Building Brands. Changing Narratives. Breaking Stereotypes, one venture at a time. She’s the hardest-working person in the room. Our Her Circle Luminary today is a believer and risk-taker (for all the right reasons), constantly reinventing herself. As a creative and refreshingly cool entrepreneur who refuses to play it by the book, she brings in a unique energy that can make the most mundane appear electric. We’re in conversation with the changemaker, rule-breaker and influential force in the Indian entertainment industry, Rohini Iyer. In the ever-evolving dynamic space of entertainment, Rohini’s early headstart gives her an edge. At a very young age, Rohini chose to lead by example and set up India’s first reputation management company, Raindrop Media. Today she is the force behind multiple varied companies catering to reputation and brand management, digital content and brand strategy, nurturing and launching new talent, advisor/investor and equity holder in emerging fashion and lifestyle brands and startups.
As a trailblazer and rule-breaker, who consistently challenges norms, Rohini believes, “Success for me is doing everything on my own terms, writing my own rule book, not following the rules. When they say it can’t be done, doing exactly that and documenting it - that’s success to me. Success is dreaming an impossible dream and always making it come true. I’d like to tell everyone who wants to be successful just this; If you think you can do it, never listen to the naysayers. Just listen to your gut and most importantly, follow the path with your heart.”
On building and scaling up brands, Rohini’s take is: “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Your reputation should always precede you. Your work should speak for you. That’s what makes a successful brand. And for that to happen, you need to always be yourself. Never try to be someone else; always be original. I’ve seen many people fail because they start believing in their own hype or perception. Perception has to match reality in the long-term, for a brand to be powerful.”
As for power mantras from her rulebook: “One. Always be the hardest-working person in the room. Two. With great power comes great responsibility. Be willing to go that extra mile to be extraordinary. Finally, never let success go to your head or failure to your heart. Let your success ground you and failure teach you. If you can master that, nothing is impossible.”