Business
Lightning Round Q&A With Marketing Maven Sourabh Sharma
Some people possess an innate ability to inspire—to leave a lasting impression on everyone they encounter, and on the world around them. One such individual is Sourabh Sharma. The creative entrepreneur, marketing maven, writer of many forms, fashion-loving foodie, and world traveler, is truly one of a kind. His unique upbringing, which transversed cultures and continents, helped mold him into the eclectic, electric, and undeniably enticing person he is today. With a finger on the pulse of pop culture, a running invitation to fashion weeks from New York to Paris to Milan, and an impeccable taste for the finer things in life, Sourabh is full of life and vibrance. We caught up with him for a lightning round of questions, and needless to say, the multifarious logophile did not disappoint.
Disrupt: How would your friends or loved ones describe you?
Sourabh: Memorably funny and quietly tragic.
Disrupt: What is your astrological sun, moon and rising sign?
Sourabh: I’m an Aries sun—persistent, courageous, independent and aggressive; a Capricorn moon—serious, rational, and competitive; and a Cancer rising, meaning I come across and truly am gentle, intuitive, helpful and well mannered.
Disrupt: What attracts you to people—what characteristics or attributes are you drawn to in friends and business partners?
Sourabh: A person’s choice of words. I never underestimate the sensual power of a thoroughly emancipated vocabulary, and the ability to fish from it to spontaneously express oneself. Especially when it seems effortless. (Insert me swooning). Seconded by, confidence and uninhibitedness—that radiates through every gesture, expression, and in the glimmer of the eyes.
Q: Who do you consider an idol, and why? Note they can be dead or alive.
Disrupt: I have never idolized a mortal since everyone is a combination of strengths and vulnerabilities, and that is what attracts me to them…without idolizing. I idolize animals for their resilience and innate beauty: cows, leopards, snakes, really all of them.
Q: What is your view on gender neutral or androgynous fashion?
Disrupt: Everything should be unisex. Gender constructs in terms of apparel are highly passe and I feel the lines have always been blurry.
Disrupt: Which fashion or beauty trends you want to see come back?
Sourabh: Shoulder pads, long tailcoats, bouffants, mullets, bubble gum pink lipstick, long lace gloves, unisex corsets…the list is really endless.
Disrupt: Do you prefer a cocktail or liquor—which is your favorite?
Sourabh: Both, as long as they are unique with a mixology-based infusion or home brewed. Having history helps. Did you know the Negroni was invented in Florence in 1919 and named after Conte Camillo Negroni?
Disrupt: As a foodie, we have to ask—what is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Sourabh: Anything whacky. Think pink peppercorn raspberry, grapefruit beet turmeric, betel nut mango whiskey, saffron olive oil cashew chocolate…you get the gist.
Disrupt: What impact do you want to make on the world—how do you want to be remembered?
Sourabh: I find myself difficult to know and impossible to forget. I aspire to ease the difficulty for others, and reduce the impossibility. If I’ve given someone a lasting memory or affected their way of thought about something, I am content.
Disrupt: What do you wish people would do more often?
Sourabh: Strip themselves, but start with their inhibitions. It’s tragic how common the former is with the absence of the latter.