The Seva at Scale Show

Niladri Roy is an experienced clean energy industry professional with 6 years in senior management, providing intelligent energy products, platforms and services to utility and renewables clients across diverse global markets, calling in from Clapham, London. Formerly as part of core leadership at clean tech startup Climate Connect Digital, he successfully grew the business leading to acquisition and integration by major international green energy developer Renew (NASDAQ: RNW). Then he drove the energy and carbon software prong of its global growth strategy. Early on his journey, he was inspired by life and travel experiences to roll up his sleeves and muck in for global energy transition. It's a commitment that roots back to vivid early memories of visits to cities darkened by load shedding power cuts across the developing world. He holds a BEng in Electronic & Computer Systems Engineering from King's College London (1999 - 2003), and MSc in Economics and Policy of Energy and The Environment (The Bartlett, Institute of Energy) from UCL (2016 - 2017), where his dissertation was "How technology-centric policies, regulation, and standards can enable innovation of grid-scale energy storage".

In this episode, we discuss what ecopreneurship essentially means to Niladri, working as a 9-figure nomad, productivity tips, and lessons he learned working as a school teacher spending a few years as a nomad in Cambodia and Myanmar, and how that inspired him to pivot from his traditional 9-5 career in telecoms to working at a high-growth startup in global energy transition and climate change.

Having had a rather unconventional and technical journey, today's guest Niladri shares unique lessons learned and insights, particularly for the youth generation who want to make a positive impact.
Topics:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:54) - Our guest's introduction

(02:38) - What clean energy and business means to you

(03:57) - About your profession and what Climate Connect Digital does

(08:36) - How ML plays a role in clean energy

(13:59) - Learning methods you used to teach yourself on these topics & how early-stage bright young dynamic motivated people can learn new technical things & productivity tips

(17:43) - Your travels in Southeast Asia and what you learnt

(21:01) - Advice for future change makers

(23:34) - Do you encourage young people travel?

(27:26) - Work life balance (do you believe in it?)

(30:50) - Who inspires you?

(33:24) - What are you going to be working on next?

(36:25) - Our guest's last question

Here are his action items:

1. Don't get bogged down in information paralysis

2. You have the Internet at your disposal - utilise it!

3. Don't listen to the doomers who say the world will end. There's a lot of work to do, but we live in the best times of humanity!

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Niladri:

LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/niladri-roy-energy-transition

Climate Connect Digital - https://climateconnect.digital/

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on July 12th, 2024

Tandy Virdee is a multi-award-winning consultant and co-owner of the clothing and lifestyle brand Rocketsonic, which he started with his twin 12-year-old sons (teaching them about business!). Tandy is also a Virgin StartUp mentor, helping up-and-coming founders find their way. With 33 years of experience, he has worked on prominent brands such as adidas, Barclaycard, Kia UK Limited, Microsoft, Tommy Hilfiger, Diageo, Google and Kellogg Company. Previously, he was featured on BBC Radio London, DESIBlitz and won the ‘Small Business Sunday Award’ from Theo Paphitis.

In this episode, we discuss what entrepreneurship means to Tandy, the art of selflessly giving back (through the act of "seva"), having the ability to adapt in business, nurturing world-class youth achievers among other topics.

Having had a unique and insightful journey, today's guest Tandy shares lessons learned and insights from his journey.

Topics:

(00:00) - Intro

(02:29) - Our guest's introduction

(02:44) - Journey

(10:50) - Meaning of entrepreneurship to you

(12:22)- Advice for the young generation

(15:09) - Keeping up in an exponentially fast-paced society

(19:58) - Why you homeschooled your boys and opinion on the traditional education system

(21:51) - How people find their passion

(23:38) - Rising British Asian youth stars and new initiative to support them

(25:54) - Would you change anything in your past knowing what you know now?

(27:43) - Using social media the right way

(31:12) - Importance of not just showcasing but celebrating with youth

(34:39) - Challenges in business

(36:29) - Who inspires you?

(37:55) - Following the money vs. passion

(39:37) - Giving back

(48:14) - Taking risks

(52:30) - AI/AR and Emerging tech

(54:01) - Negative implications of up and coming tech

(54:35) - If you were the Prime Minister

(56:30) - Our guest's last question

(58:19) - Find online

Here are his action items:

1. Be able to adapt

2. Learn new emerging technologies

3. Just do it

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Tandy:

Instagram - @wearenewyoungblood @rocketsonicwear

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandyvirdee/

Website - tandyvirdee.com

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on June 11th, 2024

**Exclusive Listener Reward! As a thank you for tuning into our latest episode featuring the remarkable Laya Mathikshara, we're offering a special NFT to our listeners — absolutely free for the first 7 days! This digital collectible is not just a token of appreciation, but also a unique way to showcase your support for our show. To claim your proof-of-listening NFT, simply visit the link below after the episode. Click, Sign in & Claim! But hurry, it's a limited-time offer that becomes a priced collectible after the initial week. Enjoy the insights, stories, and wisdom from Laya, and thank you for being an amazing part of our community. Now, let's dive into the episode!**

Link: JPWL NFT

Laya Mathikshara is a 16-year old digital artist working in the interdisciplinary field of art and technology. Previously, when she was 13, during the pandemic, she started working on digital art and minted them as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) for sale in cryptocurrencies. This led her to collaborate with SpaceX’s Inspiration 4 launch. The work was auctioned and she contributed the proceeds from it, over $3000, to St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital for cancer research. She has been delivering speeches at conferences such as NFT NYC, MET AMS, Adobe Design Mix, and the “TN Web3 - Build Ahead” conducted by the Tamil Nadu government of India. She has also presented a guest lecture at the University of the Arts London and in Nas.io’s Web3 Community. Today, she has been in the Web3 space for the past 3 years and has grossed over 1 million dollars from it.

In this episode, we discuss parts of her entire professional and personal journey until now, mindsets, teaching herself skills to become exceptional in her fields of passion, her experience collaborating with notable projects and speaking at conferences, and her thoughts for the youth generation.

Having successfully made digital artworks and achieving success in a short span of time, today's guest Laya shares lessons learned and insights from her journey. Our hope is that this impromptu discussion could even inspire you to take action to get into the world of Web3 or start and monetise something of your own!

Topics:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:12) - Our guest's introduction

(01:34) - Your background story

(08:32) - Teaching yourself these topics

(11:30) - What Web3 and NFTs mean to you

(13:39) - Experience collaborating with SpaceX and other notable projects, and starting your own philanthropic initiatives

(18:56) - Experience speaking at various conferences and institutions, and highlight lessons you learned along the way

(24:37) - Coolest moment in your journey

(26:36) - Challenges you have faced in this field

(29:11) - Balancing time with school and your own projects for ambitious people (doing what you have to do vs. want to do)

(24:32) - Advice for youth peers who want to start and also who have started and continue growing

(27:05) - Balancing work (internships, businesses and competitions) alongside studies as a young ambitious person building stuff

(31:40) - Mindsets you have found useful

(33:37) - Coolest moment

(35:49) - Advice to our generation

(37:30) - Who inspires you?

(38:30)⁠ - Vision for the future of art & technology, and the role you see yourself playing in it

(43:06) - What you are going to be working on next

(45:15) - How anyone can get started with digital art today

(50:24) - A question I haven't asked you which might be important?

(54:16) - Find online

(55:07) - Our guest's last question

Here are her action items:

1. Don't hesitate and just try things

2. Put your work and thoughts on social media platforms for people to understand what you do and who you are

3. Do the one thing you love the most and be the best at it!

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Laya:

Instagram

Twitter/X

LinkedIn

Website

🎙 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on April 18th, 2024

Jay Shankarpure is a 16-year old entrepreneur and investor. Previously, he ran the ⁠Arthavruksha newsletter⁠ (2,000+ readers), the ⁠Artha-Samvaad podcast⁠ (75,000+ views) and the ⁠Shodh⁠ - stock research platform with 500K+ lifetime traffic receiving ⁠$150K worth credits ⁠from Microsoft, which led him to speak at the G20 Summit representing the company in the presence of the Education minister of India and delegates across 20+ countries. Today, he currently runs ⁠Spark⁠ - A community of 400+ developers receiving $20,000 in sponsorship along with writing $3-15K checks for early-stage startups at ⁠Localhost⁠.

In this episode, we discuss parts of his entire personal and professional journey until now, mindsets, teaching himself technical skills to become exceptional among his peers at his age, his experience speaking at the G20 Summit and building and scaling startups successfully.

Having successfully grown companies of his own at a young age and in a short span of time, today's guest Jay shares lessons learned and insights from his journey.

Topics:

(00:00) - Intro

(00:58) - Our guest's introduction

(01:17) - What entrepreneurship means to you

(02:27) - What inspired you to get into entrepreneurship and financial markets and when you started your journey in the start-up world

(07:06)- Co-founding Localhost and the how and why behind it

(08:37) - Experience running Spark, Sodh, podcasts and internships

(10:37) - Coolest moment running startups

(12:12) - Teaching yourself technical skills

(17:30) - Speaking at G20 and what you did to increase your "surface area of luck"

(20:00) - What are some challenges you have faced being an entrepreneur

(23:16) - What skills and traits are essential for any young person to learn who wants to be successful

(24:32) - Advice for youth peers who want to start and also who have started and continue growing

(27:05) - Balancing work (internships, businesses and competitions) alongside studies as a young ambitious person building stuff

(29:23) - Teaching financial literacy in schools

(31:16) - Who inspires you? 

(32:04) - What are you working on next?

Here are his action items:

1. Have a "Bias Towards Action" mindset. Make things happen either to impact people or satisfy your curiosity.

2. Put yourself in situations that get you lucky by showcasing your work.

3. Combine curiosity and perseverance.

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Jay:

Twitter/X - @JShankarpure

LinkedIn - https://in.linkedin.com/in/jay-shankarpure

Newsletters - ⁠https://substack.com/@jayshankarpure⁠

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@JayShankarpure

Website - ⁠⁠https://jays.framer.ai/⁠ 

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on March 9th, 2024

Nicholas Chua is a 17-year old entrepreneur and independent business owner. As a product manager living in the LA Metropolitan area, Nicholas is interested in building equitable products and software to solve the world’s biggest problems. Between his interests in product management, assistive technology, and digital marketing, he hopes to bring new developments to people in large numbers. Recently, he finished up a global 4-week challenge sprint against Meta creating a safer algorithm for Instagram reels from a psychological standpoint to quell doomscrolling, which won First Place out of 80 teams across 300+ cities.

In this episode, we discuss product management, mindsets, how he taught himself technical skills, gathering a winning team and the process he went through to lead his team to victory.

Having held internships and started companies while being self-taught all at a young age, today's guest Nicholas shares lessons learned and his mindsets on his approach to work to be successful in projects and generate results.

Topics:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:56) - Our guest's introduction
• (01:38) - What inspired you to get into product management and what it means to you
• (02:34) - How you taught yourself product management, assistive technology and digital marketing
• (03:36) - Process from the beginning of the challenge to winning the grand prize globally. Highlights as the Product Manager of your team. Experience pitching to Meta Oversight Board Executives
• (09:26) - How to gather a great team and set a great culture
• (11:13) - Current state of social media platforms. Good or bad?
• (13:01) - Mindsets you have learned or found useful having led multiple teams
• (14:32) - Cinematography and editing for over 600,000+ viewers

• (17:40) - Connections between cinematography and product creation
• (19:40) - Message to like-minded youth peers
• (22:02) - Co-creating products with 3 companies with over $545,000+ raised to date
• (24:35) - Balancing work (internships, businesses and competitions) alongside studies as a young ambitious person building stuff

• (26:59) - Who inspires you?
• (28:12) - What are you working on next?
• (29:59) - Our guest's last question
• (31:42) - Find online

Here are his action items:

1. Look out for grit, communication, adaptability and willingness to be taught and work hard when taking people on board any team.

2. Be willing to pivot 180 on a project so everyone's on the same page if necessary.

3. Communicate is the backbone you should always preach by!

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Nicholas:

Website - https://nicholaschua.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-y-chua/

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on March 5th, 2024

Sebastian Drezek is a high school senior at The Pennington School. His life mission is to make life multiplanetary and expand the scope of human consciousness beyond the confines of our home planet. Seb is also the Project Lead of SigmaSpeed, a 28.1 foot tall (or 8.5 meter) rocket. Alongside its 500 pound force rocket engine, SigmaSpeed is the tallest rocket ever built by an educational institution and given recent successful tests, is scheduled to launch in late March/early April of 2024.

In this episode, we discuss about rocketry, mindsets, how he taught himself rocket science, first principles thinking and challenges faced in the industry among other things.

Being a pioneer and driving towards his life mission, today's guest Seb shares lessons learnt and his mindsets on how he approaches his work as the leader of his rocket team.

Topics:

• (00:00) - Intro

• (01:28) - Our guest's introduction
• (02:10) - What rocketry means to you
• (02:50) - What inspired you to start?
• (03:32) - Walkthrough of process behind founding a rocketry club to conducting successful test missions & explanation of test missions
• (06:05) - Your life mission
• (08:44) - Prediction and hopes for the future of space exploration
• (10:03) - How The Knowledge Society contributed to the value of your dream
• (11:14) - How did you educate yourself on rocket science?
• (12:46) - SigmaSpeed: The World's Tallest Rocket Ever Built by an Educational Institution
• (14:16) - Mindsets learnt while leading your team
• (17:34) - Challenges faced in the industry
• (19:28) - Your message to the youth generation
• (21:58) - Ramping up production and efficiency
• (23:11) - Balancing work with studies as a young ambitious person building stuff
• (24:22) - Who inspires you?
• (25:38) - What are you working on next?
• (26:46) - Our guest's last question
• (28:24) - Find online

Here are his action items:

• Define whether you're being intentional/unintentional with your time.
• Learn from other people's mistakes.
• Make sure you work with people who are at the same or higher dedication level than you are. Be CLEAR right of the bat!

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Sebastian:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-drezek-273602261

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on January 25th, 2024

Photographs courtesy of The Pennington School Rocketry Club

Gloria is the Founder of 14thgunner, social media platform created to promote women's sports specifically women's football (soccer) to fill the necessary gap in the world of sports!

In this episode, we discuss creating a football platform, tech, becoming a finalist in competitions, skills that are essential for young people and advice for current and future legends..

Through her work, Gloria achieved Rise For The World Finalist 2022, 2nd Best Female Football Freestyler in Kenya 2023 & 4th Best Female Football Freestyler in Africa 2022.

--

Gloria:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgloria/

LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/gloriam14

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on December 13, 2023

Music courtesy of Epidemic Music

Basjan van As is the Founder and Managing/Project Director of African Cityscapes Project Management Ltd (ACPM), the most recognised project management consulting firm in Zambia, established in 2016 and now expanded with offices in Lubumbashi, DRC. They specialise in the construction and property sectors in Zambia, DRC and around Africa. Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, Basjan graduated from the University of The Free State (RSA) with distinction, completing a Certificate/Diploma in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management and Project Management and has 16 Years Industry experience as Quantity Surveyor & Project manager. Today, he is an astute Project manager and has worked on a combined project Portfolio exceeding US$370 million and completed project management & Construction mandates in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola & Zambia and on projects ranging up to $130m.

In this episode, Basjan talks about project management, the five Ps, how he grew his business, property development and his frank opinion on schooling.

With his great knowledge and drive, today's guest Basjan shares wisdom and his mindset on how he approaches his work as a project manager.

Topics:

• Our guest's introduction

• What entrepreneurship means to you?

• How you started

• Building the business

• Portfolio breakdown

• Current projects

• Explanation of project, development and construction management

• Acquiring skills

• Mission

• Difference between excellent and exceptional

• "ADD Delivery" model

• Advice for the youth

• Handling the pressure

• Who inspires you?

• What are you going to be working on next?

• Find online

• Our guest's last question

Here are his action items:

• Learn through experience.
• Never be scared to ask questions.
• Always learn NEW things!

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Basjan:

Website - https://www.acpmpltd.com

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on April 22nd, 2023

Music courtesy of Epidemic Music

Photographs courtesy of African Cityscapes Project Management

Denis Seleznev is a crypto investor.

In this episode, Denis talks about the world of crypto, real-world assets, NFTs, his journey as an entrepreneur, building his own Web3 platform, his frameworks and advice young people need to hear.

With his deep knowledge and insights, today's guest Denis will share his thoughts on the future of blockchain technology with regards to what he looks for in the companies he invests in.

Topics:

• Our guest's introduction

• What entrepreneurship means to you?

• How you started

• About your businesses/projects

• What the future of crypto looks like after FTX

• What is Web3 and how to learn about it

• Where Web3 is headed

• How you created your own Web3 platform

• Hardest moments in business

• The advice Gen Z needs to hear

• Web3 use cases

• Are NFTs obsolete?

• Where does your drive come from?

• What are you working on next?

• Where can people find Denis?

• Our guest's last question

Here are his action items:

1. Read more.
2. Talk more.
3. Find out more things that could be a good stepping stone for YOUR curiosity!

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Denis:

LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/denis2005

🎥 Edited by Josh

🗓️ Recorded on March 17th, 2023

Gaurav Sanganee is the Founder of Closing Delta who has provided consultancy for the top 20 pharma companies for their digital needs. He has held both local and global roles that range from sales and marketing to senior leadership and managerial positions. In his beginnings, he got his start in retail working in freezers. Today, he is on a mission to ‘help pharmaceutical companies unlock the digital divide’.

In this episode, Gaurav talks about the world of pharma, Digital Transformation, productivity tips, lessons learned as an entrepreneur, his own consultancy, his Big Pharma background and finding purpose.

With his great ambition and drive, today's CapitalTycoon Gaurav brings his knowledge and insights to a conversation that will leave you clearer about why it’s time to close the deltas.

Topics:

• Our guest's introduction
• Why Closing Delta?
• How did you start your journey?
• Finding purpose
• Leadership + Building relationships (how to hire the right people/team)
• Productivity tips
• Momentum and consistency
• What made you move into Pharma?
• Digital Transformation
• Hardest moments in business
• Advice for young people
• Why customer obsession matters
• Intention
• What does the future of Closing Delta look like?
• Where can people find Gaurav?
• Our last guest’s question

We hope you find value in our discussion and learn useful information!

—

Gaurav:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/closing_delta/

LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/gaurav-sanganee

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL7f1ByfII6rtxucp5N6J8g

🎥  Edited by Josh

🗓️  Recorded on January 7th, 2023