Don’t be afraid to take tough decisions in life, says Shubham Sharma

Shubham Sharma is a leading political strategist, marketing and public policy expert. Apart from being featured among the 10 Youngest most powerful people in India by UTHO, he is also a Mentor of Change at NITI Aayog, Govt of India, ChangeMaker & Young Achievers Awardee. He is the founder of multiple initiatives and startups related to marketing, law, politics and governance.

Here’s the excerpt of our discussion with him:

Q1. Tell us something about your journey so far?

I completed my BTech in electronics and communication in 2015. I launched my first startup in my 1st year of college, it was related to education and youth marketing, then in 3rd year of college I launched a B2B sales and marketing startup which got acquired by a UK based media company. Presently I’m working on different ventures related to law, government and politics.  I have around 6 years of experience in marketing, political strategy, and public policy .

Q2. What prompted you to become an entrepreneur?

It was my passion to solve some of the most complex challenges in society and an attitude to challenge the existing way of doing things.

Q3. Tell us something about your ventures. How difficult is it to become a serial entrepreneur?

I have worked with almost all regional and national political parties and top leaders in North and Central India as a political strategist and advisor during elections. In 2018, I launched Rajmanch, a platform to  ensure effective implementation of the government programs. Currently we are working with central government and more than 20 state governments.  A few months back I launched Nyaykarta, a public grievance redressal platform to help people get quick, easy and affordable justice from top legal and human rights experts .

No doubt entrepreneurship is a painful journey , everything is at stake -your reputation, efforts, dreams, family. There will be times when things won’t go according to plans and if you fail or even make minor mistakes, people will start mocking you.  Hard Work, Persistence, Self confidence and Determination are the keys to entrepreneurship. Whenever you are in doubt or feel low, just ask yourself why you started it and in order to write one page of success you will have to write 100 pages of failure.

Q4. What or who has been the biggest influence in your career so far? How do you balance your personal and professional career?

My mother has been the biggest influencer in my life . She is a state government employee. I have seen her for years manage both household works and office work efficiently from morning to late night. She never complained, always focused on her work and helped me during every tough situations to make right decisions.

It is difficult to keep balance between personal and professional life especially when you are into multiple things at a time. I had to miss many personal moments with family but it is the understanding and support of your loved ones which helps you keep balance and move forward every day to chase your dreams.

Q5. Which is the biggest challenge you have faced so far? What are your future plans? Why did you choose to start Nyaykarta?

Challenges have been changing depending on the situation, venture and entrepreneurial journey. Earlier it was financial now it is the right team and execution. There are no fixed future plans. Core plans are to speed up execution of existing ventures . I don’t make any specific advanced plans actually, I act according to the  situations, make quick decisions and love to experiment a lot.

Existing legal system in India is complex, lengthy and costly. Most of the people don’t even file complaints in our country and feel helpless. I wanted to provide an alternative platform to help people get quick, easy and affordable justice. Nyaykarta is India’s first public grievance redressal platform.

Q6. How has the lockdown impacted you as a professional?

As a professional, most of our business is service oriented and digital. S o lockdown has not created any specific impact but yes engagement with government and civil society has increased considering the impact of pandemic on people’s lives.

Q7. What would be your advice to young professionals and MBA students? Should public policy be considered as a career option?

My first advice to young professionals and MBA students is – Take decisions wisely and then be determined to follow it with all heart and soul. Don’t be afraid to take tough decisions in life. Keep moving forward every day and moment. Don’t lose confidence but don’t be overconfident as well. Be always humble and never adopt unethical practices.

Definitely, public policy is a good career option nowadays. Many young graduates from different backgrounds are joining this field.  Various institutions in India and abroad offer courses in public policy. You can start your own NGO or for profit social enterprise.  There are also opportunities to work as consultants with reputed thinktanks in the country.

Q8. How important is to pursue your passion ? How can our readers connect with you ?

If you are looking to make your passion your profession then it should be economically sustainable as well. It is easy to start following your passion but difficult to keep working on your passion every day. It requires a lot of patience and discipline to pursue your passion. The readers can connect with me on Linkedin

Q9. Any suggestions for IdeasMakeMarket.com?

The Team should reach out to more management students and professionals to increase its readership. Video interviews are also another nice way to present meaningful engaging content on the site.

Tags: consulting Politics Shubham Sharma startup