Malini Agarwal is the founder and creative director of MissMalini Entertainment, a multiplatform positive new media company based in Mumbai India, that creates exciting content and experiences to appeal to the digital generation. She is also a digital influencer, a TV host, an entrepreneur and a best-selling author. Initially starting as a blog, Malini began her company on her laptop 10 years ago. I have been a fan of Bollywood movies since I was a child and discovered Malini’s blog a few years after she began her venture into social media. We arranged a zoom call where she kindly shared with me her journey from being a backup dancer to founder of India’s first independent digital media company.
Please could you tell us about your background and how you started Miss Malini?
My father was a diplomat, so I grew up traveling all over the world; from Somalia and Lebanon to Germany, Greece, the Ivory Coast and Bulgaria. I started my career as a backup dancer but in 2000 I moved to Mumbai to join MTV India as their digital channel head. Later, I became a radio jockey and programming director and eventually, the digital content head at Channel V India. While I was working in radio, I had a gossip column called “Malini’s Mumbai” to document all the fun experiences I was having in Mumbai. Over time, I taught myself photoshop, copywriting skills and learnt the most important lesson of my career: how to connect with people.
“There’s still a lot to do to level the playing field and that is something we’re dedicating a significant amount of our company resources towards.”
In 2008, I founded my blog, MissMalini.com as a hobby. Today, the platform has become one of the most popular go-to entertainment, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle platforms in India. One of the series I have created is 'Malini's Girl Tribe', stemming from my Facebook group of the same name for women to connect, talk to, and empower each other.
How has the transition from blogging to running your own company been like?
No two days have ever been alike, right from the days of blogging in my pyjamas on my sofa to interviewing the biggest Bollywood stars. I always used to wonder why people started their own businesses instead of working for big companies, however I realised how satisfying it is when I did it myself. When I started my blog in 2008 there was no concept of a “digital influencer”. I took my inspiration from sites like Perez Hilton and Pop Sugar and decided to give my content a personal voice.
“When I started my blog in 2008 there was no concept of a “digital influencer””
Please can you tell us about your journey in establishing Miss Malini Entertainment?
Our story is one of passion and perseverance. When we first proposed quitting our jobs and starting a digital media company in 2012 most people thought we were crazy. Remember that Facebook and Twitter were barely getting started in India at the time, let alone professional lifestyle blogging. Internet connectivity was still a severely restricting factor. Digital marketing made up less than 2% total advertising spend and there was no workforce to draw from because there was no industry yet to speak of. At the same time, people who were close to us could see our passion, our solid business plan, and the successful examples from other markets.
“...most people thought we were crazy... Facebook and Twitter were barely getting started in India at the time, let alone professional lifestyle blogging.”
With a well thought out plan, a great team and excellent execution, over time we were able to bring people over to our side. From there, our growth was informed by a mix of what our audience told us they wanted, the dynamics of a changing media and technology landscape, our personal instincts, and a healthy dose of good luck. The blog quickly expanded into adjacent fashion, beauty and lifestyle categories as the readership rose. Alongside the blog we also started creating content tailored to different social media platforms, creating what was then India’s first independent digital media company.
In 2012 we took on a small angel investment which is when MissMalini Entertainment underwent its first phase of growth. During this time, our Company became the first digital company to cross over into linear television, launching our new show ‘MissMalini’s World’ on TLC in 2014. We went on to create two other shows for Times Network and Viacom. In December 2017 we raised a pre-Series A from NEA (USA) and Orios Venture Partners following which we have grown the core content business and established a market-leading influencer marketing practice.
Please can you tell us more about Malini’s Girl Tribe?
With fame comes immense responsibility and I take this very seriously. My aim is for all of us to strive to uplift our sisterhood rather than bring each other down. As a crucial step in this direction, MissMalini has launched a campaign, Malini's Girl Tribe - a place for women to network, share, support and connect.
“My aim is for all of us to strive to uplift our sisterhood rather than bring each other down... I wanted to allow women to have a safe, empowering and uplifting space to connect and grow.”
Over the years I have seen the social media fatigue that has set in and become more and more cognisant of the difficulties that women in India face, especially online, with the incessant and unsolicited trolling. That is why in 2018 we launched ‘Malini’s Girl Tribe’, a thriving women’s social network. Through this platform I hope to transform social media into a better place, filtering out incessant and unsolicited trolling and allowing women to talk, share, support, network, connect, empower and inspire each other in every way possible. I wanted to allow women to have a safe, empowering and uplifting space to connect and grow.
I drew the inspiration for Malini’s Girl Tribe from a number of obstacles which I encountered throughout my career, including a lot of spoken and unspoken bias in the professional arena. It’s no secret that women have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition, that said, being one of the few female founders and leaders in India has also gained a certain share of attention that’s been helpful to us. There’s still a lot to do to level the playing field and that is something we’re dedicating a significant amount of our company resources towards. To all the fellow women who are fighting the same battle, know your strengths. Women have an incredibly high EQ which resonates deeply with millennials today. When someone asks you what it’s like to be a female leader, tell them what it’s like to be a leader. Female or otherwise.
What are some of the principles that you promote regarding social media?
Social media is a distorted mirror of the happy moments of our life. It only reflects the highlights without revealing how we are actually feeling that day. At a recent TEDx speech that I delivered, I stressed upon the concept of social fatigue that is eventually taking over the internet. As a role model, I would like to encourage everyone to inject a bit of kindness and empathy into what you post on social media. Delete the negative trolls and feeds. Remember, what you post today is going to be on the internet forever and it has an impact far greater than you think it does.
There are three rules that I have come to follow based on my experience as an influencer who has also had her fair share of controversies; ‘never post anything about someone that you couldn’t say to their face,’ ‘spark joy by what you post’ and ‘remember followers are people too’.
“My objective is to uplift and encourage, my team call themselves ‘a faction of dreamers’, who are always looking to push the envelope and stay ahead of the game.”
Malini says these rules help her decide on the kind of content she wants to promote and how to promote it without losing sight of their core values. We felt there was often too much negativity around certain topics. On the business end, we wanted to offer brands and advertisers more targeted and effective ways of engaging our audience without alienating them and we wanted to create a sustainable, homegrown legacy brand that we could be proud to call our own. My objective is to uplift and encourage, my team call themselves ‘a faction of dreamers’, who are always looking to push the envelope and stay ahead of the game.
What are some of the most important lessons you have learnt?
A few important lessons of entrepreneurship that I have learnt are that investors invest in people not in businesses and that true leadership is about empathy and kindness. I have understood that you should never get too comfortable at any time - do not live in your own little bubble. Everyone will tell you that your team is the most important aspect of any successful company, and I couldn’t agree more. This means not only finding the right people but creating a corporate culture that allows them to share in your dreams and helps them achieve theirs at the same time. Lastly, I’ve learnt to hustle and hustle hard! As an entrepreneur you will have to work ten times harder than everybody else.
You have already achieved so much with Miss Malini, what are your hopes for the future?
As MissMalini continues to grow beyond my dreams, my journey will continuously lead me to tread different paths. I’m currently in the process of writing my second book with Harper Collins.
“My end game is a softer, kinder world – virtual or otherwise, where women uplift each other and rise together. And have a lot of fun doing it!”
I hope that my legacy will be a homegrown brand built with empathy and kindness. I hope to leave behind a community that will far outlive me. Malini’s Girl Tribe is a piece of my heart and is already fixing the internet experience for women, especially Indian women, in a significant way. I believe that MissMalini Entertainment has all the right ingredients to make this community soar and succeed. My end game is a softer, kinder world – virtual or otherwise, where women uplift each other and rise together. And have a lot of fun doing it!
You can find out more about Malini Agarwal at https://www.missmalini.com/
Photography courtesy of Malini Agarwal
