At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Richa Kothari for an exclusive interview with us. Richa is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Trainer, Educator, Coach, and Mentor. She is the Founder of AspiREal Careers. Let’s learn more about her inspirational journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Richa:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
Beginning right from the start, I have had my entire schooling from Convent School in Surat post which my educational journey started off with pursuing Engineering in IT from Dharmsinh Desai University followed by taking up MBA in Finance from Nirma University. I have always been one of those sincere students in the good books of my professors and enthusiastic to be a part of all activities as well along with academics.
But I have to admit, from the time I understood about the work and career, I was always sure to be a part of the education industry just wasn’t sure about how exactly. In my eyes, teachers have always held the utmost respect for the impact they create in an individual’s life and wanted to be a part of the community myself.”
And somehow I got that opportunity right after I completed my MBA. I still remember I had 2 offers on the same day – one from Finance domain and one for being a Quant Faculty from one of the reputed CAT coaching institutes. I followed my heart, accepted the 2nd one and thus took the first step towards my aspirations.
My engineering background somewhere made my grip over numbers stronger, my management background helped me connect to the students going through the same path better and my passion towards teaching made me enjoy and learn something new every day. Thus, even though my education background does not directly connect with what I am pursuing today but definitely every stage back there has moulded me and my journey till date.
Having guided and mentored 3000+ students in a span of 4 years in areas like Aptitude, Interviews, Group Discussion etc., I realized that this gap between a student’s idea about the industry and career and the corporate expectations need to be addressed in a more organised way.
And that’s when I took a leap and became a part of an ed-tech startup as a Co-Founder where I narrowed down to placement training as the field of my interest and also added formal credits to my profile by pursuing certifications in areas like Resume Building, Interview Preparation, Career Counselling.”
To explore myself as a trainer, I started working as a freelancer and got associated with multiple training platforms, organizations as well as B-Schools. That consistent good feedback from my mentees gave me the confidence to do something on a larger scale and that’s when I launched my own venture – AspiREal Careers which is mainly into campus to corporate training.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I think every established entrepreneur, as well as a budding entrepreneur, would have two common reasons: First, to create an impact on a larger scale with putting all heart and soul in the work they are doing and most importantly in their own unique way which is driven by that internal zeal to see the results and Second, the need to face a new challenge every day that generates the required adrenaline rush.
Same reasons stand true for me as well. Overall, I believe the choice between entrepreneurship and corporate career is driven by factors like personality type, risk-taking ability, level of passion towards your field etc.”
‘AspiREal Careers’ 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 with the help of your startup?
Actually, this name comes from the very purpose of my venture – to help candidates turn their Aspirations to Reality – Thus AspiRE + REal. I want to be an integral part of their journey helping them to polish their skills and profile and make them all ready to face the industry right from their selection process.
I have come across such bright candidates but just because they are not able to present themselves well, their skills go unrecognized and unfortunately, a candidate just has 15-20 mins to create that positive impact. So I aim to guide them step-by-step to be the best version of themselves in those 15-20 mins and thus get their dream jobs.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
My venture having born during COVID itself, the entire working model has emerged to be COVID friendly in its own way.”
All the training sessions we conduct are through online mode using different platforms like Meet, Zoom, Webex etc.
Also, the team at AspiREal is me + Industry Mentors onboarded with us to conduct one on one sessions like Resume Building, Mock Interviews etc. and all this is completely virtual.
So, yes AspiREal is operating in a completely pandemic friendly way.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
1 – Never say “No” to any opportunity or project you are approached for. Even though you aren’t prepared at the moment to deliver, just say “Yes” and then work to your full capacity to give the best. This proves as the best medium to learn and gain confidence.
2 – Never be complacent with your products or services. Every deliverable requires constant review, update with extensive research. And also keep on thinking of adding new deliverable to your portfolio. That’s the way to attract new customers every time.
3 – Presentation is the key. It starts right from the way to message for the first time to build a connection, social media presence, company profile, website, visiting cards, communication emails, meetings etc. Show your best in these areas.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
My mantra here lies in the attitude towards the challenges. I firmly believe in the lesson that every challenge teaches you to take you not a step back but in fact, a step ahead in the long run and this thought keeps me going and be ready for any situation.
Whenever I get stuck somewhere, I always reach out to those 2-3 mentors in my life whom I can always trust with honest guidance. Also, self-discipline is a quality that works well for me. I make sure I pre-plan my week every Saturday and also constantly review feedback notes made after every program conducted so as to keep working towards improvement.
Apart from these, I indulge in some stress-busting activities like workouts, playing keyboard, listening to music etc.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your startup?
Being in the service industry, I have learnt quality is the most important aspect. Your growth and long-term associations are only possible with word-of-mouth publicity. Right quality will automatically pull in good business.
Also, I understand the power of good connections in the industry. Connecting with or following the right people in the industry can give you valuable insights especially in the nascent stage of your venture.
Thirdly, always be ready to be criticized and accept your mistakes. Believe me, that doesn’t make you vulnerable but it makes you stronger for the competition ahead.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
It’s the right combination of both for sure. A good idea is definitely required to start on the right foot. Authenticity and clarity about what you want to do is the key to successful strategies.
But after a point, a good, like-minded team is definitely needed to execute the plans at a larger scale.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
To keep up with the rapid pace, qualities most important to effectively lead your passion and your team would be updating yourself every day with changing industry trends, making your team an important part of your journey in every possible way, leading with examples not just by commands and learning to let go off any failures as they will definitely come in your way.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
I believe what has worked for me the most is the quality of industry connections made and nurtured by me in the last 5 years and also my ability to connect with my prime customers – students in a way that they can feel comfortable enough to feel that they are genuinely being assisted towards achieving their own goals.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
That’s because I love and am proud of the result my work is generating. When my students reach out to me and share how my sessions have helped them achieve their dreams, that makes me want to wake up every single day to keep on scaling up the quality of my sessions with more and more research and updates from industry trends.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
To all those strong women out there, just believe in yourself and your capabilities. We can multitask as no one else can. We can build and nurture connections as no one else can.
Do not let any mistake dishearten you and keep on inviting every challenge and opportunity with open arms. Be uptight and keep on following your dreams.
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.
