"From Setbacks to Success: The Inspirational Story of Kavitha Ashtakala"

In this BAGGGEL Member Spotlight, we celebrate the inspiring journey of Kavitha Ashtakala. Her path from early career aspirations in sales to significant achievements in customer success and entrepreneurship is a story of determination, innovation, and breaking barriers. By sharing her experiences, we aim to inspire and motivate others in their own professional journeys.

"Delve deeper into Kavitha Ashtakala's incredible journey and insights as she shares her responses to our spotlight questions, reflecting on her career milestones, challenges overcome, and aspirations for the future."

1. Background and Career Path

???- Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to your current career path?

I decided in class X that I wanted to do an MBA.? After a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Secretaryship, I did my MBA in Marketing from T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal with first rank in Marketing. I was keen on a career in sales.?

Over the years with a chequered career and multiple restarts, the world of SaaS and customer success excited me.?

?- What were your initial goals when you started your career, and how have they evolved?

At 23, I had 3 goals.?

1. To be an accomplished career woman and wanted to be on the cover of BusinessWorld magazine.
2. After 20-25 years of corporate career, I wanted to start my own business and?
3. Finally, get into social service

Today, the progression did not happen in order as planned. I ran my jewellery solopreneurship for 7 years and had my MSME certification done.??

I do social service regularly in various forms. Now I teach in a Govt. school on Saturdays and am a key part of the CSR team. Have been making monetary contributions since my first job. My career has been in restart mode for 9 years.?

2. Challenges and Overcoming Them

???- What significant challenges have you faced in your career, especially as a woman in your field?

Career 1.0:?

Being a woman in sales in the 90s was not easy. One had to do cold calls, go from office to office and wait for hours to meet customers.??

In 1999, when I was pregnant with my first child and my manager had quit. So the branch was on my shoulders. Those were the days when we didn’t have Uber/Ola. We had City taxis. So i would book them and go to close deals.? It was physically draining, but my commitment to work helped me through the phase.?

The office I worked at was on the second floor and there was no lift. So for eight months, I had to carry my 60 kgs of weight up 2 floors!

Career 2.0:

I started work with a B2C edtech company in 2006 with my second child still 9 months old.?

I was let go after 2 years and due to my son, took a back seat in my career.? This is where I started my jewellery business.

Career 3.0:

Finally, when I returned to full time work after 15 years and started proving my mettle again, company restructuring struck and I was laid off. This time was the toughest. I was doing extremely well in the company and suddenly felt someone had clipped my wings. Then i went through various stints facing situations from bad work ethics to toxic environments before my current workplace.?

???- Can you share a specific instance where you had to overcome a significant obstacle or setback?

Career 4.0

With an accident prone 3 year old, I tried getting my foothold. I started my jewellery solopreneurship – Kavitha’s Workshoppe in 2009, set up trunk shows in offices selling jewellery – initially trading and then making handmade jewellery.?

So I worked a few days a month outside of home and the rest making jewellery.? When life threw a lemon, I made lemonade. Created my own path.

A precursor to this, I was in the US for 3 years. After work permit delays, worked in a premier retail store in the jewellery department for a short stint to experience work life there.

3. Achievements and Milestones

???- What achievements are you most proud of in your career?

Career1.0: Our branch was the number 2 reseller for Microsoft in South India.?

Career 2.0: My entrepreneurial stint

Career 3.0: My grit and resilience (to beat bias, career gaps, ageism), creating my personal brand, my learning agility across various companies, my interpersonal skills and my ability to create impact within them in a short span.? In my current company, along with Customer Success, I’m actively involved in CSR and Women ERGs. Today, I can interact across multi-generations and global teams.

???- Is there a particular project or initiative that you believe significantly impacted your career or your organization?

Career 1.0: My opportunity to head the branch and P&L and people management learnings at 27.

Career 2.0: My entrepreneurial journey - gave me a perspective of networking and what it means to take risks.

Career 3.0: On day 2 in my current organisation I got involved in a CSR initiative, leading to recognition internally.?

4. Work-Life Balance

???- How have you managed work-life balance throughout your career, and what advice would you give to others struggling with this?

At every career stage, there have been struggles, sometimes with support, most times without support especially when my children were younger, sometimes in a foreign country.

While each woman’s story is different, it’s always easier with support.? For me, work-life balance is very important and I wanted to have it all!? The scale has not been balanced equally all the time. In some years, life takes the front seat.?

My advice is to prioritise and delegate things. Get a cook, put children in day care, get your spouse’s /children’s /in-laws support at domestic work, get tutors for your children’s education.? Don’t let stereotypes/cultural/social factors get to you. Sometimes, you have to fight internally the biases.?

Be there for your kids as moral support and keep the communication open. As they grow, that’s what finally matters. Most important - Connect with yourself. Carve out me-time, even if its 10 minutes every day!?

5. Mentorship, Sponsorship & Support

???- Have you had mentors, sponsors or supporters who significantly influenced your career? How did they help you?

Yes, there have been and am super thankful for them! Some have been there at only certain stages, some since my career 3.0.?

Some took a bet on me, gave me opportunities based on my earlier work, some saw my potential and gave me more responsibility.

A close few of them have stood by me as rocks, rooting for me, giving me opportunities, encouraging me, advising me and pulling me up when I was down.?

???- How important do you think mentorship, sponsorship and support is in career development, especially for women?

Very important. I wish I had my mentors early in my career.? Women go through various phases biologically and they are constantly facing challenges and juggling in addition to the common challenges they share with men. Having mentorship, sponsorship and support in their career development is crucial for a thriving career and progressing to leadership levels.?

6. Diversity and Inclusion

???- In your experience, how has the landscape for women in your field changed over the years?

It has changed to some extent.? For example, there are more day care centres for women in their offices/tech parks. So young mothers should take advantage of these.?

Flexi working and working from home is more accepted due to the pandemic.

There are many return to work programmes.

There is still a long way to go though, we are not there yet.

Socially, there is a slight improvement thanks to the pandemic, with more men being involved domestically.

???- What do you believe companies can do better to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace?

1. Stop attrition at 3 stages – during marriage, maternity/ post maternity and caregiving/breaks when children are in crucial grades

2. Offer jobs at different locations, create maternity friendly policies, create equal parenting policies for men, day care policies, flexible ways of working, sabbaticals.

3. Give roles which are challenging – give the option to the woman, let those high pots/who aspire continue on the career growth, don’t let stereotypes set in

4. Sensitise the workplace – for post maternity/women with career breaks

5. Near Pay parity – for those returning to work after a career gap

6. Upskilling and mentoring women back after a career gap

7. Changing mindsets with recruiters – making acceptance of resumes with career gaps normal, hiring for attitudes first

8. Making women back at work successful – not just lip service or social media hype, but in essence and intent

9. Giving women equal opportunities based on their potential and without biases and stereotypes

10. Having strong role models and advocates who walk the talk

7. Advice and Insights

???- What advice would you give to young women starting their careers in your field?

• Believe in yourself, don’t let anyone or anything let you take that away!
• Identify stakeholders and allies in your organisation early.?
• Have mentors within and outside your organisation.
• Network well – be willing to give before you ask for help, add value wherever you can, help others and pay forward. Take people along.
• Be a continuous learner – go out of your comfort zone and keep learning and doing new things
• Build your personal brand – that is what will hold you in good stead.?

???- Are there any resources (books, courses, networks) you recommend to professionals aspiring to grow in your industry?

1. Customer Success: How innovative companies are reducing churn and growing recurring revenue by Nick Mehta – if you are starting in customer success
2. The Seven Pillars of Customer Success by Wayne Mc Cullouch?
3. Follow companies like Gainsight and Salesforce, communities like Gain, Grow and Retain.?
4. Follow Nick Mehta, Jay Nathan, Ravi Dhaliwal on LinkedIn for customer success trends
5. Join customer success local communities

8. Future legacy & Sisterhood

???- Looking forward, what goals or objectives do you have for the next phase of your career?

• I want to excel in customer success and grow into people management roles
• To continue to influence and impact organisations for more gender diversity?
• To be a role model for people, influence women leaders to be empathetic and role models, create a more gender diverse workplace
• To share perspectives with leaders on the challenges that women with career gaps face and influence them to change policies/mindsets at the workplace
• To continue my involvement in CSR related initiatives so that organisations can contribute to the community and make a difference

???- How do you hope to influence or inspire the next generation of women in your field?

• To be a role model that one can get back to career after gaps
• To mentor women wherever possible to avoid taking a break
• To be a continuous learner with a never-say-die attitude
• To impress upon them the power of lifting other women?
• Showcase or talk about the good work you have done in the company?
• To build a personal brand that transcends a designation in a company
• To inspire women that you don’t need to have positional authority to be a leader
• To do exceptional work and not take umbrage under the diversity tag
• To show professionalism at work and maintain trust when an organisation gives flexibility?
• Treat people with respect, be more conscious of it as you climb the ladder
• Create time for your physical and mental well-being – non-negotiable
• Control/manage your finances or know how your finances are managed
• Stick to your values and integrity – end of the day, you are accountable only to your conscience and peace of mind.

9. Personal Growth and Learning

???- Can you share a lesson or piece of wisdom you've learned that has significantly influenced your personal or professional life?

• One that has stayed with me since my early career days – when things are going right for the company, no one questions you. When things go downhill, everything is questioned. So don’t get too comfortable! Be diligent, document everything, follow processes, be professional at all times
• Create your personal brand – even if you are not looking for a job. No job is permanent today, don’t make only your work designation your identity. Be present out in the social world (my go to place is LinkedIn)
• Be a continuous learner

???- How do you approach continuous learning and staying updated in your field?

Adversity is a great teacher. My stints with various companies in my career 3.0, forced me to learn new things, new frameworks in new industries – Edtech, HR frameworks, Social selling to work, portfolio management, Agile, Value Stream management.

I spend time learning – functional skills, soft skills and get certifications wherever possible.

Key areas of learning:

E-learning – company related and non-related learnings, soft skills to hone my people interaction and management skills, leadership skills

Company led learning and development – I participate in all? relevant programs

LinkedIn – connecting with diverse people, increases my horizon of perspectives and learning

Interact with multi-generational people – lot of things to learn even from people younger than me

Books – combination of management, customer success, women oriented, autobiographies and life self-help books. Selected fiction – to keep the child in me alive

Podcasts – listen to leaders for inspiration and learn from their experiences

10. Impact and Contribution

????- What impact do you hope to leave on your industry or community?

On the industry: to have enough role models for women to look up to and a time where women are lifting other women along naturally.

On the community: The power of one – every single person matters – power of Individual Social Responsibility and the multiplier effect. Being a role model for people to give back to the community

?My dream: To have equal representation of women at all levels.

11. Being CEO Ready

????- What are top 3 skills or experiences that you believe are important for women to be CEO Ready?

• People – people orientation and empathy, Identifying the right people (and not surrounding oneself with yes people)
• Business - Business acumen and general management skills
• Managing stakeholders

????- What is next big step in your life to being CEO Ready?

• Sharing my experience with both youngsters and leaders in wider platforms. The former to prepare for life ahead, the latter to be empathetic and give women equal opportunity and reduce bias
• Take on people management roles??
• Participate in more events

12. Experience with BAGGGEL

??????- How has being a member of BAGGGEL impacted or added value to your career or personal growth?

BAGGGEL has given me an opportunity to see women leaders up close and how we can together create an impact to bring more women on the top, stop the leak in the number of women for future leaders. To have discussions and share perspectives with leaders who can actually move the needle.?

BAGGGEL has given me social media presence and has highlighted my passion for women at work and gender diversity.??

Can you share a specific experience or aspect of BAGGGEL membership that has been particularly influential for you?

Meet ups – especially where such discussions emanate. Inviting external speakers has added value and widened my perspectives.

CEO Ready Conference gave me the opportunity to interact with more leaders and hear their successes and challenges.?

As Kavitha continues to break barriers and drive innovations in the tech industry, her story serves as an inspiration to many. Her journey underscores the importance of resilience, continuous learning, and the courage to pursue one's passions. For young women stepping into their careers, Kavitha's advice is simple yet profound: "Believe in yourself and never let anyone take that away."

Thank You.