Love 

- new ideas, the concept of building from scratch
- seeing good people succeed
- learning from inspiring people 

Increasingly been thinking about my own purpose and place in the world. :)

The other day, Santosh Iyer - the CEO of Mercedes Benz India, invited three entrepreneurs to their 140 year celebration. 

Aman, Vineeta and me. 

To tell them about building innovative companies. 

Three 10 YO startups. Telling the literal inventors of the IC engine about innovation. 

We initially thought it was a prank :) 

But it wasn't. Santosh - an Automotives expert and veteran - was so curious and double clicked on so many small points. The dealers in the audience (all of whom run businesses in 1000s of crores each 🤯) were hungry for learning. 

And it was incredibly humbling. If ever there was an event for me to feel Imposter Syndrome. 


But then I realised one thing. Which I've seen with my investors Colgate and Reckitt too. 

After a point, the most successful cos become the most humble. 

Curious. Gracious. Hungry. 

That's why they are as successful as they are. Thank you Santosh. For showing us what the bar is to building an innovative DNA and how to be humble. 

Walked away feeling so small yet so full of energy for the future.

Shantanu Deshpande

Love to meet exciting founders, discuss ideas, brainstorm business, and in general build a network that indexes on maximising success. :) write in to Shantanu@bombayshavingcompany.com to get in touch. 

Founder CEO at Bombay Shaving Company, Bombae, 100Days, The BarberShop | Ambassador at OGQ | External Advisor at McKinsey, Advent | Love music, sport | Regular guy

Is it just me or has the flying experience gotten horribly ruined last 2-3 years? 

Uncomfortable seats. 

Never on time. 

Food is inedible. Even business class is frankly pathetic. 

Rude staff. 

Civic sense of flyers is also completely eroded. Loud, use phones on max volume, keep bags wherever they want, argue like entitled brats. Getting in and out is a separate nightmare. 

On the other hand, infra is amazing. So many swanky new airports, infinite shops and restaurants, Digiyatra makes entry seamless, security process is easier. 

Indian aviation seems like another newly funded D2C startup with a founder on a podcast. 

Fantastic packaging, shit product.

I am so excited about tomorrow. 

Sometimes you can just sense something big is about to happen. 

My friend wanted to create a school where rigour meets creativity. Where students can chart their own paths, but without compromising high goals. 

Where there is equal parts inspiration and perspiration. To learn while building something with your own hands. 

And the greenshoots are now clear. ❤️

Beautiful thoughtfully made campus. 70 admissions done - and these are some incredible children. Frankly blew my mind. Pedagogy, teachers, DNA all getting baked slowly but beautifully. 

Prachi moved cities, left her Sequoia job, and lives alone far from everyone who loves her to build something she dreams of everyday. 

And the smile on her face when she sees a student learn something is worth it all. 

Anandi School in Bengaluru is open for admissions. Nursery - 8 grades, IB, July start. 

Tomorrow (14 Feb) we have lunch with prospective parents on campus. 

I will be there to share my perspective on how I've seen Anandi be created and the miniscule part I've played in it. 

So if you're a parent and you want your child to experience something truly unique - come over and join us. 

Write in to admissions at anandi dot org to register for more details.

Thank you, Manipal. I have no words. ♥️

Went back to school after 25 years to talk about entrepreneurship ❤️

I remember being unsure, in doubt constantly when in school. Until my teachers saw potential in me which I or even my parents did not. 

And then I found my groove. 

Did reasonably well in acads but my best moments were on the ground and with my friends. 

And I'll never forget the humble yet dreamy, strict yet free, rigorous yet empowering environment my amazing school Vikhe Patil created. 

None of the fanciness you see today. Simple uniform, food, periods, books and teachers. 

But full of heart. 

As I walked the corridors, I saw so much had changed and yet so much remained the same. ❤️

-- The tragic performative founders --

People used to romanticize starting up. 

The thrill of leaving a job. The unsure life of no paychecks. The excitement of a new journey, idea, hire, business, office, revenue. 

But it got boring quickly. And tiring. Starting up is hard. Hungry for validation, they quickly moved on to romanticising the process.

'Build in public' it was called. The daily life, meetings, struggles, pitches. 

Performative to the core - none of this 'build in public' public had any longevity or actual strength. Or frankly, intention. 

The 'hunker down and do everything you can' kinds build real companies or die trying. These folks? The fuel was always attention. 

So now things aren't working and you aren't getting attention. What next? 

Shut down porn. Romanticising the painful shutting down of 'your baby'. 

'My blood and sweat and tears (for the cameras)'

'So grateful to my team who stood by me when I paid them nothing cos I didn't care 2 hoots about learning capital deployment'

Yada yada yada. 

The kind of tears that disappear completely the moment no one is watching.  

Horrible theatre, even worse time utilisation. What was even the point. Just do a bloody job. And if you're building a company, do it like no one is watching. 

The real companies are built in hard, painful isolation outside reels and Linkedin posts. The moment you catch yourself performing, know the games up. 

And the people who matter can see right through it.

Kuldeep is one of the most generous people I've met in my life. And the kind who does it without the need for glory. 

I've twice asked him to do something for me at difficult times - and he came through. Calmly, quietly, without obligatory conversation. 

He organises a party every year for McKinsey alums. Invites 1000+ people most of who he doesn't know. Fanciest food and bar and the best time. It's insane how 'Kuldeep's party' is now Mxkinsey's Sunburn. :) 

All on his dime.

And now his company is going public. Wasn't an easy journey. From partner to 5-6 years of brutal bootstrapping to now IPO. 

All heart. All smiles. He opens up on a Barbershop IPO Special. 

All the best Kuldeep. Cheering you on always ♥️

Such a fantastic conversation this week with Solara founder Gopal Kolli.  

He built a world class 100 Cr bootstrapped business and is rapidly growing. 

He had some very real questions around raising money, celeb brand ambassador, channel expansion and team. 

Super thankful to my mentors Toshan Tamhane and Shiv Shivakumar for joining me to help problem solve with Gopal. 

Season 5 Episode 2 of Khul Ke Scale is now OUT! 

Super thankful to Ashish Sangle, Diksha Dwivedi, Dipabali Sengupta and the team YOSO Media for being incredible content partners.

This format has gotten amazing love. We have some solid founders and companies coming on this season.

Every Thursday 8 pm. Stay tuned :)

taplio

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