AMA: Sneha Saigal, co-founder of Geeks and Experts

Sneha Saigal is the co-founder and CEO of Geeks and Experts, a platform for startups and scaleups to hire fractional PR talent on a contract basis. 

Sneha has over a decade of experience working in early-stage and VC-backed companies across industries, from food tech to social impact.

Hi Sneha! Could you share the story behind your company, including the problem you set out to solve and the inspiration that led to its creation?

As an immigrant founder and a woman of colour, I understand how challenging it is to get representation in the media.

I’ve also worked in marketing and public relations with early-stage companies and understand the dynamic needs of these companies that have tighter budgets but still want to leverage the power of visibility to grow their businesses with the right resources.

I started Geeks and Experts to tell the meaningful stories of startups and scaleups creating impact in the world by matching them with PR specialists with finessed media relations and a proven track record, instead of signing annual retainers with traditional agencies or spending money on paid media.

Our goal is to ensure a value-based alignment between clients and fractional talent.

What were the initial challenges you faced when launching Geeks and Experts?

The early days were the most defining and pivotal moments for our startup. Every idea needs rapid prototyping and iterations, not perfection! We quickly understood that moving faster could only be possible if we picked key metrics, tested hypotheses, and led with our earned insights.

Most importantly, how you perfect your pivot is less important than why you believe you should pivot. Pivots are messy. So, identify the customers’ needs and market demands and move fast.

Could you tell me a bit more about your team, and how you've grown the business?

My co-founder is my partner, so we have to maintain strict work boundaries, especially outside of work.

That being said, we have a great understanding of our company’s vision as well as the responsibilities we are both individually accountable for. It’s challenging, but also inspiring to learn from one another and complement each other’s skill sets.

What are the metrics that you never take your eye off and why?

As a bootstrapped business, tracking the conversion rate at various stages of the sales funnel provides insights into the effectiveness of our marketing and sales efforts. It helps us keep our customer acquisition costs low.

Additionally, DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion) impact is another metric that we keep an eye on. 

Speaking of DEI, how does your business promote diversity, both in your team and within your offerings?

The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion is deeply rooted in the work we do and the strategic partners we collaborate with. It is our philosophy that diverse perspectives lead to stronger, more innovative solutions for the greater good.

Success to me means getting more and more people to notice and celebrate the unsung heroes, minority groups, and underrepresented founders who are launching and scaling revolutionary companies. I am confident that this dream can come to fruition with the right strategic partners.

I hope to create a large-scale impact by galvanising the media and increasing the representation of founders who are so integral to the entrepreneurial landscape in the USA.

Do you have a favourite motivational quote or mantra that keeps you inspired on tough days? If so, what is it?

Don’t make permanent decisions on temporary emotions!

That's a good one! And what's your most unusual or surprising productivity hack?

A recent productivity hack I’ve adopted is the 'anti-meeting day.' Once a week, I designate a day where scheduled meetings are minimised or eliminated entirely.

This allows me to dive deep into focused, uninterrupted work. This unconventional approach challenges the notion that constant meetings are the key to productivity and has resulted in more thoughtful, strategic work.

That’s a great tip! Thanks for your insights, Sneha.