Off to the Valley

Sneha Saigal: One of the
things that I learned was, not

being afraid to pivot fast.

I mean, if you think, you need to try
something and experiment, do like a

sprint to just see if that works or
doesn't work because, not everybody's

actually paying attention to every
switch you're making in your company.

So, do a couple of those sprints.

And the sooner you get that response from
the market or that signal, you know that

you're either on the right track or not.

Prateek Panda: Hello, and welcome
back to Off to the Valley, the

podcast where we dive deep into
the journeys of entrepreneurs,

shaping industries around the globe.

I'm your host Prateek Panda.

And today we are excited to be

joined by Sneha Saigal, the founder
and CEO of Geeks and Experts.

It's a platform connecting startups
as well as scale ups with fractional

PR talent on a subscription basis.

With over a decade of experience in early
stage startups, Sneha's journey has been

defined by her ability to adapt, pivot,
and listen closely to customer needs.

From the challenges of being an immigrant
founder, to building a platform that helps

startups access affordable PR services,

Sneha's story is one of
resilience and growth.

Sneha, it's a pleasure
to have you on the show.

And like we were talking about just a few
minutes ago, I want to get to know about

your rollercoaster journey called life.

Sneha Saigal: Absolutely.

Thank you so much for
having me here, Prateek.

I'm excited to chat with you.

Prateek Panda: Great.

So Sneha, tell us a little bit about
who Sneha is as a person, right?

What was your childhood like?

What got you to the U.

S.?

Sneha Saigal: Yeah, absolutely.

So I'm from Mumbai, I mean, Bombay, pretty
much grew up there and honestly said

that I will not leave my neighborhood.

So that was the kind of Sneha.

Growing up was like, this is
it, family's here, friends are

here, comfort zone is here.

And fast forward, landed up in New York,
furthest away from home, and without

any signs of immediately going back
or anything, but, yeah, that was me

growing up, very involved in different
projects, kind of always have this

knack for trying different things.

So that, I guess, brings me to, like,
why I find it hard to focus and pick

things to work on and the shiny object
syndrome, obviously something which I

guess most founders tend to struggle with.

So yeah, that's kind
of been my background,

but moving to New York that way was a
quick adjustment because it's as fast

as, any other big city like Bombay.

So from that point of view, I feel like
this was probably, some reason that

faith brought me here and made me kind of
settle down here and start, second chapter

. Prateek Panda: So Sneha, tell me a little
bit more about New York also, right?

Like I've been there a few times,
never lived in New York, but, the

fast pace is truly incomparable
to any other city in the world.

And you talked about the
shiny object syndrome.

Do you think New York helps you,
get along with that fast pace

and stay committed to a path?

Or do you think it gives you
more opportunities to get

distracted with shiny objects?

Sneha Saigal: Oh my God,
that's a loaded question.

So I honestly, when I moved
here, it was so overwhelming.

It feels like it's a beast of its own.

It's really one of those, kind of cities,
which has all the different faces.

And I kept hearing from a lot of people
who, when I said that I'm moving, they

were like, Oh my God, that's so fast.

How are you going to figure out?

It's there's nobody has
time for anybody there.

And I had realized, pretty much in the
first probably six to 12 months that it

is a place where you define your path.

There's one path for everybody.

And the myth is that it's a fast
paced city, because having lived

here now for a few years, I figured
like, I know where I want to go.

And I want to just focus and zone out.

And I think people understand that
as well, living in a city like this

that people switch on and switch off
depending on their energy levels.

And, of course, you, I guess, learn
to navigate that as you go as well.

So being a founder, there are times when
I have to actively put on that, like,

on button, go out, network, meet people.

And I believe you and I were
at the OOO Summit as well.

And things like that happen so frequently
here that if you just decide to spend

every day networking, you can probably
fill your calendar doing that, but you

won't end up getting that much work done.

So now I actively try to limit my time
on networking events and just pick

and choose, because then I need to
have focused time to get work done.

So I guess the long, short answer is
that there is a place for everybody here.

You just have to pick and
choose what works for you.

Prateek Panda: And you said something
very interesting, you know, as, when

I had moved to the US early on as an
immigrant founder, one of the things

that you tend to obviously do is go to
as many networking events as possible.

At some point you sort of hit a ceiling
where either you start meeting the same

people over and over again, or you just
realize that, okay, you've built that

sizable network, that you can count on.

And now it's important to, focus
on more day to day and make

progress with your startup.

For all the founders that are listening
to the show, many of them are either

just moving to the US, have moved
to the US or have it on their plate.

Right.

They've been considering.

Do you have any suggestions for
them from your recent learning of

how to bring this balance, right?

How much do you do like it can be so
easy to be distracted because I was

in the San Francisco Bay area, again a
place where there is something happening

every day that you could fill up your
calendar very quickly and get lost.

So do you have any sort of
tips on what to do what not to

do as you build your network.

Sneha Saigal: Absolutely.

I love talking about this because as
somebody who considers myself like semi

introvert, but also turning extrovert
or just, kind of pushing my comfort

zone also, I feel like we all have a
little bit of a social battery, right?

And I think it's so important to stay
true to that instead of trying to match

up to a certain number or a metric.

So there are a couple of
things that I would recommend.

One is, giving that social battery a try,
like what actually inspires you to go out?

Is it those, because there are so many
types of networking events as well, right?

You have niche gatherings, which are like
very intimate, like round table dinners.

Then there are the big conferences, the
big networking events at bars, which

have like probably thousand plus people.

So I feel like everyone shines
in different ways and you have

to find what works for you.

So I try to do a balance of those, right?

Because that is something which helps me
pick and choose because the people you'll

meet also will be different at these.

I'm hosting one tech walk in central
park, in April, and that is a very

different audience of people who've
come there because they want to

meet people in a natural setting.

They want to do a little bit more
of mindful walk in the park and

talk about their startup journey.

So if you tend to go for a networking
event at a bar that's going to

have a very different audience.

So I think it's nice to mix it up
and balance out what works for you.

And in terms of, also just preserving
your energy, I think what I try

to do is more active networking
as opposed to passive networking.

Now, what does that mean?

So for me, that means if I'm going
for an intimate event, or if I'm going

for an event where I really want to
meet the host, or I want to meet a

couple of panelists who are part of
a discussion, I'll try to go early.

So that way I can go up to them
and say hi before the event

starts and expose the talk.

Everyone's gonna go,
want to talk to the host.

So try to go there early, offer
some help, say like, Hey, is there

something I can do to help you?

The other thing to do is obviously
like the mindful follow up and

actively connecting people.

I think one thing people forget
to do is, I mean, they'll go at an

event, they'll meet someone, say,
Hey, it was great meeting you.

You know just send that follow
up, generic follow up post that.

But what I try to do is, did I have a
book recommendation that I can send them?

Did I have somebody else I can
introduce them to and make like

a meaningful intro from there?

Because that is just a little bit
more proactiveness on your end.

And that just creates, I feel more depth.

So you're going more deep before
going wide and meeting a hundred

people, you're just making those
meaningful connections early on.

So that is what I would suggest, just
in terms of preserving your energy

and you'll figure out as you go.

Prateek Panda: I especially like the
fact about, thinking through a little

bit about what can I give back, as
I go to meet some new people, like

something as simple as, okay, here are
a bunch of books that I read recently.

That is really helpful, right?

That itself helps you
create that connection.

When you said that, it almost
reminded me of this guy we used

to have in my last startup.

I used to run a security company
and I'll give a shout out to Umesh.

He was our first sales lead and one
of his amazing talents was that he

could walk into any room and start
making connections, between people.

So as you walk through a conference
and meet with people, somehow magically

he would remember, Oh, you know what?

Like by talking to someone,
he'll be like, you should go meet

this other person I met today.

And in that meeting itself, like
on the floor itself, he would have

introduced people to each other.

And that's what they would remember
Umesh as, and as a founder of the

startup, when I used to walk around
and meet someone, they would say, Oh

yeah, I met Umesh already from your
company, he already introduced me to

two potential customers and whatever.

like, okay, that is amazing, right?

Because you're going with the mindset,
not just to extract, you are going

there honestly to help build connections
and the best way to build it is by

trying to also see what you can give.

So a great example that you shared also,
something as simple as that, right?

Sometimes people struggle with
knowing what can I really give, but

it could be as simple as, here's
one book, helped solve this problem.

I loved it.

Go read it, right?

Sneha Saigal: Absolutely.

I love that.

That's such a nice way to just give
first and show that you actually care

and you're actively listening to what
the other person is saying, because you

can't make an intro if you're not paying
attention to what the person is saying.

And I also feel like it's so refreshing
when people ask different questions at

an event, as opposed to what do you do?

I like when, I go with the question,
like, when was the last time you

did something for the first time?

It's something that makes you pause and
think, you know, it's not the generic,

yes, I do this and I work at this startup.

So, I feel like I'm working on it
myself but I definitely pay attention to

when I find something that stands out.

So I'm going to take away that tip
as well and just start actively

making intros at an event.

Prateek Panda: Yeah.

So let's talk a little bit
about Geeks and Experts, right?

How did you come up with it.

Tell us a little bit about the platform
and what encouraged you to start.

Sneha Saigal: Sure.

So Geeks and Experts, as you can
imagine, has been through multiple

pivots as any other startup, we started
out as a micro consulting platform.

So it was to connect experts
with users for problem solving.

And very quickly realized that people
need way more support than just one call.

Is there a way to actually add value
to their business or their journey by

giving them something more tangible?

And having worked with a lot of the
founders early on, we got some feedback

about the vertical of PR, which is,
basically just personal branding, your

founder story, your startup story, getting
media coverage for it was something

that they'd struggle with because it
was either like no attention paid to

it at all, because, that mindset of,
Oh, I'll just get PR when I'm like a

million dollar company, or then falling
prey for a lot of agencies that make

you pay for like pay to play, which
is a very different ballgame in PR.

So, yeah, it was born because obviously
I've had an experience in the space.

I was working with Zomato in India.

Then I was working with a couple
of early stage startups in Europe

and I was there for my MBA.

And then when I moved here, I kept,
you know, gravitating towards that

energy of early stage founders.

And I realized that there's
a need for a vertical labor

marketplace here that just focuses
on solving this particular problem.

And somebody called us the slow
fashion version of the gig economy.

So the way you have, Fiverr or Upwork,
which is you pay 50 bucks, you get a logo.

Geeks and Experts is very focused on PR.

And of course, it's a bit more nuanced
because PR is a little bit more long term.

We start with at least three months
subscriptions where you can tap

into an expert from your domain,
from your industry, because PR

obviously has to be something that
has more objectivity involved.

If you're in the tech space, you
want somebody who has familiarity

with pitching stories in that space.

If you're in the beauty or
lifestyle space, you want somebody

who comes with that experience.

So, that's how Geeks and
Experts was born pretty much as

a vertical labor marketplace.

And so far we've had clients across
industries tap into experts to do

their PR and this is something which
is obviously more agile because with

the big agency, you'll probably have
to sign like an annual contract.

You're gonna have like very like
different level KPIs than what

an early stage company needs.

And that is something that
evolves every three to six months,

depending on where you're at.

Does that kind of model, although
flexible for your customers, does it

create some sort of a uncertainty for
you in terms of projecting your revenues?

Yeah, that's a great question.

So what tends to happen is with a lot of
our clients, once they get that initial

idea of what results they're seeing,
they'll tend to extend the partnership.

So that'll just help us
have that consistency.

And also because the clients tend
to realize that, this is something

that you have to build on long term.

So we've seen a lot of them end up
doing annual contracts or at least

like 6 to 12, 6 to 8 months, as
opposed to just the three months.

But I think for most people,
it's important to realize if

they're even ready for it.

So, sometimes you're not ready for the PR.

And by that, I don't mean to say that
your company is not big enough or

you don't have a good enough story.

It just means also your hands are full.

You're fully tapped out with
like the amount of resources

you have because PR is something
which involves both sides, right?

It requires the founder, the
content team also to work alongside.

So it's three months, just gives
them enough of a trial to understand

whether this is working or not.

So we try to make sure we
retain as many of them, with

delivering that consistent value.

Prateek Panda: You also
mentioned about you running a

process of talking to founders.

One of the outcomes was that you
figured PR is one of the things

you would want to focus on.

Can you walk us through a little bit of
your process of really nailing down like

this is what I want to build and this
is the service we're going to provide.

Sneha Saigal: Sure.

So that was a master class in
just learning customer feedback

and understanding, the mom test.

I will shout out to that book, which was
super helpful and just changing the way

I thought of that process because early
on, the idea was build and ship out a

product and everyone will know about it.

But after getting that initial
traction and we sat with customers,

we kind of understood from there,
where are their pain points?

What are places where either they don't
have that much information or they

don't have that much resource, or they
don't even know they have this problem.

So that's kind of where a lot of
my clients who are working with us,

they're doing PR for the first time.

And so I realized that this is a
problem because they don't even know

how to get started or they don't even
know the power of PR or storytelling.

And today with podcasts being such
a big medium, I encourage all my

clients to just start out with that
because they don't even realize the

ROI that it can create down the line.

So that's why we chose to focus on
this problem, because I feel like,

there are not many marketplaces that
specifically tackle this specific service.

And what I like to do is also
just do a lot of that early

stage education for them.

So more DIY consulting, just
helping them figure out.

Sure, if you're not ready to get
somebody on board externally, what

are things that you can do in house
right now, just to get a little bit

of that ball rolling in your own way.

So, through a lot of those conversations
and going back and forth with

them was how we figured out that
this is what we want to stick to.

Also because I think it's
important to know, what is that

niche you want to type target.

I think I was kind of one of
those was like, Oh, my God, I

don't want to be so specific.

We'll miss out on a big market.

We will miss on a big opportunity.

But I realized, the more you niche
down, the more your messaging is

clear, your target audience kind
of resonates and understands who

we are serving because otherwise.

You're speaking to everybody,
you're speaking to nobody.

Prateek Panda: So, PR can be so difficult.

You mentioned a little
bit about ROI, right?

It can be hard to measure ROI for PR,
a lot of times direct ROI at least.

How do you go about talking to the
founders about ROI or how should founders

really think about ROI as far as all
of their PR activities is concerned?

Sneha Saigal: Yeah, I think in
terms of thinking about ROI, it

should eventually boil down to
what your goals are for that time.

So let's see three months from now,
if the founder's goal is to get on

some podcasts or get on some speaking
engagements, because that is where they

want to go and share their founder story.

We would reverse engineer from there
and then figure out what does that

mean for us as an outreach team, right?

Like, what do we need to do
to get their story out there?

So we'll create these
KPIs of like target lists.

We'll pitch them to be on a podcast
or we'll pitch them to be at an

event, as a speaker or a panelist and
we'll study what the responses are.

So I think that is a
key part in evaluating.

So while your KPI is something you
can't guarantee in PR, of course,

guaranteeing a placement is, comes
under paid marketing or paid media.

So in earned media, you
cannot guarantee it.

But what you can do is keep those
check ins to see, okay, if this pitch

wasn't working, what can we change?

Can we change the target?

Can we change the messaging?

Can we add some case studies?

The other thing to do is, of course,
Building those key relationships with

the journalists, and this is something
which you can do with or without a

PR agency, it's something you can do
organically as well, just introducing

yourself, putting your client on
the radar for those journalists to

understand because those relationships
pay off like even months down the line.

I've had a client who I
was working with last year.

And then this year, Inc reached out
and said that, Hey, you pitched us

this client, we want to speak to
them for an interview that we think

there'll be a relevant fit for it.

So I think it's important to communicate
with the client that while you don't have

specific KPIs that you can guarantee in
terms of placements, what you can do is

show the effort, show your process, be
clear about your strategy so that they

understand what that looks like and if
they have a specific KPI, like, Hey, we

want to see three or four placements.

Then you work on those targets
as, okay, these are the target

publications that we should look at.

And, again, focus on which are those
specific publications for their industry.

So while everybody would love to
be on Business Insider or Forbes or

Fortune, aiming just for those is like
putting all your eggs in one basket.

So you'd rather build out a sustainable
strategy and say, okay, while we target

the marquee placements, what about
being very specific to your industry?

Is that cyber security?

Is that AI like, let's hit those specific
publications because you also get a

little bit more of a conversion there
and that can help you meet your KPI.

So the client sees that, okay, these
placements are giving them visibility.

They're giving them more hits on
their website and things like that.

Prateek Panda: That's amazing.

And can we dive a little bit
deeper on the relationship

building part with the journalist.

As founders, irrespective of whether
you have a PR firm or a fractional PR

expert helping you out, what are some
things you can do in a non intrusive

way to keep building that relationship?

Because of course, by default,
you think that, oh, I have

this amazing announcement.

I send it off to a journalist,
but that rarely ever works.

How do you build that
relationship in an organic way?

Sneha Saigal: Absolutely.

Today with so many forms of media,
there are multiple ways in which you

can build that relationship organically.

So the first thing I would do is,
just actually follow their content.

If you think that they are somebody who
would be a good person to pitch your

story to, just engage with their content.

Because at the end of the day,
you're adding value to their

writing, to their coverage.

So that would be writing them a
note, just telling them how you

enjoyed a certain article, sharing
that article, engaging with their

content, but also going beyond that.

Like if you see them writing a story
and they're looking for, maybe speaking

to somebody who's in your network who
you can help them connect with, just

dropping a note and saying, Hey, I saw
you're looking for somebody in this space,

happy to make an introduction for you.

Because again, you're helping them and
going back to our give first mindset.

I think this is the space
where that give first goes.

Way more beyond you can imagine because as
a journalist, many people tend to forget

that they are also on tight timelines.

They have stories to turn in.

They're looking for specific
insights, specific sources.

So why not be that
person who can help them?

So if you're not the person, guide them
to someone, guide them towards a resource.

The other thing that you can
definitely do is follow maybe

their newsletter if they have one.

Because more and more, they're creating
different ways in which they create

content outside their coverage.

So if they're not doing an
article, maybe they're talking

somewhere, they're engaging in
person, always goes a long way.

So if you happen to meet somebody
who was in person, like it doesn't

harm at all to go up, give them a
quick line about your company and

then just stay in touch that way.

So these are just a few things
that I would start off with.

Prateek Panda: That's amazing.

Thank you so much Sneha.

One of the other things you mentioned
when we were talking through all these

questions is about pivots and that's
a dreadful word that most startup

founders want to stay away from,
but rarely does that ever happen.

Through the journey and as we create
these ideas about our startups, we get

so attached to it that it's hard to
realize when to stop and when to take a

detour, which is really the pivot, right?

Did you, in your experience, you did
pivot a few times is what you said.

Were you able to figure out some sort
of an indicator which told you that,

okay, we have to go think something else.

Sneha Saigal: Yes, I love this question
because it just is such a strong reminder

to me that when we were pivoting, it felt
like everybody's got their eyes on us.

Everybody's gonna know that
this didn't work and that we're

changing and nobody cared.

I'm not even kidding.

Somebody even had a clue that we went
from one audience or we changed the model.

So we were completely B2C.

We were completely focused on
like pure to pure connections.

From that we moved to B2B, which
is basically connecting businesses

with these fractional experts,
with people, boutique PR agencies.

The model was so different, but the
turn out from it was so much better

because a, we just felt like we were
able to get more clients, converted

sooner because they had a strong need.

Getting an individual to pay or to
buy a product obviously requires a

little bit more convincing and the
resistance to pay is much higher.

And even to scale, we would have had
to, we possibly couldn't have done it

without maybe some funding, without
going with a lot of marketing budgets.

But when we shifted to this
strategy of B2B, we could go

directly to our target customer.

We could go to the decision maker and
then just have them, answer yes or no.

Like, do you need something like this?

Are you looking for PR that is more agile?

And you were able to get
responses and convert them.

And they also tend to have a
higher budget than an individual

would to match with an expert.

So I feel like, one of the
things that I learned was, not

being afraid to pivot fast.

I mean, if you think, you need to try
something and experiment, do like a

sprint to just see if that works or
doesn't work because, not everybody's

actually paying attention to every
switch you're making in your company.

So, do a couple of those sprints.

And the sooner you get that response from
the market or that signal, you know that

you're either on the right track or not.

But, I feel like, maybe I
thought too much about it.

And I being that first time
founder, there was just so much

overthinking and speculation
happening that we should perfect it.

But in hindsight, it was
not as big of a deal.

Prateek Panda: Got it.

So would you say that speed
and agility over perfection is

probably ship stuff out and yeah.

Sneha Saigal: Absolutely.

I think it is.

There's a lot to gain from just
failing fast and understanding

what works, what doesn't work.

It just saves you time and like you said
you pointed out correctly that attachment

becomes a big factor because the more you
hold on to that hope or that lingering

feeling that no, this is going to work.

Like I'll make it work.

I'll make it work.

You're just kind of getting
more and more attached to that.

thought of that idea.

And then the idea of, okay, maybe this
is failing becomes more stressful.

So I think there's merit in giving
those deadlines for yourself.

If three months, this doesn't
work or six months, let's try it.

Let's try a different pivot.

Prateek Panda: Great.

What's next for Geeks and Experts?

How are you thinking about your roadmap
and how you want to scale things up?

That

Sneha Saigal: Yeah.

This is something that has obviously
been on our mind a lot because I think

for many startups, one thing is, do we
do things that don't scale early on?

And then you think about when
you're at that stage when you want

to scale Then you're like, okay.

Now, how do I actually scale if I
was doing things that don't scale?

So for us right now, the focus is to niche
down specific audience that we think we

are creating maximum impact for so instead
of servicing clients across industries.

We want to handpick few that we're
creating the biggest impact for.

And then we're also working on
building in house capabilities.

So think of it like, pardon me for
comparing to Amazon here, but think of

it as, how you have Amazon marketplace,
which has all these different products.

And then you have the Amazon
basics or in house version.

That's also something we're building
capabilities for, because it just

helps us, kind of make our footing
strong in serving a specific market.

And being an immigrant, a person of
color, I also want our goal to be to

tell the stories of those founders.

It should be highlighting those,
not only the ones who get the

50 million series A raise.

Of course, that is great.

VC backing is great for founders, but
for those who are doing meaningful work,

they're bootstrapped, they're building
businesses, around a good story around

some kind of, meaningful background.

Those are stories that I
get a lot of joy sharing.

Prateek Panda: That is amazing.

And it's great that you brought that out.

A few years ago, I used
to run a tech publication.

I almost say it's similar to TechCrunch,
but of course, nowhere of that scale.

I had a good exit out of that.

And we focused mostly on stories coming
from South Asia, primarily India.

And one of the things for me
was also this thing, right?

Like the idea behind starting that
publication was that for all the companies

that raise a decent round of VC money.

It's almost a sure short media
coverage because the media loves

covering fundraisers and who
got how much money and so on.

A lot of times it's the others who are
also doing amazing work who rarely hit

the radar of these journalists, right?

This might be similar to
what I asked you before, but

how do you break through that, barrier
where so many companies are raising money

and there's a lot of news that gets out
about all of this and you have to snuggle

your way in into the story and still find
the attention of a journalist, right?

How do you do that if you're a
bootstrap founder, for example?

Sneha Saigal: For sure.

I love this because I've actually
got case studies of doing that.

And, the fun is that you have to just
be creative in all honesty, to just find

different ways to get their attention.

So one example I'll give of one of our
clients is that, the founder used to host

a lot of interviews on Twitter spaces,
it was one of those things that he had

as a hiring strategy to get different
people in his team was, let's just do an

open interview, let everybody hear in.

And so one of the things we did
was actually send that invite

to a journalist saying, Hey,
this is what he's going to do.

Like, are you interested in hearing this?

Because it's, again, very unconventional.

It's not something that everyone has done.

And honestly, that was something that
even the journalist had not experienced

before is like this social sourcing
way of hiring talent, as opposed to

your resumes and things like that.

So that is one example is
just to think outside the box.

Like, how can you make the journalist
think of you in a very different

lens, as opposed to this is the amount
we've raised or this is our traction.

What are you doing as your team culture?

Are you doing something
that is very different?

Also, is your hiring
strategy very different?

Like I mentioned here, is there
something that stands out?

The other way is definitely
leveraging data and insights.

This is something which of course it
works for VC backed, but it's definitely

something that can work bootstrapped
companies as well because data is

something we all have an added on.

If you're running any company, you have
an insight on the industry, the trends.

What are you foreseeing?

Or what are some case studies you have
from existing customers or clients?

And I think those are always
great to share with journalists

because they're looking for that.

They're looking for rather than
that very blanket or generic pitch,

which is we are a game changing
company or we're revolutionizing

this, give them solid points.

So that is how you can stand
out and get their attention.

And again, if you're doing an interesting
event, which maybe they'll probably get

some value from send them an invite.

Or if you're doing, LinkedIn live on
a specific topic, send them an invite.

It's up to them.

They'll obviously.

see if they can join it or not.

But your role is to just make
that point of contact with them.

Be that person who offers that
introduction or offers a resource.

So that's, those are things
that you can try out.

Prateek Panda: That's amazing, Sneha.

One of the things you also
said is podcasts have become

suddenly a popular medium.

More businesses are considering
starting a podcast as well.

There's also, it's starting to, I wouldn't
say noisy, starting to get noisy, but yes,

you're starting to see more podcasts pop
up about everything under the sun, right?

As you recommend podcasts to some of
your customers, How do you encourage

them to come up with something that
sort of stands out or create some

sort of stronger visibility for them?

Sneha Saigal: Yeah.

I feel like there's a, like
you said, definitely something

that is happening a lot more.

And we're seeing that on an upward
trajectory, which is exciting, I

think, because podcasts are one of
those things that are personal, but

still like go to the masses, right?

Like you're, we're having a very
like straight up conversation.

It's like a fireside chat and somebody
else could be listening to this in any

setting that is comfortable for them.

So it's so different from like
other audio mediums like radio or

something, which is very broadcasted
across different channels.

So this is something which is helpful
because it can help you narrow down the

industry you want to speak to and can be
as specific as women's hormonal health to

as broad as VC backing for women founders.

So that is something that I think is
a powerful way to leverage podcasts.

And that's what I recommend
for my clients to your point of

like, how can they stand out is,

A, aim for those that where your audience
actually is and where they're engaging.

So, while a lot of people tend to think,
okay, we want to be on this top podcast.

I feel like one of the persons
I learned this strategy from is

actually Melissa Kwan, who was
on one of your podcasts early on.

And I just realized the power of how she
kept building her profile and talking

and shout out to her for sharing that
knowledge so openly with people, because

I feel like it just helped me also
realize how I can get value, how I can

get my clients to get value from this.

So yes, while the target can be, okay,
I want to be on this big podcast.

What are ways in which you can build that
out by speaking to an engaging audience?

And I've had people reach out to me
from some of the podcasts I've been

on, not just from a client standpoint,
but also from like building a support

system standpoint, or you know,
kind of being a mentor for somebody.

So there are numerous benefits or I
guess outcomes that come from this.

It doesn't have to always convert
to like that sales or that one

transactional thing, but it can be just
community building and I personally

feel for a lot of people, it's one
of those things that you can test

out to see like how comfortable you
feel because you have to show up.

You have to talk candidly, authentically
about your story, your background.

So there are ways to do it.

If you want just audio target those,
if you want audio video target those.

So that's kind of why I believe
in the power of podcasting.

And I love what you're doing with Off
To The Valley as well, because you're

highlighting the stories of these
founders, and that's just going to help

them repurpose some of that information,
share it with multiple audiences, which

again, I highly encourage people to
engage, repurpose a lot of that because it

just gives the host as well more coverage.

It gives your audience more ways to look
at you to hear about what you're saying.

So I covered a lot of points there,
but that's basically why I'm so

bullish on podcasting, and I feel
like everyone should give it a shot.

Prateek Panda: Yeah, definitely.

Thank you so much Sneha
for sharing all of that.

And we touched about so many
different things, right?

Even as a listener, if you want to
take a pause to really comprehend all

the things that you said, you also use
examples of Melissa Kwan and there is

a reason people get to talk about her.

She's been doing amazing work and
so are so many other people, but

it's also important to show up.

I'm grateful that she showed up
as a guest and she was one of the

first few episodes that we did.

I had no following back then,
not as many listeners, right.

But still showing up to say that, yes,
I have a story to share and I have

listeners who might be interested in
this, even if it is 50 people, 100 people.

One of the things that I've sort of
tried to readjust in my mind is, in

today's world where we think of views
and likes in the tens of thousands or

millions even, we tend to forget that
like, imagine you put something out

there and a hundred people watch it.

Now put those hundred people in a room.

Would you be happy if there
were a hundred people sitting

and listening to you in a room?

Everybody would say yes.

Why do you feel disappointed if you get
only a hundred views on a video, right?

It's the same thing.

It's a hundred people just that they
are listening to it from the comforts of

their home rather than being in a space.

So we've made this more difficult for
ourselves that we have to chase these

tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands
of likes and views, but you can be so

specific about your content that it
really resonates with your audience.

Even if it's 50 people or 100 people
listening to it, put them in a room

and you will feel happy about it.

Sneha Saigal: That's so true.

And it's as specific
as you can get, right?

And so that's where the
engaging audience comes in from.

So I hear you.

And I love that.

And I love that perception of putting it
from an online video to like, imagine they

were all in a room and it's a packed room.

There's no seats left.

If a hundred people are allowed in
the room and a hundred people are

watching means you've sold out like,
you know, a stadium or a theater

or whatever you want to call it.

I love that.

I'm going to use that next time
because I completely agree with you.

I think there's power in that.

Prateek Panda: Yeah, it changes
your perspective and that gives

you more energy to keep going.

You also mentioned about the
OOO Summit I think it's a good

time to sort of give that a

shout out as well.

You were there last year.

I'm looking forward to
being there this year.

Ankur Nagpal and Andrew Yeung, put this
conference together where a lot of people

like Sneha, myself, who are trying to
build something, we come together, share

our learnings in a very light, community
driven sort of environment where it's

not so much about, proving that you
are the best in the world or whatever.

We all come in there with the idea
of helping each other, learning

from that experience as a group.

So I think Ankur has done a
great job to put it together.

And of course, Andrew, with his
mixers, it's a lot of magic.

But I also wanted to, I don't want to
make this a plug for the OOO summit, but

it's small things like this that matter,
that bring together the community.

Even as an immigrant founder and
Ankur wouldn't realize this because

he does this for so many people that
he's helped me write support letters

for my immigration in the U S.

He's given me a chance, as a small
investor, to invest in his company and

therefore have a significant upside
when he succeeds as an entrepreneur.

Not everybody gets those opportunities and
not everybody is thinking about others as

they think about their own journey, right?

So one of the things Ankur did was he
opened up, when he was raising money

for his startup, he opened up access to
small operators as well who typically

don't get a chance to participate in

VC style rounds because they don't have
as much money to put in but there is value

in having their support because they're
the ones on the ground doing all the work.

So I wanted to use this since we
were talking about, you know How

we've benefited from the community.

These are also all things that you
can do to connect better and more

deeply with the community around you.

Sneha Saigal: Yeah, absolutely.

That's a great example.

And I love that, Carrie and they're doing
that with the team and the fundraise.

And I think it goes back to that point
of how do you get started with some of

these things and not getting intimidated
or overwhelmed because if you don't

ask, the answer will always be no.

And I feel like just putting yourself
out there in different ways is how you

can actually build that and it doesn't
have to be only when you feel you're

ready because I feel like if you keep
waiting for that, it will take a time,

you know, for when you're fully convinced
that you're ready to go out there.

So just give it a shot

Prateek Panda: As we sign off
any last pieces of advice,

it can be about anything.

A lot of founders listen to this,
either from a founder journey

perspective or, PR perspective,
you have so many insights to share,

Sneha Saigal: Yeah

I think the last word would just be like
you're here for community building and

here for meaningful connections I feel
like people succeed through people and

that is whether you're a product business
or you're an app or you're a service

at the end of the day, a human
being is making that decision

to buy or work with you.

So I think that goes a long way and just
see if you can reach out to somebody

today, whether that's somebody to be
a mentor or a journalist, or even a

peer who can need a sounding board.

I think there's a lot of power in
just being that ear for someone.

Prateek Panda: That is amazing Sneha.

Thank you so much for taking
our time and joining us.

This was an amazing conversation.

Lot of actionable insights, but
also a lot of interesting things

to go back and ponder upon, right?

So thank you so much.

Sneha Saigal: Thank you.

I loved being here.

Thanks.

Prateek Panda: Great.

Thanks again, Sneha.

And that wraps up today's episode.

Before we sign off, I would like
to thank you for your support

and thanks for tuning in.

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