Rushil Mohan (Weinberg16, IMC18)

Co-Founder and Head of Product at Pidge

Rushil Mohan (Weinberg16, IMC18) chose the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program because of its “whole-brain” approach and the hands-on experience it offered. He says that the art and science of marketing he learned in the program has helped him have both empathy and discipline when managing his workforce. 

Mohan’s IMC training equipped him to go down multiple paths—ranging from data analysis to advertising strategy—but ultimately he decided to pursue an entrepreneurial journey with his father. Now, Mohan works as head of product at Pidge, the company he co-founded with his father. 

Tell me about your career path. How did you get where you are today?

I completed my bachelors from Northwestern with a double major in political science and economics and after a brief stint working with Egg Strategy in Chicago and Sony Pictures in India, I decided to pursue the IMC Full-Time program.

The IMC program was incredibly fulfilling and the breadth of relevant opportunities and coursework encouraged me to explore my horizons. I had the opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary manner through the P&G ventures project, strengthen data-driven storytelling through Spiegel, make recommendations to the C-Suite of a listed company during my summer immersion at Redbox and had a taste of entrepreneurship while working with ReBlend.

I eventually chose to pursue an entrepreneurial journey with my father. At the end of the day, working directly with an experienced global business leader such as him and the opportunity to disrupt were tremendously exciting.

What are your main responsibilities as the Co-Founder and Head of Product at Pidge?

Any entrepreneur will attest that every day has a little bit of everything. As co-founder, I help drive operational efficiencies through system use, interact and deal with business customers, automate processes with finance, and explore new initiatives and avenues as they arise.

More specifically as head of product, I ideate, document, and see through the development and execution of our suite of seven products and its related features. This involves the entire journey of product development—starting with stakeholder problem statements, iterating, designing prototypes and then ensuring that the final product is performing as expected. Given that we have seven products and are a growing company, we’re constantly challenging ourselves on how to build bigger and better. Every day feels exciting and fulfilling.

How did the Medill IMC program prepare you for co-founding a company?

Master’s programs are more geared towards inciting a certain way of thinking, and developing capabilities in building cross functional and diverse teams. While there was no way of preparing for the roller coaster of entrepreneurship, the team projects, live-client exposure and ambiguous problems we dealt with every day create familiarity with uncertainty and unpredictability. As we face new challenges and opportunities every day, I find inspiration in how I thrived over the course of the IMC program.

How do you apply the IMC way of thinking that uses both art and science in your job?

I specifically chose the IMC program because of the emphasis on ‘whole-brain’ thinking. My work at Spiegel, Shoprunner and Redbox epitomized that. My dual responsibilities of co-founder and head of product, require those skills every day as well.

As a last-mile logistics company, Pidge delivers through its exclusive workforce. To effectively manage this workforce, we need to constantly exercise empathy (art) and discipline (science). Similarly, as head of product, I use science, data, and its measurement and management to identify areas of improvement and efficiency in the existing business and product. However, to create solutions, I need to leverage the ‘art’ side of thinking and choose the option and feature that will most effectively solve the problem at hand.

The art of client counselling which we learn through live projects at IMC helps design business solutions and be best prepared for future requirements. We’re constantly encouraged to give the client what they need and that attitude helps future-proof products.

What did you do during your Immersion Quarter? How has it helped you in your career?

I had the privilege of working with Redbox during my Immersion Quarter summer. I was initially hesitant, questioning the value I could add to a DVD rental service, but the experience turned out to be incredibly enriching. 

Redbox was great on two fronts. First, I had to dig deep into frameworks, segmentations, and the depths of my compassion to fully understand and market to an audience that was different to my own personal behavior. It really embodied what it means to market without being a consumer. Second, it gave me a tremendous amount of confidence that I can control and directly impact my own success.

After 10 weeks, we had presented a highly-detailed segmentation-driven business and marketing strategy that helped them leverage existing assets and tap new opportunities. My team and I evolved the scope of work ourselves to be even grander than what we were initially prescribed to. Consequently, the Redbox team was impressed with our output and even asked us to present to the C-Suite and members of the board. A few months after immersion, Redbox even messaged us when the strategies went live.

Today, I take that same approach to every problem I solve with Pidge. Often I’m solving and creating for a completely diverse group of customers, sometimes I have to find and create solutions when there are seemingly none. But every single moment I remember and imbibe that my success is my own and my chances of success are only improved when I work harder.

What is a class or experience that sticks out in your mind and why?

IMC was tremendous because rubbing shoulders with talented and motivated students and highly accomplished professors and guests has shaped who I am today. I want to specifically highlight my experiences and interactions with professors Jonathan Copulsky, Jim Lecinski, and Tom Collinger. Through them, I learned how to look at the world around me, and at myself, differently. Their style of teaching and approach to mentoring helped me understand concepts at their core. Today, I feel thoroughly equipped to handle professional challenges and opportunities because of the approach and mindset that they helped instill.

My IMC highlight was presenting at TalentQ in 2018. I remember being blown away by the Spiegel Research Fellows in 2015 when I was still in undergrad, and promising myself that one day I would be up there as well. In the three years in between, I applied and got admitted to the IMC program, applied and got admitted to the Spiegel Research Center, made a significant impact to Shoprunner during that summer and I also had the opportunity to continue working with them in the fall. 

Our findings were incredibly well received at TalentQ and received a round of applause from the audience. That will always be my favorite memory.

How has the Northwestern/Medill IMC network and/or Medill Career Services helped you in your career?

Career Services has significantly shaped my success as an entrepreneur at Pidge. Today, when I sit across the table from candidates who want to work at Pidge, I look for the same preparation, values and approach that I was encouraged to embody when seeking advice from Career Services. Evaluating candidates in the same way I was expected to be evaluated has helped me find really talented and motivated professionals who have helped build Pidge into the business it is today.

What other types of master’s programs did you consider (MBA, etc.)? Why did you choose Medill IMC?

My approach to education has always been to pursue knowledge that I believe would directly help me and be surrounded by people who would indirectly help me. I chose the IMC Full-Time program because it supplemented my undergraduate education and because the coursework and faculty are highly distinguished and relevant to my interests. 

Certain Medill-exclusives also did sweeten the deal. Being a part of Spiegel, for example, was highly desirable because of the access to real datasets and feedback and conversation from forward-thinking business leaders. I also felt the Immersion Quarter has an edge over other programs’ because of its highly focused nature and curated list of partner companies.

What advice would you give to someone considering Medill IMC?

The Medill IMC program, just like much of Northwestern, gives students the opportunity to forge their own path. There are numerous academic courses and opportunities within and outside Northwestern, and I encourage finding the path that best suits your interests. The Medill IMC program is unambiguously the premier integrated marketing and data analytics program in the world, and I highly encourage it for those who are looking to develop a whole-brain approach to problem solving.