Synopsis: Schbang founded in 2015 is a digital-first agency, based in Mumbai. It recognised that businesses no longer needed multiple vendors for branding, technology, media, content, and analytics—they needed one integrated partner capable of delivering measurable business outcomes. Over the past decade, Schbang has evolved into one of India’s largest independent creative, media, and technology transformation companies, serving over 300+ brands with a team of roughly 1000+ specialists. Its journey is not merely the story of a successful agency but a case study in identifying market gaps, embracing technology, and building a scalable business model for the digital economy.
July 20, 2026: Advertising was always a part and parcel while running a business since the 1800’s. It started off as word of mouth. Although, later it became a big umbrella term that was defined as “Any product or service that wants to stay in market has to be kept advertising”. India’s marketing industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last decade. At the same time, companies increasingly wanted fewer vendors and greater accountability.
This changing landscape created an opportunity that three entrepreneurs—Harshil Karia, Sohil Karia, and Akshay Gurnani—identified early, leading to the creation of Schbang in Mumbai in 2015. Gurnani exited the company in March 2025, with Karia and Karia acquiring his shares and taking full ownership; Harshil Karia continues as founder and CEO, with Sohil Karia as co-founder and chief of digital transformation. What followed was the emergence of a company that today describes itself not as an advertising agency but as a Creative, Media & Technology Transformation Company.
Author: Tavisha Kanodia | EQMint
Finding Opportunity Where the Industry Saw Complexity
When Schbang entered the market, brands typically worked with multiple agencies—one for creative campaigns, another for media buying, another for website development, and separate firms for production, SEO, influencer marketing, and analytics. While specialised expertise existed, the fragmented structure often resulted in inconsistent messaging, slower execution, and higher coordination costs.
Schbang’s founders challenged this model. Instead of specialising in one service, they built an integrated organisation where designers, developers, strategists, media planners, filmmakers, technologists, and analysts worked together under one roof. The company’s very name—derived from the phrase “the whole shebang”—symbolises its ambition to provide complete end-to-end solutions rather than isolated marketing services.
Scaling Beyond Advertising
Over the years, Schbang expanded far beyond social media management. Today, its capabilities include brand strategy, digital marketing, technology solutions, website and app development, media planning, influencer marketing, search engine optimisation, customer relationship management (CRM), production, and research-driven analytics. It has also built specialised production capabilities through Schbang Motion Pictures and in-house content teams, allowing faster execution and greater creative control.
The company’s client portfolio reflects this diversification. It has partnered with brands including Amazon, Jio, Britannia, Fevicol, Tata Neu, Myntra, Akasa Air, Porsche, Philips, Xiaomi, H&M, Kotak811, Johnson & Johnson, Swiggy, Domino’s, Mumbai Police, and many others across sectors such as retail, healthcare, financial services, mobility, consumer goods, and technology. Rather than focusing on a single industry, Schbang built expertise across multiple sectors, reducing dependence on any one market.
Competing with Global Giants—and Preparing for the AI Era
Schbang entered a market dominated by global advertising networks such as WPP, Publicis Groupe, Dentsu, Omnicom, and IPG. Competing against organisations with decades of client relationships required a different strategy. Instead of relying solely on creative campaigns, Schbang invested heavily in technology partnerships, integrated workflows, and measurable business outcomes. The company today is a Google Premier Partner, Adobe Solution Partner, HubSpot Certified Partner, and Zoho Premium Partner, and works with a wide technology ecosystem to deliver digital transformation alongside marketing.
More recently, Schbang has begun positioning itself for the artificial intelligence era through Schbang Labs and products such as SecondBrain, an AI-powered knowledge management platform designed to help organisations capture institutional knowledge, automate workflows, and create context-aware content. This reflects a strategic shift from being a service provider to developing technology-led intellectual property, potentially opening new revenue streams beyond traditional agency work.
Despite operating in an intensely competitive industry, Schbang has largely stayed away from major public corporate controversies. Instead, its growth has been driven by execution, integrated capabilities, award-winning campaigns, and expanding international operations across markets including London, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong.
EQMint Analysis: Schbang Didn’t Reinvent Advertising—It Reinvented the Agency
Schbang’s success offers an important lesson for entrepreneurs. The company did not invent digital marketing, content creation, or technology consulting. Instead, it recognised that the future belonged to businesses capable of combining all these capabilities into a single, integrated offering.
As artificial intelligence, automation, and data analytics continue transforming customer engagement, agencies are increasingly competing with technology firms and consulting companies rather than just other advertising agencies. Schbang’s evolution from a creative startup into a technology-enabled transformation partner reflects this structural shift.
The broader implication extends beyond marketing. Companies across industries are moving away from fragmented service providers towards integrated partners capable of solving business problems end-to-end. Schbang identified this transition before much of the industry, turning an operational challenge into its biggest competitive advantage. In doing so, it has demonstrated that in today’s digital economy, sustainable growth comes not from selling services—but from building ecosystems that deliver measurable business value.
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Disclaimer: This article is not an investment advice and is for educational purpose only.
