Mumbai: Behind every thriving start-up lies a team of exceptional individuals who transform ideas into reality, conquer the impossible, and craft excellent marketing campaigns that set the brand's foundation. But it's not just the force within the company; it's also about the partners and marketing experts who guide and support founders during the crucial early stages.
Meet Neel Shah, a marketing maverick with an impressive portfolio of serving over 100 brands and 20 start-ups in his illustrious 11-year career. Shah is the visionary founder and ‘chief mentor’ of Mentopreneur, a boutique brand consulting company dedicated to working extensively with funded start-ups, helping them navigate the path to growth from day zero.
"At Mentopreneur, our primary focus is to enhance value before valuation for start-ups" emphasises Neel.
Shah's journey as a marketing professional began at 19 when he co-founded an experiential marketing company during his early days. He subsequently joined JWT as one of the youngest executives, where he was entrusted with the mandates of renowned HUL brands such as Lux, Rin, and Sunsilk, earning accolades for his outstanding contributions.
Later, he became the first creative strategist at Schbang – India’s top marketing solutions company, working closely with advertising & business gurus Harshil Karia, Akshay Gurnani and Sohil Karia. During his tenure, Shah collaborated on award-winning creative campaigns and strategies for India's leading B2B and B2C brands, including Baskin Robbins, Nivea, Finolex Pipes, Godrej Expert, BBLUNT, and Rajasthan Royals, among others. Notably, he played a pivotal role in successfully launching Pidilite's Fevicol onto the digital media landscape.
“It's not easy to match the standards of fevicol advertising on digital and Neel has done that to a large extent; speaks volumes of his creative abilities and passion” - Pidilite Industries CMO Vivek Sharma.
In 2020, just before the pandemic and the subsequent startup boom, Shah embarked on a new venture by establishing Schbang Theta, Schbang's consumer-centricity and branding division. Leveraging his extensive experience with major brands, he developed tool books, processes, and workshops tailored to assist smaller brands and start-ups in achieving significant growth - RPSG’s Dr Vaidya’s, Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco, YoBoHo Media YouCurious were amongst the few brands he transformed.
"This decade belongs to Indian entrepreneurship and start-ups, and start-up founders require special attention that traditional advertising agencies lack" asserts Shah.
Continuing his quest for ground-breaking endeavours, Shah unveiled Mentopreneur—an enterprise committed to fostering the growth of start-ups and brands across all business verticals. Through comprehensive branding strategies, meticulous marketing guidance and asset planning, and performance marketing expertise, Mentopreneur acts as an invaluable extension of a brand's team, delivering highly customized services tailored to the specific needs of every start-up.
Neel Shah said, “Founders are very excited in the start and sometimes the excitement leads to chaos, it’s our job to steer that excitement towards clarity and focus. I keep saying - Go Inside, before you go outside”. "Over the past year, we have had the privilege of serving renowned names and working with exceptional brands, although I cannot disclose them just yet. Stay tuned for future updates," added Shah.
While the brand names remain under wraps, Neel Shah guarantees that they are poised to make a significant impact and are certainly worth keeping an eye on.
