Sridhar Vembu is the CEO and Co-founder of Zoho Corp, which he describes as “…a state-of-the-art tech company with a very old-fashioned approach to company building.” Founded in an apartment, in 1996, Zoho now has over 15,000 employees, more than US$1 billion in annual revenues, and over 100 million users. All of this ‘bootstrapped’ as a private business, with no external or public investors. In 2005, he launched the Zoho University (now called Zoho Schools of Learning) programme with six rural high-school students, trained for two years in computer science, maths and communication before being absorbed into the company. Today, around 15% of Zoho’s workforce is made of ZU Graduates who benefit from the business wishing to open offices in small towns, suburbs and rural locations rather than metros. Today, Zoho continues to scale, and Sridhar Vembu is a self-made billionaire, recognised as one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs & philanthropists. In 2021, he was recipient of the Padma Sri (one of India’s highest civilian honours). In this interview, I speak to Sridhar Vembu, CEO and co-founder of Zoho Corp, recognised as one of the world’s most successful technology entrepreneurs who has bootstrapped his business from launch to over US$1 billion in revenues, whilst making huge social impact. 

Thought Economics

Girish Mathrubootham is a renowned figure in the global tech industry, an entrepreneur who has rewritten India’s startup narrative through his determination, innovation, and entrepreneurial acumen. As the CEO of Freshworks, he has propelled the company to new heights, carving a niche in a domain that was previously dominated by established industry giants. A visionary, he set his sights beyond just commercial success, co-founding SaaSBOOMi and Together Fund. These ventures reflect Girish’s commitment to leveraging technology and resources to help the burgeoning start-up ecosystem in India, illuminating a path for countless budding entrepreneurs. But Girish’s influence extends beyond the realm of tech and start-ups. His philanthropic initiatives paint the portrait of a leader who believes in giving back to society. His passion for nurturing talent is manifested in FC Madras, a testament to his belief in India’s potential on the global stage. Establishing this football club was a deliberate act of providing young Indian athletes the infrastructure, support, and opportunity they need to excel in their field. His life’s mission, as he succinctly puts it, is to “create world champions from India,” a purpose that unifies his roles in entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and sport. In this interview, I speak to philanthropist & entrepreneur, Girish Mathrubootham. We discuss his journey as an entrepreneur leading Freshworks from start-up to $Multi-Billion IPO, what it takes to lead scale-up global businesses, and the power of philanthropy to create change.

Thought Economics

Kalki Koechlin is an extraordinary talent. She is an actress, writer, producer and activist who has received numerous accolades including a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, MetroPlus Playwright Award and two Screen Awards. Born in Pondicherry, India, to French parents, Kalki studied her craft at Goldsmiths, University of London before returning to India, making her screen debut as Chanda in the drama Dev.D (winning her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress). Her diverse career has led her to star in two of the highest grossing films in Bollywood history Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and iconic movies such as Margarita with a Straw, Shanghai and Gully Boy (with Ranveer Singh & Alia Bhatt). Kalki has also been a pioneer in web and streaming formats. She drew critical acclaim for her characters in Made in Heaven and Sacred Games and Zee 5’s original titled, Bhram. She is also an engaged and respected activist, promoting causes ranging from health & education, to the empowerment of women and gender equity. In this exclusive interview, I spoke to Kalki Koechlin about her life, her art and her advocacy. 

Thought Economics

India is a beautifully diverse place. It is a place where 1.4 billion inhabitants share thousands of years of history, speak over 19,000 mother tongues, and express life and culture through a stunning array of food, dance, ceremony, faith, music and literature. It is perhaps no surprise that a country so steeped in mythology and religion holds storytelling close to its soul, and nowhere is this better expressed than through Bollywood. In these exclusive interviews, I speak to Ritesh Sidhwani (Co-Founder of Excel Entertainment), Vidya Balan (Multi award-winning actress), Sunny Leone (Actress & Entrepreneur) and Siddharth Roy Kapur (MD of Roy Kapur Films and President of the Producers Guild of India).

Thought Economics

Siddharth Roy Kapur is an eminent film producer, founder and MD of Roy Kapur Films and the President of the Producers Guild of India. He has been the former Managing Director of the Walt Disney Company India and UTV – Studios. Siddharth’s filmography includes some of the highest grossing Indian films of all time like Dangal, PK, Chennai Express, Kick and Rowdy Rathore as well as genre-defining films like Rang De Basanti, Barfi, Dev D, A Wednesday, Kai Po Che and ABCD. I caught up with Siddharth to learn more about Bollywood and how he’s made some of the most iconic films of Indian cinema.

Thought Economics

Chetan Bhagat is the author of nine blockbuster books, widely regarded as ‘the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history’.  his unique writing style has allowed him to tackle, head-on, some of India’s biggest cultural and social questions. I caught up with Chetan to learn more about his view of today’s India, and how writing has been a keystone of social change in a country that houses one-sixth of the world’s population.

Thought Economics

In 1981 a group of 7 engineers in Pune (India) came together with US$250 of capital and a passion for computing.  They created Infosys, which has grown to become a business with almost 230,000 employees, revenues of US$11.8 billion and a market capitalisation of almost US$50 billion.Infosys catalysed many of the changes that turned India into an IT and software powerhouse, and to this day is one of the world’s greatest examples of scaling a business. Senapathy “Kris” Gopalkrishnan was one of 7 engineers who co-founded Infosys, and I caught up with him to learn more about his entrepreneurship journey and building scaling businesses in India.

Thought Economics

In this exclusive interview, we talk to Dr. Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovation with the Rank of Cabinet Minister. Dr. Pitroda takes us on a very personal journey on India’s technology driven revolution looking at areas ranging from the impact of the phone, through to the sweeping changes in economics, social-structure and even national security.

Thought Economics

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