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Career in online marketing - an interview with Advit Sahdev, CEO of Odigma

Advit Sahdev is the CEO of Odigma, one of India’s online marketing firms. He has taken leadership positions in areas such as social applications, conversation platforms, influencer engagement programs, Facebook fans management and engagement.
 
A NIT alumnus and a former Intel employee, Sahdev founded Odigma in 2010 and headquartered it in Bangalore.
 
Sahdev is recognized as an online marketing expert and was also awarded the Young Turks by CNBC TV18. We talk to him about the lessons he learnt as an entrepreneur:
 
Tell us about the difficulties you, as an entrepreneur, faced when starting Odigma?
 
The biggest challenges were to quit my job, have no fixed source of income and jump to a field that was not related to my job experience.
 
What were the reactions when you wanted to start this company?
 
Friends and family were very supportive and that was the key and the main reason why I could start a business of my own. Without their support, I couldn′t have done it.
 
What advice would you give to someone who wants to make it big in the field of online marketing?
 
Marketing is all about working with passion and focusing towards a goal. There is a solution for everything when it comes to online marketing and there are enough case studies for each and every area. All you have to do is be focused and don′t give up in between.
 
Marketing yields exponential results and unlike a lot of other fields, you cannot see the benefits always. You have to trust the work you have done and results will come.
 
What advice would you give to freshers in today’s tough job market scenario?
 
Identify your talent and the area in which you are better than others. Choose that domain and work in that domain. There is no point working in a field which you do not enjoy as you will need to spend more than one third of your life doing that.
 
Any tips for aspiring entrepreneurs?
 
Take risks but always have a plan B ready. It gives you enough confidence and strength to go after your plan A with full commitment which is the most important thing to be successful in business.
 
Any parting words?
 
Goal setting is the most important step to achieve anything. You need to have a clear objective in mind. Once you know what you want to achieve, then you give direction to your actions and focus only on what you want to achieve.