6 Podcasts Indian Entrepreneurs Should Listen To
About 6 months ago, I started listening to a podcast. It was mere coincidence. I needed an excerpt from an interview which was aired on a podcast. While listening to the podcast, I started browsing and subscribing to few others. This is now a practice! — finding new podcasts, listening & finding more.
While at it, I also started recommending colleagues to listen to few podcasts & they liked it. Maybe some of you might like it too! So sharing a list of selected podcasts (in no specific order) for your listening.
As some of you might know, I am based in India and work with ‘new businesses’ on startegy, product & marketing. Hence, these recommendations are ideal, but not limited to, Indian entrepreneurs or folks working on product, marketing & business strategy.
1. Shunya One
Let’s start with ground-Shunya (zero in hindi). Shunya One is a show by IVM Podcasts (a new business in itself). Hosted by Shiladitya M & Amit Doshi, this podcasts interview entrepreneurs from India, listening to their stories and experiences. Some of the episodes are quite insightful, while few tend to stray a bit. However, the conversational approach is very entertaining.
IVM has a long list of podcasts across a wide range of topics. I also listen to podcasts on topics that I am interested in, like The Pragati by Pavan Srinath & Hamsini Hariharan (economics, policy & politics), Maed in India (music), etc.
2. Outliers
Outliers by FACTOR DAILY (or rather by pankaj mishra) is another podcast which just achieved half-a-century (50) shows. Outliers doesn’t limit itself to entrepreneurs and often brings voices from various corners, to the mic. I remember an episode where he interviewed the spouse of an entrepreneur, an often overllooked but critical factor in the success of a new business (imho). You will also get to hear insights from seasoned businessmen & professionals in this show.
3. The Seen And The Unseen
Another one from the house of IVM. While I am not particularly fond of its theatrical start, this podcast is a great source of information on the (intended) results & (unintended) consequences of public policy (India). This is a very focused podcast & each episode isan eye-opener.
This show not only helped me understand policies, but also helps me train myself in analysing matters from ‘unseen’ perspectives.
4. TED Talks
The last time I counted, there are about 14 shows in iTunes by TED Talks. I follow Business & Technology — two topics related to my work & interest. The amount of content flowing from these shows are a bit…rather, too overwhelming. Choose and listen if you wish to follow these shows.
One may ask, why follow TED talks if the context of this article is Indian entrepreneurship. The podcasts I shared so far cover Indian policies/business environment. However, it’s equally important to know how other economies & brilliant minds tackle problems & innovate. TED talks help me identify problems that I thought never existed; and solutions/approach that I might have never thought off.
5. Masters of Scale
This is probably my favourite show. Masters of Scale is hosted by Reid Hoffman, an entrepreneur & investor. His guests are the who-is-who of Silicon Valley and their stories… inspirational! I often end up listening to certain episodes, repeatedly.
However, there are few other reasons why you should surely listen to this show.
- The show is well crafted (edited) with very few moments where you are lost or bored. Sometimes they go a bit overboard with the effects but it is still entertaining — something rare in a business podcast.
- This show is improvising and excelling at the art of story telling. They convert the most boring story into the most exciting one with a great script! Off-late, they have steered away from a ‘continous conversation’ format to ‘extracts & comments of a conversation’ format.
- This show features advertisements! Completely justified considering the investment involved in making shows like this. However, they have managed to make the ads less distasteful & more informative/relative to the topic. The ads follow a similar format & gel in as much as possible. I really apreciate their effort in carefully selecting the right sponsor and crafting the advts to provide the best experience to their listeners.
- They also take care in ensuring a balance of gender representation when it comes to their guests.
6. This is Product Management
Now that we have covered environment, policies, inspirtaion & experiences… let’s talk about product. Every ‘new business’ has a product, even if it sells a service. Hence the last recommendation is ‘This is Product Management’ podcast. This podcast covers a wide range of topic around Product Management and can be quite insightful for an entrepreneur while making or breaking their business.
More free advice:
Tips on ‘HOW TO’ listen to podcasts
the non-techincal aspects on how to listen to podcasts:
- Don’t ‘listen’ and drive! Yes, you heard me right. When I started listening to podcasts, it often came with a marketing tip: make your commute time more useful/efficient. Well, its true if you use public transport. But never listen and drive — you won’t be doing justice to either. The moment your attention veers away from the road is you sending an open invitation for a tragedy. When vice versa, you end up loosing the flow & most probably switching to a new podcast as the one you are listening to doesn’t make any sense anymore.
- Don’t listen to every podcast. At one point of time, I followed about 20 shows and listened to each episode. Some came out with an episode a day, few published twice a week and most had at least 1 episode every week. That is a lot of content for the already cramped calendar of an entrepreneur. Unlike music, podcasts need your attention to grasp the content. Follow as many shows as you want, but download only the episodes that make sense to you. Listen more if you have some time during weekends/vacations.
- Research & read. Interesting topics like a policy has to be followed up without fail. It is not just an opportunity to learn but can also be an opportunity to evolve. Many a times, policies that seem trivial to your business can have a lasting impact on you indirectly.
- Think, interact & ask questions. I often try to follow-up on topics that I listened to. The best way to start is asking questions that you have. I use twitter & other open mediums for this. Sometimes, it is directed to the guest/host, but mostly I ask my peers on their opinions. That way you get to see a larger picture.
- Podcasts are one side of a coin. Most podcasts are views of one or two people and often from a certain perspective. Keep yourself open and approach the topic from all sides. Podcasts can be dangerous when it comes to influencing your thoughts.
Hope you enjoyed reading my article. Should you have any questions, suggestions (or an idea to visit Mars), share it in comments. You can also ping me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn.
Read my travel stories on India at Nomadic Shoes
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