Amit Vardhan

A marketing maestro, Amit Vardhan has been heading Prism Advertising for the last 17 years and has been a BNI member since 2008. In his 12 year journey with BNI, he’s seen his share of ups and downs but the support he’s received has been unparalleled. “What I saw in BNI was a lot of positive entrepreneurs,” Amit says. “People helping each other, coming together, and joining hands to walk through the tough times to achieve what they have today.”

Amit has launched BNI Genesis and BNI Billionaires and now is the joint Launch Director for BNI Emperor. That’s quite a monumental feat, so, what’s his motivation? “When I help people and they come back and tell me how grateful they are that I have introduced them to BNI, that’s a big motivation. Being told success stories in BNI, I feel very proud for introducing them to this platform.”

The foundation of BNI’s core values, Amit firmly believes in the Givers Gain philosophy of BNI. “What goes around comes around. This is a very spiritual law of the universe, and it does help,” Amit says. “I enjoy getting people into this setup where they grow their businesses, grow their relationships, and become a strong team and a strong person.”

In these interesting times, launching chapters online as opposed to in-person has become the new norm. When asked what the online experience is like Amit laughs, “There is good and bad to everything. There are a lot of positives and advantages. But, yes the fun of a physical meeting gets you better bonding, better control, better relationships. It is definitely more impactful.”

As a piece of advice to members aspiring to become Ambassadors or Director Consultants, Amit highlights a common misconception. “Members think that taking roles and responsibilities will bog them down with more work, leaving less time for their business,” he states. “We should understand that the more time we give to BNI is more business for all of us.”

Aiming to take up leadership roles for more visibility should be a high priority for current members. “The kind of respect and visibility you get as an Ambassador or a Director is next level,” Amit adds. “Once you get into it, you will do more and more and you will gain more and more.”

Launching a chapter is a whole different ball game versus supporting a chapter. When it comes to being a support director, Amit thinks keeping the readymade team together is key. “Retention is an issue that chapters have been facing. Getting the leadership teams going and performing, making those teams work together, giving each one responsibility, keeping them growing is a different kind of challenge than putting some people together.”

“Bringing people together is one skill set, and keeping people together is the second skill set. I’m doing both!”

As a launch director, he says, “You need to make people believe in you and the system because they’ve never seen what it is. They have to experience it later.”

Looking toward the future, Amit is excited about launching BNI Emperor and more chapters soon. “I love to do it, it’s my passion! Next, we’re looking forward to another launch.”