Journey from ordinary to being inspiring
An online start up is putting together stories of aspiring people to build a network that will nurture them and help them fulfill their dreams, writes Sneha Bhattacharjee
Awoman football aspirant from the streets of Mumbai. Another breaking gender stereotypes as a juggler and bartender. An evangelist on a mission to conserve heritage in India. A band that’s taking village folk tunes to the global audience through their own creations. These are just some of the “inspiring” stories you would read on thetribalbox.com. There are 100 such stories to be found on the website. The Tribal Box was founded in March 2018 with the aim to bring forward people chasing their dreams and getting them the exposure that could help them promote themselves or seek monetary assistance.
Speaking to Business Standard, Founder Sanghamitra Khatu elaborates on how she wanted her venture to make a social impact since the day she decided to don the hat of an entrepreneur. It was after a lot of vetting and speaking to people in the network and outside that she came up with the idea of The Tribal Box. That there were so many positive and inspiring stories to be told to the world, and all that people got to read was stories on suicides, depression, hatred and negativity; Khatu felt the need to make the change in what people especially the younger audience was consuming on a daily basis on their timelines.
Ask Sanghamitra about the name and she says, “The Tribal Box is a treasure chest of wild, out of the box stories, stories that inspire, connect and motivate our audience in the journey towards building a better, vibrant world. We don’t stop by sharing their stories, we are also trying to get grants from brands so that we can support our protagonists with their basic needs, be it financial or otherwise, especially for athletes who are often looking for sponsors to help them get a fair chance to chase their dreams.”
That people associated well with inspiring stories of those who overcame obstacles to fulfill their dreams, Khatu knew such stories would not just garner interest in the audience as motivational stories but also help those notso-knowns to become the newsmakers and get some professional help. “There are all sorts of people. While some look for publicity, some need money, then there are those who look for mentorship. Apart from getting brands to collaborate with us and sponsoring our protagonists, we have also started a crowdfunding platform called ‘The Tribal Box Fund’ which is open to anyone with a dream and a need,” she says.
The website that started with long form of content now also has the stories told in the form of videos. The switch from just blogposts to videos was obvious because of the keen interest with which the young generation was glued to their smartphones. “We realised that today’s millennials are not glued to a post longer than a few minutes, so it was necessary for us to make the content available in a manner that interests our target audience,” Khatu adds.
After having worked in the fin-tech sector for over a decade, it was the savings accumulated over the years that Khatu pooled in for putting together the website. So far she has invested ~30 million of her savings into the venture. The stories are featured free of cost and can be accessed on the website freely as well as on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Currently, the website hosts five genres: music, travel, design sports and people's corner.
“We aim to be the game-changer in society by creating a network of people who are already following their dreams and at the same time probably helping and mentoring the younger generation in their pursuit to achieve their dreams,” says Khatu talking about the stories that she keeps receiving from people on social media and otherwise.
Telling stories is not the end for Khatu. She considers those featured in her stories as an extended family. “We might not talk to them on a daily basis but we do keep ourselves updated about what’s happening in their lives, we try and see how we can help them and check on their requirements,” she says adding, “I want to create a network of people who are going to mentor them, who are going to take care of them, who are going to ensure that they have more business or more opportunities. I am going to ensure that some of them get sponsors.”
Talking about the highs and lows that come up with founding a start-up, Khatu says, “we are often asked by the various brands about our numbers (people viewing our website/videos). I tell them that yes, we might have just started and do not have a groundbreaking number, but we will go the long mile and play the longer game”.