Built by Anurag Lala

As someone who has spent years studying marketing strategies and watching the Indian business landscape, I've been fascinated by how several homegrown brands have successfully implemented what W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne call the "Blue Ocean Strategy." Today, I want to share my observations on how Indian companies have created uncontested market spaces, making competition irrelevant while capturing new demand. My Understanding of Blue Ocean Strategy Before diving into examples, let me explain what I understand by Blue Ocean Strategy. Unlike red ocean strategies where companies fight over existing market share in bloody, competitive waters, blue ocean strategy is about creating new market spaces – untapped territories where competition doesn't exist yet. It's about value innovation: offering something so unique that you create your own category. I've noticed that successful blue ocean strategies focus on four key actions: Eliminate factors the industr...

 I still remember the first time someone asked me if I had ever considered a role in product management . At the time, I wasn’t entirely sure what a product manager (PM) even did. Was it marketing? Was it engineering? Was it project management? Or was it something else altogether? So… What Exactly Is Product Management? At its core, product management is the practice of building the right product for the right people . That might sound simple, but in reality, it involves juggling many hats: understanding customer needs, setting a vision, collaborating with design and engineering teams, prioritizing features, analyzing data, and ensuring that what’s being built aligns with both business goals and user expectations. I often explain it this way: If building a product were like making a movie, the product manager is the director. They don’t do the acting (engineering), camera work (design), or music (marketing), but they’re responsible for making sure all of it comes together in...

A few years ago, I was managing a marketing campaign for a client in the tech space. We had everything—eye-catching graphics, keyword-optimized content, an irresistible CTA. But the campaign? It flopped. Impressions were high, but conversions were dismal. It felt like we were screaming into the void. Then, we tried something different. We shared a story. It was a simple narrative—about a small startup founder juggling work, family, and ambition. The story mirrored the journey of many of our client’s target customers. And suddenly, the numbers started climbing. Higher engagement. Better retention. Actual conversions. That was the moment I understood: marketing without storytelling is like a movie without a script. Stories Stick—Stats Don’t If I tell you that 92% of consumers want ads that feel like stories (a real stat, by the way), you’ll probably forget that number in a few hours. But if I tell you about the time a brand used a single video to turn a side hustle into a six-figure busi...

 A few years ago, if you told me I’d be building things alone—writing, consulting, experimenting, creating systems—I would’ve smiled nervously and said, “But I’m not built for that.” Turns out, I was wrong. Being a solopreneur isn’t just about working without a team. It’s about building with intention, without distraction. It’s about being the strategist, the doer, the editor, the motivator, and the critic— all in one. And honestly? That can get overwhelming. But over time, I’ve learned that working alone doesn’t mean being lost. It just means learning to lead yourself —and that’s a skill nobody teaches you in school. The First Battle: Direction Over Distraction When you work alone, nobody checks in on you. No boss asking for a status update. No colleague pinging for a quick sync. Sounds like freedom? It is. But freedom without focus becomes noise. Early on, I’d open my laptop and jump between 10 tabs: LinkedIn for “inspiration” Google Docs to “write something” ...

If there’s one thing I’ve learned while juggling content, consulting, teaching, and building—it’s this: time is not money, it’s fuel. And if you’re burning through it with cluttered processes, you’re going nowhere fast. That’s why I’m obsessed with tools that give me time back without costing a rupee. After trying dozens of apps and AI platforms, I’ve found a few that I keep returning to—week after week. Here are the top 5 free tools that help me save 10+ hours every week , sometimes even more: 1. Notion – My Second Brain Notion is where I think, plan, and write— all in one place . From blog outlines and client SOPs to my weekly to-do list and reading notes, everything lives here. I’ve built a custom dashboard that shows: My weekly goals Today’s top 3 tasks A habit tracker Quick capture space for ideas How it saves time: No more switching between 5 apps. Everything’s here. Plus, their AI helps me summarize or rewrite notes when I’m stuck. 2. Motion (Free Plan) –...

When I first started exploring AI in marketing, I thought it would be all buzzwords and bots. But over time, I realized that AI isn’t replacing marketers — it’s amplifying us . It’s like having a superpower: if you know how to use it, you can work faster, smarter, and more creatively. In this post, I want to share the AI tools I personally use (or have deeply tested) that help me save time, drive results, and stay ahead in a chaotic digital world. 1. ChatGPT — My Everyday Assistant Let’s be honest — I’m writing this very blog with help from ChatGPT. Whether it’s: Drafting content outlines Generating email subject lines Brainstorming ad copy variations Or simplifying complex ideas ChatGPT helps me clear creative blocks and work faster. It’s like having a thinking partner available 24x7. Just knowing how to prompt it right makes all the difference. Pro tip : Use custom instructions or saved prompts for repetitive tasks like blog intros, campaign ideas, or social ca...