TOS : The Other Side

We're back with our latest episode! It's one that's very close to our hearts for a variety of reasons. Today's guest is Kishore Natarajan, an IITM alumnus and the co-founder of Hyperverge (where Sabya works), a deep-tech startup based out of Bangalore and San Francisco. Interviewing Kishore was something that was always on the back of our minds and we had a great time speaking to him about his time at IITM, the joy of entrpreneurship and the struggles faced by young founders. He shares several fascinating stories, right from how the team came up with the name 'Hyperverge' to how they handled failure and retained talent. We had a lot of fun speaking to him and we hope y'all will enjoy the episode as well!

We're back with Episode 3 of Season 2.1! Today's episode is a crash course on entrepreneurship, creativity and hope. Our guest today is Vinamra Pandiya, a serial entrepreneur who's currently working on his latest venture, GoNuts, a platform that connects celebrities to fans like never before. Vinamra has founded four companies over the last 15 years, and in this episode, he talks about the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. Much of his life does feel like a movie (he was almost kidnapped!) and his riveting anecdotes certainly make this episode one to keep coming back to. Besides the startup stories, Vinamra also gives a healthy dose of life gyan that's bound to motivate you if you've had a few bad days. In his words - "Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen"

In today's episode, we take a break from regular programming to welcome a very special guest, *drumroll please*, our very own host, Surya. Over the past few months, Surya has received offers from IIM A, B & C. and scored a 770 on the GMAT. In this episode, he takes us through the pattern and difficulty level of both these exams while also sharing some valuable tips from his own preparation journey. We also talk about the infamous IIM interviews, and Surya shares some pointers on how one can go about preparing for them. If you're someone looking to ace these entrance exams and secure an MBA admit (or just have a good laugh), this is the episode for you.

For queries related to CAT and GMAT prep, you can reach out to Surya at [email protected]

We're finally back after what feels like a very long time! It's been over a year since our first ever episode, and today we're here with Season 2.1, our attempt to salvage a rather short Season 2. Today's guest is the coolest professor you'll ever meet. He's a cyclist, wilderness explorer, TedX speaker, and all-around amazing person. Today, we welcome Prof. Ganesh Nayak from Manipal to the podcast, and in this episode, we start out by talking to him about what prompted him to start cycling. He talks about his struggles with nicotine addiction and about how he built a cycling habit to replace his smoking habit. We then talk about his adventures in the Himalayas, and he shares some truly riveting and inspiring stories. If these stories don't renew your faith in human potential, we don't know what will :p. He also takes us through his stint at the Outdoor Leadership Academy in Alaska and his current role at Manipal. It's a truly amazing story, and hopefully, it'll help each one of us take the first steps towards leading a more fulfilling life.

You can connect with Prof. Ganesh on IG - @ganeshabybike

How much can one person do during a lifetime? After this interview, we had to go back to our drawing boards and rethink our answers to this question. Today’s guest is Dr. Ganesh Natarajan. He has been a CEO for nearly 2 decades; he’s authored several books; he holds both a Ph.D. and a management degree; he's held board positions on several companies; he has been the chairman of NASSCOM, and he is actively involved in social work. Oh, and he’s also an investor and an entrepreneur, currently building The 5F World, an organization dedicated to realizing the dream of a Digital India. At heart, however, Dr. Ganesh is a communicator, and in this episode, we begin by talking about the importance of communication and how anyone can become a better communicator. Dr. Ganesh also talks about his leadership principles and shares some fascinating anecdotes from his time as the CEO of Aptech (Keep an ear out for the Biriyani parties :p). All this makes for an enlightening and fun episode that holds several useful insights for every student and young professional. 

You can find Dr. Ganesh here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganeshnatarajan/?originalSubdomain=in

https://twitter.com/GaneshNatarajan?s=20

We're back with Episode 3 of Season 2. Last time, we spoke to Kainaz Messman, the founder of Theobroma, about building a traditional brick and mortar business. This time around, we speak to an entrepreneur on the other side of the spectrum, Karthik Sridharan, the founder of Flexiple, a tech-enabled business that helps companies hire freelance developers. Karthik graduated from BITS Pilani, spent a couple of years in IB, and then completed his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, where he realized that what he really wanted to do was to be an entrepreneur. 4 years later, that startup is now raking in $700,000 in revenues. In this episode, we talk to Karthik about the process of entrepreneurship, how does one get the 'idea', how do you build a team, how do you market your service and how do you build a brand. Karthik shares anecdotes and insights from his journey as an entrepreneur, making this an episode no budding business enthusiast can afford to miss.

We're back with Episode 3 of Season 2. Last time, we spoke to Kainaz Messman, the founder of Theobroma, about building a traditional brick and mortar business. This time around, we speak to an entrepreneur on the other side of the spectrum, Karthik Sridharan, the founder of Flexiple, a tech-enabled business that helps companies hire freelance developers. Karthik graduated from BITS Pilani, spent a couple of years in IB, and then completed his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, where he realized that what he really wanted to do was to be an entrepreneur. 4 years later, that startup is now raking in $700,000 in revenues. In this episode, we talk to Karthik about the process of entrepreneurship, how does one get the 'idea', how do you build a team, how do you market your service and how do you build a brand. Karthik shares anecdotes and insights from his journey as an entrepreneur, making this an episode no budding business enthusiast can afford to miss. 

We are not in the food business, but we are in the business of making people happy. Iconic words from a guest that needs no introduction. In this episode, we are honored to welcome the founder of Theobroma, Kainaz Messman, onto the podcast. If you're among those who haven't had the chance to visit one of their stores yet, put it on your bucket list, right at the top. That's where it deserves to be. We are huge fans of Theobroma, as you can see, and in this episode, we talk to Kainaz about how it all began, the obstacles along the way, and about what has kept her going for nearly 17 years. Theobroma was built as a traditional family business and it still is one to a large degree, so in this episode, you'll hear about how a typical brick and mortar business is built without all the glitz and glamour of external funding. Kainaz is also candid about her struggles to emerge as a leader, and she talks about the importance of creating an environment of trust and mutual respect as an entrepreneur. If you're someone looking to start a business, this is a must-watch, and even if you're not, there's a lot to learn from this tale; about failure, passion, and the power of following your dreams. 

We received some amazing feedback about our first episode with Samarth. As promised, here we are with Part 2. In this episode, Samarth talks about his YIF experience at Ashoka University, what made it different from his engineering education, and how an incident near the end of the fellowship cemented his desire to continue pursuing filmmaking.  Samarth also shares his most memorable moments from filmmaking, some of which are certain to stay with you long after this episode. Near the end of the episode, he also promises to share his list of must-watch films and you can find this list on our Insta handle (@theotherside_podcast) by late evening today. 

We're back! Welcome to Season 2 of 'The Other Side'. We hope you missed us as much as we missed you. Our never-ending quest for diversity and inspiring stories continues in Season 2 and we're thrilled to inform you that we have achieved a modicum of success in this regard. Today, we are excited to welcome Samarth Mahajan onto the podcast. Samarth is a National Award-winning filmmaker and an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and Ashoka University. He is currently directing and producing 'Borderlands' - a documentary about how everyday lives intertwine with borders in the Indian sub-continent. In this episode, we talk to him about his life at IIT Kgp, his brief stint in the corporate world, and about what prompted him to take the plunge into film-making. Samarth is painfully candid about the misconceptions he had about life after college and about the struggles he faced as a budding filmmaker. In the first episode of Season 2, we have brought back the best of TOS, inspiring stories, hilarious anecdotes, and a dollop of life lessons. 

PS: Our famously long introductions are back as well. You can choose to skip it and head on to 3:50 to hear from Samarth:P.