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Shivraj Asthana

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Shivraj Asthana

Co Founder & CEO

Startup in stealth mode

Blogs (34)

Shivraj Asthana is a member of:

Career Profile:

I am exploring the evolving trends in education, specially school education, as technology is enabling people in an unprecedented manner and is disrupting the way things were done before. In my previous role as an entrepreneur in digital marketing and technology, my responsibility was to keep our team ahead of the curve and be on the forefront of emergent practices and innovation. This is a complete change from my role previous to that in higher administration and public policy in the Civil Services.

Done Differently:

Times and circumstances change. So it is not just a simple question of turning the clock back. I would focus on building a strong foundation where we are more agile, adoptive and responsive. Smart Organizations that are constantly learning and adopting from their environment also cope up well with threats both known and unknown.

Growth Strategy:

Taking on challenges, specially in the unchartered waters, in my mind is one of the critical aspects of leading. Learning from environment and its application, constitute the other. I often attempt to break the norm by questioning its basic premises. And I am a big glutton for information and development in a wide variety of fields. The days where you specialize in one field to the exclusion of others are gone and buried.

Degrees That Matter:

Digital Marketing requires a good grounding in digital technologies. In addition one needs to have proficiency in digital marketing, data analytics and statistics. It is truly a convergence of several disciplines.

Job Profile:

I have been building this company up, with a strong focus on creating IP that sets us apart in this field. I was building capabilities in data driven and analytical approach as against the traditional ones. This required training, skill enhancement and building out-of-the-box thinking throughout the company.

Working Life Management:

This is sometimes tricky. In my view, the work has an internal and and external component. The external one is organized and often bound in schedules and tasks. The internal one is mostly free form. Maintaining "presence" is the key in keeping the work life balance. Just walk into any restaurant and you will see people seated on the table peering into their cell phones engrossed and not connecting with each other. I have found meditation to be really helpful.

The Journey So Far:

I focus both on the journey and the goal. Initially the learning curve was steep. Our successes came through missteps and making mistakes early. One interesting impact of the digital marketing domain is that it has been as disruptive to the corporate structure as to the marketing domain itself. Organizations built around knowledge need to be nimble and continuously "self learning." The journey so far has been exhilarating.

The Decisions That Matter

The most critical decision was switching from Civil Services to the Information Management and Technology domain. Today internet is not only shaping public policy but is also liberating the hidden potential in almost all walks of like. Of course, back in 1998, I did not know the all tremendous change digital technology is going to play in future. However, a revolution was in the offing and it felt like a great idea to take a leap of faith.

Plans For The Future:

It gives me immense pleasure to see youngsters building a vision. I would want help them realize their dreams in any way I can. I also believe that technology exists to solve real world problems, not just the ones in the first world. I would want to get deeper into fields of online education for the masses and reducing carbon footprint in sustainable manner.

Family Background

My father is an engineer turned professor who introduced thermodynamics in Metallurgical Engineering in India back in 1958. He, as others of his generation, was driven by a desire to build a "modern India". My mother was homemaker who was the first woman in her district to graduate from a college. My grandfather was a soldier in the Azad Hind Fauz of Subhash Chandra Bose. He joined the first batch of IAS after independence in 1947.

Professional Strengths:

This question can be objectively answered best by others. I try to approach any issues in an analytical manner. This often requires looking at both sides of the picture dispassionately. I believe that motivation by building relationships and respect for individuals are key to higher management.