Written by Helené van Tonder
This week I called up Anusha Adappa to learn from her about superconnecting. She is the Head of Marketing and Business Development at Prakriti Herbals — a self-care brand founded by her mom more than 25 years ago. Anusha is currently focused on establishing Prakriti as an international brand. (I didn’t ask you this during our call, Anusha, but why is your mom not on leap.club?! Tell her we need her here! 😁)
Anusha had lots to say about the value she’s been getting from superconnects. When you read her story, however, there’s one thing that won’t be obvious to you. Towards the end of our conversation, Anusha told me that she, too, gets stuck when having to send a superconnect request. She doesn’t always know what to say, and sometimes she’s simply intimidated by the remarkable women on leap.club! 😱
I wanted to share this part of Anusha’s experience because many of us feel the same way. So if you’re one of us — a remarkable woman sometimes feeling a little shy or intimidated — I hope Anusha’s story below will give you courage and inspiration! 🚀
Now, over to some transcribed snippets from our conversation.
What do you love about leap.club, and superconnecting in particular?
Leap makes me feel like I have a gang of sisters who have my back! Whenever I talk to someone, it feels like they instantly become an ally, like they instantly start rooting for you. It’s amazing to have such support.
My business is at a stage where it’s a baby, and it’s a baby that needs a lot of help. Right now, I specifically need to learn from other B2C founders. Before leap, my only real option was to speak to my friends when I needed advice or input. And, grateful as I am for their willingness to help, they often don’t have the right experience. With leap it’s become so easy to connect with founders and other professionals from relevant sectors.
Having the right people to talk to is such a big driver for professional growth. Everyone wants this, but how do you get it? Leap fills that gap exceptionally well.
What’s your approach to superconnecting?
I see networking as a discipline — you have to take time out of your schedule to do it.
Initially, my approach to superconnects wasn’t that great, I think. I looked at it like I look at interactions on LinkedIn: What do I need for my business, what’s the objective, how can I get from this for myself and my company? But now I do it differently. I relax and focus on what I can learn from the conversation. With this approach, the whole process became a lot more enjoyable.
Furthermore, I try to connect with women from all sectors and spheres, not only those who are in my direct space. That makes for very enriching conversations. So many good things can come from superconnects! You really can’t plan it in advance. All I can do is be open and make sure I chat with other people often. Forget growth insights, these conversations might help me see and avoid possible disruptions.
Tell us about some cool superconnects you’ve had!
Ankita Asai, co-founder of Dusminute
When I reached out to Ankita, my intention was just to get to know her journey. But so many good things came from it! I was struggling to decide whether I should pump more capital into the business, for example. I talked to her about it, and she had such a rational approach to it. It helped me immensely. Sometimes you just need reassurance that you’re on the right track.
I learnt so much from her. At some point, I apologised, because it felt like I was interrogating her. “How did you this? How did you do that? What about this? Why did you do it that way?” But there she was, patiently listening to this hyper-woman at the end of her day, shooting questions at her. She was so nice about it. That conversation meant a lot to me.
Praatika Mehra, Strategy & Digital Marketing Executive at AmorePacific:
Praatika was working for Nykaa at the time, and I was trying really hard to get our products on Nykaa. Then, during my first week on leap, I saw her profile, and it said that she was handling Nykaa’s Natural category. I couldn’t believe it! I was thinking to myself: “Is this my lucky week? What is happening?” I mean, she could’ve been an executive of anything, but she happened to be an executive of the exact product category I’m focused on. So I obviously reached out to her.
She was so incredibly helpful. She put me in touch with the right team, and because of her, I got our products on the platform really quickly — probably 4 months faster than I would’ve otherwise.
Deepika Panicker, co-founder of Lawgicon:
Deepika runs a legal consultancy, and she reached out to me. We were chatting about law for startups and things like that. She told me about all these obvious legal things I have not looked into — like things on my website that I should’ve updated. She explained to me why it is important. If I didn’t have that conversation with her, who knows what could’ve happened? I wouldn’t have paid attention to that specific legal aspect at the time if it was not for the conversation with her.
