Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha

Has the playbook for marketing changed from what it was two decades ago? In the age of social media and influencer marketing, should marketing let go of some of the guardrails? What’s the future of EVs in India? Would we see a complete shift of the ecosystem to electric in a few years? Or is it that, like every other change will this too will be an ‘and’ rather than an ‘or’?

In Episode 5 of podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3,’ Narayan Sundararaman, Head of Marketing at Bajaj Auto Ltd. addresses the science of marketing, consumer behaviour and the future of automobile industry. 

Narayan Sundararaman is a seasoned marketing professional and business leader with over two decades of experience in sectors ranging from FMCG to media to electronic vehicles. Narayan has helmed marketing at Cadbury’s now Mondelez, Star Plus and now Bajaj. Narayan’s experience spans across developed as well as developing markets and multiple geographies and cultures, particularly in India, South East Asia, Australia & New Zealand and Japan. Since the beginning of his career at ITC Ltd as Assistant Branch Manager in 1995, Narayan has reached great heights.

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Every week, there is a new roaster popping up and, India is seeing a sort of coffee revolution. Coffee consumption is a rising trend in India and people are adapting to the habit of drinking coffee over tea. Therefore, the food and beverages segment in India has gone through dramatic changes over the last couple of years, but the questions are – what has changed and what hasn’t for them? Is India a tea market, or is there a coffee culture shaping in the country? Who is the coffee audience in India?

In Episode 4 of Season 3 - Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, Matt Chittaranjan, the Founder of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters brews interesting insights about the coffee business in India and its potentialities. Matt has his roots in India and has been brought up in the west. He specialized in Economics and worked as a Research Associate before taking a giant leap into entrepreneurship. Started as a pet project in Delhi in 2013, the Blue Tokai coffee house now has over 50 cafes in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Gurugram.       

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With internet being democratised, entertainment is no more a luxury. Gaming and content are the new ways of digital consumption. But is this a pattern across India? Or is it restricted to metro cities? Can gaming indeed be a full-time profession in India? Also, how are gaming platforms approaching Metaverse?  

In Episode 03 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 03, we have Anirudh Pandita - Founder of Loco, in the hot seat, who answers to some of the crucial questions around gaming as the next business segment in tier 2 and tier 3 cities alongside brand building in the new age. Loco is India’s leading game streaming platform which has grown rapidly over the past 12 months, with monthly active viewers scaling by 6x, monthly active streamers scaling by 10x, and live watch hours scaling by 48x since June 2020. Anirudh is also a founder and board member of Pocket Aces. 

Prior to embarking on his entrepreneur journey, Anirudh worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Istithmar World Capital in New York, London, and Dubai. He was recently featured on Fortune’s 40 under 40 list 2021, the second time he has appeared on the list.

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Gaming is set to be the next big thing. What goes behind creating a market for gaming in India? What kind of games and what kind of players are coming up? What’s the role of local languages and characters in this? What could be the role of brands in all of this?  

In Episode 02 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we converse with Salone Sehgal about how access to mobile data is opening doors for gamers from every part of the country and taking gaming to tire 2 and 3 India; how gaming platforms provide a big opportunity for brands through in-game integration.

Salone is the world's first female General Partner of a games and interactive VC fund. She has 15+ years of experience as a global games & new media investor, games entrepreneur, and former M&A banker. She has served as a BAFTA Games Award Juror in 2017, recognized as Top 30 Women in Mobile, Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech, and was awarded the Iconic Women Leaders award by WEF.

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How do we create a new category in a crowded market such as personal care? That too for men? Are Indian men finally warming up to the idea of grooming? Is this an India-wide phenomenon or just top metros? And finally, in the mad rush for the unicorn status, have the fundamentals of business changed?

In Episode 1 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we converse with Hitesh Dhingra, Co-Founder & MD at The Man Company, India's first 'Men-Only' grooming brand in India. Hitesh has in his past life co-founded a series of start-ups such as Tyro Media, Letsbuy.com, Trulymadly.com, and now The Man Company.

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About a decade ago, English was the language of access, if one didn’t know the language, in most cases you’d end up with limited opportunities. But today we are experiencing a whole new India with the country opening up for the wider masses thanks to the internet revolution. With new platforms emerging in the content space everyday will vernacular content be the key to reach the next billion internet users in India? In the age of binge-watching and short format content, is the current generation a video-only or a video-first generation? When it comes to monetization, how much should one focus on value creation via-a-vis value capture? And finally, what are some of the challenges a founder faces in their journey to success; and what mindset can one adopt to overcome failures in this journey?

In episode 10 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we talk about Stories in Your Language with Ranjeet Pratap Singh, co-founder & CEO at Pratilipi, the largest Indian language storytelling platform with over 5 million stories published in 12 languages and over 25+ million active readers. Before Pratilipi, Ranjeet was associated with Vodafone where he looked after Marketing, Retail, and Channel Sales. He has been featured in Forbes 30 under 30 & Entrepreneur India 35 under 35.

Find Ranjeet on LinkedIn(https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranjeetpsingh/)

Check out Pratilipi at https://www.pratilipi.com/

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There is no love greater than the love for food. But is doing business in food loveable, fun, and exciting? What are the watch-outs when one decides to take a plunge to open a food business? The pandemic sent huge tremors in the F&B industry seeing the rise of new ventures. But what is the future of food and how technologically-driven will it be? And finally, does leadership take on a new meaning during a crisis? Is there enough conversation around the mental health of leaders?

In episode 9 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we explore the F&B business with Gauri Devidayal, Co-founder and CEO at Food Matters Group which includes brands like The Table, The Table Farm, Magazine St. Kitchen, Iktara, Mag St Bread Co, Miss T Delivery, Mag St Toppings, and most recently, Mag St. Café.

We talk about the vibrant restaurant business in India, its evolution, and the joys of entrepreneurship.

Join us as Gauri tells us about the hardships she faced when she switched her career into the F&B business, the evolution of the restaurant scene due to the pandemic, and her take on leadership.

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Is our education system partial or elitist? How can our existing education system be made accessible and equal for all? Is there an educational class divide in the nation? And what can we do to bridge this critical gap so our demographic asset does not turn into a demographic nightmare? And finally, how can new-age technology get integrated into new-age education/lessons for effective learning? In episode 8 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we chat with Akshay Munjal, CEO at Hero Vired, a premium EdTech venture from the Hero Group that enables professionals and aspirants to transform their higher education journey into real-world job opportunities.

We deep dive into understanding how the Indian education system is getting an upgrade in the form of Edtech and where exactly we are on the Edtech curve.

Join us as Akshay tells us about the Democratization of Indian Education.

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2020 saw the rise of the influencer which completely revolutionized the Indian marketing ecosystem. But what was the journey like for a content creator to commit to being a full-time influencer? What was the epiphany, the journey, and the challenges that led him to reach the covet Million-follower mark? In episode 7 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we chat with Raj Shamani, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and one of India’s most sought-after influencers. Raj was the youngest speaker at the UN headquarters, Vienna, and has delivered 200+ speeches globally.We talk about his learning curve and understand the brand-influencer ecosystem from an influencer’s perspective.Join us as Raj tell us about how a content creator's brain works and his journey from zero to a million + followers.

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How exactly should a brand go about selecting the right influencer for their campaign. The burden of ‘responsibility’: should the influencer bear it or the brand, or should this burden be shared? How can an influencer’s omnipresence ensure their influence continues to have an upward growth trend. And finally, how can one become an influencer in an already crowded market?
In episode 6 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, we chat with Apaksh Gupta, founder of One Impression, an AI driven influencer marketing platform that is changing the way brands work with influencers.We talk about the fast evolving Indian influencer ecosystem and how brands are adapting their strategies to make the most of this opportunity.Join us as Apaksh tells us about the rise of the Indian influencer and how an influencer ecosystem with responsibility as a cornerstone will make all the difference.

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