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Founding Fuel
Founding Fuel aims to create the new playbook of entrepreneurship. Think of us as a hub for entrepreneurs- the go-to place for ideas, insights, practices and wisdom essential to build the enterprise of tomorrow. It is co-founded by veteran journalists Indrajit Gupta and Charles Assisi, along with CS Swaminathan, the former president of Pearson's online learning venture.
Our Work
·Economy, Policy & Society
The Best Stories of Summer 2026
Ideas that help make sense of a changing world
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Founding Fuel
·Artificial Intelligence
The End of the Pageview: How Agentic AI is Forcing a Reckoning in Publishing
The media industry is confronting a stark new reality: survival in the AI era means abandoning the cybersecurity arms race and pricing content for machines instead of humans
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Founding Fuel
Editor’s Note | Sharpening the Signal
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
Beyond the Headlines: The Human Complexity of the Middle East
Books, films and cultural works that help us see the Middle East beyond the noise of geopolitics
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Founding Fuel
·Artificial Intelligence
India’s AI Gambit: The Choices That Will Define Power
Speed is not strategy. The real battle is over sovereignty, science and state capacity
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
The Ecology of Engagement: What Madhav Gadgil Taught Us to See
From sacred groves to the Western Ghats, Gadgil’s work rebuilt the bridge between science and lived experience.
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
Understanding the Living Will—Clarity, Autonomy, and Care at the End of Life
Why talking about death early may be the most humane act of care we offer our families—and ourselves
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
The Best of FF Life 2025
11 stories that asked us to slow down, look closer, and feel more deeply
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
The Best Stories of 2025
Ten of our best work through the year—on business, leadership, and geopolitical trends
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
When Numbers Lie
Why measurement is never neutral—and why AI forces us to rethink what we trust
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
2025 in Review | Episode 5: India’s Strategic Tightrope in a Fragmenting World
Ambassador Shyam Saran on a post-American order, a slowing China, and how India must balance room for manoeuvre with hard-headed realism on Russia, the US and China.
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
2025 in Review | Episode 4: Europe’s Year of Hard Choices
Europe entered 2025 already strained by war, fractured politics, and economic anxiety. As Philippe Le Corre explains, this was the year when three pressures collided—an unending war in Ukraine, a drastically altered transatlantic dynamic under Trump 2.0, and a more openly competitive China
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
2025 in Review | Episode 3: America’s Year of Disruption
Justin Logan of the Cato Institute on how Trump’s second term reshaped global trade, defense alignments, and America’s domestic equilibrium—and why the turbulence may be far from over
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
2025 in Review | Episode 2: The Erosion of Global Norms & Accelerating AI
Sundeep Waslekar, president of Strategic Foresight Group, on a West in turmoil, an international order in free fall, and an AI race racing ahead of rules.
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
2025 in Review | Episode 1: China and the Trumpian Reset
How does China see the Trumpian reset of the global order? What's really happening inside its domestic economy? And are we seeing signs of a thaw with India? A conversation with Chinese economist Prof. Yao Yang
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
The Age of Individualism—and Its Unseen Costs
John Kay—one of the world’s leading thinkers on economics, corporate purpose, and capitalism—explores why individualism remains so deeply entrenched, even as it fuels inequality, populism, and institutional decay. Part 1 of a two-part conversation
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
How Community, Not Competition, Can Renew Capitalism
The real job of management is managing the not always compatible expectations of stakeholders, says John Kay. The organizations that have been successful in the long run are the ones that managed these balances. Part 2 of a two-part conversation
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
The Government Works—Just Not How You Think
The government is not as a machine to fix, but a living system to serve: a conversation with Subroto Bagchi, entrepreneur, author, and public servant
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
The $100K H-1B Shock & India’s Innovation Moment
The visa fee has sent shockwaves through the global talent ecosystem. What does this mean for U.S. startups, Indian engineers, and the future of innovation?
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Founding Fuel
·Leadership & Organisation
Terry Szuplat on the Art of Powerful Communication
Seven takeaways from a conversation with President Barack Obama’s speechwriter
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Founding Fuel
·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
‘Everybody Has a Sacred Story’
An extract from Barack Obama’s speechwriter Terry Szuplat’s new book, ‘Say It Well’
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
Book Extract: From customer journeys to integrated experiences
A brand’s attempt at relevance and how AI worked for it. An extract from Sangeet Paul Choudary’s new book, “Reshuffle”
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
Power shifts and algorithms
Sangeet Paul Choudary in conversation with Shrinath V on how AI is changing business strategy. Part one of the two-part podcast: “The Next Game: Competing When AI Changes the Rules.”
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
Where to Play and How to Win in the AI Era
Sangeet Paul Choudary, author of ‘Reshuffle’, in conversation with Shrinath V. The final in a 2-part podcast: ‘The Next Game: Competing When AI Changes the Rules’
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
Curtain Raiser: The Durga Puja Experience in Kolkata
Experiencing the world’s largest street art festival
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
How to make cultural festivals independent, inclusive, and sustainable
Cultural festivals succeed when they put community before commerce and independence before sponsorship—while continuously experimenting to stay relevant and inclusive. Insights from the builders of the Bangalore Lit Fest and Mumbai’s MAMI film festival
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
12 Places That Helped Shape Post-Independence India
They tell the story of modern India’s evolution
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
John Kay on Purpose, Profit—and the Perils of Thinking Like a Hare
In conversation with D Shivakumar, the acclaimed economist revisits the soul of business—from Boeing’s fall to Apple's hollow shell—and what real strategy should look like
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Founding Fuel
·Artificial Intelligence
India’s AI Gambit
What will it take for India to lead, not just react, in the age of AI? An exclusive Founding Fuel - NatStrat Live session
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
We’ve been experimenting with intermittent fasting. Here’s what we’re learning
Charles Assisi and NS Ramnath share their journeys—and lessons—on the road to better health. And Dr Aasim Maldar, an endocrinologist, weighs in on how and why to make it something one can sustain
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Founding Fuel
·Artificial Intelligence
AMA: How to make AI work for you?
Tanuj Bhojwani and Anmol Shrivastava answer questions on how to make AI a part of your lives
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Founding Fuel
·Leadership & Organisation
FF Live: Managing Corporate Reputation in the Digital Age
18 takeaways on crisis management and trust-building
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
Masterclass: The World in 2025 - Part 2
15 takeaways from Part 2 of the two-part Masterclass series with former foreign secretary Shyam Saran
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
Masterclass: The World in 2025 - Part 1
17 takeaways on the new dynamics in geopolitics and geoeconomics, especially after Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, the shifting sands in the Middle East with conflict and informal fragile truce, and the big decadal shifts
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
FF Life: Getting Hands-On with AI
Five curated stories on how and why to begin experimenting with AI
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Founding Fuel
·FF Life
The best of FF Life in 2024
Nine stories that took us close to Frida Kahlo’s art; inside the best Durga Puja pandals; the most memorable moments from the Lok Sabha elections; into the world of graphic novels; a trek to Sandakphu near Darjeeling; and Ramzaan in South Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazaar
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Founding Fuel
·Entrepreneurship, Startups & Innovation
The best stories of 2024
Scintillating, insightful conversations and incisive articles on business, entrepreneurship and geopolitical trends
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Founding Fuel
·Leadership & Organisation
Leaders vs. bosses: What does it take to become a leader?
Fireside chat: Ajay Piramal, Nitin Paranjpe and Dr Anil Khandelwal, in conversation with Indrajit Gupta
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Founding Fuel
·Leadership & Organisation
Founding Fuel Live | The Best Business Books of 2024
A Founding Fuel Live conversation between D Shivakumar and Ramesh Srinivasan, co-author, ‘The Journey of Leadership’
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
Tech Titans and Billion Dollar Bets
SoftBank insider Alok Sama talks about the mind of the investment company’s iconic founder Masayoshi Son, how venture capital operates, the tech bros, India’s true potential, and more
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Founding Fuel
·Leadership & Organisation
Practice making mistakes
An extract from ‘The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out’ by Dana Maor, Hans-Werner Kaas, Kurt Strovink and Ramesh Srinivasan
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Founding Fuel
·Entrepreneurship, Startups & Innovation
How mega founders unlock startup success - Part 2
Where do outliers come from? In Part 2 of their conversation Rahul Chandra, author and MD of Arkham Ventures and Third Eyesight’s founder and CEO Devangshu Dutta discuss the startup ecosystem, the power of storytelling, and building for Middle India
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Founding Fuel
·Entrepreneurship, Startups & Innovation
How mega founders unlock startup success - Part 1
Good delusions, irrational goals, marathon mindset. In Part 1 of their conversation, Rahul Chandra, author and MD of Arkham Ventures and Third Eyesight’s founder and CEO Devangshu Dutta discuss what sets outlier entrepreneurs apart
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Founding Fuel
·Technology & the Future
AMA on EVs with Hormazd Sorabjee and Pranav S: 22 Takeaways
Whom is an EV best for? What is the viable life of an EV? Do they have resale value? These and more questions answered
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Founding Fuel
·Economy, Policy & Society
Masterclass: Geopolitics and Global Trade - How It Impacts India
What are the implications of the US-China rivalry for companies, global trade and India in particular? The Masterclass is a culmination of a weeklong curated learning experience
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Founding Fuel
·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
23 Takeaways from Founding Fuel Live: The Best Business Books of Summer 2024
A conversation with Dr D Subbarao, Dr Dana Sinclair and Harit Nagpal, and D Shivakumar
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Founding Fuel
·Business & Strategy
Heatwave, Flood & Water Stress: India Inc’s Tryst with Extreme Weather Patterns
Why businesses need a holistic climate action plan. Now!
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Founding Fuel
·Leadership & Organisation
The red flags in your team
An excerpt from Dr Dana Sinclair’s new book, ‘Dialed In: Do Your Best When It Matters Most’
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Founding Fuel