Why Businesses Fail? S01E01

Throughout history, there have been many conquerors, raiders, and warrior Kings, who have captured large swathes of territories over a short period. Their expansionist campaigns were often brutal and resulted in decimating one Kingdom after another. While browsing through pages of business history, we also find several examples of entrepreneurs, companies, and business leaders who became the dominant entity in a particular sector of industry or geography. They not only monopolized the business but also began to dictate the terms of the trade. Frequently, these businesses were driven by a founder-leader, a rock star executive, or an ambitious scion of the owners.

But there is one aspect that is common among both these groups of empire builders- the empires they built withered away quickly after the conqueror-expansionists were no more. At best, their empires lasted a generation or two after the charismatic leader passed away. Are there exceptions to these rules? Have large business houses survived beyond their founders? Which large business houses in India can we look up to when we search for companies that have survived over decades? Listen to a fascinating discussion with Author, Business historian, and former Corporate Executive Vikrant Pande, as he compares and contrasts the Maratha Empire under Bajirao I and the house of the Tatas. Other than their Geographical area of origin, the two are, as diverse and distinct as it gets.

We leave you with an all-important question from this episode, What can business leaders in India learn from their experiences?

Release date

Audiobook: 5 July 2022