellness one of the leading startups in India by creating a holistic community for wellness enthusiasts and wellness seekers. This mission of making lives better keeps me going.
What are some of the crucial factors in the journey that you are currently working on?
I strongly feel revenue has a crucial role to play, but what matters in the startup journey is the team and quality of your product. Revenue though often looked at as a by-product of good services is the major driving factor that leads to sustainability of the venture. But, if you have an awesome team and a great product, you can overcome the gaps. In the end, all these things are intertwined and need to have a balance amongst each other.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
I would say both have an equal place and have their importance. It should be on a situation basis. Above all, humanity comes first.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I usually talk to either my parents or friends and try to get a solution out of it. Problems are always there in everyone’s life but having an approach where you’re looking for a solution rather than looking for the problem always helps. I focus on the solution, instead.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
I would say that being very much truthful to myself has been the best strategy ever. I can lie to everyone but I cannot lie to myself. If you don’t feel like working, it is good to take a break, look for refreshment and then get back to work. You know – you have to do justice to the roles and that’s possible only when you are in that zone.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
1) Being persistence
2) Do whatever you have to do because it’s your dream you have to do it
3) You are the driver of your life
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
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.
