I began my career with Mu Sigma, a technology company, and got the opportunity to work with Fortune 500 companies in the USA.  I am an avid reader and hence being a storyteller comes naturally to me. I wrote two books, the first one ‘Y.O.U’  was announced as a best-seller by The New Indian Express & the Oxford bookstores, and the second book was titled ‘How I was forced to become a staunch RACIST’. When I decided to pursue entrepreneurship, I decided to stick to the media space where I authored 70 original scripts. I exited after 3 years when my company was acquired by a Bombay-based production house. My experience with my first start-up gave me the insight that even large corporations make marketing decisions based on how they feel about the content instead of using data to get the best results. Here is where I stepped in with Instoried to help marketers/ content creators or just about anyone to create content that is more empathetic and thereby more likely to convert. Humans are emotionally driven and it is important to communicate with empathy be it in business or in personal relationships. Instoried has been on the forefront of the empathetic revolution for content.

What are the biggest hurdles that you faced in your journey?

My biggest challenge was getting the team in place and ensuring that there are always enough funds to spend for the same. After my savings were exhausted, I had to break my PPF account, despite my parent’s disapproval. Subsequently, I mortgaged my jewelry and used the money to pay salaries. Once the team was set, I was confident of our journey being positive even if it would have a few hurdles in between. I am very happy to share that we now have an outstanding team, 60% of which are women.

Failures are the best teachers so how did you overcome that?

I strongly believe that a failure only happens if you conclude it as a failure. If you are persistent, innovative, and agile you can always convert a failure into an opportunity. In my own case, because I knew that a fund shortage is only a temporary setback if you allow yourself room to innovate and grow, I persisted and invested my own personal savings to grow. You don’t fail if you persist and are quick enough to make changes to the way you do things.

Your opinion on the current situation of OTT platforms or the scope for young writers

OTT platforms provide lucrative prospects to budding content creators. Demand for OTT content based on geo-demographics is on the rise, both within India and internationally. I think the year 2022 is definitely going to be an exciting year for OTT players as the content pipeline will be stronger than ever.

Share 3 advice for young entrepreneurs and storytellers

1. Persevere and don’t stop!
2. Team is everything. Running a start-up is not a one man show!
3. Money, name and success are all transient. The only one that prevails is the relationship with humans. So be grounded, humble and empathetic in life.

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Following the success of Myntra Fashion Superstar, Myntra Studio and most recently M Live, Myntra looks at further harnessing the power of creator economy

Aims to build better monetization opportunities, connecting the influencers with brands at scale while providing personalized holistic development opportunities

Bengaluru, February 22, 2022: As a pioneer in influencer-led content, Myntra introduces its one-of-a-kind, Style Squad, an army of stylish, loved, trusted, relatable, diverse and high performing content creators or influencers, who will exclusively collaborate with Myntra and its brand partners to become the faces of Myntra’s Social Commerce proposition, in particular, Myntra Studio and M Live.

The Style Squad will be looking to build platform affinity by driving their fan base to Myntra, becoming its digital ambassadors, while impactfully scaling awareness for Myntra on their social channels. Myntra has handpicked creators from the top 10% of the thousands of creators it has worked with in the recent past via Myntra Studio and M Live.

90% of the Style Squad members were budding creators before they joined Myntra and now most of them have a larger follower base on Myntra Studio than on their Social Media handles. The role of an army of content creators who are relevant to the industry and trusted Myntra loyalists becomes imperative as the platform accelerates the pursuit of its ambitious plans in the content to commerce space.

The launch of Style Squad is the manifestation of Myntra’s commitment to empower the talented and aspiring creator ecosystem in India. Through this initiative, Myntra will offer an array of benefits, ranging from unlocking monetization opportunities, a steady stream of income, the opportunity to connect with over 7000 brands at scale and customized 1:1 mentorship and training avenues.

Leveraging its Tech prowess, Myntra has introduced monetization, engagement building and tracking tools for creators, which are slated to empower the members of the creator community especially the ones who are just starting out in the influencer industry.

Shoppers can rely on the Style Squad for style advisory and discover curated looks and more trends, hacks and tips to elevate their fashion and beauty game. Myntra’s Style Squad members are chosen keeping in mind their pan-India reach, their following on Myntra, influence and impact on the fashion, beauty and lifestyle inclined audiences. They will be positioned as the faces of Myntra across colleges, thriving fashion and lifestyle communities and established social platforms. Some of the popular creators on the Style Squad include Abhinav Mathur, Ishita Khanna, Asmita Kaushik, Samidha Singh, Pradaini Surva, and winner of Myntra Fashion Superstar’s Season 3, Queen Andro, among others.

Talking about the concept of Style Squad Achint Setia, Head of Marketing and Social Commerce, Myntra, said, “As pioneers in the space of fashion content, we believe in nurturing upcoming talented creators from the grassroots and giving them adequate exposure, mentorship and training to become superstars on the platform. For Style Squad, we have identified high-performing, creative, edgy and impactful creators from our Social Commerce platforms to craft unparalleled brand and expert-led engagement for Myntra and our brand partners. As the future of meaningful consumer engagement driven shopping, the Style Squad enables Myntra and our brand partners to leverage the creator economy to deliver substantial value for our customers by building a platform that allows real time style advisory and enhanced product discovery. Influencer-led engagement is key to Myntra’s marketing strategy and we shall continue to make the right spends to enable this vision.”

Myntra envisions to drive stickiness and repeats with fashion-forward customers across tiers and genders, with creators playing a critical role in influencing decision making and building awareness among young customer cohorts. The current engagement rates of the enterprise’s key creators are upwards of 1.5X of the platform average and this is expected to grow by 4-5x in the next 2 years.

Pivoted on community, connection, and trust, Myntra forayed into Social Commerce at scale late last year. Myntra believes that Social Commerce is the future of shopping and has witnessed its live streaming traffic grow by 5X+ and demand in orders placed by 10X+ in the last 6 months.

About Myntra

Myntra is India’s leading platform for fashion brands and pioneer in m-commerce play. An integral part of the Flipkart Group, Myntra brings together technology and fashion to create the best experience in the fashion and lifestyle space in India. The company has partnered with over 5000+ leading fashion and lifestyle brands in the country such as H&M, Levis, U.S. Polo Assn., Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Philippe, Jack & Jones, MANGO, Forever 21, Urbanic, Marks & Spencer, W, Biba, Nike, Puma, Crocs, M.A.C, and Fossil and many more, to offer a wide range in latest branded fashion and lifestyle wear. Myntra services over 27,000 pin codes across the country.

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