“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” Karuuna was born into a family of modest means, and her father, who served in the Ministry of Home Affairs and later the Birla Group, worked hard to provide for his family. Her parents understood the importance of education and encouraged her to study for a brighter future. She believes life has been touched by God Himself. He has blessed her with many miracles that have increased her faith in Him. As she grew older, she realised the value of discipline, honesty, and punctuality. She was fired with a passion to do something different, and she knew that it was God’s will for her to pursue her dreams. She is known in the circles of advertising as a founder and director of Portrait Advertising and Marketing Private Limited. She is a trained photographer, motorsport enthusiast, and guest lecturer at Wigan and Leigh College. She loved photography from a young age and decided to take a course in the subject during her school days. Later, she completed a professional photography course and started using her skills in her work. Even while she was still studying, she started working at the age of 19 and found it to be a very rewarding experience. As a young marketer, she was always curious about what made the difference between a winning brand and others. She would often watch commercials and read advertisements, trying to decipher what made certain products more successful than others. God’s Chosen Child It was in the year 2000 that she faced a grave personal crisis and experienced her first miracle. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors said that she had only 3 months to live. She could not concentrate on work at all, and her blossoming career nosedived. Her prayers for a miracle were answered by the sheer grace of God in the form of Dr (Mrs) Ramesh Sarin. Thanks to her able treatment, care, and sheer determination, her mother recovered completely within two years. This miraculous event not only saved her mother’s life, but it also gave her the strength to face any challenges that came her way. In the year 2001 she experienced her second miracle when my dear friend and well-wisher, Vinod Rajoria, offered to start an advertising agency together. When they founded Portrait Advertising and Marketing Private Limited in June 2001, they knew that hard work had been cut out for them. They had only one month to complete all preparations, but with God’s help, they managed to pull it off. And so, Portrait Advertising was born. In 2004, Portrait Advertisiing ventured into event management and started organizing countless successful events. Being highly skilled in all aspects of event planning and execution, her impeccable attention to detail held her in good stead. Her clients consistently praised her for her professionalism, creativity, and organizational skills and kept her busy with multiple events ranging from car rallies to soulful musical evenings with musical maestros. By 2012, their business had grown from nothing to Rs 98 crores, and their team expanded to 110 people. They were the go-to agency for advertising accounts of leading brands. Rising From the Ashes The company was thriving and growing until it lost one of its biggest clients, which caused them to fall into a state of despair, and delayed payments from others added fuel to the fire. They made the difficult decision to change their focus from media buying and planning to brand communication, with a specialization in creative design and content writing. However, their fortunes didn’t improve which lead to the closure of their media services division in 2017. This meant letting go of many of their long-standing employees, people who had been with them since the very beginning of Portrait Advertising. It was like losing a limb, and the pain of which is something that shall never go away. She and the company were almost bankrupt, with no funds left in their name. It also meant that she had to start from scratch and rebuild the company and business or let go. But she did not give up. If it meant rolling up her sleeves, tightening the belt, and burning the midnight oil once again, she was ready. Portrait advertising was her baby, and she wasn’t ready to give up or let go just yet. She continued with great financial difficulty and a lack of resources, fighting tooth and nail to keep her business alive. The Crossroads And then COVID happened. Suddenly, everything came to a standstill. Work stopped, schools closed, and people were confined to their homes. Life as we knew it came to a screeching halt. The ray of light came in the form of Paritosh Pathak’s workshop, New Rules of Professional Networking. The words, “without expecting anything in return, be genuine, give, and add value in everyone’s life” will stay forever imprinted in her heart and mind. So impressed was she that she decided to join the one-year program- Master Network Program (MNP) to continue her metamorphosis. She knew that she wanted to be a part of something that was going to help her grow and add value to other people’s lives. The MNP program is just that; it is a year-long program that helps people grow and connect with others. She is so excited to be a part of this program and can’t wait to see what the future holds. At this stage in her life and career, she is trying to give back as much as possible. She is driven about helping others and wants to make a difference in the world. Committed to making a positive impact in the lives of others, she’s doing everything she can to make that happen. Deriving strength out of her pain from a personal tragedy, she deeply cares about building awareness around breast cancer prevention and early detection. Grateful for everything she’s been able to achieve, she’s determined to use her success to help others. Excited about the future, she’s always looking forward to making a difference in the world. Upwards and Onwards… My valuable learnings from my life: Her life so far has taught her to always be positive with an attitude of gratitude, and She lives life to the fullest on the following principles: