Outliers

In this week's Outliers, Sridhar Vembu tells Pankaj Mishra why he shunned VC money, and why he respects speed limits in growing his company.

In this week's Outliers Podcast Pankaj Mishra chats with Pallav Nadhani, founder of bootstrapped startup FusionCharts. Nadhani, who became an entrepreneur when he was only sixteen, talks about building his startup without VC money, reaching revenue milestones, and then failing. He's now building a new business while keeping FusionCharts alive.

As I sat down with Adya for recording this episode of Outliers, I was amazed to learn about how she manages her life using everything from sensors to apps to ensure she keeps alive. I also used the opportunity to get inside the mind of an Indian teenage girl and unravel the mysteries of social media and so on

In this week's Outliers podcast with Vineet Nayar, founder of Sampark Foundation, we try and find answers to questions about the future of Indian IT, ill-timed activism on the part of some founders, and discuss why those working in the sector need to take control of their career on their own, urgently.

For Chilaka, 42, an engineer who grew up idolising Walt Disney and fantasising about creating animation superstars, the journey started in the year 2000. But, the real tipping point came in 2008, May to be precise, when Chhota Bheem first aired on Pogo channel.

At 52, Sanjay Nayak is not among the young, restless and “cool” breed of entrepreneurs in India’s startup ecosystem. But then, his telecom equipment startup, Tejas Networks, is not really a newbie either. Launched in the year 2000, Tejas Networks has been through at least three near-death experiences

Wangchuk is best described as an innovator, education reformist and, of course, an Outlier. “I’ve failed at more than half of the things I’ve tried. I wish people more problems, so they learn,” he tells me at the SECMOL campus in the Phey village, Leh. This podcast is the first in a series of three stories we’ve managed to capture during a two-day trip to Leh. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

The story of Sinha’s journey to build Eko since late 2007 has all the ingredients of a thriller, and that’s not just about the number of times he faced near-death experiences as an entrepreneur. From navigating regulatory uncertainty to facing nearly a hundred creditors demanding payback one fine morning at the office, and hosting the world’s richest man Bill Gates and his family while being completely broke — all these incidents capture a quintessential entrepreneurial struggle. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Rajan Anandan, Google’s vice-president for Southeast Asia and India, is a diehard believer in India’s internet story. “I’m a perennial India bull… The internet is going to make India reach even greater heights,” he says. He adds that Google’s mission in India is “internet for every Indian.” Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Shakthi Vadakkepat may have over 1.6 lakh followers on Twitter and be counted as an “influencer”, but his home is a far cry from reflecting any of the social influence he commands. At least, it’s clear he’s not encashing the social popularity Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Sairee Chahal of Sheroes says that sexism is “a cancerous phenomenon” that has existed for a long time, much before journalists like me started discovering sexism in the startup ecosystem. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Osama Manzar is a monk in India’s digital ecosystem. And that’s not just because he looks like a monk. Manzar, a digital nomad traveling across the country’s hinterland, runs Digital Empowerment Foundation, and has taken up the mission of helping the next billion Indians get online. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Being part of the government, Sharma fights many battles from inside, and has played an important role in ensuring the Internet is open and free in India. Last year, during the net neutrality developments he was at the centre of the battle for open internet in India. Also, during his stint as the director general of UIDAI (India’s massive biometric identity system) during 2009 till 2013, Sharma not only fought the early perception and technology battles in building the world’s biggest digital identity database, but also applied his coding skills. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

This week I talk to Sameer Guglani of Morpheus Gang in his Chandigarh den, in a small, well laid-out pocket of the modern city. I ask him what it would take for Ola and Flipkart to beat Uber and Amazon? Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

In this week’s Outliers, I speak to Sanjay Anandaram, a former Wipro executive who now mentors startups and mentors founders. Anandaram is also mentor to Phanindra Sama, and someone who watched the redBus story take shape and eventually find a new home. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Rafat Ali has been a long-time digital media warrior. He maintains a no-nonsense profile across social media platforms, questioning the incumbent, large media platforms on one hand, and taking on the rising dominance of newer media products such as Facebook on the other. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/ Image Credit (Rafat Ali): https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldtravelandtourismcouncil/17166151301

On Tuesday earlier this week, I got on a call with Bakshi to record this episode of Outliers, and I was blown away. He still sounded the same by the way, talking fast and pronouncing each word with great passion. This time though, he seems to have found a new life mission. Bakshi is now part of The Cognitive Story project, an open source initiative that applies cognitive technologies to help individuals unable to communicate express their emotions. It’s about using AI to give a voice to those who cannot communicate. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

In this episode of Outliers, recorded at his ancestral home in Agra, Amit talks about his experiences in building solutions that solve users’ problems and shares his concerns about the lack of disclosures on paid content and sponsorships by bloggers and social media influencers. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

This week in Outliers, Pankaj Mishra talks to Subroto Bagchi, cofounder of Mindtree, an Indian IT services, consulting and digital solutions company with operations across the world. Bagchi currently heads the Odisha state government’s skill development authority. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

When Sarah Lacy first raised concerns about “outrageous sexism” practices by Uber and its founder Travis Kalanick in November 2014, many thought she was crossing a line: from being a journalist to an activist. Over the past few weeks, a series of disturbing revelations about Uber’s work culture and its maverick CEO-founder’s own questionable behaviour seems to validate most of what Lacy accused them of. In fact, this blog post by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler nailed it. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

For Girish Mathrubootham, founder and CEO of Freshdesk, entrepreneurship is not a one-off fling, but more like a habit, or “a sport he dearly loves.” “Being an entrepreneur gives an opportunity to dream and go after it. It’s about doing what I like doing,” he told me in this episode of The Outliers Podcast. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

In this episode of Outliers, Naval Ravikant of AngelList talks about philosophical life lessons based on his own entrepreneurial journey and his observation of several founders and investors over the years. *This podcast was recorded over the phone, hence the audio might sound a bit feeble and low. Sorry for this. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

In this episode of Outliers, I sit down with Sampad to discuss the conflicts faced by founders in maintaining a balance between their own personalities, and the responsibilities of being an entrepreneur. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Nayana Udupi transitioned from being a biological man to a transwoman around 20 years ago, in an arcane initiation ceremony presided over by the guru and ‘dayima’ of a transgender community in Pune, but she always knew, from early childhood, that she was female inside. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Ashwini Asokan, the cofounder of artificial intelligence startup MadStreetDen, talks about how bad sexism really is in the country’s tech ecosystem. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: http://www.accelerated-ideas.com/

While Indian IT may not be on its deathbed yet, the threat of disruption is looming large and clear. And if an imminent death sounds exaggeration, "a near death" experience cannot be ruled out. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: www.accelerated-ideas.com/

Manish Sharma is a well-known name in the Indian startup world. For those who don’t know him, he’s the man who built Printo, the printing retail chain which is pretty popular in Bengaluru and some other cities. Produced by Anand Murali Music Credit: http://www.accelerated-ideas.com/