Kulfi-dential: Building the Collective feat. Advait Gupt (Co-Founder & CEO, Kulfi Collective)

Episode 25 What happens when an agency refuses to call itself an agency? In our silver jubilee episode, Vishal sits down with Advait Gupt, Co-Founder & CEO of Kulfi Collective, the Mumbai-based creative powerhouse behind Supari Studios and brand work for Spotify, Netflix, Crocs, Nothing, LEGO, Red Bull, and CRED. Advait unpacks how Kulfi stayed bootstrapped while peers chased eye-watering valuations, what changes now that Divya Karani has joined as chairperson, and why the company sits in the awkward, beautiful space between branded content, original IP, and immersive experiences. The conversation goes deep on the commercial model behind a collective, the procurement problem that's quietly reshaping Indian advertising, the rise of dark social and creator-led communities, the q-commerce squeeze on creative canvases, owned-IP economics, the so-called “independence tax" of the AI era, and what brand building looks like in 2027 when consumers never see an ad. Plus: how a frozen dessert became the name of one of India's most exciting creative companies. The Indian AdGeek streams on all major podcast apps. Vishal on X