Prajakta Koli planned to be a radio disc jockey since the age of 9. She aspired for a career where she could reach people and maintain creative freedom.
Encouraged by her audience, Prajakta evolved her comedic-related content to delve into social advocacy. She’s participated in and even started campaigns to combat body shaming, gender inequality, climate change and many more.
Her next content product will be a book. She’s opted to just wing it rather than follow a fixed process.

Why We Stan:

By shifting her dreams, Prajakta attained the freedom she wanted and reached more people than she ever planned. She began with a simple content tilt and evolved the brand based on her audience’s feedback. Her work with social issues has inspired people around the world.

The Story of Prajakta Koli

Prajakta Koli knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“The plan was to become a radio jockey and be the voice of the masses,” she wries on her website. In her eyes, no other career would allow her to reach so many people with as much freedom as on-air disc jockey.

Since the age of 9, she dedicated herself to this dream in everything she did in and out of the classroom. As she explained on the US Embassy India’s YouTube Channel, “I knew exactly what I wanted to study. I knew exactly how my entire life was going to pan out because I’d mapped it point to point, and when I started making content, I kind of just stopped doing that.”

Today, Prajakta is no radio jockey. She’s a YouTuber, a comedian, an activist, an author, a singer, and an actress. Her life couldn’t have veered away from her plans more spectacularly, but her dreams came true all the same. As a content creator, she has the freedom to choose what she wants to say and what project she takes on. She has the power to reach people – the power to be the voice of the masses.

“One of my most favorite things about being a creator has been the impact,” she tells the US Embassy in India. Social issues have been a huge focus, and the list is long. She started with body positivity, and quickly expanded to advocating for girl education, mental health awareness, gender equality, climate change and more. Prajakta was named United Nations Development Programme India’s first Youth Climate Champion and NDTV’s Climate Influencer Of The Year in 2022. She has impacted lives across the world with her #iPledgeToBeMe campaign against body shaming and projects like She Creates Change.

Audience interaction sparks growth

“Early on in my journey, I realized my audience was very responsive and engaged in honest, critical feedback. This interaction with my audience has been my strength in socially relevant conversations, and I realized that my digital platforms have a significant reach — hence, I see them as a vehicle to spread these important messages.” Prajakta tells CherryPicks. “My audience played a huge role in supporting and encouraging me to discuss these topics.”

Initially, Prajakta’s YouTube channel was dedicated to her comedy sketches about relatable moments she experienced living in Mumbai, such as her first video, 5 Types of Singles on Valentine’s Day. She was encouraged to start the comedy channel in 2015 by a talent agent she met interning at the radio station Fever 104 FM. It took about a year before she started talking about social issues. Prajakta has over 7M subscribers and was named to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2019.

Running a comedy YouTube Channel makes for a chaotic life, but Prajakkta loves the freedom. “One of my favorite things about my job is that no day is typical,l” she tells CherryPicks. “For example, yesterday involved shooting a dance video and an important briefing, while today includes writer’s room discussions, meetings about new projects, and traveling for a friend’s baby shower. I kind of get bored of monotony very quickly, so I love that not one day in my life will be like another.”

Content changes as entrepreneur does

Her content creation process has evolved. She started by noting everyday situations she found funny and turning them into videos. Now that she’s more involved in writing for shows and movies, she focuses on creating content she would enjoy. Prajakta is even working on a book, which she says has been even less structured. She tells CherryPicks, “Currently, I don’t have a fixed process; I’m just winging it.”

Prajakta’s career is extremely varied these days. In addition to her YouTube channel, her advocacy campaigns, and her book, she has starred in shows like Netflix’s Mismatched and movies like JugJugg Jeeyo. She’s even released some songs like her single “Shameless,” released as part of the #iPledgeToBeMe campaign.

The post From Radio Dreams to Content Entrepreneur: Prajakta Koli’s Unplanned Path to Success appeared first on The Tilt Publishing.

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