Webchutney has been an agency for most start-ups and still is: Sidharth Rao

Rao, CEO and Co-Founder, Dentsu Webchutney, on his book, ‘How I Almost Blew It’, and why he decided to chronicle start-up stories

e4m by Misbaah Mansuri
Published: Sep 19, 2019 8:54 AM  | 4 min read
Sidharth Rao

For someone who quit college at 19 to start an agency and survived the dotcom bust, Sidharth Rao, CEO and Co-Founder, Dentsu Webchutney, seems to be the perfect fit to pen down start-up stories with his recently released book ‘How I Almost Blew It’.

The novel is an anthology of the myriad stories of India’s highly admired entrepreneurs. Encapsulated by the well-known digital honcho and published by Westland Publications (an Amazon company), the book narrates the heart-stopping stories of speckled industry tycoons and their critical life lessons. 

In conversation with exchange4media, Rao shares the genesis of the book, challenges between idea to execution and more.

Chuffed to being a first time author, Rao said, “I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity to pick the brains of so many icons of India's internet story. Webchutney and I have both been on the other side of the table with some of these founders and their companies as marketing partners, and now I'm excited to tell their stories about their fortitude, courage, hard work and sometimes dumb luck that helped them succeed. I will forever remain grateful to them for freewheeling conversations with me that helped me write the book.”

Deconstructing why he decided on going with the start-up story as the topic over making it a novel around Webchutney, Rao remarked that in India, there isn’t much available in the entrepreneurship space and as the media celebrates fundraising and other vanity milestones in a start-up’s journey, adding to the perception that start-ups are romantic stories. “In reality they are difficult journeys fraught with hardships. In my 20 years in the start-up universe, I haven’t encountered a single start-up that hasn’t had a near-death experience, almost shut down, almost sold itself too early and therefore almost blew it,” said Rao who himself quit college and started Webchutney at the age at 19. 

The book is an account of how some of the most successful Indian entrepreneurs —  Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Info Edge and Naukri.com), Deep Kalra (MakeMyTrip), Deepinder Goyal (Zomato), Ashish Hemrajani (BookMyShow), Sahil Barua (Delhivery), Kunal Shah (FreeCharge), Murugavel Janakiraman (Bharat Matrimony), Ajit Balakrishnan (Rediff.com), Anupam Mittal (People Group), Brijesh Agarwal (India MART), Jitendra Gupta (Citrus Pay), Pradeep Kar (Microland), Satyan Gajwani (Times Internet), Rajesh Jain (IndiaWorld), Alok Mittal (JobsAhead.com), R Ramaraj (Sify) and Girish Mathrubootham (Freshworks)  —  built their businesses.

What made it easy for Rao was that he knew most of these people as friends, agency partners, mentors and in some cases, a mix of all which made it easy for him to have freewheeling chats with them and that is why the material you read in the book is honest. “Webchutney has been an agency for most of them and still is in a few cases,” he asserted. In terms of setting the parameter to select the 17 entrepreneurs, he shared, “I wanted to cover entrepreneurs who had sufficiently scaled a business or had exited with a great outcome”.

To Rao, the challenges were plenty but simple. “Most of them revolved around getting our schedules to work out to meet. Since the book is based a lot on the one-on-one conversations with the entrepreneurs,” he revealed. From start to finish, it has taken about 1.5 years. “Honestly, it could have been earlier but I guess I juggled a lot between my day job and the writing bit,” he exclaimed.

‘How I Almost Blew It’ is a light, non-fiction read and a guide containing lessons, wisdom and insights into the industry for your own start-up. Alluring to young and older readers of the business world, these spell-binding and intriguing stories of near-fiascos are industry wisdom, yes, but also critical life lessons.

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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