The Anti Jargon & Anti Trends in Media

Namrata Singh, Founder – Dark Horse Network Media

Namrata Singh is a Digital Native since 2005 and has worked with Startups like Pinstorm, Webchutney and Komli in the past along with established companies like Randstad and Colgate. She has been running her own startups from 2009 starting from Antfort to Everymedia and now Dark Horse Network Media plus a Niche Consultancy-Invloed Matrix. She is a Media Industry specialist and loves content, analytics and connecting the dots. She enjoys travel and being involved in the Startup Universe.

She comes from a Defence background and loves to write and tell stories! Her first love is people and emerging formats of narrative. She spends a lot of time in nature and solitude. She is a non culture led media consumer and chooses content very deliberately and not basis ‘what’s in’.

Namrata holds a degree in HR and Law and calls it a curvy instinctive career path – opting for marketing as a career and not the discipline she was trained in! In 2005 when she left her mainstream career to join a startup in Mumbai, she thought virtual marketplaces were the future.It has been that single point belief which she has successfully followed for more than 10 years now.

Along the way her expertise has honed. She also has a huge network of people and has grown to love marketing because integrated communication helps to solve real issues for real people.

‘’Digital marketing is also democratic with no entry barriers, and that to me is the key for the enduring love for the medium’’, she says. She is a Self Taught and Practicing Digital Professional! She has been Self Employed since 2009.

Here are some more insights from Namrata, as shared with the team of ABT.

Tell us about the Journey of DARK HORSE NETWORK MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
Dark Horse started off as a Digital Service Provider with focus on Content and Analytics and now we are also Consulting and doing a lot more Strategy. We have been able to evolve by keeping our focus on the Minimum Viable Customer Base for any business. We don’t go after invisible numbers and BIG. We go with Viable Markets and that’s mostly in thousands, lakhs and finite. This common sense, back to basics approach has kept us relevant to current business scenario of mature entrepreneurs who want to affect real people and not invisible fans behind multiple screens.

We have become human and emotions led in our work and are constantly imagining ways to tell meaningful stories as engagement between brands and customers!We have a strong inner compass which really comes handy in the constantly changing world today!

What has been your biggest challenge as a women entrepreneur?
Gender is not really a challenge. Finding my own voice, which is outside of the ‘popular and prevalent’ is. I operate from instincts and feelings along with data.The business world of Logic and Metrics without the intuition is incomplete. I know that from experience, but to bring that to fruition in the still ‘male business world’ is hard and not all clients trust you with your experience!

Clients focus on the hard metrics without people first and without any stories and emotions attached to their delivery. That level of inauthenticity is no longer working in an increasingly connected world which demands honesty and care! Again not as ‘company values’ that you tout as headlines but in daily small action. Nurturing is needed. Enabling is still ‘You can’t do without me’!

What is that one milestone in your life that makes you happy and proud?
It’s personal. My nephew’s birth made me very happy. What was also critical was a shift where I decided to stay small and go deeper with each client.Long term relationships only. I also at one point stopped consuming pop culture to find ‘Non Google led’ ideas! That was huge!

Who is your greatest inspiration & why?
My father. He was very intelligent, but in his days as an Army officer Intellect was not the be all end all. His job demanded ‘adherence to rules’ and his mind wanted to run free. I learnt to balance discipline and play along the way looking at his struggles!

If you were to do one thing differently, what would that be?
I would make better partners and I won’t offer my trust and wisdom easily especially to people who don’t value it. I would walk away more!

What would you like to achieve in the next coming years?
Every single day I hope to achieve Moments of Clarity, Inspiration and Joy. Years are not really my thing. This moment is all I care about. This moment to the next moment!