From Chalkboards to Leaderboards Deepanksha Saxena

How was the transition from a teacher to a sales professional and now to an entrepreneur?

- Deepanksha Saxena

I grew up in a small-town, middle-class family where government jobs were the pinnacle of stability and success. A woman excelling in the corporate world, let alone in sales, was unheard of. I began my career as a teacher, a safe, respectable path, but deep down, I yearned to create impact, solve real problems, and build something bigger. In 2010, driven by ambition and sheer grit, I took a leap of faith into corporate sales, at a small organization.

From travelling to 29 countries on business trips, setting up new business verticals to scaling revenue, from increasing bottom-line profitability to mentoring high-performing sales teams, from being invited by LinkedIn, Salesforce and many such platforms as a speaker, awarded a 40 under 40 women title, I built my career from the ground up.

Today, that same fire has inspired me to take another leap, launching my own Sales and LinkedIn Consulting firm, Jackpot.

You built your own table instead of waiting for a seat. What does that mean in practical terms for women aspiring to leadership roles?