The BarberShop with Shantanu

What if Bombay Shaving Company’s biggest opportunity is already in front of it, but the founders are not seeing it clearly? In this episode, Shantanu Deshpande (Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company) sits down with Aditya Sehgal (Founder, Asgard. World and Ex-President & COO, Reckitt), along with Deepak Gupta (Co-Founder & COO, Bombay Shaving Company), to unpack what it really takes to build a large Indian consumer brand for the next decade. At the centre of this conversation is Bombay Shaving Company’s next big question: Can a grooming brand from India become a ₹4,000 Cr business, and eventually build products strong enough to compete globally? Aditya breaks down why India may still be behind China in innovation velocity, why local manufacturing is not just a financial decision but a strategic one, why AI will completely change how teams are built, and why money follows opportunity, not the other way around. What you’ll learn from this episode: - Why 10-year-old startups learn and adapt faster than 100-year-old FMCG giants - How the "XEMES" innovation formula works and why India's "jugaad" mentality might be holding it back - What the 2x2 AI Decision Matrix is (Repeatability vs. Sensitivity) and what tasks to automate - Why taking a lower margin to build local manufacturing is a massive strategic moat - How a non-tech executive built a fully functional app in 8 days just by using AI If you’re building a consumer brand, D2C business, retail company, or India-first startup, this episode gives you a sharp look at what it actually takes to build beyond the next quarter and create something that can compound for years. Navigate your way through these chapters: 00:00 Coming up 01:20 Introduction 02: 40 How They Built the Business 08:17 Breaking Down the XEMES Framework 16:15 Scaling Without Losing Quality 21:49 The Playbook for Building a ₹4,000 Cr Brand 27:42 How AI Will Transform Every Company 37:08 Closing Thoughts

Everyone talks about building a brand. Few talk about what actually breaks when growth starts becoming real. This is the very first episode of Founder's Meet, and it's happening in Pune. Shantanu Deshpande sits down with founders building across skincare, AI, home décor, food, climate action, travel, experiences, and consumer brands to unpack the real questions behind scaling in India. From a ₹50 Cr D2C food brand trying to scale to ₹500 Cr, to a SaaS founder questioning India's willingness to pay, to premium brands figuring out storytelling and consumer trust, this conversation brings together the messy but important problems founders face after the first phase of growth. What this episode covers: Why the product and brand need to grow together How storytelling builds trust beyond product claims Why scaling without systems can break a startup What makes consumers forgive, return, and stay Why a real community is more than just followers and comments How founders should think about co-founders, hiring, and equity Why entrepreneurship is not freedom, but accountability If you're building a D2C brand, SaaS company, consumer business, or founder-led startup in India, this episode offers a raw look at the decisions, trade-offs, and uncomfortable truths behind building something that lasts.

India’s next big consumer brands won’t be built on taste. They’ll be built on habits. In this episode of Khul Ke Scale, Shantanu Deshpande (Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company) sits down with Rahul Jain (Co-founder, Beanly Coffee) and Samayesh Khanna (Co-founder, Beanly Coffee), along with industry veterans Shiv Shivakumar (Operating Partner, Advent | Ex-SVP, Nokia | Ex-CEO (India), PepsiCo) and Toshan Tamhane (Global Chief Operating Officer, UPL) to break down what it really takes to build a modern consumer brand in India.From coffee habits and convenience culture to product psychology, repeat purchases, distribution, and brand recall, this episode goes deep into why some brands become daily rituals while most disappear after the initial hype cycle.Beanly Coffee explains why they’re betting on India’s “on-the-go” lifestyle, how small product decisions influence consumer behaviour, and why building a habit is far more important than simply building a good product.At the centre of the conversation is a bigger question every founder struggles with: Why do consumers remember some brands instantly… while forgetting others completely?What you’ll learn from this episode: • Why 25% of Indians skipping breakfast is a massive business opportunity • Why convenience is becoming India’s biggest consumer trend • Why most D2C brands fail after their first growth spike • The real role of packaging, fragrance, texture, and recall in FMCG • How founders misunderstand consumer behaviour while scaling • What makes certain products become part of people’s daily routinesIf you’re building a consumer brand, D2C startup, FMCG business, or simply trying to understand where Indian consumer behaviour is heading, this episode offers a sharp breakdown of what actually creates long-term brand relevance in one of the world’s toughest markets.Navigate your way through these chapters: 00:00 Coming Up01:40 Introduction02:25 How Beanly Started10:39 Question 1: Innovation, Scale, and Strategic Focus19:35 What Latin America Teaches About Coffee26:18 Question 2: Building the Right Omnichannel Mix34:38 Question 3: How to Think About ESOP Allocation44:00 Building a Strong Employee Value Proposition49:46 Question 4: Choosing the Right Investors and Capital Structure53:24 Shiv’s Key Takeaways for Beanly59:41 Closing Thoughts

A founder unpacks how a single user insight turned into a ₹150 Cr women's grooming brand. He rejects the pink-razor stereotype and explains why safety was the wrong problem to solve. The talk covers real differences in women's shaving feedback and the design thinking behind a tactile Roll Blade. It ends with lessons on positioning a new brand and insight-led product growth.

Revant Bhate, CEO of Mosaic Wellness, offers investor perspective on unit economics and scaling. Lokesh Daga, Co-founder and CEO of Nasher Miles, shares how his luggage brand hit ~₹150 Cr via marketplaces, retail pilots, manufacturing shifts and Shark Tank funding. They discuss marketplaces vs D2C, EBO economics, color-driven positioning, Made-in-India manufacturing, CAC vs LTV and channel diversification.

Karan Johar, filmmaker and style entrepreneur, teams with Shravan Satyani, a 30‑year jewellery veteran and co‑founder of Tyaani. They discuss building a profitable Polki‑focused luxury brand, using store‑exclusive inventory as a moat, how Instagram and changing brides drove demand for multiple looks, and the tradeoffs of scaling, funding and professionalizing a founder‑led luxury business.

India’s richest buyers still choose SIPs over Mercedes. Why? When a ₹1 Cr car loses to a ₹10k SIP, you’re not fighting competitors, you’re fighting mindset. In this episode, Shantanu sits down with Santosh Iyer (MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd.) for a no-filter conversation on why India’s luxury car market is still tiny, what really drives high-ticket purchases, and how culture, family hierarchy, and risk appetite shape consumption in this country. From selling weighing machines to building one of India’s most premium auto brands, Santosh’s journey is anything but conventional. He shares how early failures in Nepal, turning around Yamaha, and working across global companies shaped his belief in one core idea: trust first, everything else later. Key takeaways from the episode: 1. Why Mercedes competes with SIPs, not just BMW & Audi 2. Why a ₹1 Cr car still takes 45 days of family decision-making 3. What stops India’s luxury market from scaling despite rising incomes 4. How D2C changed car buying and killed the “discount mindset” 5. What EVs, AI, and the next decade of mobility will actually look like. If you’re building a premium brand, selling high-ticket products, or trying to understand Indian consumers beyond surface-level data, this episode will completely change how you think about scale in India. Navigate your way through these chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:17 Santosh Iyer’s early journey and leadership style 07:27 Entrepreneurial beginnings and risk-taking mindset 13:22 Moving into automotive and joining Yamaha 20.26 How the Indian luxury car consumer has evolved 28.00 Why SIPs are Mercedes-Benz’s biggest competition 30.05 India’s luxury car market vs China and global benchmarks 31:51 How car-buying decisions have evolved over the years 36:40 Inside Mercedes: teams, technicians, and execution 40:04 The D2C model and the challenge of changing dealer behaviour 46:55 Future of Mercedes in India and the EV shift 50:00 AI in automotive and marketing, and ‘make in India’ for the world, and the export opportunity 01:01:12 Closing Thoughts

Everyone said electronics retail would die. Yet, Vijay Sales built a ₹13,000 Cr empire offline…anyway.So what did they understand that everyone else missed?Not by moving faster… but by thinking differently when everyone else followed the same playbook.In this episode, Shantanu Deshpande (Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company) sits down with Nilesh Gupta (MD, Vijay Sales) to unpack how a 57-year-old business stayed relevant through every wave, from colour TV booms to Amazon, Flipkart, and now quick commerce. At the centre of it all is Nanu Gupta (Founder, Vijay Sales), who came to Mumbai with ₹50 in his pocket and built the business without a blueprint, and made decisions most founders wouldn’t dare to take, including walking away from top brands and putting consumer trust above everything else. This episode breaks down how those choices quietly compounded into scale.If you’re building a consumer brand, retail business, or D2C startup, this episode gives you a clear look at what it actually takes to build something that lasts.

Arjun Purkayastha, Reckitt leader and scaling advisor; Aditya Bhargava, COO of The Little Farm, operations and quick-commerce lead; Niharika Bhargava, CEO and co-founder who turned family pickle recipes into a D2C success. They discuss timing for offline retail, mastering quick-commerce and inventory forecasting, pruning SKUs, and the Be Big, Be Fast, Be Bold framework to scale from niche to mass.

Kent Yoshimura, co-founder and CEO of Neuro and former athlete turned neuroscience entrepreneur. He recounts scaling Neuro from crowdfunding to a global brand after organic celebrity mentions. The conversation covers product development, pricing and taste hurdles, the Joe Rogan viral lift, TikTok’s funnel magic, creator networks, and international expansion.