Introducing Deepika Bajaj, Founder and President of Invincibelle
February 11, 2010
We are pleased to introduce Deepika Bajaj, a woman of exceptional character and drive. She has the mind and the heart to dream big and help women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of, Diversity/Tweet: Embracing the Growing Diversity in our World. I’m sure you’ll love connecting with Deepika on Twitter and reading her interview here. Enjoy!
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Current Residence: San Jose, CA
Education: Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics & Communication) and Masters of Business Administration (Marketing)
Professional Background: Engineering, Marketing, Business Development, Sales, Entrepreneurship, Author, Blogger, Social Media, Speaker, Diversity Expert and Consultant.
What you wanted to be when you grew up: When I was little, I always wanted to be an air-pilot or movie producer. Funny, I still haven’t given up on becoming both.
What you are: I am founder and president of Invincibelle, a company empowering diverse, multi generational workforce and women to thrive in a multicultural world.
Brief Summary of your Start Up: Invincibelle brings trusted and relevant content to accelerate personal and professional growth of women worldwide. We provide service like Workshops, consulting, Event programming, Research to help clients enable women in their companies, institutions and communities to succeed in their specific professional domains. I also do many speaking engagements. Currently, I am building Personalized Leadership Optimization Programs to help women in mid-management roles optimize their leadership effectiveness.
Company Website? www.invincibelle.com
What inspired you? As far as I remember, I always wanted to start my own company. Growing up, I was in awe of my grandfather who ran three successful businesses. His father (my great grandfather) died when he was six and his mother raised him along with his elder brother. Early in his life, responsibility of taking care of his family fell on his shoulders. With very little formal education, he built businesses and was able to raise his children, take care of his family and employees.
When I was little, my father was always busy running the business and so I got to spend a lot of time with my dada ji (my grandfather). He always kept me in conversations of how planning, autonomous employees and trust with customers were critical for the success of any business.
Secondly, I always wanted to make a difference in the world. A career on the fast track was very lucrative but I always had an inner calling to do something that solved a significant pain in people’s lives. The drive to do something bigger than myself and meaningful helped me take the plunge to start my own company.
Finally, I was always passionate about helping ambitious and aspiring women. When I came to the U.S. ten years ago, I realized how hard it was to find role models, trusted resources for information, experts on different domains who could help propel your career. There was a need for a platform to learn from crème de la crème, find trusted and relevant information, get training and showcase your talent to prosper in your career. In hindsight, all of this was motivation for me to start my company, Invincibelle.
How long have you been in business?
We have been in business since Feb, 2007. So, it is three years since we have been in business.
How did you fund it?
The two things that come to my mind are:
Firstly, way before I started my company, I started saving money to start one. I believe that one has to put money in one’s own venture. It brings in a different level of commitment.
Secondly, I invested heavily in my education and continue to do so even today. I was hungry for knowledge. I was fortunate to learn from the best teachers.
Initially, I bootstrapped the company along with some strategic investments. I built the company by developing partnerships. This helped me keep the monthly burn rate low and brought in help from partners for the execution of the initial concept.
With the release of Invincibelle Personalized Leadership Optimized programs in 2010, we are now in a high growth mode and gearing for raising more funds in the next three-six months.
In the dot-com era, fundraising was considered the normal route for building a company. An entrepreneur needed an in-house development team, servers and marketing campaigns to start a company.
Today, I believe that a first-time entrepreneur needs to prove a concept to a level before he can reach out to potential investors. The costs associated with starting an Internet company have significantly reduced. An entrepreneur needs to consider tools like skype for communication, google analytics for tracking web traffic and blogs, squidoos, wikis, email campaigns for marketing.
Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? YES!!! I have Fairy Godmothers and Godfathers who are my mentors.
Self- belief is a priceless asset. Without self-belief nothing can be accomplished. With it, nothing is impossible.
With that said, mentors enable you to execute on an idea. Their belief and confidence in you keeps you focused on getting results and developing yourself. The fact that you have access to them and their mindshare is priceless. Sometimes, you cannot comprehend what their vision is for your company and you. It is miraculous to have them in this committed and passionate endeavor of your life. In ups and downs, they are constantly championing you and you find yourself creating opportunities you had not imagined.
Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? Yes!!! I am formal and informal member to many business organization and networking groups.Women 2.0, Working Mother Media, LinkedIn, Twitter, Active Garage to name a few.
Current Business Challenge? Cash flow and Revenue. Cash is a serious matter. Its management is utterly vital in any venture. Facing up to cash-flow demands is paramount concern in any start-up. Monitoring and forecasting cash flow is a huge responsibility. You can delegate any task but this is YOURS.
What are you doing about it? Creating offers that are relevant to the marketplace. Diversify! You need to be focused to get your idea off the ground and to start making money. You can expand maybe grow internationally. But, in reality, it is still in the same industry. To protect your investment, you need to create new offers and leverage.
Favorite motivational quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi.
Family? A BIG, FAT Indian family, many relatives and relatives of relatives. My husband and immediate family are my biggest support which includes my mom, my father in law and mother in law and great cousins and sisters. And friends who are like my family. Since I stay away from home, India, my friends have become my family. And mentors, who are now part of my extended family.
If so, how do you balance family and business? I have never tried to reach work-life balance. Quite frankly, I don’t believe in it. I don’t see work and life as two separate pieces of my life. I see them as ONE. I believe in work-life integration. Some things I do to be able to live a full life is:
- Prioritize – Prioritize AND PRIORITIZE
- AVOID Interruptions – To stay focused on what I am working on.
- Make time for myself – I love to work out and spend time with friends, travel and indulge in my hobbies. So, I ask for a lot of help from my family, friends and even hire help.
- Goal Setting – I focus on what I can accomplish in a DAY.
- Committed AND Not Attached – I remind myself everyday that I am playing a GAME bigger than myself. I am committed to making a difference in the world and other people’s lives. And if this is a game I designed, I am going to play it all out. I am committed to creating a change and I surround myself with people who give me energy to overcome obstacles.
Favorite book? This is a tough question since I have more than one book which is my favorite book.
Here are a few:
- Leader’s Legacy – Kouzes & Posner
- Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
- Monk who sold his Ferrari – Robin Sharma
- The speed of TRUST – Stephen M. R. Covey
- The Art of the start – Guy Kawasaki
- Screw it, let’s do it – Richard Branson
- The brand you 50 – Tom Peters
- The Dip – Seth Godin
- On Becoming Fearless – Arianna Huffington
- The E Myth – Michael E. Gerber
The list goes ON…but I will STOP here.
What do you do to relax? I love to work-out and it allows me to rejuvenate myself. I truly believe there is some truth to the “Endorphin RUSH”. I love painting, reading, watching movies, traveling and spending time with friends and family. I am BIG on listening to music and reading books. Most importantly, I really love meeting people who are DREAMERS – who dream to make a difference AND then DO it.
What do you want to change most about your world? I can’t wait to see a world where people are empowered and enabled to make a difference in the world. I dream of a world without passports.
I believe in the concept of “Global citizenship”. I believe Global citizens draw from their home culture but they also absorb experiences from many cultures and backgrounds. They are not cultural tourists who just travel the world and go shopping. They embrace discomfort and immerse themselves in different cultures. The journey to become a global citizen often includes personal sacrifice and pain. They look beyond stereotypes, and they don’t talk about diversity. Instead, they manifest the change they want to appear within the world. They take responsibility of communities beyond people who they grew up with and are change catalyst.
How do you explain to people are concerned about Tsunami or Haiti disaster who have never traveled there or encountered a similar situation?
What are you most proud of? When I told my dad I was quitting my job and using all of my savings for this company he was less than pleased. He wanted to protect me. He said that it was too risky and that I shouldn’t do it. But I knew I was ready for it, so I did it anyway. Later on, I was a guest on a radio talk show, speaking about startups and entrepreneurs. Four days before he died he called me and said, “I heard your radio show, and I’m very proud of you. I finally get what you’re doing.” That was the proudest moment of my life.
What advice would you like to offer other Start Up Princesses? Take bold risks and never look back. I believe, “When you get off an island, burn the boats”, meaning that when you make a decision, stick to it and never look back.
“Luck is a dividend of sweat” – Ray Kroc, McDonald’s Founder.
Fortune fovors not just the brave but the bold. It is possible that boldness can result in complete failure – that is what the conventional wisdom proves. But if it succeeds, then success will be yours.
Chances come to everyone in life often they will be risky and have potential humiliation. Be prepared to take a calculated risk and tolerate potential humiliation and to act with passion – you will see luck favor YOU.
Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? I believe Stamina is crucial. This is important as it is the capacity to work so hard that your friends make fun of you, your family wonders what is wrong with you, your lover despises your commitment and everyone wonders if you are on drugs, half in wonder and half in despair. This is the recipe to seek LUCK.
If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use? Diamonds – They are girl’s best friend.
