Vineeta Singh is a trailblazer, she is a superstar. If you haven’t heard of Vineeta already, then you probably aren’t watching enough television or OTT in India. She was one of the sharks and investors on Shark Tank India’s first season. She is the also the CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, which is a fast growing Indian cosmetics company. Vineeta has her own signature style and commands a lot of influence with young and millennial audiences in the country at the moment.
We can see all the success and adulation that has come her way. However, there is one skill that drives her success that is probably not as apparent. And that skill is storytelling.
The first time I interacted with Vineeta:
This was back in 2020. The lockdown had just been announced. After a few weeks, it was amply clear that we were going to live in the digital world for a while. I had just started my company, The Story Co, and was looking to network with startup founders, marketeers and communication professionals.
So I came across an interesting conference called ‘FreshWorks for Startups’.The digital conference was organised by FreshWorks, a successful SaaS company. One of the sessions was titled ‘How to use fear as fuel to build your startup’.
The title was enticing, and I made it a point not to miss that session.
This talk stood out for me from all the other talks delivered that day. The way Vineeta narrated the entire story was quite different from everyone else’s approach. Everyone was interested in sharing information and insights directly, whereas Vineeta wrapped them around a story.
The story was about her struggle with the Ironman competition. The message was how to use fear as fuel to build your company.
She narrated the story of how she was scared for her life while swimming for the first time in an open water lake. This was her first Ironman attempt, and it was in Austria. For someone who had trained in swimming pools, not being able to spot the floor of the lake freaked her out.
It took her a lot of courage to complete the Ironman attempt succcessfully.
However, the next point she made was even more interesting. After that Ironman edition, Vineeta returned back home to Mumbai and started training in the open waters of the Arabian sea. She used her fear as a fuel to learn something new and make progress in the sport.
Then she looped this experience back to building startups, especially in how she used fear as fuel to build Sugar Cosmetics.
Vineeta’s storytelling skills, deconstructed.
Number one: She shares memorable stories.
If you are someone who has followed Vineeta’s journey even with a mild interest, you’d remember a few things about her beyond the fact that she is building Sugar Cosmetics.
Here’s what I remember:
- She turned down a 1 Crore job placement after IIM.
- She is passionate about running and marathons. She says it helps her take charge of the day and maintain her well-being.
- That she decided to get pregnant when Sugar was pivoting as well.
Now the interesting thing is that she is open to sharing personal stories, which help her build a strong connection with her audience. Not just that, she does not shy away from repeating a story multiple times. A lot of leaders feel that you need many interesting stories and you need to narrate a new one each time.
In fact, I feel narrating too many stories may be counter-productive. Sharing a few interesting ones time and again, help build your brand. The way Vineeta has been able to build hers.
Number two: She turns adversity into opportunity with her storytelling.
Vineeta and her husband Kaushik’s company, Sugar Cosmetics, operates in a hyper-competitive space. Despite that, they have been able to carve a space out for themselves.
As a female founder, there were some inherent disadvantages. There were some more as a husband-wife duo building a business together.
Also as someone comfortable with public speaking in English, she has taken great strides in speaking Hindi as a public figure since Shark Tank India happened.
Vineeta has come out trumps in these situations and even in many others. Because I feel she understands adversity and challenges make for great stories. Her approach to her challenges is never as a victim. If anything, she is like the David to the Goliath of her challenges.
And who doesn’t love a good underdog story, right?
Through talking about her challenges, Vineeta manages to turn them into opportunities. This is a rare quality to possess as a leader.
Number three: She uses every opportunity to tell her story.
When I was a PR professional, I’d meet CEOs and other senior executives who’d want to spend some time only if the media interview was with The Times of India or Economic Times. While the paucity of time at senior levels is real, and hence prioritising becomes important for them.
But Vineeta either by default or by design understands that stories begets stories. You may have a thousand interesting stories to tell, but no one will hear them if you don’t get a platform to narrate them. That’s why she goes all out as the public face of Sugar Cosmetics.
If you look at her journey over the years, she has utilised every platform to share her and Sugar’s story. And this is something most people miss about her journey. They feel that Shark Tank happened to her because she was already successful. But that’s just half the truth.
Shark Tank came Vineeta’s way because she was visible. People that mattered already saw her narrate great stories. She was already an inspiration for scores of young men and women. Shark Tank only multiplied her story’s reach by many times.
How does all of this apply to you?
Whether you are a marketer, founder, CEO, communications professional or someone wanting to get ahead in life, know this. Storytelling matters.
So, just like Vineeta:
- Identify interesting stories from your life and narrate them in interviews and to colleagues.
- If you are a marketer or communications professional, encourage your leaders to do as well.
- Understand that challenges make for great stories.
- Look for adversity stories from your brand or personal journeys. Narrate them in the right way across platforms and to employees if you are a leader.
- Use every possible opportunity to tell yours or your brand’s story
- Don’t wait for top media outlets to line up for you. Accept that podcast request. Agree to speak to small gatherings. And see how you steadily grow visibility for yourself and your brand.
I am sure a trailblazer like Vineeta is just getting started. Every time I look at her, I am reminded of the lines by the American author, Ira Glass – ‘Great stories happen to those who can tell them.’
Tell your story to make yours an epic one.
