Ujwal Sharma: Leading a Marketing and Media Revolution

How a self-taught founder from India is shaping a global, systems-first approach to digital growth

By the time most entrepreneurs begin to talk about scale, Ujwal Sharma had already lived through it. He built early, stumbled publicly, learned fast, and then did the one thing many founders struggle to do. He replaced hustle with systems.

Today, Ujwal is the Founder and CEO of Uzi World Digital, a digital marketing and public relations firm serving clients across continents, and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empire Weekly, an international entertainment news platform recognised for both reach and editorial discipline. But his story is less about precocity and more about restraint. It is about understanding when to move fast and when to build foundations that can carry weight.

Learning Before Legitimacy

Sharma’s entry into digital marketing did not follow a traditional path. There was no formal training program or early industry backing. At sixteen, he began teaching himself web design and digital marketing through open online resources, applying what he learned in real time. In 2019, that curiosity turned into a company. Uzi World Digital began as a modest Instagram page and grew, client by client, through results rather than rhetoric.

Early credibility was hard-earned. The youth brought energy but also skepticism. Sharma compensated the only way founders can—by consistently delivering results. When Uzi World Digital won the India Digital Enabler Award for best use of social media, organised by Entrepreneur India, it did more than raise visibility. It validated a method. Focus on execution, document results, and let proof do the talking.

From Services to Systems

As demand increased, Sharma confronted the inflection point that defines most service businesses. Growth can amplify chaos as easily as it compounds success. His response was to professionalise early. He invested in process, standardised delivery frameworks, and resisted the temptation to chase every opportunity.

The firm expanded its offerings to include web design, SEO, online advertising, digital PR, and reputation management, but the organising principle remained constant. Build repeatable systems that can scale without eroding quality. That discipline allowed the company to grow internationally while maintaining consistency.

Recognition followed: industry awards, global client footprints, and inclusion in international rankings did not change the operating philosophy. Sharma remained focused on what he calls durable growth. Brands that last are built on process, not adrenaline.

A Publisher’s Perspective

In 2021, Sharma launched Empire Weekly, stepping into a different but adjacent arena. Media demands credibility, speed, and ethical clarity. Running a newsroom sharpened his view of narratives, reputation, and trust. Empire Weekly grew quickly, earning recognition at global industry awards and becoming a media partner at major international conferences.

Notably, the organisation adopted an inclusive workforce model with a predominantly female editorial team. For Sharma, this was not a branding exercise. It was an operational choice rooted in the belief that diverse teams produce better judgment and more resilient institutions.

Publishing also reinforced a principle that runs through his work. Attention is fragile. Trust is not. The latter is earned through consistency.

Leadership Without Noise

Sharma’s leadership style is measured. He speaks often about boundaries, about learning when to say no, and about planning before announcing. In a digital culture that rewards constant visibility, he prefers controlled disclosure. Strategy first, storytelling later.

“Growth without structure is fragile,” Sharma has said. “If scale is not designed deliberately, it eventually collapses under its own weight.”

Artificial intelligence plays a central role in his operations, but not as a replacement for judgment. Sharma views AI as leverage. It compresses time, reduces friction, and frees teams to focus on decisions that matter. The emphasis is on augmentation, not automation for its own sake.

That mindset extends to personal discipline. Fitness and routine are non-negotiable. Sleep, structure, and mental clarity are treated as performance variables, not luxuries. The logic is simple. A founder’s habits eventually become a company’s culture.

Building Credibility at Scale

Over time, Sharma’s work as a coach and mentor expanded globally. Learners from Europe, the Middle East, and North America sought him out not for theory but for applied insight. His teaching spans social media, SEO, branding, digital PR, and strategy, always grounded in casework rather than conjecture.

That credibility has been reinforced by continued industry recognition. Uzi World Digital has been recognized as Startup of the Year in Advertising and Marketing at the Globee® Awards, named Top SME Business of the Year in Digital Marketing for both 2024 and 2025 by Great Companies, and awarded Most Innovative Digital Marketing Agency in India for 2024 by Corporate Vision Magazine.

The firm was also first runner-up at the Calcutta Management Association (CMA) MSME Conclave and Awards 2025 in the category of Digital Prowess at the Workplace. In 2024, its momentum continued with recognition as one of HackerNoon's Startups of the Year.

Beyond these corporate achievements, Sharma has earned distinguished individual honours since 2020. In 2020, he received the Indian Achievers' Award in the Young Entrepreneur category, followed by the India 500 CEO Award in 2022. Most recently, his leadership was recognised on a broader stage when he was named Digital Marketing CEO of the Year 2026 (South Asia) at the APAC CEO of the Year Awards 2026, part of the Leadership Innovation and Excellence Award series. This latest accolade reflects his expanding influence across regional and global markets.

Awards acknowledge impact, but Sharma is careful not to anchor identity to recognition. He often frames success as transient and learning as permanent. That orientation keeps the organisation adaptable in a fast-moving industry.

The Long View

Looking ahead, Sharma’s focus is not on expansion for its own sake. It is depth. Strengthening education initiatives, refining workflows, and building media properties that balance reach with integrity. The ambition is to create institutions that outlast their founders’ daily involvement.

He advises young professionals to diversify skills early, to build portfolios before titles, and to test ideas in the real world. Internships, freelancing, and experimentation matter more than credentials alone. Passion, he argues, is the only sustainable fuel.

In an industry prone to overstatement, Sharma’s approach stands out for its restraint. He builds quietly, corrects publicly, and plans obsessively. The result is not just growth, but durability.

A Founder Built for Continuity

Ujwal Sharma represents a generation of founders who matured early under pressure. He understands that scale is not a finish line—it is a responsibility to teams, clients, and audiences who grant attention sparingly.

In a digital economy obsessed with speed, Sharma's bet is on continuity. His influence is less about how fast he moved at sixteen and more about how deliberately he builds today. In that restraint lies the most radical strategy of all.