Shabnum Khan: Synonymous with strong will power

Shabnum Khan, an entrepreneur who carries an undying zeal to lead dynamic startups like Mandrake Mydia and 750AD Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. Khan is a versatile entrepreneur in many ways. She comes with a decade-long experience and is an expert in the field of communication and PR. But she always wanted to serve the community, and thus, returned to the same through her multi-faceted endeavors. A mass communication graduate, Khan gained experience with leading international PR firms during her initial years. And, in no time, she laid the foundation of her own PR firm- Mandrake Mydia in 2018, through which she successfully catered to a wide range of clients from healthcare to startups to education and the list goes on. She now aims at expanding both Mandrake Mydia and 750AD Healthcare with a conscious effort to help the society at large.

Being an extrovert, Shabnum loves spending time with people around her. The lockdown did not let her zeal and enthusiasm go down, she gained insight by reading books and surfing the internet for information and knowledge throughout this period. Like any other young woman entrepreneur, she too feels that her strongest pillar of support is her family. She believes, "In our pursuit to achieve success, we must always focus on what we can do to serve those who are neglected or side-lined, and do not share the privileges of living a comfortable life like us. It is therefore, our responsibility to help those who need us the most."

Shabnum, in an exclusive conversation with The Hans India, says some intresting topics in her journey. Let's have a look into it.

What was the idea behind starting 750AD Healthcare?

The Healthcare Leaders have over the decades focused on ensuring that the medical procedures, equipment, and staff recruitment processes are developed in a way that they offer optimal quality and minimize the risks and cost involved in such processes. However, at the same time it is also necessary that special impetus is laid on the need for a transparent system offering unbiased information to the patients. Several industries have already adapted to such processes that provide a transparent working mechanism to help the patients/customers gain correct knowledge about the system.

To empower the same ideology, we established 750AD Healthcare which is a common man's portal to share their review about the hospitals/doctors they visit. It will enable the development of a transparent and authentic healthcare culture in the country. It is only through proper and authentic knowledge dissemination that the health service can be provided in the best way to the people whom we call patients. There is much more to the brand than this. It is a one-stop platform for information and reviews about healthcare, health and wellness topics, and sale of medical products through its newly launched website gromacy.com

The inspiration to do so came from my personal journey. I lost my father in 2019 within hours of admitting him to a hospital. The negligence by the hospital authority led to us losing him. The hospital was not forthcoming about information of his illness. I had a hard time coming to terms with his demise and all this left a mark on my mind.

I am a girl child, though born in a lovely family it often becomes difficult for people to come to terms with the fact that I had a vision and that I wanted to begin a new journey for the betterment of the community. However, despite the odds and with the support of my husband and immediate family I did it for my father and for everyone else.

A memorable journey or story you would like to share?

We started the venture in when the first wave of COVID hit the worlds. It was a turbulent time and for us to adjust to everything was both a challenge and a learning. This was an unforeseen challenge that came our way, and it came right when we began our new venture 750AD Healthcare. We had to undergo a complete shift in our strategic planning and execution for all my brands and so the major effecting area for me was in terms of my business models. Personally speaking, initially adjusting to the lockdown and social distancing practices lead to mental stress and at occasions even caused anxiety due to the unanticipated nature of the virus. But with time I have been able to overcome the challenges, molding myself in the newly developed societal environment.

What made you choose this venture?

Like I said, it was my father's illness and his loss that brought this realization that there needs to be a system in place that brings transparency and accountability amongst the healthcare community.

Being a woman did you face any challenges to start your venture? And what was your family support?

My family has been supportive but cannot say that completely about the society. Coming from a community where it is a little difficult for a girl to succeed with her own dreams there were quite a few challenges. Firstly, to prove myself as a person with a vision and to make other stakeholders trust me was a big challenge. In this patriarchal society no matter how much it progresses there is always the need for women to prove their worth as entrepreneurs.

While I had no second thoughts about myself, my work over these years proved my venture's success. We launched an e-magazine- Transformative.today and our latest e-commerce portal- gromacy.com which in itself is an indication of my willpower and vision. I hope the society becomes more supportive of us than being critical about our dreams.

As an entrepreneur, what is your message to others working women in this field?

All I would say is "give up if you want to, but not because others want you to". As an entrepreneur you would want to give up on some days with a new approach and that is fine, but one must not succumb to societal pressure. Believe in yourself and you will succeed.