CEO Insights Magazine

IIT's still remain the cream of the crop when it comes to technology education in India. With a rich history of mentoring global leaders across the spectrum and pioneering new age teaching pedagogies, IIT's continue to blaze the trail for technology education in the country. Like many IIT's, IIT Bombay continues to garner both national and global attention for both the quality and ingenuity of their education. Out of the many stalwarts who have passed out of IIT Bombay, Sheetal Paknikar (Founder, Managing Director & CEO, Seven Twenty Ten Network) is a visionary business leader who has been able to break out of conventional business norms and set up Seven Twenty Ten Network with an aim to create an aspirational and realistic brand, both to work for (internal stakeholders, associates & employees), and to work with (external) clients. To be more specific, where employees develop their own work culture as self employed professionals, and for clients to look at them more as partners and not just `vendors'. In that sense, apart from the traditional, `financial profit' driven model, Seven Twenty Ten Network aims to prioritize the elevation of the business of their clients while motivating employees to link their personal growth to organizational & societal development.

In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Sheetal gives more insights into his professional journey and the unique business operations of Seven Twenty Ten Network.

Can you talk more about your professional background and your inspiration to start Seven Twenty Ten Network?
I have done my Masters in Design in Visual Communication from the Industrial Design Center at IIT Bombay. Apart from that, I am an Applied Arts Graduate from Goa College of Art. If I have to look back and track my career, I have been lucky to grow organically, with rich experience of working & observing a multitude of sectors in the communication domain in these last three decades. I believe that my diverse educational and professional back ground has enabled me to be a versatile problem solver and hopefully, a person that people want to work with.

It all began after more than two decades of working in the industry.

In 2009 and 2010, I decided to conduct my own study on the market, specifically on professionals working in various capacities in different roles in multiple organizations. The primary goal of the study was to understand what is it that people want to do in terms of working. Surprisingly, the survey results showed that most employees, and it did not matter whether they were junior/middle/senior management, were not really happy with what they were doing. This ignited my desire to create a great place to work, where professionals would want to work out of choice and everyone truly contributes to building it as a brand. This is the inception and the continuing success story of Seven Twenty Ten Network.

Can you talk more about the learning experience you had at IIT Bombay and how it influenced you?
What happens in most cases is that, during our graduation and college days, not many are able to understand what the lessons we are being taught really mean. In my case, now thirty years after working in the industry, I can grasp the true meaning of those lessons. In IIT, the learning that I had, equipped me to approach real life situations by analyzing and appreciating what exists.

The teachings, along with a family upbringing of having an onground outlook, help me to come up with communication solutions everyday and make things easier to understand for everyone. With great gratitude, I want to say that none of this would be possible without the support of my immediate family, my extended family of teachers/mentors/friends, and the trust & belief of our clients who have given me the inspiration and insight to do well and share what I have learnt.

Can you give us a brief overview of Seven Twenty Ten Network?
We believe that we are a knowledge sharing, purpose driven organization, and we are committed to the work on hand. Other than that, we constantly strive to excel and reach our goals in the most efficient manner. We also work towards setting or simplifying communication objectives of our own or that of our clients. Also, thanks to my diverse background and the hand picked core team,

each from different backgrounds them selves, we are able to cater to different industry verticals as well. Our single minded approach is to create a niche in the market that can offer quality services to all these verticals.

What are some of the milestones that you have had in your entrepreneurial career and what drives you today?
The 12 years of business, the journey that we had, and the things that we have set up is in itself the biggest milestone for me. Also, over the years, we have been able to help a lot of people as well as other firms, and having had that opportunity to contribute to their growth means a lot to me, personally.

These days, I spend a lot of time mentoring professionals who are in the beginning and middle stages of their careers, and they still haven't found their calling. Interacting with them keeps me alert to changing times and helps me to understand the larger motive behind work. Because everything is not as rosy or perfect as it seems.

To end, the fundamental pursuit to keep reinventing, being better than yesterday and learning how to be more economic/ efficient at what we do, is what drives me forward every day.

What are some of the major future plans of Seven Twenty Ten Network?
We started off as a media consulting company and over the last few years, we have diversified into sports consulting as well, as it is one segment that we are truly passionate about. We are working with selected international partners to create an ecosystem that will develop the quality and reach of our sports consulting services. After successfully running a Music School, our dream is to start our own Sports Education Institution which will work on the holistic development of students, with emphasis on physical and mental health. Our effort is to create a positive impact by providing a fair, inclusive & growth-oriented environment for future generations and the society as a whole through our work & services in Media, Communication & Sports Consulting.

As for our team, while we are looking at expanding our network over the world, we hope to continue to be an attractive job destination that offers flexible work challenges to our employees, and at the same time create a collaborative platform which they could use to leverage their growth aspirations.

Sheetal Paknikar, Founder, Managing Director & CEO, Seven Twenty Ten Network
Sheetal is trying to reach greater heights in the Corporate realm by sustaining a unique business organization that is committed to offer the best for both their clients as well as their employees.