It was some day in April 2020, during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. The world had practically shut down and it was slowly dawning among people that this is not going to get over in a few weeks. Yet most people didn't know how to react to this completely unknown situation.

So many people did what we humans often do when faced with a completely unknown scary force — they froze! During such time when many of our clients were considering stopping work and riding out the pandemic, one of our (then) new client, but an old friend stood out. He asked us to double down!

That April day Milind Mehta of Tender Impulse told me, "Chintan, I trust you and Vibrant Moon, and I trust your process. We can't predict what the future holds, but we should make the best of current situation and not backdown!"

Today as I look back at the past three years of Vibrant Moon, one of the strongest feeling I have is that of gratitude. I'm thankful for clients and well-wishers like Milind, and several others, who have trusted us and showed confidence in us these past three years. It is people who root for us and cheer for us that have enabled us to overcome some of the toughest times. And this has led us to today, when we are growing at the fastest pace in our short three-year history!

During bad times and good, there are certain first principles that we use as a basis for doing everything we do. Here are a few.

High-velocity decision making
As a young company we're required to make quick decisions. However, these also need to be good quality decisions. Hence it is not only the speed that counts, but the velocity — going fast, but also in the right direction!

The main aspect of making high-velocity decisions is that one cannot wait for all the data. We'll often have only 50% data required to make a decisions, sometimes up to 75%. This is good enough. Waiting for more data to reach closer to 100% can mean the decision is being made too late, and may even stop mattering at that point.

Focussed on outcomes
A process is a way to achieve an outcome. Similarly a decision is also a way to achieve a desired outcome. We're not wedded to either processes or decisions. Because we focus on outcomes. This is true for what we do for our clients, but it's also true for what we do internally. A decision might not work out in an intended way or a process might not prove beneficial. We're okay with such eventuality and can quickly backtrack. Because outcomes are superior to everything else.

This focus on outcomes while maintaining the quality of inputs is what also moves the needle at Earthy Tales for Deepak Sabharwal, the co-founder & CEO. That's the principle binding us as we join them on the journey to bring chemical free revolution in farming.

Solutions focussed
This is an extension to the above point. Our client's often approach us because they are trying to solve a business problem. What we essentially do is come up with a solution where we use various tools (e.g.: social posts, online ads etc.) at our disposal to solve the clients' problem. Hence "marketing" or "digital" becomes the way we solve some problems. Thus we are focussed on outcome, which is solving the business problem, for which we may use some or all of the various tools we have at our disposal.

Our clients rely on us to help them march towards their business and marketing goals. Dr. Mamta Dighe, Director of Xenith Advanced Fertility Centre and even Alok Agarwal, CMO at Orientbell Tiles appreciate our solution focused approach. Solving audience's problem while staying on brand is key to achieving business goals. We are grateful to be working with people who challenge how industry functions and are on the same journey as ours - to change the tide.

On a parting note, a big thank you to all our clients for showing faith in us and what we do, and to the whole team including our partners, for continuing to do the amazing work that they do every day.