In this episode of the NextFem podcast I sit down with Namisha Bahl, VP of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at Mogul. Mogul is an award winning platform providing resources to 18 million women per week across 196 countries. Namisha and I talk about digital marketing, what it takes to build an audience and community of women at a global scale and Mogul’s secret sauce to building a world class millennial workforce.
Give it a try! You have nothing to lose.
Namisha Bahl’s attitude toward implementing new ideas is a fundamental key to her success. When she had a radical idea for changing the way that Make A Difference was impacting children, she went at it with a spirit of, “You have nothing to lose; give it a try!” She was able to meet opposition and skepticism and push through until she succeeded. Now she wants to impart that same spirit to other women, by inviting their ideas and empowering them to pursue their goals. In this episode, Namisha shares the powerful message of how she accomplishes this through the community of women on Mogul.
How her passion for women around the world motivated Namisha Bahl to become part of Mogul
Namisha Bahl was first attracted to Mogul when she met the founder, Tiffany Pham, and discovered that they shared the same values and passion. When she saw the click rates for ads on the site, and read letters from women who were participating, Namisha realized that the site was meeting a great need in the worldwide community of women, and she wanted to be part of it. In this episode, Namisha talks about what it is like to connect with women from around the world who are learning that they can do more than what their culture says.
What are the secrets to building a community of women like Mogul?
When I asked Namisha Bahl about the secrets of building a massive community of women like Mogul, she did not talk about their business plan or their advertising structure. Instead, she laid out Mogul’s definition of what it means to be authentic and to prize their users over everything else. Listen in to find out how seeing their users as real people with problems that need to be solved, instead of as just “users,” has enabled Mogul to build a thriving community where women learn something every time they come on the site.
Mogul’s business model: Everyone’s voice should be heard
Namisha Bahl and Tiffany Pham worked hard to maintain the culture of their company as it was growing very quickly. One value that sets Mogul apart is their commitment that every voice should be heard. In this episode, Namisha explains how their team shares ideas and solutions and has respect for each other’s knowledge and expertise. Listen to this interview to discover how Mogul created this atmosphere of open feedback, and how this openness has been a vital factor in their success.
Episode Highlights
- 2:12 – Namisha’s story: giving hope to children living in dire poverty in India
- 9:15 – How Namisha overcame the challenges of developing an innovative program for India’s youth
- 14:14 – From India to NYC: how Namisha found her way to a career in digital marketing and brand strategy
- 18:11 – How her passion for helping women guided her to join Tiffany Pham and the Mogul team
- 24:51 – What are the secrets to building a community of women like Mogul?
- 28:48 – What is Mogul getting right that other communities can learn from?
- 30:52 – The challenges Namisha confronted in scaling the Mogul community
- 34:15 – How to build a world class millennial workforce (tip: everyone’s voice should be heard)
Resources Mentioned
- Namisha’s e-mail: [email protected]
- Mogul: Website, Twitter
- Make a Difference Foundation
1. Favorite book for women?
- David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell
- Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras
2. Favorite self-care hack?
- “Reading about topics I don’t work on.”
3. Best piece of advice and who gave it to you?
- “Fail Forward. It’s OK to fail at something as long as you’re learning from it.” – Tiffany Pham, Mogul founder and CEO
4. Female CEO or thought leader you’re into right now?
- Tiffany Pham, founder and CEO of Mogul
- Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
- Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of Pepsico
5. One piece of advice you’d give your 5 years younger self?
- “It’s OK to make mistakes. Don’t be scared. Take it as it comes.”
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