On the 3 Techies Banter podcast, founders Karantaj Singh and Shaayak Chatterjee of Breathe ESG discuss how their sustainability software emerged from consulting and on-ground CSR work where ESG data was fragmented across departments, spreadsheets, and even paper registers. They explain there was no single “aha” moment - more perseverance and ambition to build an India-based solution that helps large companies become more sustainable - while narrowing focus from an early “Breathe Impact” idea to ESG management and later “Zero” for Scope 3 and net zero. They outline how they convince skeptical leaders by highlighting reputation, operational efficiency, and financial incentives like sustainability-linked loans, and address misconceptions that ESG is a small subfunction or only for manufacturers. The episode covers solving data ingestion via integrations, OCR/LLMs, mobile workflows, and handling multiple global regulations with overlapping metrics, plus a quick rapid-fire round. Chapters: 00:00 Highlights of the Episode 05:25 Podcast Intro And Origins 06:08 Consulting Pain Points 10:37 Early Product Focus 14:13 Selling ESG Benefits 20:45 Common ESG Misconceptions 25:06 Who Needs ESG Most 29:06 Solving The Data Problem 34:18 Customer Example Coworking Bills 37:01 Granular Data Matters 37:27 AI Footprint Tradeoffs 40:24 Regulation Alphabet Soup 44:49 Data First Reporting 46:03 Supplier Scoring Workflow 47:53 Fighting Greenwashing 52:20 Smarter Disclosures 55:05 Proof of ESG Impact 58:15 Finance Incentives 01:00:12 Hidden Emissions Leaks 01:02:50 Rapid Fire 01:09:35 Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices