The CEO Magazine had the opportunity to speak with Charmie Kanabar, founder of Purnasya, to discuss her journey from media to real estate. In this candid conversation, she opens her vision for building consumer-first solutions. Below are excerpts from the interview.

TCM: Tell us about your organisation and its journey in the real estate industry.

Charmie: Our journey into real estate has been an organic evolution. For quite some time now, we’ve been working with Sugee Group on their go-to-market strategies, which has given us a deep understanding of the sector, its opportunities, its challenges, and, most importantly, its anxieties from the consumer’s perspective.

What became clear was that real estate doesn’t just need campaigns; it needs partners who can decode buyer pain points and translate them into actionable solutions.

That’s why we launched Purnasya Real Estate as a vertical under the Purnasya umbrella. It allows us to go beyond advisory to be a participant in the value chain with direct responsibility for revenue and sales. Along with Sugee Group and ACE Dealmakers, Purnasya Real Estate is leading the go-to-market strategy, on-ground sales and the consumer experience for our upcoming second homes project in Karjat.

TCM: Tell us about yourself and your professional journey. What inspired you to enter real estate?

Charmie: A decade and a half ago, I started my career in the Indian M&E industry and, since then, have worked with some of the leading brands in the country – UTV, Disney, Turner, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. This journey shaped me into a brand and marketing specialist with an understanding of consumer insights and brand-building. From launching television channels to creating IPs to driving growth – I’ve actually been fortunate to have worked extensively across the brand marketing ambit, our teams winning several Promax and Global Marketing Excellence Awards. Television marketing in those days was quite a brutal and rigorous exercise, but it taught me audience behaviour, storytelling and how to deliver consistently at scale.

When I founded Purnasya, I wanted to explore industries beyond M&E where my learnings and skill sets could be leveraged. Real estate became a natural extension because it’s also a high-involvement, emotionally charged category where consumers seek reassurance. What inspired me to step into it wasn’t just the business opportunity, but the chance to create an ecosystem that simplifies the journey for buyers and investors.

TCM: What core services or solutions does your organisation provide?

Charmie: Well, to be completely honest with you, we are still evolving. We started as a marketing partner for our clients, but today we are involved in revenue optimisation as well.

To put it as a catchphrase, Purnasya functions as an extension of the organisational leadership. The idea is to move beyond an advisory role and take responsibility for moving the needle on business outcomes. Today, our solutions include business intelligence and insight-driven strategy, brand storytelling and creative design, marketing rollouts across ATL, BTL and TTL, PR, influencer management and experiential engagement & additionally in the real estate sector, end-to-end GTM strategy combined with revenue management.

TCM: Share some notable projects or clients you’ve worked with in the past.

Charmie: In the first year of business, we worked across 3 sectors.

Entertainment: From one of Gujarat’s high-grossing films, Umbaro to Kangana Ranaut’s controversial Emergency to the acclaimed Marathi feature film Ata Thambaycha Naay! to the blockbuster Dashavtaar (the highest-grossing Marathi film of 2025), our film projects kept our hands full this year.

Real Estate: We planned and executed the Sugee Group’s UAE market entry and are now partnering with Sugee and ACE Dealmakers for the upcoming gated development project at Karjat, Maharashtra.

FMCG: This was a particularly interesting foray for us. We created Bansiwala’s brand identity and designed the user journey and interface for their mobile commerce platform.

TCM: What are the most significant challenges you face in the Indian real estate ecosystem, and how do you overcome them?

Charmie: The real estate sector has its fair share of complexities and paradoxes. Let’s take the consumer lens first: home or land ownership can be emotional and rational, a basic necessity or an investment option – the same product assumes a different meaning for different consumer cohorts.

On the supply side, there’s fragmentation of land ownership, inconsistencies in title clarity, increasing material costs, challenges in the labour value chain, and macroeconomic headwinds, making it a challenging sector.  

The regulatory environment is also a study in conflict – while initiatives like RERA go a long way in increasing consumer trust and aiding in formal investments in the sector, some inherent systemic inefficiencies unnecessarily increase costs and add to complexities.

In this sector, one has to choose their battles carefully, and every issue needs to be addressed through the dual lens of consumers and business. For example, in our Karjat second homes project, our focus was to ensure title clarity and unencumbered space. In the real estate sector, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, simply because the primary drivers for ownership are so varied.

TCM: What trends are currently shaping the Indian real estate sector, and how is your company adapting?

Charmie: We see a strong growth toward second homes, gated plotted developments, low-density living, and projects that combine freedom, affordable luxury and brand assurance. Families today want space and flexibility without being too far from urban centres. Growing awareness of healthy and natural lifestyles, along with the advent of remote and gig work, is further driving this sub-sector. This segment also seamlessly combines aspiration with investment potential. This sub-sector is a niche we are focused on - our foray into gated plotted development through our project in Karjat is the first of such projects.

TCM: Are there any current or upcoming projects you’re particularly excited about?

Charmie: The Karjat project is special because it is our first in the second homes real estate space. It is our first step towards value creation, both for landowners and consumers. This will be a test of our belief that consumer insights and data-driven audience targeting can streamline efficiencies in the project. With Sugee’s credibility, ACE’s land expertise, and our consumer-first approach, it’s a partnership that feels truly future-facing.

TCM: How do you maintain long-term relationships with stakeholders?

Charmie: By being invested. We don’t operate as outsiders; we embed ourselves in the client’s journey, align with their vision, and take ownership of results. That sense of shared accountability is what keeps relationships long-term.

TCM: Where do you see your company in the next 5–10 years?

Charmie: Our company will be recognised as a partner that changed how real estate is told and sold — by putting the consumer at the centre. I see us scaling in the second homes sub-sector, luxury-plotted communities, and international projects, always anchored in insight-driven, solution-led work.

TCM: What’s your philosophy or leadership style?

Charmie: We believe in empowerment with accountability. I encourage my teams to think big and bold, but also to ground every idea in measurable outcomes. Creativity must always serve clarity.