Leadership Lessons and Innovations: A Journey in Fashion Entrepreneurship
CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Archana Gulia, CCO and Co-founder ODN Digital.
Can you share with us a pivotal moment in your career that has shaped your approach to leadership down the years?
The process hasn’t been sudden; it’s been gradual. I’ve come across supervisors who mentored and supported me, demonstrating how to navigate tasks, while others simply tossed me into challenging situations without any assistance or direction. Through these experiences, I’ve realized that effective leadership involves a combination of both approaches. In today’s fast-paced environment where teams may lack the patience to comprehend your methods, it’s crucial to begin with careful guidance and trust-building. Then, when the timing is appropriate, allow them the freedom to learn by doing, understanding that they may stumble initially. However, when they eventually succeed, their growth is profound.
How do you see the role of women evolving in the fashion industry, particularly in areas intersecting with technology and innovation?
The fashion industry itself is evolving. We have come a long way from being purists. In my journey of 21 years, I have taken my knowledge of fashion and design and applied it to any problem I faced. The material, the medium, the audience, nothing ever became a deterrent as long as the process was the same.
Today, the transition is faster than ever. Technology and the constant innovation of the tools have made it easier. These are levelling times. For the first time in history, it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, today, there are support industries that have sprung up, organising everything and taking the load off of you. So you can focus on your product and its perfection. And you do not need to haggle with vendors and source raw materials from difficult-to-reach locations. You can take calculated risks. You can foresee a problem and plan. You are treading in known/supported territory and you can measure, and amend everything as you go. These are great times, for we have done it all with our hands and brains in our immediate history and massive tech support in the present. And we are steadily moving towards times of automation, where the repetitive, easy, boring jobs will be taken over by machines. So you have only one way, to adapt and grow, become better every day. There is no choice.
What unique perspectives or contributions have you brought to the table in fostering innovation and driving change in the online fashion space?
We are an agency that designs and produces content for the e-Com industry. Our 70% of revenue comes from the fashion industry because all of us 3 co-founders are NIFT graduates. And we constantly consult brands on the best ways of shooting for the online industry. We all know that online selling is the art of selling images and visuals. The product is received physically only days later. The payment is made on the promise of the image/video/words. We pioneered in bringing about coloured backdrops, usage of props and now superimpositions in the world of catalogues. We try to always move our client’s visuals from simple to elevated. Whether it is selecting a model that is brand-appropriate, styling, hair, and props. We make a document that we call a BGP (Brand Guideline Presentation) which carries the guard rails of the shoot, even if the brand itself doesn’t have any brand guidelines. This process helps us all mull over and brainstorm and bring the brand also in agreement with our direction. This usually is based on historical data of what sold and what didn’t and what led to the impact. We also ensure a 100% guarantee of approval across all marketplaces. This ensures the time to go live is reduced and our brands can leverage a larger sale window of their products.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to break into the fashion and product design industry?
For young women aspiring to break into the fashion and product design industry, my advice is to embrace the journey wholeheartedly. Be fearless in your pursuit of originality and innovation. Invest time in self-discovery and leverage those insights to shape your product and connect with your target audience. Recognize your strengths and seek support from professionals in areas where you may need assistance. Stay true to your brand’s essence and core values while being open to exploring new avenues in communication and content creation. Remember, success often comes from a combination of passion, perseverance, and a willingness to learn and adapt.
What are the challenges you faced in your entrepreneurial journey and how did you overcome them?
In various capacities, I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey in early 2004, despite initial skepticism from my family regarding its financial viability. However, the experience proved invaluable, fostering significant personal growth. After four years, I transitioned to employment, leveraging three years of intensive marketing learning. In 2011, I re-entered entrepreneurship, now with over 13 years of consulting and brand management experience. For the past eight years, I’ve been an integral part of ODN, feeling that my prior experiences have culminated in this current role. My journey has been marked by consistency, occasional impatience, and a relentless pursuit of business acumen intertwined with creativity. I’ve honed skills such as time management, adaptability, and assuming diverse roles, from being a subordinate to leading operations. This trajectory mirrors the typical entrepreneurial experience.
Throughout, my unwavering strength has been my steadfast partners, Kumar Udaar and Narinder Mahajan. Their unshakable support, mutual trust, and respect for my creative autonomy, amidst my responsibilities as a mother, have been invaluable. Together, we form a synergistic trio, each compensating for the other’s shortcomings, enabling our collective success.
