Yogesh Gangotia is the CEO of SimplePlan Media. Yogesh is a thought leader, influencer, visionary, and successful entrepreneur. Yogesh provides the leadership and energy that has inspired the creation of SimplePlan Media. Yogesh Gangotia joins other leading CEOs and Founders taking part in our Leader Roundtable Interview Series. The DotCom Magazine editorial team has recently awarded SimplePlan Media with our Impact Company of 2019 award. We are delighted to have Yogesh join us for our Leader Roundtable Interview.
Yogesh, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day for this interview about your company, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
1. Yogesh, please tell us about SimplePlan Media.
At the very core of it, without sugar coating it – we help businesses grow!
SimplePlan Media is all about doing great things in the simplest way possible. When we say simple, we don’t mean easy – anyone who has ever tried running a marathon knows what we mean.
That’s not it though! – what drives us every day is striving towards providing our clients with simple solutions to support their grand endeavours. We design websites for businesses, develop applications for entrepreneurs, and craft brands for those who aim to think differently.
2. How did you come up with the idea for SimplePlan Media?
SimplePlan is born out of the simple idea that turning ideas into reality should be a memorable experience. After spending several years at different digital agencies, I realised that I was not happy with how the “client work” was treated by the agency team members.
Somewhere along the way the world decided that outsourcing your media needs to the so called “digital experts” would become more hectic than hiring an in-house team. Which is exactly what happened eventually, as we talked to more and more clients, we realised that most of them had started handling social media or graphic design or websites in-house.
The service industry desperately needed a change, and we at SimplePlan Media, are here to do that.
3. What is the key to your company’s success?
I would like to start off with the fact that treating people right goes a long way.
The rising level of client dissatisfaction that I explained in the previous question also begged the question on how employees are treated everyday? This became a part of our core vision and values – “delivering joy to our customers & employees”.
If you ensure that you treat your employees right, they will ensure that your customers are always treated the right way.
4. Many of our readers are just starting to build a company. What advice can you give entrepreneurs just starting out with a new venture?
If you think you might fail, you will. Don’t do it!
Unless you are 100% confident, then tell yourself that you will succeed by all means and failure is not an option. Only then you will be truly successful with your venture.
Times do get tricky, very tricky. Only thing to fall back on during times like that, is your sheer will to succeed by all means.
5. For other entrepreneurs seeking to build a business as successful as yours, what advice can you give them when times get a little challenging?
Just last week, one of the most promising employees (who BTW was very happy doing her job) left us due to family issues. No reasons given, no questions asked (the reason was not us – we made sure of that but we cannot invade privacy).
The subsequent days were hard because she did leave a void in the team. But we calmed ourselves down, took some major decisions, and changed the short term goals of the agency from what it was a week ago to ensure that the long term plans stay intact.
Murphy said it right, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”, and it always does. You need to find strength even in moments where there is no hope. The right attitude can go a long way.
6. How do you make sure your customers will become raving fans of your company?
Just be true to your work and honest with your clients. You do not need to do anything else. This is what we tell each other every day – “Treat every client like you would treat your best friend”.
Let me highlight this using an example – Imagine you are building a website for your best friend. Here are the 3 points that you will keep in mind:
- You will make sure that you deliver the best quality possible from your end.
- Even if your friend suggests something wrong, you will ensure that you are honest with him/her and advise on the best approach.
- You will cut zero corners to ensure that your best friend gets the best bang for his/her buck.
- These “3 pointers” ensure that the end product is best for their target audience and the clients get the best possible service every time. As pro creative-ballers, we call it, “The 3-point game”.
7. In today’s fast changing business environment, how do you stay abreast of things?
At SimplePlan Media, “silly” ideas are not laughed at or looked down upon. Instead, they are played with and shaped into amazing creations. And this is what separates us from the several other digital agencies. We are not about traversing a known path ahead of all others; we are about carving a new path where others only see a roadblock.
This also means that we don’t limit ourselves to only what we excel in. Instead, we take up challenges in every niche ranging from web design to mobile app development as well as brand identity creation.
When we take on a project, we don’t mind getting our hands dirty. In fact, we like when they do. We immerse ourselves in the ideas we work on. Like that one time when a hair color brand came onboard, I personally turned my hair blonde (originally black) so that I could better understand the product and the experience the end users will have.
Now picture an Indian with blonde hair haha! 😀
8. What is your “Why”? Why do you get up in the morning, and how do you keep yourself at peak performance to lead SimplePlan Media?
My why is simple, I want to help impact the world positively. This covers a lot of different things but I divide it into the 3 primary goals:
- I want to help everyone that work along with me at SimplePlan Media reach his/her full-potential.
- I want to help our clients by giving them top-notch solutions and award winning ideas to take their brands to the next level.
- To work with businesses that positively affect the world. I constantly work with at-least 1 non-profit at all times who help us impact the world positively.
- This is what keeps me up on my toes at all times and this why I wake up every morning energized to deliver the absolute best I can on that day.
9. Can you recommend a book that has had an influence in your career? How did it influence you?
I do not consider myself as typical reader. Perhaps I could have been if I had a little more time on my hands, but yes I do value the power of knowledge and realise how important it is to keep growing and learning. I am more of a digital media guy – I consume videos, podcasts and audiobooks while driving, walking or doing just about anything in my everyday life to keep myself updated.
With that said, books definitely are the bedrock of our evolution, so they will always have a special influence on you.
One such book that still has tremendous influence on me is, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. It has a massive effect on my overall productivity and embodying it’s principles in my day to day life has definitely changed my life for the better. It’s awesome how a book written decades ago still holds so much relevance in today’s modern technology driven world.
Other than that, I read pretty much everything that helps me get more effective or learn new things. “Zero to one” is another great read and it helps me help my client’s everyday with better solutions.
10. What makes a great leader?
Short answer – Be human.
Long answer – being able to empathise with your peers, being there to listen to your customer’s pain points, and overall being a good human being to genuinely help them grow. Try to understand what your customers & employees want before they know what they want. That will sort half your problems away.
That and taking risks, for me is what makes a leader. Greatness is subjective to what you achieve and how effective you are doing what you do best. But for me, being a good human being is more important than anything else.
Yogesh Gangotia, thank you so much for participating in the DotCom Magazine Leader Roundtable Interview Series. We very much appreciate the time you spent helping our readers learn more about what it takes to build a great company and become a great leader. We wish you, your family, and of course SimplePlan Media, nothing but the best.
Thanks again!
