The Indian market is dominated by celebrity endorsements. But how does a start-up get one on board, with barely any budget to spare?
This was the question we were faced with when going into our first round of funding.
We didn’t want any TV personality either. We wanted someone who was conscious about sustainability, and resonated with our brand.
So instead of reaching out to hundreds of people, we tried to find the right fit.
One name stood out — Dia Mirza.
Other than being a renowned actor, she’s a torchbearer for nature centric causes, and even a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN.
Working with her would be a dream come true. But we (obviously) couldn’t afford to simply get her on as a paid ambassador, since her daily commercials for a shoot were well into the 7 figures.
The only other option? Convince her to join us as an investor.
We knew it was a long shot, but that’s what startups are built upon. So we wanted to give ourselves a chance.
Here’s how that ‘Hail Mary’ went down.
1. Did some research with our old pal Google, found her manager, and the manager’s contact info.
2. Sent some cold outreach messages to them. Didn’t get a response initially, but we kept following up.
3. Finally got a reply — “Not interested”. But after some convincing, we secured a meeting with her manager.
4. Things went well. We then met with the head of Exceed Entertainment, and pitched to them. This went even better.
5. After a solid 3 months of back and forth, we finally met Dia and were glad to see that she was enthusiastic. We closed the deal.
This was a HUGE win for us. Not only did we land the perfect brand ambassador, but also got a new investor.
Things worked out really well after that. We did a few shoots with her, she shared her valuable perspective, and was a pleasure to work with overall.
The result? An instant 8x increase in organic impressions!
This collaboration also helped us build brand value with our audience and trust with our stakeholders, helping us get more investors in the long run.
We still work closely with her, and she even invested again in our Series A.
Moral of the story? As Wayne Gretzky (and Michael Scott) said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
If you really want an opportunity, shoot your shot! Even if you have a 1% chance, the reward far outweighs the risk.
Have you ever landed an opportunity you never thought you’d get?
#entrepreneurship #startups #growth