Tech, Trade & Trust: India–Netherlands and the Long Game ft. Ewout De Wit 🇮🇳🇳🇱

In this episode of The Innovators & Disruptors Podcast, I’m joined by Ewout De Wit, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to South India, for a wide-ranging conversation on the India–Netherlands relationship and why the real wins come from playing the long game — with trust at the center.

We explore how India and the Netherlands can collaborate across technology, trade, startups, Global Capability Centers (GCCs), culture, and broader ecosystem priorities — and what it takes to translate intent into real outcomes on the ground.

What we cover in this episode:

✅ India–Netherlands strategic priorities and long-term collaboration

✅ Trade, investment, and enterprise partnerships

✅ Startup ecosystems and cross-border innovation bridges

✅ The role of GCCs in accelerating tech + talent collaboration

✅ Culture, community, and people-to-people ties that strengthen trust

✅ What “the long game” actually means in diplomacy and innovation

Why you should watch: If you’re a founder, investor, GCC leader, enterprise executive, policy stakeholder, or anyone building cross-border partnerships, this conversation offers a practical lens on how global collaboration gets done — beyond headlines and events.

📌 Subscribe for more conversations with builders, leaders, diplomats, and ecosystem catalysts.

👍 If this episode helps, like and share it with someone working on India–EU / India–Netherlands partnerships.

Sponsors:

Title Sponsor: Ratch AI

Associate Sponsor: Cruds

🚀 Episode Out Now | GCC Mini-Series | Ep2“From GCC to Global Growth Hub: The 7-Eleven Playbook” 🎙️

Excited to release Episode 2 of the GCC Mini-Series on The Innovators & Disruptors Podcast with Malahar Pinelli, VP & Country Leader, 7-Eleven GSC.

7-Eleven is the world’s largest convenience store chain, and 7-Eleven GSC is a powerful engine enabling global operations through digital transformation, technology, product building, and GBS.

In this episode, Malahar shares an incredibly grounded, high-signal view on what it takes to build a GCC that truly moves the needle across:

⚙️ Technology & Product Building

🔄 Transformation at scale

💡 Innovation as a muscle

🤝 Startup partnerships & ecosystem thinking

👥 Talent, leadership, and culture

If you’re a GCC leader, a product/tech builder, a founder selling into enterprises, or simply curious about how global capability is being built from India, this episode will give you a strong playbook to learn from.

🎧 Watch/listen now and I’d love to hear your biggest takeaway.

#GCC #GlobalCapabilityCenters #7Eleven #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #Product #Startups #Leadership #IndiaForTheWorld #TheInnovatorsAndDisruptorsPodcast

Episode drop 🎬 | Dr. Shubha Vilas on The Innovators and Disruptors Podcast - Modern Day Spirituality for High-Output Leaders

Engineer → Patent law → Global spiritual teacher.

Dr Shubha Vilas has delivered 5,000+ talks across 20 countries (IIMs, IITs, NMIMS; guest at MIT Boston/Dresden - Germany /WITS - Johannesburg; sessions at Google/Microsoft/Amazon/Samsung).

His work: turning scriptural wisdom into Monday-morning actions!

In this episode’s teaser, we dig into:

📌 Modern spirituality for KPI-driven leaders and startup founders

📌 A 5-minute reset to shift from reactive to creative attention

📌 One micro-habit you can measure for 7 days

📌 Habits that can help you avoid burnouts

📌 Strategic Lessons from Bhagavada Gita, Ramayana that help in the modern world in living a fulfilling life & more

🎧 Watch the episode now to unlock growth!

Subscribe to the podcast for much such growth stories!

Sponsor: CRUDS System Private Limited

Production: Go Reccie

Abhay Tandon, Ayush Bothra, Shruti Sharma

#tidpodcast #Leadership #Spirituality #Productivity #KPIs #Ramayana #Attention #Innovation #FounderMindset #Krishna #mahabharat

Episode DROP 🎬 | Last episode of 2025 and this one is all about Busines and Data | Data → Decisions at Conglomerate Scale

Thrilled to host on The Innovators and Disruptors Collective, Mr. Pankaj Rai (He/Him/His), Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Aditya Birla Group where data, science, and AI meet real-world outcomes across brands you know: UltraTech Cement (cement), Hindalco Industries Limited/ Novelis (metals), Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (fashion), Indriya Jewellery (jewellery), Aditya Birla Capital / Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Limited , Birla Opus (paints) & more.

From Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi → Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad → ICICI Bank → GE Capital → Standard Chartered Singapore → Dell Technologies → Wells Fargo → ABG, Pankaj has turned analytics from “monthly slides” into everyday tools that move the P&L and the customer experience.

In the episode:

📌 How ABG keeps AI practical from safer plants & on-time trucks to smarter sizing & faster claims.

📌 Centralize vs. federate: choosing the right model across very different businesses.

📌 The “one number” test: what proves value—conversion, ARPU, on-time %, yield, NPS… not hype.

👉 Link to the podcast on Youtube and Spotify in the comments!

👉 Follow/Subscribe so you don’t miss it!

Sponsor: CRUDS System Private Limited

Abhay Tandon, Ayush Bothra, Shruti Sharma

#DataAnalytics #AI #DataScience #AdityaBirlaGroup #UltraTech #Hindalco #Novelis #ABFRL #Indriya #AdityaBirlaCapital #BirlaOpus #Leadership #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #Podcast

Ep4: India Fandom: COMIC-CONised ft. Jatin Varma | The Innovators and Disruptors Podcast

How do you turn a love for comics into India’s biggest pop culture festival?

In this episode, Abhay Tandon sits down with Jatin Varma – Founder of Comic Con India – to trace the journey from:

• A single convention in Delhi (2011)
  ➡️ to a multi-city IP with 200,000+ fans every year
  ➡️ to a platform that unites comics, anime, gaming, cosplay, creators and brands.

We talk about:

• The origin story of Comic Con India

• Scaling fandom and community across Indian cities

• Cosplay, creators and the business of pop culture

• How brands should think about live IPs and fandom

• Jatin’s vision for the future of Comic Con India

If you’re a fan, creator, cosplayer, or brand trying to understand India’s fandom engine, this episode is for you.

👇 Let us know your favourite Comic Con India memory in the comments.

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with innovators & disruptors across India and beyond.

Sponsor: Cruds System Private Limited

#ComicConIndia #JatinVarma #IndiaFandom #COMICCONised #TheInnovatorsAndDisruptorsPodcast #PopCulture #Fandom #Cosplay #Comics #Anime #Gaming

What happens when the creator of BigFM and Zee5 decides to build a 24x7 emotional wellness platform for India and the world? 🇮🇳

In Season 2 – Episode 3 of The Innovators and Disruptors Podcast, Abhay Tandon sits down with Tarun Katial, CEO & Founder of coto – “a global 24x7 emotional wellness platform, connecting users with verified experts across 10+ modalities—from Tarot, Astrology, Relationship coaching and spiritual services.”

Tarun’s journey spans:-

• Founder CEO, BigFM – one of India’s biggest radio platforms
• Founding CEO, Zee5 – a leading vernacular OTT platform
• Head of Marketing & Programming for all Star channels in India
• Business Head & Executive Vice President, Sony Pictures Entertainment

In this episode, we unpack:

⏱ What we cover:

02:00 – Why emotional wellness platforms matter in today’s always-on world

07:00 – Stress across Age groups

09:00 – Social Media impact12:00 – How coto works?

17:00 – The metrics that truly matter when you build for emotional wellbeing (beyond downloads & MAUs)

27:00 – What is depression?

32:00 – Pyramid of Care and Trust in the process?

38:00 – India's Edge in the world as the Land of Spirituality

42:00 – Tarun's Journey from Star and Sony and the advertising world51:00 – BigFM - Behind the scenes of building India’s biggest radio platform

55:00 – Scaling Zee5 into a vernacular OTT powerhouse

1:01:00 – Rapid Fire

If you’re a:

✅ Founder in consumer tech, OTT, media or wellness

✅ Creator or product leader obsessed with user behaviour

✅ Believer that mental & emotional health need more innovation…

this conversation is packed with insights you can actually use.

🔔 Subscribe to The Innovators and Disruptors Podcast for more deep dives with leaders shaping the future of India and beyond.

👍 Like, 💬 comment & 📤 share this episode with someone who needs to watch it.

Question for you:👉 If you were building an emotional wellness platform for India, what’s the ONE metric you would track obsessively?Drop your answer in the comments ⬇️

Karnataka’s Billion-Dollar Playbook 🚨

As you walk into Future Maker’s Conclave and Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025 (18–20 Nov), here’s your must-watch warm-up. 👀

In Episode 2 of The Innovators and Disruptors Podcast, I sit down with Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, ISS, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), to decode why Karnataka is becoming the command centre of India’s digital economy:

📌 The real story behind Karnataka’s rise in IT / ITES

📌 How the state became a magnet for GCCs, startups & global capital

📌 Where the next wave of startup & talent hubs is emerging Beyond Bengaluru

📌 The policies, investments & talent engines powering the next decade of growth

If you’re: Heading to Future Maker’s Conclave or Bengaluru Tech Summit, A founder, GCC leader, investor, or policymaker …this conversation is basically your cheat sheet to Karnataka’s next big bets.

📌 Do me a favour:

1️⃣ Hit LIKE if Karnataka is on your radar

2️⃣ SHARE this with someone building in, or betting on, India’s tech story

ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ! ಇದು ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಭವಿಷ್ಯದ ಕಥೆ.ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ‘ಬಿಯಾಂಡ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು’ ಯಾತ್ರೆಯನ್ನೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಳಿ. ಸ್ಟಾರ್ಟಪ್‌ಗಳು, ಜಿಸಿಸಿ‌ಗಳು, ಟೆಕ್ ಟ್ಯಾಲೆಂಟ್‌ಗಳು – ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ನೈಜ ಕಥೆ ಇದು. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಭವಿಷ್ಯವನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯ ಕುರಿತು ಪರಿಚಯ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳೋಣ.

Sponsor: CRUDS System Private LimitedBV Naidu, Prashanth Prakash, Gaurav K Punjabi, Bharath Chandra BK, Abhay Tandon, Ayush Bothra, Shruti Sharma

#TheInnovatorsAndDisruptorsPodcast #karnataka #kdem #BTS2025 #FutureMakersConclave #DigitalEconomy #gcc #startups #BeyondBengaluru #investinindia #innovation

🚀 Episode Out Now: GCC Mini-Series | Ep.1 with Lalit Ahuja (Co-Founder & CEO, ANSR)

India’s GCC story has been three decades in the making - and it’s only getting started.

To kick off our new GCC Mini-Series titled “The GCC Blueprint: Building the Future from India”, I sat down with Mr. Lalit Ahuja, a pioneer who has helped shape the ecosystem from the ground up and has established in more than 200 GCCs!

🎥 Watch the full episode to get answers to:

📌 Past → Present → Future: How have GCCs in India evolved—and what’s next?

📌 India’s Edge: What makes India uniquely suited for high-impact GCCs?

📌 Building Great Hubs: What levers actually create successful GCC cities (talent, policy, infra, ecosystems)?

📌 Vanity vs Impact: Which metrics truly matter for GCC success - and which don’t?

📌 H-1B & Beyond: How US immigration dynamics are reshaping GCC strategy.

If you lead enterprise tech, product, or transformation—this one’s for you.

👉 Drop your questions in the comments, share with a GCC leader, and hit follow for more such conversations. 🔥

Sponsors: Recro, LexStart Partners, Discover Dollar Inc, Stylumia, Swirl

Gifting Partners: Nirantharaa, Kohom Organics

#gcc #GlobalCapabilityCenters #ANSR #Innovation #India #DigitalTransformation #Product #TechLeadership #TIDPodcast

Howard Dawber, OBE - Deputy Mayor of London (Business & Growth) & Chairman, London & Partners

If you’re a founder in India eyeing global scale, this one’s gold.

Howard breaks down how London is positioning itself as the launchpad for ambitious startups - and exactly how Indian founders can plug in.

What you’ll learn in 48 minutes:

• Go-to-Market London: How to pick your first UK customer beachhead and shorten enterprise sales cycles.
• Funding pathways: Where the smart capital is in London right now (sector depth)
• London Growth Plan → Founder playbook: Sectors London is doubling down on (AI, fintech, climate, life sciences, creative tech) and how to align your roadmap.
• India-UK corridor: Practical routes for pilots, partnerships and soft-landing via London & Partners and city programmes.
• Regulatory confidence: Why trust, compliance, and proximity to customers can be your competitive moat in London.
• From pilot to permanence: Turning a UK PoC into a repeatable, multi-market expansion engine.

🎯 Who should watch: Seed to Series B founders, GTM leaders, India-first startups planning UK/EU expansion, GCC leaders exploring innovation outposts.

💬 Comment “LONDON” for a one-page founder checklist we’ve compiled from this episode.

#TheInnovatorsAndDisruptors #Season2 #LondonTech #Founders #IndiaUK #GoToMarket #ScaleUp #VC #LondonAndPartners #HowardDawber #Podcast Launch

Season 1 Finale — EP16 | Taboo to Trust: Bold Care, Bold Talk ft. Rajat Jadhav

We host Rajat Jadhav, Co-founder & CEO, Bold Care, in conversation with Abhay Tandon on de-stigmatising men’s health, building clinical credibility, running disciplined CAC, scaling telehealth ops, and the human side of men’s wellness.

What you’ll learn:

- How to turn a taboo into a trusted category

- Brand strategy + CAC discipline that scales D2C

- Designing telehealth operations for outcomes (not just visits)

- Building clinical rigor and trust from day one

- The founder mindset behind Bold Care’s growth

About the guest: Rajat Jadhav is the Co-founder & CEO of Bold Care, a leading men’s health brand focused on clinically-backed, outcomes-driven care across wellness and sexual health.

About the show: The Innovators & Disruptors Podcast brings playbooks from leaders building the future—hosted by Abhay Tandon.

Business / Partnerships - For sponsorships & collaborations: [email protected]

Disclaimer:This conversation is for information only and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personal health decisions.

#TIDPodcast #InnovatorsAndDisruptors #BoldCare #MensHealth #HealthTech #D2C #Founders #SexualWellness #bold