It is nearly dusk when we begin our conversation, the sun setting slowly and leaving us all in a twilight bathed glow. As I would go on to find out later, it is, in fact, her favourite time of the day. There is something about twilight that makes Kamiya Jani feel especially blessed. And, ‘blessed’, perhaps, is the best word to describe her journey so far. From having a career, spanning over a decade, in the Media industry, working with established news channels, to setting up her own content platform, ‘Curly Tales’, Jani has had a journey that can be categorically summarized as being inspirational. 

Ever since she was a child, Jani has had deep rooted ties with Mumbai. Born in the suburbs of Ghatkopar, she remembers her earliest years with some fondness. As part of a larger extended family living together, she grew up surrounded by her relatives. Soon enough, she ended up moving to Chembur, which, as she states, was largely a Sindhi neighbourhood. As part of the Sindhi community herself, Jani grew up with a strong familiarity with good food. That, perhaps, informed and evolved her own fascination with how food can actually go on to tell the cultural story of a community. I drag on, however, Jani, herself, neatly sums up her experiences so far by saying, “I was born in Ghatkopar, raised in Chembur and married in Powai”.

Before going on to establish ‘Curly Tales’, Jani went on to have an illustrious career in the Media industry. In fact, her desire to pursue journalism started when she was really young. Her mother, while watching the news on television, would, often, remark, saying that one day she wished for her daughter to become a news anchor. This stuck with Jani. Fortunately, a year before she would go on to pursue her Bachelor’s degree, a  Bachelor’s course in Mass Media had just launched. Slowly, but surely, things were working in her favour.

Finishing her degree, Jani went to work with CNBC TV18, working as a writer in advertising. Two years later, she went on to work as a producer for an auto car show production, where she was involved in writing scripts, assisting the anchor and the videographer and the host of responsibilities that come with post-production work. Three years later, Jani got the job that she always wanted ever since she was fifteen. She was hired by ET Now as an anchor. She spent 6 years working at ET Now, finally achieving everything she ever hoped to. During her time there, she, occasionally, hosted travel shows. This would, later, become foundational in her setting up ‘Curly Tales’.

Having had a career, spanning over 10 years. in the industry she dreamt about, Jani, now, looked towards doing more. Recalling her time spent hosting travel shows, she set out to establish a channel on her own, one that would focus on bringing the experience of travelling to an audience, helping them to not only get a chance to become familiar with new places and new cultures but also in realising their own desire to travel. This would become the founding idea for ‘Curly Tales’, an idea that would help establish the platform as a cornerstone for not only travel-based content but also for stories focusing on the human experience. 

Diving deeper, Jani explains the core philosophy behind ‘Curly Tales’. For Jani and the creative team behind ‘Curly Tales’, it is always about what the audience can take away from their content. The primary motivation for them is to be helpful. As such, it is the need to help people discover what they, otherwise, would not. Of course, there are iconic places, figurative monuments that have stood the test of time, that ignite a timeless passion and fascination in the viewer. And, while she asserts that it is important that they cover those places in question, there is also the idea of bringing, to her audience, a curated experience that would help broaden their own cultural horizons.

Talking about some of the challenges that need to be navigated during the process of creating and curating content, Jani touches on the volume of the actual content that needs to be put out there. In point of fact, ‘Curly Tales’ puts out twenty five new content pieces on a daily basis. That’s twenty five new discoveries every single day. Let that sink in for a bit. Even so, it is a creative process that she and her team thoroughly enjoy, with each member of the team being passionate about what they do.

Now, Kamiya Jani has experienced a lot more than, say, the average person. Her travels and discoveries have, as a matter of fact, given her a new perspective on the world out there. It would go amiss if I actually didn’t ask her about some of the things one should do while visiting a place for the first time. After all, who better to ask that from than her? 

As she says, for her, travelling is a different experience. Visiting a new place comes with some explicit responsibilities. When she travels, she is there with the express intention of creating content. She doesn’t mind it, however, because, to her, that doesn’t really seem like work. Even so, she doesn’t really keep a certain list of things to do when visiting some place for the first time. It is always about immersing yourself in the place you are in, whether it is in the culture, the food or even the way people talk and greet you. Jani reveals that upon reaching a destination, she keeps her first day there unplanned, only going about the place and understanding the cultural legacy and the way of life that exists there. 

One thing she would always try to do, when going somewhere in India, is try to have a meal at a local home. That experience, as she believes, is crucial to understanding some of the socio-cultural norms that exist in a place. She does add, however, that the one thing she loves to do, and this purely for her own self, is to look for the best spots, in any place she is in, to watch the sunrise and sunsets from. 

Positioned at the very helm of ‘Curly Tales’, Jani has managed to turn it into something that is now foundational to understanding and experiencing the world around you. This was, by no means, an easy feat. In fact, that period of transition, from her career in the Media industry to setting up ‘Curly Tales’, is one of the bravest tasks she has undertaken. However, as she adds, it was not a blind leap of faith. In her decision to start her own platform, Jani had, in fact, assessed the situation thoroughly before she set out.  And, it paid off.

Talking about the success and the journey behind ‘Curly Tales’, Jani, now, realises the impact she has had on the lives of her audience. Indeed, she still finds herself surprised by the love and support she receives from people. One thing that she absolutely feels is necessary to hold on to is the transient nature of things. She does not spend too much time celebrating success nor does she waste time wallowing in self-hesitation and doubt. For Jani, it is always about the journey ahead.

Speaking from her own personal experiences, Jani states the importance of assessing the situation completely before setting out to pursue something that you are passionate about. It is important to weigh the risks involved and to understand what you can actually bring to the table. Creative vision must be bolstered with an ability to see things as they stand. And, Kamiya Jani can clearly see the bells ringing beyond that horizon.

Everyone has this one thing that they have always wanted to do, a skill they want to learn. Maybe a dance form like salsa, or writing or photography. Maybe learning to play the guitar like John Mayer or Arijit Singh. Just imagine, being able to strum strings like them as you sing heart-breaking romantic songs professing your love to someone.  Well then, Shubham Bansal is here to help you. Topbeat is one of the easiest ways to learn guitar. And they have already helped over a 1000 people learn this musical skill.

Born in Kota, Rajasthan, Bansal comes from a family of entrepreneurs. He completed his graduation from IIT Bombay with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 2012. But this didn’t happen without struggles. While he wasn’t able to clear the IIT entrance the first time, his hard work and determination gave results when he cleared it on his second attempt.

Bansal admits that leaving a well-paid job to follow his dreams was probably one of the most courageous things he’s ever done. But music and entrepreneurship are his passion as well as his motivation. And while he couldn’t have done it without the support of his wife and family, the leap of faith was worth it. His family also knows this as they support him without questioning his decisions.

But every journey has its own hurdles. Covid-19 lockdown certainly affected Bansal’s business negatively. One of their committed investors backed off and their revenue suddenly dropped to zero in the month of April. But everything happens for a reason and there’s always a solution. Once they started conducting live lessons, their business has been growing consistently. Without having to raise external capital, consistently and they have a positive cash flow.  

Bansal’s biggest inspiration is his father (so wholesome!). Though he does say it isn’t because he is Shubham’s father, but because he is a phenomenal businessman. Successfully navigating through all struggles, it’s the perseverance of his father that inspires him. One of his biggest inspirations apart from his own father is Steve Jobs. He admires Steve Jobs for the sheer disruption he brought to multiple industries.

When we talk about entrepreneurs, fundraising is a big task. Shubham while sharing his two cents on the topic, talks about two very important things that are demanded from a good entrepreneur. The conviction in one’s idea and the ability to accept a no. End of day, you have to remember that you don’t really need a hundred investors. All you need are 5 investors who believe in your vison. And this belief only stems out from confidence and belief in yourself.

Bansal has always had the touch of business within him. In fact, he had his first experience with entrepreneurship when he started selling stickers and mehndi books, or just chocolates at a very young age. But apart from business, music and reading also bring him joy. In fact, he’s composed a lot of songs and performed professionally too!

A firm believer of following your dreams and passions, Shubham Bansal reminds us before leaving, that no profession is unconventional. In the end, it’s about what you love and what you don’t.

You know life is short and there is no time to leave important words unsaid, that is what inspired our protagonist Kopal Khanna who runs a startup aiming at offering a platform to the storytellers of the country and the creative people who possess an immense talent of putting their heart out in thought-provoking words.

Speaking of her childhood she was born and raised in the royal city Lucknow and moved out for further undergraduate, she pursued B.A History from St.Stephens, Delhi University and proceeded to study MSc Global Media and Communications from London School of Economics; afterwards did MA in the same field from the University of Southern California.

Being an inquisitive individual, she liked to learn new things and formulate art in various forms. She possesses an interest in writing, filming, and reading, and started with Tape A Tale with an eye to living her dream of becoming an entrepreneur and offering a platform for interesting and inspiring stories for the world to listen.

It was lucky for her that poetry had been on a rise over the years, and she identified the opportunity at a great time to start off with this venture. She is inspired by Adam Braun who is an American entrepreneur that believes in providing access to education to the children in the developing countries. She is also a very big fan of the poems written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

She holds immense pleasure if she is able to contribute even a little in the betterment of any individual who needs help. She shared an emotional story where she describes the joy she received when she had a girl who shared her healing from depression through the stories and poems shared on Tape A Tale. She believes in those little moments that are memorable and heart-warming.

Discussing the future entrepreneurs, she feels everybody suffer through a different journey and not one formula can fit everyone, Although her advice remains the same for everyone where she advises not to take failure or success too seriously and have fun with whatever they are pursuing.

It is often believed that it’s never too young to start an empire. Well, it’s true since there was someone who proved his worth at a very young age and recently, in the past few years, gained a lot of appreciation due to his exceptional entrepreneurship skills that changed the game of the travel industry.

Guessing who it can be? Well, he is one of the youngest entrepreneurs that India witnesses who even got acknowledged by our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, It’s the Founder of OYO Rooms Ritesh Agarwal who started off with his own venture when he was barely twenty-two.
It seems to be quite an achievement in this age of technology where everybody runs after the sought industries and very few focus on the industries that have the capability to expand widely but lack the initiation.
In India, he broke through the taboo and created his own mark and ended up becoming the face of his company performing the branding himself since he was an inspiration to so many others.

In this interview conducted by Beer Biceps, he talks about his personal and professional opinion over the pandemic crisis which has taken over the world. While speaking about him as an entrepreneur he is very much inspired by Bill Gates and Uday Kotak and shares a common fact among them of leaving an impact over the people regardless of the money earned.
He shares his opinion over the people who initiate a start-up to become a millionaire which according to him isn’t sustainable. He draws a picture from people who leave an impact and that is what he is inspired to do so in his course of life.

Having achieved so much in his life, he believes in influencing others through his work of smoothing down travel for the people around the world. He puts out his ideas over various new startups that could boom after the crisis calms down.

In this long interview, various aspects of his life are being reviewed followed by the discussions made over his inspirations in the course of his life.

You know how they say some of the best things come when you least expect them, Dropout Dude happened just like that. Two childhood friends, Divya and Anshumaan, very distinct from one another, but yet the same started this venture for the youth. 

Divya, a nerd, was very studious but extremely unclear with her goals for life. She studied Science but ended up doing business development for a renowned IT firm. Anshumaan, on the other hand, was very talented and full of life pursued Arts while being a computer and technology enthusiast. 

Anshumaan was well aware that 9-5 job isn’t made for him, he always knew he wanted to do something of his own, whereas, Divya had no idea what to do with her life, she was not happy with her job at all. After a while, she got to know about Anshumaan’s first venture that was DU Khabar and she began to help him when later on, they decided to form their own venture called as Dropout Dudes.

Divya, in order to perform well in the start-up, learned Digital Marketing, after which she realised this is what she loves and wants to pursue in life. Their motto behind Dropout Dudes was to provide motivation to the youth of the country through inspiring stories of real-life personals.

Their story had many ups and downs, they had worked really hard to make this work since the start-up was not the only thing to be worried upon, their parents were also to be convinced for allowing them to follow their dreams. It is never easy, it is even more difficult than a 9-5 job. You spend all your savings to make this happen and work all day and night for slightest amount of revenues.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, people tend to start their own business when they become unhappy with their job. It is not always necessary to become an entrepreneur just because you think a 9-5 job isn’t made for you,  this is the reason that many start-ups fail after a point.

There can be various other reasons to start your own business but it need not be boredom from your current job.

Although, it worked well for Divya, and after earning enough revenue they managed to establish two more start-ups called Campus Media and Startup Style. Campus media primarily focusses on news and entertainment for university’s messages and information, Start-up Style is India’s first online merchandise store dedicated for Startups, Entrepreneurs, Organisations, Freelancers, etc.

They have managed to create their own mark in this industry and will continue to do so. There is so much to learn from these two, firstly being never to give up on your dreams for whatsoever reason. No reason is good enough to give up. You will face problems that might not have solutions to get out of but then again you need to remind yourself the initial inspiration that got you at the place you are at today.