Interview with Arushi Gupta | Entrepreneur | Leader | Attorney | Founder at Satyaki Legal
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I am an advocate who started her career 8 years ago, in 2016. After gaining experience of working with senior advocates, I eventually started working as a partner with a firm and now 2 years ago, I started with my own firm, Satyaki Legal.
When in my career, I had almost worked in the domains I wanted to practice in, run a team of my own, I believed I could start my own firm. We started in the last month of 2021, where from finding the firm name to getting the website and team members was done, we are now a humble team of 5 with an established portfolio of start-ups and corporates to manage and work with.
In the industry, I have worked with a wide array of firms- from E- Grocery companies to Café and from Personal Care brands to Clothing Line- Ups, I have worked with each of the sectors and have assisted them in strategizing their intellectual property in line with the laws as well as business operations.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Any journey that we embark upon is determined not just by destiny but also by our hard work and conviction. While in college I always believed that achieving finality in work, i.e., conclusion of tasks would give me satisfaction.
I always foresaw that I would be able to resolve their legal tangles and carve a pathway that was strategically and legally sound for them. To be able to learn that, I joined law firms. However, being a small part of the entire transaction did not help me achieve my goal.
So, while I believe it was my destiny that led me towards entrepreneurship, I also made sure that at each step and pedestal of my career, I learned my way through it and towards this position that I have finally achieved.
I worked at trial courts to get my basics right, worked on agreements, interacted with clients often to better understand their needs and also made sure I took up business development tasks at my workplaces side by side.
I chose entrepreneurship because the idea of Intellectual Property in my head was different. I also have a certain mannerism in which I want the team to learn the work and be led- hence in order to practice what I preach, Satyaki Legal was started.
‘Satyaki Legal’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
Okay, so before you learn about Satyaki Legal, you should know that I and my peers all love reading and we have varied favorite genres that we prefer in books.
While I love reading mythology, a few of my friends like reading fantasy and fiction. Therefore, we resorted to our favorite genres while looking up cues for deciding the name of the Firm.
The principles that we wanted to rely on are bravery and spearheadedness (sine qua non for entrepreneurship), truthfulness (most needed for law firms and consultants). We thus found the name “Satyaki.”
According to Hindu mythology, the word “Satyaki” is the name of Lord Krishna’s Charioteer and Chieftain, responsible for leading his army into battle. The name therefore derives its meaning from the very virtues that the mythological “Satyaki” stands for. It also denotes our willingness to be our clients’ charioteers directing them in the right direction.
What does your company specialize in?
Our Firm offers services specifically in the domain of IPR, and also the ones revolving around it. We provide registration services, opinions on strategizing the use of intellectual property, and services related to protection of the intellectual property, like litigation, investigation, etc.
We also render corporate advisory and assist the corporates in negotiating and drafting of the terms of the agreement.
So, the aim of the Company is to take in hand the matters and strategy of the Clients’ Intellectual Property right from its inception and operate it rightfully in a manner so as to monetize in the most profitable form.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
For me, my team keeps me going. There are days when I don’t feel like working, like everyone else, I too have my low days, but it’s my Team and their support that keeps me motivated.
The Company, being really new in this gigantic industry, faces a lot of challenges, and we meet each of them in their own mannerisms. One of the biggest challenges we face is to gain the trust of the new clients who may not know us. In that scenario, the expertise that we have comes in handy and the edge of management skills I have gained over time whilst assisting the clients in varied sectors comes in handy.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
The biggest motivation in my daily life has been my parents. Despite the circumstances, no matter how hard they were, they never gave up- not on their education, their career or family.
It’s my parents (both of them being government employees) who’ve taught me that honesty prevails over desires, putting a restraint on our needs makes life simpler and that no matter what just keep going. Sincerity and skills will ultimately pay off.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
> Reading; almost everything- books, billboards, ads, articles.
> Before putting forth your views, listening to others and understanding their version no viewpoint is wrong.
> Being strong-headed and having faith in a person/ situation will always help you find a way to solve the problem or get things done.
> Communication is the key to solving most of the problems in our life.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I always believe that there is no end point to success. Nothing defines it, other than our own satisfaction. So, to get the work done, moving ahead and being happy is the key to success.
So, each entrepreneur has to be in love with their work that they do and be passionate about it in order to survive. Never getting bowed to hurdles in life and taking each incident with an all-embracing attitude and learning from it is my secret.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
The only advice that I have for the younger ones is to be a fighter and keep evolving. Embrace the change and do what is needed in the moment. Also, in hard times, your learning, your skills and morals will act as your anchor- they will hold you and not let you get carried away. Hold on to that firmly and that will make sure you land where you are destined to be.
Last but not least, what are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
I’ve learned not to compare myself and work on myself daily improving ounce by ounce every day. Adhering to timelines that society sets for us will only makes us more troubled so it’s better to lead our own life in our own way.
Next what I have learned is that there is no shortcut to achieving your goals- do what is needed and not make excuses. The doers find their way and others find excuses.
Last but not least, everyone has their own struggles and the only way to make your life less complicated is to talk and find your own way out-solve and not be silent.
