Voice Of Achievers

You want to start an online business with a minimum budget but don’t know how to begin.Finding answers to all your queries about e-commerce businesses, the fashion retail industry, and how to start a small online business from idea to prototype to product while offering the best customer experience.Our guest Dhruv Toshniwal branched out from a 40+ year old family textile manufacturing business to bring new flavours of fashion to the youth.He is the Founder and CEO of Aanswr Fashion Private Ltd (www.aanswr.com), which owns several direct to consumer brands including The Pant Project (www.pantproject.com) a cool space for custom-made formal and semi-casual pants.He is also VP of Business Development for his professionally run family business, Banswara Syntex Ltd (www.banswarasyntex.com), which is a listed entity on the NSE and BSE. Dhruv graduated from Wharton Business School, worked as a financial services consultant in New York, and Latin America before he decided to scale his startup. In this podcast, he tal

Adulting isn’t easy!The right career choice, the right course, internships, Jobs, Mentors, Friends and amidst all of this the fun life that’s fleeting away.As we complete 50 episodes, we take you down the rabbit hole, and bring back Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Only this time, you’re looking through the glass of coping with the complexities of adulthood.Existential questions like Who are we? And Why are we here are explored while the reins of your story shall still remain in your own hands?Let the story on this episode immerse you into the enchanting world of becoming an adult, dealing with your identity, your emotions, and your challenges- sometimes real, sometimes, surreal!Click on the link right below to leave feedback and expectations for upcoming episodes of the Voice of Achievers Podcast.https://forms.gle/aKRVKAjpu6SAVKuDA Original Story Credits: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollOriginal Music by Joseph Mc Dade, and Shane IversDrop us a note on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter @voice_of_

How do you create for a global audience?What does curating mean?Is media management as important as media creation?We speak to Aseem Chhabra, a film journalist, freelance writer, author and film festival programmer based in New York and India who comes with over 30 years of experience. He is the author or three biographies of Film personalities - Irrfan Khan, Shashi Kapoor and Priyanka ChopraAseem has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Outlook, etc; and has been a commentator on Indian cinema and popular culture on NPR, CNN, and BBC, among others.He’s the estival director and the chief curator of the New York Indian Film Festival, the largest and the oldest Indian film festival in North America.We talk about :3:45 – Crafting globally relevant content & knowing your audience6.30- Why we’re obsessed with themes like poverty in India8.00- Writing for Global Audiences & balanced views + Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding10.30- What is curating really ?14.15- First

Can there be overlaps between organizations of social impact and popular media & entertainment?When a Woman told women stories in the early 90s, she was considered progressive and bold.What is the purpose of creating content in today’s times?Producer, Director, and Writer of several television serials including the trailblazing "Tara", Shatranj, and Aur Phir Ek Din, among others, our guest Vinta Nanda is the co-founder of the Asian Centre for Entertainment Education (ACEE) and the torchbearer for its flagship program, The Third Eye in a partnership with Hollywood Health and Society (HH&S).Formerly as Director Ideation at Zee Network, Vinta has worked in the media and social impact sector combined for over 3 decades. As president of the NGO Project SMITA, she created series for WHO, UNICEF, Ministry of Women and Child Development etc. Skip to your favorite part and hear her talk about:03.00- Corrupted Storytelling and Media for Social Impact6.00- Why storytelling was progressive 30 years ago

What’s the power of a question?Why choose college over course?What we need to know about criticism?Why media can’t be taught but can be learnt?Journalism, College Politics, Bias, Perspective, Culture, Criticism, peppered with films on this Media Minds Special Episode.Our guest Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author of three books- Bombay Talkies, Cinema Ka Safar and Name Place Animal thing. Currently, Entertainment Head at Mid Day, he’s been a journalist with Hindustan Times and Mumbai Mirror in the past. With 20 years of experience, he’s the first film critic to have won the Ramnath Goenka Journalism Award. Find your favourite part using the timestamps below-4.50- Arriving at career decisions by elimination & discovery, and why it’s ok to have no plans9.00- Why college over course? Doing nothing yet not being the loser12.30- School politics and life lessons15.00- The power of quizzing, debating and finding YOUniqueness17.30- Journalism, being the outsider and learning on the job20

Can business and spirituality coexist?Where is the Media & Content Business headed?Pressure, Eternal Optimism, Rejection & the new meaning of NO and being Realistic vs Being crazy as a business owner.In our Media Minds Special series, we speak to Dr. Anurag Batra, an entrepreneur, a media mogul, a journalist, an investor, an author, a TV show host, and an optimist. A corporate professional turned first-gen entrepreneur he owns, Business World, Exchange4media group and has impacted the Indian Media Business & Economy immensely. Multiple award-winning businessman, Dr. Batra is on board of various industry and government circles and both a faculty member as well as a constant learner.Some nuggets in the form of timestamps to skip to your favorite part:4.00- Spirituality, Business, Acceptance, and removing the I6.30- Insecurities, and the absence of a Business Plan- B2B E-Commerce10.00- Dealing with performance pressure & difficult situations12.00- On Optimism & Gratitude14.30- Job Losses, Ent

Can movement be a form of art?What does it mean to be in body flow and how can it help you?How can we change energies, especially when working with people who we may not like?Our guest Preeti Acharya is the founder of Fitcue and practices and teaches Yoga, and Animal flow. An engineer from BITS Pilani with a corporate job at CISCO she craved for more and moved to finding her feet with yoga and do the things that give her meaning.She’s a certified Ashtanga yoga teacher and animal flow instructor and has conducted innumerable workshops, training corporates, army camps, and athletes across various disciplines.Skip to your favourite part and hear her talk about:3.00- Why movement is an art5.30- Dealing with family pressure when picking a creative career8.00- Growing up with inferiority complex, carrying it’s weight and being ‘good enough’10.00- The advantage of being a small town wonder11.30- Channelizing stress and discomfort to play like a child- The Play Culture13.00- Parkour & defining movement therapy an

What are the parallels between mythology and the workplace?How has mythology shaped social and gender construct?How we’ve misinterpreted masculinity and feminism?What we should know about inner communication and writing?We’re speaking to our woman of substance- communication expert and author Koral Dasgupta. A compulsive storyteller and literary patron, Koral has published five books Rasiya-Dance of desire, Summer Holidays and The Power of a Common Man – connecting with consumers the Sharukh khan way, and Ahalya.She’s the founder of www.tellmeyourstory.biz, a story laboratory led by crowd-sourced narratives and consults with educational and corporate bodies on content and communication projects. Skip to your favourite part:3.30- Karnas, Bhishmas & Draupadis in the workplace4.15- Karna, Promotion & opportunity7.30- How we misinterpret mythology & why neutrality is important8.30- Propaganda versus Art11.35- Perception, Mythological Characters and the role of the mother14.15- Sita, Agniparikshas and

The Fun in fundamentals of sexual education, the relevance of public medical education and  critical health topics like intimate and sexual hygiene, decoding what it means to be in the medical profession and how science can be fun!Meet our woman of substance Dr. Tanaya Narendra, fondly called Dr Cuterus or Millennial Doctor on social mediums. She’s an internationally trained doctor, embryologist, and scientist who took the influencer route to empower the public about medical education. Having completed medical school in India, she completed her masters at the University of Oxford, and registered as a doctor in the UK. She’s a doctor at Abhilasha Hospital and fertility center and a medical consultant for Pee Safe among various other roles she juggles with.Note: This is a sensitive topic handled with simplicity and light tonality yet rooted in research.Skip to your favourite part using the time stamps below:4.00- Opting to talk about matters considered taboo6.00- Why adding the FUN in fundamental sex-ed is impo

We end up carrying emotional burdens with us- academic, professional, personal or just general existential!In this episode, we dig deep into emotional management, dealing with anxiety, fear, insecurity, burnout and braving emotions!Our guest Rashmi Datt is a certified psychodramatist and experienced trainer, coach and author. She started her training and consulting practice in 1993 after working with Pfizer for 8 years. Over the last 26 years, she has conducted Organisational Development interventions and executive coaching for multinationals, Indian private and public sector companies, the IITs and several NGOs across India.She brings real life scenarios and examples and we explore the range and depth of deep emotions in this conversation. Skip to your favourite part using the time stamps-3.50- Finding focus, resilience & creativity in chaos5.00- Dealing with negative emotions and finding a balance6.50- Naming emotions and the relationship between emotions and energy8.30- Getting drowned in emotions and

Conflicts, Inclusion, Socio-Economic & Gender Diversity, Teamwork and Competition.These are common threads between sports and the workplace and that’s what we’re addressing in our Women of Substance Special for this episode.Our guest Megna Shankaranarayanan is the current President of the Ultimate Players Association of India that governs over 10,000+ athletes. She has represented India in multiple Asian, European & World Championships and brought home medals from the World Championships in Dubai & London.A champion for gender equity, she convinced the National Federation to include the women’s division of the sport and went on captain India’s first ever women’s team. She has played an integral role in ensuring that the sport remains inclusive. She works as a senior sales consultant with Google India driving mental health awareness, corporate fund-raising initiatives along with DEI initiatives. She is an alumni of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Skip to your favourite part-3.00- What is

How does a renowned educational institute impact one’s professional growth?Is the power of academic research underrated in a Google empowered world?Are we at the cusp of understanding communication via text messages & emoticons, only and how is that affecting other forms of verbal and non-verbal communication?Our Woman of Substance Vinati Dev holds a B.A. in Economics and International Development from Clark University, and M.A. and a M.Sc. in Political Economy from London School of Economics. She has previously worked at Harvard Business School and now lives and works in Delhi. Her company is called The Script and she helps organizations and individuals articulate well. She is also an ICF approved brain based coaching expert & has helped mid and senior level professionals at organizations like Bain and Company and Delhivery achieve their personal and professional goals.With over 17 years of professional experience she’s talking to us today about the power of research, good communication and transitio

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.” -JK Rowling.We’ve all been through various personal and professional challenges throughout the year. As creatives,  artists,  entrepreneurs, freelancers, or professionals.As we approach the end of an unexpected year, why not revisit some good times from the year that swept by.20 Questions from 2020 is a curated episode from some of the best moments of the podcast recorded throughout the year.We’ve divided this podcast into three major parts –Part 1 deals with questions around- Colleges, Internships, Hiring Personal Branding and MentorshipsPart 2 deals with the entrepreneurial mindset, Crisis and Team Management, and the big word LeadershipPart 3 focusses on Skill building, Culture, Creativity, Finances, Faith and HappinessFor further details about the speaker and the topic you can always go back to their detailed episode. Skip to your favourite part using the timestamps below:3.30- Competitive exams and finding

Chai (Tea) in India isn’t a beverage. It’s an emotion.We’re blending emotions, management lessons, business principles, cultures, and class through the Indian Tea Legacy in this episode.Established in 1926 and marching towards completing a 100 years of serving tea, our experienced and senior guest Lakhwindersinghji (a 2nd generation entrepreneur) is building a business with trust as he sits right beneath the Gurudwara in Calcutta’s famous tea shop Balwant Singh. Mornings, Evenings and even late nights, chai lovers irrespective of their caste, class or culture throng his shop for chai and some conversation.Hear tea facts, skills and blending secrets along with simplistic ways of running a successful business.Skip to your favourite part:3.30- Blending culture, tradition, class with chai5.00- On faith & Trust in Business6.10- Employee Management7.30- The power of Service and goodwill9.30- Faith and Customer Service10.50- Dealing with Customers and their Complaints13.00- Quality Matters, Service Industry &

Investments and Financial Prudence have been and continue to be one of the grey areas for most individuals.We’re covering Financial Literacy, Women in 1990’s in India & battling the male ego, the biggest challenge of the modern Indian Woman, the power of Choice and Freedom and weighing high value items against low value items to create wealth!Our guest, Mr. Bishnu Dhanuka began with a vision of empowering women through financial literacy back in 1990. An accomplished businessman, successful investor and passionate teacher, Mr. Dhanuka is fondly called the Warren Buffet of Calcutta. Blending theoretical and practical learning practices, his workshops revolving around financial literacy through his NGO Millenium Mams are hugely popular all over the country. He has collaborated with organizations like the Tata Group, Nestle, HDFC bank among others and has given lectures at universities across the world.At his age, he continues to be a passionate learner, and has lived with the principle of investing in yours

Building and managing Remote Teams, Building a Diverse Work Culture, Handling Difficult People @ Work and Blending Learning techniques for professional and personal development.The pandemic has made all of this more critical than ever.We sit down with Mr. Peter Horwing the CEO at Chart Learning Solutions, an organization providing training to employees & students through a combination of eLearning, and blended learning approach solutions. Headquartered in Sweden, he’s been managing remote teams, way before the pandemic.With over 30 years of experience in the software and services industries, he has served in executive management teams at IBM and a few Swedish companies listed on the Nasdaq.Skip to your favourite part:2.50- First Brush with a job & Time Management5.20- The Art of Listening and Questioning8.30- Handling Difficult People at Work11.00- Leadership beyond Age and Culture14.30- Dynamics of Team 7 Leadership Beyond Borders20.00- Workplace Diversity- Cultural Differences @ Work22.00- Relations

Creativity & Multicultural Experiences, The Role of Mentors & Assisting Experiences in shaping Creative Professions, Non-Conformity in Society, & Women in Cinema.We’re speaking today with Antara Lahiri, a passionate freelance film editor (whose films have won awards at the South Asian Film Festival in New York and The Indian Film Festival at LA ) born in Kolkata & working in Mumbai with over 13 years of experience. Her work repertoire includes Netflix’s Bard of Blood & Yeh Ballet, Amazon's popular Four More Shots Please along with feature films like Shakuntala Devi & Simran among others.She’s assisted various senior editors for films like Ghajini, & Jhootha hi Sahi before taking up the children’s film Gattu independently. Skip to your favourite part using the timestamps:3.12- Childhood & Multicultural experiences influencing Creativity6.00- Education systems & Sibling Comparisons10.12- The Career Stream Conflict & Entrance exams helping in decision making13.12- The

Interview preps, job opportunities, job changes and internship opportunities- hiring and campus placements will soon be at their peak.So, we thought let’s turn the tables a little and grill an interviewer this time.Recognized as one of the Top HR minds of India by World HRD Congress, we’re talking to Gauri Das who is currently leading HR at India Factoring Finance Solutions Limited. A computer science engineer, to a master’s degree in Psychology and very recently an Organization Development certification from Tata Institute of Social Sciences amidst serving HR leadership roles at various organizations, she comes with more than 14 years of experience. She’s also passionate about meeting people & empowering women and is a key Linked in Local contributor and runs a Lean In Circle of Leaders Lifting Leaders. Find the key timestamps to skip to your favourite part:3.10- The toughest question in an interview5.30- Showcasing strengths & weaknesses in interviews8.00- Turn Ons and Turn Offs in Resumes & the

Keep the child in you alive, they say.Curiosity, Creativity & crazy Imagination power are some of the characteristics most children have and most adults & professionals are striving to build.We’re exploring the child-like attributes and characteristics with our guest today.Born and raised in Vadodara, Shantanu Duttagupta is currently the Publisher for Scholastic in India. A copywriter and journalist turned publisher, he began his career in 2004 and has worked with The Times of India, magazines like MacWorld of The International Data Group and the NGO sector as a Human Rights enthusiast. He finally went back to thinking like a child in 2007 when he took on the role of publishing for Children.Reading, Thinking, Imagining, Learning and experiences- this episode is all this and much more.Skip to your favourite part:2.50- Thinking like a Child5.00- Kidults and Imagination8.12- Nurturing Curiosity and Creativity9.00- The pressures & insecurities at the beginning of careers13.00- On explorations & Fi

When a crisis hits, it ends up affecting your personal and professional life.What if one had to deal with multiple crises (both personally & professionally?How does one explain job losses, pay cuts and personal rough patches in an interview?How is the landscape of marketing changing? We speak to global World Marketing Award Winner Ms. Manjula Nairr about the deep impact left by major crises she’s seen both personally and professionally. She’s donned multiple hats as a corporate communications head, marketing professional, editor for various publications, a mentor for startups, a speaker and industry influencer and is currently the Founder & CEO at A Buzz Company (Pocket Friendly marketing for SME’s). With over 25 years of experience and association with organizations like Satyam, Ogilvy, Amdocs, HP and the DNA network among others, she bares her heart about personal and career insecurities. Skip to your favourite part:2.05- The Satyam Computers Crisis (2008), A Marketing Head’s Perspective4.05- Leader