Exploring Life & Business with Anuroop Kumar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anuroop Kumar.

Hi Anuroop, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My entrepreneurial endeavors are shaped by my own experiences and perspectives – primarily to promote socioeconomic equity, improved livelihoods, and impact-focused technology.

I grew up quite poor. My father was an immigrant who worked extremely hard and earned his home and successful business until his health declined. We were forced to move to India when I was 10 to save money. I came back at age 17 by myself with no resources – but a place to stay thanks to my aunt’s family. By age 22 – I had put myself through high school, earned a full scholarship, led AZ in a national leadership conference as a “Top 50 future medical professional”, led a social entrepreneurship project, and became Head of Business Dev & Growth at a startup. I had to drop out of college in my junior year to support my family – but this is what started my business career. The growth and success with digital ads at my first startup job earned me a role with Facebook (now Meta) on the advertising side, and it was here Inflect Digital was conceived.

Noticed a gap in the market, the dominance of overpriced services, and the knowledge that we could offer better and more efficient services. I left Facebook with a colleague to establish Inflect Digital. We had left just a few months prior to what would eventually be the pandemic – but after a few months of turbulence, we were able to establish ourselves.

Today, Inflect Digital is the country’s number one marketing agency for the culture. We work with some of the leading BIPOC founders in the nation, and we have helped them reach the next level in their businesses. We are trusted by CEOs, Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, and Community Leaders for our growth marketing and customer acquisition expertise.

To promote and solidify our local Phoenix entrepreneurship and tech ecosystem, I also co-founded PHX NFT (a web3 community) and am one of the City Leaders for Founders Live Phoenix. We are holding a one-of-a-kind startup pitch event for SuperBowl 2023 where ex-NFL and ex-NBA players will be pitching their startups to the Phoenix founder community.

I believe work – not education – is the gateway to opportunity & prosperity. I also think optimizing our relationship with work is what will help restore American pride & dynamism. This is why I’m building a Future of Work tech company called SpartanWork.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My story is that of an American Dream gone wrong – and then the redemption arc which follows.

My father immigrated from India in the 80s and built a couple of successful local businesses. We had a nice house, and a good car and I remember a lot of great toys! However, his health declined severely and we were forced to get rid of everything we had. Eventually, we moved to India to save money.

In India, I gained perspective and understood the real side of how the world lives. I also learned where and how opportunity is created and work is accomplished despite broken systems. I was motivated to come back to the US at the age of 17 by myself. My aunt’s family welcomed me into their home as I worked on putting myself through high school and earning a full-ride scholarship.

I came back at age 17. By age 22, I had put myself through high school, earned a full scholarship, led AZ in a national leadership conference as a “Top 50 future medical professional”, led a social entrepreneurship project, and became Head of Business Dev & Growth at a startup. At the beginning of my Sophomore college year, I found out my father had fatal cancer.

I had my parents move back to the US with me and I dropped out to support the family. Luckily, this led me to my startup job where I became the Head of Business Dev & Growth in 8 months. The success I had with helping grow the DTC channel with paid social ads eventually earned me a role with Facebook (Now Meta).

During my first year at Facebook, my father passed away. It was a rough time but I buried myself in work. It also led to a few mental health issues which I will not elaborate on here.

I started my growth marketing agency Inflect Digital with a colleague from Facebook after being weary of overpriced & subpar marketing agency services. We created a great foundation and left our jobs in late 2019.

By January 2020, we identified our unique position, out-competed veteran agencies for clients, and were on our way – until the pandemic hit. We had spent all of our money in the initial months establishing the business and then our client funding dried up. It was a couple of months of turmoil and possible eviction, but luckily we re-positioned, up-skilled, and came back stronger than ever.

Inflect Digital today is the leading culture-focused growth marketing agency in the country. We are 100% bootstrapped & self-funded.

To date we face challenges, when I co-founded PHX NFT – everyone says web3 is a fad and continues to say so. The dozens of community members we have who are pursuing their passions full-time beg to differ.

For my new work-tech startup our primary product is a hiring optimization tool – everyone said lay-offs are here no one will use this for another two years. Yet, the hiring managers who have experienced our prototype are eagerly waiting for the full suite to release.

Innovation is always bumpy, but the satisfaction of establishing something new is unmatched.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Inflect Digital/SpartanWork?
Inflect Digital is a growth marketing agency hyper-focused on growth & profitability founded by a team of ex-Facebook workers. We are the country’s fastest-rising culture-focused marketing agency with a specialty focus on BIPOC founders.

Our primary channels are Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Google ads, Email, Tiktok ads, LinkedIn, etc. Our clients come to us because they are tired of paying astronomical fees to marketing agencies for jargon and fluff. We aren’t just thought leaders – we are results leaders.

Today, Inflect Digital works with some of the leading BIPOC founders in the nation, and we have helped them reach the next level in their businesses. We are trusted by CEOs, Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, and Community Leaders for our growth marketing and customer acquisition expertise.

Our recent wins have been in helping our venture-backed startup achieve 20% month-over-month profitability improvements, launching a brand new product and selling out $480k of inventory in 35 days, as well as helping our B2B tech client achieve 0-8000 users and helping them raise $35 million in funding based off their growth.

SpartanWork is a “future of work” tech company that is helping improve our relationship with work. For companies, we enable them to make the best possible hiring + team-building decisions. It’s not always the most qualified person on paper that is the right fit for your company – we help you make these difficult decisions by measuring job candidates holistically. Further, we help workers create a stronger career track through verified achievement tracking & career development. This is currently in stealth and private beta, we will be launching it to the public soon.

How do you define success?
While I would have said “money” as a teenager, I now realize that this was a knee-jerk response to my poverty.

Now maturing, I see that I may often leave money on the table to provide the best possible experience and quality of work to those I work with. Moreover, most of our community initiatives have been self-funded (with money that we actually would need otherwise) but we do it because of the impact created.

For me, success now comprises going to bed knowing that I provide the best possible product or service, I do not imitate, I always innovate, I am unique, I am original, I genuinely care about my clients and work, I am doing my best to grow my businesses, and that my work is impacting people who have always been underserved and under-resourced like myself. I believe in the power of conscious entrepreneurship and am proud to live every day as someone contributing to this.

My aspirations are to take this impact to the highest possible scale over the next couple of decades. Creating a legacy is more important for me – as when done correctly, the money will follow.

Pricing:

• Limited-time Startup Special: Starts at $2000/month.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://inflectdigital.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anuroop_kumar/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuroop-kumar-b581a87a/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/anuroopk4u
• Other: https://www.spartanwork.xyz