Why Chai and Strategy?
When I studied my first advertising class during my Master’s in India and we had a surprise group class test to come up with an ad. My group was assigned with “whirlpool washing machine” and I came up with an ad along with a storyboard, casting my group members specific roles for the ad and a marketing strategy at that very moment focused towards solving everyday user needs when it comes to doing laundry and we won the test out of the entire class. That’s when I knew I wanted to work in advertising and marketing. Thanks and gratitude to the professor who believed in his students’ capabilities!!
Fast forward to another Master’s degree in America, when I submitted a paper in a product management class at the University of Alabama about Apple using Tim Brown’s Design Thinking Principles. Reading this book and writing about the way Apple, Steve Jobs and team came up with many different products catered to every day user needs, is when I knew I wanted to work in advertising, marketing strategy and product management. Throughout these journeys and my career, I have always been curious about how these areas can fulfill the end user’s needs and solve problems.
And so how does Chai fit in all this? It was during the pandemic when I needed a kick start to my day. I’d find a song from any country, any language and figure out different spices that I can blend in to make the perfect cup! Somedays it was ginger tea, some days ginger and cardomom, and then there was “Royal-tea” on Fridays! where I would add saffron to my tea. It was an extra boost to kick start the weekend! :) This website has been in draft mode for a while, and by a while, I MEAN, A WHILE!!! The domain was initially called “a head full of thoughts”, then it was “chai pe charcha” (tea and talks) and now finally!, it is Chai and Strategy.
These 2 things really made me realize that through Chai, I love creating new things, and just like Chai, marketing strategy is all about finding the right mix of art and science - combining data with actionable insights to craft creative solutions that drive customer engagement, growth and retention.
Making this website was a whole lot of learning and un-learning. Understanding that I am creating something as a small business owner, and that my audience and clientele will be diverse. All of the images you’ll see on my site are my own. I have taken these photos over the years with my iPhone. And I will write about how this site was built soon.