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The Ken Podcast

Deepavali Break

EPISODE Two by Two 23 Oct, 25
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See you next week!

Sidebar writer

Rohin is Co-founder and CEO at The Ken. He hosts The Ken's leadership podcast, First Principles, and is the lead writer of the Sunday newsletter on mental models, careers and personal growth, also called First Principles.

Sidebar writer

Praveen is the CPO of The Ken, and writer of The Nutgraf — the popular weekend newsletter. Led & grew several products at InMobi and Myntra.

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Seetharaman G

Deepinder Goyal and Navil Noronha: a study in contrasting exits

And what that says about how far Eternal can push its norm-defying acts

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Arundhati Ramanathan

Should Phonepe be worth more than Paytm’s $7.9B?

The Walmart-backed company commands nearly half of India’s digital-payments landscape. But its financials trail its smaller, listed rival

4
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Priyal Mahtta

Shadowfax pays today’s nosebleed prices for Delhivery’s old advantage

As the logistics firm plans to pour IPO money into new warehouses and long leases, incumbents are squeezing returns from assets they locked in when land was cheaper, and rents were lower

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Valli Vikram

India’s private schools want autonomy. The government may finally allow that

The Ken has learnt that the Centre is holding deeper discussions on allowing private schools to run as for-profit entities to encourage transparency and long-term steady growth

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Story unlocked just for you

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Anand Kalyanaraman

You think Ola Electric is in trouble? You’re not even close

Deeply negative cash flows and continued sales pressure raise serious questions about the sustainability of the electric two-wheeler maker

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Rohin Dharmakumar

Hope IS a strategy

A complex system with feedback loops that pulls us towards a future we imagine possible

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Uddantika Kashyap

With Noice, Swiggy picks the 3rd path in quick commerce

Private labels meet brand ambition

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Brady Ng

‘A very Chinese time’ for OpenAI

So far, only Wechat seems to have cracked the code to creating an apps-within-an-app ecosystem. Can AI take it to the rest of the world?

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Debanjali Biswas

Why is Cognizant so keen to list in India at the worst possible time?

The IT services firm is seeking a secondary listing to match the valuation of its Indian rivals. But logistical and regulatory challenges lie in the way

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Top Subscriber Comments

Wealth managers discover the Northeast—and its millionaires’ BS detector

This is a good read for a region that deserves more coverage and a reminder to the rest of the country that India's wealth is not only in the noisiest/buzziest/loudest parts of the country. // By Rajeev Lala, Ph.D. , Director, S&P Global

View in Story

The private-equity handbook for turning non-profit schools into cash cows

Rarely come across such a write-up, with its rigorous attention to detail, simplicity of explanation and disclosure of how greed has soaked into a sector (such as education). Makes one both sad and upset. // By K C Krishnadas

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50,000 students walk into India’s farm-reform experiment. Willingly or not

Very interesting article. I think regenerative agriculture is also something that is coming up as an alternative to organic farming. This not only focuses on reducing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides but also focuses on restoring the natural balance of the soil, through composting, agroforestry and crop rotation. // By Aseema Sulakhe , Analyst, IDH

View in Story

Podcasts

Rohin Dharmakumar

Darwinbox’s Rohit Chennamaneni on leading without a CEO, the ‘show don’t tell’ product mindset, and why resilience beats intelligence

The co-founder on how Darwinbox grew quietly before it grew big

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Rohin Dharmakumar,
Praveen Gopal Krishnan

With Noice, Swiggy picks the 3rd path in quick commerce

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Rahel Philipose,
Rajiv C N

Meet the fitness warrior: why ordinary professionals are training like elite athletes

In this episode, we unpack the rise of what we are calling the “fitness warrior”. This is a new professional archetype where work follows the same logic as sport: optimise, train, perform.

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Brady Ng,
Rohin Dharmakumar,
Praveen Gopal Krishnan

Perplexity’s rug pull in India, AI PCs are the new Chromebooks, Deepseek isn’t an AI company

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Snigdha Sharma,
Rachel Varghese

The business of consent behind WhatsApp promotions is up for grabs

As India’s data law kicks in, WhatsApp outreach is getting regulated, and a new compliance market is emerging fast

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Spotlight

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Anand Kalyanaraman

Is EPFO the reason your employer isn’t depositing your provident fund?

2
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Nuha Bubere

Wealth managers discover the Northeast—and its millionaires’ BS detector

6
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Atul Krishna

50,000 students walk into India’s farm-reform experiment. Willingly or not

3
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Mutasim Khan

The private-equity handbook for turning non-profit schools into cash cows

26
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D V L S Pranathi

Decathlon tests fashion through grocery-speed quick commerce

1
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Tech

Debanjali Biswas

Why is Cognizant so keen to list in India at the worst possible time?

The IT services firm is seeking a secondary listing to match the valuation of its Indian rivals. But logistical and regulatory challenges lie in the way

Article Link
Article Image
Suprita Anupam

Why Tonbo wants credibility when its investors are seeking liquidity

Article Link
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Arundhati Ramanathan

A $500 million fintech takes a risky swing at a $135 billion NRI money stream

The Sequoia-backed cross-border remittance startup Aspora wants to win over 15 million NRIs at all costs, and it has to decide which cost it wants to bear—regulatory or cross-border realities

2
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Mrunmayee Kulkarni

Hosur powered India’s EV boom. So why are companies heading to Sambhajinagar?

4
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Paulomi Mehta

Handwritten chaos vs machine order: how AI is splitting India’s judiciary

The Supreme Court’s recent guidelines and a state’s AI mandate hint at a fragmented overhaul—one testing whether tech can cut through decades of procedural drag

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Visual Stories

Africa wants to emulate India’s startup success. But Africa’s top VC doesn’t want to emulate Indian VCs

Africa wants to emulate India’s startup success. But Africa’s top VC doesn’t want to emulate Indian VCs

The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown

The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown

The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown

The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown

The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown

The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown

Boeing to Wonderchef: Aequs’ disparate clientele tests its manufacturing edge

Boeing to Wonderchef: Aequs’ disparate clientele tests its manufacturing edge

Indian robotics-toy maker Miko is doing what some Silicon Valley ones couldn’t

Indian robotics-toy maker Miko is doing what some Silicon Valley ones couldn’t

Can Duolingo keep India speaking when AI can translate everything?

Can Duolingo keep India speaking when AI can translate everything?

  • Africa wants to emulate India’s startup success. But Africa’s top VC doesn’t want to emulate Indian VCs
    from Africa wants to emulate India’s startup success. But Africa’s top VC doesn’t want to emulate Indian VCs
  • The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown
    from The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown
  • The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown
    from The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown
  • The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown
    from The move that helped Persistent Systems avoid Indian IT’s slowdown
  • Boeing to Wonderchef: Aequs’ disparate clientele tests its manufacturing edge
    from Boeing to Wonderchef: Aequs’ disparate clientele tests its manufacturing edge
  • Indian robotics-toy maker Miko is doing what some Silicon Valley ones couldn’t
    from Indian robotics-toy maker Miko is doing what some Silicon Valley ones couldn’t
  • Can Duolingo keep India speaking when AI can translate everything?
    from Can Duolingo keep India speaking when AI can translate everything?

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Wealth, capital markets

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Financial services, venture capital

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Deep tech, AI/ML, Web3, general China / SE Asia

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Neha works on The Ken’s desk out of Delhi. Her previous experience has been a mix, working as a po

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Seetharaman G

Retail, capital markets

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Hosur powered India’s EV boom. So why are companies heading to Sambhajinagar?

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Bajaj and Ather can’t use the India fix for their China problem

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MG Windsor supercharged India’s EV market. Rivals said: Thanks, but no thanks

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Fly me to the moon—and back, despite PSLV failures

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The fine print of a growing nation, 2025 edition

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Siddhartha Bhaiya’s untimely passing

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Bigness = big rewards in India’s stock market

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UPI’s credit fix finds the right timing

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First Principles
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Congruence

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The January Chasm

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