Interview
Puneet Gupta Founder of Astrotalk : Exclusive Interview
When there is a question if Astrology works for real, one man who made Astrology an online platform and gave easy access to Astrologers and believers who himself has a very interesting story about the prediction and continues to be one of the most active and influential people in business- None other than Puneet Gupta!
Here is a quick Interview of him.
1) Why are you so passionate about astrology?
Puneet Gupta : The thing is that astrology has happened to me instead of me chasing astrology to make a profession out of it, which is why I am always curious to explore more of it. In fact, you will be surprised to know that there was a time when I didn’t even believe in astrology.
I quit my job in 2014 to do something in the field of Ayurveda. The startup went downhill, and I lost all my savings. After seven months of fighting depression, I finally decided to move to Mumbai for a job. When I was working in Mumbai, a friend called me to ask if I would like to co-found an IT company with him. I was confused if I should say yes to the offer as the failure of the previous startup was still fresh in my memory. It was then a colleague of mine, who is also an astrologer, offered me a future prediction.
Clearly, as a non-believer in astrology, I wasn’t interested, yet agreed when she insisted. She predicted that I will start a startup soon, which, however, will shut down in two years. Thereafter, I will start another business, she added. The IT company I and my friend started did shut down after two years when he left. That was when I began to believe in astrology. I connected with my ex-colleague again and amidst the chatter, found the idea to start
Astrotalk.
Five years into starting Astrotalk, I have witnessed numerous stories of astrologers helping people come out of their problems, which stiffness my belief in astrology. It is also what inspires me to explore new ideas and ways in which I can bring out the best of astrology because I have finally realised that when it comes to astrology, the sky’s the limit.
2) How did you start your journey in this field?
Puneet Gupta: When the astrologer’s prediction came true for me, the first thought that struck my mind was that if astrology can help me, I can also help many others out there. The idea was not to impose astrology on someone but let them try it for themselves and develop an opinion of it. That’s the only reason why we still give first chat free to every user.
For starters, I solely built the Astrotalk app to provide one-on-one video consultation to our customers. Although the response and reviews were decent, the wait time was hurting customer retention. Hence, we slowly switched to call and chat consultation. Regarding funding, thankfully, I had enough from my last startup to start with.
3) What all problems did you face till date in your career?
Puneet Gupta: I lost all my savings in the first startup, which was the biggest setback. I had literally locked myself in the room for seven months as I couldn’t face my family and friends. However, today when I look back, I see it as a waste of time and something one should never do. If you are trying something different in life, you should feel proud of it instead of worrying about people who aren’t even trying.
Another blow came when I had to shut down a successful IT company clocking half a million dollars in revenue. All I had in mind was that I am back to square one with no sight of the future. Yet, I am thankful that life played its part well.
When it comes to Astrotalk, the biggest problem was finding genuine astrologers. I had to personally convenience good astrologers and give them advance from my own pocket to retain them on the app. Today, Astrotalk is a bootstrapped firm making 55-lakh/day in revenue and a number of astrologers want to join us.
4) What was your family and friends’ reaction to your start-up idea?
Puneet Gupta: More like “ye to roz ka ho gaya hai abb.” They have always known that I have a knack for startups and entrepreneurship and have even supported me throughout my journey. Astrotalk wasn’t the first startup idea they were listening to from me, but the fact that I was doing something in the field of astrology surprised them more.
5) How was it to leave your job?
Puneet Gupta:It was a decision I made overnight without giving much thought to it. Actually, there is a story behind it. I had a terrible breakup just the day before I quit my job. The exact last words of my ex before she left me were – “my dad owns a Mercedes, and you don’t even have a car.”
When you are in your early 20s, such words hit you like a bullet. The resignation was a reaction to it as I promised myself to do something big in life. But soon I realised that life is no script where you can write “5 years later” and skip to the good part. Having no source of income does scare you. Yet, things worked out anyways.
6) Who all were there for you in your Ups and Downs?
Puneet Gupta: My family, of course, has always been there for me through thick and thin. They would tell me that we are here for anything you need, and those words can really calm you down. Secondly, an old school friend of mine was a blessing in disguise when I was in the depression stage of my life. He not only helped me come out of the trauma but also arranged a job for me and even lent me money when I needed it the most. I have only a few friends, but all of them are to die for.
7) How does it feel to be an owner of $10 million?
Puneet Gupta: Ha ha!! Honestly, as a child, until we don’t have a particular toy, we constantly crave it. But once we get it, life seems normal, the toy seems normal. It’s the same with money. Now with money in the bank, the greed of it has almost gone and whatever I do, is all about creating an impact on society. Also, what I am satisfied with is the fact that I have kept the promise I once made to myself.
8) What is the reason behind such a simple lifestyle?
Puneet Gupta: Simple background, I believe. I am fortunate to earn well, but I don’t see much change in life with money. The only difference in my personality is that I try to value my time over everything else. I would not think twice before investing money in anything that saves me time.
9) What are your hobbies and interests?
Puneet Gupta: I am really into writing and Cricket. I write a lot on Quora and LinkedIn about my entrepreneurial experiences or simple life experiences.
10) What is the best award that you have received?
Puneet Gupta: I believe in rewards and not awards. Customer satisfaction is the only reward I care about. So when customers ping me on social media or through the app to let me know how Astrotalk has helped them fight their problems, it is the best feeling ever.
11) What is the one advice you would like to give to upcoming entrepreneurs?
Puneet Gupta: I would suggest that you should never be scared of starting something of your own. There is always an audience you can tap. All you need to do is focus on solving customers’ problems. Also, don’t shy away from experimenting. Most of the best campaigns of Astrotalk are the result of some weird experiment of ours. In fact, it is the only way to survive the entrepreneurial world.
Indeed Puneet Gupta is one of the influential people in business you would come across and he keeps on sharing valuable knowledge with us on Linked In. Make sure you don’t miss on his tips! Also check out his platform Astrotalk if you are an astrology lover!
https://astrotalk.com/astrology-blog/
And for more such interviews:
If you watch reels all day we are sure you have once in your scrolling journey came across Rajesh Yadav and if you binge-watch OTT content every day and Campus Diaries is your favourite show then you must be friendly with Sandy! Paradox gets candid and stocks up the inspo from none other than Rajesh Yadav!
1) When did you begin creating material professionally? Was there ever a spontaneous notion or incident that altered your perception of content creation as a profession?
Rajesh Yadav: In December 2015 I started making content, and by God’s grace, my first video drew a big audience. My second video later went viral, making the characters well-known. As my first video went viral, I was motivated to work even harder on my content creation and no longer had to worry about making this my career.
2) Were there any other role models you admired before beginning your journey?
Who motivated you to keep going?
Rajesh Yadav: I liked watching TVF and AIB’s funny and caustic videos before I started working in this field. After seeing their work, I became a fan and started making videos.
3) When did your life change for the better?
Rajesh Yadav: Creating my first video marked a turning moment in my life because I had never before considered a career in the arts or as a content developer. Although I didn’t have much experience in this sector while I was in college. I joined a theatre organization because I had some free time, and I worked there on the weekends.
4) How did you find acting as Sandy in the Campus diaries?
Rajesh Yadav: Sandy from Campus Diaries was my first role in a web series. Due to his many varied characteristics, including the fact that he begins as a friend and ends up as a villain, Sandy is an extremely distinctive character. I had never portrayed a somewhat pessimistic role before. For the first time, I had the opportunity to participate in something brand-new; perhaps the second season will have even more surprises.
5) Whoever would you like to work with if you had the chance to work with any artist in the world, and why?
Rajesh Yadav: Shahrukh Khan is the person I would choose to collaborate with if given the chance. Shahrukh Khan is someone we have all admired and been inspired by since we were young kids, no matter where he is today. I’ve wanted to meet Shahrukh Khan since I was a young child, and if I ever had the chance to work with anyone I wish, Shahrukh Khan would be my first choice.
6) What difficulties did you face at the beginning of your journey?
Rajesh Yadav: The major obstacle I had to overcome at the beginning of my adventure was learning how to produce original and creative videos for the audience. My goal was to come up with concepts that I might potentially employ in novel ways over the long term rather than to produce something that couldn’t be used in the future. Thankfully, I had only encountered these challenges in my first video.
7) Your thoughts? Is that your greatest success to date?
Rajesh Yadav: Any success I may have feels enormous to me as a regular person who enjoys watching superstars and I always had fantasies about meeting them. Nevertheless, now that I’ve recently collaborated with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, communicating and working with them. It is an accomplishment. After following him in college and attempting to meet him, it’s an enormous accomplishment for me to be able to communicate and work with superstars.
8) What is your greatest professional goal?
Rajesh Yadav: We are all aware that every one of us has different goals. My current objective is to play the main character in a movie or web series so that I may discover my talent and exhibit it to others. This is my current objective, and after I reach it, I’ll think about pursuing some more challenging objectives.
9) How have you found performing and writing for MensXP? It is a truly new platform that requires robust connectivity in order to function.
Rajesh Yadav : Four years of working with MensXP has been a wonderful experience. You can work there with complete creative freedom whether you’re writing or acting. It’s critical that you are given the freedom to complete your task on your schedule without interruption. As a result of the drastically different environment you find yourself in, the genre is quite varied and contains humor.
10) What is the final message you would like to convey to your supporters and well-wishers?
Rajesh Yadav: I can only advise my well-wishers to take care of themselves. In this society when everyone is scrambling for something, we all neglect to take care of our physical and mental health. Sometimes we continue to put our physical health first while ignoring our mental health. I, therefore, urge every one of my well-wishers to take care of both themselves and others around them.
For more such interviews:
Anuj Saini a pre-dominant face of advertising industry is ruling the Indian entertainment industry. Recently he was seen in Gandhi Godse Ek Yudha as character of Naren . He also featured alongside actresses like Jacqueline Fernandez in Mere Angne Mein and Dhvani Bhanushali in Vaaste. he is also seen in many advertisements which includes KFC, Sprite, Nivea, Cadbury,Tata and other known brands.
When did you start your career as an actor?
Anuj Saini: After graduating with a degree in civil engineering, I moved to Mumbai and began my acting career there in 2017.
How has your experience been in the advertising industry? You have been their favourite face for years.
Anuj Saini: Advertising is quite competitive; for a single ad, about 5000 candidates audition, but only one girl and one male are chosen. I’ve spent 6 to 8 hours working on a clothing advertisement set, and I love it. Once we start producing advertising, it’s wonderful, and I get to enjoy creating television commercials.
Just keep trying, improving, and being patient are key characteristics in this field.
What was your first show and how was your first experience working in that show?
Anuj Saini: It was a music video for the song VAASTE that I appeared in. That was my very first acting experience, and it was a great one. The great Rajkumar Santoshi sir’s Gandhi Vs. Godse, my debut movie, will be released in theatres across India next month
As acting is not a cup of tea for everyone! How did you know that you can do it as an actor?
Anuj Saini: It takes months of preparation for a three-hour test (a movie), and acting is a 24-hour career where you have to get better every day with no turning back.
There were so many superstars back in the days so who inspired you the most to become an actor?
Anuj Saini: The actors who most inspired me to pursue acting were Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Sushant Singh Rajput. Due to their consistency in remaining where they are and doing their best up to this point, we are all aware that these people didn’t got support from others in the industry.
Which achievement means a lot to you and is there any other achievement you look forward to achieving?
Anuj Saini: It meant a lot to me when I was chosen for my first feature film, which will be released in January, because I had no familiarity and many talented people chose me for the role. This is a huge accomplishment for me And I have a lot of accomplishments I want to get to.
You have met many different personalities from different fields. Who was most inspiring and why?
Anuj Saini: Anuja Patil, a former player for India, influenced me greatly with her personality . She changed the outlook of way of communicating with others. She is incredibly generous.
What do you want to share that many people don’t know about you?
Anuj Saini: Although I’m a big introvert and am really shy in real life, there is a switch that allows me to be completely different in front of the camera.
What message would you like to give to upcoming actors who follow you?
Anuj Saini: Keep working and hustling. Bombay is a city where one phone call has the power to completely alter your journey, but it will take time for that call to reach you. Until then, stay positive, put in a lot of effort, and don’t give up.
Lastly, what is one message that you want to give to your followers and well-wishers?
Please continue to support me; I’ll do everything in my ability to make you all smile.
AAP HAI TO HUM HAI!!