A deep conversation with Akhil Gupta Co-founder & CTO of NoBroker.com, the world's largest C2C real estate platform. Akhil holds a dual degree (B.Tech and M.Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and has worked with Oracle and PeopleFluent before co-founding NoBroker.com.

Hailing for a middle-class background, Akhil’s tenet is to focus on finding the right team, along with focusing on the correct problem statement which the product is trying to solve. According to Akhil, everything happens in line with divine timing and he opines that one should not get pegged by failures and to truly believe in the adage- Fall down 7 times, get up 8.

He is a big believer in working honestly, sticking to one’s core values and never being shy to ask for help. Listen to Akhil to follow his journey.

A deep conversation with Nitin Viijay (fondly known as NV sir). NV sir is an Educationist, a Motivator, a Physics Guru and the CEO of Motion Education, based out of Kota, Rajasthan.

Hailing from a modest middle-class background in Rajasthan, NV sir is an alumnus of IIT-BHU. NV sir started his journey as an educator right after completing IIT. In his first year as an educator, he used to travel about 44 kilometres daily to teach in a coaching institution in Banaras. He made the first significant step in his life by founding Kota Point, an independent coaching, in Banaras. In December 2007, NV sir, formally started Motion Education and the rest, as they say, is history. A firm believer of finding equilibrium in both work and life, NV sir’s funda for unlocking true happiness is finding balance.

Listen to NV sir to follow his journey on how he became one of India’s best-known educators from Kota (and the inspiration behind the beloved character Jeetu bhaiya from the hit OTT series Kota Factory).

A deep conversation with Sneha Shah, a psychologist, a corporate therapist, a marriage counsellor, and the author of What Shape Are You. Sneha’s definition of “being the best version of you” is converting one’s potential into performance to achieve one’s true caliber. According to her, criticism is a form of violence. Part of growing up and overall growth is to develop a filter on what to take personally and what to ignore.

She is a firm believer in inculcating and sustaining a positive support system along with a healthy mentor base. According to her, mental conditioning, focusing on the present and taking a macro view of life events is imperative to keep oneself centered.

Sneha’s key to life is to not be afraid of failures and to keep trying. Every failure is part of one’s journey and helps us shape our present and future. Listen in to a therapist’s point of view on life and her life’s motto of investing in the most important relationship - i.e. with yourself.

A deep conversation with Abhinay Choudhari, co-founder of BigBasket and LaundryMate. 

An alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and being a 5 point someone, Abhinay got his first job in a fortune no. 1 company, but left it soon after as he felt that he wasn’t able to solve real world problems at his level. Having identified an issue of time consumption in grocery shopping, Abhinay started the basic version for BigBasket back in 2009 and hasn’t looked back since. 

In the latest round of valuation, BigBasket drew a valuation of $400 billion USD and currently has over 15million customers. According to Abhinay, a good way to start your own business is to have/build core domain knowledge in the field where you want to solve a tangible problem, and to ensure before starting out that the field is scalable for the business to grow. Listen to a founder to follow his journey from a middle-class background to setting up India’s grocery unicorn.

A deep conversation with Gautam Baid, an author, fund manager, investor advisor, and managing partner at Stellar Wealth Partners India Fund. Coming from a humble middle-class background and rising to the top of the investment world globally and in India, Gautam has a very stoic, philosophical, and data led approach to stock markets, learnings which he translates into his daily life as well.

According to Gautam, investment is a life-long learning journey and there is no alternate to hard work. His mantra in life is talent is over-rated and resilience is under-rated. Listen in to the episode to pick up basic tips and expert advice to stock markets, on investing and the joys of compounding.

A deep conversation with Megha Parmar, an Everest scaling mountaineer from India. Coming from a rustic background of farmers and born in the Hindi heartland of India in Madhya Pradesh, Megha had to fight patriarchy and circumstances to achieve and realize her dreams. She undertook the mountaineering course at the Atal Bihari Institute in Manali, Himachal Pradesh.

Having failed to scale the summit in her first attempt, and having suffered multiple hairline fractures in her back during her preparation for a second stint, Megha suffered from depression due to this set-back. But she did not give up, went through rehabilitation, put in hours of preparation and on 22 May, 2019 at 5am, she scaled and stood atop the Everest.

In this episode, Megha talks about the entire process of scaling Mt. Everest and the myriad challenges that come with attempting the climb on the world’s tallest mountain. According to Megha, while scaling mountains, it is only 30% physical ability and 70% mental ability that helps with the climb. Her mantra in life is whenever you feel scared from a situation, just ask yourself, “what will you do if you return now?” Listen in to a mountaineer with a never say die attitude.

A deep conversation with Karan Bajaj, a published author and the founder of WhiteHat Junior.

Karan did his graduation from India’s premier institutes, IIM and BITS. Post education, he was doing well in the US in brand management, working in top end MNCs, but life took a turn when Karan’s mother passed on due to cancer. That experience changed him. He felt detached, left his cushy job and undertook a road trip from Europe to India. Once in India, he learnt intensive yoga and undertook Vipasana over one year. He eventually took up a CEO position with the Discovery Channel in India, but started veering towards the idea of starting WhiteHat Junior as a place for kids to create using coding. He left his corporate job and started his start-up. Within 18 months from starting out, he sold his business to Byju’s for a staggering $300 million USD. Within a year of acquisition, he left the company and currently lives in Goa with his wife and 2 daughters.

Karan’s mantra is to make decisions of growth and not decisions of fear. According to him the world will exponentially reward your internal growth in the long term, eventually. Listen in to find out more from a Yogic entrepreneur.

A deep conversation with Mukesh Chhabra, ace casting director and creator of India’s leading casting agency, Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company.

Mukesh’s career took prominence through his early casting works in Gangs of Wasseypur, D-Day. Since then he has amassed a formidable body of work across films and OTT viz. Family Man, PK, Sanju, Haider, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Delhi Crime, Breathe, 83, Brahmastra, and many more.

A casting director has a 24x7 job, a philosophy which Mukesh preaches and actively practices. Mukesh’s mantra for success is to be grounded, to remain happy no matter the circumstances, and to focus on not making mistakes at work to get better at one’s craft. Listen in to Mukesh having an honest and heartful conversation, open up about his life, career, about his first directorial venture, Dil Bechara, and why he prefers not to advertise and talk about his first movie.

Trivia - Mukesh had offered an audition to Sushant Singh Rajput for Kai Po Che after spotting him at a café in Versova. The child actor for Munni’s character from Bajrangi Bhaijaan was discovered by Mukesh’s team at a Gurgaon mall.