Bridging Worlds: Lessons from Two Decades across Corporate Boardrooms, Agency Halls and the Entrepreneurial Fire.

Joining a PR agency, straight after the masters degree was an eye opener – pardon my language – a hell of an eye opener! There is no excuse for hardwork (lets keep smart work for later), constantly learning & relearning your basics and never forgetting that your boss puts her neck on the line for you (everytime). Apart from this the agency gifted me with the best lifelong friends and mentors as a blessing. 

In the high-stakes arena of public relations and communications, I’ve spent more than two decades navigating the delicate dance between perception and reality. My journey? An interesting path from the polished corridors of corporate to the raw thrill of bootstrapping my own venture, and—against all odds—back again to the corporate jungle. This odyssey has been defined by two guiding principles: respect for the ecosystems I inhabited, and curiosity about the hidden rhythms – ALWAYS! The story of entrepreneurship and corporate life is not that of opposites, but a symbiotic force that sharpens one’s skills.

So now picture this: After being part of Brands, where comms meant meticulous press releases and stakeholder alignment, I leaped into the unknown in 2015. I founded a boutique PR agency – PRestaurants – working for the F&B industry, with no degrees in hospitality and sheer passion to sell food to everyone out there. Building my business was my masterclass in communications alchemy. In corporate settings, brand is a monolith – carefully curated, risk-averse, and collective. But entrepreneurship demands agility; it’s storytelling crafted on your feet. Six years, over 50 brands, across Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Delhi – gave me the platform to meet the best minds in this business. And the courage to weather all kinds of storms (when you build something from ground zero, humility will keep knocking at ya, all the time).

Then why do founders return back to corporate life? Seems like unicorns marching back. In an era of lifelong disruption, circling back signals rare grit to endure bootstrapping’s chaos, commercial acumen to scale with an ownership mindset that treats “employee” as a launchpad. 

And some nuggets that made this journey doable, possible, a reality? here’s the playbook for you.

• Experience and Relevance. Understand how your brands do this for the consumer (and customer). This is value that you build for your business. Entering a NIKE Experience stores or picking your perfect pair of Onitsuka Tiger, was the journey a brand build on consumer mindset. Learn such inisghts to get a better grip on what your brand and leader should be speaking. Rather evolving.

• Consumption and Habit. Brands that understand these two key parameters actually have stronger and interesting stories to tell. Take a Superyou launch exclusively with Blinkit. Protein bars meeting quick commers (who would have thought of that). And it was an interesting story that earned a lot of word of mouth fame too. 

• Value and Pivot. Learn the numbers and how your stories are creating an impact. Why is that you do what you do. Wrap it in any form – Reputation mapping, Brand positioning, Corporate Affairs, Consumer Narrative – conclusively all of them come down to a simple reality check. What value are you creating for the business. if you understand this then timely (or untimely) pivots wont matter in your life, of course keeping the core constant at heart. Amul built a complete protein-rich product line, never let of the key cash-cow products (pun intended). 

Two decades in, I’ve realized: The best brands aren’t built in silos. They’re curated between structure and spark, respect and relentless questioning. For fellow communicators eyeing that entrepreneurial detour – or the triumphant return – lean in. The lessons? Priceless.

– Pooja Trehann,

Lead, PR & Content – NMACC, JWP, JWCC | Co – Founder PRPOI