ITV

Tag: weekend special

  • Weekend Unwind with: Supertails co-founder Varun Sadana

    Weekend Unwind with: Supertails co-founder Varun Sadana

    Mumbai: Saturday’s here, bringing with it the time to unwind yet again with our special series, “Weekend Unwind.” Here we take a peek into the minds of corporate heads through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better. In this week’s edition, we have Supertails co-founder Varun Sadana. Supertails is a one-of-its-kind platform that supports the ever-increasing pet parent community with veterinary care and a one-stop solution for pet food and supplies.

    An MBA from IIM Lucknow, Varun comes with rich experience of building and leading teams across strategy, procurement, production, and sales. His previous stint was as the co-founder and COO of the fresh meat brand, Licious. Armed with a decade-long stint in the FMCG and retail spaces, having worked with brands such as Hindustan Unilever, Snapdeal, and IBM, to name a few, Varun aims to reimagine pet care in India with Supertails. Along with the team, he aims to bridge the accessibility gap in pet healthcare and create an ecosystem of products and services that make pet parenting smooth and enriching.

    So, without further ado here goes…

        A book you are currently reading/plan to read

    “Thinking Fast And Slow by Daniel Kanheman”, reading it for the second time.

        Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

    45 minutes workout, seven days a week with no cheat day.

        Your comfort food

    Eggs – sunny side up (add mashed potatoes for extra gluttony).

        When the chips are down a quote/philosophy that keeps you going

    Bad times are important to help you understand how good times feel like, embrace them!

        Your guilty pleasure

    Watching cookery videos on YouTube.

        When was the last time you tried something new?

    I recently learned how to code in python.

        A life lesson you learnt the hard way

    Everyone has a different way to respond to things, and it’s important to learn to appreciate the other point of view.

        What gets you excited about life?

    Everything – the fact that one is alive is enough to be excited about.

        What’s on top of your bucket list?

    Chase the northern lights, knowing well that I hate the cold!

        If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Do more. There is always time, you just have to find it.

        One thing you would most like to change about the world

    We can live with so much lesser polarisation of our views, without hurting our right to speech.

        An activity that keeps you motivated/charged during tough times

    Talk to a lot of people to get ideas and help, it works. Advices are always easier to give, and almost always free.

        What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

    Tomorrow is a new day, focus on getting a good night’s sleep.

        Your go-to stress buster

    Cooking while listening to stairway to heaven.

        Your mantra for life

    Ambition should always be greater than resources.

  • Weekend Unwind with: Aditya Kuber, CEO & co-founder Ideabrew Studios

    Weekend Unwind with: Aditya Kuber, CEO & co-founder Ideabrew Studios

    Mumbai: Moving on to the next in our series of lighthearted snippets that peek into the minds of corporate executives by having them share their mantras to deal with the curveballs that life throws at them—not necessarily revolving around work life—and sometimes going beyond work.

    This week’s guest is Aditya Kuber, CEO and co-founder of Ideabrew Studios. Kuber is a media professional with over 20 years of experience in B2C, B2B, and market and business development, having worked with Sportz Interactive, Yahoo!, Times of India, and Sakal Media Group, as well as assisting in the establishment of Audioboom India in 2016. He led the launch and scaling of BookMyShow Jukebox, its music and podcast streaming business, before going on to launch his entrepreneurial venture, Ideabrew Studios, “one of India’s largest podcast networks” in August 2020.

    So here goes…

    Your mantra for Life

    Try. Don’t be afraid to fail.

    A Book you are currently reading / plan to read

    The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday.

    Your Fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

    Tennis and regular workouts at the gym.

    Your comfort Food

    Almost anything homemade!

    When the chips are down a Quote/Philosophy that keeps you going

    This is a new challenge. Face it.

    Your guilty Pleasure

    Bad movies and ice-cream!

    When was the last time you tried something New?

    That would have to be when I started yoga a few months ago.

    A life Lesson you learnt the hard way

    No substitute for hard work.

    What gets you Excited about life?

    Possibilities and the fact that there’s so much left to experience.

    What’s on top of your Bucket List?

    Watching at least one match of every tennis Grand Slam.

    If you could give one piece of Advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Get smarter! Work harder! There are no shortcuts in life.

    An Activity that keeps you motivated/charged during tough times

    Looking around to see that I am not the only one fighting a battle.

    What lifts your Spirits when life gets you down?

    My family and friends.

    Your go-to Stress Buster

    TV! Any action film will do!

    One thing you would most like to Change about the world

    Lack of opportunities for so many underprivileged people.

  • Weekend Unwind with: Thought Blurb Communications managing director & chief creative officer Vinod Kunj

    Weekend Unwind with: Thought Blurb Communications managing director & chief creative officer Vinod Kunj

    Mumbai : With yet another weekend upon us, it’s once again time to unwind with our special series ‘Weekend Unwind’. Where we take a peek into the mind of a corporate head through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.

    In this week’s edition, we have Thought Blurb Communications managing director & chief creative officer Vinod Kunj sharing with us his musings on the daily rigmarole that life and work has to offer. Having worked with a clutch of big names in adland like Saatchi & Saatchi, Enterprise Nexus (now Bates), FCB Ulka, Lowe Lintas and Rediffusion DY&R in a span of thirteen years, Kunj was ready to take the entrepreneurial plunge. His last stint as an employee was in the Mumbai office of Capital Advertising, a Delhi-based ad firm, heading its creative department.

    Kunj then teamed up with his life partner, Razia, even as the couple leveraged their individual strengths- his in advertising, and hers in design- to launch their own advertising agency, Thought Blurb Communications – “a one-stop shop for advertising, designing, strategy planning and activation services” in the year 2007.

    So without further ado here goes…

    Your mantra for life

    ‘You are what your deep driving desire is.’ From the Upanishads.

    A book you are currently reading / plan to read

    ‘Daily Rituals’ by Mason Currey on the routine that more than 160 creative people followed throughout their lives.

    Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

    Yoga for 30 minutes every day.

    Your comfort food

    Fish curry and rice. (like more than 30 million Malayalee brethren)

    When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going

    ‘This too shall pass.’

    Your guilty pleasure

    A Single Malt with a dash of Perrier and a cube of ice.

    When was the last time you tried something new?

    I am in advertising, if I do not try something new everyday, I would be extinct!

    A life lesson you learnt the hard way

    That you lose a battle at the precise point you stopped trying.

    What gets you excited about life?

    People! Every single person I meet. Each one is such a mystery and it’s so much fun trying to figure them out knowing fully well that I won’t.

    What’s on top of your bucket list?

    Launch an app. I have been planning to for a long time now!

    One thing you would most like to change about the world

    Do we still need organised religion to bring us closer to God!

    An activity that keeps you motivated/ charged during tough times

    A nice long drive into the countryside, preferably the hills.

    What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

    A good piece of creativity by one of my colleagues or a peer. A nature trail also has the same effect on me.

    Your go-to stress buster

    Classical Indian music or a Kishore Kumar song.

    If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Leap before you look!

  • Weekend Unwind with: Tanya Swetta CEO & co-founder of Id8 Media solutions

    Weekend Unwind with: Tanya Swetta CEO & co-founder of Id8 Media solutions

    Mumbai : In this week’s edition of informal Q&As with industry execs through IndianTelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind series, we have Id8 Media solutions CEO & co-founder Tanya Swetta sharing her musings and nuggets on work and life.

    With a passion for managing brands and the drive to deliver the best branding experiences in the industry, Tanya chalked id8 media solutions into reality in 2001. The groundwork for going global was laid on the East Coast of the US in 2018. Today, the agency is a full-service integrated marketing solution with a brick-and-mortar office headquartered in Mumbai and the first global office in New York. Having launched their agency in The Big Apple, Tanya also won the Indian Achievers’ Award for CEO of the Year recently. ‘Innovative’ & ‘unflappable’ is how she describes herself, even as she believes that there are no shortcuts to success.

    So here goes…

    A book you are currently reading/plan to read

    I am currently listening to this amazing podcast “The power of your subconscious mind” by Weird Humming Bird on Spotify- it’s life-changing! Another book I just finished was the autobiography of Rafael Nadal. I am looking forward to reading about the life of Elon Musk

    Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

    My fitness mantra has always been – a healthy body is a healthy mind. During the pandemic, especially the lockdown, I decided to put my focus back on yoga and meditation, with a strong focus on building core strength. Usually, my exercise routine consists of a mix of yoga, swimming, walking and meditation

    Your comfort food is

    Always chocolate! (Everything in moderation of course)

    When the chips are down a quote/philosophy that keeps you going

    Remember always: Life has its shares of ups and downs, it’s cyclical and always moving. My mantras are

    1. Consistency is key

    2. Practice makes perfect

    3. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel

    4. Just do it!

    5. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

    Your guilty pleasure

    A luxurious completely pampering spa treatment

    When was the last time you tried something new?

    Recently, tried my hand at the sport of skiing, it was exhilarating and amazing

    A life lesson you learnt the hard way

    Never burn bridges

    What gets you excited about life?

    The beauty of our planet earth, accomplishments and achievements, inspirational stories of real-life heroes and so on

    What’s on top of your bucket list?

    A visit to Hawaii

    If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Be wise, do not give out your trade secrets, always know that there is someone right behind you waiting to take your spot, so be bang on always

    One thing you would most like to change about the world

    How we as human beings treat our fellow living creatures and plants

    An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times –

    Listening to and reading inspirational stories, exercising, spending time with my family and my gal pals

    What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

    My two daughters and my husband- my soul mate

    Your go-to stress buster

    The movie “Zindagi na milegi dobara”

    Your Mantra for life

    Be kind

  • Weekend Unwind with: Deep Mehta, co-founder of DigiChefs

    Weekend Unwind with: Deep Mehta, co-founder of DigiChefs

    Mumbai: With the weekend upon us, IndianTelevision.com rolls over to the next in its series of informal, fun snippets that peek into the mind of corporate executives – akin to a virtual water cooler chat. An attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better, by having them share their nuggets on life and their mantras to deal with the curveballs that life throws – not necessarily revolving around work life – and sometimes going beyond work.

    This week, we have on the hot seat the co-founder of DigiChefs- an independent creative agency based out of Mumbai. Deep Mehta calls himself a passion-driven entrepreneur who “helps startups scale their topline”. Having started the agency with his co-founder Marmik Ajmera in the later part of 2015, they have grown almost organically to a team size of 65 people in these six plus years and worked with over 300 clients.

    Here it goes:

    -Your mantra for Life
    There are three actually:
    You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take
    Use your “fear of failure” to do incredible things in life
    Be kinder than is necessary

    -A book you are currently reading/plan to read
    The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel.

    -Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
    Cycle your way to a fitter you.

    -Your comfort food
    Chaat!

    -When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going
    You didn’t come this far to only come this far.

    -Your guilty pleasure
    Binge-watching movies & shows.

    -When was the last time you tried something new?
    I started playing table tennis (using a coach) last week. That’s going great, enjoying every bit of it.

    -A life lesson you learnt the hard way
    Never let success make you complacent. Always be on the lookout for potential falls and work towards minimising them. Learned this the hard way when we were so confident (a tad bit overconfident) of our sales skills, that we stopped sales once our bandwidths were exhausted for a good two months. This, instead of constantly nurturing leads in those months so that we could onboard projects once we do hire talent or complete older projects.

    -What gets you excited about life?
    The very fact is that you can make mistakes, and it’s completely okay, and, the sooner you fail, the faster you learn! You can only get better. This very thought gives me the confidence to keep taking bolder decisions and pick up more challenging work than we did yesterday.

    -What’s on top of your bucket list?
    Doing a Ski course in Gulmarg this coming winter.

    -If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
    When in doubt, ask for help without hesitating too much. There are some genuinely good people out there waiting to help!

    -One thing you would most like to change about the world
    One: End civil wars/ fights and 
    Two: Make people kinder towards the animals around us

    -An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times
    Gardening! I have 76 plants at my home, and I take care of each of them.

    -What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
    Talking to my best friend (and now my wife) Poonam.

    -Your go-to stress buster
    Listening to some lo-fi music.

  • Weekend Unwind with: White Rivers Media co-founder & Ceo Shrenik Gandhi

    Weekend Unwind with: White Rivers Media co-founder & Ceo Shrenik Gandhi

    Mumbai: IndianTelevision moves on to the next in its series of informal, fun snippets that peek into the mind of corporate executives – akin to a virtual water cooler chat. An attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better, by having them share their nuggets on life and their mantras to deal with the curveballs that life throws – not necessarily revolving around work life – and sometimes going beyond work.

    This week, we have on the hot seat White Rivers Media Co-founder & Ceo Shrenik Gandhi. A zealous entrepreneur, Gandhi cofounded White Rivers Media in 2012. Since then, the agency has featured in Deloitte Tech Fast 50’s ranking- a benchmark of fast-growing tech companies worldwide- five years in a row. Gandhi is also a regular speaker at digital and entrepreneurship summits, including TedX.  

    So here goes…

    ü  Your mantra for life:  My mantra for life is very straightforward- Give joy and pay it forward, always.

    ü  A book you are currently reading or planning to read: ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear is a book that has truly moved me.

    ü  Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic: My fitness routine has always been quite simple. It’s basically, getting a cardio workout by 7:30 am and dinner before 6:30 am.

    ü  Your comfort food:  I’m a big fan of Indian cuisine. So, any Indian meal is my comfort food.

    ü  When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going:    When the odds are not in our favour, it’s important to have faith in yourself and believe that things will get better. So my go-to quote in tough times has to be: ‘Believe. Believe in a better tomorrow, always’.

    ü  Your guilty pleasure: Binging on my favourite ice cream from NOTO would probably be it.

    ü When was the last time you tried something new?  I believe I am a curious learner by nature and someone open to new experiences. Last week I tried polishing my table tennis skills, while this week I’m going to try my hand at golf.

    ü  If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?  For the longest time, I was afraid of failing. But if I could give my younger self a piece of advice, I’d say, “fail faster” because failure is what leads to growth.

    ü  What gets you excited about life?  Every day, I get excited about the next day, because every tomorrow has the potential to be extraordinary.

    ü  What’s on top of your bucket list?  Well, I have a long due vacation to Iceland, so it’s fair to say that backpacking in Iceland tops my bucket list.

    ü  A life lesson you learnt the hard way: Again, just two words- Fail fast

    ü  One thing you would most like to change about the world: The world is in desperate need of empathy, and it’s about time this changes. Apart from that, on a more practical note, more financial prudence is the need of the hour.

    ü  An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times: Yoga is something that keeps me charged throughout the day, especially on challenging days.

    ü  What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?  I think meditation works magically when life gets you down. It helps me clear my head which eventually leads me to come up with solutions.

    ü  Your go-to stress buster: As cliche as it may sound, getting some cardio done at the gym helps clear my mind, and it’s my go-to stress buster.