Offbeat: Sanil Jain – A cricket buff harbouring filmmaking dreams

Adgully’s special feature section – ‘Offbeat’ – seeks to give a peek into the lesser known facets of our very well-known industry leaders. We present, in the industry leaders’ own words, an interesting read on areas that are not usually highlighted in regular media coverage – be it about their childhood days, secret skills that they possess, how they unwind from their hectic schedules, and much more. 

Sanil Jain is the Co-Founder of CupShup, along with Siddharth Singh. He currently helms talent development, new business development, new partnership and strategy at CupShup. He holds a BE (Electronics) and an MBA in Marketing and has previously worked with Amazon and Infosys. The problem-solving days of Siddharth Singh from Muzaffarpur and Sanil Jain, who hails from Bhopal, go way back to Chennai when they werestudying together for their MBA entrance exams. Since they first started out in November 2014 with their pilot campaign, they have associated with big names like Coca-Cola, Snapdeal, Finolex, Kotak Securities, ICICI Prudential, Viacom 18, Ola Cabs, Oyo Rooms, Urban Clap, Truly Madly, Swiggy, Google, Amazon and Uber. The Startup ended last financial year (FY 2017-18) with Rs 2.1 Cr in revenues. Cupshup is aiming to achieve a revenue target of Rs 5 Cr in FY’19. CupShup has done sales of over Rs 6.5 Cr since inception.

Jain always had an inclination towards entrepreneurship since his college days. He always tried creating business prospect out of situations where he felt there was an opportunity. Even during his college days, he tried his hand at various things and made some profits albeit at a very small level. 

His mission is to redefine the way brands communicate with their target audience by building unique sets of non-traditional and highly effective mediums. He aims to establish CupShup as the default BTL/offline advertising medium for brands/advertisers. 

A precious childhood trait that you still possess?
I still love listening to ghost stories. 

Ever wished you had superhero powers?
Oh, yes! I definitely wish that I could read someone’s mind. It will be a great rescue at work and sometimes at home! 

What is your biggest fear and how do you face it?
Relevancy is what I aspire for. In the age where one thing is new today and becomes obsolete tomorrow, I certainly do not want to work on things that can become irrelevant or work on ideas that are not impactful. 

A secret that you have which no one knows about?
Wondering how it would stay a secret anymore if I share it... Well! I would actually want to make a movie! 

What would one find in your playlist?
Most of my playlist is filled with songs of AR Rahman and Lucky Ali. 

Your go-to activity to relax?
Watching cricket matches. Live, highlights or old matches...nothing works better than cricket. 

What is the greatest lesson that you have learnt from life so far?
You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough. 

A social cause that you are most passionate about?
I’ve personally experienced the power of education. It makes you what you want to be and gets you where you wish to be. Illiteracy and education are certain social causes that I deeply believe in. As a society, it is the responsibility of one and all to look out for others, especially the less fortunate ones. 

What’s the one thing that you would like to change about yourself?
I am a very committed night owl. Though I am thoroughly dedicated to my night life, I would definitely love to grow some tolerance towards mornings. 

If not the Co-founder of CupShup, what would you have been?
A stand-up comedian, maybe. Well you see, I’d practically suck at any other job than this and so the next best option is to make fun of what others are doing. Simple. 

What are the three apps on your mobile that you couldn’t live without?
WhatsApp, Gmail and The Ken. 

Any content/ film or book you saw or read recently and why?
I came across this movie called ‘Seven Years in Tibet’. This movie touched me and helped me see things in a new light. It teaches one to embrace life, see things through a spiritual point of view and presses on the power of humbleness. 

Which two organisations outside your own do you know the most people at and why?
Apart from my clients, I think it has to be TCS and Infosys. These were the biggest recruiters during my engineering days and invariably most of friends/ acquaintances are still working with either of them. 

Two things about this industry you don’t like or don’t understand?
What I don’t like? Well, that’d be a common issue: the client would wants work to be done yesterday, but they’d like to pay for it later, preferably months later if possible. 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Somewhere in the woods, close to nature.