Varun Duggirala: How a Midlife Crisis Led to a 2 Crore Shark Tank Deal | Mashable Mornings

What does it take to build one of India’s biggest creative agencies from scratch? In this episode of Mashable Mornings, we go on a drive with the man who lived the "Hustle" before it was a trend - Varun Duggirala. From making contestants cry as a Roadies intern to getting Aman Gupta and Namita Thapar to invest in his new venture, Varun’s story is a masterclass in pivoting. He opens up about the "accidental" birth of The Glitch, the madness of creating the iconic 'Kaam 25' with Divine for Netflix, and the brutal truth about burnout. Wait, there's more! We also gatecrash their house to meet the actual force behind EMoMee - the Founder & CEO, Pooja Jauhari. Varun and Pooja get real about building a business with each other, and we also get an inside look at the home and the minds of this industry power couple. You will also find out about: The "Zigzag" Life: Working call center night shifts and promoting alcohol in bars. MTV & Roadies: Why the culture was a mix of Instagram, YouTube, and pure chaos. EMoMee: Why he’s betting on kids' curiosity-driven learning after his exit. Here is a link to EMoMee's YouTube Channel!    / @emomee   00:00 - Intro 00:59 - Who is Varun Duggirala? Sneakerhead, Watch Fanatic & Creator 02:03 - Growing up in Kakinada: The "Confused" Kid 02:46 - The 6-Year Engineering Struggle: Why I finally finished Mechanical 03:24 - Selling booze in Bangalore bars: My first real marketing lesson 04:24 - The Call Center Job 05:01 - Finding my calling at Symbiosis: From Math to Media 08:51 - Learning Film Editing via Amar Akbar Anthony 09:46 - My MTV Breakthrough: Starting as a Research Intern 11:07 - Working for Raghu & Rajiv: Brutal honesty and "The Crying Lesson" 13:21 - MTV Office Chaos: What TV was like before Social Media 14:04 - Quitting Channel V: Why we walked away from Television 15:21 - The "Accidental" birth of The Glitch 16:43 - Early Agency Hustle: Making promos from a DVD player 18:22 - The zero-cost viral idea that changed everything 18:54 - Landing Unilever & AXE: How we became a "Real" Agency 22:39 - Making Kaam 25 with Divine for Netflix India 24:58 - Why we FIRED bad clients to protect our team 26:08 - How to build a leadership team that runs itself 28:06 - Are agencies dead? 30:28 - The Grand Exit: Why I left after 10 years & 250 people 32:32 - How the podcast 'Advertising is Dead' started! 34:43 - Starting EMoMee: Building for kids after agency life 40:57 - Shark Tank Prep: Simplifying a business in 90 seconds 42:48 - "They had no clue!" - When the Sharks were confused 44:03 - Start of Varun's creator journey - Fitness and Lifestyle content 48:05 - Meet the Founder & CEO of Emomee, Pooja Jauhari! 49:23 - How is it working with your partner? 51:22 - Pooja's first thought before Emomee's birth! 55:08 - Varun's work from home space 56:41 - Varun's secret skill! 57:43 - Thank you, now watch Chandan's marketing masterclass! Mashable Across The Web Like us on Facebook:   / mashableindia   Follow us on Twitter:   / mashableindia   Follow us on Instagram:   / mashable.india   Subscribe for Latest Videos: https://bit.ly/2QIlhxZ Mashable India is for superfans. We're not for the casually curious. Obsess with us as we start exploring India. (Keywords: Varun Duggirala, Mashable Mornings, The Glitch, Shark Tank India, Emomee, MTV Roadies, Raghu Rajiv, Burnout, Career Pivot, Netflix Kaam 25, Indian Advertising, Startup Exit, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, EMoMee Youtube, Indian Startup Ecosystem, Content Creators India, Digital Media India, Indian Podcasts, Entrepreneur Mental Health, Founder Burnout India, Creator Economy India, Advertising Agencies India, Brand Building India, D2C Startups India, Shark Tank India Judges, Startup Funding India, Indian Business Shows, Personal Branding India, LinkedIn Creators India, YouTube Creators India, Podcasting India, Media Entrepreneurs India, Hustle Culture India, Work Life Balance India, Mental Health Awareness India, Career Reinvention India, Quarter Life Crisis India, Gen Z Careers India, Millennial Founders India, Indian Marketing Leaders, Growth Marketing India, Social Media Strategy India, Creator Burnout, Passion Economy India, Startup Failures India, Exit Stories India, MTV India, MTV Roadies Legacy, Roadies Auditions, Roadies Judges, Raghu Ram Rajiv Lakshman, Reality TV India, Indian Youth Television, MTV Splitsvilla, MTV Hustle, MTV VJ Culture, Indian Reality Shows, Youth Pop Culture India, MTV Originals India, Reality TV Personalities India, Roadies Controversies, Reality Show Mentors India, Reality TV Fame India, Indian Television Icons, Youth Media India, Entertainment Entrepreneurship India, TV to Startup Journey, Media Personalities India, Indian Pop Culture History, Television Storytelling India, Cultural Impact of MTV India, Reality TV Evolution India, Roadies to Boardroom, Entertainment Industry India, Celebrity Entrepreneurs India)