While men have higher ratio, women are also subtly diving into sports: Parina Parekh

Adgully has consistently celebrated and acknowledged the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs and leaders in various sectors. One of our notable initiatives, W-SUITE, focuses on highlighting extraordinary women achievers in the Media & Entertainment, Advertising, Marketing, PR, and Communications industry. In this updated series, we aim to explore how women leaders adeptly manage their teams and overcome challenges in the dynamic landscape of their respective industries.

Stage is set for the fifth edition of WOMEN DISRUPTORS Summit & Awards 2024, to be held on March 1. With the theme of ‘Driving forward positive change in transformative times’, Adgully’s WOMEN DISRUPTORS 2024 seeks to straddle the changing world and unleash the true potential that India’s women workforce drive.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Parina Parekh, Co-Founder, World of Krida, a dynamic homegrown company specialising in acquiring multiple teams across different sports, speaks about her journey being an entrepreneur, breaking stereotypes, sports management, growing diversity in leadership positions, how organisations can effectively encourage and groom women leaders, and more.

Breaking stereotypes in sports ownership, you’ve achieved significant success with World of Krida. What inspired you to venture into this male-dominated industry, and how do you navigate the challenges associated with it?

I feel great, actually, to dive into a male dominated industry because considering how the scenario is, it’s always like a great situation to be a part of the male-dominated industry. With World of Krida, the idea was that we dive into sports that are upcoming and new, or sometimes even old, but somewhere World of Krida always wanted to be a part of a national growth of these sports, and that’s exactly where the idea of getting into sport started from.

As the co-owner of World of Krida, you have expanded the company’s influence to various sports leagues globally. What motivated you to take on international ventures, and how do you see these endeavours shaping the future of sports management?

At World of Krida, we always had this vision that we focus on the sports that are nationally involved, India being our national market. We wanted to capitalise and change the scenario of sports and make other sports more relevant for a very long time. Fortunately, we got the time last year to be the part of the right leagues at the right times and that is how it happened. And then the international angle came in where we got an opportunity in basketball and of course US as well in the cricket segment.

So, we thought that we really wanted to expand World of Krida as a brand in the international market. And that’s exactly why we started with basketball and US Cricket, both being a relatively new segment. USA and cricket is of course not the same as cricket in India. So, we thought that there is enough scope for us to build the brand, to build a new audience for cricket and 3VL and that’s what we have very well done for Chicago and Toronto Patriots.

The landscape of sports ownership is evolving. How do you foresee the role of women in this industry in the coming years?

I think definitely, women are coming up across all the industries. But, sports being one of them where men have a higher ratio of being at forefront, but women are also subtly diving in. And we have seen some great leaders in sports who are women, and I would love somewhere see myself among them in the coming years. I feel that any good contribution adds up value to any faculty that you are promoting, and I think for World of Krida giving me this opportunity to lead the sports segment is really beautiful and I want to do justice to the role. I really want to ensure that the overall scenario of sports changes in India and abroad.

Having said that, at World of Krida my focus is to invest in right sports, bring in the right sportstogether, do athlete management the best that we could and probably ensure that the whole landscape of sports changes for the better with women coming in power.

As a dynamic leader in sports management, what do you believe are the key elements that contribute to the success and sustainability of World of Krida in an ever-evolving sports industry?

I think that at World of Krida, currently with the whole Indian segment being with handball, tennis, table tennis, and then internationally it being basketball and cricket. I feel there is a lot we can do in terms of sports management. Of course, we have created this brand around ‘Patriots’. So, every team that you will see will always have Patriots. It is something that World of Krida endorses and owns specifically. So, all our teams around the world are Patriots. And, we believe that we want to make Patriots as a brand name, and we are on our path towards it. And I really feel that Patriots are evolving, we are starting to get that recognition, and we have started to do cross sport marketing. So, once we finish a league, the other league kind of knows who Patriots are. So, it’s a very beautiful journey for World of Krida and Patriots, as together it has been syncing in and coming together as one brand.

What are the five most effective leadership lessons that you have learned?

I think from the time World of Krida has put me into sports, there are of course more than effective leadership lessons that I have learnt. But, one I feel is that definitely be open to the idea of taking a risk because there is nothing beyond that. The moment you take the risk, things change. The second I would say is in terms of overall management. So, under World of Krida, we have Patriots which runs all the team, every single team that we have is the Patriots team. I have learned that the management of these things are so important. The third is definitely belief. Because most of the sports that we have invested in are relatively new to the Indian market and even what we are doing internationally are not as famous. So, I think belief when you do something is so important, as everything falls in places when you trust what you are doing. I think the fourth most important leadership quality is bringing in people together. So, for Patriots we have ensured that we have the right kind of partners who are on board with us, whether it is brands, or in house agencies. Because, partnerships is very key because when everybody speaks the same language, a lot of changes, and a lot actually works in sync to ensure that the end result is the same. And the fifth lesson could also be the first one, is something that you never give up. Because once you put your heart and soul into something, the whole idea is to ensure that you sustain it. Think of plans that help you sustain it. There is no better joy when you find out that the whole organization works in the one direction and that makes it the most beautiful part. And that is exactly we have built Patriots under World of Krida.

Gender sensitivity and inclusion in the new normal – how can organisations effectively encourage and groom women leaders in challenging times?

Of course, I already said that women in the sports fraternity are changing a lot of stuff. And the scenario and the perception are changing. But, I am very happy to say that at World of Krida we have a bunch of women working for us. A bunch of very enthusiastic young girls who have studied sports, some of them are players and some of them have played in the past for schools and colleges. So, I feel very great as a woman leading another generation of women, because I think that whether it is men/ women, it has nothing to do till the time you are passionate. So, it drives down to being passionate about something. And I feel that the newer generation that is coming is so passionate about sports like women, I mean. But, it’s beautiful to see that for the longest time we had a perception that sports is equal to men, but when you meet these girls, you feel that they are equally or probably more passionate about sports. And I feel very privileged and proud that at World of Krida and at Patriots, we kind of have a good ratio of women who have taken the lead to bring the brand up.

What advice would you give to aspiring women looking to make their mark in sports industry ownership?

I mean, there’s no advice to be honest. I just feel that if you are passionate about sports, just dive in. The doors will open and the opportunities will come in, just focus on what you know and your end goal. For me, for World of Krida, for Patriots, it was always that we are in it for glory. And I think Glory is a takeaway lesson for us. So, find your takeaway lesson, find your passion, find where you feel happy, and just dive into it because it is a very beautiful industry to be in. It’s a very respectful industry to be in, and there’s a lot of things that a women can achieve. So, I think for every women out there that if any point of your life you have been passionate around sports, just dive into it. Don’t let the external factors affect you that is just for men, but I think it is women who will bring the change. I feel very proud that World of Krida has given me an opportunity, where we are very happy to build in a whole women networking if anybody needs to know how to dive into sports. Sports is a thing, and it is for men and women. Women can definitely do it.