From Fresher to Marketing Head
Nikhil Wahi, the Head of Marketing Commercials at Flipkart, kicked off his career during the explosive growth of India’s startup ecosystem. With his wealth of experience working for top startups like BlinkIt, OYO, and Flipkart, Nikhil gives us electrifying insights into the fast-paced world of startups and how you can do it all too!
Q. How did you start your career and how has the journey been till now?
I started my career nine and a half years back, with Zomato, when the start-up ecosystem was coming to India and was picking up momentum. It was a time when many people were moving back home from Silicon Valley and starting up. Everyone was trying to get a game here.
After working at Zomato, I later shifted to Blinkit, earlier known as Grofers, followed by OYO, and then to Flipkart. It has been great working with startups and one gets to learn a lot while working with them because one is always on their toes. There are new challenges every day which keep you motivated every day so you never get bored, which is actually the best part about it.
Q. What has been the biggest challenge you have faced in your career and how did you overcome that?
So we can all agree that the startup industry as an ecosystem is ever-changing. In the last 10 years, we have evolved exponentially as an industry. Initially, if we wanted to buy a product, we would go, check out a product and buy it. Now, we can use AI and impersonation to check the products. If you want to buy furniture, you could just check out how it would look in your living room. I think the way tech has evolved over the years is something great.
So, it’s a very challenging industry and you have to keep on upgrading yourself constantly to keep up with the change. You need to keep updating off the books and on the books i.e., your updating your literal knowledge with books as well as by talking to your industry experts, colleagues, and industry veterans.
To give an example of how dynamic this industry is, I would like to mention an example wherein Blinkit changed the business model five times over a span of two years which is phenomenal and you wouldn’t see it happening in a traditional company in India. So, if you’re coming from a very structured environment or an MNC, keeping up would be the biggest challenge you will face.
Q. Can you share a memorable experience or a project from your career that you are particularly proud of?
I have got to work on decent projects with amazing people and I have been really fortunate in that. One of my most significant projects which I cherish working on is OYO’s expansion internationally when it was expanding in China’s market. It was an incredible experience because if you look at China, it’s very protected and not an easy market to venture into.
Many tech companies like Netflix, Google, and Amazon have not been successful and have struggled or eventually shut down. But OYO was very convinced that they wanted to venture out into the market and I consider myself very fortunate to have been a part of the launching team in China.
China is a humungous market, very similar to India in culture and competitiveness. You get to understand the scale and quantum and how massive the market could be so that’s great. It’s a different territory altogether because it’s very different yet very similar. Unlike European countries and the US where you can still communicate, the language is also foreign in China.
Q. How have you adapted to changes and shifts in your industry over the years?
That’s a very good question! Change is the only constant. We’ve all evolved over the years, from school to college to our masters and what we ultimately do in our jobs is very very different. The industry is also very dynamic and ever-changing. And to keep up with the change, you need to keep two approaches, one is off the book and another is on the book, so keep learning from books, and courses, even if it’s not in your degree.
Just read a book and learn something new about a new topic that might not be figuratively part of your job. Talk to industry experts, industry veterans, and your colleagues. I have a big friend group in different countries and we talk about how tech is evolving in their countries. You tend to learn and be a part of the Industrial revolution 4.0.
Q. How do you stay motivated and focused in your work?
Well, some days are going to be bad and some days are going to be good but I think the thing which keeps one motivated is just concentrating on one’s work and keep on striving to do better. When you love what you do, I think it reciprocates in it. I think it’s very important to be passionate and it’s not only when you’re in the creative process. Even doing a job that is not creative, like sales, engineering and etc, you could love your work because it’s coming out of your interest. In this case, there are going to be hard days but then you will overcome them quite easily.
Q. Do you have any advice for young professionals just starting out in their careers and what skills do you think are most important for them?
I think it’s very important for young professionals to be accommodating of changes as the industry has become very dynamic and it’s very important to keep up with the industry changes. If you talk to your elders today, 20-25 years back it was comparatively easy going but today it’s very intense. In startups, the average age is 23-24 and people are very energetic and want to take up initiatives.
Another point is, to take up lots of initiative and new projects, even if it requires you to go to your management. Some things might not be your expertise but the management will definitely help you out or guide you and that’s how you learn. Keep going to your manager and keep taking up the initiative.
Q. Is there anything you wish you had known earlier in your career that you now know as an experienced professional?
Well, everyone’s journey is different and we get impacted by someone’s journey who has done it before and that’s great. But we should not get demotivated while we look up to those stories. And more often, this happens when we are starting out our careers but we must understand that everyone has a different growth pattern. You must focus on giving your best and sooner or later you will see the returns.
