Ep #07 Art of pivoting, one marketing skill that no one's teaching and more | Abhimanyu Saha, Co-founder, GuruQore

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Abhimanyu Saha is the co-founder of GuruQore, a bootstrapped community platform that empowers marketing professionals. With 10+ years of experience leading digital strategy at companies like Experience Commerce and WatConsult, he's also a mentor and visiting faculty at institutes like SIMC. Outside work, he's also an independent music producer and former national-level cricketer.

• (00:00) Intro

• (01:43) Breakdown of advertising ecosystem - planning, servicing, copy, design

• (08.36) Difference between account planning in mainline vs digital agencies

• (17.50) Winding of agency career, new innings as a music producer

• (25.27) GuruQore origin story

• (26.49) Pivoting as an early-stage startup to find the right fit

• (29.08) Creating a new vertical, why marketing teaching is ikigai

• (31.43) Why pivoting is a lot like sailing a huge-ass Titanic

• (35.19) The one marketing skill no one's teaching, Test vs T20 of marketing careers

• (43.20) Running a startup as a missionary founder

• (47.03) Advice to 21-year-old self

• (47.50) Career advice for marketers

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhimanyu-saha-guruqore/

• GuruQore - https://guruqore.com/

• Substack - https://guruqore.substack.com/

You can find the full episode transcript below.

• David Ogilvy quote - https://jovanabanovic.com/2020/08/03/advertising-icon-david-ogilvy-if-it-does-not-sell-it-is-not-creative/ 

• JWT - https://www.jwt.com/history/ 

• Cheil India - https://www.cheil.com/cz 

• MG Motors - https://www.mgmotor.co.in/ 

• Experience Commerce - https://www.experiencecommerce.com/ 

• Tranquil Chaos - https://open.spotify.com/album/5zByc5w4qbTk97krvy9qqg?si=LvyiaKS_Q-iyzqFaax9w6A 

• Kotler - https://www.pearsoned.co.in/prc/book/philip-kotler-marketing-management-15e--15/9789332587403 

• Input/output world of marketing - https://guruqore.substack.com/p/the-tale-of-two-marketing-worlds 

• GuruQore - https://guruqore.com/ 

• The Modern Marketer Program is on hold and coming back again with a reimagined curriculum. 

• Golden Circle (Simon Sinek) - https://simonsinek.com/golden-circle/ 

• Shashank Mehta, Founder and CEO, The Whole Truth Foods - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashank-mehta-977925a/ 

• Whole truth blog on missionary founders - https://midlifeentrepreneur.substack.com/p/purpose-vs-profit?r=1ezt02&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true 

• Missionary vs mercenary founders - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shashank-mehta-977925a_mercenary-or-missionary-what-sort-of-founder-activity-7218929965130539008-0MZf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop