He is not just any punter. This is the top dog with 300+ WhatsApp groups under his belt and 20 thriving communities he’s built from scratch. One man, pure genius and probably a tad knackered from all that graft!
Need a community so strong it could win a rugby scrum? Or perhaps just a bit of a kick up the arse (aka mentorship) to get your career motoring? Vishnu Kanth Gokul’s strategic noise is the game-changer you are looking for. He’s got more tricks up his sleeve than a magician at a royal variety show.
Over the past two decades, he’s had the smashing privilege of contributing to the growth stories of some of India’s most iconic platforms from Rediff.com, Sify.com, Rajshri.com, 123Greetings.com, Cricbuzz.com to Percept, Qoruz, FoxyMoron Sida (South Indian Digital Awards).
Today, he’s the co-founder and chief revenue officer at The Leapfrog Network, leading the charge on growth strategy, revenue and brand partnerships. He’s blending content, media and creative innovation like a master chef, cooking up brands that actually matter. None of your wishy-washy rubbish here, just pure, unadulterated brand brilliance!
Indiantelevision.com’s Rohin Ramesh managed to collar Gokul for a tete a tete via email. Keen as mustard, he was ready to spill the beans on his spanking new role and a whole lot more!
Excerpts:
On taking the leap with The Leapfrog Network whether it was love at first brand or your co-founder buddies Yash and Rishabh charmed you over a chai banter
It was a bit of both, honestly. The vision was clear from day one, we weren’t building just another agency, we were building a cultural engine. Yash and Rishabh brought the firepower with their storytelling chops, and over multiple chai sessions, it evolved into a blueprint for something bigger. It wasn’t just about creating content but is all about shifting conversations. I knew this was the leap worth taking.
On any original clients who jumped on early and are staying loyal
Yes, we had a few early believers who backed us not just for the work we promised, but for the energy we brought. OTTplay was one of our first marquee collaborations, and working with a brand that already had scale gave us the chance to shape something culturally sticky. Their trust gave us the runway to experiment, fail fast, and grow sharper. We’ll always tip our hats to early partners who saw the spark before the flame.
On the overall team strength creative and strategy wise
We’re a tight-knit crew of 65 today. Honestly, we don’t like boxing people into roles. One day someone’s cracking memes, and the next they’re presenting to a boardroom. That agility is our edge. We hire for mindset over resumes, people who think like strategists but execute like creators.
On secret of brands taking the leap with The Leapfrog Network
Our superpower is cultural intuition. We don’t chase virality, we engineer resonance. Every campaign, every post, every reel is backed by behavioral insights. We bridge brand goals with cultural fluency. And we’re not afraid to tell clients what not to do. That honesty, paired with hustle, builds trust. That’s our secret sauce.
On juggling all the responsibilities without going wrong on creative
There’s always a bit of creative chaos, and that’s the fun part. But I believe in systemising creativity. We’ve built ops that are robust enough to track ROI, but flexible enough to pivot when a trend shifts overnight. Delegation, clarity, and trust in the team allow me to juggle without burnout. It’s not about doing everything, it’s about empowering the right people to do the right things.
On balancing bold commercial moves without losing the agency’s pop culture
That’s a tightrope walk, no doubt. But for us, business growth and cultural relevance are not at odds, they’re intertwined. The brands that win today are the ones that can entertain, engage, and still convert. We ensure every growth lever we pull still speaks in the language of our audience. It’s a strategy without selling out.
On keeping your machete sharp and staying ahead of the algorithmic anacondas
We keep our machete sharp with a mix of curiosity and humility. Platforms evolve, but audience behavior is the constant. We’re not chasing every new feature blindly, we’re observing, testing, and iterating. Weekly trend roundups, tight feedback loops, and a very geeky media + analytics team ensure we’re not just following the algorithm, sometimes, we beat it to the punch.
On missing the good old sales floor days at Rediff where the only strategy was hustle
I do. There was raw energy on the floor, no decks, just drive. But those days taught me resilience and the power of showing up. Now, I bring that hustle to a more structured ecosystem. It’s still a people-first business, whether you’re selling ad slots or narratives. What’s changed is the toolkit, not the hunger.
On TLF ever be the next Marvel of branded content
We’re definitely building our own universe just not with capes. Thinking creator-first IPs, snackable series, and community-led platforms. We don’t just want to activate influencers, we want to co-create with them. There are a couple of IPs in stealth mode right now, and if they hit like we believe they will, we won’t just be running campaigns, we’ll be producing culture.
On your personal mission at TLF whether it be saving the world, one meme at a time
My mission is to make marketing more human and more honest. I want to help brands speak with people, not at them. If a meme can spark a conversation that leads to a connection, our job is done. The world doesn’t need more ads; it needs more clarity.
On cracking ROI or decoding the Gen Z lexicon
Decoding Gen Z, hands down. ROI has formulas. Gen Z has feelings, filters, and a whole vocabulary that evolves faster than a budget cycle. But once you stop overthinking and start listening you realise they’re not that complex. They just want brands to show up real, not rehearsed.
On a scale from “mild disruption” to “creative carnage,” you see TLF heading under your revenue radar
We’re definitely mixing up with “creative carnage” but the good kind. We’re not here to play it safe. We’re scaling, yes, but not at the cost of our creative soul. We want to be the agency that launches narratives, not just ads. So expect disruption, with a healthy dose of discipline.
On some new ripples we expect from you in the Leapfrog way of working
Trends are table stakes. What we bring is foresight, basically the ability to spot shifts before they become mainstream. We’re building playbooks that are agile, data-rich, and culturally sharp. The goal is not to ride the wave but to shape it.
