CHANGING THE GAME EP 301

The Payal Nanjiani Leadership Podcast

About Darshana Bhalla, Founder & CEO, D’Artist Talent Ventures:

Darshana Bhalla is an innovative and thoroughbred entrepreneur and leader for over 20 years in the media and entertainment industry. She has the ability and vision to envisage future trends and innovations, a creative entrepreneur with an acute sense of business. Darshana’s experience varies from starting her own company at the age of 28 and partnering with India’s largest homegrown communication conglomerate Madison Communications (advertising veteran Sam Balsara’s company) to forming a company called Madison and Teamwork’s Entertainment Solutions (MATES).

She started the Entertainment vertical and was a pioneer in branded content, celebrity management, and solutions for over 18 years. Her work has won her several accolades at prestigious Advertising Events like Abby’s and EMVIES for Creative and Media innovations. She successfully ran MATES for 13 + years. In 2018, she decided to move on from MATES and look at the media, entertainment, and sports industry through the lens of a new media landscape of deeper associations with Creators, Digital Platforms, Intellectual Properties, Branded Content, Celebrity Solutions, and Sponsorships.

Her revenue-focused, stoic, and creative vision-led business plan, along with an extremely high network in the media and entertainment industry led to investments from TTS: IO (Rana Kapoor’s Family office) to form DO IT Talent Ventures.

In 2020, as an entrepreneur, Darshana faced and rose above an extremely difficult phase of entrepreneurship which is the sudden truncation of the association with TTS: IO, along with the global crises of the pandemic. However, as a leader, she withheld the business and social exigencies and came out even stronger within a year to bring back the business to normalcy. During this phase, with a lot of difficulty, she exited the partnership with TTS: IO and started her own venture D’Artist Talent Ventures. Not only did she retain the team, but also brought back the business to normalcy within a year, despite the ongoing pandemic.

D’Artist Talent Ventures continues to grow at a healthy rate and expand its horizon to the ambitious objectives set out in the space of Entertainment and Sports. Darshana with her experience of managing the business, and being on both sides of IP ownership has an in-depth understanding of Media Properties and their P&L.