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4. Dinner with Siddharth Mittal (16 June, 2o25)
At our dinner with Siddharth Mittal, CEO & MD of Biocon Ltd., we traced his unlikely journey — from aspiring chef to CA rank-holder, to CEO of one of India’s largest biotech companies. Siddharth shared how early career choices rooted in trust over pay, a U.S. stint that built operational discipline, and a deliberate return to India shaped his leadership path. His playbook blends clarity, directness, and strategic delegation — reserving his time for big calls like pricing, M&A, and long-horizon bets. At Biocon, he’s championed the Future Leaders Program to build horizontal thinkers, prioritizing mindset over pedigree and execution agility over technical perfection.
On biotech, Siddharth argued India’s challenge isn’t talent but patient capital, policy alignment, and ecosystem collaboration — drawing comparisons to China’s coordinated biotech rise. He urged Indian companies to move beyond being the world’s generic supplier toward affordable, differentiated innovation. His career advice was simple yet sharp: prioritize direction over speed, take only a few big bets a decade, and say no often. Siddharth also spoke candidly about managing Gen Z — valuing their purpose-driven mindset while challenging their expectations — and reflected on India’s need for original models in manufacturing, biotech, and deep tech. Cooking remains his creative refuge, and his definition of wealth has shifted from numbers to knowing one’s “enough.”
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
1. Dinner with Dipanjan Basu (20 May, 2025)
At our networking dinner with Dipanjan Basu, Co-Founder at Fireside Ventures, we explored how India’s startup DNA has evolved from the grit and scarcity mindset of the IT services boom to the bold, fast-scaling culture of today’s D2C and deep-tech founders. Dipanjan shared lessons from his time at Wipro and Flipkart/Myntra, insights into the “Flipkart Mafia” phenomenon, and Fireside Ventures’ playbook for spotting and backing winning founders. From the traits investors love to the red flags that kill deals, to why most brands should win India before going global — it was a masterclass in building for scale.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
2. Dinner with Ankit Nagori (28 May, 2o25)
At our dinner with Ankit Nagori, Founder of Curefoods, we dug into the reality behind cloud kitchens, why repeatability beats chasing viral food trends, and how Curefoods runs like the Unilever of cooked meals with multi-brand, multi-price-point layering. Ankit shared how centralized data operations drive every pricing and menu decision, why Tier 2/3 cities require a different playbook, and the benefits and limits of Swiggy/Zomato at scale. We also discussed Curefoods’ strict gross margin discipline, its fashion-style pricing ladder, and Ankit’s personal performance stack — from daily meditation to embedding AI into every leadership role.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
5. Dinner with Ishendra Agarwal (25 June, 2o25)
At our recent session with Ishendra Agarwal, Founder & CEO of GIVA, we unpacked how a Marwari upbringing, IIT Kanpur experiments, and stints at BCG & PE shaped his conviction-led, subtraction-first decision-making style. Ishendra spotted a white space in India’s ₹2K–₹5K self-purchase jewellery segment — real silver, design-forward, daily-wear pieces for women buying for themselves, not just on occasions. He shared how GIVA cracked online scepticism with adjustable sizing, hallmarking, easy returns, and rich cataloging, before going big on offline retail (now 250+ stores, half of revenue) to win Tier 2/3 trust and impulse buying. We explored his AI-driven “interns” that track trends, celebrity styles, and SKU performance to keep designs fresh with <2% unsold inventory, and his celebrity marketing playbook — from Neha Kakkar’s relatability to Anushka Sharma’s premium pull, often via cash + equity deals. Ishendra’s core founder truths? Cut bad ideas faster than you chase new ones, scale by listening closely to customers, and protect brand soul while being “boringly good” at execution.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
6. Dinner with Ramesh Bafna (10 July, 2o25)
At our dinner with Ramesh Bafna, CFO of Zepto, we explored how disciplined finance, relentless feedback loops, and data-led execution powered Zepto’s leap from ~$1B to ~$4B topline in just a year — making it India’s fastest-growing commerce company. Ramesh unpacked the grocery moat (frequent repeats, low CAC) and Zepto’s dark store science — running 10K+ virtual simulations per site, narrowing location choice to a 100m radius, and expanding from ~50 to ~1,000 stores in six months. He shared how finance at Zepto runs in real time — store-level gross margins on tap, AI-monitored shrinkage, dynamic pricing to cut waste — and why operational leakages are fixed before cutting discounts. We heard the behind-the-scenes of raising $225M in a funding winter (his “most precious” round), the café-inside-dark-store idea delivering 60–70% gross margins, and his mantra that “consistency beats novelty” in execution. From early Flipkart crisis days to Zepto’s category bets (electronics, performance apparel), Ramesh’s core lesson was clear: align every nut and bolt of the org in one direction, stay paranoid, and reinvent before the cycle turns.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
7. Dinner with Nruthya Madappa (26 August, 2o25)
At our dinner with Nruthya Madappa, Partner at 3one4 Capital, we dug into how conviction-led bets and disciplined fund math shape India’s venture landscape.
Behind the firm’s model is a highly institutional LP base. With a $230M fund, even a 10% stake needs a $2.3B exit to return capital, which is why most businesses shouldn’t raise VC. Exits remain India’s biggest challenge, so 3one4 manufactures them via secondaries, buybacks, and structured M&A.
Her sharpest insight: “consumer in India is supply chain.” Moats are built in cold chains, logistics, and back-end ops — not ads. That’s why Licious built an entirely new fresh-meat supply chain, and why Kuku FM’s founders personally handled 1,000 user calls in a weekend before launch.
Looking forward, she flagged manufacturing (chemicals, apparel, biomanufacturing), the global transformer shortage (with 2–3 year waitlists), and digital rails like India Stack as defining opportunities.
Her advice to founders was direct: educate your investors, build resilience for shocks, and only take VC if you’re building a fund-returner.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
8. Dinner with Miten Sampat (10 September, 2o25)
At our dinner with Miten Sampat, Chief Strategy Officer at CRED, we explored how India’s fintech story is really about trust, scale, and daily relevance.
India’s credit ecosystem is paradoxical: despite the economy expanding 8x in the last 25 years and digital rails like Aadhaar and UPI reaching hundreds of millions of users, median credit card interest rates have risen from ~24% in the 1990s to ~45% today. Yet only 3–4% of Indians even hold a credit card — representing the country’s most affluent, least risky cohort.
Miten’s sharpest insight: in fintech, engagement always comes 4–5 years before monetization. Frequency — the “toothbrush test” — is the moat that ensures consumer stickiness and prevents displacement. This principle underpins why he believes India will produce 4–5 fintech companies worth $50B+ within the next 3–5 years.
The conversation also spanned AI as a founder productivity tool (using ChatGPT to prep 30-second attendee briefs), book picks (Same as Ever, What I Learned About Investing from Darwin), and hard truths for entrepreneurs: not every business should raise VC, how post-exit depression often hits 12–18 months later, and leaders must evolve into “ICU doctors,” firefighting across teams.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
9. Dinner with Shivam Agarwal (15 September, 2o25)
At our dinner with Shivam Agarwal, VP of Strategic Growth at Sattva, we explored how Sattva’s journey is one of grit, discipline, and bold bets that reshaped Indian real estate. From Shivam Agarwal’s father starting with little means and building Bangalore’s first offices in the 1990s, to pioneering large-scale projects like GR Tech Park and Knowledge City in Hyderabad, the group has grown into a multi-vertical platform spanning commercial, residential, education, co-living, flex offices, and even e-commerce. Anchored by a unique dual-balance-sheet philosophy and partnerships with global players like Blackstone, Sattva launched India’s largest REIT — unlocking liquidity, scale, and investor access. Today, with a focus on six key cities, the company blends sustainability, innovation, and disciplined growth, while Shivam (age 28) brings a modern edge through fitness, content creation, and cultural shifts at Sattva. With iconic projects like Ritz-Carlton residences, a thriving investment arm, and ambitions for wellness resorts and architectural landmarks, Sattva continues to set the bar for trust-driven, future-ready real estate in India.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
10. Dinner with Vikas Lachhwani (22 September, 2o25)
At our dinner with Vikas Lachhwani, Co-founder of mCaffeine and Hyphen, we explored how India’s consumer brand journey is one of values, discipline, and repeatable processes that challenge industry norms. From mCaffeine’s bold early stance against colorism to building India’s largest caffeine-based skincare brand, the company showed how conviction-driven storytelling can catalyze community and scale.
Guided by a de-glamorized view of entrepreneurship, Vikas emphasizes that durable businesses are not built on “aha” moments but on three synchronized engines: product, marketing, and distribution.
With Gen Z consumers raising the bar through digital savviness and sharp product awareness, Indian skincare has reached global parity. Hyphen, built in partnership with Kriti Sanon, reflects this shift: with Kriti testing formulations and shaping brand direction. Looking ahead, Vikas predicts that the line between online and offline retail will dissolve in the next decade, with discovery and purchase flowing seamlessly across channels.
mCaffeine and Hyphen embody the rise of trust-driven, future-ready consumer brands from India.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com
11. Dinner with Anjali Sosale (8 October, 2o25)
At our dinner with Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, we explored how India’s next wave of consumer and AI innovation is being shaped not by hype, but by utility, trust, and sharp execution.
Anjali, who leads investments across consumer tech, marketplaces, and enablers of India’s digital demand, emphasized that the future of consumer AI will hinge on high-trust, high-friction use cases — moments where generic tools fail and deep context wins.
Drawing on WaterBridge’s experience backing 30+ companies from Flipkart to Ninjacart, she noted how founder quality and velocity now matter more than early ARR or vanity metrics. Non-technical founders, once at a disadvantage, are now building faster through AI-enabled prototyping — evidence of what she calls the “great reset” in startup building.
Her investing lens reflects a pragmatic optimism: adoption, not innovation, is the true bottleneck. From consumer price sensitivity and the enduring “jugaad” mindset to the new 3:100 model (10 people, 3 years, $100M run rate), Anjali sees India’s founders operating in a moment where niche is the new scale and executional discipline is the ultimate moat.
It was an evening of candid stories, sharp frameworks, and a peek into how the next decade of consumer and AI ventures in India might unfold.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com
3. Dinner with Vishal Bali (6 June, 2o25)
At our dinner with Vishal Bali, Executive Chairman at Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH) (and Senior Advisor at TPG Growth) we explored bold, practical fixes for Indian healthcare — from boosting R&D and women’s health access to tackling the talent gap in nurses and specialists. Vishal made a compelling case for why single-specialty hospitals outscale multi-specialty models in India, sharing AHH’s disciplined playbook: strict CAPEX caps, rent limits, high-ARPP services, rapid payback, and centralized operations. We discussed how technology can transform care delivery — from NICU command centers to patient-first digital experiences — and why India’s real bottleneck is people, not beds. Vishal also shared his work with the Neonates Foundation of India, which saves thousands of newborns each year through funded NICU care in underserved regions.
If you’d like access to the full set of insights, reach out to us at ontonightsmenuindia@gmail.com.
