In our first ever episode in front of a live audience, Shantanu and Abhishek - both IIM Lucknow alumni - visited their beloved campus to shoot this special Barbershop conversation in front of a curious and welcoming student audience.
Abhishek is a storied CEO, joining Puma on day 1 in India in 2004 and then leading it to be bigger than Nike and Adidas combined! He then left to found Agilitas - a wildly courageous move with a 600 Cr seed round to acquire India’s largest shoe making factory.
This episode explores his experience as an operator and new entrepreneur, the risk of leaving a cushy CEO job, the market, how to attract talent, Virat, brand building, his bullishness on India and of course how being a back bencher at IIML did not derail his career.
We hope you love this conversation.
Navigate your way through this conversation:
00:00 Coming Up
01:41 Introduction: Reflections on IIM Lucknow
02:46 Building a Career from Humble Beginnings
06:53 The Journey of Puma: From Startup to Market Leader
23:24 The Birth of Agilitas
29:56 Building Brands for the Future
41:55 How to pitch to Investors
46:06 The Evolution of Sportswear
52:25 Team Dynamics and Company Culture
01:04:18 Futuristic Products that Agilitas is building
01:09:11 Marketing Challenges then v/s now
01:11:49 BSC: Quick Commerce v/s Retail Market
01:14:02 Business Model of Agilitas
01:15:35 Authenticity in Brand Communication
01:19:35 Creating a Thriving Company Culture
01:24:53 Opportunities in Sports Infrastructure
01:27:38 Sustainability in Business Practices
01:35:18 Challenges for Indigenous Brands in India
01:45:35 Navigating Stress and Entrepreneurship
01:49:24 Learning from Role Models
01:54:45 Manufacturing in India vs. Global Competition
01:59:24 Consulting as a Career Path
02:03:10 Competing with Established Brands
