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By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 3:28:38 am

When Growth Confuses Markets

In business, growth is often associated with expansion. As companies evolve, founders naturally begin exploring additional services, new verticals, and complementary offerings that can strengthen revenue and create larger opportunities. From a business standpoint, this progression appears logical. The entrepreneur sees the connection clearly because the new service often emerges directly from existing expertise. However, markets do not always interpret expansion the way founders expect them...

When Growth Confuses Markets

In business, growth is often associated with expansion. As companies evolve, founders naturally begin exploring additional services, new verticals, and complementary offerings that can strengthen revenue and create larger opportunities. From a business standpoint, this progression appears logical. The entrepreneur sees the connection clearly because the new service often emerges directly from existing expertise. However, markets do not always interpret expansion the way founders expect them to. Recently, during a conversation with an entrepreneur, this reality became particularly evident. She explained that despite putting significant effort into growing her business and introducing additional services connected to her current work, she was struggling to attract clients for these newer offerings. What surprised her most was not the lack of effort being made, but the lack of understanding from the market itself. People were becoming uncertain. Existing clients no longer clearly understood what exactly she should now be known for. And in business, the moment perception becomes unclear, trust begins weakening faster than most founders realise. The services were related, the value proposition made sense internally, and from her perspective the transition felt natural. Yet externally, the audience struggled to clearly understand what exactly she now represented. Existing clients knew her for one thing, while her newer positioning was attempting to communicate something broader. This is becoming increasingly common among founders and business owners operating at substantial levels of turnover. At earlier stages of business, growth is often driven by activity. More services, more offerings, and more visibility appear to create momentum. But as businesses scale, particularly beyond the ₹5 crore mark, perception begins playing a far more significant role in determining growth. The challenge is not always capability. Very often, the challenge is clarity. Many entrepreneurs underestimate how quickly confusion weakens trust. Audiences today process information rapidly and make judgments even faster. They do not spend long periods trying to decode a founder’s positioning. The moment the messaging feels inconsistent or overly broad, attention begins to drift elsewhere. This creates a hidden business problem that many founders fail to recognise immediately. The entrepreneur continues investing more effort. More meetings are scheduled, more marketing is executed, more content is created, and more explanations are repeatedly given to the market. Yet despite all this activity, conversions remain inconsistent because the underlying issue has not been addressed. The market does not clearly understand where to place the individual. This is where personal branding becomes a business necessity rather than a visibility exercise. A strong personal brand creates strategic clarity. It allows people to immediately understand not only what an entrepreneur does, but why the additional services make sense within the larger identity of the founder and the business itself. Without this alignment, even valuable offerings begin to feel disconnected. Over time, this confusion creates broader consequences. Opportunities become slower to materialise. Referrals reduce because people struggle to explain the business clearly to others. Premium positioning weakens because clarity is directly connected to authority. In many cases, founders begin questioning their marketing strategies when the actual issue lies in how their positioning is being perceived. This becomes particularly dangerous in today’s environment where visibility is abundant but attention is limited. The founders who continue to grow are rarely the ones trying to communicate everything simultaneously. They are the ones who build a clear identity first and then strategically expand around it. Their audience understands not only what they currently offer, but also why future offerings naturally belong within their ecosystem. This distinction changes everything. Because in business, people rarely buy what confuses them. They buy what they can quickly understand and confidently trust. For founders and business owners who feel they are putting in increasing effort yet still struggling to position newer services effectively, this may be an important moment for reflection. Sometimes the issue is not the quality of the offering, but the clarity of the perception surrounding it. I work with a select group of founders and entrepreneurs to help them identify these positioning gaps, refine how they are perceived in the market, and build personal brands that create stronger authority, trust, and business growth. Those who wish to explore this further may book a complimentary 30-minute Founder Brand Audit here: https://calendly.com/divyaaadvaani/founder-brand-audit In the end, businesses rarely lose only because of weak services. Increasingly, they lose because the market understands someone else faster. In a world overwhelmed by options, clarity is no longer just a branding advantage. It is becoming one of the strongest competitive advantages a founder can build. (The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

Destruction and Death

The Ahmedabad plane crash shattered lives and hopes in an instant. Over 260 souls were lost, families broken, and a city was left to mourn a tragedy too vast to comprehend.

Ahmedabad has faced many tragedies, but the 12 June 2025 plane crash remains unforgettable. Over 270 lives were lost when an Air India flight to London crashed into a medical college, bursting into flames. Families from eight districts rushed to identify their loved ones. The aircraft crashed just four minutes after take-off.


The aircraft was carrying about 1.2 lakh litres of aviation fuel. It was a tragedy beyond imagination. Condolences feel too small a word for families who have lost loved ones. The plane split in two, with one part crashing 100 metres away and triggering a massive explosion.


The blast was so loud that BJ Medical College students thought it was a bomb. In a panic, many jumped from the third floor, suffering injuries. The tail section struck the hostel canteen, injuring several students during lunch.


It was a scene too horrific to describe. No one in Gujarat or Ahmedabad will forget the deafening explosion and the fire that followed, consuming lives and fuel alike. Many tourists were burnt alive. The yellow flames cast a permanent black shadow over countless families.


When we arrived at the scene, it felt like the building bore witness to death.


After removing the aircraft’s engine and other debris, we were confronted with the grim sight of bodies; tragically, not a single one was intact. Body parts lay scattered amidst the devastation.


The crash site was personally significant, as I spent my childhood in that area. The impact caused a massive explosion and fireball, with flames visible kilometres away. One wing reportedly fell on a nearby road, sparking a fire. Given the heavy traffic, there were fears that motorists were caught in the blaze.


I live just 500 metres from the plane crash site. A friend of mine, who works at the local police station, called and said, “A plane has crashed. Please get to the site — and bring as many people as you can to help.” From the urgency in his voice, it was clear this was no ordinary accident.


Within 20 minutes, a few friends and I reached the scene, and what lay before us looked like something out of a Hollywood film. For a moment, I was frozen, unable to process what to do.


A fire official warned us to stay back, as flames and explosions from the hostel still raged. With the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation staff, we used four JCBs to clear the road for ambulances. The plane-hit building, Atulyam Tower, looked monstrous. Medical students were having lunch when the crash happened — who could have imagined it?


Slowly, bodies began to emerge from the rubble. Heartbreakingly, not a single one was intact. With the scattered remains, it became clear where people had died.


My friend and former corporator Bhadreshbhai Makwana joined the rescue, helping evacuate people and coordinating with the ambulance service, police, and fire department.


The tragedy deepened with news that former Chief Minister VijaybhaiRupani also died in the crash. Under his leadership, Gujarat saw the rise of Metro, AIIMS, and railway coach units. Known for his simplicity, he made his final journey heavenward. Rajkot bid him a tearful farewell, mourning into the night despite the relentless rain.


Valuable items found were returned to the authorities. The relief work continued till 6.30 pm, till other agencies took control of the site. Despite relief efforts with RSS volunteers, we saw crying faces, helplessness, and people unable to find their loved ones. For 12 consecutive days after the plane crash, it felt as if Ahmedabad was enduring an accident. Whether it was a technical fault or a human error is a subject of research, but the people of India will never forget such an incident.


This heart-wrenching incident shocked everyone. For the relatives of the deceased, this incident is a loss. Time often heals, but here, people witness the wrath of time. It was a scene where even a brave and steadfast person would collapse. The kingdom of rubble seemed to rule over the dead. Amidst the relief work, some acts reflected humanity. NGOs, temples (specifically the Swaminarayan temple, Shahibagh), and the RSS arranged for drinking water and food. Ahmedabad, at that moment, set a milestone in humanity.


The crash happened in Ahmedabad, but those lost can now only be seen in photographs. They may be silent, but their memories will remain. No one could have imagined that a journey that started with aspirations would end in permanent loss. No one would wish such deaths of tourists, students, and children even for their enemy.

(The author is a professional based in Ahmedabad. Views personal.)

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