Entrepreneur India – July 2019

JULY 2019 l ENTREPRENEUR l 65

Entrepreneurs are busybees, and their razor-sharp intellect needs constant food

for thought. They devour good content in multiple formats: books, periodicals,

movies et al. In their jampacked schedules, the one medium that never fails to

entertain, inform and satisfy the quest to pick up new learnings is podcasts.

Just plug in pods of your earphones, even while performing mundane tasks like

running, commuting or when you are on a long flight to the next hectic meeting.

Three entrepreneurs share how to profit from podcasts.

What to

Play Next

Amit Gupta,

Co-founder, Yulu

A

pervasive notion is that there

is no fixed playbook for start-

ups. Entrepreneurship is all

about taking risks and making the

right decisions. Gupta was initially

apprehensive when exploring the bike

hiring segment in India. “We learn

from others and connect the dots in

own context. I have been able to take

better decisions and create better

outcomes because of the learning

from podcasts,” he asserts.

He listens to the voices of advice

from top business leaders across the

globe and seeks latest technologies

in the world. “I enjoy listening to the

ones from top business leaders or

companies on topics like self-help,

strategy, innovation and building

positive work culture,” he emphasizes.

Preferred Choice: HBR IdeaCast

(https://hbr.org/2018/01/podcast-

ideacast), A16Z Podcast (https://a16z.com/

podcasts/)

Varun Aggarwal,

Co-founder & Executive

Director, Designhill

A

ggarwal has a knack for

picking podcasts that talk

about launch strategies,

overcoming hurdles, expansion plans

and solutions offered to consumers.

“Podcasts are a convenient source of

information coupled with inspiration.

They strike the chord when compared

to reading an interview in a magazine

or a newspaper,” he says.

A majority of Designhill customers

are US-based. “On several occasions

we listen to podcasts that speak

the language of that particular

demography from varied genres

like marketing, finance, technology,”

explains Aggarwal. “If there’s a new

idea that we are brainstorming, then I

listen to a podcast from similar space

to get a global perspective,” he says.

Preferred Choice: Foundr with Nathan

Chan, Entrepreneur on Fire

Sivareena Sarika

Co-founder, Pregbuddy

A

wise person is not one who just

learns from own mistakes, but

one who grasps from others’

errors too. Sarika hunts down podcasts

that help her make smarter choices.

“Learning from others’ mistakes jogs

my memory. I try to understand best

case practices and implement them

in the best possible way in dynamic

situations,” she says. Sarika also gets

her requisite dose of motivation from

them.

“The start-up journey can be pretty

harrowing. So, I listen to success stories

of people who have trudged through it,

beaten the odds or have learnt a lesson

from experience,” she adds. Sarika

surfs digital content during work-breaks

but weekends are solely dedicated to

podcasts, which are usually from peer-

recommendations.

Preferred Choice: s podcast and Insights

podcast by Anand Daniel

Illustrations: Rajeev Kumar

PODCAST

Life