On Episode 87 of the #LearningStories podcast we chat with Harsh Snehanshu. He is a technology entrepreneur and community builder. He built Your Quote which was India's largest writing platform that is home to over 7 millions writers and 200 million posts. He also built the Bookmark Dating App. Apart from startups he co-founded, Cubbon Reads and steered the silent reading movement across the globe with 120+ chapters in 70+ cities. Of late he is scaling his newest community, Pint of View - a lecture series movement in bars and pubs across the world. You can find him on YourQuote, Instagram and Linkedin.
Show Chapters
(00:05) - Podcast Introduction
(00:30) - Guest Background
(02:00) - "My father worked in SBI and we moved around a lot"
(02:20) - "Eventually we settled in Dhanbad (Jharkhand)"
(03:30) - What was your favourite subject at school?
(05:00) - When did you decide to become an engineer?
(06:05) - "A lot of the learning in high school was curiosity driven"
(08:20) - What was the influence of your father (banker) on your journey?
(12:20) - What was the influence of your mother (academic) on your journey?
(13:50) - "When you merge creativity with enterprise it is magical"
(16:30) - How did you crack the IIT JEE entrance exam?
(21:00) - How to critique your ideas?
(23:00) - What was your experience studying at IIT Delhi?
(28:50) - How did you publish your first book in college?
(29:50) - "In my third year I was making 3-4 lakhs as royalties from book sales"
(30:40) - "I studied Engineering Physics for 4 years at IIT Delhi
(31:00) - Why did you love reading biographies of scientists?
(32:00) - Why did you love reading biographies and books by saints?
(36:40) - What was your relationship to books as a student
(38:55) - The importance of believing in yourself as a creator
(39:45) - The letter feature on Bookmark Dating App
(41:10) - Why Cubbon Reads got such a positive response?
(41:40) - "I want to solve for myself and then others"
(42:00) - The benefits of reading literary fiction
(43:00) - Why I believe my core skillset is writing?
(45:00) - "Startups and Publishing were on the rise in the 2010's"
(46:00) - How did you write and publish four books right out of college?
(48:00) - How do I make money from my one-liners and #WittyShit?
(49:30) - The story behind the T-Shirt Startup I co-founded in college
(51:00) - How did books shape your thinking?
(54:00) - Why you wanted to study the arts after engineering?
(57:00) - How did you fund your plan to travel around India for a year?
(59:45) - What places did you visit when you travelled around India for a year?
(1:02:00) - Dealing with a health crisis as a young adult
(1:04:00) - What was your experience as a student at Young India Fellowship?
(1:08:30) - What was your experience working as a full time journalist?
(1:12:30) - "Your Quote was not my first startup idea"
(1:14:00) - How did you deal with startup failures?
(1:14:30) - How did you create and build YourQuote?
(1:19:25) - What were your struggles with YourQuote?
(1:21:40) - Why entrepreneurs and creators have to be critical by default?
(1:28:00) - The story behind Cubbon Reads
(1:34:00) - The problem with Engineering Graduates
(1:36:00) - Love for bird watching
(1:38:00) - How you think about startups and communities?
(1:45:00) - Love for old cars
(1:49:00) - Closing Notes
Show Links
Harsh on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harshsnehanshu/
Harsh on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshsnehanshu/
Harsh on Goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3404537.Harsh_Snehanshu
Pint of View Club - https://www.instagram.com/pintofview.club/
Cubbon Reads - https://www.instagram.com/cubbonreads/
Your Quote - https://www.yourquote.in/
Bookmark App - https://www.instagram.com/bookmarkappco/
Pretty Old Cars - https://www.instagram.com/prettyoldcars/
Show Description
#LearningStories is an audio and video show where we interview a diverse set of learners from the 21st century.