Advertising world is a fiercely competitive place with agencies competing tooth and nail each day to win and retain clients. Also, it is no secret that the adland is dominated by big networks with huge resources, both talent and technology, and they often become the first choice of brands. But in this world of big networks, standing out are some independent agencies, working and succeeding by their own rules. These agencies are being run by bravehearts who left behind the comfort of being a part of an established network and instead took a leap of faith to make a mark of their own.

To understand what motivated these founders to go on their own in the face of such cut-throat competition, e4m reached out to some of the independent agencies asking them to share the story behind their entrepreneurial journey.

Infectious Advertising: Ramanuj Shastry & Nisha Singhania

According to Shastry, there were several reasons for them to go independent, and creative freedom was one of them.

“In most multinational agencies, there is a fair bit of restrictions- especially on globally-aligned brands. We wanted to have creative control on what we do and also do stuff both of us are passionate about,” says Shastry.

“It is a unique opportunity as a decade back, most mainline agencies paid only lip service to digital and most digital agencies did not get brands. We found this to be a unique opportunity to capitalize on,” he adds.

He feels agility, personal vision, client-focused approach and love for adventure, are some of the reasons behind them going independent.

Enormous Brands: Ashish Khazanchi

“It is always exciting for a creative person because legacy is not just the campaigns that you make but the organization that you create. Most of the network agencies possibly exist for the numbers, there is only so much joy that it can bring you. If you become more focused on the work and people, you would make an organization that you would have wanted to work for,” explains Khazanchi.

“There is the whole idea of setting up a culture, a certain point of view of how the work should be and how the processes of doing those work should be. It is about the kind of organization you can build rather than making campaigns,” he mentions.

Wondrlab India: Saurabh Varma

“We chose to go independent because we wanted to build a network out of India and we felt that India’s time has come. We have extraordinary talent in India and there is no reason why we shouldn’t build a network out of India. We felt that we had the team, the experience, and the ability to build a network. And the second thing was the timing… when we started, it was a great time,” shares Varma.

“To build a network, you need the ability to raise money and the ability to drive valuation. So, we launched Wondrlab, and just after a month, we acquired WYP. We wanted to be a platform-first network. Networks in the past have been built on what was relevant at that point of time. Today, what’s really relevant is the platform-first approach. So, our ability to be platform-first is what differentiates us,” he shares.

Tilt Brand Solutions: Joseph George

“Starting out is quite personal. Most founders do so basis a very personal evaluation of what they want to do next vis a vis the life stage they are in; and an honest assessment of what they like to do and what they think they are good at,” believes George.

“For me, it was about wanting to get a lot closer to the agency output i.e brand building and advertising; and a desire to build an organization from scratch. And ironically, both these desires of mine were fuelled by what I loved doing every day in the 26-odd years I spent at Lintas, especially the last 10. So, by the time I decided to go independent, I had worked long enough in the industry to know what needed to be done and close enough to the industry, to know what could be done better. And that’s what we try every day at Tilt and Vector - just doing everything better,” he adds.

FoxyMoron (Zoo Media): Prateek Gupta & Suveer Bajaj

“We believe that the next global agency network will be from India, and that’s Zoo Media’s mission,” says Vivek Das, CEO.

“The advertising industry hasn’t fundamentally evolved in decades, aside from the addition of new mediums and skills. The ways of working & business models are archaic, and too rigid in the age of data, tech and AI. The term ‘independence’ is self-explanatory. For us being independent – means flexibility & agility. It enables to experiment with new business models, processes & integration of data-tech-AI and allows for speed in decision-making. We have the ability to fail fast, learn and progress. These are critical for the evolution of the industry,” he shares.

EFGH Brand Innovations: Emmanuel Upputuru and Joyce Shepherd

For Upputuru, “Anyone who leaves a job, it is for better opportunities. Only in this case the word ‘better’ has myriad connotations. As creatives, we feel we can provide better solutions to our clients. I am in the best form of my life. I can’t sit around in agency meetings and waste it away. I am what I am today because of those agencies - I was privileged to work at and also lead them. But I enjoy doing more, rather being a designation.”

^a t o m: Abhik Santara & Yash Kulshresth

“If your measure of success isn’t just driven by the need or a sense of duty and there’s a personal desire that plays an innate role in how you want to grow, going independent is the only way,” says Santara.

“There is a misplaced sense of power and control in a network agency and by the time one realises this trap, the false notion of safety incapacitates every drop of your passion and capability. One just becomes a robot. And we are too ambitious to have stayed like a robot!,” he quips.

Adds Kulshresth, “Creatives are always independent. We can't be caged or disciplined. We wait for the right moment, just like a good campaign, to show our love for independence. It's the clients who have realised the power of independent agencies.”

Talented.Agency: PG Aditya & Gautam Reghunath

Regunath says they went independent with Talented because they had ideas that they knew could fundamentally change what their business means - first for those working in it, and then therefore, for the clients. “There just simply had to be a better way to run organisations that employ creative people than the models we’d grown up with. How could we become the most attractive organisation for the brightest creative talent in the market? Our early motivation therefore was to address age-old advertising tropes like pay, work-hours, inequity, lack of employee ownership, while also trying to fix the looming irrelevance that’s been staring at agency business for a while now. And, at the end of all of this, we simply want to do great advertising & be our most outrageously creative selves.”

On the path: Aalap Desai

According to Desai, who recently moved out of Dentsu Creative India where he was the chief creative officer, it’s the idea of freedom.

“It has and will always primarily be for the freedom. It's just so satisfying and liberating that more and more creatives are starting out. I also think that the post-Covid mindset is fuelling it. We all know the pressure our industry puts on us and have realized the value of good culture and mental wellbeing during the pandemic. And, when the current workplaces don't seem to do it in the way that puts us to peace, most of us decide to create something that does.”

“We are getting the place together. The paperwork is on and clients are being signed on. The dream team is being organised and office spaces are being scouted. It is fun times and it's been a while since I've felt excited enough to have butterflies in my stomach more than once in a day. We are just about getting the details in place and will announce our launch soon”, he said on his actions of going independent.

Ashish Kharwatkar: Independent Creative Director

Speaking on why not join an established agency, Ashish Kharwatkar said, “That’s what I did for over 21 years. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, but it doesn’t fit anymore. I had the great fortune of working with and learning from awe-inspiring seniors at reputable agencies. It was challenging but also a lot of fun. Then, at some point, fun felt ignored and left the building. Sure, advertising is not all fun and games. But, in many places, the focus seems to have shifted from quality to quantity. Hustle is not just a possibility; it’s at the top of the JD. I believe in hard work but it’s disconcerting that ‘Employee of the Month’ awards are often based on timesheets, and not on mark-sheets. Nevertheless, most agencies are still great places to start your career right. But frankly, I haven’t come across any job opportunities of late that I found inspiring. So, I swipe left.”