“Okay Google! turn on the lights!” 

Or Since we are all about podcasts, how about “Hey Siri! play The Spotlight!” 

Getting the job done through a simple voice command is just brilliant. An experience that is super easy and convenient for the consumer. But have you ever thought about what goes into making our lives this easy?! Well that's the sort of questions we are going to answer on this episode of The Spotlight. 

We are in conversation with Arpit Chabbra the CEO & Co-Founder of IOTfy - a startup that's bringing together IoT, Hardware, Cloud, and Mobile technologies to revolutionize the way we use consumer durables. 

Join us as we speak to Arpit about his passion for engineering, studying at the NSIT, working for Yamaha, starting his first venture at the young age of 24, being a serial entrepreneur, tasting failure & knowing how to pivot to come out successful. And last but not least to better understand the role & scope of IOT. 

Here are our key takeaways from this episode: 

1. Studying at NSIT & how to enrich your experience of an engineering degree. 
2. Knowing how to pivot in a failed startup. 
3. How to explore opportunities for new ideas. 

This pandemic has put businesses on an accelerated path to digital transformation. For larger organisations, achieving digital integration is relatively easy. But, for SMEs it poses unique challenges. That’s where our guest for this episode Sriram Subramanian of ShoppinPal comes to the rescue! 

With a product tailored to make world class tech solutions available to SMEs without burning a gaping hole in their pocket, ShoppinPal has been powering growth for businesses in the retail ecosystem.  

Join us for a chat with Sriram Subramanian to know more about his entrepreneurial journey, right from his days at the prestigious UC Berkeley to working for amazing businesses like HP and Paypal, then returning to India to adopt two beautiful daughters & set up his own SAAS startup.  

Show credits:

Host: Akshay Datt

Production: Vanya Shruti 

Voiceover Artist: Vanya Shruti

“AR is the most powerful thing people are using during COVID-19” - Meghna Saraogi

An Indore girl with aspirations of becoming the next M.F.Hussain to leading the AR revolution in the jewellery retail industry - we speak to Meghna Saraogi about studying at a design school, becoming a graphic designer, starting a fashion social network & then taking a leap into the world of retail-tech. 

Meghna’s journey from design to tech was a product of her fashion insecurities that she turned into an opportunity. She was a total stranger to all things tech, but had a burning conviction of creating a product that adds value & set out on a journey to create an app that would solve it’s users fashion dilemmas - StyleDotMe. 

But Meghna’s entrepreneurial journey had its fair share of challenges and it was when StyleDotMe was running short of funds, Meghna pivoted & introduced a revolutionary AR tech-powered product Mirrar, that is set to disrupt the way consumers shop. 

Having seen success in the jewellery industry Meghna now has her goals set on other segments such as eyewear & wristwatches. 

Here are our key takeaways from this exciting conversation with Meghna: 

1. The experience of studying in a design school. 
2. How to seek mentorship & co-founders. 
3. Starting a career in AR.

“Entrepreneurs don’t fail, businesses do” Sudeep Singh 

In this episode of The Spotlight, we are in conversation with Sudeep Singh - Founder & CEO of MPowered. An astute entrepreneur who has always been a step ahead of times with his uncanny ability to spot trends. Sudeep is also a master of sales and has proved this by becoming an AVP at Kotak Investment Banking at just 24 years! 

Guided by his passion for all things tech, Sudeep finally took the leap into entrepreneurship with A1 Technology Inc. in New York, successfully scaling the business and then finally exiting it with a successful sell-off deal. 

Now with Mpowered - a new age asset management solution, Sudeep is chasing his vision of real estate liabilities into income-generating assets for their owners & stakeholders. 

Here are some of our key takeaways from this exciting & enriching conversation with Sudeep: 

1. How to sell big ticket items. 
2. Challenges of working in the US Investment Banking sector. 
3. How to unlearn & relearn. 
4. Building a solid core team as an entrepreneur. 

"If you focus on the challenges that life and society throw at you, you'll miss out on the places you were meant to go." This powerful philosophy from Preksha Kaparwan, Co-founder & CMO of Alphaa AI / Super AI, encapsulates her incredible journey of resilience, from a professional chef to a leader in the competitive AI technology sector.

Preksha Kaparwan is the Co-founder and CMO of Alphaa AI, which has evolved into Super AI, a company building private Large Language Models for enterprise clients like Procter & Gamble, MiQ, and Accenture. Her ventures have attracted strong investor interest, with both Alphaa AI Inc. and Super AI securing substantial funding. Her earlier Indian entity, Alphaa Ai Data Private Limited, reported notable revenue growth in FY24, more than doubling compared to the previous year. A self-taught coder, she built her first commercial website in just a week and has co-nurtured a thriving community of thousands of citizen data scientists.

Key Insights from the Conversation:

• An unconventional career path, like Preksha's from a chef to a tech CMO, can provide unique industry insights and drive innovation.
• Proactively acquiring new skills, such as learning to code on demand, is crucial for entrepreneurs identifying and solving real-world problems.
• "Building in public" by transparently sharing development progress can be a powerful marketing and talent attraction strategy.
• Developing proprietary technology, like Super AI's native Large Language Model, can be a key differentiator, especially for enterprise data security and customization.
• Resilience is paramount: navigating burnout, financial hardships, and tough decisions like pandemic-era layoffs are part of the entrepreneurial journey.
• A strong co-founder relationship is vital for navigating multiple ventures and technological pivots over many years.
• Focusing on making complex technology accessible to non-technical users (e.g., "training-less" systems, empowering "citizen data scientists") can unlock significant market opportunities.

Chapters:

• [0:00:55] From Flying Jets to a Chef's Kitchen: Preksha's Early Dreams
• [0:12:19] Excelling in Hotel Management & Becoming a Sous Chef at Imperial
• [0:20:10] The Grueling Life of a Chef & The Difficult Decision to Quit
• [0:24:48] Journey into Tech: Meeting Saurabh & First Stint in Sales
• [0:28:37] "I Need to Build This": Learning to Code in a Month
• [0:30:27] Founding Realbox: Building a Real-Time Data Analytics Platform
• [0:37:31] The Pivot to Voice & AI: Early Experiments with Alexa & Google Home
• [0:43:26] Birth of Alphaa AI: Dynamic NLP for Business Intelligence
• [0:46:33] The Art of B2B SaaS Marketing: Founder-Led & Value-Driven
• [0:51:19] Becoming a LinkedIn Influencer: Sharing the Journey Authentically
• [0:57:35] The Future: From Excel Add-Ins to Prescriptive AI

Hashtags for YouTube Description:

#PrekshaKaparwan #AlphaaAI #SuperAI #AIstartup #TechEntrepreneur #WomenInTech #FounderJourney #StartupIndia #MakeInIndia #DataAnalytics #EnterpriseAI #LLM #ConversationalAI #Bootstrapping #VentureCapital #LinkedInMarketing #BuildingInPublic #CareerPivot #StartupMotivation #IndianStartups #SaaS #Entrepreneurship #ArtificialIntelligence #BigData

When his fear of failure vanished with one examination, a spark of entrepreneurship was ignited.

This South Delhi boy’s story of an engineering degree, love for finance, days of doing odd jobs to survive and culminating into a successful investment banker is one for the movies. The young man however has been experimenting with business since his early days.

Ankit Mehrotra is a University Of Essex alumni with a degree in Engineering, a CFA charter holder and is a co-founder of Dine Out, one of India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant Tech platform operating across the B2C and B2B domain processing more than 100M diners and $800 worth of transactions across its network of 50,000 partner restaurants in 20 cities. 

In this episode of The Spotlight, Ankit talks about being a young professional during the 2008 recession, conceptualising Dine Out, starting out, acquisitions and creating an ecosystem for the food industry.

Here are our key takeaways from our conversation with Ankit: 

• Taking an idea from concept to business
• Common mistakes that start-ups may make
• Maintaining the vision of your business
• Understanding your niche, and 
• Creating new avenues within your industry

"I wanted Indians to take Ayurveda to the world."

This powerful statement from Arjun Vaidya captures the patriotic and ambitious mission behind his venture. It wasn't just about building a business; it was about reclaiming an Indian heritage, modernizing it, and presenting it on the global stage, transforming a family legacy into a pioneering global brand.

Arjun Vaidya is the founder of Dr. Vaidya's, who took his family's 150-year-old Ayurvedic legacy and scaled it into India's largest online Ayurveda brand. He successfully reached over 2 million consumers across 16,500+ pin codes, scaled the business to over 5,000 orders per day, and led it to a successful acquisition by the RPSG Group, marking one of India's first major D2C exits. He was the first Ayurvedic entrepreneur featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.

Key Insights from the Conversation:

• Modernizing a Legacy: The core strategy was to "repackage" the ancient science of Ayurveda into convenient and appealing formats like Chyawanprash toffees and hangover pills to resonate with modern consumers.
• The Power of a Pivot: An early, failed attempt at offline retail led to a crucial and successful pivot to a D2C-first model, focusing on building the brand through its own website.
• Customer-Centric Innovation: New products were often developed directly from customer feedback, with Arjun himself spending hours on customer service calls weekly to understand their needs.
• Authentic Storytelling is Key: The 150-year family legacy and Arjun's personal story of being cured of juvenile bronchitis provided a powerful and authentic brand narrative that built immense trust.
• From Founder to Investor: After a successful exit, Arjun has transitioned to an investor, using his hands-on experience to mentor the next generation of consumer brand founders.

Chapters:

00:00:00 - A Promise to a Grandfather: The Genesis of Dr. Vaidya's

00:06:15 - From Private Equity at LVMH to a D2C Founder

00:12:42 - The Mission: Making Ayurveda "Cool Again"

00:19:10 - The Failed Offline Launch & The Critical Pivot to D2C

00:27:30 - Scaling from 1 to 5,000 Orders a Day

00:35:05 - The D2C Playbook: Content, Community & Customer Love

00:43:18 - Partnering with RPSG: The Journey to a Successful Exit

00:51:04 - From Founder to Investor: The V3 Ventures Thesis

00:58:20 - Advice to Founders: Grit, Resilience & No Shortcuts

Hashtags for YouTube:

#ArjunVaidya #DrVaidyas #D2C #FounderThesis #StartupIndia #Entrepreneurship #BrandBuilding #Bootstrapping #StartupStory #MadeInIndia #Ayurveda #FamilyBusiness #Ecommerce #DirectToConsumer #StartupAdvice #VentureCapital #IndianStartups #D2CExit

Nakul Kumar is the Co-founder of Cashify, a re-commerce leader in India with a focus on smartphones. Nakul is an MDI Gurgaon graduate and a serial entrepreneur. His first business was in the waste management domain where Nakul successfully started and managed the operations of a waste management plant and made gold from garbage. 

Today Cashify is the official buyback partner for top brands in smartphones such as Apple, Samsung & Xiaomi to name a few. Apart from buyback they also sell refurbished smartphones, smartphone accessories & smartphone repairs. Originated in 2013 Cashify now has over 15 Lakh customers & over 1 Million App Downloads. 

In this episode of The Spotlight, Nakul talks about starting a business as a freshly graduated student without a clear business plan or any funding options. Nakul’s power-packed story is guaranteed to inspire many to set upon their own entrepreneurial journey. 

Key takeaways from the show: 

• How to start a business without a concrete business plan or funding. 
• How to build credibility as a domain expert when you are just a fresh graduate. 
• How to raise VC Funding through networking events. 
• Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on coming up with new business ideas. 

A 1st generation serial entrepreneur, Piyush Suri is the CEO & Chief Storyteller at 5BY7 a premium corporate gifting & promotional products company. In this episode of The Spotlight, we sit down for a chat with Piyush to explore career paths in the branding & merchandising space. 

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation with him: 

• Exploring opportunities to find the most suitable career path
• How to create brand engagement through merchandising
• How to bootstrap and grow your startup 
• How to ensure that you have a predictable pipeline of customers
• Future of branding & brand extensions

From a student who had to drop out of his military training due to an injury, to starting his first job as a field recruiter and the journey that he took to becoming the Head of Supply Chain HR at Delhivery (India’s leading fulfilment platform for digital commerce). Here is Pranay Prakash’s success story captured through a candid interview on The Spotlight. 

Here are the key takeaways from this episode: 

• How young graduates & freshers can shape their careers 
• Using technology as an enabler to empower existing workforce & systems
• Insights into logistics operations as a career path
• Two key soft skills required to excel in the logistics industry.
• Bringing equality & breaking stereotypes in recruitment