e4m-iDAC 2025: ‘The future belongs to the agile, not the biggest,’ says Prasad Shejale

At the Independent Digital Agency Connect 2025, hosted by e4m, Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO of LS Digital, shared insights into his journey of building one of India’s leading independent digital agency networks, and why scaling up should never come at the cost of agility and culture.

“When I started in 2006, I didn’t get up and say I want to build a big independent network. Entrepreneurs don’t start that way,” Shejale said. “What I generally thought was, there is a problem, let’s solve it.”

The central theme of his keynote, ‘The Making of an Independent Network’, was about how to grow without losing the spark that makes independent agencies unique. “The learning today is how to scale and keep the magic without creating the monster,” he remarked.

Shejale reflected on the dramatic shifts in marketing and technology. “In my 29 years of career, I started as a technology guy… I’ve seen a lot of changes,” he said. “But believe me, the last few quarters, the amount of changes I’ve seen, it’s truly at a different scale.”

He identified three major shifts shaping the industry today: the rapid acceleration of technology, brands increasingly taking work in-house, and the changing revenue model for agencies that once relied heavily on media margins.

He also pointed out that scale is no longer the only differentiator. “Earlier, to get a big brand like LIC or Unilever, you needed scale. But that seems to be a bit shaky now,” he said. “Scale comes with inflexibility.”

For Shejale, the superpower of independent agencies lies in their passion, client centricity and founder-led involvement.

“When clients sign up with us, they sign up because Prasad comes to the pitch,” he said. “They value that access to the brain of the independent agency head.”

But replicating that advantage at scale isn’t easy. “The moment you cross 300-400 people, duplicating that passion becomes tough,” he added.

Shejale emphasized that building an independent network should not mean copying holding company models.

“With the size we are at, picking up private equity money and chasing top line and EBITDA is easier,” he explained. “But the moment you do it, integrating different cultures becomes a problem. So, don’t copy. Build something new.”

His growth philosophy rests on three principles: acquire for skill, not EBITDA, build a hybrid structure that balances autonomy with integration, and choose clients wisely. “One big mistake of choosing a customer can drain your team’s energy, morale, and affect your P&L,” he said.

"At LS Digital, culture is not imposed from the top. We never say this is the culture you have to follow,” Shejale said. “We meet, debate and agree on a common culture.” The company invests heavily in cross-learning. “Every alternate Friday we have ‘What’s New’, where teams showcase ideas and innovations across services. It helps everyone understand what’s happening across the group,” he added.

The network also uses technology as a horizontal layer across verticals like media, creative, UX, data and CX, allowing each specialized unit to stay agile but connected. LS Digital today has six specialized service arms under one umbrella. But Shejale admitted that selling integrated solutions requires a different approach.

“We are very good at selling vertical solutions. But selling integrated solutions as a group is very different,” he said. “I learned the hard way that only a centralized sales team won’t work. It’s a combination of vertical and horizontal sales.” He also highlighted the importance of marketing LS Digital as a network brand, not just as a cluster of specialized agencies.

As he closed his session, Shejale offered a clear vision for the future of independent networks.

“The true future doesn’t belong to the biggest player,” he said. “It belongs to the agile, collaborative and time-sensitive ones.” Calling LS Digital a “work in progress,” he stressed that scaling independently is a journey of constant learning, evolving and rethinking the rules, not replicating old playbooks.