S4E1: How A CEO Built Puma, Left It & Raised 600 Cr Seed To Build Puma’s Biggest Threat From India

In our first ever episode in front of a live audience, Shantanu and Abhishek - both IIM Lucknow alumni - visited their beloved campus to shoot this special Barbershop conversation in front of a curious and welcoming student audience.

Abhishek is a storied CEO, joining Puma on day 1 in India in 2004 and then leading it to be bigger than Nike and Adidas combined! He then left to found Agilitas - a wildly courageous move with a 600 Cr seed round to acquire India’s largest shoe making factory.

This episode explores his experience as an operator and new entrepreneur, the risk of leaving a cushy CEO job, the market, how to attract talent, Virat, brand building, his bullishness on India and of course how being a back bencher at IIML did not derail his career.

We hope you love this conversation.

Navigate your way through this conversation:

00:00 Coming Up

01:41 Introduction: Reflections on IIM Lucknow

02:46 Building a Career from Humble Beginnings

06:53 The Journey of Puma: From Startup to Market Leader

23:24 The Birth of Agilitas

29:56 Building Brands for the Future

41:55 How to pitch to Investors

46:06 The Evolution of Sportswear

52:25 Team Dynamics and Company Culture

01:04:18 Futuristic Products that Agilitas is building

01:09:11 Marketing Challenges then v/s now

01:11:49 BSC: Quick Commerce v/s Retail Market

01:14:02 Business Model of Agilitas

01:15:35 Authenticity in Brand Communication

01:19:35 Creating a Thriving Company Culture

01:24:53 Opportunities in Sports Infrastructure

01:27:38 Sustainability in Business Practices

01:35:18 Challenges for Indigenous Brands in India

01:45:35 Navigating Stress and Entrepreneurship

01:49:24 Learning from Role Models

01:54:45 Manufacturing in India vs. Global Competition

01:59:24 Consulting as a Career Path

02:03:10 Competing with Established Brands