Virkein Dhar

I help bring visionary ideas to life. My approach blends deep strategic thinking with creative execution, delivering results that connect, resonate, and drive meaningful change.I help businesses, creative agencies, and social impact organizations navigate complex challenges and unfamiliar contexts with ease, particularly where diverse stakeholders are involved.My approach is grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and a constant drive to innovate - be it for profit or purpose. As an entrepreneur and strategist, I've succeeded in simplifying complex work streams into simple, intuitive experiences inherently driven by first principles and systems thinking to inform decisions.

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I currently lead brand strategy and product development at 10club - with a mission to build the largest home accessories brand in India. From home decor to garden and kitchen accessories, 10club prioritises quality that never dissapoints.I'm the founder of Sundooq, an artisanal Indian brand that inspires young people to cook and simplifies engaging with the diversity of regional Indian flavours.I founded Poppy Seed Lab, a culture and climate innovation consultancy that blends strategic design, business, storytelling, and research to shape resilient futures in Asia. We collaborate with both for-profit and non-profit organizations to drive innovation through strategic interventions, research, stakeholder engagement, and curated experiences.I led IGNITE! Dance Festival, an international biennial with a focus on contemporary dance practices from India and South Asia; was part of the founding team at OddBird Theatre, a first of its kind, curated performance venue designed as a flexible black box theatre in Delhi.

I've led programme development at UCFS- UnBox Cultural Futures Society, a platform that instigates cross-disciplinary action towards the goal of re-imagining India's plural futures; and helped establish the first learning outpost in India for SPACE10, a design and research lab based in Copenhagen.I was a fellow at the School of International Futures as a special awardee of the (Next Generation Foresight Practitioners) NGFP Award 2020., have been an UnBox Fellow part of the 2014 cohort supported by AHRC, British Council and Science & Innovation Network, UK.I am an alumna of the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, having presented my work and been part of multiple international fellowships and forums for culture, arts and design. I occasionally teach courses on cultural policy, performance curation and systems design.I volunteer my time with Handknit India, a women-led social enterprise; and the Aman Movement, a not-for-profit research facility to develop technology-led solutions for improved management of social sector government programmes in India.