24/12/2021
Nupur Sood
Nupur is the Director of Epic India Group, Marketing Advisor WICCI, Consultant Entrepreneur of Corporate Events, Communication, Marketing, Advertising, and Exploring. A Hospitality graduate from 2003 batch, which was the first batch to get a BSc. degree and not a diploma!! She started her career with a short 8 months’ stint with Daksh (a BPO) and Welcom Group’s Sales & Marketing but realized that her heart lies in taking the entrepreneurial route. It wasn’t the era of start-ups back then but definitely an era of MNC culture flourishing leaps & bounds in India. So, a journey began 17 years ago with two committed individuals- Nupur Sood & her now husband Pankaj Malhotra.
With a few resources, infinite dreams, and having learned the basics from the trade of Hospitality, Sales & Marketing, Client Servicing, they ventured into the business of corporate ‘Tours & Travels’.
With Rs 7000 each in their hands, “The Organizers” came into being with an aim to deliver travel solutions to the corporate sector. Five years and some lit ideas later, they realized their calling to be much larger.
From events, product launches, conferences to global offsites, we set motion to do it all, and then life became EPIC!
She, as a woman in trade, had her own challenges. It took time for her vendors and partners, and often male team members to brainstorm & work with a woman. However, she often found them comfortable dealing with her husband. She used to get frustrated & tried to play the masculine side to only realize “Lady – You are not a man” (a great book & read as well). Slowly, She got back to her feminine side & understood that she need to be true to herself. With time, support from Pankaj & some experience, she was a strong pillar of the ecosystem.
With the era of creativity setting in events and big players in the trade like Wizcraft, WPP & Encompass swamping the market, came the need for adaptability. Thus, Epic India Events was born, to blend experiences with creativity and design. They started designing pre-set models, creative collaterals, engagement ideas and slowly, they evolved into a full-fledged creative agency. During this time, she will not deny it, she purposely made sure she has a more feminine side added to the team.
With dedicated MICE and Communication wings in place, they got selected to manage the first-ever SABRE Awards South Asia (a property of Holmes report, London) held in India. The year was 2013, and since then we have been PRCAI’s trusted partner in executing SABRE awards each year. As we expanded, our clientele expanded, and from IT & BPO, Consulting to FMCG & Pharma, we started getting esteemed projects such as ICCO Global Summit, Sports Leagues, Government Campaigns, and even more.
With the help of our zealous team, they further evolved into a media and content production house. Today they have a diverse team of 50% women & the LGBTQ+ onboard. They as an agency today have an all-inclusive work environment defying odds of pay gap & break in career. It has an independent wing known as Epic CAMP – Communication, Advertising, Marketing, Production.
From minimalist designs to the big-bang events, They failed at times, They learned always & They met success often.
It was our time to contribute to society, with the support of industry veterans & our network we became part of Embrace Music Festival – An all-inclusive Fest. Also, we were proud partners for Rainbow Literature Festival.
She saw eye to eye with global organizations. From helping brands, They became their own brand. Life at Epic has always been a roller coaster & so life would have you believe, it was time to hit the low. 2020 hit the world hard with the Covid-19 pandemic & especially our industry was affected.
Things could have been worse for Epic as it were for various MICE agencies had it not started evolving alongside being a 360-degree digital marketing and advertising agency. So, we continued to sail slowly in 2020.
Making TV commercials, doing B2C marketing for brands, hosting virtual events, and learning more each passing day with our digital experience. Not only this but they were approached & noticed by the big government names as well. MNRE and DRDO got added to our huge list of clientele. Now, having adapted to the world of digital & experiential, we are sailing to explore more geographies, offering operations & services from the most adaptable & dynamic team at Epic India.
Her advice to IHM PUSA alma mater professionals would be –
· Help each other when the industry is seeing a challenging time for jobs, new avenues, and opportunities
· Listen to your gut – it has a conscious level (not your heart & not your brain)
· Be humble always – how often do you want to award work/project to a pompous individual
· Be vulnerable at times – while it may sound negative but it often leads to teamwork, opens us for growth & empathy
· Trust more – Be it your junior, senior, colleague, or client
· Right Networking – It helps you learn, at times guide, creates partnerships, uplift social causes, and develops business avenues. While you are at it, discuss ideas not people.
· Last but not the least - innovations soon turn into invoices
Arindam Kunar Mudit Chaturvedi Manish Pandey Yuvika Sawhney Anita Sharma
