Two Founders Walk Into

What does it actually take to get funded as an NGO in India and why are so many organisations pitching the wrong funders entirely? In this episode of Two Founders Walk Into, we sit down with Amit Antony Alex, Investment Director at Dovetail Impact Foundation, where he manages an international portfolio of social enterprises and impact organisations. Before Dovetail, Amit led investments at Upaya S...

India has 96–97% school enrollment. So why can't 50% of Grade 5 students read a Grade 2 sentence? That's the question at the heart of this conversation — and it's the exact problem that Akshay and Madhuri from U&I have spent years trying to solve on the ground. In this episode, we go deep inside U&I Teach, one of India's most innovative after-school education programs, now...

What happens when one of India's brightest cricketers gets dropped not once, but twice and has to find a reason to keep going? In this deeply personal conversation, Indian Women's Cricket Team star Jemimah Rodrigues sits down with Ajit Sivaram and Satish Manchikanti of Two Founders Walk Into to talk about the journey that most people never saw: the anxiety attacks before matches, the 35 da...

Millennials and Gen Z walk into the same workplace and see completely different things. In this episode, Ajit and Satish host Anu and Nandu, two employees of U&I Trust, for a frank cross-generational conversation about the debates reshaping work today. Did remote work kill culture, or just reveal which teams never had it? Is job loyalty a virtue or a trap? Should burnout come with a leave poli...

What's really broken in Bangalore and how do we fix it? In this episode of Two Founders Walk Into, we sit down with Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO of Janaagraha, one of India's foremost urban governance experts. With 15+ years working with city governments, constitutional bodies, and citizen groups, Srikanth breaks down why Indian cities keep failing their residents and what a systems-level sol...

Can nonprofits create real buzz and drive impact without a marketing budget? In this episode, we unpack a practical playbook for zero-budget marketing in the nonprofit world. From leveraging passionate communities to empowering staff and using accessible technology, this conversation explores how organizations can amplify their voice even in a crowded digital landscape. The discussion focuses on p...

Why do so many NGOs struggle with visibility, funding, and talent despite doing powerful work on the ground? In this episode, Girish Balachandran, Founder of On Purpose, shares why he believes the biggest challenge in the social sector isn’t just funding, it’s mindset. We explore why “good work should speak for itself” is no longer enough, and why communications, storytelling, and founder visibili...

Volunteering in India is evolving and so is what it means to give back. In this episode, we explore why volunteering matters more than ever, especially for young people navigating purpose, identity and community in a rapidly changing world. From moving beyond a survival mindset to building meaningful connections, volunteering today is as much about personal growth as it is about social impact. Our...

Can schools go beyond marks, exams and rote learning to truly prepare children for life? In this episode, we sit down with Sreeja Iyer, Founder of Sparkling Mindz Global School, to explore what it really means to design education around the whole child. Drawing from over 15 years of experience, Sreeja shares her journey from engineering and corporate roles to building a school rooted in agency, au...

As the year comes to an end, it’s easy to label it as good, bad, or somewhere in between. But that kind of reflection is often shallow and misleading. In this conversation, we explore a more meaningful way to look back at the year gone by: your relationships. Think of every relationship as an investment account. Did you deposit into it this year or mostly withdraw? This video is for anyone who wan...

Growth isn’t just about moving faster or getting bigger. At some point, every organisation faces a choice: Do we keep optimising what already works, or do we take the harder path of reinventing ourselves? In this conversation, we explore why real growth demands exponential thinking — building systems and people that can scale, creating space for experimentation, and normalising failure as a source...

Strategy isn’t just planning, it’s choosing the right direction and having the courage to change when the world changes. In this episode, we explore how some of the world’s most successful companies stay relevant by understanding their market, knowing their customer, and adapting before they're forced to.

What if one of the world’s most iconic innovations wasn’t sparked by a lone genius but by a team learning to collaborate? In the early 2000s, Steve Jobs brought hardware, software, and design teams together under a secret mission called Project Purple. They clashed, they debated, and they pushed each other — until they created something the world had never seen before: the iPhone. This episode div...

This episode dives into what it truly means to lead people not through authority, pressure, or targets, but through responsibility, care and clarity. Drawing inspiration from Simon Sinek’s well-known idea that leaders aren’t responsible for the results themselves, but for the people who produce those results, the conversation explores the shift from “command and conquer” to “support and empower.”I...

Self-leadership is the foundation of every form of leadership. In this episode, we explore why understanding our blind spots, recognising our biases, and practising honest self-reflection matter far more than experience or technical skill. Drawing on Daniel Goleman’s research on emotional intelligence, this conversation breaks down how self-awareness, self-regulation, and intentional growth direct...

What makes a leader truly great? In this episode, we unpack five books that transformed our leadership journey, from shaping vision and culture to driving sustainable impact. Starting with Good to Great by Jim Collins, we explore the ideas that helped U&I move from doing good work to building something truly exceptional. Whether you’re a CEO, team leader, or just starting your leadership journ...

What if the most valuable MBA lessons aren’t taught in classrooms but learned while volunteering? In this episode, we explore how volunteering can be the real-world MBA that shapes leaders, not just managers. From building empathy and communication skills to managing diverse teams and navigating uncertainty, volunteering provides the kind of experience that no degree can replicate. Whether you’re...

When we launched this podcast, we didn’t know what to expect. But the response blew us away. So many listeners wrote in saying our conversations gave them clarity, courage, and conviction in your leadership journey. They told us it made them pause, reflect, and rethink how they show up for their teams, their work, and themselves. To everyone who tuned in, shared an episode, or sent us a message, t...

Giving feedback is one of the most important skills a manager can master but also one of the trickiest. In this episode, we explore the art of giving feedback, how to approach it with clarity, empathy, and impact. Whether it’s reinforcing good work or addressing areas of growth, you’ll learn practical ways to make your feedback constructive and motivating. Subscribe to our channel and never miss t...

When we started U&I, we thought we needed one perfect mentor to guide us. We never found them. Instead, we learned from dozens of the world’s best leaders — through books, talks, and videos — and used those lessons to build U&I into a movement impacting thousands across India. In this episode, we share: Why not finding a single mentor turned out to be an advantage How to learn from leaders...

There’s a quiet revolution happening in corporate India and it’s not about profits. It’s about purpose. In this episode, we unpack how corporate volunteering is shifting from a “nice-to-have” CSR activity to a strategic tool for employee retention and engagement. Why are more companies investing in giving back? Because the data says it works: 🔹 96% of companies report more engaged employees 🔹 52...

Is influence something you’re born with or something you build? In this episode, we unpack the psychology behind real influence. Not the kind that comes from titles or connections, but the kind you earn through trust and capability. From a personal stories to Princeton research on warmth and competence, we explore why the most influential people aren’t always the loudest but they’re almost always...

School taught us to compete. Work demands we collaborate. From solo ranks to team projects, we’re navigating a system we were never trained for. In this episode, Ajit and Satish unpack the big collaboration crisis and walk you through the 4 levels of working together, from unhealthy competition to powerful co-creation. Featuring stories from Microsoft, Pixar, and Amul This one’s packed with insigh...

What does it take to turn around one of the world’s biggest tech companies? When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, he didn’t come in with bravado or buzzwords. He came in with humility. He admitted the company had lost its edge, encouraged unlearning, and shifted the culture from “know-it-all” to “learn-it-all.” In this episode, we explore how vulnerability can be a leadership superpower—and...

We love talking about leadership—vision, values, collaboration. But there’s one word we avoid like the plague: power. In this episode, we get real about power dynamics at work. Inspired by Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power (yep, the book 50 Cent swears by), we break down how power actually shows up in organizations—through access, influence, and narrative. We’re talking: The “shadow org” behind you...