Best Siddhartha Ahluwalia Podcasts (2025)

1
How a 20-Year CEO Thinks, Prepares & Leaves a Legacy | Shiv Shivakumar, Ex-CEO Nokia & PepsiCo 1:17:19

Play Pause

1h ago1:17:19

1:17:19

How do the best CEOs think, prepare, and leave a lasting legacy? Shiv Shivakumar, former CEO of PepsiCo and Nokia reflects on decades of leading some of the most iconic companies. He shares insights on what makes a great leader, from the mindset required to the qualities that define people with a fighter’s instinct. Shiv explains why commitment and…

1
How Viral Bajaria Turned a Last-Minute YC Application Into a $5B B2B AI Giant | 6sense 1:09:28

4d ago1:09:28

1:09:28

From a last-minute YC application to a $5 billion Company built on deep technical insight. In this episode, Viral Bajaria, Co-Founder and CTO of 6sense, takes us back to the very beginning. He recounts his early days at Hulu, where managing massive data systems during the Super Bowl taught him how data could drive real business decisions. Joining o…

1
$350M by Building Apps for iphones when IOS was like AI | Ashish Toshniwal, Calcutta -> Silicon Valley 1:04:13

6d ago1:04:13

1:04:13

How do you know whether an iOS app you have built has potential to be big? Getting an email from Steve Jobs is probably a strong indicator. Ashish Toshniwal, founder of 10Kr and YML (Y Media Labs), started by trying a bit of everything: classifieds, Groupons, and Facebook apps. That email made him quit his job, but as Ashish says, it took him and Y…

1
Tesla’s Former CIO’s $4 Billion Startup That Car Giants Can’t Stop Investing In | Jay Vijayan, Tekion 1:03:57

11d ago1:03:57

1:03:57

Jay Vijayan, founder of Tekion, and Tesla’s former CIO, has one of the most remarkable careers in technology and automotive. Jay joined as CIO when Tesla had almost no revenue and stayed through its growth to $5 billion ARR and $35 billion market cap. Elon Musk brought him in to build Tesla’s own ERP system at a time when most companies would have …

1
What India Can Learn from Swiss Startups ft. Founder of 9 & Investor in 40 Co’s |Thomas Dübendorfer 30:31

14d ago30:31

30:31

Switzerland has quietly built one of the world’s most stable and trusted startup ecosystems. Thomas Dübendorfer, founder and president of SICTIC, Switzerland’s largest angel investing network with over 500 members and more than 400 startups joins Neon show. Thomas talks about how Switzerland’s startup scene has changed over the past decade from a c…

1
Ola, Flipkart & Swiggy use This $800 Million Software to Send Notifications | Raviteja, MoEngage 1:20:13

17d ago1:20:13

1:20:13

Ever received a push notification on your phone? There’s a good chance it came through MoEngage. Raviteja Dodda, founder of MoEngage, shares the story of building a SaaS company from India that now sends 80 billion messages to 2 billion users across 1,200 brands. A decade-long journey of MoEngage from its early years to becoming a category leader i…

1
Is India Making Most of It’s GDP Growth? with Prof. Arun Kumar 55:37

21d ago55:37

55:37

By Siddhartha Ahluwalia

1
The Story of Silicon Valley Legend & Google Founding Stakeholder with Asha Jadeja Motwani 30:56

25d ago30:56

30:56

“When I saw Google change the destiny of the planet, I could not imagine doing anything else but working with brilliant entrepreneurs.” -Asha Jadeja Motwani and her husband, Rajeev Motwani, the Silicon Valley legend of technical startups, are together the founding stakeholders of Google. In the late 1990s, they came to the United States as most Ind…

1
How to Build a Startup in 2025? With 1/5th Cost, 1/5th Team | Shikhil Sharma, Astra Security 57:33

28d ago57:33

57:33

Cybercrime is predicted to drain the world of $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, making it one of the greatest threats to modern business. Shikhil Sharma, co-founder & CEO of Astra Security, is building one of today’s most trusted pentesting platforms. Just last year, Astra uncovered over 2 million vulnerabilities across customer systems, preventing …

1
Stories from India’s heartland that tell a different story than GDP headlines | Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree 1:02:19

1M ago1:02:19

1:02:19

“Push something a millimetre in the private sector, you make an inch of progress. In the public sector, it’s a mile of progress.” Subroto Bagchi started his career as a clerk in the Odisha government in 1976, leaving postgraduate studies. Today, eight years after serving at the rank of cabinet minister in the same government, he has certainly chang…

1
How Startups Can Survive GPT7 & Win Against Model Providers | Ashu Garg,Foundation Capital | Investor Databricks,Turing,Cohesity 50:53

1M ago50:53

50:53

Ashu Garg has backed companies like Databricks, Turing, Cohesity, Jasper, and Eightfold.ai as General Partner at Foundation Capital. Over the years, he’s seen multiple waves of innovation but in his words, nothing in the last 45 years comes close to the transformation AI is bringing right now. Ashu discusses how the next wave of AI products will be…

1
If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What’s Left for B2B SaaS? | 25 Years, 4 Startups, 3 Eras of SaaS w/ Sreedhar Peddineni & Kiran Darisi 1:25:12

1M ago1:25:12

1:25:12

A full founder’s arc: starting small, building global SaaS companies from Hyderabad, taking one to IPO, another to a billion-dollar exit, and then choosing to begin again (and again). Kiran Darisi began at Zoho, founding team member of Freshworks at 25, and stayed twelve years till the company went public. Today he is building Atomicwork, reinventi…

1
8 Years Without Funding to $100M Raise & Now A Category Leader | Shivku Ganesan ,Exotel 1:01:22

2M ago1:01:22

1:01:22

A 14-year journey from bootstrap to scale. Exotel’s story is one of India’s most remarkable SaaS journeys. Shivakumar Ganesan, started Exotel in 2011, bootstrapping it from the ground up. In 2012, he raised a seed round of ₹2.5 crore, but for the next eight years, the company grew without any external funding. Then came COVID and revenue went from …

1
7 Myths About Selling B2B SaaS In India Explained By Public Listed Company Unicommerce | ft. Kapil Makhija 1:20:00

2M ago1:20:00

1:20:00

The software that powers 25% of India’s e-commerce transactions, processes a billion orders each year, and in 2025 alone fulfilled 20 million quick-commerce orders: Unicommerce sits at the core of India’s digital retail ecosystem. It is one of the few SaaS companies from India to go public, doing so after nearly a decade of steady growth without fr…

1
This is How GEOPOLITICS Really Works | Rajiv Sikri, Ex-IFS Officer on Power, Trade & War 1:09:10

2M ago1:09:10

1:09:10

The 21st century has shattered old assumptions about diplomacy. Relationships between nations are no longer guided by ideology or morality, but driven by pragmatism and national interest. This week, former diplomat Rajiv Sikri who served 36 years in the Indian Foreign Service, offers a deep dive into how global power dynamics are shifting. We discu…

1
From 70% Imports to 65% Made in India, India Now Sells Defense Tech to 85+ Countries | Ashok Atluri, Zen Technologies 54:22

2M ago54:22

54:22

Ashok Atluri founded Zen Technologies in 1993, bootstrapping from Hyderabad at a time when India was importing 70% of its defence equipment and private players contributed just 5% of procurements. It took Zen five years to win its first contract from the Indian Army in 1998. Today, the company builds simulators and anti-drone systems, and has grown…

1
From $4.5M for 49% to $700M In The Bank at IPO: Sanjeev & Yashish On 17 Years Of Policybazaar 52:35

3M ago52:35

52:35

From idea to IPO and beyond. What does it take to back a company for nearly two decades? There are no written rules to navigate one of the most important relationships in a startup. One between a founder and an investor. This episode is an inside look at how one of India’s longest founder-investor relationships was built and tested, between Yashish…

1
Sanjeev Sanyal on Why India has No Big 4, Regulating AI & Ending Population Control 1:00:27

3M ago1:00:27

1:00:27

The global strategy consulting market stands at $39.5 billion, with Asia commanding $9.1 billion. India contributes just $1.09 billion. This is despite having the talent; Indians run global back-offices for McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, and other consultancies. Yet, India continues to outsource strategy to the Big 4. Sanjeev Sanyal, PM Modi’s Econ…

1
Growth, Migration and FDI: The Real Kerala Story with Minister P. Rajeev 53:29

3M ago53:29

53:29

This episode is not just about Kerala; it is about how a state with limited land, strict environmental regulations, and a long history of outmigration is approaching investment and growth. Kerala is a small, densely populated state with limited land to spare, not the typical site for industrial expansion. Yet it’s taking a distinct approach to buil…

1
What Startups Can Learn from a $1.7B Co. Chief Information Officer | Karthik Chakkarapani, Zuora 1:04:49

4M ago1:04:49

1:04:49

AI is changing how companies build and scale. But most pitch decks haven’t caught up. Karthik Chakkarapani, CIO of Zuora, has heard plenty of startup pitches but only a few stand out. He shares why most pitches fall flat, how to fix them, and how to present both the founder and the company in a way that drives real interest. We unpack what should g…

1
How To Build A Successful Startup In India ft Paras Chopra (Sold Wingify For $200 Million) 1:09:14

4M ago1:09:14

1:09:14

Three failed startups. One of India’s biggest B2B exits. Then returning 75% of investor money in the next venture. An entrepreneur who’s lived that arc is bound to have insights for anyone building or thinking of building. Paras Chopra, founder of Wingify (sold for $200 million), Nintee, and now Lossfunk, joins us this week. We discuss the small de…

1
How NVIDIA, Meta & Dropbox Taught Me to Build Great Products | Vasanth, Founder-Featurely 1:10:07

4M ago1:10:07

1:10:07

50% of products and features built are never used. To build the right product, every founder must answer two questions: Are you solving a real problem? And are you solving it the right way? Technology has rarely been democratic, it’s often elitist. So at times, it ends up solving made-up problems that don’t really exist. Yet, some companies have bu…

1
WHAT will Decide the Next Superpower? | Raja Manickam | iVP Semiconductor 1:26:29

4M ago1:26:29

1:26:29

Geopolitics is now measured in Nanometers. Anything with a battery or a plug has a semiconductor inside. But these chips aren’t just tech anymore, they’re shaping who becomes the next Superpower. In the 1980s, India was just two years behind the world in semiconductors. Today, we’re 12 generations behind. What went wrong? India’s top semiconductor …

1
15 Years Of Investing Lessons In 75 Minutes With Prime Ventures and Stellaris Partners | Neon Show 1:16:22

5M ago1:16:22

1:16:22

There are No Checklists or Frameworks on HOW TO BE A VC? So how do you even know if it’s the right path for you? Unlike most jobs, venture capital comes with an extremely long feedback loop. It can take years before you know whether the bets you made actually worked out. That’s why most seasoned VCs say: only choose this path if you're in it for th…

1
Why Traditional Playbooks Are Failing & What Really Works In SAAS? | WizCommerce, Pienomial & Merlin 1:24:21

5M ago1:24:21

1:24:21

Vertical SaaS customers don’t buy software for 10 months, they buy it for 10 years. That’s the opportunity and the challenge. Switching costs are high, which makes it hard to get in but once you’re in, you’re in. But regular SaaS playbooks don't work here. Forget PLG. Forget design partners. These industries have been burned too many times by bad s…

Siddhartha Ahluwalia Podcasts

1
The Neon Show

Siddhartha Ahluwalia

751
100x Entrepreneur - Habits & Mindset of Most successful Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs

100x Entrepreneur

1
How a 20-Year CEO Thinks, Prepares & Leaves a Legacy | Shiv Shivakumar, Ex-CEO Nokia & PepsiCo 1:17:19

1
How Viral Bajaria Turned a Last-Minute YC Application Into a $5B B2B AI Giant | 6sense 1:09:28

1
$350M by Building Apps for iphones when IOS was like AI | Ashish Toshniwal, Calcutta -> Silicon Valley 1:04:13

1
Tesla’s Former CIO’s $4 Billion Startup That Car Giants Can’t Stop Investing In | Jay Vijayan, Tekion 1:03:57

1
What India Can Learn from Swiss Startups ft. Founder of 9 & Investor in 40 Co’s |Thomas Dübendorfer 30:31

1
Ola, Flipkart & Swiggy use This $800 Million Software to Send Notifications | Raviteja, MoEngage 1:20:13

1
Is India Making Most of It’s GDP Growth? with Prof. Arun Kumar 55:37

1
The Story of Silicon Valley Legend & Google Founding Stakeholder with Asha Jadeja Motwani 30:56

1
How to Build a Startup in 2025? With 1/5th Cost, 1/5th Team | Shikhil Sharma, Astra Security 57:33

1
Stories from India’s heartland that tell a different story than GDP headlines | Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree 1:02:19

1
How Startups Can Survive GPT7 & Win Against Model Providers | Ashu Garg,Foundation Capital | Investor Databricks,Turing,Cohesity 50:53

1
If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What’s Left for B2B SaaS? | 25 Years, 4 Startups, 3 Eras of SaaS w/ Sreedhar Peddineni & Kiran Darisi 1:25:12

1
8 Years Without Funding to $100M Raise & Now A Category Leader | Shivku Ganesan ,Exotel 1:01:22

1
7 Myths About Selling B2B SaaS In India Explained By Public Listed Company Unicommerce | ft. Kapil Makhija 1:20:00

1
This is How GEOPOLITICS Really Works | Rajiv Sikri, Ex-IFS Officer on Power, Trade & War 1:09:10

1
From 70% Imports to 65% Made in India, India Now Sells Defense Tech to 85+ Countries | Ashok Atluri, Zen Technologies 54:22

1
From $4.5M for 49% to $700M In The Bank at IPO: Sanjeev & Yashish On 17 Years Of Policybazaar 52:35

1
Sanjeev Sanyal on Why India has No Big 4, Regulating AI & Ending Population Control 1:00:27

1
Growth, Migration and FDI: The Real Kerala Story with Minister P. Rajeev 53:29

1
What Startups Can Learn from a $1.7B Co. Chief Information Officer | Karthik Chakkarapani, Zuora 1:04:49

1
How To Build A Successful Startup In India ft Paras Chopra (Sold Wingify For $200 Million) 1:09:14

1
How NVIDIA, Meta & Dropbox Taught Me to Build Great Products | Vasanth, Founder-Featurely 1:10:07

1
WHAT will Decide the Next Superpower? | Raja Manickam | iVP Semiconductor 1:26:29

1
15 Years Of Investing Lessons In 75 Minutes With Prime Ventures and Stellaris Partners | Neon Show 1:16:22

1
Why Traditional Playbooks Are Failing & What Really Works In SAAS? | WizCommerce, Pienomial & Merlin 1:24:21