Durvesh Yadav’s Journey: From Entrepreneurial Dreamer to CEO of Rising Star Communications

Durvesh Yadav

An interview with Durvesh Yadav, Business Consultant, Marketer & CEO of Rising Star Communication

In this interview, we sit down with Durvesh Yadav, the Founder and CEO of Rising Star Communications, to explore his journey as a dynamic young entrepreneur.
With a vision to reshape India’s business landscape, Durvesh’s innovative approach to communication and leadership is driving change. His insights into entrepreneurship offer valuable lessons for aspiring business leaders.

Durvesh, can you share your entrepreneurial journey and what inspired you to start Rising Star Communication?

Durvesh Yadav: I was in my second year of tech engineering when I realised that the path of a software engineer is not for me. I wanted to do something big, and so I started working in partnership with coaches, consultants and business owners, where I consulted business owners and helped them fill their business gaps.

I also helped in their marketing and sales process. Within a span of a year, we hit 6 figure income. So I quit my college to pursue my business even before I entered my 3rd year of Btech.

After some time, I went on to create Rising Star communication, a company where I could leverage my experience and knowledge of business in creating fail-proof marketing systems that drive sales and revenue for brands and businesses.

I realised a major gap in branding, while many know that they need to build credibility, they do not know the way to do so- to achieve authentic and credible brand image, especially when entering the market. This is what I intend to change through rising star communication.

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs just starting out, especially in terms of overcoming challenges and staying motivated?

Durvesh Yadav: Young entrepreneurs are highly energetic, which is their biggest advantage. They should never lose their positive energy, which means they must take care of their environment.

The company of negative people or too much exposure to negative situations can spoil the quality of energy within them, and hence they must focus on staying in the company of people who are always able to find the silver lining.

This is because business is also about hope. Secondly, they must focus on creating a strong network where mutually beneficial relationships exist. If you want to gain something from someone, first give them something.

And, lastly, staying with people who are way more experienced than you can make a huge difference. Always keep your open and listen carefully, absorb their experience and wisdom to ensure personal growth.

When it comes to motivation, I feel rather than focusing on motivation, young entrepreneurs should focus on inspiration which comes from finding a purpose. THis could simply be making a lot of money or giving a luxurious life to your parents.

With the purpose in place, motivation to achieve it will follow automatically. Use that purpose to get inspired.

From your experience, what are some common challenges faced by entrepreneurs, and how can they effectively navigate them?

Durvesh Yadav: The biggest challenge is building a team. We all have ideas but to execute them we need people as we can do nothing alone. The biggest challenge comes with realising this reality.

For a great team, you need to offer them a great salary and more importantly growth else your business will be treated as  a training centre for those who aspire to work at Google and Deolitte.

Without a team, you won’t be able to deliver great customer service and experience which becomes a deal breaker for most prospects. Even getting investment from investors is directly linked with company culture.

Hence, the biggest challenge is finding people who are ready to give their best to your business. The simple solution is giving people a work environment where they see high growth and the possibility to rise in career because with the growth of employees comes growth of the team.

Another challenge might be finding investors and preparing an effective pitch. Most entrepreneurs aim to enter into a market that has immense potential but what they lack is the ability to put their ideas across investors see their unique value proposition.

It could be because of lack of market research in product development or market potential and in some cases, charisma and personality of founders. The first step here is to focus on market research.

An entrepreneur’s creativity and innovation shines when they are aware of the market reality, ensuring that they are able to communicate the value proposition. The next step is to work upon their leadership skills and personality.

Having an ego or judgemental mind will only weigh them down. Investors do not like to work with haughty or prideful founders. So, investing in personal development and branding are crucial steps towards ensuring a successful business.

The last challenge is marketing. Most entrepreneurs focus on selling. Instead, they can focus on creating an environment through marketing campaigns where customers are drawn to purchase.

In today’s competitive business environment, how can entrepreneurs identify and capitalise on emerging opportunities?

Durvesh Yadav: As an entrepreneur, a person must be able to think on their feet. Spontaneity without rigidity is the key to capitalising new opportunities. Moreover, creativity knows no bounds, so a big mistake would be restricting yourself to a particular industry.

Since business is all about taking risks, and making informed decisions, expanding horizons would never harm an entrepreneur. This also makes one accepting of changing trends as well.

What are some current trends you’re seeing in the communications industry, and how do you predict the future of entrepreneurship in this space?

Durvesh Yadav: The most influential trend is the community driven nature of brand messaging. The pandemic was an overwhelming experience  for many.Things like community engagement which were often taken for granted, were out of the window with social distancing.

Indian culture is collectivistic and this shift a major shocker for Indian consumers and hence you would see the sudden rise in online influencers. They were ordinary people who started creating content in the hope of building a community.

This shows how users today are naturally drawn to local communities rather than international, which makes the Indian market very viable for local brands, i.e. if they are able to build credibility and doing so becomes easy with collaborations with influencers.

The best part is, you do not need lakhs of marketing budget in getting started. Brands need to align their messaging to reach consumer hearts while doing so.

Another trend is the blend of cringe,humour and Genz language. Nykaa and Shaadi dot com recently collaborated with an instagram comic character- Ganji Chudail. Cringe content is slowly picking up space.

The challenge is to ensure that the “cringe” in communication is balanced with a sense of purpose. This genre of content has warranted a new media style and channel of brand led communication and story telling where brands have to break their creative boundaries as well as hesitation.

And while there are so many other emerging trends in communication, the last trend I would mention is podcasts. Why do people love them? They are candid and offer a peak into real life experiences, not just theory. Founders a=ought to leverage them in order to grow their personal brand so that their entrepreneurial venture can gain from it.

The conclusion is, brand awareness would not necessarily guarantee credibility and vice versa. Hence, entrepreneurs would have to keep exploring multiple channels as well as a varied approach to content to achieve desired results through their communication.

Looking back on your own entrepreneurial journey, what do you think were the key factors that contributed to your success?

Durvesh Yadav: What contributed to my success was my network. I was able to form a great relationship with many leading figures who directed me. Mentorship played a crucial role in my growth at the age of 19. At the age of 19 I got just what I needed, people who saw my potential and helped me challenge myself everyday to become better.

Moreover, there was always room for mistakes. I was able to learn from my mistakes and overcome the challenges. In essence, my failures became learning opportunities for me. Another key factor was that I was always eager and curious. I asked a lot of questions, and I never felt stupid for asking questions.

I was also lucky to have people who were ready to guide me and give me directions whenever I needed. However, all this wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have a purpose, I found my purpose and got inspired to achieve it. As a result, I never lost the drive and motivation to work hard.

As a young entrepreneur, what leadership qualities do you believe are essential for running a successful company?

Durvesh Yadav: A young entrepreneur now has to develop leadership qualities that contribute to the genuine growth and success of his or her company. A business is not run based on the fear of authority, but on the grounds of trust that forges collaboration.

Empathy is the thing; understanding the problems faced by your team and supporting them creates a positive, motivational work environment. Meanwhile, having a clear vision and direction inspires confidence and gives your team a sense of purpose.

The business landscape is so dynamic, so the importance of flexibility and adaptability is equal. Keeping on learning from mistakes will keep you ahead. Being decisive will be another key trait-you’d make thoughtful, timely decisions, and it gives confidence and strengthens trust from the team in your leadership.

Central to aligning efforts is communication. Being open and transparent sets it up so that everything is working in the same direction. Last but certainly not least, integrity plays a crucial role in successful leadership.

A good leader sets the example, remains the same as one’s values, and maintains honesty with teammates by fostering loyalty and respect. True leadership is actually using the power to inspire your team to achieve shared goals, not to intimidate. Success is based on trust, teamwork, and a vision.

What strategies did you use to scale Rising Star Communication, and what would you recommend to entrepreneurs aiming for sustainable growth?

My company is built on networking. The number 1 rule being, give value before you can expect anything. It’s a slow and gradual process. We start with small offerings and gradually move to bigger ones as trust builds.

Moreover, to be sustainable, you have to keep innovating. We have to constantly improve our services, add new features and qualities based on market demands to keep customers happy.

And I feel this is the mantra for any business, be it D2c, B2B or B2C. Another thing that is essential is ensuring that you are not selling for the sake of selling, you need to ensure that the client really needs the offering.

And lastly, extensive research. Keep up with trends, follow the news and important figures in the industry. Don’t just look at competitors as a threat, see them as inspiration.

Lastly, what are your future plans for Rising Star Communication, and what’s next for you as an entrepreneur?

Durvesh Yadav: We are planning to expand our reach to new avenues of communication. For instance, we are planning to reach out to more influencers to help them grow their reach and business.

We already have connections with top 50 podcast hosts in India but we are going to grow our network to over 100 Podcasts so that I can offer the best value to my clients in a more efficient and faster way.

Also, we are working on our plans to help D2C brands, coaches and business owners scale their business through entire marketing and PR services in the next 6 months.

Alongside this at Rising Star, I am going to work closely with business coaches like Suresh Mansharamani to grow their impact. Many coaches also envision becoming investors and we at Rising Star are determined to help them achieve their dreams.

When it comes to my entrepreneurial journey, I have recently started my own podcast, the Ashish and Durvesh Talk show and I plan to add more value to the content industry through many such ventures.

So, you can expect to see several creative content channels to emerge from my end which are going to focus on knowledge, culture and the several trending topics in order to inspire the Indian youth to create their own path.

Durvesh Yadav’s inspiring journey and forward-thinking leadership continue to impact India’s business world.

As Rising Star Communications thrives under his guidance, his story serves as a beacon of innovation and success for future entrepreneurs.

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