Surbhi Aroraa
My work has always come back to one question: how do products actually find the people who want them? I've chased it across very different worlds. At Reckitt I sold across the health portfolio and saw how the biggest brands like Dettol, Durex, Veet reach millions of people, distribution done at a scale most companies never touch. Then I moved into startups, joining as one of the first few employees, building growth and brand from nothing and helping bring the first 100,000 users onto an OTT platform. Somewhere in there I started my own marketing agency and an audio edtech product of my own. Wherever I've worked, the same lesson keeps showing up: distribution is what decides who wins. Even the best product struggles from the wrong shelf. That's the problem I find most interesting, and the one I want to keep working on.
My Story
If there's a thread running through my career, it's that I'm drawn to building. I like the early, undefined stage, where nobody has the answers yet and someone has to go and find them. That's the kind of work that has always pulled me in.
I studied Economics at Delhi University, did my MBA at Bennett, and later an executive program at Wharton. All of it was useful, but the real education came from the work itself.
It started at Reckitt, where I was selected for their Sales Leadership Program. What made it extraordinary was how often everything changed. Every few months my channel, my territory and my team would shift completely. One stretch I'd be selling into small mom and pop stores, the next into supermarkets, then into modern trade accounts like DMart and Wellness Forever. One month I'd be in Bandra, the next in the remotest villages around Ujjain.
Glimpse into being my colleague
"Quick learner with Organisationals skills. Brings the entrepreneurial perspective into any team, owns stuff end to end and comfortably wears multiple hats such as partnerships, strategy, marketing etc"
Parag Arora
YC Alumni, Founder of multiple tech startups
"Highly disciplined and structured. Cracks deadlines and embraces challenges such as new accounts, milestones or territories head on. Great at ideating initiatives influenced by trade and first hand consumer experience."
Prabhakar Jha
National Customer Marketing Manager, Abbott
"Surbhi possesses an impressive set of personal attributes that include goalorientation, perseverance, articulation, quiet diplomacy, and single-mindedness"
Prof Milind Padalkar
Professor, Ex- SVP and Head Oracle
"Surbhi is a good listener and analytic thinker. She is precise in execution and possesses smart ways to looking into business situations."
Arpan Chakraborty
National Key Account Manager, Abbott
Working with Surbhi
Over time I've reflected a lot about how I think and work. I've written some of it down below. Hopefully it gives you an honest sense of me before we think about working together.
What shapes the way I see things, and how my thinking keeps growing.
Meeting People
Travel
Reading
How I get up to speed when I'm dropped into something new, and what I lean on to figure things out fast.
Dare to say Yes
Document
Embrace failure
What I'm actually like to work with day to day, how I make decisions, where I add the most, and how I operate when things get messy.
How I lead
My Strengths
My Growth Areas