Two by Two

The Ken
  • 4.5 (85)
  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Two by Two
TWO BY TWO PREMIUM

Listen to episodes 30 days before anyone else

₹ 199.00/month

The Two by Two podcast is a premium business podcast from The Ken that investigates, discusses and breaks down the most important business stories around you. Hosted from The Ken's newsroom by business journalists Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Two by Two will feature guests and experts from across the industry and academia to talk about issues no one else is talking about.

  1. Dmart versus the challengers at the gate (Highlights only)

    TRAILER

    Dmart versus the challengers at the gate (Highlights only)

    Dmart, the retail group in India, is absolutely number one on vision, execution, and consistency. Dmart opened its first supermarket in Mumbai’s Powai suburb in 2002. Like Walmart in the US, it adopted a deep discounting strategy, offering its customers low prices every day. Today, it has 381 stores. In spite of offering its customers the deepest discounts, Dmart’s net profit numbers beat the best among its global peers. Yet analysts and investors have been becoming increasingly bearish of Dmart’s future strategy. They argue that what got it from 2002 to 2024 might not necessarily take it to, say, 2034. One big reason is quick commerce. Armies of underpaid contract delivery workers rushing from dark stores managed by notionally independent owners on behalf of younger companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Big Basket, and even Flipkart are challenging the conventional wisdom on retail. Forcing Dmart to pause and blink. What should it do? Stick to what it knows and does best? Or learn new digital and delivery tricks in its middle age? With only an estimated 5% of the $500 billion urban market for food and groceries currently penetrated by organised and modern retail, the way Dmart goes has profound implications for India. To discuss this, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan invited Govind Shrikhande, former managing director of Shoppers Stop overseeing all its formats, including Shoppers Stop, Hypercity, Crossword, Homestop, Beauty Formats - MAC, Estee Lauder, Air Port & Duty Free Retail etc. Govind has spent over 40 years in the retail sector, having been part of the launches of Denim and Arrow, the relaunch of Vivaldi and the turnaround of Shoppers Stop. He is currently an Independent Director on the Board of a few Companies and a mentor to a few start-ups. Our other guest is Seetharaman G. Seetha is deputy editor at The Ken and also leads The Ken’s coverage of retail. He’s written quite a few stories on Dmart over the years as well. Welcome to episode number 18 of Two by Two! Two by Two episodes referenced in this episode: Is Zepto a gold medallist or a bronze medallist? Swiggy needs to reclaim its past glory Stories and newsletters referenced in this episode: Dmart and the supersizing imperative Zudio wanted Dmart’s apparel shoppers. Now Dmart is hurting Dmart changes its mind on store size. Again Dmart is not used to being in a funk for so long What if the quick-commerce warehouse was a supermarket? Dmart and investors rekindle their love Dmart’s e-commerce bet has gone from counterintuitive to obsolete This is a shorter 'highlights only' episode. If you want to listen and get early access to the full episode, consider becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken, which in addition to Two by Two, will also give you access to our long-form stories, Premiums newsletters and visual stories. Or if you just want to listen to Two by Two for now, for iOS users, we have enabled Premium subscription on Apple Podcasts. You can sign up for The Two by Two newsletter here—it's free! This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and tell us what you think of the show. You can write to us at [email protected] with your thoughts and suggestions.

    37 min
  2. 18. Dmart versus the challengers at the gate (Premium Subscribers Only)

    6 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    18. Dmart versus the challengers at the gate (Premium Subscribers Only)

    Dmart, the retail group in India, is absolutely number one on vision, execution, and consistency. Dmart opened its first supermarket in Mumbai’s Powai suburb in 2002. Like Walmart in the US, it adopted a deep discounting strategy, offering its customers low prices every day. Today, it has 381 stores. In spite of offering its customers the deepest discounts, Dmart’s net profit numbers beat the best among its global peers. Yet analysts and investors have been becoming increasingly bearish of Dmart’s future strategy. They argue that what got it from 2002 to 2024 might not necessarily take it to, say, 2034. One big reason is quick commerce. Armies of underpaid contract delivery workers rushing from dark stores managed by notionally independent owners on behalf of younger companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Big Basket, and even Flipkart are challenging the conventional wisdom on retail. Forcing Dmart to pause and blink. What should it do? Stick to what it knows and does best? Or learn new digital and delivery tricks in its middle age? With only an estimated 5% of the $500 billion urban market for food and groceries currently penetrated by organised and modern retail, the way Dmart goes has profound implications for India. To discuss this, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan invited Govind Shrikhande, former managing director of Shoppers Stop overseeing all its formats, including Shoppers Stop, Hypercity, Crossword, Homestop, Beauty Formats - MAC, Estee Lauder, Air Port & Duty Free Retail etc. Govind has spent over 40 years in the retail sector, having been part of the launches of Denim and Arrow, the relaunch of Vivaldi and the turnaround of Shoppers Stop. He is currently an Independent Director on the Board of a few Companies and a mentor to a few start-ups. Our other guest is Seetharaman G. Seetha is deputy editor at The Ken and also leads The Ken’s coverage of retail. He’s written quite a few stories on Dmart over the years as well Welcome to episode number 18 of Two by Two! Two by Two episodes referenced in this episode: Is Zepto a gold medallist or a bronze medallist? Swiggy needs to reclaim its past glory Stories and newsletters referenced in this episode: Dmart and the supersizing imperative Zudio wanted Dmart’s apparel shoppers. Now Dmart is hurting Dmart changes its mind on store size. Again Dmart is not used to being in a funk for so long What if the quick-commerce warehouse was a supermarket? Dmart and investors rekindle their love Dmart’s e-commerce bet has gone from counterintuitive to obsolete If you're not a Premium subscriber, you can listen to a shorter 'highlights only episode' that is available wherever you get your podcasts. This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and tell us what you think of the show. You can write to us at [email protected] with your thoughts and suggestions.

    1h 17m
  3. How will Ola and Uber avoid 'death by a thousand cuts'? (Republished FULL Episode)

    18 NOV

    How will Ola and Uber avoid 'death by a thousand cuts'? (Republished FULL Episode)

    We’ve unlocked this episode for our Basic and Free subscribers for a limited time. Listen to it on your favourite streaming platform for a limited time. Ola and Uber are in a “late-stage duopoly”. After spending billions and billions of dollars, they have finally secured pole positions in ride-sharing in India. Both of these companies together control 70% of the market and they have created network effects that make it much harder for anyone to enter and compete with them. However, this particular situation is facing some new challenges and just like how Uber and Ola conquered city after city using a disruptive model and technology, the same thing threatens to happen to them. Ola and Uber are facing structural disruptions from multiple fronts in India. In today’s episode, hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Rohin Dharmakumar try to answer how the disruptors are getting disrupted by upstarts who are coming in with both business model innovation and newer fleets which offer a significantly better experience, which was the original promise of Ola and Uber as well. So what is the next stage of disruption in ride-hailing look like in India? Is it EV fleets? Is it democratized tech-enabler platforms like ONDC which enables platforms like Nammayatri? Are we looking at the return of local taxi operators?  And most importantly, what should Ola and Uber do to defend their position as new incentive models are introduced for both drivers and passengers? Welcome to episode 14 of Two by Two. Joining the hosts for the discussion are Nilesh Sangoi, CIO of Fincare Small Finance Bank, previously CEO of Meru Cabs; Pradeep Puranam, Head of Revenue and Operations at Yulu, ex-Udaan and -Uber; and returning guest Professor Srinivasan R, who teaches Strategy at IIM Bangalore. Episode referenced: Will Flipkart become Phonepe before Phonepe becomes Flipkart? Stories referenced: Rapido rips up the Uber-Ola playbook for cabs This episode of Two by Two was researched and produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and tell us what you think of the show. Write to us at [email protected], and tell us what you thought of the episode.

    1h 38m
  4. Can venture capitalists do no wrong? (Highlights only)

    TRAILER

    Can venture capitalists do no wrong? (Highlights only)

    For the last 24 months, the default way in which startups were exposed to venture capital and its effects has been, in many ways, paused. There's a slowdown. Venture capital funding for the first nine months of this year is down 7% over a similar period last year per Tracxn. There have been news stories about layoffs, company shutdowns, and downrounds at various companies from a time when unicorns were being born every three months or so. Capital is abundant. A lot of dry it remains uninvested everywhere, but it's just not getting invested at the same rate. Building a company and scaling a company is getting cheaper because of AI and LLMs, which can generate code, which can generate images or just about anything anything that you want. And the biggest change—there's a focus on being profitable. If you’ve been a regular listener of Two by Two, you’d know that VCs have always managed to sneak into most, if not all, discussions on the podcast. Maybe not in the way they’d like to be represented in general, but they have been part of the conversation in some way, shape, or form. So when hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan sat down for this week’s episode, they got two founders-turned-VCs to join in and say their piece on the role VCs play in the world of startups. And what they need to be doing right. Manav Garg is the founder of Eka Software and co-founder of the operator-led Together Fund (Manav has previously appeared as a guest on the First Principles podcast as well), while Rajiv Srivatsa is the co-founder of Urban Ladder, and now a founding partner at Antler India. Welcome to episode 17 of Two by Two. This is a shorter 'highlights only' episode of an hour-and-a-half-long podcast. If you want to listen and get early access to the full episode, consider becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken, which in addition to Two by Two, will also give you access to our long-form stories, Premiums newsletters and visual stories. Or if you just want to listen to Two by Two for now, for iOS users, we have enabled Premium subscription on Apple Podcasts. You can sign up for The Two by Two newsletter here—it's free! This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and tell us what you think of the show. You can write to us at [email protected] with your thoughts and suggestions.

    34 min
  5. 17. Can venture capitalists do no wrong? (Premium Subscribers Only)

    13 NOV • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    17. Can venture capitalists do no wrong? (Premium Subscribers Only)

    For the last 24 months, the default way in which startups were exposed to venture capital and its effects has been, in many ways, paused. There's a slowdown. Venture capital funding for the first nine months of this year is down 7% over a similar period last year per Tracxn. There have been news stories about layoffs, company shutdowns, and downrounds at various companies from a time when unicorns were being born every three months or so. Capital is abundant. A lot of dry it remains uninvested everywhere, but it's just not getting invested at the same rate. Building a company and scaling a company is getting cheaper because of AI and LLMs, which can generate code, which can generate images or just about anything anything that you want. And the biggest change—there's a focus on being profitable. If you’ve been a regular listener of Two by Two, you’d know that VCs have always managed to sneak into most, if not all, discussions on the podcast. Maybe not in the way they’d like to be represented in general, but they have been part of the conversation in some way, shape, or form. So when hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan sat down for this week’s episode, they got two founders-turned-VCs to join in and say their piece on the role VCs play in the world of startups. And what they need to be doing right. Manav Garg is the founder of Eka Software and co-founder of the operator-led Together Fund (Manav has previously appeared as a guest on the First Principles podcast as well), while Rajiv Srivatsa is the co-founder of Urban Ladder, and now a founding partner at Antler India. Welcome to episode 17 of Two by Two. This episode of Two by Two was researched and produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and tell us what you think of the show. You can write to us at [email protected] with your thoughts and suggestions.

    1h 41m
  6. Do we even need Product Managers? (Republished FULL Episode)

    11 NOV

    Do we even need Product Managers? (Republished FULL Episode)

    We have unlocked the full and unedited version of episode 13, which we released on October 10th for Premium subscribers of The Ken on The Ken’s mobile app and Apple Podcasts. Now, you can stream the full episode on Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts for free for a limited time. If you are a Product Manager, especially in India, you’re probably going through a crisis of faith and existence. As a career, Product Management in India has gone through multiple eras—in the early days, PMs struggled to explain to people what they actually did. Think about all the people you’d imagine who work at a software company. Marketing. Engineering. Sales. Analytics. Design. You can explain what they do to your grandmother. But the one exception to the rule is Product Management. It’s the only function where the people who do it struggle to explain to their parents what they do. Then suddenly there was a gold rush when everyone wanted to become a Product Manager. And now, there’s an existential crisis — partly driven by the reduced funding and attrition, the rise of AI, and the changing nature of products themselves, more and more leaders are asking the question : Do we even need Product Managers? In today’s episode of Two by Two, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan interview two accomplished product leaders in India. First, there’s Chandrashekhar Vattikuti (CPO and SVP at InMobi, ex-Yahoo, Microsoft) and Shreyas Srinivasan, Chief Product Officer at Paytm*, and also founder of Paytm Insider. During the discussion, they trace the origin, the evolution and the crisis that Product Management as a career faces in India. They try to figure out why and how Product Management became a science and stopped being an art. And they try to answer what makes for a great Product Manager, and how to find them. And they also ask the question that CEOs and Founders are asking themselves — do we even need Product Managers at all? Welcome to Episode 13 of Two by Two. Further reading: Product Managers used to be creators. Now they are mostly bureaucrats Who killed the art of Product Management in India? Who made the Frauduct Manager? Episode referenced: Google Pay: Big. Successful. Vulnerable This episode of Two by Two was researched and produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and tell us what you think of the show. *Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.

    1h 41m
  7. What does Ola Electric's future hold? (Highlights only)

    TRAILER

    What does Ola Electric's future hold? (Highlights only)

    Ola Electric's woes just don’t seem to be stopping. From angry customers to its mercurial CEO getting into online spats as pressure mounts, many of its problems stretch seemingly beyond its control today for it to make a quick turnaround and change the narrative. And this is hurting its valuation significantly, both in the private and public markets. Just this week, Ola Electric's price fell below its listing price Ola Electric can and should take credit for making EV two-wheelers common on Indian roads. It achieved this through rampant marketing, getting the word out about its product, and eventually delivering its products to eager customers as well. These did yield results in the short term as well. At its peak, Ola Electric’s vertically integrated ecosystem was a big pull, which, along with its marketing efforts, allowed it to gain nearly 53% market share in the EV two-wheeler segment. But the strategy of moving fast and breaking things that startups usually apply to press an early mover advantage has now started to backfire, as angry customers take to social media to express their frustration with the longer wait times to get their vehicles serviced and working again. These kinds of troubles tend to happen with startups. But when the situation is such that you can’t just fix things as you would do in an app, and you are under the scrutiny of the public markets. The need to deliver becomes absolutely detrimental. In this week’s episode, host Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan try to understand Ola’s recent history, how it fared after listing on the Indian bourses, the troubles it has faced, and what the future holds. Joining them for the episode are Jinesh Gandhi, Research Director at Ambit*, with over 20 years of experience tracking multiple sectors, and Narayan Sundararaman, an accomplished leader with over 28 years of experience in marketing strategy. Narayan has worked at Cadbury, Star TV, and was the ex-CMO at Bajaj Auto. Reference Stories: How Ola Electric blew its lead Ola Electric wants to take on Hero’s Splendor. But e-bikes are not e-scooters The real reason behind Ola Electric slashing its IPO valuation in a booming stock market Episode unlocked for free and basic subscribers: Ather Energy was a pioneer. Can it also be a leader? This is a shorter 'highlights only' episode of an hour-and-a-half-long podcast. If you want to listen and get early access to the full episode, consider becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken, which in addition to Two by Two, will also give you access to our long-form stories, Premiums newsletters and visual stories. Or if you just want to listen to Two by Two for now, for iOS users, we have enabled Premium subscription on Apple Podcasts. You can sign up for The Two by Two newsletter here—it's free! *Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the analyst and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Ambit Capital Private Ltd. The analyst does not hold any financial interest in the securities discussed in the podcast, nor do their relatives. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. It is essential to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. This episode was produced by Hari Krishna. Mixing and mastering for this episode is done by Rajiv CN. Write to us about what you thought of the episode at [email protected].

    30 min
  8. 16. What does Ola Electric's future hold? (Premium Subscribers Only)

    6 NOV • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    16. What does Ola Electric's future hold? (Premium Subscribers Only)

    Ola Electric's woes just don’t seem to be stopping. From angry customers to its mercurial CEO getting into online spats as pressure mounts, many of its problems stretch seemingly beyond its control today for it to make a quick turnaround and change the narrative. And this is hurting its valuation significantly, both in the private and public markets. Just this week, Ola Electric's price fell below its listing price Ola Electric can and should take credit for making EV two-wheelers common on Indian roads. It achieved this through rampant marketing and, getting the word out for its product, and eventually delivering its products to eager customers as well. These did yield results in the short term as well. At its peak, Ola Electric’s vertically integrated ecosystem was a big pull, which, along with its marketing efforts, allowed it to gain nearly 53% market share in the EV two-wheeler segment. But the strategy of moving fast and breaking things that startups usually apply to press an early mover advantage has now started to backfire, as angry customers take to social media to express their frustration with the longer wait times to get their vehicles serviced and working again. These kinds of troubles tend to happen with startups. But when the situation is such that you can’t just fix things like you would do in an app, and you are under the scrutiny of the public markets. The need to deliver becomes absolutely detrimental. In this week’s episode host Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan try to understand Ola’s recent history, how its fared after listing on the India bourses, the troubles it has faced and what the future holds? Joining them for the episode are Jinesh Gandhi, Research Director at Ambit*, with over 20 years of experience tracking multiple sectors, and Narayan Sundararaman, an accomplished leader with over 28 years of experience in marketing strategy. Narayan has worked at Cadbury, Star TV, and was the ex-CMO at Bajaj Auto. *Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the analyst and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Ambit Capital Private Ltd. The analyst does not hold any financial interest in the securities discussed in the podcast, nor do their relatives. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. It is essential to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions This episode was produced by Hari Krishna. Mixing and mastering for this episode is done by Rajiv CN.

    1h 31m
See All (39)

Trailers

4.5
out of 5
85 Ratings

About

The Two by Two podcast is a premium business podcast from The Ken that investigates, discusses and breaks down the most important business stories around you. Hosted from The Ken's newsroom by business journalists Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Two by Two will feature guests and experts from across the industry and academia to talk about issues no one else is talking about.

Information

  • Creator
    The Ken
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (c) 2024 The Ken
  • Show Website
    Two by Two
  • Provider
    Kenrise Media Private Limited

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada