Ad landâ€™s young guns: Disha Bhatnagar, Co-founder, Growify

Disha Bhatnagar started her professional journey at the young age of 17 with a vision to create. Her journey led her to acquire knowledge and experiences in multiple domains – from digital marketing and website development to UX/UI design. With her skills, she has helped many brands achieve growth and success.

Five years ago, Rishab Mehra and Disha Bhatnagar realised they shared a common vision – to help businesses grow by leveraging digital platforms. With their complementary skills and expertise covering everything – from UI/UX, business management, performance marketing, building apps and more – they started Growify Digital LLP.

In conversation with Adgully, Disha Bhatnagar, Co-founder, Growify, speaks about her venture, how she is strategising to enter the Rs 100-crore club, how emotion helps her develop winning strategies, icons she looks up to, and more.

Please tell us about your venture Growify Digital.

Growify is a 5-year-old digital agency. It started right before Covid and found its growth in the middle of Covid, so it can be called Covid Baby!

Growify aims to digitalise the lifestyle industry by entering the global market, which was earlier confined to 1-2 physical stores. We do this by:
Taking brands online by building their websites
Curating a brand-specific digital strategy, which includes shoots, ads, copies and a brand story
Having 24x7 in-house CRM helps us convert international clients faster
Most importantly, having a house data tool helps us predict what is working, what is not, and what data is trying to tell us to help us reach the right potential for the brand.

Where do you see yourself and your company in five years’ time?

I have so many ideas, so only time will tell which of my ideas get executed, but I would like to see myself in the Rs 100-crore club, working with top Indian/ international designers to have a good hold in the industry. If someone wants to work with an agency to grow digitally, they should think and grow with Growify.

Apart from this, I want to launch Growify Lite, where I want to work with 5-10 upcoming brands on a pure incentive basis to help them settle online and help them reach their brand potential early.

What particular skill sets do you think you bring to the table to excel in your venture?

Emotion, Kindness, Patience, People Skills and a lot of smiles. I think it is so important to think from the heart and listen to your gut feeling in the business.

Every day is a new challenge and new chaos. Sometimes a team member just wants to quit because it is overwhelming, or sometimes sales for a new collection needs to be picked up digitally. In all cases, it is essential to be calm, think from the heart, and make the right decision.

Also, in my field, emotion helps me develop strategies that will bind my brand with customers. My goal while running any ad or designing a campaign is to connect with the audience and become part of their day-to-day life, and I can only do this when I understand their emotions.

Icons in this field you look up to and how they have influenced you and your work?

I respect everyone – from Vijay Shekhar to Ritesh Agarwal to Pernia Qureshi to Rahul Mishra.

However, everyone’s journey is different; while many have inspired me when I doubted myself, it has always been Me VS Me.

I am fine as long as I am moving forward, breaking my own targets, and achieving my goals.

I also want to tell other readers that we are always compared to someone else from our school days, and it is heartbreaking. Just because they are scoring 99% doesn’t mean we don’t have the potential.

So, please focus on You VS You and see what difference it makes.

What are the five most productive things that you do in your everyday routine?

Planning: I spend time planning and strategising, setting goals and developing plans to achieve them. It happens daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly and yearly.
Execution: I am involved in the day-to-day execution. I manage operations, help team members, and make critical days easy by being available for my team and client.
Reflection: I always reflect on my progress and evaluate everything we are doing and how we are making it different from last time.
Being Available for Everyone (Clients, Team, Family and Friends)
Take a Pause After 10 PM: It’s my clue to unwind with a wine or simply read or Netflix. This is my time when I am still a kid and do things for pure happiness and living.

Do you think a career in this field is a viable one in the long term?

Yes, a digital marketing career will likely remain a viable and growing field in the long term. Here are a few reasons why:

The increasing importance of digital channels - Snapchat, Tiktok, SEO, Instagram, Reels
Advancements in technology
Global reach
Data-driven insights

Of course, like any field, digital marketing will continue to evolve and change over time. However, the underlying demand for digital marketing services and the opportunities for innovation and growth make it a viable career path in the long term.

What does it take to succeed in a career?

To succeed in a digital marketing career, there are a few key skills and qualities that are essential. Here are some of the most important:

Strategic thinking
Technical proficiency: One must be comfortable with technology and quickly learn new tools and platforms.
Creativity: You must think outside the box and develop fresh, compelling ideas.
Analytical skills: You must live and breathe data and numbers or have a good flair for understanding data.
Communication skills: You need to communicate clearly and effectively, both in writing and verbally, to be able to express your ideas clearly
Adaptability: You need to be up to date with trends and adapt new things quickly in your plan of action.

What would be your advice to youngsters planning to enter this industry?

If you are interested in pursuing a career in performance marketing, here are a few tips to help you get started:

Learn the basics: Start by learning the fundamental concepts and principles of digital marketing, including search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, email marketing, social media marketing, and affiliate marketing.
Develop a strong foundation in data analysis: Performance marketing is all about data-driven decision-making. You need to be comfortable with numbers, analytics, and data visualisation tools to succeed in this field.
Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies: Digital marketing is a rapidly-evolving industry, and staying ahead of the curve is critical to success. Make sure to keep up with industry blogs, podcasts, and social media channels to stay informed about the latest trends and technologies.
Build your network: Attend industry events and conferences, join online forums and groups, and connect with other professionals in the industry to build your network. This can help you stay informed about new job opportunities, learn about best practices and industry trends, and gain valuable insights from experienced professionals.
Develop your skills: In addition to building a strong foundation in digital marketing and data analysis, you should also focus on developing other important skills such as communication, project management, and problem-solving. These skills will be valuable in any job, but especially in performance marketing, where you need to be able to work collaboratively with others to achieve result.

Furthermore, believe in yourself and continue to make mistakes. If you are not making mistakes, then you are not learning.

Many individuals get stuck in a safety net or comfort zone from which they don’t want to step out because they are scared to fail. But I have achieved so much by pushing my boundaries every day.

Growify is a result of a constant push, a believe-in-yourself attitude and never ready to settle approach.