“Running a business is all about dealing with people. Nobody can teach you that. You have to learn this art on your own.”
Rugwed Deshpande

I was born and brought up in a typical, Maharashtrian middle-class household in Pune. From Apte Prashala to Abhinava Kala Mahvidyalaya, my grooming has inherently been very rooted in the culture of this city and its people.

My father, Sharad Deshpande, was a well-known copywriter and a respected name in the advertising field. I would imitate him. As a child, if I came across even a small piece of paper, I would try to make an advertisement out of it, writing taglines or something resembling that, and calling it a flyer. Later, my mind dwelled upon becoming a builder. Not because of the money involved in the business. I was too naive to understand that. I fancied it because the idea that someone can spend 40-50 years using a product I have designed, fascinated me. Years later, it dawned on me that what I wanted to become was an ‘architect’, not a builder, but by then it was too late and I had enrolled in art school.

Studying Visual Design at IDC, IIT Bombay for post-graduation changed my perspective on life. Design is more holistic than is perceived. It’s not ‘just’ graphic design as many believe, it's a way of thinking. Design teaches you how to approach a project or a problem. Design has helped me in every aspect of my life, even outside of work. I understand my clients and their businesses much better because I have been a student of design. After post-grad, my parents wanted me to join another company for experience. Although not a very profound thought at that point, I always knew, running a business is about managing people. Nobody is going to teach me how to do that. So rather than working someplace else and being complacent in that job, it felt like a better choice to join the family business and learn people management early on.

It's been over two decades since entering the field of advertising and running an agency but every day I feel excited to go to work. The day I wouldn’t have the drive to go to the office, I would know something must change.

#PeoplesOfBarometer