Kathmandu, July 24, 2017: The ‘Venture Talk with Ranjit Acharya’, hosted by M&S NEXT Venture Corp at Nepal Tourism Board on Sunday, heard the inspirational journey of Mr. Ranjit Acharya, Chief Executive Officer at Prisma Advertising. He shared his personal experiences and plenty of anecdotes to convey how polishing marketing skills will help entrepreneurs plot their way towards accelerated growth.
With over 25 years of experience in starting and managing his advertising company, Prisma Advertising, Acharya has also ventured into education sector with Bridgewater Education Foundation & Research Center. Ranjit Acharya, who started his working career early, founding Prisma Advertising in 1991, at the age of 21, recalled his journey of struggle and hefty learning in the event.
Look for an idea rather than a name
“During my college years while I was studying Science, I realized Science was not my cup of tea and discovered that my real interests lied in the business world. Initially, while working for an ad for glucose, we realized we needed an advertising agency for marketing, but we couldn’t find one. So, that’s when I thought of opening an advertising agency and went for registration. I wanted to register the name as ‘Prismatic’, but I was asked to spell the word after ‘P r i s m a’, hitting me with the fact that the name ‘Prisma’ would be more convenient than ‘Prismatic’. That’s how Prisma Advertising was born.” With that being said, he stressed on how branding is done with the idea and not a name.
“An entrepreneur isn’t someone who would drive a car in a pitched road, but someone who would be ready to construct an entire road. An entrepreneur isn’t someone who thinks how to chew after checking the size of the food, but someone who would think how to chew after taking a nibble. Every entrepreneur who has achieved heights today is someone who followed their inner guts irrespective of all the challenges and risks,” stated Acharya.
Sharing his personal experience, he suggested to the aspiring entrepreneurs to work for an idea rather than to look for opening a company in the first place.
Nurture your passion according to the market
The more the market growth, the more the need gap exists among the consumers, according to Acharya. “During the 1990s, all media agencies were focused towards radio, TV, and printing but we realized there were other untouched areas too. So, we did marketing campaigns to figure the need gap and came up with an advertising company. At one point, Prisma had all multinational companies associated with at the same time, credits to our direct marketing campaigns,” revealed Acharya. He also advised everyone to keep their eyes and ears open to learn irrespective of age and experience and to be thankful to criticizers because criticism boosts individual growth.
Recalling the partnerships and failures he had in this journey, he mentioned that there’s no harm in taking partnerships as long as you are on the safe side and failures help you bounce back more and more so there’s no use fearing failure. Meanwhile, he unveiled his major goal setting theory, “Never set the goal of making money. But, know what you are doing and follow your instincts.”
To the Budding Entrepreneurs:
“Being an entrepreneur, you need to analyze your idea really well. There is a possibility that your idea may be ahead of time. Think if your idea will be accepted by the contemporary society and market. Be patient, learn to wait. And, don’t just copy trendsetters, rather try to be unique. There are a lot of pros and cons in this field but, make sure to ignite that passion and deliberateness inside you,” opined Acharya.
Meanwhile, Acharya also cautions emerging youth entrepreneurs from falling into traps of complacency and disguise. He explained, “Only because you have started something productive and media start exalting you, don’t get overwhelmed. Don’t think it’s the end or else your business will fall flat. And, always remember its okay to have big dreams but don’t get disguised with it. Come to ground reality.”
On a concluding note, he mentioned that the trial rate in Nepal is extensively high so it is crucially important to keep away fake promises during marketing.
By Drishti Maharjan
