Vignesh

👋 Today’s game is about Virat Kohli’s dominance as the Indian Test Captain. Can you make this Sequence correctly? And there’s more about which countries have produced the most number of Popes. Play now at: pinkpaperplay.in #ViratKohli #TestCricket #retire #Pope #news #games

Why just follow the news? Play it! We have a bunch of fun games for you to get news updates and check whether you can tell the news from the noise.  We will be updating one of the five games every weekday to begin with.  Play now at: pinkpaperplay.in

This book has proven to be a lighthouse. I particularly loved the story of Anand Deshpande, someone I admittedly didn’t know about before reading this. Congratulations on the great work! @BKartRed @SeekingN0rth @jvignesh03 and the rest of the @BlumeVentures team.

2 years ago, when I joined @BlumeVentures, we weren’t sure what lay ahead for Narrowcast, our annual publication. The stories were exceptional — worth reading more than once. But the questions lingered: Could we get the format right? Could we crack distribution? Could we take it to the founders and operators who needed it most? Fast forward to today. This week, seeing Narrowcast: Winning Beyond Boundaries displayed at @crossword_book (thank you for the photo, @sajithpai) felt like a small but meaningful step forward. This year's edition features the journeys of 11 exceptional Indians in conversation with @BKartRed, who have smashed boundaries to pieces and built their businesses, careers, and brands globally. These include: Girish Mathrubootham (@mrgirish), Harsh Mariwala (@hcmariwala), Anand Deshpande (@anandesh), Akash Gupta, Mohit Kumar (@deeppurpled), Aditya Ghosh (@iamadityaghosh), Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87), Mukund Rajan (@Mukund_Rajan), Alok Sama (@alok_sama), Neeraj Chopra, and Mahesh Bhupathi. While the work of telling exceptional stories from the ecosystem and for the ecosystem is perhaps just 1% done, this tells us that we are on the right track. If you haven't read it, I'll leave a link in the comments. If you have already read it, please consider leaving us a review so more people can find it. @vigneshjsarma @yashrajsharma_ @adityakuber

lately, my obsession with India’s startup ecosystem & its founders has been growing. from the Indus Valley Report to this, @BlumeVentures continues to raise the bar. always heartening to see great content come out of the ecosystem!

@nandiniv @BlumeVentures @SeekingN0rth Glad you liked it, @nandiniv!

Will finally finish @BlumeVentures' Narrowcast book this weekend! My favourite chapters are: Nice guys win big and Soaring High. Yet to finish, so this might change! Great idea and execution @SeekingN0rth!

A few people have pinged me after reading it. Many have tagged Blume, and the best part is, these are folks I don’t know personally. Hopefully, more people will find value in the book. You can get your copy here- amzn.in/d/8DqQdTT @SeekingN0rth @BKartRed

It’s so heartening to see early reviews trickling in for @BlumeVentures' book 'Winning Beyond Boundaries', which I had the good luck and privilege to author.

@sleepyhead148 @NishantSingh021 @BlumeVentures Super happy to read this @sleepyhead148. Thank you!

So @NishantSingh021 sent me snippets from this book and I ended up getting it. Quite a fascinating read thus far. Amazing research and tidbits in here. @BlumeVentures 👏👏

@phimaanshu @SeekingN0rth @BKartRed @BlumeVentures Made my day too! Thanks! @phimaanshu

@SeekingN0rth @BKartRed @BlumeVentures Rohit bhai, I picked it up and couldn’t keep it down. Finished it at 3am. The flow is catchy but the true magic is in the stories and how you’ve narrated them! - note from a Masa San Mentee! :)

Arrived in the mail today @BKartRed @BlumeVentures

Why does a venture fund need to publish a book ⁉️ We get asked this a lot. But before we answer that, let’s take a moment to absorb the stories we want to tell. 🏆 Girish Mathrubootham @mrgirish (Freshworks) – Transformed a true garage startup into a Nasdaq-listed SaaS giant 🏆 Harsh Mariwala @hcmariwala (Marico Limited) – Transformed a sleepy family business in Masjid Bunder into a consumer powerhouse across 25+ countries. 🏆 Anand Deshpande @anandesh (Persistent Systems) – Bet on software products before it was cool, building a billion-dollar IT firm from scratch. 🤖 Akash Gupta (GreyOrange) – Put Indian robotics on the global map, powering the supply chains of Apple, H&M, and more. 💪 Mohit Kumar @deeppurpled (Ultrahuman) – Didn’t just build a health tech brand—set up a factory in the U.S. to prove Indian hardware can win globally. ✈ Aditya Ghosh @iamadityaghosh (IndiGo and Akasa Air) – Made flying as affordable as train travel, changing how millions move across India. 📊 Amitabh Kant @amitabhk87 (India’s G20 Sherpa and Policy Leader) – Marketed a country like a startup, making Incredible India a global success story. 🌟 Mukund Rajan @Mukund_Rajan (First Brand Custodian of the Tata Group) – Defined what trust means in business, shaping the Tata brand for a new era. 💰 Alok Sama @alok_sama (Ex-CFO & President, Softbank) – Sat at the center of SoftBank’s biggest deals, steering billions that reshaped global tech. 🎾 Mahesh Bhupathi @Maheshbhupathi (India’s First Grand Slam Champion) – Broke through tennis’s toughest barriers, putting India on the Grand Slam stage. And last but not least, 🥇 Neeraj Chopra (Olympic Gold Medallist) – Made history, proving India could win gold in track and field against the world’s best. These aren’t just success stories. These are tales of individuals who smashed all boundaries to pieces and won against all odds. And stories like these need to be told. Not just once. Not just as fleeting social media posts or news articles. But again and again, in a way that lasts. That’s why Winning Beyond Boundaries | Narrowcast edition 4 exists. We had the privilege of hosting these guests in S3 of the Blume Podcast in conversation with @BKartRed. Now, their life learnings come to you in a book—something you can revisit, reflect on, and take inspiration from whenever you need it. For me, editing Winning Beyond Boundaries wasn’t just about refining words—it was about making something permanent. A book that could sit on a founder’s bedside table, be picked up in moments of doubt, and serve as a quiet source of inspiration when the next big decision loomed. If the last decade was about proving Indian startups could scale, the next decade will be about them winning globally. This book is a glimpse into that future. Now available on Amazon. Grab your copy here: amzn.in/d/fGkqchd Would love to hear your thoughts if you pick it up! @AshishFafadia @sajithpai @sanjaynath @arpiit @riashroff @adityakuber @vigneshjsarma @yashrajsharma_

ESOPs are one of the most powerful tools for attracting and retaining talent in startups. 👍Done well, they align incentives and create long-term wealth. 👎Done poorly, they lead to dilution headaches, tax inefficiencies, and demotivated employees. That’s why this deep dive by @vigneshjsarma is worth your time—it goes beyond the basics and into the questions that actually matter. Big thanks to Varun Rajda @VarunRajda (Constellation Blu) and Mitul Mehta @mitul_am (Blume) for sharing their earned secrets on structuring ESOPs right. While editing this piece, this part with rules-of-thumb for ESOP pool distribution (screenshot below) stood out as my favorite earned secret. 👇 Read the full article here: blume.vc/commentaries/e…

💡 ESOPs: A Founder’s Ultimate Retention Tool—Only If You Get Them Right! Stock options are one of the most powerful tools for attracting and retaining top talent in a startup. But structuring them right—without future headaches—is where things get tricky. 😢 Mismatched expectations. 💰 Tax surprises. ⚡ Confusing strike prices. 📜 Messy cap tables. And when things get complicated, the usual ESOP 101 guides don’t have the answers. That’s why we put together ESOP 201: the nuanced, high-stakes questions founders tackle in late-night investor chats and closed WhatsApp groups. The ones that can turn ESOPs into a competitive advantage instead of a compliance burden. 🚀 Featuring battle-tested earned secrets from Varun Rajda @VarunRajda (Partner at Constellation Blu @urConstellation) and Mitul Mehta @mitul_am (Head of Finance at Blume Ventures), who have advised 100s of founders on their ESOP questions. This deep dive covers: ✅ The #1 mistake startups make with ESOPs (and how to avoid it) ✅ How strike prices impact employee motivation and your bottom line ✅ What happens to ESOPs in down rounds, acquisitions, and exits ✅ The smartest way to allocate ESOPs so they retain top talent, not just attract it If you’re building for the long term, you can’t afford to get ESOPs wrong. Read the full piece here. Link: blume.vc/commentaries/e… @Bkartred @AshishFafadia @sajithpai @sanjaynath @arpiit @riashroff @saritaraichu @mehtaalok @mitul_am @SeekingN0rth @DeepikaDakuda @gauthamsiv @vikramg05

Nothing exemplifies "Winning Beyond Boundaries" more than an Olympic Gold medal 🏅 We're ending Season 3 of the Blume Podcast with a bang! In the 10th and the last episode of this season, Karthik Reddy (@BKartRed) sat down with Olympic Gold medalist, World Champion, and Asia's beacon of excellence in athletics - Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1). 💪 From a small town in Haryana to shattering European dominance in javelin throw, Neeraj's journey perfectly embodies S3's theme of Winning Beyond Boundaries. In this candid conversation, he opens up about: • His mischievous childhood & unconventional entry into sports • The mindset behind handling victories and near-misses • The Gold medal moment and everything that he did to reach there • What it takes to compete and win against the best in the world • His partnership with his coaches and how he trains • Why he believes children should be allowed to be naughty A big thanks to Vinay Singhal (@vinaykrsinghal), co-founder of @STAGEdotin, and the entire STAGE team for making this episode happen 🙏  (and for graciously letting us use their beautiful office for many hours on a Saturday). STAGE (a Blume Fund IV company) is revolutionizing the Indian entertainment landscape by bringing authentic regional content to millions. Neeraj is their brand ambassador, a perfect partnership celebrating India's cultural heritage. Thanks to @IDFCFIRSTBank for being our annual partner. Watch the story of Neeraj Chopra and discover what’s possible with resilience, confidence, and unshakable self-belief. Or, in Neeraj's words "यही एडवाइस है—खुद पर बिलीव रखो और सही मेहनत करो!” Watch the full episode here or on YouTube (link in comments). @BKartRed @AshishFafadia @sajithpai @sanjaynath @arpiit @riashroff @saritaraichu @mehtaalok @mitul_am @SeekingN0rth @DeepikaDakuda @gauthamsiv @vigneshjsarma @adityakuber PS: On his first day of school, little Neeraj threw his books into a well and went off to play. Who knew this mischievous kid would one day throw a javelin into Olympic history! 😄

Goosebumpy moment!! Today, I was reviewing the final edits in the chapter featuring lessons from @deeppurpled of @UltrahumanHQ and Akash Gupta of @GoGreyOrange for our annual publication—Narrowcast. And this tweet resurfaced (thanks to @vigneshjsarma). Had full on goosebumps. This was unthinkable just three or four years ago. The opportunities for Indian startups building for the world are enormous...as @BKartRed said in his Blume Day missive, 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!' Narrowcast Ep 3 - Winning Beyond Boundaries encapsulates inspiring lessons from eleven bold Indians who are not just breaking barriers but smashing them to pieces. Pre-orders starting soon. @BlumeVentures @yashrajsharma_

🎙️ New Episode Alert: The Blume Podcast S3E9 | Winning Beyond Boundaries Did you know? 😁 Ratan Tata was once the youngest member of the Tata Sons board - and would playfully prank his senior directors during meetings. ✈️ His passion for aviation ran so deep that he wrote what's considered the strongest letter ever from a corporate leader to a Prime Minister. 💰 He declined taking TCS public during the dotcom boom - despite calculations showing it could have funded taking every Tata company private - because he felt that was not the right thing for the retail investors. These and numerous other fascinating insights and anecdotes about the Tata Way of building businesses from our special guest Dr. Mukund Rajan (@Mukund_Rajan), who had a front-row seat to the journey for over two decades. As Ratan Tata's confidant and the first brand custodian of the Tata Group, he witnessed the journey of India's most trusted business house from the inside as it grew from a respected Indian conglomerate to a global juggernaut. In this behind-the-scenes episode, discover: • How the Original Indian MNC was built • The stories of Tata's global acquisitions & ventures • The secret sauce behind maintaining ethics while scaling globally • Leadership lessons from the group's most transformative years Watch the episode here or on YouTube/your favorite podcast apps. Links in comments. PS: When designing the Tata logo, Mr. Tata was so detail-oriented that he even tested how it would look when faxed! The same perfectionism went into the Indica's innovative vertical taillights - a first for the Indian market. @BKartRed @AshishFafadia @sajithpai @sanjaynath @arpiit @riashroff @saritaraichu @mehtaalok @mitul_am @SeekingN0rth @DeepikaDakuda @gauthamsiv @vigneshjsarma @adityakuber @dhruvtrehan9

Yes, you have participated in the full marathon. But have you ever reviewed, deeply edited, and shipped three chapters of an upcoming book in one day, reading/editing/writing ~15k words in 12 hours? Tell that it doesn't deserve a medal of its own :-) On that note, this year's Narrowcast book by Blume is going to be legendary! @vigneshjsarma @sajithpai @BKartRed

I’ve done a few now, but must say this podcast was particularly engaging…something to do with the exceptionally thoughtful Karthik B. Reddy and being in my kitchen in London 😄 #TheMoneyTrap

PS- If at all you are reading this (amidst all the well-deserved glowing tributes), I'd be honoured to meet you in Chennai. (Just manifesting, c'mon, a guy can dream!)

Farewell, @ashwinravi99 . You've been a 'once-in-a-generation' champion. Wishing you the very best for everything that the future holds.

I've been a cricket nut all my life. However, only one retirement has affected me deeply until today. People who know me know how big a Dravid fan I am. I couldn't accept that Dravid had retired for a good week after announcing his retirement.