[100 Emerging Women Leaders] Building brands with Jigsaw Brand Consultants: the Rutu Mody Kamdar way

Rutu Mody Kamdar had been in the consulting business for some time before she founded Jigsaw Brand Consultants.

“A lot of entrepreneurs, and even mid to large-sized companies, face the problem of piecing everything together when it comes to building brands. They have to deal with different types of agencies, and several disparate pieces are at work to build these brands,” Rutu tells HerStory in an interaction. 

Her company Jigsaw borrows its name from the famous puzzle game of the same name, piecing all aspects of brand building in a hassle-free way. 

The “one-roof” agency streamlines these facets of brand building, right from the market insight and research process to making strategies. 

“There’s a merit in having everything under a single roof because it’s the same people, same mindset, conceptualising the brand right from the beginning,” she adds. 

Speaking about how she set up the company, Rutu admits that every day was a challenge as something new would always come up in the journey. “When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re on a moving train, and you have to run with it. And, that train has various obstacles,” Rutu says.

While she dealt with numerous hurdles, she also had to ensure Jigsaw’s employees felt their work was exciting. As an agency, Rutu tries to reach a middle ground with her clients, considering they are entrepreneurs too. 

A significant moment came for Rutu and the company at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented situation had hit marketing teams pretty hard, and several companies had to let go of their employees. 

However, the entrepreneur says, “One of the best decisions I took during that time was to not reduce my team or not cut salaries. The reason I did this was that entrepreneurs ride the high wave, and we enjoy the perks and benefits, but we don’t necessarily pass that down to our teams.” 

As an entrepreneur, Rutu’s advice to women is clear. 

“The first advice that I would give—don’t consider yourself as a woman, and therefore, have any differentiation in your head. I don’t see the difference between a man and a woman when it comes to working. If equal opportunities start in your head, you’ll be able to play them out in the workspace too,” she shares.