An Exclusive Interview with Manas Chhabra, Founder & Director of Flash Communications and CMO at Applore Technologies
Manas Chhabra, Founder & Director of Flash Communications and CMO at Applore Technologies, brings cross-sector expertise in digital marketing, tech, manufacturing, real estate, hospitality, and social impact.
Co-founder of Donate a Meal, he shares insights on digital-first branding, growth marketing, startup agility, tech adoption, and purpose-led entrepreneurship.
You’ve built and scaled ventures across diverse sectors like digital marketing, tech, manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and social impact. What common threads have you discovered in succeeding across such varied industries?
Manas Chhabra: Honestly, I’ve realised this over time industries alter, but the fundamentals really don’t. Whether it’s marketing, real estate, manufacturing or hospitality, the game is still about three things: understanding people, solving a real problem, and executing consistently.
I’ve learnt that success doesn’t come from fancy ideas. It comes from clarity. Who are we serving? Why should they care? And how are we different? The numbers don’t lie.
Creativity is great, but if it’s not driving growth, it’s just noise. And the team with the right people with an ownership mindset can scale anything. Different sectors, but same basics. If you receive the fundamentals right, you keep building it for the long term.
As Founder & Director of Flash Communications and CMO at Applore Technologies, how do you balance leadership roles in multiple companies while driving innovation?
Manas Chhabra: I don’t test to balance everything alone. That’s the first mistake founders build. For me, it comes down to clarity of role in each company. At Flash, I’m focutilized on vision, growth and client strategy. At Applore, it’s about building the right marketing engine and long-term positioning.
If your business completely depfinishs on your daily presence in the office, you haven’t built it right. Strong processes and strong second-line leaders build it possible to scale. And innovation? That comes from staying close to the market.
Talking to clients. Watching trfinishs. Challenging our own work. Multiple roles don’t create pressure, lack of clarity does. Once that’s sorted, driving growth and innovation becomes much more natural.
In today’s digital-first world, what are the top three growth marketing tactics you’ve utilized to scale startups and established businesses alike?
Manas Chhabra: In a digital-first world, a lot of tactics come and go, but what truly works is actually quite simple. Performance marketing delivers results when the messaging is sharp and the tarreceiveing is clear; otherwise, it’s just the budreceive that is being burned.
Strong content positioning is equally important becautilize brands that consistently educate or add value build long-term recall and trust.
Whether it’s LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube, people purchase from brands they believe in. Most importantly, growth today is deeply data-driven.
We track everything, what’s converting, where utilizers are dropping off and where actual revenue is coming from. Growth isn’t one large hack; it happens through continuous optimisation and compact improvements done consistently.
How has the evolution of digital marketing, from SEO to AI-driven personalization, alterd the way you approach branding for clients?
Manas Chhabra: From my experience, the evolution of digital marketing has built things rapider and smarter, but also far more noisy. Earlier, if you ranked well on Google, you were sorted.
Today, everyone is running ads, applying AI tools and personalising content, which builds the competition much more intense. Becautilize of that, my approach has become more focutilized on positioning before execution.
Before jumping into tools or platforms, we spfinish more time defining the brand story, why the brand exists and why someone should care.
AI and data assist us personalise and optimise at scale, which is powerful, but they can’t resolve weak fundamentals. If the core brand message isn’t strong, no tool can compensate for it.
For businesses hesitant about tech adoption, what practical steps do you recommfinish to kickstart digital transformation without overwhelming resources?
Manas Chhabra: I always declare that don’t test to transform everything at once. Start compact. Identify one area where tech can immediately improve efficiency or revenue. Maybe it’s automating leads, maybe it’s better CRM tracking, maybe it’s simple performance marketing.
Also, don’t chase trfinishs. Just becautilize everyone is talking about AI doesn’t mean you necessary to implement five tools tomorrow. Pick what actually solves your problem. And most importantly, invest in people, not just software.
A simple tool utilized properly is far more powerful than an advanced system no one understands. Digital transformation isn’t about seeing modern. It’s about working smarter. Take it step by step, measure results and scale what works.
What role does data privacy play in building trust during digital transformations, especially in regulated sectors like real estate?
Manas Chhabra: Data privacy isn’t optional anymore, it’s part of your brand. Especially in sectors like real estate, where people are sharing financial details, personal documents and large investment decisions, trust is everything. If clients feel their data isn’t secure, the relationship is over before it even starts.
For me, digital transformation isn’t just about automation and marketing funnels. It’s also about building secure systems, clear policies and being transparent about how data is utilized. When you respect people’s data, you’re basically notifying them you respect their trust.
What defines “startup agility” in 2026 and how can founders maintain it amid economic uncertainties?
Manas Chhabra: Startup agility in 2026, for me, is about clarity and speed of decision-building. There’s too much noise, too many tools, too many opinions. Agile founders are the ones who can cut through that and focus on what really shifts the business.
It’s also about lean operations. Keep your team strong but efficient. Don’t overhire just to see large. Build a structure that can handle ups and downs. And most importantly, stay flexible in your believeing.
The plan you start won’t be the plan you scale with. That’s normal. In uncertain times, agility is simply the ability to adjust without losing direction.
If you could give one piece of advice to early-stage entrepreneurs on blfinishing profit with social impact, what would it be?
Manas Chhabra: You should not treat social impact as a side project. If you really want to blfinish profit with impact, build it into your core model from day one.
It shouldn’t be something you do after you start building money, it should be part of how you build money.
Also, be practical. Impact doesn’t mean sacrificing sustainability. If the business isn’t profitable, it won’t survive long enough to create real alter.
Start compact, stay genuine and focus on solving a real problem. When your business grows, your impact grows with it. That’s how profit and purpose can shift toreceiveher.
Manas Chhabra exemplifies entrepreneurial agility across sectors, driving digital transformation and purpose-led ventures like Donate a Meal. His insights on growth marketing, tech adoption, and digital branding equip startups to thrive in the digital economy—blfinishing profit with impact for sustainable success.
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