Clixzyou
The Indian digital marketing industry is renowned the world over for its cost-effective solutions as well as intense competition. Making space for a new brand in this area is a feat few can achieve as effectively as Clixzyou. The company emerged from a university club for creating a unique narrative for brands and associated personalities by creating an eclectic cocktail of photo visuals-driven digital marketing and event management. Since then, the company has created a network of over 80 clients, most of whom offer recurring business.
An Uncanny Start
Clixzyou emerged from what was just a photography club at Amity University in 2015. Kartik Rastogi, the current CEO of Clixzyou, started the club along with 2 other people. During his time with the club, Kartik was involved in organizing over 35 events and this led to the club getting more applications for joining.In response to the growing momentum, the team set up auditions in Delhi/NCR in 2016. Out of 250 applicants coming from DU, Amity and other prestigious universities, 90 were selected and became part of what Clixzyou is today. Kartik and his team wanted to move beyond just letters of appreciation and commendation given to students in colleges. So, they decided to move into the commercial arena from a simple university club. By the end of the year, they partnered at the Under 25 Summit in Delhi for photography and the brand got a lot of exposure from it.
Over time, the company also began adding other elements of marketing and promotion to its service portfolio. These included video production, event management and market-specific branding practices. Then, the company partnered with Tedx at an event in Delhi and this propelled the brand into further prominence particularly since they were only a club at the time. Over 30 people were involved in the project and represented Clixzyou at Tedx. This experience helped shape the company and Kartik’s vision for its growth in subsequent years.
Big Strides Come in Time
Moving out of the university campus and into the competitive market world was not easy. However, Kartik and his crew persevered through some startup challenges and added new services to their portfolio like film production. Subsequently, they produced their first music video ‘Tareyan wala aasmaan’ in 2020. This was just before the COVID pandemic took a grip of the world.
For a startup, this was the worst situation possible but the team was not ready to put aside their zeal and ambition. They won the chance to launch their song in Mumbai on Women’s Day and this success spurred them to embark on their second project. Kartik and his team launched their second music video ‘PIA’ by Urvashi Kiran Sharma in October 2020. They also set up their first physical office space that month and quickly moved up to scale with 15 in-house professionals and 25 freelancers operating on multiple projects.
More recently, the company has moved into the Ed tech market offering consulting services for marketing and advertising big brands like DBMCI, EGurukul, Pahchan and others. They have also begun working with electric scooter companies like Maxim Escooty and Ray Motors. They have also acquired retailer clients including Bsecart and Plaantghar along with distribution companies like INDOFUSSION.
The Research Makes All the Difference
Kartik takes the RnD approach as the central pillar of its business process. The company’s business process hinges on its calendar plans where systematic RnD processes are conducted once every fortnight. The core process involves looking at the most prevalent market trends and tendencies and formulating ongoing and future processes accordingly.
Leading from the Front
Kartik is formally involved in crucial aspects of the RnD process and he feels that CEOs must include themselves in core processes like these. This is the best way to avoid getting overwhelmed by the competition, both functioning and psychologically. He also believes that people follow leaders and in the business world CEOs fulfill that role. The most effective way to do this is to use process and market orientation to pitch high-performance products to the market. The competition among CEOs is a matter of outcome and performance and this is the best way to undertake it.
As for the management of internal business processes, Kartik manages his CEO tasks through effective involvement and smart delegation. A growing company needs all its resources streamlined with its processes. Kartik’s method for doing this involves dedicating ample time to ensure regulatory efficiency in different aspects of the business. These can range from Development to Marketing and Advertising as well as client management. Done smartly, he believes that CEOs can handle their ongoing process through others and focus more on growing the company through future planning.
Raking in the Recognition
Clixzyou has only been around as a company for the past couple of years. However, they have managed to accomplish some great milestones in that short time. The first among these is the concept of BOLLCO where advertising and film crews can use 12hrs of free studio spaces for shoots complimentary with the Coworking seat. This model drew a lot of attention from potential investors and Clixzyou’s representatives are talking to Coworking decision-makers to bring it to the market. The company is also proudly partnered with a number of NGOs including one dedicated to Child Education. As part of its CSR model, the company donates to the Prabha Rastogi Cancer Research and charitable trust and also handles their advertising.
Envisioning the Future
Clixzyou has received a phenomenal response from the market and is growing faster than even Kartik and his team anticipated. That is why Kartik now plans to create franchises across the country. He wants them to function as one-stop solutions for all branding needs within the next 5 years. He also plans to bring money through franchising to companies in smaller cities. This will help these smaller companies bring the products up to the next level while also giving them international-tier branding and marketing. Kartik is also excited with the direction India’s native startup market is taking in the international arena and plans to make contributions to the larger market.