Podcast
The Ashish Sinha Show
Hosted by Ashish Sinha · EN
Ashish Sinha, in conversation with thought leaders from business and product space. Expect candid conversations and notes from him on startups, life and everything in-between.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why customers aren't buying your sexy AI SAAS product?
Feb 600:02:48Tap to summarizeYou have a "God-level" product. Your pricing is perfect. Your UI is beautiful. So why aren't customers buying? In this video, Ashish breaks down the brutal reality of why great SaaS products fail—and it has nothing to do with your features.Most founders make the mistake of trying to change a company's behavior. In SaaS, if your customer doesn't already have an existing workflow for the problem you’re solving, you aren’t just selling a tool—you’re trying to change a culture. That is a losing battle for early-stage startups.What You’ll Learn- Why "God-level" products still get rejected by the mid-market.- The massive difference between Consumer growth loops and Enterprise reality.
Transcribe →Sam Altman: Most founders do fake work. Here is how to avoid.
Feb 400:03:18Tap to summarizeSam Altman frequently warns that most founders fail not because they don't work hard, but because they choose the "enjoyable path" over the "ambitious path." i.e. fake work.They spend 12 hours a day on Slack, tweaking UI colors, and attending networking events—tasks that feel productive but move the needle exactly zero inches.In this video, I break down a simple 2-circle Venn diagram to help you audit your life.What we cover:Why Sam Altman dreads the first and last hour of his day.The "Slack Trap": Why internal communication feels like progress (but isn't).The Danger Zone: Premature scaling and "Political Theater."The 24-Hour Rule: How to filter your tasks for Real Work.The Bottom Line: We don't fail because we are lazy. We fail because we choose comfort over truth.I’ve been guilty of this myself—polishing a landing page for hours just to avoid making a sales call. What’s one 'Fake Work' task you’re going to cut from your schedule tomorrow? Let’s be honest in the comments. 👇
Transcribe →90% of consumer AI ideas will die (use this 2 X 2 to validate)
Jan 2800:04:27Tap to summarize90% of consumer AI ideas look sexy but crash hard — most end up in the “tar pit” with zero real traction or revenue uplift. For e.g. that new ‘productivity app’, that ‘event discovery platform’ and an all-time fav, ‘friend finder’ :)In this video, I break down why so many consumer AI startups fail and share a realistic 2×2 framework that separates doomed ideas from winners.X-axis: Existing Behavior vs New BehaviorY-axis: ARPU * AI, i.e. Low ARPU uplift vs High ARPU uplift from AI (if AI does’t help you increase the TAM / revenue..then what’s the point).We cover real examples:Why short-news apps or generic AI tools built in hours almost always die (existing behavior + low ARPU)The massive opportunity in AI astrology (existing behavior + high ARPU via subscriptions)Why AI companions (new behavior + low initial ARPU) are VC catnip right nowAnd the mysterious high-ARPU new-behavior quadrant — what could live there?If you’re building in consumer AI, raising funds, or just trying to spot real opportunities instead of hype, this framework will help you avoid wasting time and money.
Transcribe →Shane Parrish: Outcome vs. Ego #ReRun
Dec 1700:53:13Tap to summarizeA rerun of my conversation with Shane Parrish of Farnam street. The conversation is a reminder about what matters in one's life - did you focus on the outcome or..your ego? I made a lot of tough decisions this year (thanks to a near death experience) and the mental model of outcome vs. ego kept coming to me - hence this rerun.
Transcribe →Massive India opportunities are in these sectors (+ how to build successful startups) | 30 mins MBA with K Ganesh
Mar 5, 202500:31:03Tap to summarizeHow to build successful startups. Watch this 30 mins MBA (well, almost) with K Ganesh - serial entrepreneur and investors behind successful startups like BigBasket, Portea Medical, Bluestone, HomeLane, Freshmenu.In this episode (the last one in the series), Ganesh and Ashish discuss several topics ranging from the next big opportunities in India to traits of a successful Indian company.1. Why vanity metric work (and don't)2. The top 5 sectors in India3. The next big what , i.e. big opportunities in India4. Are Kirana scores under threat?5. Follow the money: The #1 principle K Ganesh has when it comes to evaluating startup ideasK Ganesh has also published his book bringing together the best of his learnings - Mastering Disruptions : https://amzn.to/3FgZgDOUnPluggd with Sinha podcast is a new format bringing together the very best of India's high-growth businesses across a range of industries - done in a very candid, unpluggd style!
Transcribe →How Akshayakalpa built a 400 cr revenue business (accidentally) - with CEO, Shashi Kumar | S1E4
Feb 21, 202500:30:00Tap to summarizeAkshayakalpa is a weird business (weird in a good way) - it is one of the largest soil management companies in India - but ended up selling milk to create a sustainable business for its stakeholders (primarily farmers).And in the process, created a 400 cr+ (~$50mn) revenue business - accidentally!My next guest in #UnPluggdWithSinha podcast is Shashi Kumar, Cofounder and CEO of Akshayakalpa - India’s first certified organic dairy enterprise bringing together a balance of practices based in science and the traditional heritage of dairy farming.Topics we discussed:How Akshayakalpa’s business model is a gamechanger (It is among the top soil management company in India, ended up selling milk as it offers a compelling value prop to farmers - faster revenue cycle being the most important one).Shashi’s startup journey - he worked with Wipro, was in US. So why come back to India and go back to farming - something his parents wanted him to never take up (can you believe that his father did not speak to him for 8 years after he decided to take up farming as a career).- Why India being one of the largest producers of milk doesn’t stand a chance in global diaspora?- Why most agritech startups trying to disrupt middle-men fail.- What’s the future of food? Answer: We are in a serious troubleAs a consumer - what is it that you need to understand about food ecosystem? Is your food producer making enough money?The UnPluggd with sinha conversations bring you the very best of India’s startup ecosystem (minus the hype) in an informal setup.Wanna suggest guests for the show? Use this form: https://forms.gle/J1GfdGifcVgB7gA87—
Transcribe →Manish Sharma, Printo: How I lost my startup, got it back and scaled
Feb 14, 202500:30:59Tap to summarizeHe is one of the OGs of new age retail businesses. Raised funding - as expected great expansion plans et al. The money didn't hit the bank account (some % did) Almost lost his startup to investors - somehow got it back (had to take a loan) Activated the 'sane' mode - survived, scaled up. Meet my next guest in #UnPluggdWithSinha show - Manish Sharma, cofounder and CEO of Printo, a leading printing business in India.UnPluggd with Sinha podcast brings you unfiltered, candid conversations with India's leading entrepreneurs, authors and business leaders. In this episode, we discuss Manish’s lessons building Printo Raising money, the (evil) power of liquidation preference clause most founders often ignore Building one of the early D2C businesses in India His advice to founders out there Why founders should have a life beyond their startups - Manish is into cycling, was intensely involved with AAP political party (Bangalore chapter), does theatres.(episode language: Hinglish)
Transcribe →I co-founded 2 hot startups | Balkrishn Birla on startups, resilience, personal finance | S1E2
Feb 7, 202500:28:41Tap to summarizeBalkrishna Birla has started 2 of India's hottest startups - ZopNow and Asklaila. In this conversation with Ashish Sinha, he shares lessons learned building these companies - his 'Steve Jobs' moment, where he was fired from his startup to his candid take on startups - I.e startups are not sexy, there are many ways to make good money (and handling #personalfinance is the first step). Apart from being CTO of an AI startup, he also conducts workshops on #personalfinance for young working professionals. UnPluggd with Sinha podcast is aimed at bringing the very best of India's business and tech leaders - for candid, unfiltered conversations. use this form to suggest show guests / share feedback : https://forms.gle/nhfYREbrZ5d7TM5L6
Transcribe →Deepak Shenoy on Startups, Rejections, Investment and Money
Jan 30, 202500:36:44Tap to summarizeDeepak Shenoy is founder and CEO of Capital Mind, a pioneering financial analytics and investment research firm. Deepak and I talk about his first startup, the early days of building CapitalMind, being rejected by VCs (heck ! this is just a blog!!!!) to building a solid business…and lessons learned scaling CapitalMind. building capitalmind from a blog to leading financial research company Deepak’s early days of running tech startups and lessons learned Deepak Shenoy’s relationship with money His take on the power of compounding His advice to new investors ------------- Contact us for feedback / speaker suggestions / exploring partnerships using this form: https://forms.gle/Q6hZdXaYfeiQqR2x8 This show is brought in partnership with VidRow team.
Transcribe →
Announcing a new show: UnPluggd with Sinha
Jan 27, 202500:01:01Tap to summarizeIntroducing : UnPluggd with Sinha - a new show, and a refreshingly new format (none of those standard studio setups)! UnPluggd with sinha is the show where real, raw, and refreshingly candid conversations happen on the move - no made-up studios! Because the best ideas don’t need a stage – just a car, a drive, and a great guest. We are breaking away from the studio format and creating a unique experience that - is out there in the real world (no *made-up studios*) - fosters great candid conversation with guests *(can’t get real than this)* - Makes guests open up and discuss a variety of topics The first episode goes live this Wednesday (Jan 29th).
Transcribe →