Sophomore advertising and public relations major and entrepreneurship minor Aditi Gunda launched her business, a videocast series called “The Business Takeaway” (TBT), at the start of 2022. Gunda was struggling to figure out a career path because she had so many interests in the public relations field.
“I feel like there is such a wide range of opportunities in this field and that can be overwhelming, so I wanted to start a business to help myself get some clarity on where to start and help viewers get connected with people in the advertising, marketing and PR industry,” Gunda said.
At TBT, Gunda and her team interview professionals about the steps they took to break into advertising, marketing, public relations and other related industries. The list of questions varies and depends on the role of each interviewee.
For example, when interviewing a CEO, Gunda will ask what a day in that CEO’s life looks like, but for a company founder Gunda is more interested in learning what motivated them to start their company.
Gunda and her team also like to ask questions that can help viewers once they land a role in the field they’re interested in. One example is in TBT’s first episode with KidGlov CEO Lyn Wineman in which Gunda asked Wineman how account executives prepare for client meetings.
After a few months of running The Business Takeaway on her own, Gunda realized she couldn’t keep up with the amount of content she was producing so she decided to hire a marketing director.
Mackenzie Cook, a junior advertising and PR major, took on that role. She crafted the company’s brand guide based on the logo Gunda created and has helped recruit other Business Takeaway team members.
Now, TBT is hiring social media strategists, videocast hosts, marketing managers, UX/UI designers, copywriters and acquisition managers.
One of Gunda’s most recent hires she met through sharing about TBT on LinkedIn. This student goes to college in California and is designing a new website with Cook. Meeting new people and forming strong connections like this is one of Gunda’s favorite parts about being CEO of The Business Takeaway.
“I’m making really great connections with not only members of my team, but also professionals in the industry,” Gunda said. “It’s nice to know that I’m not just making ‘business friends', I'm forming lifelong friendships that I will certainly keep.”
So far, the most repeated piece of advice Gunda’s guests have given is their emphasis on the importance of having a strong network, especially in the public relations field.
CoJMC Dean Shari Veil talked about this in her interview with TBT as did CoJMC associate professor Valerie Jones in the latest episode released on April 25.
Gunda is a goal setter and her next step in growing her company is to create revenue. Currently, anyone who works for is a volunteer. Although they get great experience, she wants to be able to pay her team for their hard work.
“We’re going to keep producing content with the goal of helping as many people as we can,” Gunda said. “But someday I want to be able to give back to the people who helped me get to the position I’m in now—many of those people are on the TBT team.”
Three years ago when Gunda decided to attend UNL, she had no idea what it meant to be an advertising and public relations major, but she saw a world of opportunity after visiting CoJMC.
Now, Gunda is helping herself and fellow students narrow their interests and realize what their passions are with The Business Takeaway.
You can find all of The Business Takeaway’s interviews on its YouTube . Any students interested in getting involved can apply to be part of the TBT team here.
