The Indian Startup Show

In this episode, I sit down with Saurabh Nigam—HR leader, angel investor, and author of People-Powered Startups: Building a Culture of Collaboration, Innovation, and High Performance. With over two decades of experience, Saurabh shares actionable insights on building a thriving startup culture, avoiding common HR mistakes, and hiring the right people at the right time. We dive into: Why startups struggle with HR—and how to fix it. The role of AI in recruitment. How to retain top talent and manage toxic high performers. Managing mental wellness in a high-growth startup environment. The three non-negotiables in any startup culture. Red flags that indicate a new hire isn’t working out. The best time to hire your first HR professional and much more.

Showcasing emerging artists—today, my guest is Leia Tyebjee, co-founder of Pylot Studios, an interdisciplinary creative platform dedicated to artistic design, curation, and community engagement. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of creating spaces for artists, breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, and how Pylot Studios is redefining art curation. Leia also shares her thoughts on AI in art, mistakes emerging artists make, the importance of community, and why she still chooses to work with film photography in the digital age. And finally, we talk bananas, interesting first impressions of New York, travel photography tips, and much more!

Indie Hacker Special! I speak to Piyush Patel, the founder of AmplifyX Labs and a prominent voice in the micro-SaaS and indie hacking space. From bootstrapping projects to building in public and exploring AI-powered tools, Piyush shares invaluable insights into his personal journey, product development strategies, getting your first customers and the future of micro-SaaS. This episode is packed with actionable advice for aspiring indie hackers, developers, and entrepreneurs who want to build and scale meaningful projects without funding. He also shares how numerology and astrology influence both his personal and business decisions, and reveals the surprising story of how he used Bumble to gain new customers!

Chicken and hot sauce are a match made in heaven! Today, I’m joined by Mikhel Rajani, co-founder of Naagin Sauce, India’s first and favourite hot sauce brand. Five years ago, Mikhel and his co-founders spotted a gap in the market, and now Naagin Sauce is a household name, partnering with KFC India and taking Indian Ghost Chillies global. In this episode, we talk about: How they built the brand from scratch. The spicy challenges they faced along the way. Mikhel’s insights from 15 years in the food and beverage business, including branding, hiring, and marketing and raising funding. Plus, Mikhel shares advice for founders, like handling rejection and why India is not for beginners. Why he prefers loyalty over certificates when hiring, the "Naagin dance", and the world’s first pizza delivery by drone! It’s a fun, fiery, and inspiring conversation—let’s dive in!

The world is getting fatter! In this episode, we dive deep into fitness and nutrition with Adarsh Gopalakrishnan, founder of Move101 in Chennai. Move101 is a unique strength and conditioning gym tailored for regular folks with little to no training background, and it also offers online coaching. Adarsh’s journey into fitness began in an unexpected way: he started working out to impress a girl who liked the biceps of a popular MTV VJ. He had no biceps and he wanted biceps and he started lifting weight and he got biceps! Thirteen years later, he’s trained hundreds of clients both in-person and online. We talk about Adarsh’s Journey: Being an unconventional, anti-institutional kid who dropped out of school. Being in the Right Place, Right Time: Catching the CrossFit wave in 2008–2010 and building a unique, community-driven gym. we talk Word-of-Mouth Success: Why Adarsh spends zero on Google or Facebook ads and still has an 80% client retention rate—higher than most big box gyms. Adarsh talks about the Protein Problem in India: Why Indians often lack protein in their diets, the supply chain issues around whey protein, and what alternatives you can eat. Fitness in a Post-COVID World: How the pandemic actually boosted his business and his thoughts on the global obesity crisis. Social Media Pressure: The unrealistic expectations to look “jacked” and the common mistakes people make in strength training (like too much volume and variety, and poor goal setting). Adarsh shares insights on improving your communication skills. Training Myths & Realistic Goals: Why you don’t have to train like a beast, loving single-leg squats, and why a six-pack is hard. But a four-pack is good enough! The Problem with Corporate Wellness Programs: Why Adarsh isn’t a fan and his thoughts on the most effective exercises. Navigating Diet Fads and Fitness Trends: Adarsh’s advice on avoiding the hype around the latest diet crazes, fitness gadgets, and weight-loss drugs. The Indian Fitness Market Today: His views on why he’s not interested in scaling his business and how his philosophy on fitness has evolved over the years. And for a fun finish: we talk about how to handle those family gatherings where well-meaning aunties offer Pepsi and jalebi when you’re trying to stay on track!