Direct to a Billion Consumers

“5 years later… when you look back, you should be proud to the decision you took – that's the easiest parameter…!” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Manish Taneja, the co-founder of Purplle.com. Hear about Manish's journey from private equity to visiting beauty stores on the weekends with his flatmate and then eventually starting Purplle. Listen carefully as he deep dives on the importance of understanding your customer deeply, building for Bharat and using data to make decisions. Do not miss his advice to insurgent brands on differentiation towards the end of the episode…

“Just the power of sitting behind a screen and selling to the entire country/world is something that just drew me to it (ecommerce) instantly!” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Bharat Sethi, the founder of Rage Coffee. Hear about Bharat's journey of building and exiting his first startup (Idecorama) until he arrived at the idea of Rage Coffee. Listen carefully as we deep dive on brand building with a limited budget and choosing brand ambassadors. Don't miss Bharat's insights on the omni channel debate and picking the right distribution channels basis the stage of the company!

“The moment you ensure that every single order that you pack and deliver is being received in the way you want to receive it – that it when business starts making sense!” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Aakash Anand, the founder of Bella Vita and now IDAM House of Brands. Hear about Aakash's story of navigating and then establishing leadership in a crowded space with Bella Vita. Then, hear him deep dive on the concept of a house of brands and talk about how he is playing out this strategy with his acquisitions at IDAM. Enjoy as we deep dive into brand creation and scale of multiple business units keeping the same consumer in mind…

“India celebrates 500 Cr moments every year. And, being a part of the large and small moments of every Indian – that's my goal!” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Tarun Joshi, the founder of Join Ventures – a brand that is innovating in the the celebrations and gifting space in India! Hear about Tarun's journey from a aeronautical engineering to investing and then eventually starting up. Listen carefully as Tarun breaks down verticalizing the supply chain and solving the complex problem of time bound deliveries that sometimes need to reach customers at 12 AM. Enjoy as we deep dive into the most important buzz words in D2C right now: dark stores, house of brands and quick commerce!

"...Entrepreneur who started a 20 machine unit now has 200 machines - this through the pandemic. So what we did really well is how we treated all the people associated with us". In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Yogesh Kabra, the founder of XYXX– a brand that is disrupting the inner wear space in India! Hear about Yogesh's journey from an incubator in the US to, starting up back home. Listen carefully as he share his insights on scaling sustainably, excellence in manufacturing, controlling the burn and building omni-channel. Don't miss Yogesh's message for tier II entrepreneurs and the story of signing up KL Rahul as a brand ambassador… 

Episode 26: Taran Chhabra, Neeman's “Comfortable, all natural, durable, sustainable and made in India – this is something we set out to solve”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Taran Chhabra, the founder of Neeman's shoes – a brand that Indian made sneakers a reality! Hear about the journey of a sneakerhead who moved back from a analytics job in the US, completed 500+ trials and 24 months later launched his product. Dig deeper into the his journey on building a business with his brother, focussing on building the right brand ethos through influencer collaborations and getting his customer to buy into the mission of sustainabilyt. Do not miss the story of how the name ‘Neeman's' came about…

“With logistics getting simpler and D2C brands getting smarter…one of the big trends is that you're going to see a lot of Indian brands on global shelves!”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Akshay Ghulati, the co-founder and COO of Shiprocket – India's largest e-commerce logistics aggregator. Hear about Akshay's journey from Wharton & HBS to Smile Group and then from there to Amazon and Shiprocket. Learn about Akshay's experience as a product manager at Amazon and what he brought back from this experience to logistics in India. Dig deeper into the Shiprocket journey and learn about the rollercoaster from starting up to driving the order fulfilment of 100,000+  small sellers and battling COVID disruptions along the way. 

“We dream of building some really impactful brands which can create at a global scale and we will build the infrastructure to take it there!”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Nitin Agarwal, the founder of Globalbees – one of India's largest e-commerce roll up players. Hear about Nitin's journey through the finance world and start-ups till he finally decided to start up again with his friend Supam (the founder of First Cry). Through the episode you can hear Nitin's excitement about brand creation and the large unbranded white spaces that still exist in India. Learn specifically about the Globalbees value addition matrix and what the process of a “roll up” integration looks like. Don't miss the end of the episode where Nitin talks about what he is looking for in his next set of acquisitions… 

“I also saw that you were the CEO of the company and seeing a female as a CEO...that just makes my day!” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Ahana Gautam, the powerhouse behind one of India's fastest growing D2C food brands – Open Secret. Hear about Ahana's inspirational journey from Bharatpur in Rajasthan to IIT, P&G, HBS and finally starting up. Through the episode you can hear Ahana's enthusiasm and zeal to unjunk snacking and provide tasty yet healthy alternatives to Indian consumers. Learn specifically from her amazing insights on having a learning mindset, being purpose driven and building a strong company culture to enable the team. 

“The key thing is to know how to get into a consumer's mind – at one level it is an art but it's also a science”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Harsh Mariwala, the man behind one of India's most iconic FMCG brands – Marico. Hear Mr. Mariwala's story 30+ year journey as he takes us down memory lane on the evolution of retail in India. A lot of us may not have done business in the 80s and 90s and so the episode has gems on navigating the business environment and scaling to an FMCG giant through the years. Learn specifically from his insights the importance of high quality talent, learning from failure and truly innovating to make an impact! 

“My sense is that we will see 8-10 more Mamaearth/Boat size startups in India (soon)”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Chirag Taneja, the co-founder of one of India's hottest  D2C enablers, Gokwik. Hear Chirag's story from banking, starting up, leading revenue at Bombay Shaving Company and finally starting the Gokwik journey. As all of us are seeing D2C brands growing exponentially, Chirag explains the need for enablers who solve existential and operational problems for founders. As the episode wraps up, pay close attention to his views on the trends for D2C in India(from the vantage point for someone who works closely with 50+ brands)…

“I'll upskill myself to learn to do it and, that's the reason that Sleepy Owl is the brand it is tod...

“I'll upskill myself to learn to do it and, that's the reason that Sleepy Owl is the brand it is today”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Arman Sood, the co-founder of one of everyone's favourite D2C brand, Sleepy Owl. Hear the story of 2 lawyers teaming up with another friend to solve the problem of the poor coffee they had at their offices. Learn about how these 3 founders revolutionized the way the Indian consumer looked at coffee by building one of the strongest new age consumer brands in India. Don't miss Arman's tips on the highest quality over quantity when it comes to brand campaigns. As the episode wraps up, pay close attention to his 3 tips on fundraising that he has picked up from his 6 year journey. 

“I joke with my team that I think more as a woman consumer than a male – that's my instinct ”. In th...

“I joke with my team that I think more as a woman consumer than a male – that's my instinct ”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Shankar Prasad, the founder behind the original ‘house of brands' in personal care - Pureplay Skin Sciences. Hear Shankar's dream career journey with HUL, Mckinsey and Everstone until he finally gave it up to start up. Learn about the importance of purpose in a business and how Shankar chose to be vegan way back in 2014. Also don't miss Shankar's insights on a brand being a ‘promise of value' and, value being the best moat for any business! As the episode wraps up, pay close attention to his view on trends for beauty and personal care in India going forward…  

“After one big failure (in QSR)… we sold our house - that was where the capital to start Veeba came ...

“After one big failure (in QSR)… we sold our house - that was where the capital to start Veeba came from”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Viraj Bahl– the powerhouse behind Veeba and the man who brought ‘sauce back to the fore'. Hear Viraj's story of working in the oil rigs, starting and failing in a QSR business and then eventually beginning his journey with Veeba!. Today, Veeba is a household name but hear about Viraj's struggle and resilience to crack his first large B2B account – Domino's. From there, learn about the launch of the B2C brand that has now found its way to the homes of Indians across 500+ cities! In this episode to learn specifically about going all in, focussing on execution and playing for the long term outcome. 

“The joke was in the city that two guys are looking for some gold plated chicken”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Vivek Gupta – the force behind revolutionizing meat consumption in India. Hear Vivek's story of switching gears as he moved from being the finance controller of a fund to creating 170 specifications of chicken! Rethinking the supply chain of an age old industry and disrupting it completely is no joke. Today, we take Licious for granted but we must remember that this brand is only ~5 years old. Listen to this episode to learn specifically about creating customer loyalty and serious repeat behavior, building culture in an organization of 3000+ team members and continuing to raise capital successfully till series F!

“Building a brand is a bonfire and not a set of explosions”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks...

“…the objective of getting into a start-up should not only be to raise capital but instead to build ...

“The customer service agent went out of the prescribed script and said we'll fix your gas stove by t...

“Your face needs a different kind of product from your scalp and this was the logic behind starting ...

“Building a brand is a bonfire and not a set of explosions”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Varun Alagh – the man behind one of India's most celebrated D2C brands - Mamaearth. Hear Varun's journey as he moved from the corporate world of Coca Cola and Unilever into the uncertainty of building a brand from scratch. Hear about his adjustment as he moved from numbers to names when he set out to get his first few customers. Learn specifically about building a purpose driven brand for the long term and then hyper scaling it! While many have thought that 100 Cr was the upper limit for D2C brands, Mamaearth has shattered this benchmark in less than 4 years.

“…the objective of getting into a start-up should not only be to raise capital but instead to build something meaningful and disruptive”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Hitesh Dhingra – the start-up man of the D2C ecosystem. Hear Hitesh's journey as he talks about his various stints building Letsbuy, Tyroo, Truly Madly and eventually the Man Company. Hitesh talks about how he decided men's grooming as a category, stumbling blocks along the way and then eventually cracking the code in this space. Learn specifically about creating unforgettable marketing campaigns and building an empowered team to propel the growth of an organization. 

“The customer service agent went out of the prescribed script and said we'll fix your gas stove by tonight but till then, I've ordered you Domino's pizza”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Bharat Kalia. Hear Bharat's story of leaving a consulting job at Bain and starting a brand creating products for the home & kitchen to enrich the daily lives of modern consumers. Bharat talks about getting into a seemingly difficult category and capturing market share by simply creating better products. Learn specifically about tracking data trends as Bharat reveals the secret sauce behind how Lifelong decides which products to launch.  

“Your face needs a different kind of product from your scalp and this was the logic behind starting Beardo”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks with Ashutosh Valani. Hear Ashutosh's story of building Beardo to one of India's most iconic D2C brands and building the men's grooming category along the way. Ashutosh talks about scaling a brand with his college mate Priyank from 0 to 1 using the most innovative viral marketing strategies. Learn specifically about the right time to say goodbye as Arjun and Ashutosh both share their experience about exiting their 1st brands to strategics and what they are both doing in the next leg of the journeys. 

“Challenger means you're taking someone on so, I have always stuck to and continue to stick to the t...

“Challenger means you're taking someone on so, I have always stuck to and continue to stick to the term insurgent brands”. In this episode, join Arjun as he brings his first investor to the show – Deepak Shahdadpuri. Hear the story of how Deepak got enamoured by the consumer brands ecosystem in India and become one of its earliest backers. Over the last 15+ years, Deepak has invested in and supported 60+ of Asia's most iconic consumer brands including Sula, Veeba and Epigamia. Learn specifically about his philosophy of investing, his views on the future of consumer brands and the 10 themes that he is backing at DSGCP going forward. 

“We took our 1st 6 products to a school in Delhi and they killed my favorite. Kids never lie and so ...

“We took our 1st 6 products to a school in Delhi and they killed my favorite. Kids never lie and so made by 2 mothers is the reality of everything we do”. In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Shauravi, Co-Founder, Slurrp Farm. Hear Shauravi's story of moving from the corporate world of investment banking and investing to rolling up her sleeves and starting a food brand for kids with her co-founders. Hear about the trials and tribulations of creating new-to-the-world products and navigating through the offline sales ecosystem. Through this episode one can learn about pushing to launch the best products, building a category, choosing the right investors and building team culture digitally through the pandemic. 

“Anything that we have a doubt…we set up a 100-150 customer download. By the end of those calls, we ...

“Building an Indian brand, that's what has been driving us from Day 1.” In this episode, join Arjun ...

“Anything that we have a doubt…we set up a 100-150 customer download. By the end of those calls, we have our answer.” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Chaitanya, Co-Founder, Wakefit.co. Hear Chaitanya’s story of moving from management consulting to navigating 2 start-up failures with humility and resilience. He then talks about how Ankit (his co-founder) and him found the idea of Wakefit and built one of India’s largest D2C brands. Through this episode one can learn about rapid scale, learning from failure and listening very closely to what a customer wants. Definitely a must listen for people just starting out! 

“Building an Indian brand, that’s what has been driving us from Day 1.” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Bala Sarda, Founder, Vahdam India. Hear the story about the inception of Vahdam and the new age way Bala took his family’s tea legacy to the world. He talks about starting at 23 and building a brand that eventually got love from Oprah and Ellen. Through this episode one can learn specifically about how being customer-first allowed Vahdam to take Indian chai to 100+ countries and build thousands of loyal fans along the way.

“I sometimes think we are a logistics company which incidentally sells furniture.” In this episode, ...

In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to retail stalwart Govind Srikhande. Govind take us through ...

“I sometimes think we are a logistics company which incidentally sells furniture.” In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Ambareesh Murty, Co-Founder & CEO, Pepperfry. may not Ambareesh is an e-commerce stalwart and it is not as well known that he was the business head for Ebay in India before Pepperfry. He takes us through the evolution of e-commerce in India over the years and talks about how he was able completely disrupt the furniture space with his current venture. Through this episode one can learn about how Ambareesh and the team built a model to get India to consume furniture online by blending online consumption with an offline experience (Studio Pepperfry). Learn specifically about the taking on complex problems and solving them for the best customer experience – in this case logistics.

In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to retail stalwart Govind Srikhande. Govind take us through a time capsule of retail in India through his 34 year career. From the evolution of the store concept to the denim revolution, he has seen the industry change first hand through the years. Govind also spends time walking us through his 15+ years at the helm at Shoppers Stop – a company that created the department store concept in India. Understand the importance of building long lasting relationships with partners and learn about India’s largest and longest serving loyalty program, First Citizen. This episode is deviation from our path of digital first brands but serves as an important bridge to show the power of offline retail in India.

“I am who I am and, I will consume products that make me believe in myself".In this episode, joi...

“I am who I am and, I will consume products that make me believe in myself". In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Tarun Sharma, Founder of mCaffeine. Tarun talks about how a sore eye led him to stumble upon the use of caffeine remedies, since the 10th century. This inspired his partner and him to create a lifestyle beauty brand based on caffeine. Understand the importance of creating an unapologetic brand with a personality that may not mean something for everyone, but resonates with those who love it. Learn specifically about the need for brands to be data focussed in digital marketing and how an open culture in the organization led to an almost 0% attrition rate.

"It almost felt like as parents we shouldn't have to compromise on the quality of products and so to...

"It almost felt like as parents we shouldn't have to compromise on the quality of products and so together.... we decided to build something".In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Mohit Sadaani, Founder of The Moms Co. Mohit talks about his journey from being a consultant at Mckinsey to becoming a parent. Find out the common product problem his wife and him faced as new parents, which led to the birth of a company. Mohit talks about how social media (not mass media) and e-commerce allowed a brand to develop with a community alongside it. Learn specifically about the ability of brands to use social media as a two-way communication channel and pick up relevant and actionable business insights from conversations with patrons.

"A woman focused brand is not niche – it caters to almost 45% of the population! "In this episod...

"Everything we build keeps the customer in the front seat because the customer makes the product a h...

"Everything we build keeps the customer in the front seat because the customer makes the product a hero or zero".In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Manish Chowdhary, Founder of Wow Skin Science. Manish talks about his amazing journey from bankruptcy in a business selling laptops, to building one of India's largest digital first brands. Manish talks about the importance of relationships to scale his company, having built the business with his brother and two of his best friends. While Wow has seen the evolution of the e-commerce ecosystem in India, it has kept one principle at its core– customer obsession. Learn specifically how a brand can be hyper-scaled using the power of digital, while building for the long term.

"A woman focused brand is not niche – it caters to almost 45% of the population!".In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Ankur Goyal, Co-Founder, & Me. A Stanford graduate, Ankur's 'aha' moment at graduation led him to conceptualise this brand focused on Women's health. Dismissed as a niche idea by advisors, he went against the tide - and launched innovative products like PCOS drinks and even chocolates! Share his vision on what it takes to bring people together to develop "new-to-the-world" product concepts. Hear how & Me pivoted channels to build a brand where consumers eventually became brand advocates and ambassadors.

In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Vedang Patel, Co-Founder, The Souled Store. They discuss ...

"Everything is figure-outable". In this episode, join Arjun as he talks to Vedang Patel, Co-Founder, The Souled Store. They discuss how Vedang’s lack of job satisfaction led to an epiphany that is now India’s largest fan merchandise store. Vedang shares his insights on the evolution of the e-commerce ecosystem in India and tying up with some of the world’s largest franchises including WWE, Friends and Marvel. Learn specifically about the importance of mindset in entrepreneurship and his knack of picking up learnings from failure and converting them to success.

"India is a big opportunity.... yet, building a brand in India is a Herculean task" Meet your host A...