From Riyaaz Amlani's success with Social to winners of Forbes India Leadership Awards 2025, our top stories of the week

In this week's newsletter, also read about the final close of Together's second fund focused on AI, Brijraj Bhuptani's US growth story, the effect of scorching summer on inflation and consumption, and more

By Forbes India

Published: Mar 15, 2025 10:00:00 AM IST

Updated: Mar 13, 2025 05:38:21 PM IST

1) Coming Together

(L-R) Lakshmi Shankar, Manav Garg, Girish Mathrubootham, Shubham Gupta. Image Courtesy: Together

Manav Garg, CEO and co-founder of Eka Software Solutions, and Girish Mathrubootham, founder and executive chairman of Freshworks, wanted to start a venture capital firm to seed and nurture the next generation of Indian software startups. The idea was to combine their collective experience as entrepreneur-operators and mentor/fund new ventures. Four years ago, the duo started that firm--Together. Their first fund was $85 million, and they have invested in approximately 30 startups. Now Together is working on closing its second fund at $150 million. This tranche of investment will focus on the current technology trend that is primarily dominated by artificial intelligence. Here are insights from the fund's bet on India's AI efforts.

2) Being Social

Riyaaz Amlani, Founder & MD, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India.

If you are even remotely associated with the food and beverage business, the name Riyaaz Amlani must be part of your vocabulary. The CEO and founder of Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt Ltd began his journey in 2002 with a cafe inspired by Moroccan qahwah khannas--Mocha. His journey has had delicious milestones such as Saltwater Cafe (now Bandra Born), Smoke House Deli, Slink & Bardot and most recently, Michelin-starred chef Garima Arora's first Indian restaurant--Baang. But there's one venture that stands out in this lineup. Social, a chain of cafe-bar-cum-workspace, has become the backbone of Impresario's Rs600-crore F&B portfolio. What is the key ingredient of Social's success? Here's a looksie at the recipe.

3) Bracing for blazing summer

Image: Biju BORO / AFP

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued health risk warnings due to an intense heatwave sweeping across several states. Konkan and Vidarbha in Maharashtra and southwest Rajasthan are already facing temperatures much higher than the seasonal average. In the past two years, the Indian economy has experienced multiple episodes of heatwaves and excessive rains, which have impacted food supply chains and prices. How will the scorching summer and rising heatwaves impact the agri-economy and overall food prices? Some experts weigh in on the subject.

1) Forbes India Turnaround Star

Puneet Chhatwal, Managing director & CEO, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). Image: Bajirao Pawar for Forbes India

Taj Mahal Palace is synonymous with the highest form of luxury and is also the aspiration of Indian commoners. The legacy brand is also an emotion and part of modern Indian history. So what do you do when this iconic brand fails to adapt to changing consumer demands or become agile after a pandemic that wrecked the hospitality business and maybe can’t stand tall against the international hospitality brands making headway in the Indian market? You give it to someone who can reimagine and reinvent the business and restore the glory. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), has turned around the fortunes of the hospitality group. Here's why the Forbes India Leadership Awards 2025 jury picked IHCL for the honours.

2) Forbes India Promising Startup

Rahul Yadav (left), COO, Minimalist, with Mohit Yadav, who is CEO. Image: Amit Verma

Mohit and Rahul Yadav launched their beauty products brand Minimalist bang in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first batch was 750 bottles across five categories. Bottles were filled by hand and manually weighed on a scale. Within the next eight months, Minimalist clocked Rs100 crore in revenue. In the four years and counting since, Minimalist sales reached a run rate of Rs500 crore a year, making them the winner in the promising startup category at the Forbes India Leadership Awards. Here's how transparency with customers and entrepreneurial verve got them the honour and sweet deal from FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever.

3) Forbes India Regional Goliath

Sunay Bhasin, CEO, MTR and Sanjay Sharma, CEO and director Orkla India. Image: Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India

MTR is synonymous with ready-to-cook mixes and packaged foods on the shelves of the rest of India; in Karnataka, it is an emotion. The brand's journey began in 1924 when Bengaluru’s Maiya family started Brahmin Coffee House. The restaurant was renamed Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) in 1951. Over half a century later, MTR was bought by Norwegian conglomerate Orkla in 2007. But because the food, culture, and the brand were intertwined, MTR still held on to its Kannadiga core and built from there. Forbes India Leadership Award for Regional Goliath honours a business rooted in a region but has long challenged established pan-India players. Here's MTR's story that tells you why it deserves that honour.

4) US growth story

In the latest episode of the Forbes India Tech Conversations podcast, Brijraj Bhuptani, founder and CEO at Spry Therapeutics, talks about how his co-founder Riyaz Rehman and him found an opportunity in helping small and mid-sized physical therapy clinics in the US become more efficient and innovative, with an AI-led revenue cycle management platform. Bhuptani also talks about pivots along the way, thinking about outcomes first that sharpened their go-to-market focus and plans for going after bigger customers now, all while delivering the product development and engineering entirely from India. Listen here.