Rohit’s Story
Rohit Bhargava is an expert in marketing, innovation, trends and the future. He believes the world needs more non-obvious thinking and his mission is to help people see what others miss.
Read on to hear his story.
A TRAVELER’S BEGINNINGS
Born in India, moving to America at nine months old, Rohit graduated with an English major and studied screenwriting and poetry in college. After waiting tables for a year to earn money, he moved to Australia in 1999 at the dawn of the dot com boom. In Sydney he got his start in advertising working at the legendary ad agency, Leo Burnett.
changing
HOW WE THINK
ABOUT DIGITAL
In 2004 he moved back to DC and joined the growing digital team Ogilvy. Soon after he started his blog the same year. His writing soon became essential reading for those in the marketing industry, and led him to his first book deal with McGraw-Hill in 2008 to write Personality Not Included.
The book would go on to win the prestigious Gold Atticus award from WPP and provide a platform for Rohit to start his speaking career. It also led to him doing one of the most memorable photo shoots of his life … covered in Post-It Notes!
A STUDENT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
At Ogilvy, Rohit was a founding member of a group that would go on to become one of the first teams within the marketing industry to integrate behavioral economics insights into their work. For eight years he was part of an award-winning team advising large global brands like Intel, Dove, Coca-Cola and Ford on digital strategy. Along the way, he published one more book with a traditional publisher (Likeonomics) and self published two books (ePatient 2015 and Always Eat Left Handed).
BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR
By 2014 with his speaking career growing, Rohit was ready to write another book but disillusioned with both traditional publishing and self-publishing so he decided to co-found his own publishing company called Ideapress Publishing alongside his wife Chhavi. The next year he released his breakout hit book Non-Obvious which made the WSJ bestseller list and catapulted him to leave his day job at Ogilvy, become a full-time speaker and also start the Non-Obvious Company.
NON-OBVIOUS
TAKES OFF
For the next several years, Rohit published an updated annual edition of Non-Obvious with new trend predictions, eventually reaching over a million readers. He also expanded the brand, trademarking the term “non-obvious” and also starting a weekly newsletter, podcast, book awards program and hosting live gatherings. In 2020 when he published the tenth (and final) edition of the book series called Non-Obvious Megatrends, it was an instant #1 bestseller on the Wall Street Journal list.
THE COVID PIVOT
When the world shut down, there were no live events anymore … so many speakers (including Rohit) decided to spend their at-home time writing instead. Over the next three years, Rohit wrote two guide books as part of the Non-Obvious Guide series and co-authored Beyond Diversity with Jennifer Brown. Meanwhile, Ideapress started to attract renowned authors including legends such as Tom Peters and Ram Charan. During the pandemic, Rohit also started researching and writing a new book about the future.
IMAGINING THE FUTURE NORMAL
In 2023 after nearly three years of research, Rohit released his ninth book called The Future Normal with fellow trend expert Henry Coutinho-Mason. The book featured 30 trends shifting the world and after launching it from the stage at SXSW, it ignited a new wave of interest and bookings for Rohit as a futurist keynote speaker.
FOCUSING ON CONNECTION
At events around the world, Rohit started focusing on more than the stage. He began hosting his signature Non-Obvious 7 Minute Meetup at events as a more authentic way for people to make connections. While traveling to new cities, he hosted his own Non-Obvious Dinners. Bringing people together became a key part of his work and the Non-Obvious brand.
NON-OBVIOUS THINKING
Near the end of 2024, Rohit published his tenth book along with VC Ben duPont. Non-Obvious Thinking explained the four step “SIFT” method for having more non-obvious ideas and created a new model that anyone could use. Since the book’s release, Rohit has been speaking at events around the world about the ideas from the book and teaching organizations how to embrace more non-obvious thinking.
A BIT MORE ABOUT ROHIT …
Beyond the business story, there’s more to Rohit! He lives with his wife, kids and mini golden doodle (JJ!) in the DC area and despises cauliflower (yuck!). He loves the Olympics and has attended six (so far!), including Paris 2024. His wife is also a children’s book author and both of them are active in supporting South Asian and female entrepreneurs in their community and around the world.
As a dad, Rohit believes the most impactful job he will ever have is teaching his two boys to be kind when no one expects it, curious about the things others take for granted, and confident enough to change the world.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE …
As the Non-Obvious brand continues to evolve, and Ideapress grows … Rohit is looking forward to plenty more unexpected and magical experiences (like meeting puppet celebrities!) and hopes to meet you at a non-obvious event or industry show at some point in the future.
Want to get in touch now? Use the contact form at the bottom of this page …