Two Women and Their Journey From Being Friends To Co-Entrepreneurs

Mallika and Shivani truly believe that they are like the “Yin and Yang". They have a calming effect on each other, which really helps balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. These two young, ambitious, and driven ladies are co founders for Mashtag Creative Company, a brand consultancy firm. They describe themselves as “The Storytellers”. 


People don’t buy what you sell; they buy how you make them feel.

Mashtag makes it real, relevant and relatable. Their idea is to sell how the brand makes one feel rather than what it actually sells. At Mashtag they string the brand story through every single touch point there is between the brand and its end user. They believe in substantial content marketing, which works as a pull strategy for the brand. The consumer is compelled to come back for more. They are driven by strong content and guarantee ROI, because just marketing can't guarantee any returns. It is a myth they happen to bust every now and then.

Mallika Dhingra, 25 years, has completed her Masters in Advertising and PR from Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi (gold medalist) and Bachelors in English Honors from Hansraj College, Delhi University. Shivani Gulati, 30 years, has completed her MBA from Symbiosis Center of Media and Communication, Pune and Bachelors in English Honors from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University 

In today’s world social media offers and plays an advantageous part when it comes to communicating with customers. However with countless companies vying for attention on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the competition can be brutal. So what differentiates them from others is that the way they tell the story; it is most effectively put together.

In the last one year they had phenomenal brands on their deck: Four Points by Sheraton Chain of Hotels, Hyatt Group, DAFNI hair straightening brush etc. There milestone campaigns have been  WEDMEGOOD , FASHOM, Ritika Bharwani  and Qbik.

Their key strengths are;


Strong belief in their own self, hence risks don’t daunt them and that is what pushes them each time to move ahead. Secondly, they always take decisions together. Mallika says, “In our case, the fact that both of us showed equal faith in each other, to take the plunge, quit our jobs based on the trust we had in each other. That is extremely important.” Shivani adds, “To be able to always trust your partner is the key to a strong partnership. Today, we are more like sisters joint at the hip, as once infamously quoted by one of our dear clients.”

Mallika and Shivani started their journey at an agency where they were working together for about 8 months. One afternoon they decided to go and present a pitch to the CEO of the Nidra Hospitality Group, Mr. Sunil Ghadiok. Nidra Hospitality is the Group that manages some of the regional STARWOOD hotels among other prominent hotels in India. He agreed to meet and hear them out.  

They first pitched to him, then to his core managerial team and finally to the hotel operational team. In the span of just a few days, they were totally sold on the idea. Mr. Sunil Ghadiok was more like a mentor to them than a client. Since then, Nidra group has been one of their most trusted clients, as they were the first ones who had the courage to believe in these two young women, who wanted to start out on their own.

Without a second thought, they put down their papers at their previous firm. They had made a promise to themselves, the day they could lock even a single client, they would just quit. The key to their healthy relationship is that, as people they are the kind, who always will call “a spade a spade”. Nothing works better for them than honesty. They follow this approach with the clients, employees, ex bosses, and themselves too.

From a well paying salary of Rs. 50,000 per month they took up a client who agreed to pay Rs. 35,000 per month. This meant that was their initial starting capital to withdraw salaries for themselves and also pay salaries for employees whom they hired.

As of now, it’s been over an year and a half since that day. At that time because they couldn’t afford to pay office rents, work started from their home and now they have moved to a two-room office in Greater Kailash 1, New Delhi. They have 10 employees who stand with them through thick and thin! 

In any business, there is a common rule that is followed i.e. Deliver only to the extent you are being paid to. The whole concept of walking the extra mile or doing what must rightfully be done in the interest of the brand, even if the client isn’t paying for it, is considered a bad business call. 


They turned this whole thing around with Mashtag and evolved the whole client – agency relationship. They are in the industry to grow brands first. How and what they are being paid isn’t the prime factor. They realised going that extra mile in the interest of the brand always lead to the client hiring them back. That initial struggle and effort to make the brand grow, without a doubt the client would make sure that the agency also grows with them. 


Mallika and Shivani are so passionate about their work that, they don’t know what Monday Blues are? “Because after 2 days of weekend break, Monday is the day they look forward to the most, as that means getting back to a place which is their own and where it all began. 


The most challenging bit at work has been when they didn’t have any staff or a team. In those periods, they would stay up the whole night, learnt how  to work on creatives and at times went around delivering things to clients like delivery boys.  But all this never made them feel small or less as people. 


Mallika says, “In our professional lives, there are times when our opinion isn’t valued especially when it is a male dominated discussion. The ironic yet funny part is, when these exact same people who earlier felt didn’t need our opinion, are often the ones who come back to us. The same people want to hire us at a price we demand for our services.” 


Shivani Says, “Being duly credited for what is rightfully yours, that is your work, is a far greater sense of achievement than being paid for it. Try to find a common ground where your passion meets an untapped opportunity in the market, viola you have your big business idea ready.”