Courage Talks S9E6 with Vijayaraghavan Venugopal (Co-founder & CEO of Fast&Up!)

Vijay's journey is a powerful blend of corporate grit, entrepreneurial courage, and elite athletic discipline:

• Left a successful 13-year pharma career (including heading China operations at Lupin) at age 38 to pursue something more meaningful.
• Spotted a major gap in credible local sports nutrition while starting serious running in 2012.
• Co-founded Fast&Up in 2015 with just three products and a small team—bootstrapped through grassroots activations like early-morning hydration stations at running events.
• Grew the brand city by city, becoming the Official Energy Drink/Nutrition Partner for Tata Mumbai Marathon (starting around 2020) and powering elite athletes, including the Indian cricket team and IPL franchises.
• Scaled to 100+ products, presence in multiple countries, with key products tested for banned substances.

At 50+, still a deeply passionate runner :

11 sub-3-hour marathons, including a personal best of 2:47:57 at the TCS New York City Marathon 2025,

and completing all 6 World Marathon Majors under 3 hours—one of the rare few globally to achieve this.

In this episode, Vijay opens up about:

* Transitioning from pharma leadership to building a consumer brand from scratch

* The parallels between marathon endurance and entrepreneurial resilience

* Why passion + persistence keep him excited about product innovation even after 10 years

* Lessons on grit, timing, and chasing big goals at any stage of life

Perfect for anyone in entrepreneurship, fitness, sports nutrition, leadership, or simply inspired by stories of bold pivots and sustained excellence.

What stood out to you?

Share your thoughts below—would love to hear!

Tag a friend who needs this dose of courage! 💪

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