Swati Nathani — Founder, Team Pumpkin
With over a decade of experience in Retail Marketing, Branding, Operations, Research, Analytics and Social Media, Swati knows her business fairly well! She has been an active part of the core group at India’s largest retailer Future Group’s Business Intelligence team and worked her way up to heading India Retail operations for global shoe brand Clarks that was brought to India by the Future Group. Swati also had the opportunity of working along with the world’s leading consulting agency, McKinsey for shaping Pantaloons strategy and implementation to enhance it as a profitable format.
With such a robust experience, setting up her own independent venture seemed like a logical next step for Swati. So in 2012, she founded Team Pumpkin (www.teampumpkin.com), a startup which provides digital strategy and execution for businesses and helps create a brand presence that is intelligent, engaging and innovative. Swati is the Business Head at Team Pumpkin.
Last year, Swati was awarded the ‘Top 50 Most Talented Social Media Professionals of India’ honor by CMO Asia. Her list of accolades also includes being part of the core team at Big Bazaar, where she was in-charge of assisting in the management level decisions for the format based on her study of consumer behavior through analytics. Her tryst with social media started in 2009 when she helped Future Group start offering customer service on social medium for their biggest format – Big Bazaar. Since then she has been a keen observer and practitioner of social media and hold strong belief how it is impacting popular culture and business outcomes all at once.
Recently she has been involved in providing strategic directions to some of the innovative campaigns leveraging social media and mobile. She has also helped in building social communities for some of the niche players in home and lifestyle categories. Guiding clients to harness the power of ecommerce ecosystem in India by helping establish customized campaigns with online retailers Flipkart, Snapdeal and Jabong has been another area that she has worked on.
Swati has completed her graduation in computer applications and masters in fashion management studies from NIFT. She lives in Mumbai and takes active interest in doing good for society. She is an avid reader, loves to write and enjoys travelling.
Most challenging assignment so far
“In July 2015, we started with major assignments for two of our biggest clients. Given the short notice, we were not suitably prepared for the quantum of work that was showered on us. However, we as a team, spent sleepless nights, worked hard, researched harder and bounced back well in time. Now both the clients have joined the list of our happy clients, and I and my team are really proud of it.”
Greatest inspiration
“My inspiration is Jack Ma. The first time I read about him it just hit my mind. The way he talks is really different, unique and straight forward. Things, he says are not something we notice or realize in daily life. One of his saying is so simple but so real, he says “If you are still poor at 35, you deserve it”. All he is trying to say is that no one is blessed with success, if you don’t give a try to things you will regret for the rest of your life. There are many such sayings that inspire me in life.”
Most important milestone in life
“The high point in my career was my transition from an employee to become an entrepreneur. It was a big leap for me to stand independent and start my own business. Now when I think of it, it makes me feel proud and happy. It makes me feel good when I see my company growing; from its inception till now it’s been difficult journey but me and my team never gave up on anything. This makes me happier and strong. This is one milestone I will never forget in life.”
Women are the better halves. Have we moved beyond this?
“Well it is a very sexist term; how can one half not be equal to the other? I think women are equal halves and not better halves. Every partner should play their role efficiently, whether it is your life partner or your business partner. It’s more about complementing each other, even if it requires going an extra mile. That, however, does not make one better than the other.”