Disruption is often outside in, says serial entrepreneur K Ganesh. It takes an outsider to change the status quo, like how Elon Musk and Tesla challenged ICE cars. Ganesh, the founder of venture-building platform GrowStory, who has incubated and scaled successful startups like BigBasket, Portea Medical and Bluestone, talks about how new-age business models in India have localised, innovated and made money. He discusses value creation amid path to profitability concerns, how investors navigate th...
Feb 18, 2025•29 min
How does AI change our approach to work? Are Gen Zs impatient? What does it mean to build our own ‘personal board of directors’? Vivek Gambhir and Sunder Ramachandran answer all these questions and more in today’s episode. In conversation with Divya Shekhar, they discuss their book HeadStart, which contains their collective wisdom from spending decades in various business leadership roles. They also reflect on career strategies they wished they knew when they were starting out, and how their adv...
Dec 05, 2024•26 min
Through his nearly two-decade career, Mohinder Amarnath fought against the fiercest of bowlers. In his recent autobiography Fearless, written along with his younger brother Rajender, a former cricketer, commentator and author, Amarnath sheds light on his formative years under the watchful eyes of his father, his time on the international stage, and why, in 1988, he refused to back down from calling the selectors a 'bunch of jokers’. The authors are in conversation with Forbes India’s Kathakali C...
Nov 21, 2024•32 min
Alok Sama was chief dealmaker at possibly the most influential technology investor in the world: Softbank. The company, founded by maverick investor Masayoshi Son, has backed some of the most disruptive companies in the world, like Nvidia, Uber and Tiktok and Alibaba. In this episode, Sama speaks with Divya Shekhar about his book The Money Trap , in which he gives an insider’s account of the people, deals and businesses that have steered and shaped the course of the world.
Nov 07, 2024•35 min
What does it take to run a successful restaurant? Why do so many F&B ventures fail? What qualities do successful restauranteurs have? Ravi Wazir, a seasoned strategist in the food and beverage industry, who has worked with popular restaurants like Olive, Izumi and Swati Snacks, answers these questions in his new book Beyond the Menu: A Restaurant Start-Up Guide. In conversation with Divya Shekhar and Pankti Mehta Kadakia, this episode features interesting anecdotes and insights about the bus...
Oct 17, 2024•33 min
Artificial Intelligence is already part of our day-to-day life. It is in our homes, our offices, and increasingly in our public spaces too. Technology, including AI, “will only serve society in the best way if we have checks and balances”, Verity Harding, director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at Cambridge University, tells Divya Shekhar in April. It is important, she adds, that regulators and the people building AI listen to people already vulnerable to this technology, and take into acco...
Sep 19, 2024•30 min
What does it take to build an iconic jewellery brand for the ages? CK Venkataraman, the managing director of Titan Company, attempts to answer this question in his new book The Tanishq Story. It is an insider’s account into the people, ideas, situations and challenges that went into building one of India’s biggest jewellery brands. Venkataraman, a Titan lifer, is candid about missteps in building the company, why his self-identity does not come from his job, and why philanthropy is on his mind a...
Sep 05, 2024•31 min
In her new book 'Code Dependent', Madhumita Murgia brings voices and stories of people from across the world to describe how AI is impacting our work, our health, our body, and our freedom in various ways. Murgia, who is the artificial intelligence editor of the Financial Times in the UK, tells Divya Shekhar that while AI is still considered as a futuristic technology, it has started impacting our lives in ways we cannot imagine.
May 23, 2024•26 min
In a world where ESG (environment, social, governance) is often reduced to box-ticking and greenwashing by businesses, Rajeev Peshawaria believes that sustainability is a leadership challenge, and entrepreneurs and CEOs should instill the culture of accountability top-down. In his new book Sustainable Sustainability: Why ESG is Not Enough, Peshawaria, the CEO of the Temasek-backed non-profit Stewardship Asia Centre in Singapore, talks to Divya Shekhar about the shifts he sees in global business ...
May 02, 2024•30 min
The two-time World Cup-winning Australian all-rounder talks to Divya Shekhar and Kathakali Chanda about his new book The Winner’s Mindset . He talks about a tragedy that triggered a fear of the short ball, how he overcame his anxiety, why it’s important to train the mind, and what he wants to do next after a successful career as a cricketer and now commentator. He also discusses what young players have in stake ahead of the T20 World Cup, and how they can cope with the pressure
Apr 18, 2024•27 min
In his book 'Slip, Stitch and Stumble', senior journalist Rajrishi Singhal takes a broad-scope look into the evolution of financial sector reforms in India. From Manmohan Singh's landmark July 1991 Union Budget speech to the current complicated relationship between fintech companies and regulations, the book takes stock of the various events, stakeholders and motivations that propelled financial sector reforms in India at different stages, as well as the roadblocks along the way. Also joining Di...
Apr 04, 2024•27 min
Gurcharan Das believes that reliving your life is better than living it. In his memoir Another Sort of Freedom , he reflects on 80 years of his life. The author talks to Divya Shekhar about how he fled his home during the Partition, stumbled through various academic disciplines—from engineering and literature to philosophy and Sanskrit—survived doing business during the License Raj and scaled the corporate ladder, only to let go of it when he reached the top, all because he wanted to find his li...
Mar 21, 2024•27 min
To compete in the new age, companies need to fuse the physical and digital to create value, says Vijay Govindarajan. The Coxe distinguished professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, his new book Fusion Strategy is all about how companies need to use technology and real-time data to turbocharge their products, strategies and customer relationships. He also talks to Divya Shekhar about why AI should be ‘augmented intelligence’ and not ‘artificial intelligence’ and why India sh...
Mar 07, 2024•31 min
We’ve heard about the popular phrase “leading from the front”. It means taking the lead in making decisions and showing people the way. But Ravi Kant, former vice chairman and CEO of Tata Motors, is of the belief that business leaders should no longer aspire to lead from the front, but instead, aim to lead from the back. Why does he say that? What does he mean? And is this something organisations will even be open to implementing? Let’s find out. In this episode, Kant discusses his new book ‘Lea...
Feb 22, 2024•23 min
Sudha and Narayana Murthy are no doubt icons of our generation. But when so much is known about their life already, what can you possibly write that seems new to readers? And when the subjects of your book are your primary sources, how can you avoid being hagiographical? In this conversation with Divya Shekhar, celebrated author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni talks about ‘ An Uncommon Love’ , her first work of non-fiction, where she focusses on the early life of the Murthys. She traces their childho...
Feb 08, 2024•39 min
In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner, managing director of Graham Fisher and Co., talk about their book These are the Plunderers: How PE runs and wrecks America . The book is a well-researched critique of how private equity firms in the US that specialise in buying companies, load them with debt and completely squeeze them for profits. The authors talk to Divya Shekhar about the insurance takeover by PE, the lack of transparency in their dealing...
Jan 25, 2024•32 min
The author and leadership coach, known for international bestsellers The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and The 5 AM Club , speaks with Divya Shekhar about his forthcoming book The Wealth Money Can’t Buy , and the relevance of self-help books in the age motivation content fatigue, thanks to social media. He also discusses why hubris takes down many great people and companies, why most CEOs and billionaires are “cash rich and happiness poor”, how technology takes us away from creativity, and the secre...
Jan 04, 2024•32 min
Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba believe that India’s best days are still ahead and that the country shouldn’t lose its biggest strength—its democracy—by “any stretch of the imagination”. In their new book, ‘Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future’, Rajan, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, and Lamba, an economist at Pennsylvania State University, talk about why creativity and human capital should be at the centre of growth and development. They also tell Divya Shekhar wh...
Dec 14, 2023•51 min
What if I tell you there’s a company that can scrape every photo you casually upload on social media? A company that uses powerful facial recognition technology in ways that even big tech companies like Google and Facebook have refrained from using. The New York Times Journalist Kashmir Hill speaks to Divya Shekhar about her book Your Face Belongs to Us , which investigates the inner workings of Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition startup. She discusses the promises and perils of su...
Nov 30, 2023•24 min
Fali Nariman is arguably the greatest living expert on the Constitution. He started his legal practice the year the Constitution of India was enacted in November 1949. He spoke with Divya Shekhar and Forbes India Editor Brian Carvalho about his new book 'You Must Know Your Constitution'. He discusses pertinent issues, including how the Constitution can be taken to the masses, questions around sedition and censorship, national vs official languages and whether it’s time for India to have a new Co...
Oct 26, 2023•23 min
All through his career, Madhav Gadgil has worked closely with communities on the ground, roping in researchers, policy-makers, NGOs, farmers, teachers, students and citizens for environmental conservation. His contributions towards saving the Western Ghats and building an inventory to monitor biodiversity in India, among other things, have made him one of the country’s most eminent field ecologists. Gadgil speaks with Divya Shekhar about his newly-released memoir, A Walk Up The Hill , and summar...
Oct 12, 2023•23 min
The teachers of sustainability at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru discuss their new book ‘Shades of Blue: Connecting the Drops in India’s Cities’, which combines scientific rigour with anecdotes, community histories, and nostalgia to take us through water bodies across the country. The authors talk to Divya Shekhar about our complicated collective history with water, community warriors who are showing the way, whether we need to put a price on water, and how we can start rebuilding our r...
Sep 28, 2023•25 min
In his book ‘Back to Bharat: In Search of a Sustainable Future’ , impact investor Nagaraja Prakasam distinguishes between India and Bharat. For him, the word ‘Bharat’ means the “ignored billion” in the country. These are people, he says, that are still largely left out of the digital revolution—venture investors are mostly wary of them, and businesses stay away as they do not see profit in solving for them. Prakasam, who calls himself a farmer, retired from a software career at the age of 41 and...
Sep 14, 2023•24 min
Anurag Behar is the CEO of the Azim Premji Foundation that has been working in the space of education and now healthcare. In his new book, ‘ A Matter of the Heart: Education in India’ , he shares a collection of essays that takes us to schools in some of the most remote villages in India. Behar leads an organization of thousands of people working across districts in India. He tells Divya Shekhar that his book is about stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary work. It also throws light on t...
Aug 31, 2023•22 min
You might be all in on the #OOTD (outfit of the day) trend or not care about leftover food from a takeout. All this, and a multitude of small daily habits that we might not think twice about, could add to the climate burden. Digital influencer and activist Aakash Ranison attempts to decode these in his new book ‘ I’m a Climate Optimist’ . He takes stock of various sectors—like transport, beauty, food, textile and technology—to talk about how we can be more mindful of the choices we make in our d...
Aug 03, 2023•24 min
In her book, 'The Defiant Optimist', Durreen Shahnaz, the first Bangladeshi woman to work on Wall Street, presents a glimpse of her life and her effort to make financial markets more equitable and inclusive. The founder of the Impact Investment Exchange in Singapore believes that financial systems that enrich the few can be transformed for the good of the many. As India is working on its own social stock exchange, she speaks with Divya Shekhar about what it takes to build an ecosystem to measure...
Jul 20, 2023•24 min
Her previous book, Let’s Talk Money, was a national bestseller and in it, Monika Halan offered a practical approach to financial security and how we can make our wealth work for us. In her latest book Let’s Talk Mutual Funds, she provides a wealth of information on everything you possibly need to know about investing in mutual funds. Halan also talks to Divya Shekhar about the psyche of the Indian investor, the role of financial influencers on social media, why the government’s recent move to ta...
Jul 06, 2023•23 min
The self-made businessman has worked with several pharma and biotech companies for targeted therapies and innovation through his company MedGenome. He has also incubated and launched many companies leveraging next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics through his incubator SciGenom Labs. He talks to host Divya Shekhar about his book, ‘Sam’s 12 Commandments for the Indian Entrepreneur’, where he draws upon over 35 years of experience to delve deep into the psyche of Indians doing business and ...
Jun 22, 2023•24 min
What does it take to build a legacy and ensure generations of people benefit from your work? Are there leadership lessons old industrialists can offer young founders of today? These are some of the questions that family business historian Sonu Bhasin attempts to answer through a series of books called 'Entrepreneurs Who Built India'. The latest book is on Lala Shri Ram, who built Delhi Cloth and General Mills (DCM) into a conglomerate and market leader and founded various educational institution...
Jun 08, 2023•22 min
How did India’s earliest Finance Ministers shape the economic story of the country? In his new book 'India’s Finance Ministers: From Independence to Emergency (1947-1977)', senior journalist AK Bhattacharya presents a detailed account of the work done by finance ministers in India’s first three decades since Independence. He speaks with episode host Divya Shekhar about how finance ministers like RK Shanmukham Chetty, John Matthai, CD Deshmukh, TT Krishnamachari and Morarji Desai balanced economi...
May 25, 2023•25 min
