👉Check out Odoo: https://www.odoo.com/r/rMs 👉 Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ywrSQaAGSn8vVSXaigtN8?si=2fsvrqLQSdCxL99hdii_QA ⭐️ Think School’s flagship Communication course with live doubt sessions: https://thethinkschool.com/sp/communication-masterclass/ 👉 Who would you like to see next on The Indian Business Podcast: https://forms.gle/37daEPEy7mAzhvv29 VIDEO INTRODUCTION - In today’s episode, we sit down with Ananth Narayanan, Founder & CEO of BRND.ME, the man who has consistently cracked white spaces in some of India’s toughest D2C categories. From spotting an unexpected opportunity in peanut butter to turning MyFitness into a breakout success with 22% of India’s market share, Ananth explains how deep consumer insight, razor-sharp execution, and a data-led playbook helped him challenge legacy giants. He also breaks down how he expanded into perfumes, why ingredient-led brands are the future, and what it truly takes to build products people trust and love. He shares the biggest mistakes founders should avoid, the qualities of the first 10 hires that determine a company’s destiny, and the mindset needed to build brands that endure. If you’re a founder, operator, creator, or someone dreaming of building India’s next global brand, this episode is a masterclass in Brand building! Timestamps - 00:00 - Intro 03:50 - Know your Guest 08:30 - Can India really go global? 14:30 - Where’s the next big gap? 20:58 - Consumer Insights 24:40 - ChatGPT for Research 27:55 - AI Agents 30:22 - Brand Scaling Framework 32:36 - AI’s Role in Branding 35:53 - Is perfume India’s next goldmine? 40:21 - What’s missing in haircare? 44:20 - Consumer Insight Hacks 53:29 - Importance of packaging 56:55 - Phool’s beautiful packaging 58:45 - Importance of storytelling in Buisness 1:00:54 - Using Tech to Scale Fast 1:08:30 - The Top 5 Recruits Every Startup Needs 1:14:16 - Mistakes Founders Must Avoid 1:19:22 - Ananth’s Guest Recommendations Must watch episodes - 1. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister https://youtu.be/uKO8tk3_itQ?si=vF8T442Txq_blu0i 2. Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi 2025 Elections https://youtu.be/8nES01011GY?si=dbSUEk_fDJnJs_Wp 3. OYO's Insane rise & Bankruptcy! ft. Ritesh Agarwal https://youtu.be/TdQ2UD-U9rQ?si=KC7mU1SAf4zvV8MA 4. How will Modi govt fix India’s problems? ft. Sanjeev Sanyal https://youtu.be/3Lgf2WHstBY?si=wT2qbyagfnHiDFm_ 5. Why is Boult still bootstrapped? ft. Varun Gupta https://youtu.be/iH8IrBG4csM?si=W-EGheLcDjxX8fd- Think School is a Digital School that we all deserved, but never had - ►►Check out Think School's Online courses: https://www.thethinkschool.com #global #brandbuilding #startup #success #entrepreneur #unicorn #perfume #peanutbutter #billionaire #ai #makeinindia #piyushgoyal oyal #boat #lenskart #mamaearth #GOI #thinkschool