The UpstreamLife

In this episode we bring you a piece of Bengaluru's modern history. No other restaurant chain is so well known as Empire. Its young CEO, Shakir Haq talks about all the decisions that he took to make this multi-million dollar business remain family first and still be a company that runs on sound management principles. It's a fascinating journey of transformation and perseverance for Shakir, who was always interested in automobiles and technology. His entry into the family business and rise happened with sheer grit.
00:00 - Introduction
01:51 - Bengaluru means so much to the Empire brand
03:40 - Scaling the brand.
08:08 - Blending experience with technology, especially the old chefs.
11:30 - The operations of the stores.
14:00 - Experimenting and scaling in the era of technology.
16:00 - Joining the company as a management trainee
21:00 - Firing a senior manager & garnering support from a team.
25:00 - Managing consistency of taste and challenges many brands face.
29:00 - Experiments that worked, failed and the evolution of Empire.
32:00 - Going to the central kitchen concept.
38:40 - Standing apart in the business.
44:00 - Working towards a farm to fork linkage
47:23 - Accelerating new brands.
49:28 - Being bootstrapped even as a lot of PE Funds want a piece.
53:00 - Retaining workers in the Blue Collar segment.
56:00 - The need for grooming those who work part time.
01:03:57 - Being inspired by Dad and handling COVID-19
01:08:05 - Learning to run a professional business.
01:11:50 - Family first

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In this episode we talk to Jagdish, the founder of MM-Activ, who is the OG of the Indian events and exhibitions industry. He talks about how India is changing with events.
00:00 - Introduction
01:29 - Waking up to mega events
05:32 - What does a mega-event do to a city?
11:16 - Organising the event industry.
15:50 - Every Indian who went to America wants to give back.
16:05 - TIE Global as an event and other large events in India.
21:29 - The Bengaluru Tech Summit.
27:10 - Being influenced by ideology as an youngster.
29:20 - Working in a magazine in the early days.
33:44 - Starting up in the events industry.
42:06 - Being in the media business to deliver value.
46:54 - Building intellectual property.
51:22 - Being inspired by theatre.

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In this episode with Pavan Sharma, the partner of BCL India, an advisory and audit firm, we decode India by the numbers just as the elections are underway. Please download the report (https://tinyurl.com/yxykv3pv) for you to understand what Pavan is analyzing. All data sources mentioned in the PDF.
We analyze the Centre versus State tax conflicts, climate change, income growth, rise of the middle-class, jobs and the conflicts within youth employability.
Part 1 - Tax bouts, realities of freebies and Consumption.
00:00 - Introduction
02:50 - The heart of the conflict between India States and the Centre.
05:35 - The formula for tax sharing between States - the fair or unfair ask.
08:30 - The opposition narratives when it comes to Tax.
13:00 - The Human Development index, tax incentives for States.
15:25 - No freebies to youth please - differentiate between necessity and needs.
16:33 - The narrative of freebies - where will the money come from.
21:55 - Income Classes in India: the real truth.
24:35 - What do our income classes own - 92 million Indians earn Rs 12 lakh per year and this is growing. This is what capital loves.
Download our analysis: https://bclindia.in/indeco-apr24/
Part 2:
28:49 - Household consumption and its interesting numbers - India is spending and is typical of a growing economy.
31:40 - Unhealthy nation: falling cereal and vegetable consumption, rise of packaged product consumption.
38:10 - The new billionaires who earn Rs 13 lakhs per day.
41:00 - Indian disparities.
42:12 - Where is India's wealth locked up?
43:20 - Analyzing India can be daunting - different reports, different analysis and the future of wealth creation.
45:38 - Unemployment in India - 45 percent of graduates are unemployed and the need to invest in training or reskilling.
52:22 - Climate change, lack of water and more.
54:30 - Who pays in India to keep things moving?
58:45 - Our energy sustainability

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In this episode of the India Deep Tech Series, we host the MD of TDK Ventures, Anil Achyuta. Born and raised in Bengaluru, Anil went from being a sportsman to falling in love with deep tech - firstly as an academic and then as an investor. In this podcast he talks about an ever changing world with deep technology, what are the risks and rewards for startups in this community. The interview is a must watch for those who aspire to build businesses with deep tech ideas.
00:00 - Introduction to the podcast
00:38 - Anil's love for science
01:47 - The TDK Ventures investment thesis
04:32 - Not every scientist should become an entrepreneur
07:07 - Transitioning from science to an investor
09:30 - The need for 'Dream Syndicates' to support deep tech
14:51 - Why we need to come together to solve bigger problems
17:24 - The Tesla example of beating all numbers and expectations
19:13 - Why TDK Ventures takes big bets?
22:47 - The 'Fit' principles of investing
24:59 - Business is about data: upstream, the supply chain, downstream
29:31 - Role of the government in deep tech
30:30 - Impact of Ascend Elements and AM Batteries in the EV industry
34:20 - Building a thesis around 'heat' applications.
36:33 - Quick responses on industries transforming themselves - automotive, energy, healthcare and many more.
44:49 - Impact of AI.
48:29 - The TDK Goodness and what it means for startups
52:11 - Using sports and its competitive nature as a lesson in investing
55:34 - Learning a lot from people, inspirations and sport.
In this podcast the startups I talk about are Ascend Elements (https://ascendelements.com), AM Batteries (https://am-batteries.com), Verdagy (https://verdagy.com), Autoflight (https://www.autoflight.com/en/), Ineratec (https://www.ineratec.de/en) & Fasal (https://fasal.co).

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In this episode of theUpStreamLife we talk with Ben Goodman, SVP and GM APJ, at Okta. He talks about identity management and security in the era of collaboration where corporations work with thousands of vendors or freelancers.
We also talk about cricket and sports as an enabler to being resilient to daily challenges.
00:00 - Introduction
01:33 - What is Okta?
04:50 - Identity becoming important.
08:30 - Working with people outside the system.
10:38 - Convincing CTOs of working with creative collaboration.
19:00 - Security evolving with AI.
21:30 - Industry standards for customer identity management.
26:00 - Why should startups be on Okta?
26:55 - Being a cricketer and a cyclist - Ben's influences and advice.

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