Episodes

How are digital loans triggering economic change for Bharat? How does one stand out in a saturated category such as financing? What's behind the speed at which brands are scaling-up today? 

In Episode 10 of the podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3,’ Deepak Jain, Co-Founder at FlexiLoans speaks about how regional micro business enterprises in India are contributing towards the national economy with the support of digital loans, how fintech is shaping a new India. He also shares his views on strategy to chase IPOs for a business and cites some thought-provoking insights.

Deepak Jain was born in a family of jewellers and moneylenders. He was an in-house consultant with JSW Group when he decided to become an investment banker. He joined Indian School of Business and started working for ENAM in 2009. He worked for 15 years in the corporate world before being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. 

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Check out our website: (https://speakeasywithdheerajsinha.in/)

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How is digital eCommerce gearing up to match the population of the nation? What are the initiatives and policy-making decisions channelled towards a positive nation powered by digital? How have entrepreneurs and start-ups been contributing to the new era of digitalization?

In Episode 9 of the podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3,’ Arvind Gupta, Head and Co-Founder of Digital India Foundation, shares his views on how the digital transaction system and business platforms are changing the landscape of businesses in India, and the role of start-ups and entrepreneurs in the process.

Arvind has over 27 years of industry experience, having worked in diverse sectors in a variety of leadership, policy and entrepreneurial profiles in India and Silicon Valley, USA. He has experience in Consumer Internet, Digital Media, Payment Systems, Analytics and Data Economy. Working as CEO of MyGov is a must-mention, an initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to empower Citizens of India with Participative Governance and digitally communicate Schemes and Policies to all Indians.

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Check out our website: (https://speakeasywithdheerajsinha.in/)

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What has changed in the process of brand building over the period of time? How has
D2C product marketing been adapting to media evolution? What is an effective marketing
model for a successful brand?
In Episode 8 of the podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3,’ Anil
Viswanathan, Vice President – Marketing at Mondelez India speaks about how data and technology are ushering in a new way of building brands, the effective marketing modules for marketers and the future of the D2C market.
Anil joined Mondelez India in May 2000 as a management trainee and has spent more than two decades in the company, across a variety of roles including Sales, Brand & Category Marketing, Strategy and New Business Development. His journey in the company has taken him into Regional and Global roles and into different categories including Chocolate and Biscuits. One of his achievements, amongst many others, has been the launch of Cadbury 5Star globally, which is now present in 3 continents including markets like Brazil and South Africa.

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Check out our website: (https://speakeasywithdheerajsinha.in/)
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What challenges do women face to wear an entrepreneurial hat? What does it take for a woman to climb through the leadership ladder? What is the role of men in boosting women empowerment?

In Episode 7 of the podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3,’ Aabha Bakaya, Founder and CEO at Ladies Who Lead speaks about the challenges that women face to wear an entrepreneurial hat and shares a snippet about the platform that aims at boosting women empowerment and self-development. 

Aabha is a career business journalist, news anchor, editor, writer and producer. She has spent 15 years working in the media industry while being associated with major media networks as an anchor and interviewed many business stalwarts and market mavericks. Lately, Aabha has turned entrepreneur with her own company, AB Network and one of the properties under AB Network is Ladies Who Lead.

Find Aabha Bakaya on Social Media: 

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Find Dheeraj Sinha on Social Media:
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Check out our website: (https://speakeasywithdheerajsinha.in/)

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It takes around seven generations for children living in extreme poverty to break out
of poverty and earn a meaningful income. So, how does one break this poverty
cycle? Do social enterprises need a strong brand purpose to build trust and
credibility among volunteers and contributors? And, in this new age, what is
the role of Gen Z in social causes?
In Episode 6 of the podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3’, Jithin C
Nedumala, Founder and CEO of Make A Difference (MAD) speak about his strategic
program that aims at breaking the cycle of poverty faced by millions of vulnerable
children. For the new-age entrepreneur, Jithin has some thought-provoking messages
and perceptive insights on making a business successful.

Jithin founded MAD at the age of 19 and for his philanthropic contribution, Jithin was
awarded the Ashoka Global Youth Social Entrepreneur Award, Karmaveer Puraskar,
Cordes Fellowship, and Youth Actionnet Fellowship.

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Has the playbook for marketing changed from what it was two decades ago? In the age of social media and influencer marketing, should marketing let go of some of the guardrails? What’s the future of EVs in India? Would we see a complete shift of the ecosystem to electric in a few years? Or is it that, like every other change will this too will be an ‘and’ rather than an ‘or’?

In Episode 5 of podcast ‘Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 3,’ Narayan Sundararaman, Head of Marketing at Bajaj Auto Ltd. addresses the science of marketing, consumer behaviour and the future of automobile industry. 

Narayan Sundararaman is a seasoned marketing professional and business leader with over two decades of experience in sectors ranging from FMCG to media to electronic vehicles. Narayan has helmed marketing at Cadbury’s now Mondelez, Star Plus and now Bajaj. Narayan’s experience spans across developed as well as developing markets and multiple geographies and cultures, particularly in India, South East Asia, Australia & New Zealand and Japan. Since the beginning of his career at ITC Ltd as Assistant Branch Manager in 1995, Narayan has reached great heights.

Find Narayan Sundararaman on Social Media: 

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Every week, there is a new roaster popping up and, India is seeing a sort of coffee revolution. Coffee consumption is a rising trend in India and people are adapting to the habit of drinking coffee over tea. Therefore, the food and beverages segment in India has gone through dramatic changes over the last couple of years, but the questions are – what has changed and what hasn’t for them? Is India a tea market, or is there a coffee culture shaping in the country? Who is the coffee audience in India?

In Episode 4 of Season 3 - Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha, Matt Chittaranjan, the Founder of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters brews interesting insights about the coffee business in India and its potentialities. Matt has his roots in India and has been brought up in the west. He specialized in Economics and worked as a Research Associate before taking a giant leap into entrepreneurship. Started as a pet project in Delhi in 2013, the Blue Tokai coffee house now has over 50 cafes in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Gurugram.       

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With internet being democratised, entertainment is no more a luxury. Gaming and content are the new ways of digital consumption. But is this a pattern across India? Or is it restricted to metro cities? Can gaming indeed be a full-time profession in India? Also, how are gaming platforms approaching Metaverse?  

In Episode 03 of Speakeasy with Dheeraj Sinha – Season 03, we have Anirudh Pandita - Founder of Loco, in the hot seat, who answers to some of the crucial questions around gaming as the next business segment in tier 2 and tier 3 cities alongside brand building in the new age. Loco is India’s leading game streaming platform which has grown rapidly over the past 12 months, with monthly active viewers scaling by 6x, monthly active streamers scaling by 10x, and live watch hours scaling by 48x since June 2020. Anirudh is also a founder and board member of Pocket Aces. 

Prior to embarking on his entrepreneur journey, Anirudh worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Istithmar World Capital in New York, London, and Dubai. He was recently featured on Fortune’s 40 under 40 list 2021, the second time he has appeared on the list.

Find Anirudh Pandita on Social Media: 

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Check out our website: (https://speakeasywithdheerajsinha.in/)

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