Nidhi’s background includes an MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research and thereafter worked with McKinsey & Co. She continues to train students and lead classes in India and Singapore. She does regular classes and training workshops at major Fitness Centers across the world.
Being an entrepreneur at heart, Nidhi started BollyBeatz, which is a modern Indian dance company. BollyBeatz’s products include BollyArobixT, BollyChoreo, BabyBeatz. Her three years plan include more focus on corporate workshops for dance.
Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.
I was a typical Indian Kid, who was academically strong and wanted to always impress my parents and teachers by getting good grades. A master Rote learner in school. If you’d ask me one question after a month of the exam – probability was I would not be able to remember the answer. I finished schooling and passed with 92% in ISC Boards and got admission easily into LSR College for Women (yes my parents were delighted that I had opted to go to LSR and not SRCC) for doing my undergrad in B.Com (Hons) . I write Hons as it was apparently a cool thing to do it then as it meant you belonged to the more brainy set!
After College, I managed to get through to SP Jain Institute of Management & Research to specialize in Finance. Rote Learning was my special skill so getting through competitive examinations was never an issue! Two years I studied Finance and I hated every minute and every class of it. I could not understand a word of Finance. It did not interest me. But I was not allowed to change my specialization once I had chosen it. Rote learning helped again and I managed a great CGPA. As luck would have it, we had McKinsey & Company shortlist a few students for interviews and I happened to be one of them.
I believe in destiny, and I believe that was my chosen path. I got through the eight round interview processes and happily accepted the job offer. I was happy with my package and the extensive travel the job offered – yes I was still single). I got married and that’s when my path changed.
I loved dancing since childhood. I always took part in all the school events and choreographed dances and had even joined the Shaimak Davar’s classes as my stress relief mechanism when in B-School. But dance was for fun. I never even once thought of making a career out of it. Besides what would, my parents think! Dance as a career – no ways! I was a good student so the corporate job was the best option for a person like me!
I moved to USA after my marriage and had quit my job . One day my sister’s friends approached me at a party and requested me to teach dance to their daughters (they said I danced very well) for a competition they had signed up for. I was delighted (something to do with my life!). I asked them to come to house for practice and would teach them in my garage. I had so much fun choreographing and teaching the girls and they won the competition! Rest is history… then the mothers wanted me to teach them on a regular basis…. Best part was that I was so enjoying myself. I spoke to my husband and told him that not only was I good at dancing but I thought I was a good teacher as well. I could really break it down and teach! And I wanted to start teaching more… he just said one sentence to me … “I am doing what I have to do , and you should do what you want to do!” That really was the most amazing phrase he could have said to me.
My Business School education came in handy and I started my first Bollywood Dance studio (www.bollybeatz.com) in Silicon Valley, California in 2002. Rest is really history. In five years, I had 450 registered students, six instructors and a fledging flexible business born out of my passion for dance. I was giving the opportunity to people who worked in full-time jobs to teach part time for me on weekends so they could also live their passion for dance. It soon became a community of dance lovers, Bollywood lovers. We all became a big group of friends… not to mention that I was earning well just working two hours a day. And the two hours that I worked were not work – they were pure fun.
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
My Passion for dance and I needed to do something as I was in between jobs then. My dad once on a call said to me adversity creates opportunities… he was so right!
What is your life mantra?
To continue learning – never stop that journey of learning something new…. I may not be best at everything but I want to try my hands on everything that catches my fancy .
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
Finding and training the right type of instructors is always a challenge but I have been fortunate to find the best so far!
How did you overcome those challenges?
Just keep looking and when you find a good potential trainer, train them well!
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
There is no quality or a mantra for success. Having a liking for what you do, being sincere and just trusting that it will all work out well …. As steve jobs put it “ in the end you will find that the dots do connect…..”
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
MailChimp for our newsletters
Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.
Not watching television.
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
I worry too much unnecessarily…. I want to change that.
Answer in less than 50 words
Be Fearless
- One mistake you believe every individual must avoid
Compromising on your ethic to make a quick buck.
- One most important lesson that you have learnt till now
Always be positive and trust a power above and beyond! You don’t know what’s in store for you next so just trust!
What are your plans for next 3 years?
To do more corporate workshops for dance. To create more franchises across the world and empower more women to gain independence by making their passion for dance into a profession
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
Nothing!
What are your top three getaway destinations?
Thailand; Singapore; USA
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” – Steve Jobs