Dialogue Now

Samrat Reddy, Founder, Drunken Monkey, joins Divya on this episode. Drunken Monkey is one of the fastest-growing smoothie chains of India. It runs on a franchisee model of operation through the country and has signed up over 42 plus outlets in the middle of the pandemic making a total of 100 plus outlets in 43 cities as of this year.

They discuss: 

Q. What is the gap in the industry you saw when establishing Drunken Monkey?

Q. Was educating the Indian customer to a smoothie brand a challenge? How did you create awareness for the product and market it?

Q. What is your business model?

Q. Was your business hit by COVID or has COVID-19 acted as a catalyst to boost the demand for healthy products such as yours?

Q. If I am a smoothie virgin how should I start to incorporate it in my diet? The benefits etc.?

Q. Speak to us a little bit on this sector, is there a lot of competition? Do you see the market for such niche products like yourself growing in India?

Q.Your biggest struggles/drawbacks when getting into the smoothie business?

Q.Is there a story behind the name of your brand?

Q. Looking back, what would you have done differently when establishing Drunken Monkey? Your biggest learning as an entrepreneur?

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Ankur Chawla, Co-Founder, Responsible Whatr, joins Divya on this episode. With a vision for a sustainable future and with an agenda to reduce single-use plastic pollution, Ankur and Bhrigu founded Responsible Whatr, India’s first natural mineral water beverage offered in sustainable and endlessly recyclable aluminium cans.

They discuss: 

Q. What is the gap in the industry you saw when establishing Responsible Whatr?

Q. Why the water beverage industry, arent there too may players in this sector, how do you deal with the competition?

Q. What is your business model (B2B or B2C?), how do you drive revenue, as Responsible Whatr is an extremely niche product. 

Q. Changing people’s essential water drinking habit is a huge task, what is the human psychology you are targeting here for people to convert to your sustainable brand?

Q. Why did you settle for aluminium cans for your product?

Q. In the long term, what do you hope to achieve with your product?

Q. Looking back, what would you have done differently when establishing Responsible Whatr? Your biggest learning as an entrepreneur?

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Dhruv Khanna, co-founder, Triton Foodworks, joins Divya on this episode. Triton is an agriculture tech startup and is using smart and innovated farming methods to upgrade this sector. Triton was also part of the coveted Forbes Asia and Forbes India 30Under30 list. 

They discuss: 

Q. Triton believes in clean farming - walk us through your farming model? What is hydroponics farming that Triton uses for its produce?

Q. What is the gap in the industry you saw when establishing Triton?

Q. The Indian agriculture industry is archaic, and we see significantly less innovation here, why? What more unconventional solutions do we need to tackle the problems faced in this industry?

Q. Your background is not in agriculture, what prompted you to enter this sector? What challenges have you faced?

Q. You have been part of the coveted Forbes list of entrepreneurs in Asia and India, what was this experience like for you personally? Any learnings/takeaways from this experience?

Q. Are you mostly bootstrapped? Any tips on creating a sustainable business plan for early age startups? Is there a “right time” to get funding?

Q. Any shoutouts to startups you feel are doing a fantastic job revolutionising agriculture in India? What innovations do you think are still required/necessary in this sector?

Q. Looking back, what would you have done differently when establishing Triton? Your biggest learning as an entrepreneur? 

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Rashi Narang, Founder, Heads Up for Tails joins Divya on this episode.  Founded in 2008, Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) is a retailer of pet products. The company currently operates 28 stores across Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad, and for its e-commerce business, the company has a client base of over 2,00,000 customers. They hit a 50 crore revenue in 2019 and are working towards a revenue north of 60 crores in 2020. 

They discuss: 

Q. What is the gap you saw in the market when founding HUFT?

Q. HUFT is established on an e-commerce model, has this market exploded during COVID-19, how have sales/revenue been for you, what next for HUFT?

Q. You have had consistent growth since establishing HUFT earning revenue north of around 50 cr a year, share some business tips/insights on how this has been possible?

Q. Is the pet sector in India a disorganised/organised industry? What do you think is still missing in this industry? What do you think are the few biggest problems India needs to tackle when it comes to household pets?

Q. Why do we see less innovation in the pet sector of India? Is it that people aren’t willing to spend on apps/better products for their pet? Is it a very price-conscious market? 

Q. HUFT has created an iconic brand for the pet industry of India, do you feel this has been possible as there are fewer players, some tips on creating a brand like this?

Q. Looking back, what would you have done differently when establishing HUFT? Your biggest learning as an entrepreneur?

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Satyajit Hange, Co-founder, Two Brothers Organic Farms, joins Divya on this episode. Two Brothers Organic Farms (TBOF) has been established by two brothers, who quit their banking careers and got into organic farming, TBOF is clocking in a revenue of around INR 12 Cr in the year 2020. 

They discuss: 

Q. Why did you and your brother quit your day jobs and begin TBOF? What is the gap in the industry you saw when developing TBOF?

Q. What are the benefits of organic farming vis-à-vis normal farming? How long does it take for a farm to become completely organic in India?

Q. Why the hype behind organic farming? Are you seeing an increase in sales/and the whole concept in general due to COVID-19?

Q. There is a significant portion of society that perceives organic food as a luxury, is this still the case in India? How far out are we compared to the West?

Q.India has an estimated 800,000 organic farmers - the largest in the world, but organic farming in India comes with many hurdles. Stricter regulations, educating the farmers - how do you deal with this and does this make business/production slower?

Q. What do you think the agriculture sector still needs in a developing country like India, and what should the govt be doing?

Q. We are seeing massive innovation in the agri-tech industry - what innovations do you think are still required/necessary in this sector?

Q.Placemaking helps communities to re-imagine everyday spaces in the city. Farmer's market is a concept of placemaking. Why do you feel a concept like this cannot be developed further in India? 

Q. Looking back, what would you have done differently when establishing TBOF? Your biggest learning as an entrepreneur?

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Ambika Seth, Director, CAARA joins Divya on this episode. CAARA is an umbrella company for a catering service, a farm and restaurants, and has started a culinary revolution in India. 

They discuss: 

Q. A catering business, restaurants in Delhi, and a cookery school, there’s undoubtedly a lot on going on under the CAARA umbrella, what is your core business?

Q. What’s the gap in the industry you saw when establishing CAARA?

Q. Your product was niche catering to a niche market. With the evolution of eating right/organic food, standalone restaurants, and a more well-travelled/read clientele - has this affected your business?

Q. Fresh produce is very crucial in your business + being locally sourced. Walk us through how COVID-19 has affected this? How hard/easy is organic farming in India, and why?

Q. We see a lot of innovation in the food and beverage industry, with cloud kitchens, tech startups in agriculture farming etc. - does tech play a crucial rule in your business?

Q. Is the F&B sector quite crowded now, more so because of COVID-19? What are your thoughts? Some tips on creating a sustainable F&B brand?

Q. What are some key rules/mottos you live by at your work? CAARA is an iconic Indian F&B brand now, how hard or easy has it been?

Q. Looking back, what would you have done differently when establishing CAARA? Your biggest learning as an entrepreneur?

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Dr Mantosh Kumar, the Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at Sukoon Health, joins Divya on this episode. 

This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day WHO campaign is increased investment in mental health and will also be the main focus of the podcast.

They discuss: 

Q. What is Sukoon doing to bring about a change in mental healthcare?

Q. The mental health expenditure by the Union Government is less than 0.5% of its total health budget, which itself is marginally above 1% of India’s Gross Domestic Product. In India, approximately 13.7 % of the population suffers from mental disorders according to NIMHANS study, and these funds are certainly not enough. What are your thoughts on this? What should the govt be doing to increase investment in this space? 

Q. What about private investment in mental healthcare?

Q. Is the investment we are seeing in mental health space just a COVID-19 assisted boom?

Q. Is tech playing a crucial role in aiding mental health in India currently? AI chatbots & wellness apps? Any other tech that can help Sukoon? Are we far behind western counterparts when it comes to innovation in mental health?

Q. What is the state of mental health care in India? Have things been made worse due to COVID-19, how are experts like you combatting and dealing with this?

Q. How can we as clients identify and approach the need for either psychologists or psychiatrists? Does the distinction exist in India? Is there a trend for psychiatrists doing psychologists jobs in India?

Q. During COVID-19, we are all stuck indoors, and within our family units more than ever. How can we aim to create a more healthy relationship with our family and speak openly about mental health?

Q. How can Indian family units better exercise vulnerability with each other? 

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Nilesh R Bothra, Co-Founder & CEO of Calamus, joins Divya on this episode. Calamus has developed the world’s safest and most advanced e-bike, the Ultrabike. With customers from over 27 different countries, they are taking Indian developed technology and innovation to the global stage. 

They discuss:

Q. The Electric Bike market is expected to grow heavily during and post COVID-19 worldwide, speak to us about how sales have been for you? Which country tops your list?

Q. Is the EB market facing only a COVID-19 assisted boom? What happens after? 

Q. Can you explain your business model in more detail? Why chose to crowdfund? 

Q. EB is environment-friendly, significant health benefits and has the Indian govt support but does the infrastructure support this industry? Do you even get the complete experience on a normal/dirt road?

Q. Owning a car is an economic symbol for upward mobility in India - what are your thoughts on this? How do you change the consumer behaviour pattern of a developing country like India?

Q. We are going to see Electric cars in India by 2021, and infrastructure will be developed for it, by the likes of Uber, charging points etc. What happens to EB market then, presumably the target audience is very different? Will the electric cars movement aid the electric bike movement also as its a complementary industry? A bane or a boon?

Q. Bike-sharing is a thrilling new model of public and private transportation that has rapidly emerged in recent years - do you form part of this or any plans to in the future? Your thoughts on the dockless bike-sharing market?

Q. Battery maintenance is a significant concern with e-bikes. Electric bike batteries have a limited life span, which is about 2-3 years for lithium-ion chemistry. Is this the case today as well?

Q. What would you say your biggest mistake has been in this industry as an entrepreneur? Or your most significant learning?

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Havish Madhvapaty, the founder of his own data analytics consulting firm, joins Divya on this episode. Data is oil/gold and everything - if used well it can transform a startup quickly, help in growth and target the right customers /audience - but many people don’t even know what data to collect, or why and how. 

They discuss:

Q. What is the changing role of data analytics in organisations? Is there a spike in data collection due to COVID-19? 

Q. More data is being generated, which leads to there being more unstructured data. - how should an organisation balance this?

Q. Discussing industry examples on how you can use data right to grow your startup. 

Q. The debate between collection required data and data privacy in India and the world. 

Q. How do you create a positive data-driven culture in your company? How much data should a company collect?  

Q. Will AI & ML take away jobs? 

Q. Healthcare vs ed-tech sector, the collection of data varies. Can different sectors benefit from data collection, and how?  

Q. What is the biggest problem companies face with data analyses/collection? 

Q. How can media companies ensure best practices when using data and protect their content?  

Q. What will the next 2 years look like in a data-driven economy? 

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Rohan Verma, the CEO & Executive Director, MapmyIndia joins Divya on this episode. MapMyIndia, is a truly Indian company with 25 years of passion, working towards making India smart and digital - it offers digital map data, telematics, location-based SaaS and geographic information services

They discuss: 

Q. What is the core problem you are trying to solve with MapmyIndia?

Q. How difficult has it been building such an accurate map of India? India being a developing country, would have its own set of challenges. 

Q. How long before eLoc becomes a national reality? (a 6 digit code for every address)

Q. How do you differentiate your product from Google? What do you offer that Google maps do not?

Q. Does MapmyIndia make revenue through ads like Google?

Q. MapmyIndia follows a B2B2C model more than a direct B2C consumer model. How does one figure out what would be the best model for their company to operate it? Any tips for startup founders out there?

Q. How is MapmyIndia aiding local startups? 

Q. What can we expect in the future with MapmyIndia?

Q. What would you say your biggest mistake has been in this industry as an entrepreneur? Or your most significant learning?

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