Shilpa Dantu

State President, Andhra Pradesh Handloom Council

In 2007, at the age of 24, Shilpanjani Dantu founded Yo! Vizag, an infotainment lifestyle magazine for the city of Visakhapatnam. She started the magazine alongside her brother, Vishnu Dantu, both of whom were venturing into journalism and media for the first time.

After completing her Bachelor's Degree in Computer Applications from the University of Madras, Shilpanjani entered the world of sales and marketing at NIIT in 1999. She worked in Chennai and Bangalore before her desire for challenging roles led her to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, as an MIS Project Specialist. She later returned to India in 2006 and worked as an Assistant Director in a software organisation based in Vizag.

However, Shilpanjani's strong determination to establish her own identity in a competitive world led to the creation of Yo! Vizag magazine. The first issue was released on February 27, 2008. With engaging and enterprising content, the magazine quickly resonated with readers and became a well-known publication.Today, the digital edition and dedicated website make the magazine's content accessible to people around the world who want to stay connected with the happenings of this wonderful city. The website, www.yovizag.com, has over 3 million page views and continues to grow, making it a prominent influencer and one of the fastest-growing online media houses in Andhra Pradesh. It also caters to the readership of the NRI segment of Andhra origin.

By the end of 2008, Shilpanjani also entered the advertising industry as a Business Partner at IdeaFirst, a creative advertising agency.

IdeaFirst - Designation: Co-Founder

IdeaFirst is Visakhapatnam's premier advertising and communications agency, covering various categories such as healthcare and wellness, realty and infrastructure, public sector, education, retail, and hospitality.

IdeaFirst offers services including logo creation, design solutions, brand building, corporate communication, external and internal branding, digital services, social media marketing, content creation, film and print production, and on-ground/event collaterals.

Despite facing numerous challenges over the past decade, Yo! Vizag and IdeaFirst have become well-known brands in their respective fields. In 2016, after establishing a reputation for herself, Shilpanjani launched Loom Bazaar, an enterprise aimed at promoting crafts and handloom products. However, the enterprise faced initial challenges and did not take off as expected.