Shivangi Mudgil is a 29-year-old mom-preneur and the first runner up of Mrs. Delhi NCR 2020 organised by Glamour Gurgaon. She is also the co-founder of a tech startup – Appscrip in Bengaluru. Shivangi has a dynamic range of experiences, being a university rank holder from M.D.U. she has also worked on various projects with Go- javas, Snapdeal, Paytm, NIIT and Google.
She is the mom of her second child Rihan, her first child being Appscrip. In a recent interview with Storiyaan, she has vividly elaborated her life in beautiful details to spread her story as an inspiration for the masses to read and get inspired.
Interview
Questions and answers
As a mom-preneur, how did you manage to juggle work and being a mother in the initial postpartum days?
I was over-the-moon happy to be a mamma to my son, Rihan. But looming over my joy was also the reality that my business was getting affected with the slowing down of the economy because of COVID. It was tiring and overwhelming to put up with everything. But I never gave up,I made sure that I buy myself time for work whenever I could. Balancing one’s career with motherhood isn’t always easy, but it can be beyond fulfilling to have the best of both worlds.
When and how did you first come up with the idea to build Appscrip and which was the hardest procedure in launching the brand?
Rahul and I came up with the idea of Appscrip in 2015. We were approached by a lot of customers who were looking to launch the similar businesses with a USP in the quickest way possible. Increase in the number of such requests encouraged us to work towards a company which will specialise in helping people launch their business in the least possible time and take care of all of their tech needs. Hardest in this process was development of the base products for sure.
You were the first runner-up of Mrs Delhi NCR 2020 organised by Glamour Gurgaon. Was that your first instance of walking the ramp and how big of a challenge was it for you?
I have always believed in being a performer. During college days, I was Miss fresher of my batch. That is when my love for the stage began. Glamour Gurgaon through Mrs Delhi NCR 2020, definitely gave me a platform to live my dream again. Our mentors Mrs. Barkha Nangia and Mr. Abhishek Nangia provided wonderful grooming and training sessions during the course of the competition, and the industry’s best fashion director and runway choreographer Mr.Shie Lobo , trained us on how to make an impact on the stage with our walk.
Post-graduation, you have been associated with companies like NIIT, Go Javas, Paytm, Google on various projects. How did that lay the groundwork for your career as an entrepreneur?
Since I had worked in both start-ups and MNC’s before Appscrip, I was lucky enough to have wonderful mentors and passionate teammates whose support ultimately helped me draw a very strong foundation of Appscrip. While working with NIIT, I could experience how a structured company works, how to follow the process and protocols drawn by the company,communication with clients worldwide, importance of sending updates and various tools for the same. Whereas, while working with Gojavas, I learned to formulate processes and structures myself, working cross teams, taking decisions and also standing responsible for your own actions, taking multiple responsibilities, changing plans on the fly,staying ready for new challenges everyday etc.
The pandemic had tested the grit and strength of multitudes of business holders. What were some of the strategies that you adopted to refrain from cutting salaries and incurring losses?
Pandemic came as a challenge to us; we were working on the new set of products and we had expanded our workforce but we had to get back to Work from home Policy with the rising cases of COVID-19 in the city. We clearly decided to support our employees both emotionally and financially and made sure we give bonuses to people who are working hard to meet the deadlines and also added incentives for those coming forward to take more responsibilities. We as founders did not take salaries for an entire year and distributed the profits made by the company in the last financial year among the best performers of the year to motivate and encourage our workforce.
Home-made skin-care remedies have been tried and tested from Times immemorial and you too have relied on them when preparing for Mrs. Delhi. How much do you rely on them when it comes to regular self-care?
These days everyone wants softer, smoother, and of course, blemish-free glowing skin. And with each of us engulfed in hectic schedules, irregular eating habits, inadequate sleep, and pollution, glowing skin has become difficult if not an impossible task. It is critically important to know exactly what you’re putting on your skin, your largest breathing organ. Sticking to the right diet, exercising regularly and hydrating enough are important. Home remedies can play a very important part in a skincare routine as they are easily accessible, inexpensive and simple enough to whip up in minutes.
You have evolved a lot since you initially started as a young entrepreneur in the field. What is that one lesson that life has taught you, that you would want to pass on to your readers, especially those trying to start their entrepreneurship?
In all these years I have understood that as an entrepreneur, you are responsible for every minute thing. You need to take an idea to a service or product level, and keep working on it every day to achieve the right product-market fit, scale it, and then make it more attractive for others to invest into it. So I would say there is not just one lesson that I have learnt. To name a few, I have learnt the following-
- One should know clearly what you need from your business- Only venture into a business you love and have background information on, study the business carefully, build energy around the business, acquire more skill on the business, apply your own ideas, bring in experts that will help you grow the business.
- Have your customers at the back of your mind- Every business is set up not for the owner but for the people. Have your prospective customer’s interest at the back of your mind. If your service/product is good, you will have not only return customers but referral customers too.
- Learn how to market- If you cannot market your product, you are not going to succeed as an entrepreneur. I think marketing should be one of the basic concepts a young entrepreneur must learn how to do.
- Be updated with the trends-To be successful in any business, you must keep abreast of the latest trends. Always do research on how the business is being done by your competitors.
- Do not be afraid to fail- It is not easy to overcome the fear of failure but once you build up the confidence to not let fear hold you back you will achieve more success.
In the end, just be sincere & persistent in whatever you do. It will take you a long way. And last of all, BELIEVE in yourself. Let no one tell you you’re not good enough, or you can’t do a certain work.