Ambitious and Successful,
Vidhika Rohatgi sets a new parameter of being a woman
Women across the world are changing the world that we are “given” for a world that we dream of. They are creating the opportunity for themselves, and for other women and girls, to break through preconceived notions of gender and walk hand in hand with men towards a more wholesome existence. Earlier, women preferred to enter the business domain in the late 40s because of their thrust to gain success in their previous career life. But now, the scenario has changed significantly in the past few decades, with the increasing number of women more likely to enter into the early stage entrepreneurship. Experts say that 40 to 50 per cent of all the small businesses are run by women in all the developing countries. The ideology of Separate Spheres rested on a definition of the ‘natural’ characteristics of women and men. Women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, who meant that they were best, suited to the domestic sphere. Not only was it their job to counterbalance the moral taint of the public sphere in which their husbands labored all day, they were also preparing the next generation to carry on this way of life. The fact that women had such great influence at home was used as an argument against giving them the vote. But the time has seen a massive change in the last few decades and women now drive the world economy.
The CEO Magazine recognizes one of the best Indian lady entrepreneurs who have been a role player of pivotal in Indian business landscape. Vidhika Rohatgi, Chief Design Officer at Fortune Cookie UX Design– a leading digital consulting and UX design, has brought a huge change in the field of Design. Vidhika’s experience in various industries translates into a differentiated value proposition. She works with organizations across segments including banks, insurance companies, pharmacy, manufacturing, media housed and more to support them bring about digital transformation within their organizations with UX design. She incepted the company where people help these organizations conceptualization new digital products, innovate digitally and create experiences that are useful and memorable for their users.
Implementing design and digital solution in various industries is a challenge on account of various factors, which Vidhika has successfully achieved by adopting customer centric approach rather than traditional product centric approach. Thoroughly analyzing your business needs, industry and overall requirements, Fortune Cookie UX Design delivers tailor-made, cost-competitive, scalable and robust solutions.
In a chat with Abhishek Dubey – Editor Associate at The CEO Magazine
What was your dream as a business lady?
When I started my career, I would hear a lot of negative remarks about user experience design coming out of India. And this for a country that has design and art as a core part of its diverse culture, right from Rangoli to Pottery to the truck graphics. We have the skill and talent but lack the right industry focused design training and education. It became my mission to create a UX design house which gives a platform to various types of creative talent that could deliver world class digital experiences across the globe.
What is your greatest professional accomplishment to date?
I have been able to build up one of the largest UX design teams in the country that includes UX consultants, digital consultants, UX designers and usability experts. Today we are the pioneers that are helping organizations achieve higher engagement with users, bring in operational efficiency and increase organizational productivity all with digital. Most importantly we are able to create designs with purpose that focus on problem solving.
Have you ever failed in your initiatives? What have you learnt from your failures?
Yes, several times. No one becomes an entrepreneur without making mistakes. And I believe every failure makes you stronger and smarter. Every failure has taught me to deliver better. As a designer by heart and an entrepreneur I believe the most important thing is to learn to survive in the industry-it does not matter if you face failures.
How many hours a day you work on an average?
I work as many hours as it takes to get the work done. As a young entrepreneur I believe the hours I put in are directly proportional to the results we get.
What is the best decision you’ve ever made?
To study UX design in college was the best decision. I was originally preparing for architecture and a chance encounter just before my exams made me discover UX design. I applied and got through to Symbiosis Institute of Design, completed my bachelor’s degree in Communication Design with a specialization in UX and the rest as they say is history.
What stimulated your ideas to start a new business venture or to bring significant changes in an existing business/at work place?
When I started working as a UX designer I discovered that the UX design market is very niche and it requires core competencies. The UX Design talent pool was also very limited. I also knew that UX design was the going to become the norm. With digital penetration in nearly every sector and for every conceivable human need it was only logical that UX design would grow. This made me start thinking about creating a niche UX company that could be a part of this change.
What effective strategies you have implemented/initiatives you have taken to achieve success?
I focused on building the right team. A company is only as good as the people it has. My first and most important priority with the company was to build a professional, capable yet creatively confident team that could service any customer.
My second priority was to focus on the design process and practices – I ensure that every designer who works in the team is trained on the Imagin 6D UX process framework that we have instituted. This has ensured standard quality deliveries across all projects.
How do you define success? What is your take on the ways to achieve long term success?
To me, success is giving yourself the permission to fail multiple times till you finally make it big. Long term success can be achieved only with consistent perseverance, patience and dedication.
Please tell us about your future plans.
My future plans are to expand the business globally which we have already started with some key customers in South East Asia, Europe and North America. I hope to make Fortune cookie UX design a renowned UX & digital consultancy globally.
Do you think your personal life is affected by your professional life?
Yes, off course it is. Being an entrepreneur is like having a full time job and a child on your hands at the same time. It requires long hours, frequent travel and complete dedication. There are times when I have to prioritize work over personal engagements. However, that is not to say that I let my professional life over shadow my personal life or vice-a-versa. You just have to find that fine balance for yourself. You cannot have it all at once, but it is a must to prioritize.
What do you think is the biggest challenge to female leadership?
I don’t think there are any more challenges to women leadership in our industry. Design industry is especially very receptive of female leaders. The one challenge that can always come in is when we as women stop believing in ourselves. We constrict ourselves in stereotypes and let ourselves be held back by society. Being a leader and entrepreneur is not easy but women are multi-taskers and hence can be the best entrepreneurs. We should encourage each other and help those with talent.
