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How Love Transcends Species — What The Elephant Whisperers Taught Me About Care, Craft, and Staying Power
We often talk about product-market fit, but what about founder-product love? The kind that lasts — even when there’s no visible payoff. That’s what this film is about.
What This Watch Is
The Elephant Whisperers is a 39-minute documentary short on Netflix, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves. It tells the story of Bomman and Bellie, a tribal couple from Tamil Nadu, who raise an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu. It’s simple, raw, and deeply human — and in 2023, it made history by becoming the first Indian film to win an Oscar for Best Documentary Short.
Why It Matters to Founders
I create games. But the most immersive story I’ve experienced in years wasn’t in VR — it was this. No CGI, no background score trying to manipulate emotion. Just a quiet, visual rhythm of trust built over time. Gonsalves, a first-time filmmaker, spent five years filming in the forests. As a founder, it struck me how close that felt to product building: no guarantees, no overnight wins, just the slow work of earning trust — from your users, your team, your ecosystem.
Key Takeaways
– Love, like trust, can’t be speedrun. Whether it’s an elephant or an early user, you earn loyalty through presence.
– Five years for 39 minutes. That’s the hidden ratio behind craft — and it made me rethink how I measure output.
– Your debut can define the culture. Gonsalves didn’t wait to be seasoned — she showed up with intent, and the world followed.
– Founders are caretakers too. Watching Bomman and Bellie made me think of early-stage teams — doing the unseen labor with full hearts.
What Happened After
– Kartiki Gonsalves became a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and has gone on to work on globally relevant nature and culture projects.
– Bomman and Bellie were celebrated in India — awarded by the Tamil Nadu government — but their journey also sparked a conversation about fair compensation and post-fame responsibility for grassroots heroes.
Why I’m Recommending It
This isn’t just a nature film. It’s a story of cross-species love, of responsibility without reward, of showing up because something fragile depends on you. I saw so many parallels with building games, teams, and companies. The best builders I know care deeply — and stay longer than the applause.
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If you’re building something that requires care and belief — especially when no one’s watching — this one’s for you. The Elephant Whisperers is about what love looks like when it transcends species, and maybe even purpose.
The Other Side of Steve Jobs — Alex Gibney’s Documentary Every Founder Should Watch Once
Apple is valued at over $3.5 trillion. The iPhone remains the most profitable product line in tech history. Over a decade after his death, Steve Jobs is still one of the most cited names in founder circles. But are we learning the right lessons from his story?
What This Watch Is
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine is a feature documentary by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. It’s available on Prime Video and may require a paid subscription to view.
This isn’t a tribute. It’s a raw, reflective film that pulls apart the public myth and examines the human cost behind the success.
Why It Matters Now
In 2025, we’re witnessing a new generation of “visionary” founders in AI, hardware, and biotech. Multi-billion-dollar rounds, sleek product reveals, and intense founder cults are back. Jobs is often held up as the blueprint. But what if parts of that blueprint are flawed?
This documentary doesn’t deny his brilliance. It invites us to look closer at what else came with it—control, exclusion, and a tendency to justify anything in the name of the product. That context is crucial for today’s founders leading fast-scaling teams and building cultural influence.
Key Takeaways or Insights
- Jobs’ “reality distortion field” was powerful, but not always ethical. He pushed people hard, often to the edge.
- His refusal to acknowledge his daughter Lisa for years is one of several moments where personal values clashed with public image.
- The film explores why so many mourned him deeply—pointing to the emotional grip of brand storytelling and founder myth-making.
- It challenges the idea that success justifies everything, and asks a tough but essential question: what are you willing to sacrifice to build something iconic?
Why I’m Recommending It
This film hit harder than expected. It doesn’t cancel Jobs—it humanizes him. And that’s the part we often skip when quoting his keynote speeches or obsessing over design purity.
It made me rethink how founders lead, how teams function under pressure, and how culture often mirrors its most powerful person.
If you’ve ever looked up to Steve Jobs as a product genius, this documentary is your chance to study the whole story.
Inside the AI Economy — Mary Meeker’s 340-Page Report That Shows It’s the New Baseline
Mary Meeker didn’t just chronicle the rise of the internet — she helped the tech world understand its velocity. Her Internet Trends decks from the ‘90s became required reading in boardrooms and pitch rooms alike. Since then, through Kleiner Perkins and now BOND Capital, she’s mapped how technology reshapes behavior, markets, and power. Her reports don’t just reflect momentum — they pre-empt it.
Her latest: Trends — Artificial Intelligence (May 2025) is a 340-page document that unpacks how AI is not just a product wave, but an infrastructure shift. It goes deep: 800 million weekly users on ChatGPT, $212 billion in annual CapEx from Big Tech, and a clear inflection where training costs are ballooning while inference becomes cheap and scalable. It’s a shift in the stack — not just in tools, but in who can build, deploy, and scale.
The most important parts aren’t flashy. They’re foundational. The report examines how open-source models are quietly gaining ground, how the cost dynamics are redefining compute strategy, and why the next dominant AI players might not be U.S.-born. It’s not written for tourists. It’s written for builders.
If you're a founder, you owe yourself the time. This is more than a trends deck — it’s a calibration tool. It shows you what’s happening under the hood of the biggest platform shift since mobile.
Plug Into Bengaluru Startup Ecosystem — Plum’s curated Starter Guide for Founders New to the City
Bengaluru is one of those cities where startup momentum feels real — you just need to know where to look.
This guide by Plum makes that easy. It brings together the most relevant communities, accelerators, investors, and voices that help you get started, find your people, and plug into what’s happening.
📖 Read the full guide
If you're new to Bangalore or want to explore the ecosystem with more intention, this is a great place to begin.
Some standout insights:
If you're new to Bangalore or want to explore the ecosystem with more intention, this is a great place to begin.
Some standout insights:
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30+ active communities and event series — from eChai and SaaSBoomi to Headstart and Blume Day One — with direct links and clear intros.
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Accelerators and startup programs from AWS, 100X.VC, Capria, and Google for Startups — organized by stage and style.
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25+ VC firms and accelerators with local presence — including Accel, Peak XV, Antler, Kae, Elevation, and more.
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50+ X handles of builders, angels, and ecosystem enablers — to stay in the loop with real-time insights and opportunities.
Why I keep sharing this:
It’s not hype. It’s not a scene. It’s just genuinely useful for any founder trying to find momentum in Bangalore.
I end up recommending this to almost every founder who’s moved to the city or is here for a few weeks. It saves time, opens doors, and makes the city feel a little more yours.
How the Biggest Consumer Apps Got Their First 1,000 Users — Lenny Rachitsky’s 2020 Breakdown That Still Holds Up
Before they became well-known, these products were just trying to get 100 people to care.
This timeless piece from 2020 by Lenny Rachitsky explores how leading consumer apps like Reddit, Figma, Duolingo, and Clubhouse found their very first users. It features 40+ real examples of early traction that came from hands-on effort, not hype.
It’s still one of the best reads for founders figuring out how to launch and grow something new. The tactics may vary, but the mindset is the same.
Some standout insights:
• Reddit created fake user accounts to simulate engagement in the early days.
• Figma ran in-person design workshops and gathered live feedback from students.
• Duolingo quietly spread through niche forums and communities before any major campaigns.
• Clubhouse focused on bringing in the right early users instead of chasing big numbers.
• Figma ran in-person design workshops and gathered live feedback from students.
• Duolingo quietly spread through niche forums and communities before any major campaigns.
• Clubhouse focused on bringing in the right early users instead of chasing big numbers.
Why this matters now:
Even with all the new tools and channels, early growth still depends on real conversations, community, and effort.
This read is a good reset for anyone thinking about growth. It brings the focus back to building trust, doing the work, and being close to your earliest users.
If you're planning your own 0 to 1, this one is worth saving.
The eChai Effect - In Their Words
“You don’t plan to build a company via eChai. You just keep showing up … and one day, you realize you did.” I’ve known Jatin since 2012, when I was still deciding what kind of second innings I wanted to play as an entrepreneur. Over the years, through events, chai breaks, intros, and seemingly small conversations, eChai helped shape not just Upsquare but also refined the lens through which we see collaboration. At Upsquare, we’ve hired talent, met partners, discovered co-investors, and built lifelong friendships. One of our joint ventures exists today only because a casual eChai memory sparked a deeper trust. Now, as we build House of Starts — our venture builder — eChai continues to fuel our mission: co-creating a shared future. eChai isn’t just a startup network. It’s a trust network. And for business builders like me, that makes all the difference."
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP
"For me, eChai is a second home. I've been associated with it since the early days, when it was already setting a different tone for how startup communities could work. As a traditional business owner entering the new-age D2C space, eChai supported me in every direction. Over the years, it became my window to the startup world — and also gave me lifelong friends who continue to show up, for business and beyond."
Pankaj Bhimani
Founder, 58miles
“I have no hesitation in saying that my association with eChai has been a gateway into the startup ecosystem. Through this platform, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many young and dynamic entrepreneurs. These interactions have been immensely enriching - I’ve learned a great deal and have always tried to offer guidance whenever approached. It’s a truly symbiotic relationship that I deeply value, and it wouldn’t have been possible without eChai.”
Syed Nadeem Jafri
Founder, Hearty Mart
eChai Partner Brands
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.