The newsletter its readers call a 'Mini-MBA'
Hi, I'm Rashi. I’m a marketer turned writer and educator on a mission to erase confusion from a marketer’s day.
If you are curious and a lifelong learner, you’re in the right place.
The short ‘about’ version
I share high-leverage practitioner insight that B-schools don’t teach.
How to convert products into brands.
How to build and grow consumer businesses by embracing India’s peculiarities, not ignoring them.
How to self-manage careers with strategic clarity.
The long ‘about’ version
Shaolin Monk movie marathons formed a big part of my Growing years.
I forgot all about Shaolin monks until 2020 when I started writing this newsletter.
The more I wrote, the more I read. The more I read, the more I stumbled upon timeless ideas on how to live a full life and reach peak potential.
I quickly realized that just as every colour is simply a different combination of the same four basic CMYK inks, our various gurus, thought leaders and Shaolin monks were using different words to express the same underlying patterns.
One central pattern that I spotted again and again was that when we are monk-like inside, we perform better outside. So simple to write, yet so difficult to do.
I was so taken in by this mantra that I clumsily combined perform and monks and decided to call my newsletter, Performonks.
Performonks continues to be the holding vessel for more operating mantras I keep pouring into it.
You might be thinking, what does this stuff have to do with brand-led business growth?
Everything.
Provided we take the time to look below the surface. The purpose of a brand, a business, or a person is to reach peak potential, i.e. mastery. This requires monk-like focus, discipline, clarity, long-term lens and equanimity… the Performonks way.
I infuse this philosophy into the four topics I write about.
Marketing mastery: Product advantages are short-lived. When commercial actions are rooted in brand thinking, growth is undeniable and for the long term. I develop original marketing frameworks to simplify real-life marketing e.g., Influencer marketing, Celebrity Endorsements, Community Building.
The India Playbook: India is a complex and atypical market. On the surface, it looks attractive, but building a sustainable business requires patience and a nuanced understanding of the market. I explore the quirks of India and Indians e.g., One Country Four Markets, Rich India Poor Indians, Inter-generational conflict.
Category of One: Copy-cat branding fizzles out. Businesses that spend the time to craft meaningful differentiation become a category of one. I decode and recommend ‘category of one’ strategies for businesses I think have the potential to be unicorns (e.g. Traya, Cult Fit and Phool)
Self-mastery: 1% of life is what happens to us, 99% is how we respond. To help us navigate life's curveballs, I write about personal skill building, compounding, luck, herd mentality, resilience, and mimetic desire.
Join me in this journey to make sense of the world.
