Network Capital

In this episode, we explore the complex intersection of climate change, environmental conservation, and human rights with environmental lawyer and legal scholar Arpitha Kodiveri. While nations of the Global North focus on emissions trading and alternative energy sources, communities in the Global South—especially forest-dwelling communities in India—face life-and-death decisions about natural reso...

Should popular media always seek to have storylines and characters with different ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and sexualities? In this episode, Dhruva and Utkarsh debate whether the growing focus on diversity has gone too far. They explore how diversity of ideas, origin, conviction, and orientation make the world a more vibrant and interesting place, but question whether mandating it furth...

Ashoka University, India’s top liberal arts university, charges over a million rupees per year in tuition - three times the yearly income of the average Indian. Williams College, one of America’s best-known liberal arts colleges, charges 68,000 dollars per year - more than the average yearly income in the US.  Despite its cost, the popularity of the liberal arts system is growing. Many new univers...

385,000 children are born every day, around the world. Should we be contributing to that? Welcome to a new episode of Arguable, where we dig into the heart of controversial debates and ask the questions others shy away from. Is it ethical to have a child in today's world? Do they truly consent to being born? And when it comes down to it, is life filled with more joy or pain? As we ponder these...

Unicorns! Edtech! Startup bros! Welcome to a new episode of Arguable, where we dive into the world of venture capital and startups and try to separate hype from truth. Seven of the world’s eight most highly-valued public companies were once venture capital-based tech startups. Venture capital and technology are eating the world. But what is VC, really? How does it work, and how does it make decisi...

Building Your Category of One with Ex-KKR India CEO Sanjay Nayar Points discussed in the podcast 1. Mental models for shaping the early stages of your career 2. Decision frameworks for making big career transitions 3. Frameworks for investments, the new world order, and India's role in shaping it 4. Insights on work-life integration, family, and a being supportive partner

Welcome to the third episode of "Arguable," where we, Utkarsh and Dhruva, dive into the changing nature and value of work as we know it. We kick things off by dusting off John Maynard Keynes' crystal ball from 1930. Remember when he boldly predicted we'd all be living the 15-hour workweek dream by now? Spoiler alert: we're not. But why? We'll unpack this economic plot twi...

In this podcast, we discussed Vishal’s new book on the politics of education in India. Education offers a lot of promises, it is considered an engine for social and economic mobility, it promises a path to development, to empowerment, to jobs. But what happens when some of these promises are not upheld? We deep dive into some chapters of Vishal’s book and he explains what ‘more’ is there to educat...

Welcome to the second episode of "Arguable," where Dhruva Bhat and Utkarsh Amitabh engage in a discussion about the role of universities in political discourse. Between them, Dhruva and Utkarsh have studied at some of India and the world's top universities: Harvard, Oxford, Wharton, INSEAD and Ashoka. They bring their experience in education to the question: should universities take...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of "Arguable," where friends and debate enthusiasts Utkarsh Amitabh and Dhruva Bhat kick off a series designed to challenge your thinking and sharpen your ability to navigate tricky debates. In this episode, they tackle a compelling question: can you achieve more good by earning as much money as possible and donating it, or by choosing a career with a direct impact...

Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, a Joint Venture with Molson Coors, and Chairman of Molson Coors Cobra India. In the Monde Selection, one of the most prestigious quality awards in the world for beer, the Cobra range have collectively been awarded a total of 110 Gold medals since 2001, making it one of the most awarded beers...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. Blending Creativity Across Disciplines: Puneet shares insights on how her diverse experiences in news writing, advertising, and acting have shaped her approach to storytelling and creativity. She emphasizes the importance of adaptability and continuous learning in the ever-evolving media landscape. 2.⁠ ⁠Discipline and Rigor of Writing: How Puneet finished her book an...

David works at the intersection of technology and teams. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Cambridge University. He has worked on the Android team at Google, and managed Facebook's internal videoconferencing and collaboration team. He has also been Head of Engineering at a number of startups, supervising the growth of digital product teams from 10 to 100+ engineers. David is now an indep...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. Mental models for figuring out what to do with your life  2. Nuances of career transitions  3. Doubling down on the things you care most about  Dhruva Bhat is an entrepreneur and researcher with extensive experience in educational innovation and international development. He co-founded and directs Lumiere Education, a company that delivers advanced extracurricular pr...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. Thinking about your career in phases 2. Figuring out what matters and why 3. Working like a lion: Sprint, rest, repeat  Abhilasha is a graduate of IIT Delhi and Harvard Business School. Over the years she has worked at the intersection of tech and innovation across diverse industries such as digital healthcare, blended education, and consumer tech across Asia and Nor...

Heidi Roizen  is a venture capitalist, corporate director and former technology CEO/entrepreneur. Today, Heidi is a partner at leading venture firm Threshold Ventures and serves as a board member for private companies Upside Foods and Polarr in the Threshold portfolio. She is currently also an independent corporate director for Invitation Homes (NYSE:INVH) and Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL). Heidi is a...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. Understanding various contributions of one of the most iconic, but understudied leaders of modern India 2. Women in politics during the early years of post independence India 3. ⁠⁠Powerful friendships and fall outs Pallavi Rebbapragada is a journalist and public policy consultant based in Delhi. She started her career at India Today as a features writer and journeyed...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. The ethics of career choice 2. Critical analysis of the structural badness of work 3. AI ethics and achievement gaps John Danaher is a lecturer in the Law School. He holds a BCL from University College Cork (2006); an LLM from Trinity College Dublin (2007); and a PhD from University College Cork (2011). He was lecturer in law at Keele University in the UK from 2011 u...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. Taking an idea from a side hustle to a thriving business 2. Understanding the nuances of content moderation 3. How humour and kindness scale Noel is the founder of CurryTraits, a leading private group boasting over 1 million members. With a background in Product Management, Social Media Management, and Community Management, Noel brings a wealth of experience to the t...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. The parallels between publishing and venture capital 2. The economics of publishing 3. How to get your book published Founder and publisher of Juggernaut Books, Chiki was the founding editor in chief of Random House India and publisher of Penguin India from 2011-15, she is a passionate publisher and all about books. Authors she has worked with include Amitav Ghosh, V...

These are 10 sure ways to never make progress on anything you truly care about

In this podcast, we cover - 1. ⁠Role of serendipity in building meaningful careers 2.⁠ ⁠Ethical principles toward shaping more inclusive technologies 3.⁠ ⁠Feminist and anti-racist approach to AI Eleanor started her career in financial technology before co-founding an e-commerce company. Now a Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambri...

TN Hari is an advisor and sounding board to numerous young entrepreneurs and startups. He is also a Strategic Advisor at ‘Fundamentum’, which is a homegrown growth phase VC fund set up by Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal. Hari was the former HR at BigBasket. ​He has studied at IIT & IIM and worked at an executive level with multiple start- ups/scale-ups and has been through four successful...

In this podcast, we discuss 1.⁠ ⁠Why reading matters and how it shapes our world view 2.⁠ ⁠How to read when one is flooded with content from all sides 3.⁠ ⁠What learning across disciplines looks like Professor Anamika teaches literatures in English at the University of Delhi Her doctoral thesis is on the reception of John Donne across the ages. She has published extensively also in the areas of Tr...

In this podcast, we cover - 1. Frameworks for combining impact with profitability to build a mission driven business 2. The early days of building ReNew: the journey of finding early believers and operating in a ‘blue ocean’ 3. Nuances of nurturing talent and championing gender and diversity Vaishali Nigam Sinha is the Chair for ReNew Foundation and Chief Sustainability Officer for ReNew Power, wh...