Lady who loves catching and converting your dreams into reality-Shalima Motial

As it is said, “For those who dare to dream, there is a whole world to win.”Shalima Motial’s entrepreneur journey proves this quote that always dream big, you will never realize in your life journey when your dream converted into reality. Shalima Motial is CEO of Dream Catchers Vision, Singapore. Dream Catchers is a Singapore headquartered talent showcase platform, with global ambitions.It gives people opportunity to get closer to their dream.This platform hosts creative talent’s videos; be it in singing, dancing, playing an instrument, acting or being a stand-up comedian. A combination of judge’s ratings, combined with fan votes determines whether participants emerge among the top talents and upcoming artists.With a motto Dare to dream big Dream Catchers welcomes creative talent to a world of stardom!Womenlines proudly shares Shalima’s entrepreneurial journey in her own words-

1. Please share with our readers a little bit about yourself?       

Hi, I am Shalima Motial, Founder, and CEO of Dream Catchers Vision. I am a very positive, fun-loving, God-Loving and an out and out people’s person. My dad, who was in the Indian Air Force, had a transferable job and as a result, I completed 13 years of my schooling in 8 different schools across India! So, that’s the kind of exposure that shaped my life; growing up in different cities & meeting so many different people in my life. I believe life is a journey and one is meant to live every second of it with full enthusiasm.

In my working life, I’ve had the opportunity to venture into diverse fields from Fashion Designing, to flying as Cabin Crew and working in the PR Industry. But I’ve always had this entrepreneur streak in me which led me to set up my own Employment Agency in India as my first venture. After moving to Singapore I found my calling in the form of Dream Catchers which is now in its 3^rd year.

2. So when did you venture into this venture and what inspired or motivated you to take a plunge into this venture?

Dream Catchers is a global Online platform to discover and promote performing artists. Our aim is to be a stepping stone in an artist’s journey to fame and earnings. We use the power of the web, online tools, and online contests to help great upcoming artists ‘Get Discovered, From Home’.The idea of ‘Dream Catchers’ came to me in April 2011 and I was excited by the possibilities of building a ‘Global Idol’ akin to an ‘American Idol’. Only that this can be far more scalable and way more convenient for artists to join.

The prospect of starting something new in an unchartered territory motivated me to take the plunge. So, within 3 days of hitting upon the idea, I registered the company and we were on our way. Today we have over 500 artists in the community who are supported by over 13,000 fans on Facebook. We’ve run over 12 global online contests with our brand ‘Most Wanted Entertainer’ and hosted online auditions in Singapore for SingTel Mio TV-Radio Masti and for NUS Stardust.

Know more about us and join us at www.dreamcatchersvision.com

3. Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced during your initial days?

As with all Entrepreneurs, I’ve had my share of challenges. First of all, as this is greenfield, there are no clear benchmarks or revenues reported from other competitors based on which I can easily assess market size. So this means really backing your belief with strong conviction and putting your money where the mouth is. The recent nomination for SICCI’s ‘Most Successful Entrepreneur’ and the successful concert “Bandwidth” organized by Dream Catchers was a shot in the arm to prove we are on the right track.

The second challenge, common to most entrepreneurs, is striking the right balance of how much cash to invest vs. burn. So, in the first two years, I’ve focused mainly on Singapore with smaller pilots in Philippines and India. Now that we are beginning to see the success we will scale, including onboarding the right investors.

4. So how do you balance your personal and professional life?

A great part of being an Entrepreneur is that you can define your own rules for work-life. So I’d say I am balancing personal and professional life very well. I am able to take out time for family, friends and all the important personal moments like my children’s school events while being effective at work. I am up till midnight working too sometimes when there is a need, we have contest deadlines and things have to be done. So, I work hard and I get to party hard too!

5. What would you suggest to other aspiring women who want to venture out on their own?

I would strongly suggest them to just go ahead and do it. Whatever it is that their heart desires, one small step at a time and the path gets created on its own, as they say, where there is a will there is a way J! And being your own boss helps you juggle work and life the best!

6. Is there any person who has mentored/supported/inspired you?

I wouldn’t have done this without the support from my husband Himanshu, he has been so encouraging, a good mentor and a critique too. I also want to acknowledge my friends, they have loved, supported and encouraged me always and last but not the least my 2 daughters who are my biggest fans and take major pride in Dream Catchers.

7. What do you have in the pipeline for your venture’s future development?

Expanding our artist base and growing presence in South East Asia are our next priority. If you are an artist, we invite you to join us atwww.dreamcatchersvision.com and look out for updates on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/dreamcatchersvision

Currently, we have 3 contests running, one is a Dream Catchers Production called “Most wanted Entertainer-Season-4”, it is for singers, musicians and dancers World Wide. The other 2 are in association with Singtel Mio and Radio Masti 96.3 Fm called “Mio Masti Showcase 2014” for Hindi singers in Singapore and “Ms. Personality” search for the woman of substance.

Womenlines wish all the best to Shalima Motial for her future!

 

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting Excellence in Women!

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