Hello readers! We bring to you the voice you love, the voice you follow and most importantly the voice you look for when in doubt for new places, events, news and everything about Ahmedabad! The name less heard behind the page most talked about – Manan Shah, the Founder of Ahmedabad Live.
One question we often ponder upon when we see a successful business and the person behind it is, “Did this person always know what he wanted to do? Is this why he is so good at his work?”
Well, let’s go through what Manan has to share about his journey of being an entrepreneur and see what his journey of being successful is about!
“No one can teach you business. It is something you learn on your own through experiences.”
MANAN SHAH
An MBA from GLS University, Manan was born in a Gujarati business family in Ahmedabad. With a keen interest in Event Management, he was always inclined towards creating a space which is a one stop destination for the people of Ahmedabad – be it new food places, events in the city or places to visit; Manan wanted to create something which can act as a supporting tool to make plans for his fellow Amdavadis and everyone who plans to visit this largest city of Gujarat.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
A startup whose aim was to simply bring every update about Ahmedabad under one roof – celebrated its 6th anniversary this year!
Manan was known in his group and college as the person who gives instant updates. Someone who loved using snapchat and instagram, gave an inside view of an entire farewell to his seniors through a social media platform! And since then, the word ‘Live’ has stayed with him.
Manan founded Ahmedabad Live in 2017. He recalls his initial days as a venture started with the support of a few friends. When we all plan to start anything new, friends and family are the people we count on the most! Their love, support and faith in us is something that helps us sail through.
Manan too, had his friends supporting him with different things at work based on their skills. As years passed, Manan realised he had to start being on his own and stop relying on friends. From client interviews, posting on social media to designs and responding to queries, there was a time Manan did it all by himself.
THE CAREER CURVE
If not Ahmedabad Live, then what was the plan B?”
Three years had passed since Manan founded Ahmedabad Live and yet there was nothing significant coming out of it which could help him classify his work as a mainstream ‘business’ or a ‘career’ for him to keep it running. Coming from a business family, he knew clearly that he would have to shift to the family business if this didn’t work out.
This was also the time when the world was suffering with one of the most difficult times fighting the COVID-19 virus. The disruption, chaos and the confusion that the virus brought along with it is known to us all.
This wave of confusion filled with fear and worry, was the time when Ahmedabad Live had actually been able to serve the people of the city and around! Timely updates, city news, hospital bed availability and official information from the government was passed on to the people through Ahmedabad Live.
People trusted the source and reached out for help – which was addressed well by Manan and his team. Ahmedabad Live witnessed the following increase by 35% merely in a span of 3 months. There was no going back since then.
This difficult time helped Manan regain his confidence in his startup and see the potential of a business that comes out of goodwill!
“People’s love and faith in Ahmedabad Live has brought it where it is today.”
MANAN SHAH
IN THE CONSTANTLY CHANGING WORLD, HOW TO KEEP UP THE MOTIVATION?
The digital world has come with its own pros and cons. While it gives you the high of reaching thousands of people together, it also holds the potential to make you feel low and leave in a competitive state of success when you see others.
However, Manan’s take on social media and the growing reach of it is to keep up with the latest updates. He consciously chooses to follow the younger generations to learn and adapt from them. He strongly believes that it is through the younger minds that new ideas will be generated and there’s no question of not being able to learn despite being in the business for longer time than them.
A firm believer of hard work, Manan shares a few tips for everyone just out of college –
– Keep Exploring : The more you explore, the more you’ll know what you like and what you don’t.
– Have Patience : Everything may not always work out in your favour and that’s okay. Keep your patience high on those days and don’t react to the situation immediately.
– Work Hard : There’s no alternative to hard work. If you want to grow in your field, you must work hard to excel in it.
“Two most important things in business are hard work and confidence. Never lose the grip of either of them.”
MANAN SHAH
MOMENTS OF LOVE AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The journey of 0 to 150K followers on Instagram and the page to be approached first by anyone who seeks official updates, surely hasn’t been an easy one!
Did Manan always know he wanted to get here? The answer is no. Manan candidly shares with us about the times when he had not ‘planned’ things out this way. “I am not a person who ‘plans’ everything out. Because sometimes even if I have planned something, it doesn’t not work out the way I had imagined in my head!” It’s better to go with the flow and deliver your best in the given moment.
Starting with a simple motive to create a platform and make the best use of it, today Ahmedabad Live is followed by 150K followers, all of which are the result of an organic growth purely based on content!
“It’s not a numbers game for me and my team. We get happy with even one follower as we know we’ve been followed by someone since they believe in our content. Our focus has always been about the right and meaningful content. Today I am grateful and happy for my 150K followers. They are the symbol of our work and content that has been appreciated by the audience. I, along with the team, will continue to work on better content and deliver the best of things for our audiences.”
Talking about the success of Ahmedabad Live, the young entrepreneur finds joy and considers the best moment and achievement as the one where every time he hears his parents talking proudly about his page and work.
“Seeing my parents happy and proud of my work is my biggest achievement.”
ENTREPRENEURIAL VIEW ON TRENDS
Viral content, copied content, ChatGPT, trending reels, etc have become a part of every digital creator’s life. Know Manan’s take on a few of these things –
- How do you feel when you see some content copied from your page?
– It’s a fast world and I know people copy a few things from our page. However, I am okay with that since I know the official information was published on our page. - What do you think about ChatGPT? Do you think AI can eat away a lot of people’s jobs?
– It’s going to be tough as the use of ChatGPT grows and it seeps into the market. However, at the end of the day it’s still a robot. It can not read emotions. Hence it won’t be able to deliver things the way humans do. - Which skills are important in business as per you?
-Having management skills is one of the top things. Building and maintaining relationships is equally important in business. - Do you believe in the 9-5 job approach?
-No. It’s not something I follow but work hours are fixed for my team. - How do you manage if you receive information late in the night? Do you all start working in the given moment itself?
-With years, I have learnt certain things can wait. Not everything has to go out at the same time. It’s not a race. We believe in giving authentic information and that’s all that matters. I am content if someone else posts it out before us.
CONCLUSION
For Manan, his name comes second and business name comes first.
He would always want people to talk about Ahmedabad Live first and then about him.
Such has been the journey of a young entrepreneur who didn’t start with a plan, but with clear intentions and the result of which can be clearly seen in front of us! The ups and downs of an entrepreneurial journey is a phase no one can escape. It’s never going to be easy, but it’s always going to be worth it! The consistency, intentions and faith in yourself will help you shine on your path – sooner or later. The key is to know deep inside what you actually want from your business and thereby, gracefully face the challenges that come your way.
Manan Shah, is certainly someone who showed us all through his journey that indeed, “Hard work always pays off!”
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