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The Business of Culture Podcast

Updated: Jan 20

What does it take to build a cultural brand? What are the essential traits of a cultural entrepreneur? What distinguishes a 'cultural business' from any other business?


Get unmissable perspectives from three experts who are, between them, cultural entrepreneurs, investors, strategists, global Indians and cultural champions.



Diaspora Dialogues Episode 1


Talking Cultural Entrepreneurship, Investments and Growth with Raj Narula, Aditi Seshadri and Sayali Goyal







Watch the episode here or read the notes below to get a jist of the discussion!


Show Notes:

Follow along to know what we talk about, or jump to the parts that catch your interest!


At 2.00: Raj Narula shares his background and experience as a cultural entrepreneur, how he built one of the most successful Indian restaurant in Canada, and tried everything from promoting Indian cultural shows in the 90’s, to travel and tourism and finally, technology and investing. 

At 4.20: Raj shares why he considers Canada as a thriving cultural economy, and how India and China, which form around 10% of the Canadian population have successfully build a strong cultural presence there through food, music, yoga, ayurveda etc.

At 6.00: Raj shares how the Canadian government supports skill building and mass commercialisation of cultural products and services. If you are a documentary film maker, don’t miss the hint from Raj in this section!

At 6.40: Raj talks about his work with Erie Silk artisans in Shillong India, and why he thinks that represents a huge missed opportunity for the Indian cultural economy. 

Takeaway: If you are a cultural entrepreneur, Raj advises spending time with artisans to understand their skills, and ask how we can take their speciality to the world.


At 8.00: Raj tells us about how he and his brother incorporated cultural artefacts from India into their restaurant.

Takeaway: If you have a cultural brand, think about how each element communicates your cultural identity and brand story.


At 9.00: Do artisans really need, want or are able to become an entrepreneur? We talk about the role cultural entrepreneurs can play to help bring these crafts specialities to market while still running a profitable business. 

Takeaway: As a cultural entrepreneur, see your role as not just a middleman but as a mentor and facilitator to artisans, as there can be no business without them. 


At 10.40: Why a strong ecosystem is necessary to help the last mile artisans bring their products to market. Artisans have the craft skills, you have the business and management skills. Both are critical to success.

Takeaway: We can’t build a cultural economy without the last mile artisan. We we an ecosystem to help them be successful, so that we all, and our economy can be successful.


At 11.20: Raj shares the misconceptions about approaching investors for our cultural business, and tells us what investors look for.

Takeaway: Be ready to demonstrate 3-6-12 month roadmaps to investors to prove that you can execute and achieve measurable results. Also, don’t ever forget that it was passion and not money that got you this far!




At 13.00 Segment shift to Aditi Seshadri


At 14.00: Aditi introduces herself and tells us about her professional background. She shares what UnlockImpact does, and how it helps social entrepreneurs, especially early-stage women led businesses, many of which are cultural and community focused businesses.

At 15.40: We discuss if it is necessary for cultural enterprises to be part of the impact economy or can it be part of the mainstream economy? Aditi explains how culture has always has been mainstream, but as an industry, it is very fragmented. 

She talks about the ‘Roti, Kapda, Makan’ approach in the impact and entrepreneur space, where the goal is to solve for HUGE problems. Among the technology, education, and food agenda, cultural entrepreneurship tends to get relegated to the ‘patronage space’ because there are ‘bigger problems to solve’.

At 17.00: Aditi gives us examples of how successful cultural enterprises such as FabIndia, Good Earth or Jaipur Lit Fest and Serendipity Fest in Goa have changed this perception by helping create entire economies around themselves.

Takeaway: A cohesive and coordinated approach helps deliver exponential outcomes and show concrete economic impact. Storytelling and branding can help create repeatable and scalable cultural business models. 


At 20.00: Telling brand stories right help us compete in a crowded digital space. Brands like Chumbak and FabIndia have built strong and consistent brand stories. 

Takeaway: Master digital storytelling and invest in it for the best ROI. When building your brand story, weave your purpose clearly into it so that people know who you are and what you stand for. 


At 23.00: Financial sustainability is intrinsic, says Aditi, but you should set goals around both profits and purpose, and reinvest in the cultural values you stand for, if you want to be an ‘authentic cultural brand’.

Takeaway: leverage purpose to build a stronger brand story. Don’t ignore that great asset you have as a cultural brand!


At 26.00: Aditi talks about how the investor landscape has evolved in this space. It’s a complex market in India. Big cheques are focused on big mass tech solutions. However, Aditi shares how things are changing in India and South East Asia, and the areas investors seem more interested in.

Takeaway: There are a lot more options now. Don’t obsess with the ‘shark tank funding model’ or the ‘silicon valley growth model’. All types of financing are available today and scale can happen in multiple ways. Educate yourself on the various options before approaching the right kind of funding body or investor and know that at different stage of growth, different options may suit you.


At 30.00: Segment shift to Sayali Goyal




At 31.00: Sayali tells us about herself, her work and her Aahata project in Punjab. We hear about her research thesis in London (which is about Kinship in Punjab through visuals and materials), and how her Aahata.org project connects textile communities across Punjab with a global audience at a 2 week residency. She also shares how working without strategies and business plans has worked in her favour.

Takeaway: Sayali is a classical cultural entrepreneur with a rather diverse portfolio career tied around various nuances of culture and heritage. Her experience tells us to be comfortable with open-endedness with your cultural business model – that’s the essence of cultural businesses!


At 35.00: Sayali shares how she is engaging global clients in Europe across the fashion, publications industries and how she managed to get foreigners come to Punjab for her Aahata project. Listen in to her lessons in experiential and immersive tourism that got 1500 applications - of which 1200 were diasporic Indians wanting to come to Punjab!

Takeaway: Product design is key. People need to believe in you and your vision/ credibility. Design a program around themes and immersive experiences, and not a destination. Create a program that they can commit to and engage with. And which opens up new horizons long after the transactional interaction is over.


At 37.00: Sayali tells us what we need to better understand about the diasporic mindset. An unmissable segment. 

Takeaway: There is no formula to understand diaspora. But the secret is to listen, and identify what they are interested in. Design your program and experiences around their needs and not the other way. 


At 38.00: Chitra shares 3 major takeaways from Sayali’s segment. 

  • Build a community and credibility before you start selling things

  • Brand story and social media can help you do that.

  • Product design, audience immersion and innovation are key to success. 

At 41.00: Sayali shares gaps she sees in product market fit today. She lays out what makes a cultural enterprise distinct from just another commercial business.


Takeaway: 

When working with craft communities, its important to engage them and make them part of the story, or else it’s not going to survive in the long run. Value addition should be 2 way. For long term success, money or income cannot be the only value your enterprise adds to the artisan’s life. Are they learning something? Is the community getting exposure and enrichment? 






Show wrap-up

At 45.00: Aditi, Raj and Sayali do a quick 1-minute wrap up of their thoughts. 

  • Aditi shares why an ecosystem is key to starting right

  • Raj reminds us that trust and cultural integration are key to success with diaspora markets

  • Sayali suggests why some businesses choose to stay consciously small



ABOUT OUR PANELISTS


Raj Narula (India/ Canada)

Founder and CEO, InCa Synergies

What Raj talks about: Raj talks about the role a cultural entrepreneur can play in building a cultural economy, what diaspora investors look for in cultural businesses, and why the key to success lies in enabling the last-mile artisan.

More about Raj:

Raj is an entrepreneur, investor and mentor to startup founders.

Over his career, he has founded and exited multiple product and Services companies. He’s a Trusted Advisor and mentor to CEO's and Founders. 

He provides strategic and operational advise to startups and is also an Active Investor in early stage ventures. Many of the companies he has mentored or advised have been acquired by large brands. He has helped companies secure over $ 100M in financing over multiple rounds across geographies and is a co-founder of the Ottawa chapter of TIE. 


Aditi Seshadri (India/ South East Asia)

Co-founder Unlock Impact and Nushu Network.

What Aditi talks about: Aditi talks about balancing profit with purpose, the evolving investor attitude towards funding cultural businesses, and how to determine which funding model works best for your business. 

More about Aditi

Aditi is an entrepreneur and advisor who believes in the power of social impact to bring about systemic change.As the co-founder of Unlock Impact, a gender-smart firm that helps purpose-driven enterprises succeed, she supports businesses in South and Southeast Asia with business advisory, impact investing and communications & marketing.Unlock Impact’s flagship vertical is Comms Ninja, which helps growing organizations connect with their audiences and tell impactful stories. 

Aditi is also a co-founder of Nushu Network, a network with over 800 members that brings community, coaching and capital to startup women entrepreneurs in Asia.

(Fun fact: PCP was a member of the 2024 SheLeads Cohort that was run by Nushu Networks. We highly recommend other female founders connect with Nushu Networks for leadership programs and investment advice!)


Sayali Goyal (India/ UK/ Europe)

Founder Editor and Creative Director, Cocoa and Jasmine

What Sayali talks about: Sayali tells us how she managed to get over 1500 applications from foreign audiences for her art and craft residency (aahata.org) in Punjab, what sets a cultural business aside from a regular business, why its important to not put diaspora into boxes or seek a formula to win them over, and why some cultural businesses choose to stay consciously small.

More about Sayali:

Sayali is the Founding Editor and Creative Director of an independent print magazine called Cocoa and Jasmine. Through her career of 13 years, she has worked on multiple cultural projects and commissions including the British council, Maharaja Sawai ManSingh Museum Jaipur, Good Earth India, Nila House Jaipur and more. 

Sayali also runs an initiative called Ahaata.org, through which she holds annual residency programs in Punjab, India to bring a global creative community to engage with multidisciplinary local creatives to further cross-cultural exchange.  

Sayali recently authored Everyday Indian Aesthetic, published by Roli Books India that is an ethnographic documentation of our diverse country. She also contributes to leading publication, has been guest lecturer at institutions such as the Parsons School of Design, and has curated high-profile textile art shows in India and England.


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