Yuxi Liu, the Creator & Contributor behind @CreateNYC; a non-profit project highlighting stories of Entrepreneurs of New York, interviews Saunak Shah; Founder & Creative Director at Pursuit of Portraits.
CREATENYC:
1. We all heard lots of things about the difficulty of working on projects with limited funded/resources, how about advantages?
SAUNAK SHAH:
Limited resources or funding for projects a lot of times requires a change in outlook and a creative mindset. They tend to be challenging but if managed through the right channels can be highly fulfilling. Here are some of the advantages:
You tend to gather a team of volunteers who are truly passionate about the mission.
You strive to invent and embrace new marketing strategies that can create social impact or awareness.
Instead of looking outward, you tend to look within your network to create an army of loyal evangelists.
You know from the onset that you have limited funding so you learn to use it wisely and most effectively.
CREATENYC:
2. Instagram meetups are getting more and more popular, you've hosted one of the largest NYC instagram meetup in history. What are the advices that you can share with others?
SAUNAK SHAH:
The sole objective of a successful meet is a create a friendly, inclusive and fun environment for all attendees. No meet is too large or too small. The value proposition is to connect with like-minded individuals that share the same or a similar passion with a clear take-away; Connect, Contribute and Share. We started with our first meet with about 50 attendees which grew to over 300 at the next meet. Since then, we have had co-hosted meets in Florida, Singapore and looking forward to one in Iceland.
CREATENYC:
3. What was your worst day/experience as a founder?
SAUNAK SHAH:
The best experience as a Founder was to be able to recruit a team of talented professionals, who are also friends and enjoy what they do. I don't think I've really had a bad experience or a worst day. I think it's relative to how you look at it. The best things can happen even within the hardest of circumstances.
CREATENYC:
4. We talked a lot about community, whats your one piece of advice on engaging with followers/community?
SAUNAK SHAH:
We are still working on ways to make the experience seamless, yet if there was one thing that would drive engagement, it would be to create a platform where your supporters feel truly inclusive; to feature and recognize work across the board, irrespective of location, experience or gear - just sheer talent!
CREATENYC:
5. One piece of interesting/unique fact about you that most people don't know.(example, joe was a professional magician for 5 years)
SAUNAK SHAH:
I've been on 4 summit expeditions in the Himalayas and have staked the Indian flag at an altitude of 19,000ft. Pretty nuts yea?