TheGlitz ‘Super Woman’ Bhargavi Swami is an achiever. She is not only the Entrepreneur and CEO of Excel Corporation – an “all woman” HR and content consulting company, Bhargavi is also India’s leading Podcasters with her popular Business Podcast Show – People Who Matter, which is currently in the third season & features the best minds in the business. She has also authored India’s first book on Podcasting, “P for Podcast” & has recently launched a children’s animation show on YouTube – “Nick Ka Antariksh“.
A trained classical singer, Bhargavi champions many causes for women, such as gender equity at work, equal work for equal pay and equal opportunity. She has been bestowed the title of Women Entrepreneur of the year with ASSOCHAM, India – 2017 & 2018. So put your hands together for TheGlitz ‘Super Woman’ Bhargavi Swami!
Your journey has had many momentous milestones. Could you tell us about your life-changing journey that has moulded you to be what you are today?
– I joined my family business as an intern in the Marketing team and then identified areas of social entrepreneurship within the organization where we consciously hired women, so we can bring them back into the workforce and support them through their life journeys.
– I am the Entrepreneur of an all-women HR Consulting company that caters to Startups, SME’s, MSME’s and MNC’s. It is a competitive industry and we have always found ways to stand out in the market.
-Representing the Indian business community in International forums and meetings with ambassadors from countries like the UK, Argentina among others.
-Seeing my company, Excel Corporation feature among the top 5 HR Consulting companies in Bangalore and among the top 10 in India.
Could you list 3 of your major achievements?
– One of our biggest achievements was to set up a brand identity for our HR Services through India’s popular Business Podcast Show – People Who Matter. The Podcast currently has over 200k subscribers with over 2 million downloads across 4 seasons.
-Authored India’s first book on Podcasts called P for Podcast, it is an Amazon bestseller available in over 11 countries.
-Expanded it’s portfolio from Recruitment to Virtual HR Services for Startups, training and a brand new content division in 2022 with our foray into animation shows and fiction books.
What are the setbacks you have faced? How did you tackle these setbacks or challenges? And what lesson have you learned from it?
As an entrepreneur, especially a woman in business my challenges began when I first joined the business at 23. I was very young and I understood early on that a young woman is not taken seriously and there is always an expectation to have a man working either by her side or as her manager for her to be taken seriously. As a young professional, I could have taken it the wrong way however I realized that there were many things I had to learn even as a professional in business and that attitude saw me through many other hurdles.
When you look back, what are the three qualities in you that have helped you become what you are today?
I think every entrepreneur – man or woman – has to be of a special something to take failure and rejection in their stride and never give up. Resilience, hard work and an eye out for opportunities have been the three stand-out qualities that have seen me through some tough times and successful times.
Who are the people who have been the wind behind your wings?
I am truly blessed and lucky to have a great support system in my personal and professional life. My biggest strengths have been my family especially, my parents, sister and husband. My dad is my Business guru and he is a bigger feminist than I am. My husband, a partner at a leading law firm himself, has never once hesitated to encourage me or shine put the spotlight on me. When I decided to venture into adding content as part of my business strategy, It was my mother and sister who came forward as the first brainstorming, editing and market research team for us to launch the project. I am grateful to my extended family, an army of friends and mentors who have always been my biggest cheerleaders.
Lastly, if there was a quote to define you, what would it be?
Well, there are many quotes but I live by two that have defined my way of life:
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep but I have promises to keep
and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep.”
– Lines from the Poem: ‘Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening by Robert Frost
