Good Morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Two by Two is almost six months old now, and in those six months, we’ve questioned, discussed, and broken down some of the most important business stories around us. 

Many things have gone right, but above all else, we’ve been extremely fortunate to get guests who haven’t shied away from speaking their mind, making Two by Two a truly unique listening experience. In fact, as a podcast producer, that particular feature has been one of the things I’ve enjoyed the most about this podcast. Invariably, after the pleasantries are done, every recording session has settled into a free-flowing, unscripted conversation, with our wonderful guests bringing to bear anecdotes and lived experiences that ground the discussions, preventing Two by Two from devolving into a purely intellectual exercise. 

This has yielded very interesting and oftentimes surprising conclusions to questions posed by our hosts, Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan. In fact, on rare occasion, the very premise of these questions have been refuted very early in the discussion by our guests, who have then gone on to propose different lenses to approach these subjects with. 

We didn’t have a regular episode of Two by Two yesterday. Instead, we decided to take a look at all the 22 episodes we’ve done to date and plot them on a 2×2, which is the image you see at the very beginning of this newsletter. 

I’m sure you, our listeners, have your own favourite episodes, and we’d love to hear what they are, so write to [email protected] and let us know. 

But in the meantime, perhaps there were a few episodes that you missed. 

Our first two episodes are still available in full for anyone who’d like to give them a listen—no subscription required—as are four other episodes, which we’ve unlocked for a limited time. Of course, if you are subscribed to our Premium plan, or have a monthly subscription on Apple Podcasts, you can listen to all our episodes in full.

Here is the complete list:

1. Will Flipkart become Phonepe before Phonepe becomes Flipkart?

Walmart-owned entities seem to be roving into each other’s territories in search of growing their customer base and revenue.

2. Why has all the excitement and disruption gone out of startups?

A decade back, they were the answer in response to a boring and unexciting job. Today, a job at a startup seems to have become just that.

3. Is Zepto a gold medallist or a bronze medallist?

Zepto is not the biggest quick commerce player in the market, yet they’re the talk of the town.

4. Delhi pricked the Bengaluru bubble

Have Delhi startups pulled ahead in the race and claimed the startup capital title from Bengaluru?

5. Swiggy needs to reclaim its past glory

The Bengaluru-based startup pioneered both food delivery and quick commerce in India, but competitors have pulled ahead in the race.

6. Is the golden era of the (software) engineer over?

In an age where AI chatbots are capable of writing code and serving as a programmer, what will engineers do?

7. Google Pay: Big. Successful. Vulnerable

How long before UPI businesses come to attack the UPI product?

8. Private coaching is eating away at schooling

Twelve years of schooling is losing out to private coaching as entry into India’s colleges gets increasingly centralized via entrance exams.

9. Why Stripe could not become the Stripe of India?

It’s the world’s most powerful fintech, and yet it failed to capitalise on the world’s second-largest startup market–India.

10. Health insurance in India is ripe for disruption

From the surface, health insurance is one of the brightest spots in India’s insurance story, growing at nearly 20% annually. But that number doesn’t tell the whole story.

11. Netflix and its last growth market

Today, Netflix is in its strongest position ever. But how Netflix does tomorrow depends on whether it can succeed and scale in India–its last growth market.

12. Ather Energy was a pioneer. Can it also be a leader?

The co-founder and CEO of Ather Energy discusses the IPO-bound company’s strategy with the director of one of India’s most prestigious management institutes.

13. Do we even need Product Managers?

If you are a product manager, especially in India, you’re probably going through a crisis of faith and existence.

14. How will Ola and Uber avoid ‘death by a thousand cuts’?

The ride-hailing giants conquered city after city using a disruptive model and technology, and now the same thing threatens to happen to them.

15. The relentless rise of the government as a competitor

What happens when the government plays the role of regulator, policymaker and competitor?

16. What does the future hold for Ola Electric?

The Indian electric two-wheeler-maker has multiple fires it needs to douse. But its troubles keep piling up

17. Can venture capitalists do no wrong?

Some changes seem inevitable as VCs get back to investing after a “small reset”

18. Dmart versus the challengers at the gate

There’s a perfect storm that is forcing Dmart to blink, and take a pause

19. Marketing is eating itself from the inside

It’s a mad rush to sell, and in many ways, that’s what marketing has become all about today

20. The mystery of usury

What led to the RBI’s decision to ban a few NBFCs from disbursing loans?

21. AI comes to annihilate India’s SaaS companies

Will every SaaS company end up becoming an AI company to survive?

22. The death of D2C

Brands might be digital-first, but not necessarily “direct-to-consumer” in the true sense

As we head into a new year, I also think it would be great to hear your thoughts about what would make for a compelling Two by Two episode. So do write in to [email protected] and tell us. 

And if you like our podcast, please share it with like-minded people. 

We wish all of you a happy and fulfilling new year.

Regards,
Hari Krishna

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