A pass-out of JBIMS, Ramalingam has always been an active part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. He had earlier founded, Splash, an event management company, and Dalchini Tiffins. He has also worked with various other startups like twenty19.com, kickoffers.com, KSG and kollegebugle.com as a consultant.
After realizing the difficulties in finding the right artist for the right event, Ramalingam Subramanian, along with his friend, Pratik Rathod, conceptualized BigMyGig, which is an online artist search and discovery tool that helps various event organizers to search through a variety of artists profiles.
Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.
BigMyGig is an online artist search and discovery tool that helps various event organisers to search through a variety of artists profiles before they can select the artist of their choice. The tool is also used for purposes like entertainment marketing by leading brands to communicate their messages to audiences using artists and their traits as mediums. As a tool, we wish to connect artists with more and more events.
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
As a serial entrepreneur and someone who believes there must be a solution to every problem, I was very keen to solve an issue I faced in my previous startup. Finding the right talent for my events. At JBIMS, the CEO factory, I met a like-minded friend and my partner, Pratik Rathod, who was on the other side of the spectrum. A great talent, failing to get good events. This was a problem that needed to be solved. Hence, BigMyGig is an artist search and discovery tool that helps you find the best artist for your event.
What is your life mantra?
Work hard in life but only for what you believe in.
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
Having faced challenging HR experiences in my past startups, I had a heads-up on this but that’s all there was. Here the stakes were higher and managing people became an increasingly challenging part of our journey. As a services company that helps events get artists, we were up to the challenge, and I can proudly say we as a team have done well in this regard.
How did you overcome those challenges?
As an individual, I always knew I had to start my own business. That’s also what I have said in my previous interviews with InsideIIM. It was getting my family on board that mattered. I was about to get married and convincing my in-laws was an initial struggle. They have been supportive throughout but it’s always a concern at the start.
Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now.
As a startup, we have been approached by multiple angel investors in the past even when our product was half ready. We rather believe in delivering a good quality product and bootstrap till we achieve that. It makes us more responsible. Raising funds is just a by-product.
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
Achieving success is an end result, and as Individuals, we must focus more on the means. However, a person needs to have a commitment, focus and courage to become successful in life. Many times, people aren’t decisive enough and lack the courage to listen to their heart. This kills many entrepreneurial dreams. The ability to take failures along is something every wannabe entrepreneur must possess.
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
As a bootstrapped startup we needed all the help we can, DigitalOcean, Google Apps, Amazon, HootSuite and Ghost came in very handy to help us kickstart our campaign. Along the way, as the need became larger, we started creating our own tools and found some real smart helpers like AppSheet, Wideo and Biteable to help build our tool.
Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.
Goal Setting on a daily basis is something that has made us more productive at BigMyGig. It has now become a routine practice, where we spend the initial half an hour on establishing goals for the day. Our team members are free to set their goals. No tasks are arbitrarily assigned.
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
Personally, I would like to change the habit of not having meals on time. Professionally, I would want the same for my organisation. At times, the team skips meals to work on their passion which I feel is a wrong habit. And as charity begins at home, I wish to practice what I preach.
Answer in less than 50 words
Be brave to make mistakes. No matter how bad things become, it’s never too late to mend
- One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:
Procrastination is something every individual must avoid.
- One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:
Human Resource will make or break a startup
What are your plans for next 3 years?
We wish to be one of the foremost players in Artist Management Services. As a tool, we want to reach out pan India and provide our services to every individual. We, as a startup, believes in taking the long road, rather than a springboard.
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
If I had to press the reset button, I would like to probably learn more stuff than I know of today. I would focus more on core areas and spend a lot more time with family.
What are your top three getaway destinations?
A getaway destination is some place that takes you out of your daily routine and refreshes you. For me, it has been spending time with my nephew and niece. It helps me rewind, relax and come back stronger.
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”