From the high rises of NY to the mud houses of tribal villages of MP
She studied in LSR(Lady Sriram College), London, LA, NY, and blessed with all the luxuries that one can ask for in life. Born with a silver spoon, yet she wanted more. She felt privileged but unsatisfied.
Meet 28 years old Pallavi Jain, Director and Co-Founder of The Change Designers http://www.thechangedesigners.com/ that crafts media for social, organisational, and behavioural change.
She started with her first job at the age of 23 and also took a plunge into entrepreneurship the same year.
Is the world different for a young woman entrepreneur?
Pallavi doesn’t think even once to reply, “yes, it is. It is way different than what anyone can imagine.”
She started working at a very young age of 23. She was the youngest of the lot and only female in the team. She was designing communication strategies, planning out events, reaching to government officials, and was in charge of the entire program. She was excellent at her work and deliverables but always had to prove her caliber. There were episodes when she was advised to wear a saree than formal trousers for a meeting so that she appears “mature” and “grownup”. There have also been instances where she could not voice her opinion freely firstly due to a woman and then being young. She felt it mentally agonizing to prove her mettle every time. Attending meetings or presenting a pitch along with her co-founder Anu was tough as questions for “being serious” or “hard-working” were raised.
“I could have never related to the stories about the tough time women face at work until I experienced on my own”
-says pallavi
How did The Change Designers happen?
Once back to India, she had envisioned her career very strategically. She was lucky enough to have an experienced mentor who guided her at every step. She also found her Co-founder, Anu, and they both came together to grab their few first projects. She organised a successful event for women entrepreneurs and got several leads from there. Since then, there has been no looking back. A lot of time, dedication, and sincere hard-work went into creating The Change Designers. Presenting the work, showing credibility, and strategising the elevator’s pitch was not an easy task. Hard work pays, and Pallavi grabbed not just national but international projects as well.
Success or satisfaction?
Satisfaction, always.
She mentions a few projects where she had to create an awareness campaign strategy for the tribals of Madhya Pradesh. To understand the need and the project better, she decided to stay in the village. She shares that the experience was outstanding. Firstly, she was able to understand the need by interacting with them daily, and secondly, the response from the community was heartwarming.
She says, “we cannot address the community problems by sitting in metros and plush offices.”
What lies ahead?
For a 28-year old entrepreneur, there is a lot to explore and move ahead. Pallavi is a girl with lots of dreams in her eyes. She says that the love and recognition she gets when she visits the villages for work is the highest level of personal validation.
She wants The Change Designers to grow multifold with the democratic work culture and more women in the team.
