At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Rita Rego for an exclusive interview with us. Rita is an Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of Speshally NHS Private Limited and the Co-Founder & Director of Aesthesis Foundation. Let’s learn more about her background, journey and her advice for our community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Rita:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
My journey has been a long & interesting one; spanning from being a budding corporate aficionado, into the Co-Founder and Director of the Aesthesis Foundation, an NGO which supports the visually impaired youth through upskilling, training and support.
Over the years of dealing with the specially-abled, I realized that even after upskilling and training, very few of them get good jobs. This led to the idea that in our company jobs could be created wherein our specially abled can work in different departments along with the ones who can make products and financial empowerment could be within their grasp.
That’s when I created a Social Enterprise Speshally NHS Pvt. Ltd. Which focuses on the financial and economic empowerment of the specially-abled individuals, a model which is visible, tangible, interactive and creates awareness on diversity & inclusion.
My background in program and project management, an MBA focussed on Marketing and Public Relations from the National Institute of Management and 25 years of working in corporates have helped me build and scale the organisation. I am joined by Rolif Cornelio who is the Co-founder & COO of Speshally NHS, a business leader with 14 years of vast experience in Operations Management and together it is our mission to touch the lives of 500 specially-abled people and more in 5 years.
‘Speshally NHS Pvt. Ltd.’ 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?
We selected the name Speshally firstly because it sounds like Specially – phonetically It is not spelled correctly. This is intentional to communicate that we don’t have to fit the image of what is traditionally expected or ‘correct’.
It ends with the letter ALLY to communicate that we can be Allies in this journey together. The logo is that of a Swan, and the story is about the ugly duckling, which was ridiculed and outcasted by the other ducklings, thinking that it doesn’t fit in. But when the duckling grows in the right environment, and understands its potential, only to find out that the duckling was actually a Swan. It only understood its value in the right environment, around the right people. That is an environment we are working to create.
Speshally colour – we chose Teal, as we wanted a colour that represents a Peacock. We chose peacock as it has many hidden colours and beauty. It only shares these in the right circumstances, where it feels safe and happy. We believe our organization is the same for specially-abled people.
Speshally is a play on the word ‘specially’ symbolizing the empowerment offered to the specially-abled. It is also an amalgamation of the word special and ally.
Speshally stands on 4 robust verticals:
(1) Gifting – where products, brand reminders and hampers are created and curated by the specially-abled and are delivered to clients and corporate employees, what better than purposeful gifting as a denominator to generate livelihood.
(2) Pop-ups at corporates – where we display products and hampers created and curated by the specially-abled at the offices of various corporates that helps build a culture of inclusivity and staff can personally interact with specially-abled individuals.
(3) Recruitments – where we offer employment solutions for the specially-abled and others
(4) Workshops – where we conduct workshops at offices to enable an inclusivity culture which helps break barriers and myths.
Our audience would love to know how they can be more inclusive and support Speshally’s mission?
Speshally offers recruitment and placement as a service. The advantage of using Speshally is that we will offer you candidates who are regular and specially-abled for the role you are looking to hire. So you are not pigeonholed into hiring only specially-abled for any role.
Instead, your hiring managers can see who the right fit is, some of whom may be specially-abled. We hope that over time, we will give you enough quality profiles to start adding more diversity to your teams, without feeling the restriction of tagging a role for specially-abled or otherwise
Despite the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
Challenges arise in every situation in life and running a social enterprise is no different. But we believe in accepting every challenge and treating it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
In the words of Nelson Mandela – “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
Life is all about the lessons we learn and believe me, I have learnt a ton of lessons:
– Don’t take anything personally. Sometimes people say or do something that seems like a personal attack. But the other perspective is to understand that negativity, whether spoken or acted upon, often stems from the person themself, rather than anything you’ve done. By not taking things personally, we can avoid unnecessary emotional turmoil and focus on what truly matters – ourselves and our own happiness.
– Listen to everyone’s advice but do what your gut tells you. While valuable insights can come from listening to the advice of others, there’s a powerful voice within us too – our intuition. The key lies in striking a balance. We can absorb the wisdom offered by trusted advisors, but ultimately, the decision rests on our own gut feeling.
– Do the things that leave you feeling fulfilled. Remember, the most rewarding tasks aren’t just about checking things off a list. They leave you with a deep sense of fulfilment, a feeling that you’ve truly tapped into your potential. This sense of accomplishment isn’t just about external validation; it’s the quiet hum of knowing you’ve grown, challenged yourself, and brought your unique talents to the table.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
The key to success is never how much money you have made, rather it’s about how many lives you’ve touched and how many people remember how you made them feel, like building a legacy.
At Speshally, we believe success lies in spreading empowerment to the section of the society that is most neglected – the specially-abled.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
It’s great to set your goals high and navigate the path to a successful life. But always remember to ask yourself what you are giving back to society. It’s through this step that you will find true fulfilment.
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
The most satisfying part of our journey with Speshally is the enthusiasm and drive of our specially-abled team. Without them, our journey wouldn’t be half as exciting. Seeing them become financially empowered leaves us with a feeling of warmth and pride that nothing can beat.
Companies that embrace inclusion & diversity in their business strategically outperform others with an inspiring working culture and a much higher Return on Investment. We look forward to spreading the word and touching more lives everyday.
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.
