founderINDIA Podcasts

Robin Chhabra, founder & CEO, Dextrus Workspace, after his schooling at Winchester College in the UK, Robin Chhabra earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture, as well as a Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.   Having worked on projects as diverse as theatre set design and heritage hotels with boutique architecture firm Kay Ngee Tan Architects in Singapore, Robin Chhabra joined the award-winning team at Serie Architects in Mumbai. With offices in London, Singapore, and Mumbai, the work at Serie Architects kept pace and pushed the boundaries of the top trends in architecture globally. Recognizing the need to provide path-breaking thinkers with a workspace that offers all the finesse of a top-notch office with none of the fuss involved in maintaining it, Robin Chhabra founded Dextrus in 2018.  Robin has a plethora of knowledge in the world of real estate, coworking, architectural designing, management of resources, and customer experience par excellence. He would be happy to share his creative aspects from the co-working industry.

Rupesh Jain is the founder & CEO of Candere.com.   The story of Candere begins not very long ago. In 2013, founder Rupesh Jain an IT engineer from Mumbai started his own maiden venture, steering away from the world of offline jewelry; a world he was born into. Competing with the ideals of old-school shopping and a vision of making precious jewelry available to those who loved to shop online, he started Candere; an online website to bring jewelry of uncompromising quality and craftsmanship to the masses.  His vision was further strengthened with the idea of bringing an online showroom with customizations available, something that was absent in the offline world. With a vision of breaking the myth, that ‘diamonds are only for the rich, Candere began its journey.

Sumeet Bansal founded AnalytixLabs in 2011 along with Ankita Gupta and Chandra Mouli. Prior to starting AnalytixLabs, Sumeet worked as a Business Consultant with prestigious companies like McKinsey & Company, ZS Associates, and AbsolutData in the past 14 years. He has worked in more than ten countries across the globe in various business domains and is an expert in data-driven consulting and business solutions.  The motivation to start AnalytixLabs came in 2011 when he came across 3 MBA students attending an online Business Analytics session in a cafe. The overall delivery, content, and query handling were subpar. Owing to the challenges they constantly faced, they were discouraged. Being always passionate about Data Science, Sumeet had the conviction that we could do a much better job and contribute in this field, which he knew would boom in the coming years, and hence the AnalytixLabs was born.  Sumeet says that unemployability is a bigger problem than unemployment if you ask any technology or knowledge-based organization. Industry leaders often cite how most fresh graduates from the business and engineering streams lack practical job skills without extensive training. On the other hand, emerging technologies like Data Science and AI are grappling with a huge skill gap, where demand outstrips the supply. And this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. He also adds that AnalytixLabs is highly value-driven - The value delivered to their clients and students.   The learning tracks are meticulously designed based on industry requirements, structured around practical learning and building in-depth, hands-on skills. And AnalytixLabs is committed to working with the same ethos, which they have followed since its inception.

Husain Khatumdi is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Ekostay, a homestay venture, and has served in those positions since November 2017. Husain has over 5 years of experience in a broad range of leadership roles across the hospitality and real estate sectors. Through the course of his career, he has managed and developed scalable businesses, with a deep understanding of the global and national hospitality and real estate market.  Husain is a former Sales Manager at Appco Group, Australia and led its growth into a multi-million dollar revenue company after joining in 2014.  As the sales manager, he actively provided consulting expertise to all sales executives on a regular basis regarding strategic sales decisions and new technology. Husain also founded Seedy Beverages Pvt Ltd (a packaged smoothie brand, FMCG) that grew to contribute a revenue of over $500K under his leadership. Seedy also won the ‘Most Innovative Food Business Award by Equinox’ in 2017.  Husain co-founded Ekostay in 2018 with Sohail Mirchandani, Varun Arora and Zishan Khan, with a vision to tailor the needs of the travelers who want to experience the coziness of a private homestay away from home.  Husain owned a farmhouse in Lonavala, which was unkempt for many years. The rooms were musty, disheveled and untidy. In order to air out the property and ensure there was regular maintenance, Husain decided to rent out the farmhouse to tourists by listing the property online and sharing it with travel agents. He soon realized that most existing players in the market either had luxurious estates for hire or sub-standard properties operated by the unorganized sector. There were no legit organized homestay brands providing value for money accommodations. After identifying this gap of unorganized homestays in the Indian Hospitality and Real Estate sector, Husain decided to take a leap of faith and started working on this business full time. He was confident that this business model made sense with clear profitable margins and sustainable growth. Ekostay now has villas across cities like Lonavala/Khandala, Goa, Alibaug, Mahableshwar/Panchgani, Karjat, Nashik, Igatpuri, Ooty, Bangalore & Delhi. Ekostay now offers guests a selection of over 75+ villas spread across 10 cities. Husain has worked in Australia and India and holds a degree in Bsc Management from Cass Business School, London and a diploma in Marketing from Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Husain is a fitness enthusiast and loves to travel, watch documentaries, take up interior designing and capital allocation projects from time to time.

The Legionaries is a special talk show that captures interesting conversations with the Who's Who of the Alco-Bev Industry.   In this series, Malay Rout, Founder of WSCI, engages in one-of-its-kind freewheeling sessions with the stalwarts of the alcoholic-beverages industry, from around the globe. The liquor industry moguls will share their experiences about how they've dealt with the pandemic and kept their business afloat during these testing times. The candid discussions will range from challenges faced to handy tips for young entrepreneurs on how to sail through Covid.

Dilip is the co-founder of and Consulting Partner for Perfect Relations, established in the early 1990s. Perfect Relations was among the first agencies to introduce the concept of Image Management in India. The company advises CEOs and country management teams on external communications, internal communications, and public relations. It has offices in 16 Indian cities, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka today and employs over 500 people, making it South Asia's largest image management consultancy.  Dilip Cherian started his career as an Economic Consultant, Bureau of Industrial Costs in the Ministry of Industry, New Delhi. The work involved advising the Central government on regulatory measures regarding pricing, etc.  Dilip also writes on a weekly basis, India's only column on bureaucracy is called Dilli Ka Babu.

The Legionaries is a special talk show that captures interesting conversations with the Who's Who of the Alco-Bev Industry.   In this series, Malay Rout, Founder of WSCI, engages in one-of-its-kind freewheeling sessions with the stalwarts of the alcoholic-beverages industry, from around the globe. The liquor industry moguls will share their experiences about how they've dealt with the pandemic and kept their business afloat during these testing times. The candid discussions will range from challenges faced to handy tips for young entrepreneurs on how to sail through Covid.

Ameer Ismail's illustrious career spans over two decades. He joined Lintas in 1996 and was entrusted with the responsibility of building the PR business – GolinOpinion (formerly LinOpinion). He now has been appointed President – Lintas Live, the rebranded creative led digital first PR and communications agency.  Recognizing the transformation of the PR industry, he was instrumental in structuring the JV with Golin in 2013 and was appointed a member of Golin’s Global Leadership Group in 2016. GolinOpinion( now Lintas Live) has been recognized as one of the leading players and most respected brands in the PR industry. The agency grew successfully to include a portfolio of reputed clients such as Seiko, Etihad Airways, Starbucks, Marriott Hotels, Porsche, and Sony Pictures Networks, to name a few. In recognition of his overall contribution, he was promoted in 2016 to the post of President. In addition to leading the PR business he has been a part of the senior management of the group and has essayed several leadership roles in the group during his tenure. He was the Chief Growth Officer for PointNine Lintas, the head of other group businesses including DCell, Lintertainment and Advent.  Ameer serves on the advisory committee of several management forums and is a part of several award platforms and juries. He has been well recognized as one of the leading personalities in the PR industry and won several awards and accolades during his tenure.  From being on the Campaign A list to the CMO Asia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Corporate Communications in Singapore in 2011. He was on the prestigious list by Reputation Today magazine of India’s top 10 leaders in the PR industry and included in the list of the top 100 professionals in corporate communications. He was also a part of the top 100 Influential Game Changers in Corporate Communications 2020, an initiative by exchange4media. He is a contributor and mentor to upcoming talent in the industry, regularly lecturing at leading management institutes, including the Northpoint Center of Learning and is a part of the SCORE advisory council.

The Legionaries is a special talk show that captures interesting conversations with the Who's Who of the Alco-Bev Industry.   In this series, Malay Rout, Founder of WSCI, engages in one-of-its-kind freewheeling sessions with the stalwarts of the alcoholic-beverages industry, from around the globe. The liquor industry moguls will share their experiences about how they've dealt with the pandemic and kept their business afloat during these testing times. The candid discussions will range from challenges faced to handy tips for young entrepreneurs on how to sail through Covid.

Archana Jain is the Managing Director of PR Pundit which is an Active company headquartered in Gurgaon. Archana Jain has experience in corporate communications, having assisted and advised companies on the introduction of new products, ventures, thought leadership and brand communications, downsizing, mergers and restructuring, and communicating issues with sensitive constituencies during crises. Her experience spans diverse industry sectors including apparel, automobile, alcoholic beverages, broadcast, consumer goods, financial services, industrial goods, information technology, insurance, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, power & transmission, travel & leisure, and white goods.  Archana founded PR Pundit in 1998 though she has been practicing public relations since 1990. She was previously with Genesis PR, where she was the founder partner since 1992. In this issue of PR Speak, Archana Jain talks about a 'boutique PR' approach, Open Workshops for PR Practitioners and management by objectives