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Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Anand Vadakepat: Have been practising and consulting clients on Vedic Astrology for past fifteen plus years and then decided to build automated products in scale on relationships and career that can help people in large number and across geographies. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Jothishi? Anand Vadakepat: Scalable, Automated products in the relationship domain like Horoscope Matching, Marriage predictor, Abroad predictor, Baby Names Predictor etc. Great Companies: What makes Jothishi different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Anand Vadakepat: We dont have a competitor yet in the Vedic Astrology Automated Products Prediction space. All our products are unique and one of its kind in the world. For Ex: Not easy to build products that predict month and year of marriage for an input of date, time and place of birth. Products in pipeline include job predictor, child predictor etc. May be Death Predictor. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Anand Vadakepat: Challenges are primarily resources - both technology manpower and Cost of acquisition and reaching a prospective customer. We worked with IT consultants on a part-time basis to develop our products. That way it worked relatively economical for us. Also, focussed only on content which was our strength to product content ( both written and Videos). For ex: as we stand today, we have over 700 videos in YouTube, FB, Instagram and other social media and over 2K posts. Over twenty million content views and over a million followers in all social medias. Challenges will always remain in entrepreneurship. One needs to keep navigating and every day is a learning. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Jothishi? Anand Vadakepat: Produce more content, reach more relevant target audience, enable more product purchases, Across geographies, build more products and focus on scaling revenues. This is in the product prediction space. Similarly there are various other verticals planned and depending on bandwidth, funds etc. will take up those areas. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Anand Vadakepat: Start-up is a journey. If you want to be successful will have to go through the journey and be persistent, come what may. Entreprenuership is meant only for a chosen few and one will realise if he/she is made for that in a few years. If you are crazy about the idea and the venture irrespective of the money made, then you will enjoy the journey. Web Site : http://www.jothishi.com Social Media : YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Reddit | Instagram | Tumblr

Name: DEEPALI PANDEY Business Name: A+D DESIGN STUDIO Location: LUCKNOW, India Establishment (Year): 2009 Category/Industry: Construction, Real Estate and Architecture Services Profession/ Specialty: Architect Company details: I did my Bachelor of Architecture from GCA Lucknow, during my bachelor’s degree my focus is to design with nature. Then I passed Gate Examination and applied for master’s in landscape architecture in one of the best institutes in India, I got a selection in School of planning and architecture New Delhi. During master’s we have worked on various master planning projects in urban, Domestic, Regional level and successfully completed my masters in landscape architecture and got the Gold Medal for the Best Outgoing student year and recipient of the Narendra Juneja Gold Medal for the Best Thesis Project 2011, Department of Landscape architecture, New Delhi. After working for 8 years with two of the largest and most prominent landscape architecture firms in the India and started my own firm A + D Design Studio. I have gained extensive design experience on many notable hotels, resorts, residential developments throughout India and have had the opportunity to work with foreign Architects and many other Private Developers and Private Corporates. Landscape architecture focuses on the relationship between people and the environment. As the world’s population grows the pressure on our resources increases. People are more aware nowadays of the importance of preserving the environment and because of this, landscape architecture is now viewed as more important than it used to be in architecture, we keep building design & planning in mind, but landscape has been ignored considerably, I think it is a very important parameter. Regeneration of polluted areas, Climate change and pollution are severely affecting freshwater supply in many areas. The endangerment of wetlands is an especially big problem because they have a lot of biological diversity, filter stormwater and control floods. Landscape architecture protects wetlands and seeks solutions to provide storm-water management in a natural way. Landscape is a very important factor for the benefit of our environment, that's why I took my business forward, we work on projects ranging in size from large-scale master planning commissions to mid-sized institutions to small urban interventions. Regardless of scale or typology, our multi-disciplinary design staff create environmentally advanced, technical projects, promoting greater social engagement and ecology for every project. Unique selling proposition/ competitive advantage: • Provide design excellence throughout every aspect of each project • Procure good quality projects that offer challenges with rewarding results • Ensure a proactive approach through all aspects of business • Establish strong working relationships with reputable Clients • Be available for Clients Offer competitive and reasonable professional fees • Be successful and profitable • Pay extra special attention to detail • Hire knowledgeable, good quality and trustworthy staff • Promote an environmental design approach as appropriate for each project • Be flexible and unique in business approach • Offer casual and an enjoyable work environment Challenges faced during the journey: As a Landscape architect the challenge we have always faced”—defining and communicating what landscape architecture is, both to the public and to other design professionals, to ensure that the value of landscape architects’ work is understood and recognized. Other recurring topics included the economy, finding work, dealing with limited project budgets, competition, climate change, and water scarcity. Though such challenges can seem insurmountable at times, there is still a great deal of optimism to be found. For some, “There has never been a better time to be a landscape architect.” And as one respondent put it: “Today we have great opportunities to redefine public spaces, as the value of parks and innovative open space design are in the news and have the eyes of the public. We need to use this momentum and set the standard for excellent open space design; these are exciting times for landscape architects!” Advice for women entrepreneurs: Follow 4 D's Desire, Dedication, Determination and Discipline. Don't believe in Luck, Believe in Hard work.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Subhash Bhaskaran: One of the challenges I encountered when I attended day-long leadership training program was, it assumes One-Size-Fits-all and is more solution driven without any execution support. Due to smart phones, no one has the time to listen to each other, reducing verbal communication in organisations between individuals resulting in low performance and toxicity. This scenario leads to stress, loneliness and loss of well-being for the person. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Empower Business? Subhash Bhaskaran: We provide One-on-One, hi-touch, hi-tech, long-term, time-bound, objective-oriented, dash-board driven business coaching and leadership programs for founders, CXOs as well as senior management professionals. Great Companies: What makes Empower Business different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Subhash Bhaskaran: We initially focus on data harvesting of the participants before starting the program to ensure the program is personalised. This gives the road map to achieve the objectives. We focus on un-concealing the self-limiting beliefs of the person around their challenges. We work on their grey areas to produce unimaginable results. Our tech-enabled daily dash-board gives the opportunity for the participants to gauge how there are progressing. Each participant has the experience of having undergone a personalised program. We hand hold the participants during the time frame with us. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Subhash Bhaskaran: Trainings were considered to be group activities. When we brought in the niche concept of One-On-One personalised, long-term, tech-driven programs, it was assumed to be time consuming and not effective as it is online. However when people noticed the transformation happening to oneself and impact of it on others, we gained acceptance and customer recalls. Our programs are experiential than concept oriented. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Empower Business? Subhash Bhaskaran: We plan to increase our online presence for customer acquisition and also cater to overseas market. Our focus would be to add more technology to our execution tools and increase our delivery teams. 5 years down the line we foresee be in the top 10 leadership companies in the world. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Subhash Bhaskaran: Our advice is, to identify the problem area and find a niche solution to it.It could take time but being persistent builds your muscle to achieve the goal.Keep adding value to your customers to enable customer recall.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Naveen Yadav: After finishing MBA in HR, I pursued my career in corporate HR. I was the part of hiring team and could see that there is a huge gap in required skills and actual skills(Technical as well as Soft Skills) of the individuals coming for the interview especially freshers. In 2013, I realized that I could contribute to fill in this gap especially into human behaviour, you can also call it Soft Skills. Then I decided to start my own firm and in June 2013, I founded “Competency Enhancers”. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Competency Enhancers? Naveen Yadav: Competency Enhancers is engaged in providing various services such as Training into Soft Skills and Life Skills, Life and Happiness Coaching, Parenting, NLP Trainings, Counselling on Personal and Professional issues, Career Counselling and Psychometric Assessments. Great Companies: What makes Competency Enhancers different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Naveen Yadav: All training providers are unique in their own way. Our main differentiation comes into quality of trainers and the uniqueness in each workshop we conduct. We customize our training as per the need of the participant/corporate after the TNA and bring industry focussed training program in which all activities and content is totally relatable to the participants/corporate. Another difference is the network of trainer we have. We engage our trainers after proper TOT and also conduct a dry run of the workshop at our place to improve it further before conducting the actual workshop. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Naveen Yadav: Initially, I started it alone. The struggle was to setup all the things from the scratch. I had to build a brand since this industry is very much dependent on Brand. When you look it from outside, everything looks so rosy, however when you enter into it then you realize, there is a lot to be learnt before imparting training to others. So, I started enrolling myself in different TOTs. I did my certification in Soft Skills and Life Skills, Psychometric Assessment, NLP, Parenting, Life Coaching, Positive Psychology and Happiness Coaching. I struggled to get a regular pipeline of trainings for few years, and then I realized I was trying to do everything of my own. So I started building a team (trainers and marketing people). I also started collaborating with other companies/people who had training projects in their hand and were looking for training experts. I assured high quality training and it resulted into getting repeated business as well as recommendations. Till now we have trained more than 20,000 trainees and 2000+ trainers under various training programs. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Competency Enhancers? Naveen Yadav: The plan is to expand and grow the team. After covid, we have come online too and have got our app developed with the same name on android play store. So now we are aiming to target global audience. I am a huge believer of succession planning, so I don’t want my firm to be dependent on me only. So, bringing more trainers to accommodate my absence. I want the firm to be run on well-built SOPs. We have also initiated a mission (Mission “Satyakam”) of practicing happiness and overcoming stress and anxiety. This is a social initiative where we aim to improve the happiness index of our country. We aim to create 10,00,000 happiness practitioners till 2042. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Naveen Yadav: One of the precious advice, I got from my mentor in this initial journey of Competency Enhancers was “Don’t compete but collaborate with others”. Same advice, I will give to someone who just starting out, in NLP we say that there are resources everywhere it is up to us whether we treat them as a partner or competitor.

Name: Dr Shabnam Asthana Business Name: Empowered Solutions Location: Pune, India Establishment (Year): 2005 Category/Industry: Advertising & Marketing Profession/ Specialty: Media and Public Relations Company details: Consultancy and strategising Unique selling proposition/ competitive advantage: A 24x7 customer-centric approach and constant upgradation and innovation of services Challenges faced during the journey: Convincing clients of the importance of goodwill and networked PR, and paid PR, how we can project their brands and images favourably and with credibility. We were successful in putting our point of view across! Advice for women entrepreneurs: Yes, the power of your conviction is what will propel you forward. Be convinced that what you are doing is what you believe in!

Name: Maithillee Zaveri Business Name: Maithillee Location: Gurugram, India Establishment (Year): 2004 Category/Industry: Entertainment and Art Profession/ Specialty: Entertainment and Art Company Detail: Maithillee has been part of the art industry since 2004, exhibiting all over India and a few times internationally (Singapore). She takes commissions and works on orders for clients, hoteliers, architects, interior designers, etc. Unique Selling Proposition / Competitive Advantage: Art is expensive because only an artist knows how much time he or she has invested in his/her work, and the material costs. Challenges Faced During the Journey: Many self-made artists struggle to reach where they want to. The importance of handmade paintings has reduced due to the new "art" - digital art and the importance of painting artists has decreased tremendously, which does not allow them to sell their works easily. Advice For Women Entrepreneurs: Pay attention to your intuition and follow your gut. Everybody has unique and genuine challenges. halt evaluating, comparing, and comparing yourself to others. Learn from your prior errors and make the necessary adjustments. The only person you are competing with is yourself. Strive to improve on who you were as a businessperson or person yesterday.

Mridu Jana and Srinivas Jana’s, Radix Nutritive®, an award-winning Gluten free and Millet’s brand, manufactures a range of Gluten free, Vegan, Specialty foods and Millet Products. Srinivas talks about their journey. Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? SRINIVAS JANA: Sometimes the universe throws a curve ball and makes you realize that often we are driven by circumstances. It may be a way to communicate about futuristic events that may unfurl in due course. Well, here is a snapshot of a real-life story which led a BPM Consultant entrusted with transforming the Business Operations of global Banks & Financial Institutions to undertake a voyage in a completely unknown territory. In 2011, while we were getting ready for travel to the USA at work, I got diagnosed with gluten allergy, which later cascaded into a host of other complications. It came as a rude shock to a family which had predominantly been a wheat eater for decades be it rotis, parathas or bhaturas. It was then, that my wife, Mridu Jana explored several diet alternatives and based on my body responses, she designed a survival kit with expansive range of innovative food solutions. Gratitude to the Universe, that a good number of Gluten free options were now available to drive my daily chores. In recent times, there seems to be a marked increase of conditions like IBS, Celiac, SIBO, related to food intolerances/ allergies, globally, for example – Gluten, Lactose, Nut, Yeast etc. With depleting soil, air, and water quality, coupled with food adulteration, usage of preservatives is causing havoc in the human body to an extent of lowering immunity. With extensive use of processed/ refined foods, The dietary fiber responsible for providing roughage for the smooth evacuation of bowels is at bare minimum levels. This leads to toxin build up, unhealthy gut conditions and bacterial imbalances. Constipation, Diarrhea, Bloating, Abdominal pain signal the conditions of an unhealthy gut. Having witnessed the high tide and looking at the possible trends, entering the Health and Wellness space was just a matter of time. In Feb 2017 upon our return, we set the ball rolling by setting up an exclusive gluten free facility with “Millets – The Forgotten Grains” at its core under our flagship brand - Radix Nutritive®. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by EAGROSS WELLNESS LLP? SRINIVAS JANA: Our products categories span Bakery, Sweet shop, Flours, Rawas, Blends. We recently introduced Ready to Eat Gluten-free Rotis, Parathas, Waffles, Jaffa Bites, all driven by millets. We ship domestically with the help of dedicated courier partners / India Post. Our freshly baked dry cakes are airlifted to select locations, Vacuum packaging is available on customer request. Being an innovative food processing company, we encourage direct interaction with Customers by way of direct purchases. Furthermore, the zeal of such interactions leads us to participate in various events – apartment complexes, corporate houses, trade fairs, Such an interaction is usually around millet benefits, product related information, recipe building, market trends. It helps to build connections and trust with our target audience, and We have multiple channels to market and sell our products using social media, WhatsApp, Referrals, e- Commerce and 3rd party platforms, food blogging, participating in international events while invoking food consciousness. Although we started as a D2C Startup, we are now trying to build our network in the B2B segment as well to expand our outreach. Great Companies: What makes EAGROSS WELLNESS LLP different from hundreds of other similar service providers? SRINIVAS JANA: We are proud to convey that we are an Atta Chakki with Startup India recognition. As Eagross Wellness LLP, the product makers of Radix Nutritive®, an award-winning Gluten-free food and Millet’s brand: We feature in Top 10 Business Leaders from Bangalore Startups 2022, awarded by CEO Insights. We are humbled to receive "Global Sustainability Award, 2022" from the Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade and here is our media interaction. We are on cloud nine to announce that our Cofounder, Mrs. Mridu Jana has been conferred with “Great Companies Women Entrepreneur Award 2023”. We feature in Culinary Entrepreneurs magazine, in April2023 online edition. We feature in “10 Best Gluten Free Food Startups– 2023” by Silicon India. Gratitude to the Universe for these recognitions and they continue to pour in. But why? Here are the why’s as our Unique Selling Proposition. We procure unpolished native grains from Organic Farmer Federation. Food is processed in our exclusive gluten free facility ensuring zero gluten contamination. Processing, packaging, labeling all activities executed under single roof. Small millets are roasted to provide better longevity to the grain. Our concept is No Wheat, No Maida and No Refined Sugar foods. Our story backed products are objective oriented. At the core of innovation, all our food products or product categories are driven by a purpose: While envisioning healthy roti making, we included millet as a nutricereal, a legume for its high protein and dietary fiber content and a binding agent to come up with products like “Radix Nutritive® Gluten-free Jowar Missi Plus Roti flour”.Just add water and salt to make sumptuous and puffy Indian breads with a rolling pin. Considering the rise of Diabetic population, we encouraged a multi-millet flour high on dietary fiber, low in glycemic index, and recommended also for cardiac health. We came up with “Radix Nutritive® Trinity Multi-millet flour”. It can be added to dosa or idli batter, roti dough to enhance the nutritional quotient, and can be prepared as porridge and ganji. For white rice eaters, millet rice is a great alternative. Small millets cook like rice and rice-based recipes like puliyogare, payasam, bisi bele bath, pulao. We roast the small millets to ensure better longevity without usage of chemicals. For weight watchers and constipated population looking for healthy breakfast options we introduced Gluten-free Trinity Multi-millet Rawa which makes spongy idlis, upma, halwa and other heights of kitchen creation. For our sweet tooth audience, why should they be kept away from mouthwatering, nutritious, and Vegan laddoos which are made from millets and jaggery. To pull the younger generation towards millets we introduced Guilt free bakery driven by millets and jaggery. Our dry cakes (including Vegan variants), muffins, cookies, come in various flavors which provides a gluten-free snacking option without compromising on the taste. Cooking is fun. But, for those of you who want to eat out for a change or people on the go, we have come up with Gluten free and Millet Rotis, Parathas. The journey continues with yet to be launched Gluten free and Vegan bread. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? SRINIVAS JANA: During the initial months of our startup, there were many unknowns as expected. Sourcing raw materials, transparent stand-up food pouches and food processing machine manufacturers were our major challenges. We even tried our luck with incubators / research institutes for MoU to use their technology know-how while coming up with innovative food solutions. Witnessing such challenges made our resolve to go full throttle on our own. Our vision to “BUILD A FOOD CONSCIOUS SOCIETY” took us to mandis, farmers, research institutes, agricultural universities, trade fairs, and food parks. This conscious effort helped us to develop a comprehensive 360° view of a sustainable food chain and helped us to identify Millets as a clear winner. We got many of the answers at the International Trade Fair, Organic sand Millets 2018, Bangalore. We got great connections and a feeling that “we are not alone in there”. We earnestly used lockdowns for our R&D efforts in making 100% Gluten free Millet cake with minimum available inputs. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for EAGROSS WELLNESS LLP? SRINIVAS JANA: We envision, On spreading awareness to include millets as a diet alternative among all age groups (minimum 6 plus months in age). Our products to be available in Organic Stores, Restaurants, Star Hotels, Event Gatherings, Package Tours, Wellness Centers, Airport Lounges and beyond across major locations of our country. To be an exporter in the next 2 years and a listed company in the next 5 years. To support 3 villages, directly or indirectly in terms of employment and growth opportunities. To inspire “young in spirit” minds with our entrepreneurial journey. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? SRINIVAS JANA: There are N number of problems/possibilities waiting for a solution especially in the manufacturing sector. Startup definition includes: Identification of a problem. Concreting the problem statement. Idea to solve the problem. Executing the idea on the ground. Most of our young minds are enthralled by funding and valuation aspects. My advice here is identify your WHY, concrete your WHY, the HOWS will follow anyway..Funding appears on the HOW side. Use IT as an enabler. We are never ready enough to start with, just begin wherever you are with whatever you have. Take the plunge!!!

Name: Elena Santolini Business Name: Workplay Studio Pvt Ltd Location: Bangalore, India Establishment (Year): 2021 Category/Industry: Advertising & Marketing Profession/ Specialty: Digital Marketing Company Detail: Workplay is a gamification marketing start-up that is currently focusing on developing an innovative approach to social media marketing. The company is working on gamified social media marketing and is in the process of creating an automated gamification platform. This platform will enable small and medium-sized businesses to incorporate gamification into their marketing strategies in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. Workplay goal is to make gamification accessible to businesses of all sizes and help them achieve their marketing goals with ease. Unique Selling Proposition / Competitive Advantage: Gamified social media marketing is an innovative technique that is not yet widely available in the market. Workplay is one of the first companies to focus on this approach and is currently developing a unique platform that is unlike any other in the market. While other gamification companies tend to work with a customization model, Workplay platform will offer a ready-to-use solution that businesses can easily implement into their marketing strategies. Challenges Faced During the Journey: At present, Workplay primary challenge is securing investment to complete the development of their unique gamification platform. Advice For Women Entrepreneurs: Women may feel discouraged by the fact that the world is still largely ruled by men, and that they may not receive the same level of trust and respect that men do. However, it is important for women to remember that they can achieve anything they set their minds to, with hard work and determination.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Jamie Meyer: The concept is ever-evolving, it has always and continues to have a life of its own. With each and every Client I work with I expand to incorporate resources that best serve the Client’s needs. Although, the original idea came from being a General Manager. That position gave me a front-row seat to other Companies and a variety of Positions and People. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be missed opportunities or limitations that didn’t need to be there. I could bridge those gaps but that was difficult to do when I was employed by one of the benefitting Companies. I began freelancing so that I could work and invest further in the businesses I was collaborating with. To improve the symbiotic relationship, to improve what was available to the Company I was working for and to improve the Companies I was working with in their own rite. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Nine Carat? Jamie Meyer: The point of focus began in working with Business Dynamics and Frameworks. But it becomes difficult to ignore the need to address other contributing factors. Such as Managerial Development, Branding, Culture, Process, Technology, Mergers, Collaborations, Partnerships, development of Individuals, skills identification and where to use them and the list goes on. We work with entire ecosystems, even when we are only brought in to work on a stand-alone Project. We use that Project to identify solutions for the bigger picture. Great Companies: What makes Nine Carat different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Jamie Meyer: What I do is rare and so are any of the Firms that work the same way. There isn’t any need for us to be different, we already are. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Jamie Meyer: Ironically, our biggest challenge has been me. Despite being an advocate for “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.” In the beginning, I was far too focused on making Nine Carat ‘fit in’. Forcing a square peg into a round hole. An existing hole so that I would be recognisable, found, and defined by terms People were used to. Using terms like Business Consulting, simply because it was a widely known term. But Business Consulting was only a portion of what I do and I was diluting what Clients had the ability to achieve by squeezing into this box. This choice had me hitting my own roadblocks left and right, feeding into a system that I am adamantly against. I give good advice, and once I started taking it, there were no challenges. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Nine Carat? Jamie Meyer: Nine Carat wasn’t started to be a small company. It started 10 times too big so I could grow into it and it has not failed to disappoint. 5 years from now I will continue the work we are doing with People and Companies while branching into new sectors and companies of our own. Politics, Government and International Development. Rehabilitating Local Economies. Vetted International Talent and Services Databases. Micro-financing and Mentoring for Students and Startups. Develop the branch of the company that focuses on Trend Migration. But I know better than most, that Nine Carat will follow where it is needed and whatever that entails we will be up for it. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Jamie Meyer: If you’ve already started, you’ve done the hard part. No matter what your path involves moving forward, nothing is ever truly as hard as taking that first leap. And if you haven’t yet, then now is the perfect time. Whatever you do after reading this, make it one thing that gets you started. Whatever you’ve been thinking about doing, do it now. Even if it doesn’t work out the way you thought, it is still the right step to take. Web Site : http://www.ninecarat.net Social Media : LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Name: Himani Vaishnav Business Name: Media Mousse Location: Mumbai, India Establishment (Year): 2021 Category/Industry: Advertising & Marketing Profession/ Specialty: Branding and Marketing Company Detail: One of the top creative firms, Media Mousse, is dedicated to changing the world with its work. Media Mousse’s goal is to assist companies in developing distinctive, strong, and memorable brand identities that promote brand awareness. Media Mousse are conscious of the value of making money and contributing to society, and they work hard to combine the two with their offerings. Media Mousse offers specialized solutions that are tailored to each client's particular requirements thanks to its expertise in brand creation and website design and development. As a result of their emphasis on originality, innovation, and effect, Media Mousse have established a reputation as a reliable partner for companies trying to thrive in the cutthroat business environment of today. Unique Selling Proposition / Competitive Advantage: Each client receives a personalized bundle thanks to Media Mousse's custom pricing approach for their services. Media Mousse ensures that their clients never feel constrained by a small number of possibilities by providing a large selection of options and modifications. In order to ensure a smooth voyage, the organization also assigns a dedicated team to each client. One-stop shopping for all branding requirements, Media Mousse's expertise is in offering end-to-end branding and product launch solutions. The goal of Media Mousse’s strategy is to give clients the finest experience and results possible. Challenges Faced During the Journey: Himani Vaishnav, the founder of Media Mousse, faced several challenges, including quick decision-making, tax planning, client management, maintaining quality work, and financial planning. It took focusing on mentality, utilizing resources, and obtaining information through reading and chatting with mentors to overcome these challenges. Even though fresh difficulties arose every day, Himani had the bravery and determination to try, fail, and try again in order to succeed. Advice for Women Entrepreneurs: As a 22-year-old young entrepreneur herself, Himani just have to say is, to trust your goals and support them with information and counsel. You'll feel empowered to act as you like because of this. Beginning a business is difficult, but if you have made the decision to do so, you are already one step ahead of most people. Being an entrepreneur also comes with a wealth of life lessons for which you will always be grateful. The vision to influence and advance is ultimately what counts most!

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Vinayan V: I have been in the animation industry for over 16 years, and since then I loved giving life to my drawings through the magic of animation. The same field experience and my passion for creativity helped me sow the seeds for Prayan Animation Studio Pvt. Ltd. with my friend and partner Remesh Ram. Gradually, the business grew beyond leaps and bounds due to the sheer determination and effort of the team. Great Companies:What are the various services provided by Prayan Animation Studio Pvt. Ltd.? Vinayan V: Explainer Video Production ranging from Promotional, Marketing, Demo, Website Videos and more. 2D/3D animation – episodic shows, movies. Children’s Book Illustration. Comic Book Illustration. NFT Digital Art. Great Companies: What makes Prayan Animation Studio Pvt. Ltd. different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Vinayan V: Our priority while taking up any project is client satisfaction. Being said that we ensure timely delivery with the best quality in the industry. That’s the main reason we have clients from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Australia, and the Middle- East. We have been at the forefront to meet clients’ expectations and are not over-priced like the rest. Crème de la crème is that the top management itself is creative and hence, it is seen in every piece of work. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Vinayan V: Securing a project initially was a daunting task. Like every company has a few stumbling blocks, we too faced it and hence commenced an Academy to train students about animation. Gradually, over the years our relationship with foreign clients evolved and we had to expand our teams to reach the pinnacle of glory. There were some moments when we had to roll up our sleeves as the demand for work in a limited timeframe was increasing and we were not in our full capacity by then. However, we overcame by increasing our bandwidth to accommodate our client expectations. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Prayan Animation Studio Pvt. Ltd.? Vinayan V: Developing more IPs and growing our services exponentially to global markets, open to investments and exploring other trending areas of 3D, Gaming, AR and NFT. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Vinayan V: Sheer determination and hard work is the key to success. If you work whole-heartedy, you are sure to achieve results. When you steer to set up a business, ensure you do proper research, study well and then run the show or all your efforts will go futile. All the best!

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? SHASHI SHEKHAR: The idea for GoBookMart Media Pvt Ltd came to me while I was working as a social media manager for a media company during the lockdown when everyone was working from home. As an avid reader and a passionate writer, I always had a keen interest in books, comics, and novels. During the lockdown, I found myself spending more time reading and exploring new authors and genres. At the same time, I also noticed that there was a lack of a reliable source of news and reviews about books, comics, and novels. While there were several websites and blogs dedicated to book reviews, most of them were either too generic or lacked depth and detail. This led me to think about starting my own platform that would focus on providing in-depth and insightful reviews about books, comics, and novels, along with news and updates about the publishing industry. After some research and planning, I founded GoBookMart Media Pvt Ltd, a platform that publishes news and reviews about books, comics, novels, authors, and educational blogs. Our goal is to provide readers with the latest and most accurate information about the world of literature while fostering a community of passionate readers and writers. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by GoBookMart media pvt ltd? SHASHI SHEKHAR: Gobookmart.com is a website that specializes in reviewing books and novels. It has been in operation since June 2020, and its primarily goal is to recommend the best books and novels for its users based on their interests. Additionally, Gobookmart provides insightful information about what to expect from the books they recommend. The website also keeps users up to date with the latest trends, news about authors, and offers tips on how to write best-selling books . On top of book and novel reviews GobookMart also provide latest information related to Comics, Authors and write educational blogs. Great Companies: What makes GoBookMart media pvt ltd different from hundreds of other similar service providers? SHASHI SHEKHAR: GoBookMart Media Pvt Ltd differentiates itself from other book review and comics websites through its unique combination of in-depth analysis, engaging storytelling, and diverse perspectives. With a team of experienced writers and editors, GoBookMart offers readers a thoughtful and thought-provoking reading experience that sets it apart from its competitors. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? SHASHI SHEKHAR: When creating and developing GoBookMart Media Pvt Ltd. We faced little bit struggle and challenges for building a readership, staying up to date with new releases and trends, and ensuring high-quality content. Overcoming these challenges often requires persistence, creativity, and a deep understanding of the target audience. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for GoBookMart media pvt ltd? SHASHI SHEKHAR: At GoBookMart Media Pvt Ltd, our mission is to create an inclusive platform where book enthusiasts and learners can explore and interact with top-quality content on books and literature. We are dedicated to providing unbiased, honest, and in-depth book reviews sharing the latest news and updates from the world of books and comics, publishing informative and thoughts-provoking blog posts on education and literature, and providing exclusive interviews with authors. Our ultimate goals is to foster a dynamic community of readers and learners who can connect, collaborate, and grow together. At GoBookMart Media Pvt Ltd, we aim to establish ourselves as the top-notch online hub for readers and book enthusiasts, providing them with engaging and perceptive book reviews, the latest updates on books and comics, informative blog posts, and exclusive author interviews. Our ultimate goal is to create a thriving community of passionate readers and learners. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? SHASHI SHEKHAR: My advice to anyone who is just starting out a business would be to focus on building a strong foundation. This means taking the time to develop a clear and well-defined vision for your business, Identifying your target audience, understanding your competition, and establishing a solid plan for growth and sustainability. It’s also important to be open to feedback and to continuously adapt and refine your strategies based on what works best for your business and your readers. Finally don’t be afraid to take risks and to learn from your failures – they can be valuable opportunities for growth and improvement.