Harvard India Conference

This year was ❄🧊

Sabyasachi Mukherjee

• Grew up in a family of educationists, where education was highly valued. Considered the black sheep of the family due to his creative inclinations.
• He has operated Sabyasachi as a business from Day1, rather than treating it as art, where it is unfashionable to think about money.
• He aims to increase the brand’s valuation to $2B and spoke about how Aditya Birla has been a great partner so far, and he insisted on Birlas having a controlling stake since he wants the brand to have institutional longevity rather than inheritance (he has no kids). He sees corporate backing as a way to expand, professionalize operations, and ensure business continuity.
• India has historically been a source of inspiration and production for global luxury brands. Believes Indian luxury should not be reduced to tokenism—India has a deep cultural heritage that deserves global recognition.
• His go-to-market strategy has been to start at the top of the value and exclusivity pyramid and then foray into lower markets like fragrances and skincare that Sabyasachi is just beginning.
• Described anecdotes where sales staff in luxury stores would drop their lunch to cater to middle eastern customers since they represented money. Today they do the same for Indians who walk in.
• He particularly described the role of US (over Europe) for his international expansion due to the demonstrated patriotism of the Indian diaspora in America. 30-40% of his revenue was from the US even before they opened the NYC store.
• India is not a “cheap” market—Indians pay for value, heritage, and craftsmanship.
• Luxury brands require deep investments in intangible value (storytelling, brand positioning). They need patience and slow-growth, high-value approach to maintain brand exclusivity and longevity. Not having investors or debtors breathing down his neck helped him build with deliberation. Described how the imitation market for Sabyasachi is 500 times the size of the original market, and if he wanted to make more money he could easily dilute the brand and franchise quickly. However he wants to preserve exclusivity and authenticity and build a brand that will be recognized a century later too.

Nita Ambani’s Fireside Chat

This had more tones of a PR-led session than a true fireside chat, but given her stature, it is probably the most we can hope for. Mrs. Ambani was was honest in her answers about her son’s wedding, priorities on sustainability, and the value of posturing and India’s public image on the global stage.

She was clearly very passionate about Mumbai Indians and being responsible for its success. She shared stories of recruiting the Pandya brothers and Bumrah. Ms Ambani spoke at length about her role as chairperson of the Indian Olympic Committee and the successful campaign she led to bring sports like cricket to the Olympics. This was made more relevant here by the fact that the next Olympics are in the US. A topic we discussed with the US Cricket Team at the India Conference at USC, at the host city (LA) last month. She had a fairly standard answer to the question of financial responsibility of hosting such a glamorous event if India were to win the recent 2036 bid.

Her responses to questions about wealth were interesting. She was candid that money is the first and foremost enabler for her to serve society, build institutions, and support philanthropy. When asked about adversities as a leader, her response was that she had to return a gold chain she bought for herself for her first wedding anniversary since Reliance was going through hardships. Womp womp?

Her daughter Isha Ambani was in the audience too, under whom Reliance Retail has seen a meteoric rise. To the question about extravagance of Anant’s wedding, she simply replied that a parent wants to leave no stone unturned, and he was the youngest of their kids and one who is very spiritual. So she pulled out all the stops.

Timeless Brands

Abhijit Roy, MD & CEO, Berger Paints Ashutosh Goyal, Director, Partner and Brand Head, Ananta Hotels and Resorts Devanshu Gandhi, MD, Vadilal Industries Limited Vikram Gandhi, Professor, Harvard Business School

All speakers on the panel were second or third generation leaders in succesful family businesses and were figuring out how to balance heritage and innovation. They spoke about generational shift from older/savers to younger/experience-spenders. Luxurious expenses today need to be authentic or personalized. Opulence alone does not cut it. It was pleasure to hear how they are working towards ESG, whether privately or publically owned.

Private Capital Fueling Innovation

Manish Kejriwal, Founder and Managing Partner, Kedaara Capital Deep Nishar, Managing Director - General Catalyst Akriti Dokania, Partner, Ridge Ventures Gaurie Dwivedi, Executive Editor, NDTV 24x7

• India’s innovation ecosystem has grown significantly, but still requires more long-term capital allocation. Government’s role is to create public goods that private companies might not find immediately profitable (e.g., highways, UPI). Private capital is crucial in scaling innovations that already show market traction.
• The Role of Different Types of Investors
  • Early-stage investors: Look for product-market fit—ideas that can become successful.
  • Growth investors: Focus on revenue and customer willingness to pay.
  • Later-stage investors: Want capital-market fit—where the market is willing to sustain long-term investment in the company.
• Sectors with High Innovation Potential
  • AI & Deep Tech: India lags in computational biology, space tech, and quantum computing.
  • Drones & Robotics: Expected to boom in the next decade.
  • Sustainable Infrastructure: Green energy and climate tech have long-term value.
• Lesson for Entrepreneurs - Think Global from Day One: Build businesses that can compete internationally, especially in B2B sectors. The Indian startup ecosystem is becoming more ambitious and outward-looking.
• Indian startup ecosystem is now seeing the wave of succesful startup employees returning for another attempt. For instance, people who had a lot of success in exits and IPOs in the last few years (1) are now looking for new venutres and (2) inspiring those around them to take risks with startups.
• Manish was quite an entertaining character, stirring up controversy and contrarian views-sometimes just for fun. Note to self: Look up his interviews on YouTube

Community and Climate

Bharati Chaturvedi, Founder, Chintan Research and Environmental Action Group Sonam Wangchuk, Educational reformist and environmental activist Shashi Buluswar, Founder, Institute for Transformative Technologies

The Impact of Climate Change on Vulnerable Communities Urban Heat & Labor Crisis: Extreme heat in cities like Delhi makes it impossible for laborers to work, leading to health crises. Ladakh & Melting Glaciers: Himalayan glaciers, which act as water batteries, are melting at an alarming rate due to global emissions.

• Increasing Natural Disasters: Cloudbursts and floods, once rare in Ladakh, are now frequent (2006, 2010, 2013, 2017, etc.), showing rapid climate shifts.
• The actions of major global cities (Boston, New York, London, Beijing, Paris) disproportionately affect fragile ecosystems like Ladakh. India suffers consequences of emissions without contributing significantly to global warming historically.
• Minimalism in Indian philosophy (e.g., Buddha’s teaching of eliminating desires) can counter unchecked consumption. Gandhian principles advocate a demand-side solution—reducing overconsumption rather than just increasing (green) energy supply.
• Urban migration is inevitable. India needs to build the equivalent of a Chicago every year due to urban migration.
• Modern cities and culture are isolating, leading to preferences for independence over shared resources. Traditional Indian villages thrived on shared economies—we need to rebuild local sharing networks for sustainability.
• Wealth vs. Happiness (Easterlin’s Paradox): Happiness increases with wealth up to a point, but beyond that, wealth does not bring greater joy. Society must redefine success, prioritizing sufficiency over excess. Diminishing Marginal Utility & Conscious Consumption.
• Developed Countries Are Not Sharing the Burden: Climate finance for the Global South is insufficient. India has received little to no financial support from global climate funds.
• School education needs to have flexibility for local context. Empower teachers to personalize curriculum in context of their enviroments. For instance, students in desert regions could work on capstone projects related to rainwater harvesting, while students in mountainous areas might focus on the link between deforestation and landslides.

And that’s a wrap! Last year I geeked out more last year and felt the conversations were richer, but that might just be first-time bias. Will I return next year? Maybe…

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