Malini Agarwal On Her ‘Blogger To Brand’ Journey & Co-Creating India’s Largest Creator Ecosystem

Malini Agarwal’s journey from blogger to Co-Founder of India’s largest creator ecosystem is nothing short of a Bollywood story. Starting her career as a background dancer, Malini arrived in Mumbai at the dawn of the millennium with the dream of becoming a VJ. Swayed away by the magic of the Maximum City, Malini was hungry for more. In less than half a decade, she went from a background dancer to becoming an RJ, the head of Channel V’s Digital Content and a Mid-Day columnist. These were all big strides, but Malini’s biggest breakthrough was yet to come. It all started with a laptop and her couch in May 2008, with the inception of a hobby blog called MissMalini.  “A few key breaking stories put me on the map. MissMalini was the first to write about Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif’s romance, and it was later carried in other papers” she recollects. 

Soon enough, Malini was contemplating leaving all her jobs to start her own digital media company. Back then, Facebook and Twitter had just begun to establish a presence in India and digital marketing wasn’t an industry yet. However, Malini was confident about the name she had created and was passionate about what she was doing. In 2012, she took the plunge with a ‘big risks, big rewards’ mindset and started MissMalini Entertainment, India’s first independent digital media and personality-led company. 

Two decades later, MissMalini Entertainment is now India’s largest celebrity media and influencer talent management network. It is safe to say that Malini has changed how entertainment journalism is approached in the country. She has consciously and consistently put an effort to be a positive voice in a sea of negative gossip columns–something that has helped her foster her Bollywood contacts. She talks about it all in her first book, To the Moon: How I Blogged My Way To Bollywood—which takes us through her story and is also a guide on how to build a brand. 

Malini is working on her second book now while simultaneously embarking on a new adventure with the Good Glamm Group. “Now 13 years later, co-founding a second company, the Good Creator Co., brings us full circle to where we began—with the ability to give new creators everything they ever wanted or needed to become successful influencers themselves. This next chapter is going to be even more exciting, I can feel it,” she says.  Together with Plixxo, Winkl and Vidooly, under the aegis of the GGG, MissMalini Entertainment now aims to create India’s largest creator ecosystem, the Good Creator Co.

Malini Agarwal is surely a force to reckon with and her ‘blogger to brand’ story falls in line with our #POPxoWomenWhoWin series. In a recent chat with POPxo, Malini talked about what it takes to create a personality-led brand and the big things that lie ahead. Excerpts below:

How do you begin your day?

Generally with a cup of tea and a cuddle with my dog. Nothing puts you in a better mood than a puppy that’s so happy to see you!

What does a typical workday look like for you? 

I am very fortunate that I absolutely love what I do and no two days look alike! Some days I’m in back to back business and strategy meetings, others I’m shooting (pre-COVID-19). If not then you’ll find me writing on my sofa in pyjamas or at the Soho House writing my second book!

How tough was it to create a niche in an industry that had no precedent when you started?

It was certainly challenging but very exciting. When there is no precedent, there are no specific rules or guidelines to follow, so we made them up as we went along. We focused on creating a personality-led brand which was absolutely unheard of. Plus, we did it in the virtual world which is still under construction in many ways. So creating a niche was both easy and complicated, because it took a while for people to even understand what we were doing. But just look at the industry now! I feel great pride in the knowledge that we had something to do with that.

You have juggled quite a few hats career-wise. Would you attribute the success of MissMalini to your diverse portfolio?

Absolutely! I believe no job is too little, no task a waste of time. I probably didn’t even realize it at the time but every job I did teach me something that prepared me for the role I play today. Dancing taught me teamwork. No matter how well you dance, unless you’re in sync with the others, the choreography will fail. MtvIndia.com and Channel [v] taught me the ropes of digital media. Radio taught me how to use my individual voice to connect with millions of people in a way that felt personal and intimate. I always say radio was my first love and blogging my marriage! Writing a column in Mid-Day was my foray into celebrity culture. Dabbling on television taught me to be confident in front of the camera. (Ironically, when I first moved to Bombay, I came here with the dream of becoming a VJ and eventually got 6 seasons of my own show thanks to MissMalini!)

Not only did the industry respect my experience, but I was in the unique position of having communicated with people using every possible medium—live, print, radio, television and digital! 

Let’s talk about how you blogged your way to Bollywood. Tell us about some key milestones 

Looking back, it started on May 5, 2008, with my first ever blog as I passionately extended my column Malini’s Mumbai into MissMalini the blog. A few key breaking stories put me on the map (like the Katrina Ranbir love story, we spotted them on a plane together before anyone had confirmed the romance), an accidental run-in with Salman Khan at 3 am at China House – which made it to the papers and I truly believe a consistent and conscious effort to be a positive voice in a sea of often negative gossip. Having two key co-founders Mike Melli and Nowshad Rizwanullah (now also my husband) allowed me to focus on being creative and starting a digital magazine from a hobby blog, raising initial seed funding and then catapulting into the big league when digital content and marketing came into its own. Now 13 years later, co-founding a second company, the Good Creator Co., brings us full circle to where we began—with the ability to give new creators everything they ever wanted or needed to become successful influencers themselves. This next chapter is going to be even more exciting, I can feel it!

What would you say has been a turning point in your career?

In my entire career, it has been making the jump from MTV to radio where I truly in every sense found my voice. The one people know fondly as MissMalini today.

What has been your biggest professional accomplishment so far? 

My greatest pride is in having built a homegrown legacy brand from scratch. I never imagined I’d become an entrepreneur, to begin with, but over the years I have seen so many startups come and go. 13 years later we’re still here and the first personality-led brand to be acquired by the Good Glamm Group, but certainly not the last. Not only am I so proud that MissMalini is known for clean positive content, integrity, and being an uplifting voice on the Internet, we have hopefully paved the way for many to follow. 

What would you say are the key skills or qualities that have helped you succeed?

FOMO for one! If you have enough FOMO you will go to any lengths to succeed. Networking ability, a strong desire to build community (case in point Girl Tribe which is a 100,000 strong community of women who support, uplift and enhance each other’s lives today. Proving that Social Media CAN be a wonderful thing if approached responsibly and with empathy.) Multi-tasking, which is absolutely key in my world. And creative instinct, that has never let me down.

A mantra that you swear by in your professional and personal life?

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” (Not just romantic love, but love for work, life, friends, everything.) And imagine what you’d want to do for the rest of your life even if no one paid you to do it and make that your career.

As blogging becomes saturated by the day, what would you say to newcomers trying to make a mark?

Find the gap. Don’t be a copy of a creator you admire. Take inspiration, but find your own voice. And don’t start off trying to make money. First, build a following that genuinely appreciates your work and is highly engaged, build a strong bond with them, and then monetize it later.

MissMalini’s Girl Tribe has really blossomed in the past couple of years. What prompted you to start the platform? 

I felt the internet was becoming this toxic place. Where people were feeling fatigue scrolling through everyone else’s perfect lives. But I know social media can be a wonderful experience if used correctly. And women especially have a rough time with incessant trolling and sexual harassment, so I wanted to create a safe and positive space where we could talk to each other, learn together and inspire one another to grow without all the noise. Little did I know how badly we needed it. Today Girl Tribe has its own app, a place where you earn Positivity Points for starting conversations or commenting mindfully. It’s no longer about collecting followers or likes and I find it to be the most calming and enriching place to spend my time.

What kind of future do you envision for MissMalini? Can you tell us about the recent Good Glamm Group-MissMalini acquisition?

MissMalini has always wanted to create a legacy. And with the acquisition, we have new wind beneath our wings to do everything we’ve always dreamed of. The Good Glamm Group believes in content and creators—two things that we have lived and breathed at MissMalini for over a decade. Now, I am super excited to take things to the next level. Where we can offer the most robust suite of assets to brands and be part of building India’s biggest creator network, the Good Creator Co!

And lastly, how do you unwind?

I don’t know exactly! Sometimes I watch reality TV (my guilty pleasure), get a foot massage, go dancing with friends or play with my dog. Mostly my detox is an unorthodox one, playing games online or chatting with friends sending memes in my many WhatsApp groups!