Chiraq Kulkarni is Rising to Become the Next Great Marketer
Chirag Kulkarni is the co-founder of Insightfully and K Ventures. He helps companies like Berkshire Hathaway, Dairy Queen, Infibeam, and IKF grow their revenue online. He is a frequent blogger and is consistently mentioned in the press by Business Insider, Forbes, Inc, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, and Venture Beat.
He also speaks about corporations all over the world from Infosys, Accenture, IIT-Bombay, and MIT on digital marketing and entrepreneurship.He was born in Southfield, MI. At a young age, I began my entrepreneurial journey when I was forced to pick up books from the Farmington Hills Public Library. I was lucky enough to pick up Dav Pikley’s, Captain Underpants.
After reading Captain Underpants, I began to make my own comics, and I even remember selling them on the school playground!From elementary school to middle school, I was always curious to see why certain family friends of ours would never go to a designated workplace. Apart from this, I did what every child does (or ought to do); be a kid.Throughout my childhood, I was always surrounded by entrepreneurs. My parents at one point in Detroit even started a franchise called TEAMS, which was a Math and Science tutoring center for high achieving students.
Even though I disliked math, I was amazed to see how they were able to use their skills to make some additional income. In fact, they loved teaching math and science, especially my dad!When I was in 7th grade, I started noticing that everyone in the Detroit metropolitan area began to talk about the job market slowing down, especially in the auto industry. My dad, who was then an employee of Chrysler, realized that jobs were disappearing, and we decided to sell our home and relocate to Overland Park, KS.
What inspired you to become a marketer?
I got my start as a marketer out of greed. I wanted to make more money, and started googling “how to make money on the web” and ran across affiliate marketing. After enrolling in MLM programs utilizing only in-person for sales, I made no money. I looked at the web as a means to make money.
What influenced you to co-found & be the CEO of Taco Marketing?
I started helping companies with rankings from an early age, and when it got to the point that I was helping too many companies, I ended up hiring out talent to grow the company.
Please tell us about Taco and the great experiences you had creating and running it.
Taco is a content marketing agency that focuses on SEO and primarily link building. We’ve helped many companies make more money through the web.
When you found out you were named the #16 most influential marketer to watch by Forbes magazine how did you feel?
I was very happy that Forbes acknowledged my hard work, but I’ve learned to continue working hard regardless of accolades.
You’ve been writing for fortune entrepreneur magazine a while now, is it for passion?
I enjoy writing to share some of the insights I have on the marketing and business worlds. It’s definitely a passion for me.
What advice can you offer the next millennial marketer?
Listen, ask more questions, and always be learning.