The Pipal Perspective - Strategy in Small Talk
Issue #08 | Saturday, June 21st | The Pipal Perspective
Welcome to the eight issue of The Pipal Perspective! We’re keeping things short this week because the #DilliKiGarmi is pretty exhausting in itself.
In this issue:
✏️ From Our Desk: Dumb Questions, Smart Answers
🔎 Hidden Opportunities: Openings at Unilever & Tonic Worldwide
🔦 Talent Spotlight: Product Marketer Looking Out
▶️ Resource Corner: An Ad We Loved
✏️ FROM OUR DESK: DUMB QUESTIONS, SMART ANSWERS
"This meeting could have been a Slack message."
We all had this thought last week, didn't we? It happened to me. We were discussing a podcast launch, and the "strategic conversation" had devolved into logistics theatre:
"So the founder emails the guest, then who replies? And who schedules the follow-up? And can we break each of these down into a task on the Trello Card, and then have a separate card per episode"
Don’t get me wrong - I love organisation & planning. But, I hate meetings. Give me emails, Slack messages, WhatsApp messages heck even voice notes. Literally anything that doesn't require calendar gymnastics across the globe. Especially when it's happening at 9:30 PM because of US-India timezones and we're debating email etiquette instead of actual creative strategy.
This particular call felt like peak meeting stupidity. Who cares about reply protocols when we haven't even nailed the podcast's hook?
But here's the thing that completely blindsided me: that "trivial" conversation unlocked a bunch of things that made me feel like we might have just elevated this podcast into something much better.
While whining internally about logistics, we discovered we needed a guest onboarding form - not just for scheduling, but to collect photos, social handles - making life easier. More importantly, it would serve as a great way to involve guests in topic & theme creation so they could speak about things they actually like, and share ideas before hand. The email chain discussion eventually revealed we'd have both inbound and outbound guest flows, which completely changed our content strategy. Debating who responds to what made us realize we needed different templates for cold outreach versus warm referrals. Even the stupid question about follow-up timing led to creating a content calendar that actually makes sense for busy founders.
Those seemingly ridiculous operational details led to insights that will actually make this podcast worth listening to.
I still hate unnecessary meetings. But here's what I've learned: when you're forced to explain basic stuff out loud, you catch things you'd never notice in a quick Slack thread. Like realizing your process has obvious gaps, or that what seems simple on paper is actually complicated in practice. I guess, sometimes the most valuable insights hide in the conversations you least want to have.
TLDR: That meeting about email reply sequencing might feel like a waste of time, but banal operational discussions can (sometimes) reveal strategic blind spots you'd never catch in async communication. The most annoying calls sometimes produce the most unexpected breakthroughs - even at 9:30 PM.
🔎 HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES
Curated openings (mainly marketing focused roles) that fly under the radar but (potentially) offer exceptional growth.
Unilever | Retention Marketing Specialist
Entry-level retention marketing role for someone with 1-2 years in CRM/automation experience. You'll develop omni-channel strategies and execute campaigns across WhatsApp, SMS, Email, and Web Push for HUL's D2C Beauty brands. Perfect for marketing automation enthusiasts who want hands-on experience scaling consumer engagement at one of India's largest FMCG companies. Based in Mumbai HQ. Email CV to nikhil.awasthi@unilever.com
Tonic Worldwide | Group Account Manager
Mid-senior account management role for someone with 7-9 years in agency experience, preferably beauty/skincare brands. You'll lead multiple brands simultaneously, drive revenue growth, and execute award-winning campaigns while managing client relationships and internal teams. Perfect for strategic thinkers who love brainstorming innovative growth strategies and delivering measurable campaign success
*Know of an opening? Forward details to priyanshi@thepipal.in and we’d happy to share it with our network!
🔦 TALENT SPOTLIGHT
Saloni Borar | Product Marketing & GTM Specialist
Product marketer with 8+ years building products that people actually want to use and keep using. Saloni has scaled products across India, SEA, and the Middle East at foundit, Cashfree, Open, Classplus, and Bounce. She specializes in customer research, product positioning, and solving the messy adoption challenges between building and scaling. Her work bridges product, growth, and marketing - focusing on real customer needs over assumptions. Skilled in data-driven decision making, customer interviews, and turning insights into products that stick. Seeking full-time or consulting opportunities in product marketing, growth, or working directly with founders.
"I don't do assumptions. I do research, customer interviews, and data. Because launching is easy; getting people to stick around and find value? That's the real work."
Connect with Saloni: saloni.borar07@gmail.com
*Looking for your next opportunity? Email your profile to priyanshi@thepipal.in and we’d love to feature you!
▶️ RESOURCE CORNER
Platform: Our Slack Channel
Spotted on LinkedIn, an ad we love -
In a world where brands want each aspect to technically relate to the product, this dog on a AI product ad is a fresh breath of air. Reasons why we think it works well
Dogs are relatable you immediately connect security, safety with a “guard-dog”
Dogs and kids are always a guarantee for grabbing attention during doom scrolls
Clean, clutter free creative: gets the damn point across, 90s kids will agree.
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