As part of our ongoing quest to get you meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world, we invited yet another passionate and purpose-driven entrepreneur – Shilpa Subramaniam for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. She is an experienced corporate trainer, mentor, speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. Shilpa is the co-founder and Director of The Learning Gym Ltd – an organization which focuses on upskilling learning professionals ranging from trainers and facilitators to educational professionals. She co-founded ‘The Learning Gym’ to leverage her expertise and her passion by creating space for learning professionals to fine-tune their skills. Let’s read more about her inspiring journey and her advice for our growing community through our exclusive interview with her!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Shilpa:
Talk us through your background, please?
I have a degree in Psychology, Sociology and International HR. I worked across industries – architecture, market research and recruitment, before moving into learning and development where I found my niche. My interest lies chiefly in the learning space.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
Being an entrepreneur allows me to work with different clients from various industries.
Entrepreneurshipalso allows me to go wider with regard to my field of work. Plus, I enjoy running an organization based on my values.”
What kind of work interests and drives you?
At “The Learning Gym”, a company which I co-founded, I address the different learning challenges faced by learning professionals in both the corporate and education sectors. I channel my years of experience in the Learning and Development and intercultural fields, into diagnosing, designing and facilitating.
I also enjoy working in the field of D&I and cross-culture and this translates into designing and delivering innovative training programs to build women leaders, to elevate the inclusive cultures in organizations and to break down cultural stereotypes.
What makes your start-up ‘The Learning Gym’ different?
We’d like to think there’s a lot that sets us apart! Most people find the name intriguing!
We’re “glocal”– we bring global tools and adapt them to the local markets. We cater to the entire learning project cycle and offer support (through tried and tested tools) for all the stages of learning. So irrespective of where in the life cycle of a learning project a learning professional’s role and focus are on, we are here to support them in being more effective. We also offer different “fitness tracks” to make you more “fit” as a learning professional.
Our fitness tracks work on the premise that a fit learning professional:
1 – Assesses learning needs
2 – Engages relevant stakeholders early on and starts with the end in mind
3 – Designs learner-centric solutions
4 – Leverages technology
5 – Delivers with impact and is memorable in the room
6 – Makes learning stick (by thinking beyond the classroom) and supports post-program application
7 – Measures and demonstrates results
How has Covid impacted your world of work?
I think I’m extremely fortuitous to be part of an industry where my work can be adapted to the virtual space. This allowed me to deliver more online training interventions and to support other learning professionals as they explored the online space too.
What’s important in this new way of working is to be realistic about how much to take on, in order to not feel overwhelmed. It’s also important to be even more aware of how the pandemic is impacting those we’re working with.
What do you do when you’re not working?
Having lived and worked across continents, I enjoy immersing myself in different cultures and learning about the nuances of what makes the culture click.
When I’m on a break from being a workaholic, I enjoy kickboxing, running and swimming. Exploring local cuisines is a life-long obsession which I continue to nurture.”
What advice would you give aspiring woman entrepreneurs?
Just go ahead and try it out. There’s no way of knowing if you’re suited for entrepreneurship or not unless you try it. And find a business partner(s) who has a skillset and mindset which complements yours. Just my two bits and by the way, it applies to all genders.
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.
