On Episode 87 of the #LearningStories podcast we chat with Harsh Snehanshu. He is a technology entrepreneur and community builder. He built Your Quote which was India's largest writing platform that is home to over 7 millions writers and 200 million posts. He also built the Bookmark Dating App. Apart from startups he co-founded, Cubbon Reads and steered the silent reading movement across the globe with 120+ chapters in 70+ cities. Of late he is scaling his newest community, Pint of View - a lecture series movement in bars and pubs across the world. You can find him on YourQuote, Instagram and Linkedin.

Show Chapters

(00:05) - Podcast Introduction

(00:30) - Guest Background

(02:00) - "My father worked in SBI and we moved around a lot"

(02:20) - "Eventually we settled in Dhanbad (Jharkhand)"

(03:30) - What was your favourite subject at school?

(05:00) - When did you decide to become an engineer?

(06:05) - "A lot of the learning in high school was curiosity driven"

(08:20) - What was the influence of your father (banker) on your journey?

(12:20) - What was the influence of your mother (academic) on your journey?

(13:50) - "When you merge creativity with enterprise it is magical"

(16:30) - How did you crack the IIT JEE entrance exam?

(21:00) - How to critique your ideas?

(23:00) - What was your experience studying at IIT Delhi?

(28:50) - How did you publish your first book in college?

(29:50) - "In my third year I was making 3-4 lakhs as royalties from book sales"

(30:40) - "I studied Engineering Physics for 4 years at IIT Delhi

(31:00) - Why did you love reading biographies of scientists?

(32:00) - Why did you love reading biographies and books by saints?

(36:40) - What was your relationship to books as a student

(38:55) - The importance of believing in yourself as a creator

(39:45) - The letter feature on Bookmark Dating App

(41:10) - Why Cubbon Reads got such a positive response?

(41:40) - "I want to solve for myself and then others"

(42:00) - The benefits of reading literary fiction

(43:00) - Why I believe my core skillset is writing?

(45:00) - "Startups and Publishing were on the rise in the 2010's"

(46:00) - How did you write and publish four books right out of college?

(48:00) - How do I make money from my one-liners and #WittyShit?

(49:30) - The story behind the T-Shirt Startup I co-founded in college

(51:00) - How did books shape your thinking?

(54:00) - Why you wanted to study the arts after engineering?

(57:00) - How did you fund your plan to travel around India for a year?

(59:45) - What places did you visit when you travelled around India for a year?

(1:02:00) - Dealing with a health crisis as a young adult

(1:04:00) - What was your experience as a student at Young India Fellowship?

(1:08:30) - What was your experience working as a full time journalist?

(1:12:30) - "Your Quote was not my first startup idea"

(1:14:00) - How did you deal with startup failures?

(1:14:30) - How did you create and build YourQuote?

(1:19:25) - What were your struggles with YourQuote?

(1:21:40) - Why entrepreneurs and creators have to be critical by default?

(1:28:00) - The story behind Cubbon Reads

(1:34:00) - The problem with Engineering Graduates

(1:36:00) - Love for bird watching

(1:38:00) - How you think about startups and communities?

(1:45:00) - Love for old cars

(1:49:00) - Closing Notes

Show Links

Harsh on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harshsnehanshu/

Harsh on Linkedin -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshsnehanshu/

Harsh on Goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3404537.Harsh_Snehanshu

Pint of View Club - https://www.instagram.com/pintofview.club/

Cubbon Reads - https://www.instagram.com/cubbonreads/

Your Quote - https://www.yourquote.in/

Bookmark App - https://www.instagram.com/bookmarkappco/

Pretty Old Cars - https://www.instagram.com/prettyoldcars/

Show Description

#LearningStories is an audio and video show where we interview a diverse set of learners from the 21st century.