“The difference between having a job and having a vocation is that a job is some unpleasant work you do in order to make money, with the sole purpose of making money,” Alan Watts once rightfully pointed out. The recipe to true happiness is thus a combination of many delicate pieces, of which a fulfilling job is one of the mainstays. It is a stroke of rare luck to meet a person who both lives his dream and professes it. Sourabh Sharma’s life is both an adventure and an inspiration for those of us who want to live a happy and fulfilled life. “If you know what you can do well, you can laugh at what you can’t do well, but if you don’t know what you can do well, then your life becomes a tragic joke,” shares Sourabh of his recipe for happiness and success. Sourabh is a rare gem being an entrepreneurial prodigy with a taste for adventure. The life that he led since childhood formed his free cosmopolitan spirit and laid the groundwork for his many spectacular business achievements.
He was born in Tanzania to Indian and British roots, and from a very young age spent most of his time traveling the world with his family. He also had the benefit of a great education, getting his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania—one of the coveted Ivy leagues—and an MBA from the prestigious Wharton Business School and the Rotterdam School of Management. The first-rate education in combination with Sourabh’s naturally inquisitive mind propelled him to becoming an acknowledged thought leader in the world of modern-day digital marketing, with a particularly strong grasp of Gen Z audiences, which he has displayed at topical conferences and national and international events.
Standing out among his multiple businesses in the field of digital marketing is FIG or out (a pun on “figure it out”) a platform that offers a comprehensive package of marketing services encompassing social media and influencer marketing, paid social advertising, content creation, brand strategy formulation, and more. In unison with its logo, the platform treats success as a science and delivers results, many of which have been featured in Allure Magazine and Global Cosmetics Industry (GCI) Mag. "You have to understand what audiences may need or look for, empowered by technology, while breaking through the ad clutter, yet being attractive, relevant and with matching values,” says Sourabh. The ingenious founder has applied the principle of being in sync with a changing digital landscape, and with the ever-evolving “pulse” of Gen Z, to launch and scale numerous businesses, making him a modern era renaissance man—with a tech edge. This leads us to listing out his ventures that are in disparate fields. “Originality is difficult, creativity is easy, but relevance is a b!tch,” he astutely notes.
Starting with Print All Over Me an apparel brand that offers the unmatched experience of creating your own one-of-a-kind garment by choosing from a multitude of styles and designs. PAOM is not just about ordering your next T-shirt, top, or leggings online, it’s about having a hand in designing your outfit. With the popularity of bespoke products on the rise, especially with younger generations, the company’s concept hits the nail on the trend-spotting head. “It is a fine segway that allows customization with all of its creativity, alongside the commerce side of scalability. I also love that over time it has grown into a community of artists who literally like to wear their art,” speaks Sourabh. Dot & Pin, his other project, identifies the coolest spots in any city based on influencers’ choices in order to support local companies and ventures. With a keen eye for business opportunities, Sourabh spotted this one where others missed the chance to “dot” the adventures and “pin” them on the map. Adding a whiff of fragrance to his range of creative work is the effervescent Histoires de Parfums, now under the umbrella of Europerfumes, where he heads and manages 6+ niche fragrances across North America.
As a freelance food critic, formerly with Bon Appetit, he used to judge food shows worldwide. Through his extensive travel, Sourabh is often seen as l'invite d’honneur at various events, galas, and fashion shows worldwide, such as Bazaar Icons New York, Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix, Sundance Film Festival, and Fashion Weeks in New York, Milan, Paris, and London. “When opportunity knocks on your door, you should throw it open and embrace it,” he remarks. With an amazingly keen eye for business opportunities and his famous aversion to monotony when it comes to forming and founding companies—as well as to his style preferences, location, and life in general—Sourabh is a vivid example of an inquisitive and tireless mind that certainly has many more surprises in store for the digital marketing space.
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