Juggernaut Books

Very happy to see “What the West should learn from India” moving upward on India’s top ten book chart (non-fiction): This week already on position 9! Book maybe today even more relevant amidst current reshaping in international relations…

Here are five essential books that every green startup founder should consider reading in 2025 to understand sustainability, business strategy, and environmental innovation: 1. "The Blue Economy: 10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs" by Gunter Pauli This book introduces the concept of the "Blue Economy," which focuses on utilizing sustainable innovation to solve environmental challenges. Pauli offers real-world examples of how entrepreneurs can create profitable businesses that are both sustainable and scalable. The book is timeless wisdom and is ever more relevant today. 2. "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" by William McDonough & Michael Braungart A revolutionary approach to design and business, "Cradle to Cradle" challenges the traditional "take-make-dispose" model and promotes circular design principles. This book offers valuable insights for green startups seeking to reduce waste and environmental harm while creating products that can be continually reused. 3. "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries While not specifically about green startups, this book provides invaluable insight into how to create a sustainable, innovative business from the ground up. It teaches how to test ideas, develop products, and scale efficiently, all of which are critical when pursuing an environmentally responsible business. 4. "India’s Green Startups : Entrepreneurs that are Driving Growth" by Jayant Sinha and Sandiip Bhammer beautifully illustrate India’s green business story through fourteen leaders in the field. Though the stories are about the path that "India’s green startups are paving for themselves", the learnings can be easily applied universally by startup founders all over the world. In this book, the founders of some of the most successful green tech startups share their vision for a more sustainable future. 5. "The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability" by Paul Hawken This book is a call to action for business leaders to embrace environmental sustainability in the way they operate. Hawken emphasizes that businesses must shift from exploiting nature to benefiting it, providing a philosophical and practical framework for founders committed to sustainable practices. These books offer a mix of theoretical knowledge, practical business strategies, and inspiration for integrating sustainability into your startup journey. #greenstartups #books

This was a book that I may or may not have picked up on my own - it was a gift. While I realise the paucity of written business history in India, I am also a little wary of 'management lessons' type books. But I am glad I read this one. In common with most business stories, whether it is Amazon, Apple, Airbnb, Nike or Tesla, sitting today we think it was a straight line to success whereas always there are lots of ups and downs along the way, which get tidied out of the story. While this has not been really highlighted separately by the author, but to me the big thing in the story was the number of mis-steps that Tanishq took in the initial years. It is just that they had very benign venture capitalists in the form of Tata Sons who postponed the closure of the jewellery business more than once, giving the team the chance to make it over. Many things from the switch to 22 carat jewellery to really jumping both feet into the wedding jewellery market there were so many (what are now called) pivots along the way - some coming far later than they should have! Added to it were some regulatory disruptions, as the company deals with gold. There are some interesting takeaways which, in keeping with the Tata philosophy, are about taking care of employees, franchises, vendors etc (as I have family who have been long time Tata employees, this is really the way they work) One thing which struck in my head was about the earlier CEO, Bhaskar Bhat focusing on people's strengths rather than weaknesses. Mr Venkataraman mentions that every time the managers would say something like so and so does not meet committed timelines, he would say but he comes up with the most innovative ideas. And so on...gently he trained people into thinking about what a colleague's strengths were, rather than what they were missing! Also he talks about discussing targets with his senior people and leaving them to do the job while he went around the country meeting the store staff and the customers one on one. Getting unfiltered feedback, rather than relying only on aggregate data. Of course given that Tanishq stores run only into the hundreds, not the thousands, this was doable. Overall comes up with some interesting insights, besides recording the history of what has become a major consumer brand. Recommended C K Venkataraman Juggernaut Books PS: The bookmark is my own work - trying out some watercolor techniques 😊

“How to Be a Writer” by Mehak Goyal . . . This poem is from Mehak Goyal’s “Failure to Make Round Rotis”

How living in Bangalore helps Ramachandra Guha write!

🥰💁♀️🤝

Zomato is now Eternal and we cannot keep calm😱 . . . All information can be attributed to “Culture at Zomato” by Deepinder Goyal with Ashish Goel and Naina Sahni

I recently had the pleasure of receiving India's Green Startups, the latest book on India's climate-tech ecosystem, authored by Sandiip Bhammer and Jayant Sinha. As an investor in this space, this book deeply resonated with me. It sheds light on some of the first movers in India’s green economy—visionary founders who are building scalable solutions to tackle climate challenges while creating significant economic impact. Beyond showcasing these pathbreaking innovators, the book also provides a glimpse into what investors can expect when backing such transformative businesses. The road to sustainability isn’t always easy, but it is undoubtedly one of the most crucial and rewarding journeys we can undertake today. Thrilled to see ElectricPe and Newtrace representing our portfolio, alongside pioneers like BluSmart, Revfin, EMotorad, Log9 Materials, and Battery Smart, whom I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and interacting with over the years. I hope this book inspires more investors to support climate-tech ventures—because what we need the most are - innovation, capital and conviction! #ClimateTech #GreenStartups #Sustainability #VentureCapital #ImpactInvesting #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #India

Here’s all you need to know about money this budget week! . . . All information can be attributed to “Piggy Bank to Portfolio” by Binal Gandhi and Soneera Sanghvi