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First Principles

The Ken
Entrepreneurship
E-Commerce
India
Meesho
Fintech
Venture Capital
Ixigo
Seafood Industry
Women Founders
Darwinbox
Flipkart
Captain Fresh
Customer Insights
Zero Commission Model
Leadership
Electric Motorcycles
Battery Technology
Trilegal
ICICI
Jpmorgan

First Principles is a weekly interview podcast comprising authentic, candid, and insightful conversations between some of India’s most accomplished founders and business leaders, and Rohin Dharmakumar, The Ken’s CEO & co-founder. From personal philosophies, mental models and decision making frameworks, to reading habits, parenting styles or personal interests, each episode will delve into what mak... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes117Founded4 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EntrepreneurshipBusinessManagement

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Artwork for First Principles

Latest Episodes

Part 2 picks up exactly where I left Bisu — on why a 7-year-old audio platform is releasing a theatrical film on May 8. From there, we go everywhere. Bisu's actual journey from a small village in Shekhawati to Bandra. The "full equation" view of metr... more

YouTube

Lal Chand Bisu started Kuku in audio in 2018. Almost everyone in the press wrote them off — the louder competitor was getting the headlines, the VCs didn't believe vernacular India would pay, and the assumption was that short-video would flatten audi... more

YouTube

Welcome back to First Principles. This is Part 2 of our full conversation with Ankit Nagori, founder and CEO of Curefoods. If you have not listened to Part 1, go back and start there.

In this half, the conversation slows down a little and gets even ... more

YouTube

Welcome to First Principles. This is Part 1 of our full conversation with Ankit Nagori, founder and CEO of Curefoods.

Ankit joined Flipkart as the 22nd employee after cold emailing its founders at a book fair with almost no relevant experience and w... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Lal Chand Bisu
Co-founder and CEO of Kuku FM
Kuku FM
Episode: Part 2: Kuku’s Lal Chand Bisu on the Bathoth-to-Bandra arc, learning from iterations not books, and why nos beat yeses
Ankit Nagori
Founder and CEO of Curefoods
Curefoods
Episode: Part 1: Curefoods' Ankit Nagori on cold emailing his way into Flipkart, designing for talent density, and surviving a pandemic on 2 crores a month
Uttham Gowda
Founder of Captain Fresh
Captain Fresh
Episode: Part 2: Captain Fresh's Utham Gowda on seafood as the world's last unorganised trillion-dollar industry, why undervaluation is a founder's superpower and his “reverse career path”
Kalpana Morparia
Former CEO of JPMorgan India and a significant figure in Indian finance.
ICICI, JPMorgan
Episode: Part 1: Kalpana Morparia on the culture of dissent, the 90-day NYSE race, and why ambition requires self-redundancy
Rohit Chennamaneni
Co-founder of Darwinbox
Darwinbox
Episode: Part 1: Darwinbox’s Rohit Chennamaneni on leading without a CEO, the ‘show don’t tell’ product mindset, and why resilience beats intelligence
Aloke Bajpai
CEO and Co-Founder of Ixigo, a prominent travel tech company in India.
Ixigo
Episode: Part 1: Ixigo's Aloke Bajpai on using empathy, customer experience, and resilience to both survive and thrive
Deepak Abbot
Co-founder of Indiagold
Indiagold
Episode: Part 2: Indiagold's Deepak Abbot on turning a nation's 'dead asset' into credit scores and working capital
Rahul Matthan
Co-founder of Trilegal
Trilegal
Episode: Part 1: Trilegal's Rahul Matthan on the firm, the partnership, and the principles
Anand Jain
Co-founder of CleverTap, an expert in customer engagement technology
CleverTap
Episode: Part 2: Anand Jain of Clevertap on starting with nothing and learning, building and leading as you go along

Host

Rohin Dharmakumar
Host of First Principles

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 1.2k ratings
  • LEART FROM KEN & BUILT A START-UP !!!

    "I'm incredibly grateful to the Ken Team, especially Rohan. With over 35 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences management consulting, I've struggled to find podcasts or masterclasses that truly delve into first principles. Rohan is exceptional; his intriguing questions consistently yield unique insights, setting him apart from other podcasters.

    I've listened to his podcasts, particularly those with Manav Garg of Eka and Ananth Narayan of Mensa, over 20 times. The insights gained w... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Deepak H Gowda
    India10 months ago
  • It’s magical

    Really love the concept and the way shows drives…..running out of words to describe express ……great job team

    It will be great if we have one prod cost about THE KEN journey

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Charan theja
    Indiaa year ago
  • A class act !

    Have been listening to the podcast since its inception. Have loved each of the episodes - the curiosity that Rohin brings forth and the tonality of the conversations are just amazing. Each episode is packed with learnings and are entertaining at the same time. Congrats and thanks Rohin and team for curating such a lovely series ! Made my last 2 years a tad more meaningful and my runs (when I listened mostly) so much engaging.

    Look forward to the next act !

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sri Sundaram
    Germany2 years ago
  • The Best Ever Podcast!

    Rohin is simply the Hero of First principles! The way he host the show , the questions, the analogies, just awesome! His presence of mind & Clarity of thoughts are just unmatched . He brings one of the talented people of India which the makes the show even more interesting, insightful and inspiring!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Meet82
    India2 years ago
  • Need timestamps!!

    Timestamps make it easy to jump to interesting parts of the podcast

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    iShark47
    India2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Some feedback calls for longer, full-length episodes and more variation in questions.
Listeners praise the host for probing questions and deep founder-centric insights.
Episodes are seen as highly actionable and inspiring for entrepreneurs.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Part 2: Kuku’s Lal Chand Bisu on the Bathoth-to-Bandra arc, learning from iterations not books, and why nos beat yeses
Q: What is the management style you think your colleagues would describe?
Ownership is paramount; each person owns their ideas and decisions, with minimal meetings to preserve focus and accountability.
Part 2: Kuku’s Lal Chand Bisu on the Bathoth-to-Bandra arc, learning from iterations not books, and why nos beat yeses
Q: How did you transition from hands-on founder to a leader who delegates to senior teams?
I gradually stepped back, accepting fear at first, and focused on building trust with senior leaders; over time it became the best way to scale while maintaining control through trusted execution.
Part 2: Kuku’s Lal Chand Bisu on the Bathoth-to-Bandra arc, learning from iterations not books, and why nos beat yeses
Q: What is your single biggest value you bring as CEO of Kuku FM?
Being an intense user of the product myself, I spot user needs and translate them into product and marketing insight, while empowering a core leadership team to execute.
Part 1: Kuku's Lal Chand Bisu on killing three products, ditching the free tier and charging Bharat ₹399 a year
Q: What were the most important leadership lessons as you shifted from founder‑driven creation to a growth organization?
Delegating to a strong core team, maintaining ownership, and instituting a culture of iteration and disciplined saying no were crucial; keeping the founder's focus on vision while empowering leaders to execute stabilized growth and preserved the company's direction.
Part 1: Kuku's Lal Chand Bisu on killing three products, ditching the free tier and charging Bharat ₹399 a year
Q: How did you approach pricing evolution as you expanded to Kuku TV and Guru?
Pricing is anchored to perceived value and local market realities; we experimented across monthly, quarterly, and yearly plans, aligning default options with what telcos charge to reduce friction, and adjusted as content libraries and user engagement evolved.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
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Frequently Asked Questions About First Principles

What is First Principles about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show features in-depth conversations with India's leading founders and business leaders, focusing on mental models, decision-making frameworks, and personal philosophies that drive entrepreneurship. Episodes regularly explore building scalable businesses, product and customer-experience mindsets, leadership styles, and lessons learned from navigating markets, funding, and growth. Listeners can expect candid stories about resilience, strategic pivots, and the human side of leadership, from tech and fintech to travel and manufacturing. A notable strength is the host's ability to probe founder thinking—often uncovering pragmatic takeaways that listeners can apply to their own ventures or careers. The format consistently centers on practic... more

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Which podcasts are similar to First Principles?

These podcasts share a similar audience with First Principles:

1. Daybreak
2. The Morning Brief
3. Finshots Daily
4. The Daily Brief
5. Moneycontrol Podcast

How many episodes of First Principles are there?

First Principles launched 4 years ago and published 117 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on First Principles?

Recent guests on First Principles include:

1. Lal Chand Bisu
2. Ankit Nagori
3. Uttham Gowda
4. Kalpana Morparia
5. Rohit Chennamaneni
6. Aloke Bajpai
7. Deepak Abbot
8. Rahul Matthan

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