The Indian Startup Show

Marry the problem, not the product! In this episode, I sit down with social entrepreneur Nikky Kumar Jha, the first engineer from his small village in Bihar, India. Nikky initially set out to tackle massive global issues like climate change—until a professor advised him to look in his own backyard. What he found was a devastating local crisis: despite the fertile soil along the Ganges, farmers wer...

Giving People a Second Life! We are thrilled to welcome back Rishi Krishna, the visionary Founder and CEO of Symbionic, for his first appearance since November 2021! A lot has changed since our last conversation.  After losing his right arm in a tragic bus accident in 2018, Rishi channeled his personal adversity into founding Symbionic, an assistive tech startup dedicated to building affordable, l...

Turning Wanderlust into a Business. Can falling in love with a place completely change the trajectory of your life? For Alankar Chandra, a trip to the Masai Mara did exactly that. Today, I speak to Alankar Chandra, the CEO and Founder of Wild Voyager and Ilora Retreats. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, Alankar left his comfortable corporate job to pursue his true passions: wildlife and travel.  In this e...

The India–Scotland Entrepreneurial Journey!  Today’s guest is Nishant Sharma. the Indian-born, Edinburgh-based entrepreneur whose company blends Indian heritage with Scottish craftsmanship. Nishant’s story is one of resilience, legacy and bold reinvention. After leaving a successful career in financial services, he set out to build a brand with long-term meaning. Inspired by his late grandmother —...

Reinventing Kids Hospitality in India. Today my guest is Kanupriya Poddar, CEO of MagickWorld. She is building a platform to help parents discover kid-friendly stays, experiences, shops, and enrichment services across cities. In this episode, she shares how she launched MagickWorld alongside her 8-year-old daughter (a mini-entrepreneur, Shark Tank fan, business mindset!), onboarded 100+ local busi...

Building a global brand from India. Today my guest is  Ritesh Arora, Co-Founder of TRU.BIKE, TRU.BIKE designs premium, lightweight and safe bicycles for children, and is now exporting e-bikes to Europe.  In this episode he talks about why India, despite being the second-largest bicycle manufacturer, has no global brand, and how TRU.BIKE is changing that. Ritesh shares their journey from bootstrapp...

In this episode, I sit down with Saurabh Nigam—HR leader, angel investor, and author of People-Powered Startups: Building a Culture of Collaboration, Innovation, and High Performance.  With over two decades of experience, Saurabh shares actionable insights on building a thriving startup culture, avoiding common HR mistakes, and hiring the right people at the right time.  We dive into: Why startups...

Showcasing emerging artists—today, my guest is Leia Tyebjee, co-founder of Pylot Studios, an interdisciplinary creative platform dedicated to artistic design, curation, and community engagement. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of creating spaces for artists, breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, and how Pylot Studios is redefining art curation. Leia also shares her thoughts on...

Indie Hacker Special! I speak to Piyush Patel, the founder of AmplifyX Labs and a prominent voice in the micro-SaaS and indie hacking space. From bootstrapping projects to building in public and exploring AI-powered tools, Piyush shares invaluable insights into his personal journey, product development strategies, getting your first customers and the future of micro-SaaS. This episode is packed wi...

Chicken and hot sauce are a match made in heaven! In this episode, II’m joined by Mikhel Rajani, co-founder of Naagin Sauce, India’s first and favourite hot sauce brand. Mikhel and his team spotted a gap in the market about five years ago and have since transformed Naagin Sauce into a household name, now partnering with KFC India and reaching both domestic and international customers. We dive deep...

The world is getting fatter! In this episode, we dive deep into fitness and nutrition with Adarsh Gopalakrishnan, founder of Move101 in Chennai. Move101 is a unique strength and conditioning gym tailored for regular folks with little to no training background, and it also offers online coaching. Adarsh’s journey into fitness began in an unexpected way: he started working out to impress a girl who...

On a mission to make intimacy easy, approachable, and fun. Today my guest is Anushka Gupta, co-founder of MyMuse. MyMuse is India’s first bedroom essentials brand, dedicated to making intimacy easy, approachable, and fun for Indians everywhere.  Anushka and her husband started in a small apartment and now operate a warehouse serving over 150,000 customers across 1000+ Indian cities. They've also b...

Experience real cricket at home! In this episode, I sit down with Prince Thomas, co-founder of MetaShot, a Bangalore-based gaming startup. MetaShot offers a unique and immersive cricket experience through a cutting-edge metaphysical smart bat. Prince shares how the idea for MetaShot emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the early days of development, from the initial prototypes—a cricke...

Step into the dynamic world of Indian menswear fashion with our latest episode! Join us as we sit down with Karan Singh, the creative force behind Aristobrat, a brand renowned for its premium men's clothing. In this insightful conversation, Karan takes us on a journey from his inspiration drawn from a transformative trip to Scandinavia to the inception of his own fashion brand.  Delve into his inn...

Drawing inspiration from the timeless game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, today's guest is Lalit Kalani, the Founder of Rock Paper Rum, an innovative Indian Rum brand prominently featured on Season 3 of Shark Tank India.  In this episode, Lalit delves into the journey of launching his venture, shedding light on navigating the competitive Mumbai market, mastering branding, product development, and effecti...

Driven by love for Table Tennis. Megha Gambhir, is the amazing co-founder and CEO of Stupa Sports Analytics. Her company is revolutionising the world of sports by providing athletes with cutting-edge analytics and insights to improve their performance.  She talks about how she got started with a MVP - an Excel spreadsheet, to now working  the ITTF and  multiple international federations on her cli...

Making India sleep better: More than 55% of Indian adults face trouble falling asleep at least three nights a week. Today, I speak with Surbhi Jain, the founder of Neend, a free app offering stories, soothing sleep sounds, meditation, and more to help users unwind and nod off.  Launched in 2021, Surbhi shares how she started this journey after contracting Covid and struggling with sleep issues. Sh...

Universal factories of the future. Today my guest is Gokul NA, Co-Founder of CynLr.  a pioneering deep-tech startup dedicated to the radical reinvention of dynamic vision-enabled robots, unlocking the potential to create the 'universal factories' of tomorrow.  In this enlightening discussion, Gokul takes us on a journey back over a decade, recounting the humble beginnings with his co-founder in a...

From a 13-year-old dreaming of becoming a YouTuber to now leading a 6-figure video content agency, today I speak with Pratham Jindal, Founder and CEO of Praper Media—a content agency collaborating with some of the biggest creators on the planet.  In this episode he shares insights into launching the agency, recounting the story of securing his first customer by spending 100 Rupees on a super chat....

It's a tough job market out there folks! , and on today's episode, we have an expert to guide us through it. I'm joined by Sarabjeet Sacher, the founder of Aspiration Jobs, with a profound passion for coaching professionals in areas such as career growth, career development, job search strategies, and interview techniques. He shares valuable insights on crafting a compelling CV—what to include and...

Enabling the well-being of more than 355 million Indian women through products, experiences, and experts. Today my guest is Aruna Chawla, founder of Salad, a lifestyle planner mobile app that support women to better manage their health throughout the menstrual cycle by providing personalised nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle advice.  She talks about her own personal journey of being in and out of...

Bye Bye Potholes! Today I have the pleasure to talk to Sourabh Kumar, co-founder of PotHoleRaja, a social venture that 's on a mission to make India & the world pothole-free.  He got the idea After reading a tragic story about a woman who lost her life due to a pothole. He gave up his highly paid corporate job to fill in potholes around the streets of Bangalore at 5AM!  He didn't tell his parents...

Content is king! Today my guest is Gautam Madhavan CEO & founder of Mad Influence and influencer management agency. They do more than just connect creators and brands. They do digital marketing, social media management, content authoring, and providing consulting services to businesses.  They are trying to create the biggest content companies in the world. In this episode he talks about how he got...

Building the next wave of technology. Today my guest is seasoned investor Nitin Sharma, general partner & co-founder of Antler India. A global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. They're one of the fastest growing VC firms in the world.  In this episode he talks about his 15+ year investing experience. He talks about how they help early s...

India is expected to be home to 700 million gamers by 2025. So Today my guest Piyush Kumar, he is the Founder and CEO of Rooter.  A game streaming and E-Sports platform. Rooter has emerged as the largest player in the Indian gaming category, with close to 50 million downloads, making it the No. 1 app in the ‘sports’ category on the Google Play Store since October 2020.  Rooter is at the perfect in...