‘A clay pot has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain’: Sanna Vohra, CEO & Founder, The Wedding Brigade
The Proust Questionnaire is about one’s personality. It has its origins in a parlour game popularised by Marcel Proust, the French essayist, who believed that in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature.
Sanna Vohra, CEO and Founder of The Wedding Brigade, an online portal, was chosen as part of Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 List of 2018. On her portal, users can discover the best wedding content, buy curated wedding fashion, and book verified vendors and services.
The Wedding Brigade was also recognised as one of the Top 50 Ventures in India by the Smart CEO-Startup50 2017 Awards, in the consumer brand category. Prior to The Wedding Brigade, Sanna was into investment banking at Morgan Stanley in New York, and was also with the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi X.
Sanna discovered her passion for building businesses at Brown University when she co-founded the largest student-run business at the time and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude. She launched The Wedding Brigade with the aim to remove all the hassles that are faced by brides, grooms, and their families while organising the big fat Indian Wedding. Here are Sanna’s responses to our Proust questionnaire…
Sanna Vohra. CEO & Founder, The Wedding Brigade
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
The feeling that I am living up to my full potential, and I am bringing joy to the people around me.
What is your greatest fear?
Geckos.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Being unable to go to sleep early.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
A lack of integrity.
Which living person do you most admire?
The Dalai Lama.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Food - I love ordering in.
What is your current state of mind?
Focussed.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Diplomacy (when it leads to inaction).
On what occasion do you lie?
Sometimes if it is not about something important and to protect others’ feelings.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Can I tell you what I like instead?
Which living person do you most despise?
Anyone causing harm to others.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Integrity, humour, and passion.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Integrity, humour, and passion.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Sounds good.”
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My business, The Wedding Brigade! And my husband Varun. I’ll let you decide the order!
Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d like to be able to play the guitar and sing.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
That I would only need 2-3 hours of sleep per night - think of how much more you can get done in a day!
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Starting and growing The Wedding Brigade and being selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 List.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Someone with the influence and power to drive change on a global humanitarian and economic level.
Where would you most like to live?
Cape Town!
What is your most treasured possession?
My engagement band, because my husband picked it out himself!
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not believing in yourself.
What is your favourite occupation?
My own! Being Beyonce would be a close second.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Grit.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty, vulnerability, and humour.
Who are your favourite writers?
Ian McEwan, Oscar Wilde, Jhumpa Lahiri - but nowadays I read a lot of non-fiction about leadership, culture, and self-improvement.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Ironman!
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I don’t think identify is the right word, but I look up to figures who, against all odds, have fought for what they believe is right and fair.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Ben Horowitz, Elon Musk, Beyonce, Tory Burch, Michelle Obama…I like different things about a lot of people.
What is your favourite name?
Bagheera (my first dog).
What is it that you most dislike?
Lack of integrity.
What is your greatest regret?
Nothing so huge that comes to mind.
How would you like to die?
Without pain.
What is your favourite journey?
A holiday my family and I took in the Maldives, and also my bachelorette in Malta!
What is your motto?
"A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.” – Mildred Struven
(Edited by Megha Reddy)
