Barkha Singh - Travel Influncer - Exhibit Magazine Archives

Jitendra Chouksey | Top Leaders in Tech & Auto

Ex: What were the hurdles and what pushed you?

Jitendra: I do not think funding is that big a deal. Even before receiving the funding, we were a successful bootstrapped company, earning revenue of around 5 million a year. If people don’t believe in you, take that in your stride and work towards building a business that is profitable. Whatever you do, try to solve the problems of your customers.

Ex: What is one truth you believe in that most people disagree with you on?

Jitendra: I do not think there is any since I consider everybody’s opinion and act accordingly. I do not believe myself to be arrogant that there would be something only I would believe in as opposed to anybody else.

Ex: What is the one subject you think aspiring leaders should learn?

Jitendra: Most of the things that you learn as a founder are things you will not find in books. Being in fitness and sports prepares you physically as well as mentally. Sports, especially combat sports, teach you a lot of things that apply in real life. So, my advice is that if you can manage your physical and mental health well, you can achieve anything. Leadership quotes that you live by. I follow Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes and I believe he is one of the best guides to learn from on how to live life!

Ex: What has been your biggest learning in the pandemic?

Jitendra: I have always been someone who never worked from home. These 8 months have been the longest time that I have worked from and worked out at home. This was also the first time I realized that I could work out from home.

Ex: Some productivity apps and technologies you use in your daily life?

Jitendra: Skype, Zoom for managing the team, and GitHub

Ex: How do you plan to scale up?

Jitendra: We are already scaling up. There are millions of people worldwide who need education about health and fitness. We do not sell any products or gimmicks; instead, we teach people how to adopt fitness.

Ex: Who would be your closest competitor?

Jitendra: Our competition is ourselves. We look at what we have done in the past and look to better it.

Ex: What are your plans for introducing your own range of fitness gadgets?

Jitendra: That is not our expertise. Our expertise and USP lies in educating people. We would like to focus on that. There might be a scenario where we might tie-up with a company that specializes in those. However, that is not on our priority list.

Our Story So Far | 15th Anniversary

It’s the only time when I can look back and maybe pat my own back. 15 incredible years have just gone by, where we experienced recessions, floods, earthquakes, government changes, the social media revolution, and writing this in the middle of a pandemic. It was a blank canvas that we filled with the first issue of Exhibit, had no idea how this journey will unfold and whether we will last the first mile. Learned on the job the nuances of teamwork, editing, design language, printing, and managing finances, while staying broke most of the early startup days. Still a startup – An evolved one. As it’s said, the first step is important and the path gets unfolded. My first startup was mobile charging stations when the times were of the Nokia 5510 and Motorola Razr (not the folding one) we were manufacturing and installing mobile phone charging stations and supplying to Vodafone, Reliance, and Airtel and also installing in public places and selling advertising space on it. That’s where we picked up advertising and understood technology with fast charging and circuit boards. When the dream monopoly run of 1 year ran out, we sold the business and merged the two learnings, and launched Exhibit. I was a young chap back then, and young still 🙂

Honestly, our fate has been written before we even start crawling and every time I have faced this question of the print industry dying or magazines having no future, we always stood firm that we are much more than just a magazine company. We turned green within the 1st year of operation and to date, we have never raised a penny nor do we have any debts, in spite of having access to the biggest VCs in the country and calling them friends of Exhibit. Recently, we also took over a brand that I have grown up reading- BBC Topgear Magazine, and introducing it would be like reminding you of your name. In the peak lockdown, we launched aviatorsbuzz.com, thus completing our trajectory of Tech, Auto, Aviation. The three things I am passionate about and can be found daydreaming about!

We pivoted into the digital platform and events long back and got some of the biggest IPs under our belt, with all of them stitched together with the fabric of tech. Exhibit tech awards, which is in its 8th year is undoubtedly the biggest spectacle in the tech industry which is as glamorous as techy. Exhibit Startups, made us connect with 1000 startups so far and some of them are on the course to becoming a billion-dollar enterprise. Having first made their pitch on our platform, Haptik is one of them. Tech Fashion Tour, which has had global recognition since its first edition, which was 7 years ago and where international designers like Cute Circuit, London, Jasna Rok, Belgium, and others have showcased the future of fashion and technology and where stars like Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan have walked the ramp. Influencex – Top 100 Digital Influencers which is just two editions old has become the most viral IP yet. The first season had some of the biggest content creators like Bhuvan Bam, Prajakta Koli, Ashish Chachlani, and other Top 100 influencers all coming together for one big awards night which got converted to one big party. This year, of course, we did it virtually, ensuring it went viral.

Today, We run Influencex – which has 2000+ influencers content creators on our speed dial, we make TVCs and digital films, celebrity endorsements, and can deliver a feature film. We have three big Digital Destinations: www.exhibit.tech, www.topgearmag.in, and aviatorsbuzz.com that together caters to almost 3 million monthly visitors and the graph is continually growing. We can think through, ground-up any idea, and convert it into a spectacular show. The destination is neither known nor important and the goalposts have continuously shifted, but do we have stories to tell? Hell yes! The journey is exciting to the brim and as cliched as it may sound but we are just getting started. And yes we are still a magazine company.

Barkha Singh | Top 100 | Influncex’20

Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?

Barkha: The biggest change that I have seen is the increased demand for value out of content. If content does not have some form of value, it is outright rejected. This was not the case when I started off, it was relatively experimental then.

Ex: Can you give us an insight into social media platforms that only an Influencer can know?

Barkha: Analytics and trends on each platform are important to optimise your content. However, the one thing that I have realized over time, is that if your content is not a reflection and/or exaggeration of your true self, then it is not relatable to your audience.

Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe? (Alternate career options)

Barkha: I think my love for animals is well documented. So naturally, I’d be a Forest Ranger or a Wildlife photographer.

Ex: If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along?

My mobile phone, a solar-powered charger and I’d love to keep a reel camera, so I can document my days.

Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?

Barkha: Time travel.

Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)

Barkha: It feels equally special every single time someone comes up to tell me how I made them smile or feel happy. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.

Ex: Social Media is known to expose vulnerabilities, with influencers being at the epicenter. How do you deal with the dark side that comes with the medium?

Barkha: To begin with, I appreciate constructive criticism, but when it’s not constructive, I have trained myself to not get affected by negativity too much.

Ex: What does success mean to you?

Barkha: To me success is that sweet spot when you are what you love, you’re doing it well (by your own and others’ standards) and you are truly happy within.

Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come?

Barkha: Content and marketing has always been synonymous with each other. Right from radio, to new-age media; Content has been used as a means to market to viewers. As long as content is consumed regularly, I don’t think this is a fad. In fact, I think we’re just getting started!

Ex: What are the difficulties that you face when you’re on a solo trip?

Barkha: I honestly LOVE travelling alone. In fact I have been travelling alone since 2013, before I even imagined that this could be my work! Solo travelling is responsible for my love for discovering new places, meeting new people and experiencing new things. But yes, creating content is super tough when travelling alone. I know “can you please take my photo” in 23 different languages.

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