It can be tough for a woman to indulge in anything not associated with being stereotypically feminine, and unfortunately, according to most people, ‘a liking for sports’ comes under that category. Being a sports fan is arbitrarily categorized into the domain of masculinity and at least once in our life, we all have come across such people who don’t hesitate to roll their eyes after a woman displays her liking for sports. As an adherent sports lover, Arshi’s journey as a new-age entrepreneur in the field of sports media has not only given a new dimension to the sports media ecosystem of our country but has also ignited a passion in many women to pursue their dream.

A qualified computer engineer, Arshi has always been fascinated by the power of social media & storytelling. With a strong desire to influence the lives of people by telling stories to the world, she, therefore, ended up building a career in Media & Marketing before venturing into entrepreneurship. She has seamlessly believed that sports are an important catalyst of social change and the same ideology coxswain her journey to co-founding an aggrandized sports media platform, The Bridge. According to Arshi her expertise as an entrepreneur is resilience, and she is currently pursuing value creation relentlessly as the CEO of The Bridge.

Below is an excerpt of Arshi’s interaction with the Women Entrepreneur Magazine.

Give Us A Brief Overview Of The Bridge. What Makes It Different From Its Other Competitors In The Market?

As India’s only sports media house fully focused on Indian sports, The Bridge is armed with varied forms of visual and textual storytelling. We are pragmatically engaged to unearth the stories that are previously unheard of in our quest to truly bridge the gap in Indian sports. Our USP is deep coverage of Indian sports which goes beyond mainstream cricket. From Kabaddi to Kho-Kho, Basketball to Baseball, Football to Fencing, almost every sport that has got some prominent audiences but less coverage in India till now is covered under one umbrella at The Bridge. Our discerned coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was widely appreciated and has brought us quite a lot of applause from our viewers.

Establishing The Bridge?

I have spent my childhood in Kishanganj, a remote district in Bihar, where a girl fancying becoming a competitive athlete is a distant dream. I used to play actively during my school days and sports like Athletics & badminton were my favorite. As I grew up, especially after high school, I lost touch with sports. Soon I realized that it was sports that gave me perpetual happiness but the ecosystem is designed in such a way that a kid is not encouraged to become a sportsperson. I ended up studying engineering and worked for a few years in media & marketing before starting The Bridge. The rudimentary idea behind starting Bridge was to build a platform where the audience can get everything about Indian sports under one umbrella.

What Are Some Of The Most Pressing Business Challenges That You Face In Your Current Role And How Do You Mitigate These Challenges?

The role of a founder in a start-up hugely depends on what stage the company is and the same goes for me as well. In the initial years, I did everything, starting from being the executive decision-maker to being the HR, Accountant, and sometimes even the delivery guy. Then as we envisaged growth and we got dependable people in the organization to lead various teams, delegation started.

"The rudimentary Idea behind Starting bridge Was to build a Platform where Audience can Get everything About indian Sports under one Umbrella"

The most pressing business challenge that I face in my current role is the feeling of doing sales all the time. Basically, ‘sales’ is the art of convincing people for a certain trade-off, and right now, I am either convincing people to join my team, convincing the audience to watch our content, convincing clients to collaborate with us, or convincing investors to support us grow. And the cycle goes on. Not that I am complaining about it but the challenges I have to endure while undertaking such responsibilities are massive and being an optimistic individual, I try to surmount one hurdle at a time.

Share Some Of The Most Significant Milestones That You Have Achieved So Far In Your Professional Journey? What Has Been The Driving Force Behind Your Success As An Entrepreneur?

I feel that my journey has just begun & I have a lot more to do. The Bridge has gotten recognition in the industry and we are a profitable business. I think it is an important achievement in my entrepreneurial journey. For me, the driving force has been my “not giving up attitude”. I always tell myself that I will figure out a way and this positive manifestation has indeed worked well in my favor.

How Do You Foresee Sports Awareness Evolving In India Going Forward? What Is Your Vision For The Bridge’s Next Growth Phase?

 According to our survey, the awareness of sports in India is increasing day by day over the last decade. We also have more role models now in sports, who do not belong exclusively to the domain of cricket only. Imagine who would have thought that India will get a Gold Medal in Javelin at the Olympics. Things are changing at a rapid pace and I can clearly say that the future holds good opportunities for us. With an unperturbed focused on growth, The Bridge is eyeing to scale up in the next phase. Growth of existing verticals and the addition of new verticals are also there in the pipeline.

What Would Your Advice Be For Young Women And Girls Who Also Aspire To Become Business Leaders And Entrepreneurs?

My only advice would be to not let the aspiration die because of factors like social pressure or the fear of failure. Dream big, have faith and hone the skills which are needed to be successful in the field where you want to excel. And most importantly, have little patience because good things always take time.

Arshi Yasin, CEO & Co-Founder, The Bridge

A digital advertising and marketing professional who is in love with sports, Arshi is trying to change the way sports is seen in our country through her unique venture - The Bridge. A firm believer in adapting to new things, Arshi always believes in continuous evolution and likes to face situations on the front foot.