Inside Hyderabad’s Pub & Live Music Bussiness | Moonshine Project x Kaushik & CoIn this episode of Kaushik & Co., we sit down with Hemender Reddy, co-founder of Moonshine Project — one of Hyderabad’s most influential live music venues.From a small café idea to a cultural landmark, Hemender reflects on how Moonshine grew into a home for independent artists, original music, and community-driven culture. This conversation traces the thinking, risks, and people-first choices that shaped a decade-long journey.This isn’t just a story about a pub.It’s about building culture, sustaining creativity, and running a business rooted in trust.---What to Expect• How Moonshine became a hub for indie bands and original music• The Milange Café beginnings and how it started it all• Building a venue before Instagram shaped discovery• Treating staff and artists as long-term collaborators• Ten years of challenges, growth, and creative decisions• Honest lessons from entrepreneurship and leadership• Supporting Telugu and regional independent music• The next chapter: Creative Square and Aroma of Dakshin---Key Discussion Points• Moonshine as a cultural space, not just a pub• Building community before scale• Live music ecosystems in Hyderabad• Cost structures and break-even realities in F&B• Risk, failure, and long-term thinking• Money, relationships, and personal values---Time Stamps00:00 – Intro01:43 – Moonshine wall of bands01:54 – The beginning of Moonshine07:56 – Favourite drink08:23 – Moonshine as a cultural venue10:14 – The original idea behind Moonshine26:54 – Milange Cafe31:48 – Learnings from engineering33:01 – Regional music and representation39:18 – Toughest moments40:27 – Prior experience in the field41:55 – Staff challenges43:32 – Gentleman’s agreement with Capricio band (B-roll)48:56 – Moonshine during COVID54:38 – How to start an F&B or club business56:14 – Does architecture cost a bomb for clubs?58:06 – Why owners should know how to run the venue1:00:17 – Starting an F&B business the right way1:03:49 – Average time to break even1:04:48 – No.1 criteria in F&B1:09:32 – Why people spend so much on drinks1:11:54 – Learning the business before starting1:13:55 – Should this be a full-time business?1:16:23 – Games Part1:19:02 – Building a community1:22:43 – Bhaitak Project1:26:42 – Number of events hosted1:29:54 – Relationships that began at Moonshine1:30:27 – Then vs now in event culture1:33:29 – Never having asset issues1:34:04 – NH7 Weekender1:35:23 – Event cost structures1:35:53 – Mentorship for the next generation1:38:05 – Crab mentality1:39:10 – Live music scene today1:42:59 – A.R. Rahman concert and where we lag1:44:20 – Telugu stand-up comedy1:47:25 – Aroma of Dakshin1:49:34 – Lessons from Moonshine applied to Aroma of Dakshin1:54:50 – Pre-Instagram vs today1:57:55 – Most in-demand food or drinks at Moonshine1:58:12 – Cocktails2:00:00 – Cocktail naming philosophy2:01:00 – Sensible drinking2:06:00 – CreativeSquare.altplay2:11:00 – What’s next2:13:33 – Biggest learnings from 15 years2:14:15 – Relationship with money2:16:05 – Relationship with father2:17:36 – Where risk-taking comes from2:18:28 – Building a legacy2:19:44 – Dealing with failure2:21:11 – Audio business2:22:15 – Which business has the biggest future potential---Tags#KaushikAndCo #MoonshineProject #HyderabadMusic#IndependentMusicIndia #LiveMusic #CreativeEntrepreneurship#TeluguMusic #CulturalSpaces---Presented by: Kathanika MediaVenue Partner: The Moonshine Project / EXT