Nothing is built in a day. We need a lot of perseverance, endurance, and commitment to reach our goals. Never give up on your dreams. Like Paulo Coelho’s saying “And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
Tell us about your background, journey, and upbringing.
I am Anooja Bashir the CEO and founder of Ourea (Branding & IT company ) & Cofounder, CMO of FlexiCloud (Managed Cloud Hosting), and Founder of Anooja initiatives (social entrepreneurship initiative). I handle the role of multi-specialist in my organization, getting involved as a Brand Strategist, Marketing Consultant, Business Mentor, and Corporate Trainer.
Though I started in 2013, I had a concept, but I didn't have the right strategy to implement it. I failed first as I didn't understand the market well . I analyzed what am I best at and figured, marketing was my forte which eventually led to creating a marketing venture.
I am Anooja Bashir the CEO and founder of Ourea (Branding & IT company ) & Cofounder, CMO of FlexiCloud (Managed Cloud Hosting), and Founder of Anooja initiatives (social entrepreneurship initiative). I handle the role of multi-specialist in my organization, getting involved as a Brand Strategist, Marketing Consultant, Business Mentor, and Corporate Trainer.
I have tried pretty much a lot in the corporate to have bagged expertise and experience all around. Entrepreneurship wasn’t exactly my dream job but it was like it called me.
After 10 years of corporate background and another few years in academia in 2013, I decided to bridge the gap of talents of academia and corporate, hence conferred the idea of an innovative program called LIKES - Learning Innovative Key Employment Skills.
Though the concept was of a finishing school which later on evolved into a marketing agency and then with the expansion of the IT wing, we developed ourselves into a 360-degree business management consultancy. Though my journey was full of thorns and rejections, I never gave up on my dreams.
Even after failing pathetically twice, I stood up strong, building my company with strategies and experiences gained in the journey of evolving myself into my best. Ourea emerged as one of the strong branding & web development companies within few past years with its innovative and conceptualized approach.
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When and how did you get clarity on what you wanted to do?
Though I started in 2013, I had a concept, but I didn't have the right strategy to implement it. I failed first as I didn't understand the market well . I analyzed what am I best at and figured, marketing was my forte which eventually led to creating a marketing venture.
Again it went well until I realized, technology is an inevitable element to make things happened on a structure. Lacking the right partners led to losing my grip eventually led to another breakdown.
But the third time I plunged in 2019, I had the clarity on what I want, the right team, the perfect strategies blended with perfect technology that made my implementation neat & clean. So I guess 2020 made my turning point in my Entrepreneurial journey making it to the success today as it seems.
Several global companies have come out and thrown their support behind not need a formal education. What is your opinion about this?
I don’t support that. Of course, education teaches you a lot of theories and also opens gateways to network. But again it doesn’t mean that having only formal education makes it all.
I don’t support that. Of course, education teaches you a lot of theories and also opens gateways to network. But again it doesn’t mean that having only formal education makes it all.
According to me, the perfect balance & blend of formal education along with the knowledge gained from practical experience can get you to achieve your dreams faster.
How do you handle someone who has lied on their resume?
That's quite an interesting question. I believe that everyone should be given a chance. If the lie isn’t that harmful and if the employee is totally dedicated & has contributed to the system I might be open to give one last with a sharp eye on him/her as honesty is one of the values of our system.
That's quite an interesting question. I believe that everyone should be given a chance. If the lie isn’t that harmful and if the employee is totally dedicated & has contributed to the system I might be open to give one last with a sharp eye on him/her as honesty is one of the values of our system.
But again to get a gateway, a small lie can be again pardoned as might be this person would understand that being transparent would have got him more reputation, he definitely would change his nature and who knows can be an asset to the company.
Still, I would also take precautions on an organizational view so that no troubles come to my company at a later stage.
What are some of your typical challenges and how have they evolved over time?
The biggest challenge I face is to prove to people that I was capable of building my dreams.
Initially, when I started my venture, I was been criticized for my business model, the same which has bought me today success. I feel every founder has a scar that reminds them of their struggle even after achieving their goal.
The biggest challenge I face is to prove to people that I was capable of building my dreams.
Initially, when I started my venture, I was been criticized for my business model, the same which has bought me today success. I feel every founder has a scar that reminds them of their struggle even after achieving their goal.
I struggled in finding a balance in managing the team and bring in sales to the system. I also had a lot of deceit from people with who I got associated in business as I truly trusted them and always had a belief that they had business ethics.
Besides, when I began my startup, I didn’t have a mentor to guide me for which I myself had to do trial and errors to figure out what’s the best strategy to make the company grow.
Yet the passion and vigor to evolve Ourea as a one-stop for all business needs always keeps me motivated, excited, and moves ahead even when facing hassles. Since we have multi verticals, it is our major advantage, our once approached client takes other services from us which in turn generates revenue in our system.
Since our clients totally trust us, we always aim to supplement our clientele with digital products other than our services to support more entrepreneurs to make a mark in the industry.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs or those eyeing the top job?
Nothing is built in a day. We need a lot of perseverance, endurance, and commitment to reach our goals. Never give up on your dreams. Like Paulo Coelho’s saying “And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
Nothing is built in a day. We need a lot of perseverance, endurance, and commitment to reach our goals. Never give up on your dreams. Like Paulo Coelho’s saying “And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
So keep trying, stay focused, increase your knowledge, strengthen your network, build a great team, and besides all believe in yourself and your dreams. Get updated on anything & everything connected to technology.
Bring in sustainable innovation with a smart thinking approach. Also, failure is always going to be a part of your life, you'll keep failing and that becomes the
major source of learning. Though it might seem to be a hard way, it is indeed the best way. Failure is the step towards success. So embrace your failures and learn from them.
Bring in sustainable innovation with a smart thinking approach. Also, failure is always going to be a part of your life, you'll keep failing and that becomes the
major source of learning. Though it might seem to be a hard way, it is indeed the best way. Failure is the step towards success. So embrace your failures and learn from them.
Which is your favorite book and why?
Paulo Cohelo ’s AL Chemist. The book conveys a lot of messages. It inculcates hope in us and to never give up on our dreams. It also makes you think to achieve dreams we need to be more focused and precisely think deeper on strategies to reach our goals.
Few of my favorite lines
• It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
• “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are."
• “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
• “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
• “Your eyes show the strength of your soul.”
• “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
• “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”
And then my all-time favorite and the best one
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
Paulo Cohelo ’s AL Chemist. The book conveys a lot of messages. It inculcates hope in us and to never give up on our dreams. It also makes you think to achieve dreams we need to be more focused and precisely think deeper on strategies to reach our goals.
Few of my favorite lines
• It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
• “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are."
• “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
• “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
• “Your eyes show the strength of your soul.”
• “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
• “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”
And then my all-time favorite and the best one
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
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