These two classmates built a digital PR agency with a turnover of Rs 6 crore in just three years

If there is one thing that has kept the world going despite the COVID-19 lockdown, it is the Internet. And it is the thousands of stories about Bollywood celebrities, startups and new innovations, facilitated by digital PR, that has made the internet a saviour in these times.

Savin Communication, founded by Saurav Chaudhary and Animesh, is one such digital PR agency burning the midnight oil to bring you some great stories amid the lockdown, thanks to their ethical way of working and realising the trends in digital communication.

However, things were not always smooth for Saurav. Before he embarked upon his journey to building Savin Communication, his professional life remained a roller-coaster ride, with many ups and downs.

Early Career

Saurav holds a degree in journalism and an eight-year-long work experience in the PR sector. He was at the peak of his career between 2014 and 2016 working with Goldmine PR. However, in 2016, after leaving Goldmine, he did some freelance PR work but mostly survived on his savings because no steady work came his way. By 2017 he found himself more or less without work, despite having launched his company, Savin Communication. It was not long before he had to take up a job as a PR Manager with Testbook.com, an Edtech to survive. However, soon he had to go back to relying on his savings as things turned against him.

Lady Luck Shines

In March 2018, Saurav married Sonal, who came into his life as a pillar of support. It was a time when Saurav was almost out of money. Speaking about his wife’s contribution to his success, Saurav says, “Sonal is the one person who has always supported me and just because of her support, I was able to make big decisions easily. She has always cheered me up and told me not to give up. We had rough times monetarily but the best part is she has always supported me in all my decisions.”

2019 – the Revival Year

By 2019, Saurav had tried and failed at every business idea he had. However, in April 2019, things started working out in his favor as Savin Communication turned to Digital PR. Saurav was joined by Animesh, his old classmate from Bokaro, who holds a B.Tech degree in Computer Science with 6-year-long experience in the digital domain. Animesh is today the Co-Founder-COO of Savin Communication and takes care of the operations and sales part of the company. Saurav says that Animesh has always trusted him, had his back and has always pushed him to move on from setbacks.

Inspiration for Savin

What inspired Saurav to launch a PR firm himself was the knowledge that access to this part of business is not easy. Saurav says it was the “changing pattern of the PR industry” and his own experience that pushed him to start Savin Communication as an “affordable and easily accessible PR engine for individuals and companies.”

He explains, “New startups struggle to get their story published in major news portals. I thought I should come up with a solution to benefit these people and help them to reach the masses.”

Eureka Moment

Savin Communication’s eureka moment came in 2019 itself, when their existing clients started ramping up the digital coverage for themselves. Three years into the business, Savin Communication has published more than 2000 articles and its client-list is 250 names long and counting. These include some of the prominent bloggers/social media influencers in the fields of fashion, lifestyle, health, Bollywood and finance.

Opportunity in adversity

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24, things got more interesting for the company. The demand for digital PR shot up among its clients and between the months of March and April, Savin Communication recorded a 30% increase in their business.

Speaking about this phase, Saurav says, “The turnover of the company is at Rs. 6 crores and we are looking to increase it at least two-fold in this financial year. The entire business had been managed on the cash flow from the clients. No investment or loan has been incurred by the agency till date. Now we are in the expansion mode and working on more digital solutions for our clients.”

Mentorship and guidance

Apart from Sonal and Animesh, two other persons who have had Saurav’s back all these years are Mr. Vinay Kumar, the national bureau chief of The Hindu newspaper and Mr. Sudhir Rohilla, both of whom he considers his mentors. In fact, both Kumar and Rohilla are also on the Board of Directors of Savin Communication. While Kumar guided him through the rough patch of his life, Saurav says that Rohilla has shown him the right path on how to do fair and ethical business.

About the Future

Since 2019, the company has built its own network of associates in India and abroad. At present, they are working with more than 10 PR agencies and 50 associates. To address the challenge of having access to good, readable content, they have also created a pool of writers, with experience in industry and creating cutting-edge content. Saurav and Animesh are going to build this network of writers and associates further. Speaking about future plans, Saurav says that he wants to show the world what they have done and what they are planning to do with the future PR.