In Conversation With Asmita Sharma, Director, Intelligience

How will you introduce yourself to the world?

I am Asmita, and my name stands for someone who carves her own identity-So I call myself Asmita -The Dreamer & the Doer; the Entrepreneur –who is building an ecosystem where every individual is capable of being self-sufficient & where good culture fosters creativity.

This description is enough as the rest of my introduction will always be organic and will be dependent on the value I bring to an occasion –I always believe that my value will never be a part of the introduction and will be felt and left unsaid till it is recognized in my convictions by the individuals I meet.

Tell your readers about your achievements till today

2002: Recipient of Academic Excellence Award by Padma Vibhushan Awardee Lt. Mrs Sushma Swaraj Ji

2004: Recipient of IDMA GP NAIR Award by Padam Shri & Padma Bhushan Awardee Biocon CMD, Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

2016: Leadership award for Contribution to Market Research by World Marketing Congress

The list above are a part of the felicitations, which ofcourse boost your morale being felicitated by Industry Leaders and Leaders in the Government –but are they achievements?

Yes, of course but not quite…Here is why: Leadership is to have the courage to boldly serve those surrounding you – The achievement is in letting one’s courage serve as the road-map for others who are following, resulting in collective success  – The main theme here is to be totally true to one’s self and others – It’s pretty scary and easier said than done  Hence I believe, my greatest achievement till now has been to recognize my own qualities and then serve as a leader in my so-far small ecosystem.

Tell us about your start-up

My start-up is 2 year old boutique pharma & lifescience consulting firm, delivering innovative solutions & insights to our Pharma & Medtech clients across the globe, with the sole focus of creating value.

What is the most important thing you are working on right now and how are you making it happen

I am working on a lot of ideas & solutions, ofcourse in a stealth mode, so we can’t discuss much here.

Philosophically, however I believe that the concept of “right-now” in start-up time is illusive – So, at any given moment there are multiple tasks that form the list of the most important things to be done –  When one cracks this surface it’s all about the minimum number of decisions which can solution the maximum number tasks – It’s all about ‘yes’ ‘no’ decisions all day and filtering all those ‘yes’ decisions which automatically nullify the maximum number of ‘no’ decisions which eventually has that desired overall positive impact….It’s always easy to say ‘no’ to things – Instead, ‘Leaders’ need to say ‘yes’ as many times as possible whilst looking at all other parameters practically….

What is your take on your segmented / targeted market?

I strongly believe that if you have to survive in the crowded consulting market, you have to first identify and then create your niche.

Today’s market has hundreds of vendors offering similar service betting only on their pricing; I am not aiming for that portion of the pie where every day you get up to work harder not because you want to,  but because you are afraid you will lose your client to anyone who makes a more economical offer.

When you plan to create value instead, you may take baby steps instead of giant leaps, but every day you are growing, making progress & inching towards your goal –of creating value, & that’s what that matters for long-run sustenance.

What are the challenges you have faced and what are your current challenges?

Two major challenges that I thought I will face when I started my journey as a startup were getting funding & getting the right set of people to believe you –both your team & your clients. I have been lucky in both these aspects.

However the elephant in the room is to hone the ability to solution everything – from fixing computers to solving financial issues & everything in between –It is not always possible to keep a game face on & to drive yourself to show up every day, no matter what.

The challenge is always equating earnings and expenditure as one scales- When one starts something, the numbers are smaller and later the numbers get bigger but the challenges principally still remain the same but some people like to use fancy words like complex, rationalize with cost ratios etc – Bottom line It’s the same just that the business is at a larger concentric circle than when one started….

Top three challenges for both: 

Managing numbers, finding individuals who are ready to unlearn & relearn, keeping the game-face on.

Why have you started up? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

In five years, I see myself making headway into unknown & untouched areas of lifesciences & healthcare, finding innovative solutions to the core unmet needs in the field of consulting.

Please share your learning for fellow Entrepreneurs.

Be courageous as courage is the only virtue which lets you practice other virtues consistently _ These are the individuals who leave behind a legacy and will be remembered …It’s important to be a good human being to be a successful entrepreneur, thus I am talking about ‘virtues’- All will make money – Try to take a chance at being remembered.

Always remember the “Elephant and a dog became pregnant at same time” story – Sometimes, one builds great things which are bigger in every perceivable way which takes a bit more time – Try to know ‘clearly’ what you want and what you are doing so that finite time-lines can be dissolved OR you may choose not to.