At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate women entrepreneur – Reaa Dureja for an exclusive interview with us. She is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Social Media Expert and Founder of Publiqly. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, background and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Reaa Dureja:
Talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I come from a family where majorly everyone studied Engineering. I too was destined to study that. I tried it by enrolling in a coaching academy but soon discovered that I was not passionate about it.
To pursue my journey of exploring my real passion, I started doing multiple internships: be it Civil Services or Industry-specific. It was during one such Internship that I realized how much I can relate to Business, and more specifically how Technology aids businesses.
I was growing so fond of working in solving real business issues at my Internships that I conceptualized my startup PUBLIQLY.”
The journey has been great and being still in my high school It really has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Yes, I too have faced hurdles, but with the support of family and most importantly my team, it has been a very enjoyable read. And yes, the journey has only started ☺.
As a woman entrepreneur, I really like the diversity in my team. Coming from diverse backgrounds and genders we are a great team which completes Publiqly.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Since my childhood, I saw my father who left his Corporate career and became an Entrepreneur. I was always excited about how he ran his firm and solved real-life issues. This too was also one of the flames which got ignited for me to choose Entrepreneurship.
Having experienced it firsthand, I must say that I found Entrepreneurship both hard and enriching. Hard because of the scarcity of Talent but enriching because of the avenues where you can make an impact.”
To me, whether Entrepreneurship is good for you or not, is closely linked to your own personality traits. I like taking risks, I like exploring things, and above all, I like working with people. The freedom which Entrepreneurship gives me in these three areas, a Corporate career will be tough to offer.
Above all, Entrepreneurship is all about giving back to the community and making a difference in the lives of people, something which is at the core of my living.
‘Publiqly’ 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?
The origin of the name Publiqly was just the quest to find an eye-catching yet self-explanatory name.
While pursuing my Internship, I was handling Social Media Marketing for my firm. It was during this experience that I discovered how badly small businesses struggle to scale their businesses. They were way away from using Social Media.
They may or may not have the resources, but the important piece was that they had no one to guide that if they wished to use Social Media, what exactly needs to be done. This is what Publiqly addresses.”
At Publiqly, we aim to aid small businesses by providing them with designed and well researched social media inventory at a subsidized cost.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
This is an interesting question. First things first, we never took any precaution for covid as Publiqly went live in the times of covid.
In fact, this gave us an edge as we created a business model wherein we had taken each possible risk factor and made a risk mitigation plan.”
The entire business model is built on the premise of an Online Mode.
Consumers to Employees; Technology and Internet are the backbones. Talking about employees, my team of 15 people is diverse enough and working from across the country.
So, I must say that in a way we really haven’t faced any disruption. In fact, we are assisting small businesses to overcome the disruptions they face.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Oh, there are plenty of challenges particularly for me. Managing my bandwidth is the biggest amongst them.
During the day I have to manage my time between my studies as my 12th grade Boards are happening; filing my applications to Universities abroad as I am seeking to do my undergraduate in Business from there; and also of course in managing Publiqly.
The best part of this journey of course has been the brilliant team I have. As Lailah Gifty Akita once said – ‘it is great to do what you love but greater with a great team’.”
Either way, I feel that if you have a passion, you will end up doing anything to make that happen. This to me is Publiqly.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
The biggest source of my inspiration has been my family. They have been the bedrock on which I always lean on when I am low, they are the rainbow of smiles, and they are the ones who constantly push me to cross my limits.
I am proud to be born into a family wherein Values are taught as the biggest life lesson. My parents always instilled in me & my younger brother to have values as our core.
One of the best life lessons I got from my grandfather was that – it doesn’t matter whether we always win, but what always matters is how well you stand up and self-motivate yourself to be a better version of yourself than what you were yesterday. I focus on what my parents have always taught ~ Aspire Big & Work Harder.
Last but not the least, it is my fantastic team working with which never let me break down. My team is my pride and a very inspirational source of motivation and learning.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Entrepreneurship is a journey, and I am still learning a lot. As I shared earlier your personality traits get mapped to your role as an entrepreneur. For me too there are a few skills and life lessons which I feel have really helped me evolve in this small but beautiful journey.
First is the ability to take risks and venture into uncharted territories. Risk is not guts alone, it is a mixture of your ability to take risks and your capability to plan for those risks.
Secondly is being resourceful. For one to succeed in Entrepreneurship, it is a team’s effort. So, you choose your team selectively and engage with the best possible people and talent.
Lastly, is Accountability. Once you are into this domain, you have to Own & Deliver. You cannot be responsible for owning alone or for delivery alone. It has to be your Dharma & not your Karma to ‘Own & Deliver’
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
First things first, love what you do. If you are not in love with your work, your results will always be wrong. You also must accept every situation. You may face difficulties, so what, always have that spirit of carrying on. Take everything in your stride and keep on marching. Perseverance is at the core of Entrepreneurship.
Next, I will say is being resourceful. Your team is one part of it. You yourself are an integral part of it. You must lead from the front. While the team does their specific role, you must focus on sustaining and excelling the Business momentum, exploring new avenues of growth and doing research.”
Lastly, I feel your Positive attitude towards life matters a lot. The best thing about me in Publiqly is that I am the youngest in my team. For me, it is such a positive thing, as I learn so much from my learned team members. Working with them to create varied solutions for the business needs of my customers is something which keeps your positivity alive & rocking.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
I started not too long ago, but there are definitely a few tips I would like to share to my fellow entrepreneurs or students of business.
The most important thing is to focus on Creating Values, be it for your customer, your employees or every one of your stakeholders. Have a long-lasting vision but take baby steps to kick-start your journey. This will help you scale up your venture.
Secondly, make your work your passion. If you have started entrepreneurship to make money, chances are you will not have a lasting passion. But like me, if you have or are planning to start a venture to make an impact in the lives of people & businesses, chances are your journey will be long and more enriching.
Third, have fun. Entrepreneurship is a serious business but doesn’t miss to laugh about your wins and losses. Treat every failure as learning, improve and standing up again.
Last & most important, be it whichever business or industry you are in, never forget the role of Technology in your business. The sunrise of tomorrow for your business will not be the strength of your business model, but on how well you have aligned your business-technology equation. Data is the king, so have enough skills in you and your team to draw insights and inferences for this data to be harnessed, leveraged and even predicted.
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.
