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Rhea Poddar Loyalka, founder of Deshya, is part of a new generation of women entrepreneurs redefining India’s luxury jewellery space by blending heritage craftsmanship with contemporary design. Drawing from her family’s gemstone carving legacy and her global education in gemology, she created Deshya to transform intricate gemstone artistry
In the ongoing push to include AI agents into office software, Microsoft has unveiled Copilot Cowork. It is an AI tool that can independently complete activities within the Microsoft 365 environment. Users will be able to deploy AI agents that can handle multi-step tasks like evaluating Outlook calendars, creating meeting
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Dr. Premila Naidu has been at the forefront of transforming paediatric dental care in India by creating child-friendly, sensory-sensitive clinical environments. As the founder of Small Bites and Dr. ToothLittle, she pioneered one of India’s first specialised chains of paediatric dental clinics designed specifically for children’s needs. In
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As India’s retail landscape evolves, women are not only the primary consumers but also powerful cultural and economic influencers shaping purchasing decisions across households. Yet leadership representation in retail strategy and brand-building remains limited. In this conversation with StartupTalky, Subarna Mukherjee, Founder of Shop Culture, discusses how women-led strategy
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Vygr News is building a new kind of creator ecosystem, one that empowers women from Tier II–IV towns to produce credible, hyperlocal informational content. By combining training, editorial support, and stable income opportunities, the platform is helping regional women become trusted voices in their communities. In this conversation with
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Building a communications agency from the ground up requires more than industry experience, it demands resilience, clarity of vision, and the courage to start from scratch. Shruti Mishra, Founder of Image Stereo, brings over a decade of newsroom experience from Aaj Tak into the world of perception management and strategic
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In the fast-growing world of digital transformation, many startups are built by founders who identify everyday problems and turn them into practical technology solutions. Ashwini Devi S, Founder of SwagatRCS Tech Solutions, is one such entrepreneur who transitioned from academia and homemaking to building a SaaS-driven business. In this interview
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Performance marketing today requires a balance of creativity, strategy, and data-driven decision-making. Vidya Varadarajan, Director – Digital at Jacob Creative, brings this blend through her journey from copywriting to managing high-impact digital campaigns and Google Ads strategies. In this interview with StartupTalky, she shares how storytelling shaped her marketing mindset, her
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Mumbai’s café culture has grown rapidly in recent years, but creating a space that truly blends community, design, and distinctive flavors remains a challenge. Mokai India was born from founder Kareena Bulchandani’s experiences across Asia and her desire to recreate the calm, thoughtful café culture she discovered in
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This International Women’s Day, we feature Meghna Agarwal, co-founder of IndiQube, who has made her mark in India’s male-dominated real estate sector. Since starting IndiQube in 2015, Meghna has focused on building workspaces that combine design, technology, and employee experience. From founding the company to taking it through
Netflix has launched a biographical drama series, Hello Bachhon, on 6 March 2026, inspired by the real-life journey of Alakh Pandey, founder of India’s fast-growing edtech platform PhysicsWallah. The series premiered globally on Netflix and has already drawn attention from viewers, particularly in the business and education sectors. The
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Asish Mohapatra has emerged as one of the most influential founders in India’s B2B commerce and fintech ecosystem. As the Co-Founder and CEO of OfBusiness and Co-Founder of Oxyzo, Mohapatra has helped build a powerful platform that combines raw material sourcing, supply chain solutions and embedded financing for SMEs.
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On the occasion of International Women's Day, we spoke with Tanya Eldred Bhat, the founder of XO Curls, about building a brand dedicated to celebrating natural curls in India. In this interview with StartupTalky, Bhat shares the inspiration behind starting XO Curls, the journey of creating products for
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One boy once monetized a pen-fight game in a classroom in Rajasthan. He charged entry fees, tracked winners, and organized mini tournaments. What looked like childhood mischief was actually early market research. Decades later, the same intuition would be used to build a digital empire. It was an IIT Kanpur
Aman Gupta, co-founder of consumer electronics brand boAt, has announced the launch of a new venture called OffBeat Studios, marking his first entrepreneurial move after stepping away from day-to-day operations at the IPO-bound company. The announcement signals a fresh chapter for one of India’s most recognisable startup founders as
Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Honasa Consumer, the parent company behind Mamaearth, TheDermaCo and Dr. Sheth’s, has sparked an important conversation around artificial intelligence and gender bias after sharing a strongly worded post on LinkedIn. The entrepreneur and Shark Tank India investor highlighted how AI systems may be absorbing and
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When we speak of Shark Tank India judges, we can easily visualize experienced venture capitalists or renowned startup founders with several decades of industry experience. But Pratham Mittal brings a fresh and deeply meaningful perspective, that of an educator-entrepreneur who believes that entrepreneurship begins with learning by doing, not waiting
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When we think of startup judges on Shark Tank India, we often expect investors from tech, consumer brands, or SaaS founders. But Hardik Kothiya brings a unique and powerful perspective that of a renewable energy pioneer who has helped build one of India’s fastest-growing solar manufacturing companies from the
To formally expand its on-the-ground support for companies building production-grade AI systems, OpenAI has appointed Arjun Gupta, founder of an Indian firm, as its first solutions architect in the nation. Formerly of AuraML, where he was both co-founder and chief technologist, Gupta is now a part of the Go-To-Market (GTM)
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When India was still learning to trust online marketplaces, Vinay Sanghi was already building one for cars. From meeting 30 dealers a day to leading a listed auto-tech giant, Sanghi’s journey shows how patience and discipline can quietly build industry leaders. Of great note, he is now the Chairman
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When we think about the startup world, we immediately jump to eCommerce, technology, and fintech. But Kanika, a young woman from Bhopal, jumped into a space that is meant for billionaires, giant corporations, or government organisations, the aviation industry. She proved that with innovation and courage, you can redefine the
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In this insightful conversation, Sandeep Singh, Founder of Rubystone Hospitality, outlines how the company is building an experience-led and asset-light hotel management model in India. He explains how Rubystone focuses on end-to-end operations, asset optimisation and strong brand positioning across destinations such as Udaipur, Rishikesh, Lansdowne and Vrindavan. Singh also
In order to be considered for leadership positions, senior staff at Accenture are required to use the firm's artificial intelligence products on a regular basis. It was communicated to senior managers and associate directors that "regular adoption" of AI tools is now necessary to advance to
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I’ve observed a clear shift in how people search for information. Instead of relying solely on Google, users are increasingly turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Perplexity, where answers are delivered directly rather than through traditional search results. As a result, brand visibility today