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1/n Another @CRED_club (Cred curious) episode with @kunalb11 and @hchawlah, another opportunity to signal.
Note: “Kunals says/asks” means Kunal’s voice, when I say something in brackets that is my voice, when I don’t indicate anything, that’s Haresh’s voice.
Summary:
Note: “Kunals says/asks” means Kunal’s voice, when I say something in brackets that is my voice, when I don’t indicate anything, that’s Haresh’s voice.
Summary:
2/n Haresh Chawla is a back bencher engineer ( the standard ‘Kunal Shah network' person) whose career spans from PC salesman to being involved in movies to helping @timesofindia setup @TimesMusicHub. Most of these were new businesses (startups) whenever Haresh joined them.
3/n Kunal Shah says trendspotting may be perceived as offensive biz act but is defensive as well. Trendspot or go out of business.
Mind (cognitive capacities) is (are) extremely flexible, lets us articulate anything in multiple ways (through humour, lecture, etc).
Mind (cognitive capacities) is (are) extremely flexible, lets us articulate anything in multiple ways (through humour, lecture, etc).
4/n But mind also has biases.
Smartphones have millions/billions of dollars worth of ideas passing through them. Think over the thinking tha goes into building apps. Such curiosity has great value.
Ground-breaking innovation happens v infrequently
Smartphones have millions/billions of dollars worth of ideas passing through them. Think over the thinking tha goes into building apps. Such curiosity has great value.
Ground-breaking innovation happens v infrequently
5/n (medium of media changing from CDs to @netflix was v slow) but incremental innovation keeps happening.
Kunal Shah says people who are good at trendspotting have dabbled in various domains and have strong knowledge of fundamentals of all of them.
Kunal Shah says people who are good at trendspotting have dabbled in various domains and have strong knowledge of fundamentals of all of them.
6/n This range of knowledge helps them connect ideas, events and makes them better at trendspotting. This trait acc to Kunal has helped Haresh have the career he has had and helps Kunal invest as a VC in diverse businesses.
7/n Hope is a need, creed and status signalling are needs, clarity of mind is a need. You can serve these needs in a casino or through the Calm app. (Think of content and how the mediums of the content are changing but they all serve the same human needs).
8/n Mental capacity is unlimited. Helps us create, collaborate together and do crazy stuff across the globe, etc. This is the basis of innovation, creation of cos. Company is formed first in the mind then it takes physical shape.
Needs have 2 vectors - efficiency and status.
Needs have 2 vectors - efficiency and status.
9/n Sharing music from Spotify makes you look cooler vs doing it through Indian apps. Such patterns can be better observed in teens. Eventually everything becomes about status signalling eventually (every app adding stories, other socialising features is an indication).
10/n Firms are losing control over the narrative, users are gaining the control. They control it by sharing content. This is the end of advertising because advertising is not the thing that informs people anymore, its the people themselves; startups & products are catalysts.
11/n Celebs are the mediums of distribution through the socialising apps (the idea of users having control of narrative) over conventional marketing modes (founders being the face of cos).
Kardashian cracked this a 2 decades back.
Kardashian cracked this a 2 decades back.
12/n Amazing thing about tech is you can be wrong first, but iterate and learn cheaply.
Youngsters' role in how Haresh wants to keep his thoughts and ideas relevant to the youngsters (What is going on in a 14 year old's mind bother Kunal):
Youngsters' role in how Haresh wants to keep his thoughts and ideas relevant to the youngsters (What is going on in a 14 year old's mind bother Kunal):
13/n Haresh does this through keeping in touch with how his kids use tech to fullfil their desires, manage their digital personas.
We can live without products from the industrial revolution but if we live without products from the digital revolution we become social outcasts.
We can live without products from the industrial revolution but if we live without products from the digital revolution we become social outcasts.
14/n Personal chat enables individuals to have multiple digital identities (will publish an article on this soon).
Smartphones help teens escape family w/o fucking with age old familial dynamics. Helps keep families together (youngsters do not physically run away from families).
Smartphones help teens escape family w/o fucking with age old familial dynamics. Helps keep families together (youngsters do not physically run away from families).
15/n This is almost like a negotiation b/w families and kids. As long as kids manage their tasks well, switch the lights and fans off, eat dinner on time, etc on time they can use their smartphones.
16/n Kunal asks big Covid trends:
- Work will become more challenging, organizations do not have an option but to internally digitalize.
- Covid and lockdowns are changing familial dynamics, we will seethe result eventually (missed the 3rd trend, pls add)
- Work will become more challenging, organizations do not have an option but to internally digitalize.
- Covid and lockdowns are changing familial dynamics, we will seethe result eventually (missed the 3rd trend, pls add)
17/n Kunal asks how to say whether a person will do something impactful or fizzle out.
An intrinsic desire to do a good job is what separates the cream. This is detectable in their work quality & reaction to feedback from customers or seniors.
An intrinsic desire to do a good job is what separates the cream. This is detectable in their work quality & reaction to feedback from customers or seniors.
18/n 2nd indicator is healthy respect for people, cannot lead without this.
Your job as a leader is to get these people together. A culture of working on anything till you are proud of your work is very important.
Your job as a leader is to get these people together. A culture of working on anything till you are proud of your work is very important.
19/n India has a huge work ethic problem and this reflects in supervisor hiring and supervising costs. This boils down to Indian's inability to say no. We don’t say no in families to do(eg kids don’t say no to certain career paths). Western people know how to say no.
20/n Haresh is massively long on India. We have our challenges, but these challenges are around red tapism, bureaucracy. We have a permanent govt in India and not elected govt. But the fact that we have navigated around huge families and complex familial bonds helps us
21/n (This point is slightly contradictory to the preceding one, what do you guys think?). Indian wealth has gone up, career and creative options have gone up and ambitions are increasing. This change has happened in like a generations worth of time.
22/n Haresh thinks we will go back to watching movies in cinemas. We are inherently unsporty (as compared to western countries) and our outlet are entertainment time with families. Our houses are tiny and that adds to our desire to go out.
23/n Some trends will continue and some will change. Schools are spaces of diverse interaction (and becoming more), this will help develop basic empathy. English will help us develop a common language to interact amongst ourselves and with the rest of the world.
24/n India can become a great service providing centre for the world and that will help our economy phenomenally.
EdTech has a massive market (Indians value education). Education will (should) cost lesser now and Indians like that, they will adopt help EdTech adoption.
EdTech has a massive market (Indians value education). Education will (should) cost lesser now and Indians like that, they will adopt help EdTech adoption.
25/n In a way Indian youngsters are wiser now. They (you and I) will spend more wisely and wont save for things like marriage and other Indian status signalling events.
