E157 | Joy of Giving P2 | Venkat Krishnan

Send us Fan MailRejection can bruise the ego—or it can build the roadmap. We sit down with Venkat to unpack why the best salespeople talk less, listen more, and treat every “no” as free R&D. That simple shift—separating the rejection of an idea from the worth of a person—unlocks a healthier mindset and a sharper product. Venkat shares the unforgettable Ahmedabad school story: sky‑high expectations, an empty admissions desk, a late‑night reckoning, and then gritty, door‑to‑door work that turned seven enrollments into thirty‑one—and, within a year, demand far beyond capacity.From there, we pivot to giving. Venkat is candid about leading with the head before the heart, and how sustained, significant philanthropy pulled his emotions into alignment. We examine why five seconds of joy can be real impact, how India’s poorest quietly donate a larger share of their revenue, and why storytelling alone can fade while numbers persist. The throughline is sacrifice: moving from feeling good to doing good, giving up a little personal comfort so others can access essentials like surgery or schooling. We also explore practical tools for builders—scrappy prototypes, frugal learning, and then bold-scale spending once product-market fit is clear.Looking forward, we map three frontiers for change-makers: climate change as the defining systems challenge, AI’s underexplored existential risks beyond jobs, and a wider moral circle that extends compassion to nonhuman life. Venkat outlines initiatives like ICVA to make corporate volunteering meaningful and measurable, and Living My Promise, where wealth-holders commit half their net worth to society. The episode closes on gratitude and responsibility: if you can listen to this show, you have privilege—now turn it into impact through listening, proximity, and giving that stretches you. If this conversation pushed your thinking, follow, rate, and share the show with someone who needs a nudge from feeling good to doing good.Have you purchased the copy of Inspire Someone Today, yet? - Give it a go geni.us/istbookAvailable on all podcast platforms, including, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify