Raakhi Agrawal, Leading Teams in Launching New Products & Businesses

September 28th, 2020

Raakhi Agrawal is the Director of Growth at BCG Digital Ventures, a firm that helps corporations think and act like venture capitalists through a portfolio of investable business ideas and a relentless dedication to consumers. In her role, she leads multidisciplinary teams in launching new products and businesses. Prior to BCG Digital Ventures, Raakhi acquired her business chops through Booz Allen Hamilton, Duke Fuqua School of Business, and Nestle.

In this feature, Raakhi shares with us how consulting provided her with the skillset she still utilizes today, the steps she took to switch careers, and how her role in marketing differs in the companies she’s led. Read along to soak up her incredible career advice for ambitious women, such as yourself.

Early Career

You graduated from Boston College with a degree in Political Science and started your career in political consulting after graduation. How did your studies influence your early career?

My studies fostered my interest in International Relations and being involved in government relations. I knew I wanted to move to D.C. after graduation because of what I had studied. My first job was with a small consulting firm named - ICF International in their Homeland Security Practice. I then moved onto Booz Allen Hamilton in order to get better training and more opportunities to develop as I was still so early in my career. At Booz I helped the Department of Defense with acquisition and procurement efforts.

What were the most important skills you learned during the first few years of your career in consulting, and how do they still apply to your job today?

Consulting was great for building foundational skills in client management, working on cross-functional teams, analytics skills, project management and time management. I still leverage all of these skills to this day. These skills also helped when I transitioned to a career in Marketing at Nestle. I think the training a large, reputable consulting firm provides people who are early in their careers is invaluable for your long term career growth.

You pursued an MBA in Marketing / Brand Management at Duke after a few years in consulting. Why did you decide to go back to school, and what advice do you have for those contemplating getting an MBA?

While I was successful in growing in my career at Booz, I wanted to have more ownership over my work vs handing things off to my clients after working on them for months. I went to get my MBA in order to switch careers. I would have been pigeonholed and not able to make this transition if it had not been for my MBA. It gave me access to training, recruiters etc. who were looking for people like me who had cross functional skills that could be applied to the marketing world. Getting an MBA is an investment and I would encourage everyone to be very clear in their purpose for why they are going. It is OK for it to change once they are there, but you definitely should have a goal oriented vision of what you want to get out of it.

Post MBA, you moved into marketing at Nestle, where you progressed from a Marketing Intern to a Digital Strategy Marketing Manager in 5 years. What advice do you have for young women looking to climb the corporate ladder?

Advancement looks very different at every company. It is important to understand how long the average person stays at each level and what you need to do to get to the next step. At Nestle, it was slow and steady. Someone had to vacate a Manager, Director, VP position etc. for there to be an opening which meant promotions were slower than they were at other organizations that I have worked at. However, what I learned in my 3 years as an ABM (Associate Brand Manager) on two different brands built a foundational training in marketing that I am extremely thankful for and continue to draw on every single day. I also took the less traditional path and became a Digital Strategy Manager before going the typical Brand Manager route and that set me up very well for the next phase of my career.

BCG Digital Ventures

When you first started at BCGDV, your role was “Lead Growth Marketer.” How did this job differ from prior Marketing roles?

At DV, I was not only expected to be strong in marketing strategy, client management etc, but as a Lead, I also needed to know how to execute. Where I had previously relied on agencies for executing my campaigns and providing me with data to make decisions, I now found myself having to develop these skills myself. I ran my own ads on Facebook and Google, placed my own pixels on pages and learned how to launch landing pages and leverage Google Tag Manager to appropriately track visitors to my pages and how they interacted with my ads to name some of my new skills. Having access to the data myself and having the executional know how actually make me a stronger strategist and more credible with my clients.

After 1.5 years at BCGDV, you were promoted to Director of Growth. How has your role changed since you joined, and what did you do to advocate for yourself for a promotion?

As a director, I now more consistently lead multidisciplinary teams as a General Manager of ventures in addition to leading more Growth Marketing focused cases. As a GM, I work with engineers, designers, product managers etc. to launch new products and businesses. I also lead the Growth Cohort at DV of 25+ growth marketers at DV. This past year, I developed and brought on a co-lead to create an opportunity for him in sharing the leadership responsibility.

Advice

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting your career?

When you are younger, you have all the time in the world. Ask for more, take on more than you are given, take advantage of every training or education credit there is so you can develop yourself while you still have the time. Be the ultimate overachiever. It will pay off later.

What’s your advice for women looking to make a career switch?

Be sure to talk to as many people as you can who have the career you aspire to and fully understand what it will take to make that career switch. For example, do you need a specific degree, skills or simply a connection to the right person?

Who is one woman you aspire to be like?

It is hard to choose just one since there are so many influential and powerful women out there. The two that come to mind are Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Michelle - for her fun spirit, grace and oratory prowess. Her husband is such a prominent and beloved figure that she could have easily fallen in his shadow, but she is revered for her own contributions to the American people and the world. I also admire how she was also a great mother despite having to raise her two daughters in the spotlight during their formative years. RBG - I admire for her ability to influence others with differing opinions to her own. The impact she made despite her soft-spoken, shy demeanor is tremendous.

Raakhi Agrawal is participating in our Grow Your Career Program, a 10-week virtual professional development program for women early in their careers looking for a career change, as the BCG Digital Ventures Women volunteer sponsor!