Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

By Harish NarayananEducationSelf-Improvement
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Best in Class with Harish Narayanan episodes

  • Shradha Sharma on 'junoon', optimism, being a founder, and favourite startup stories [#5]

    In this episode, I had the pleasure of connecting with Shradha Sharma (@sharmashradha). Shradha is the founder / CEO of YourStory (India's go-to startup media platform, à la TechCrunch). She has been the startup ecosystem's cheerleader for more than a decade, continues to bring out genuine founder stories to a broad audience, and drives India's longest running startup event 'TechSparks'. She's an eternal optimist and I thoroughly enjoyed this hour long conversation with her on a wide ranging set of topics. Hope you enjoy it too.

    If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

    Timestamps:

    • 00:00 Intro.
    • 02:11 "What you lack, will make you run".
    • 08:11 Journey leading to Yourstory.
    • 11:30 Decoding people and judging less. 
    • 16:10 Going from a blog to a company. 
    • 18:00 Challenges as a (female) founder. 
    • 23:06 Creating a habit of optimism, 'junoon' & self love.
    • 28:00 Growth of Yourstory and the journey of TechSparks.
    • 32:18 Culture of appreciation. 
    • 34:56 Favourite startup story.
    • 38:44 Most resilient founder, charismatic founder, under-told story etc. 
    • 41:28 Upcoming product launches.
    • 44:08 Entrepreneurship vs working in a company.
    • 48:40 An average day. 
    • 51:20 Hiring hacks. 
    • 45:10 Quick questions / "Compassion lasts".

      • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

      56 min
    • Ankur Warikoo on authenticity, discovering oneself, ikigai, success and starting up [#4]

      In this episode, I had the pleasure of connecting with Ankur Warikoo (https://ankurwarikoo.com/, @warikoo). Ankur was the founder of nearbuy.com, and before that, the CEO of Groupon India. He is a well-known teacher / mentor / startup guru and content creator who talks deeply about many important topics that are very relevant to today's youth. He thinks big and executes even bigger; and he helps many to learn from his experiences and his mistakes. I thoroughly enjoyed this hour long conversation with him on a wide ranging set of topics. Hope you enjoy it too. 

      If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.


      Timestamps: 

      • 00:00 Intro.
      • 01:00 Authenticity, and having the courage to be authentic. ("If you really know yourself, no one can touch you").
      • 03:05 Curiosity. 
      • 05:10 "Be like water".
      • 08:10 Things to learn in your 20s. 
      • 11:28 Finding 'Ikigai'.
      • 15:12 Purpose and success. 
      • 19:28 What do you want from life the most, right now?
      • 22:37 Risk-taking appetite. "Resist the obvious".
      • 28:40 Starting up
      • 32:36 Thinking like an Entrepreneur
      • 33:55 Wealth and freedom. 
      • 39:54 Taking the family along on the journey. 
      • 41:25 Following passion / teaching. 
      • 45:10 Quick questions / favourite books / "If you don't ask, the answer is always no".


        • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

        53 min
      • Kiran Khalap on meditation, spirituality, brand building, rock climbing, and business as a social responsibility [#3]

        In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to Kiran Khalap (@kirankhalap), the founder of Chlorophyll (chlorophyll.in). He is one of the veterans of the advertising and branding industry in India, and many of his other facets set the base for this wide-ranging conversation. He's an avid rock climber and a long time yoga and fitness enthusiast; he's a believer that business can fundamentally be a force for good. He's also deeply spiritual person who has clear thoughts on some important philosophical questions. I enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too. 


        Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

        55 min
      • Sridhar Vembu on curiosity, daring to execute, being an outlier, building a long lasting culture [#2]

        In this episode, I am privileged to deep dive into the mind of Sridhar Vembu (@svembu), one of the best entrepreneurial leaders in the country today. He needs no introduction in the startup circles; he is the founder and CEO of Zoho, one of India's largest tech product companies and a pioneer of the SAAS ecosystem in India. During the IT services boom, his vision of building a bootstrapped product company was non intuitive and extremely bold, to say the least. His work has given wings to other entrepreneurs in the country and he continues to inspire many more. His is a story of unusual perspectives being put into action fearlessly and with an almost child like curiosity, and we will seek to unravel some of the 'whys' behind the 'whats' in this wide ranging conversation.


        Timestamps:

        • 00:00 Intro
        • 03:00 Moving from ideas to execution, running experiments, taking risks
        • 08:29 Worst case scenario planning
        • 09:51 Resilience
        • 14:48 Choosing the right friends
        • 18:33 Living in a village
        • 21:37 Building Zoho culture
        • 26:12 Bootstrapping
        • 30:55 Passion
        • 37:02 Productivity
        • 43:18 Books and resources
        • 47:16 Sridhar’s billboard message: “Prestige is a trap”
        • 49:28 What makes him think the way he thinks


          • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

          57 min
        • Kunal Shah on starting-up, compounding learning, extreme curiosity, identifying & growing talent [#1]

          In this episode, I am privileged to have with us India's most popular startup guru and serial founder, Kunal Shah. I call Kunal the 'Philosopher founder' for his ability to think deeply about any problem statement under the sun and for his breadth of knowledge about various topics and the underlying human insights. He is a rockstar thinker and I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Hope you enjoy it too. If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

          Timestamps:

          • 0:00 Intro
          • 03:40 Starting up - Purpose, Opportunity, Reason to start-up ("Success is a journey of one hundred slaps". A great way to know who you are).
          • 07:40 Identifying the right opportunity, identifying the market. 
          • 12:58 Build a culture of entrepreneurship.
          • 14:58 Wealth = entropy. 
          • 18:00 Working in a big company vs starting up. 
          • 21:47 There is no 'method'. 
          • 24:56 Avoiding rigidity, seeking variety, becoming 'explorers'.  
          • 26:53 Games of skill vs games of luck. ("The only thing worth envying about someone is their skill"). 
          • 29:34 Learning as a skill. ("We should learn how to think"). Appreciate extreme curiosity.
          • 32:35 Building curiosity (especially in children). 
          • 39:40 Managing time, finding time for curiosity. 
          • 44:56 Finding / hiring great talent. 
          • 48:05 A message to students / new jobbers. 

            • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

            49 min

          About Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

          From the publisher's feed

          This podcast is an experiment in human flourishing; an excuse to connect with outstanding folks (changemakers, achievers and thinkers) across fields deep dive into what makes them unique and what makes them tick. Guests include Kunal Shah, Sridhar Vembu, Ankur Warikoo, Shradha Sharma, Nithin Kamath.