Behind The Boardroom: With Pranjal Mishra (Your Brand Mate’s CEO)

Who said that extroverts can only become good entrepreneurs? Pranjal Mishra is setting an example that being an introvert or extrovert has nothing to do with entrepreneurship. Hey folks, once again, I’m here to share my experience with you. 

Recently, I got a chance to interview one of the young entrepreneurs, Pranjal Mishra, from India. Moreover, the thing I have learned is that every founder has a different set of stories and experiences. 

So, the purpose of writing this article is that I want to bring the most unfiltered and unscripted talks to your screens. So before I share my honest opinion on my interaction. Let’s know

Who is Pranjal Mishra?

A: Pranjal Mishra is an engineer, founder, and CEO of Your Brand Mate. Pranjal, along with his team, provides Design, Animation, and Product Development services to DeepTech companies.

Furthermore, around 80% of their clients are from HealthCare and HealthTech companies. And the rest 20% are from growing fields like AI, ML, etc. 

Pranjal is a young entrepreneur who lives in India’s Silicon Valley, aka Banglore. He’s had lots of ups and downs while building his agency from scratch, but he’s learned a ton from his experiences. Furthermore, that is what we have discussed in the interview. So, let’s start with my first question. 

Q: You have to be an extrovert to be an entrepreneur. What are your thoughts on this?

A: The first question I thought of was breaking some stereotypes. So, I asked Pranjal about the stereotype that only extroverts can be a good entrepreneurs. So, Pranjal, who considers himself an introvert, gave a very insightful answer. 

Basically, he said, it has nothing to do with being an extrovert or introvert. As Pranjal shared, according to the situation, he used to switch personalities. When he’s thinking or making something creative, he chooses to be that introverted creative mind.

Furthermore, when he has to represent himself or his company in front of people, he becomes an extrovert. For example, the podcast we shot. So, it’s all about switching personalities according to the situation. 

Q: How was the idea of Your Brand Mate born? 

A: So, the idea behind his venture was not another 3 AM thought. During his college days, he was inspired by a famous web series in India called “The Pitcher,” and that’s how he got to know about starting a company and what a start-up is. 

Since he was known for being a great freelancer, he thought of turning his freelance gigs into a service agency. He worked really hard and never gave up, and his idea eventually came to life.

Q: What is your advice to people who want to start freelancing? 

A: So, the advice that Pranjal gave, and I completely agree with it. He said that it’s not just about the money, but it’s the reliability. If a client is trusting a contractor or a freelancer for some work. It’s the responsibility of the person to present their client with the best quality. 

This will not only create a good trust and bond between the person and the client. But, also, you might get bigger projects and more referrals from your client. In this way, your reputation in the industry will gradually increase. And yeah, money is always a by-product of your hard work. 

“You don’t need many clients; you need a couple of good clients who trust you and may refer you to other good clients.” Insightful thought by Pranjal Mishra

Q: What is the technology/software you can’t live without?

A: This is one of my favorite questions that I ask from every founder I meet. Pranjal uses Notion for his every documentation, which he quotes as “His second brain.” Then there is Asana for task management and My Calander. All these tools help him boost his productivity. 

Apart from productivity, Figma is the tool he brainstorms his ideas and Unreal Engine for boosting his creativity. I am pretty sure that all the tech-savvy people will relate a lot. 

Q: What is your salary, and how do you manage your expenses?

A: Yeah Yeah!! Don’t judge me. I know I ask this question a lot. So, I’ve asked this question to Pranjal also. But yeah, I won’t reveal it here (For that, you have to watch the podcast). 

But yeah, living in Banglore where the cost of living is very high. Pranjal has mastered the art of managing his expenses. As they are a young and growing agency, Pranjal only takes a certain amount that is required to fulfill his basic needs. Rest everything goes back to the development of the company. 

Q: Where do you see yourself and your company in the next 5 years?

A: Yes, once again, I’m back with the classic interview question, but this time it’s UNO reverse. So, Pranjal chose to go for quality over quantity. Let me explain. 

For him, he’s not aiming to have hundreds or thousands of employees working for his firm. Instead, he’s looking for a handful of self-efficient people who can vibe on ideas and vibe over building things. Moreover, not just work but also vibes over books, movies, and a lot more.

So, those who think that the word “Vibe” is just for personal fun. Pranjal just defined how you can vibe in your professional life as well. Such an amazing vision. 

Q: If you weren’t a founder, what would be your profession?

A: So, other than being an entrepreneur, Pranjal shared his wish to be a corporate lawyer. It’s one of the most important roles for any small or big firm. The reason being, in every now and then, a lawyer is needed to handle all the legal work. 

A corporate lawyer plays a vital role and a relief to the founders to make and execute any decisions without worrying about any external hindrance. 

Q: How do you destress yourself? 

A: As I say, stress is always a co-passenger in an entrepreneur’s journey. So Pranjal shared his ways to destress himself. He prefers to listen to his favorite songs while taking cold showers.

Moreover, he loves to take his dog for a walk. Vibing over music is something that he does most of the time. 

Q: How do you manage your personal relationships?

A: Pranjal was honest here and told me that he’s still learning it. This felt very natural because, being a young entrepreneur, you cannot focus on every aspect of your life at once. We have to set priorities.

So, Pranjal is at a phase where his company requires a lot of attention. But at the same time, his parents and his partner. So he’s learning and trying his best to manage everything. Not every day, but whenever he gets time. 

Q: If you get a chance to start your company from scratch, what will be the approach?

A: I ask this question every time because I personally get to know where they did wrong or what could be done better. So, Pranjal said that he lacked confidence in overall work quality in the beginning.

Many times, Pranjal used to underestimate himself and his work, though the quality was good. So, if he starts once again, he will have faith in his work and more confidence in his skills and vision. 

Q: What are your thoughts on AI replacing our job?

A: So, Pranjal said in a sarcastic note that after a decade or so, he might get replaced by an AI in his company. But, later, he defined why! He reminded the laws of nature. From time to time, we humans have evolved, and once again, it’s time for us to evolve. 

As natural selection works, some change according to the situation, and some get left behind. So, in the same way, we have to evolve according to the needs of the moment so that we might not get replaced. To which I added that there is no running away or going back, the time has come to accept the change. 

Q: What will be your tips for the young generation who wants to dive into this entrepreneurial journey?

A: Pranjal shared a tip that he got from someone else. But I’ll be honest, it’s changed my perspective. He quoted that it just takes 20 seconds of courage to convince ourselves to make a decision. 

Decisions like sending a mail, making a call, dropping a cold DM. You never know when you find your first project or job opportunity. So, don’t let that 20 seconds go out of your hands. Lastly, Pranjal expressed that these 20 seconds changed and made his life. 

He converted his 20-second decisions into actions, and the rest is history. 

Author’s Verdict 

Interviewing Pranjal was more like an ice-breaker. Here, we talked about freelancing stereotypes, personality stereotypes, self-doubts, failures, success, and whatnot. It is something that I would highly recommend to all young entrepreneurs to read and watch.

This article is just a glimpse of what we have discussed in the interview. If you want to hear it from the man himself, then I would highly recommend you to watch the podcast. 

Lastly, stay tuned because we are coming up with more founders and their unique experiences. But there must be a question in your mind. Why listen to us? The answer is that our interviewees are completely unscripted/unfiltered, and we talk about the real-life challenges that these people faced and solved. 

See you in the other one. 

Next, You may also read about behind the boardroom with Vedant Singh Thakur (My Content Cafe’s CEO)