Why I Joined A Tech Startup…

An adman’s journey.

In my 6-point-some years of career, I have spent most of the time working in advertising agencies. And honestly, I couldn’t envisage myself working in any other kind of organisational setups. The reason was fairly simple. Working in an ad agency was liberating. I’m sure there’s a good lot that would agree with me on that. Ad agencies give you that ‘breathing space’; let you open-up and explore! That’s how, I transitioned into a Strategist after starting off as a Suit. Anybody, who has worked in an advertising agency would be familiar with three things. 1) ‘Creative’ office decors, 2) Crazy work hours & crazier parties and 3) The Mantra — “An idea can come from anybody or anywhere”. In a nutshell, I was in love with the agency-life, and everyone who knows me well, knew that I would never leave that environment!

But after all these years, I recently joined a tech startup! So, all my agency-friends, who knew how much I loved the agency-life, started questioning my commitment to the creative world. What happened? Did I fall prey to the custom of switching over to the apparent sunnier shores of the ‘client-land’ for more money; or I succumbed to the fad of joining a startup, because it’s the “in” thing? The answer is — neither. In fact, it’s my passion for the agency-culture that stimulated me to take the step. Sounds a bit erratic? Let me explain.

My purpose of working in an agency was to feel liberated; to be able to explore newer horizons that were ‘virgin territories’ for me earlier. But, if I keep staying in the same environment, am I actually exploring? I might move to a new agency and work on a few new brands, but I would still be serving the same old wine in a new bottle! I felt like a horse with blinkers on. But it was also true that I loved advertising/marketing way too much to quit it for good. Moving to a big corporate wasn’t my first choice either, because I wasn’t sure how flexible my job profile would be. Besides, I didn’t want to get stuck in a place, where decision making is a long-drawn process (for valid reasons). I’m used to the ‘nimble-footed’ approach. With all this in mind I started feeling quite restless. But as they say, when we really want something, the universe conspires to lead us to it. As luck would have it, a few things aligned in such a way that I landed an interview with a startup! A ‘tech’ startup that deals in the decentralised communication space, to be precise! Though, the position was of a Brand Strategist’s. Questions popped up in my head, like they are coming to you right now! Nonetheless, I somehow felt excited about the opportunity, and eventually got the job too! Now the question is — why did I take the offer? Because, during the interview process, I discovered something fascinating!

The funny thing is, we humans are prone to forming clusters; maybe to make things simpler for us. But it also divides. Left brain Vs. right brain, Science Vs. Arts, Creative Vs. Logical and so on. Even if these functions differ from each other in some ways, we often miss the bigger picture. A picture that shouts out that they are equally capable of working together. In fact, they work better when united. That’s why Da Vinci and Einstein or even Steve Jobs were so different from the rest of us. When I met the team, I realised how creative they are! A bunch of dreamers, that’s what they are; but the kind that doesn’t just dream but works towards it to make it happen! And I felt the connection at once, for their dream was not about the numbers or becoming yet another global data-hub; it’s about building a future for us all, where we get to taste freedom in the truest sense! And what’s my role here? I’m their ‘voice’, because people need to know about this dream! And the best part is, I don’t discuss brand proposition anymore; we discuss ‘Purpose’. After spending a couple of months, I now know that I made the best decision of my life when I decided to join them. I was looking to find ‘meaning’ in my work, which can be hard, when you are working on a typical brand or multiple brands and trying to achieve certain marketing goals for them. I needed something more than that and I got that opportunity here! What more? Learning! I feel like being in school again. There’s so much to learn; so many things exist that I had no clue about! And finally, my job title doesn’t control my output. Like I’m writing this article now, tomorrow if I want to design something, no one would stop me (as long as it’s not a disaster!). And that’s what I was seeking in a workplace. Without dragging this any further, I’ll wrap up here on this note that everybody comes to a point when they want more than ‘just’ work; something more meaningful. For me that phase came a couple of months ago and very luckily, I got the right platform to step up to!

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