As funding dries up and survival of the fittest mantra kicks in to the startup ecosystem the ‘winter’ is truly here. Big layoffs are the starting point but what comes next? Byju’s valuation shocker has sent ripples in the system as many now are questioning. Will founders have to bite the bullet and face down rounds? Will tougher times mean looser principles and governance. Pankaj Naik of Avendus Capital and Amit Tandon of IiAS gives us a sneak peek into “Survivor Island: The Startup Finale” 
Credits: NDTV, Republic World, Times Now, CNBC TV-18, Akash Badre, and Flipkart ET Startup Awards

You can follow our host Anupriya Bahadur on his social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anupria
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupriya-nair-297b4a7/

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts.

As funding dries up and survival of the fittest mantra kicks in to the startup ecosystem the ‘winter’ is truly here. Big layoffs are the starting point but what comes next? Byju’s valuation shocker has sent ripples in the system as many now are questioning. Will founders have to bite the bullet and face down rounds? Will tougher times mean looser principles and governance. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankaj-naik-b42b2b4/">Pankaj Naik</a> of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/avendus/">Avendus Capital</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-tandon-b27ba640/">Amit Tandon</a> of <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/iiasadvisory">IiAS</a> gives us a sneak peek into “Survivor Island: The Startup Finale”  Credits: NDTV, Republic World, Times Now, CNBC TV-18, Akash Badre, and Flipkart ET Startup Awards
You can follow our host Anupriya Bahadur on his social media: Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/anupria">https://twitter.com/anupria</a> Linkedin: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupriya-nair-297b4a7/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupriya-nair-297b4a7/</a>
Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on<a href="https://www.etplay.com/etplay"> ET Play</a>,<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr"> The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_"> JioSaavn</a>,<a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief"> Amazon Music</a> and<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvNjBiMmU5MjYtZTVmOC00YjkwLWE0NjUtYWVmOTAxMTYzMDAxLzk1ZmQ3YzU5LTc5MGQtNDk2ZS1iYmRlLWFlZjkwMTE2N2ZlNC84YWU1NDc2My05OTI1LTQwY2EtOGMzZC1hZWY5MDExNjdmZmIvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M?sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi2gOG4la36AhUvjtgFHcdWDU8Q9sEGegQIARAC"> Google Podcasts</a>.

To make sense of the week’s hottest stories in business, economy, politics and markets, journalists from the Economic Times chat with reporters and industry leaders in this thrice-weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) podcast.

The Morning Brief

Survivor Island: The Startup Finale, Downsizing to Down Rounds

Will Venezuela turmoil move global oil prices?

How will China’s Venezuelan oil trade change?

Will India tap Venezuelan oil after sanctions?

Can ONGC revive its Venezuela oil assets soon?

What next for global oil in the next year?

Conclusion

Credits

On January 3rd, 2026, Delta Force stormed Nicolás Maduro's compound in Caracas in Operation Absolute Resolve. Within hours, the Venezuelan president was shackled aboard the USS Iwo Jima, bound for Guantanamo Bay. Trump announced America would "run" Venezuela indefinitely. The prize? The world's largest oil reserves—303 billion barrels sitting beneath a nation producing less than a million barrels daily. It's regime change theatre: sanctions turned kinetic, liberation sold as law enforcement. International critics cry “land-grab”. Venezuelans are on the edge. Many express their joy on social media and thank Trump. Now the real questions emerge: Will India's Reliance and ONGC reclaim their Venezuelan stakes? Can China's sanctioned oil pipeline survive American control? And when US companies balk at investing in a country with no political legitimacy, what then? ET’s energy expert Sanjeev Choudhary and host Anirban Chowdhury decode the geopolitics, the markets, and the messy aftermath of America's latest intervention.

Listen in:

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

Credits: Global News, dannypryp, AP Archive, The Guardian

On January 3rd, 2026, Delta Force stormed Nicol&aacute;s Maduro's compound in Caracas in Operation Absolute Resolve. Within hours, the Venezuelan president was shackled aboard the USS Iwo Jima, bound for Guantanamo Bay. Trump announced America would "run" Venezuela indefinitely. The prize? The world's largest oil reserves&mdash;303 billion barrels sitting beneath a nation producing less than a million barrels daily. It's regime change theatre: sanctions turned kinetic, liberation sold as law enforcement. International critics cry &ldquo;land-grab&rdquo;. Venezuelans are on the edge. Many express their joy on social media and thank Trump. Now the real questions emerge: Will India's Reliance and ONGC reclaim their Venezuelan stakes? Can China's sanctioned oil pipeline survive American control? And when US companies balk at investing in a country with no political legitimacy, what then? ET&rsquo;s energy expert Sanjeev Choudhary and host Anirban Chowdhury decode the geopolitics, the markets, and the messy aftermath of America's latest intervention.
Listen in: You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: <a href="https://twitter.com/AnirbanET">X</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirban-chowdhury-b5067219/">Linkedin</a>
Check out other interesting episodes like: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000742733036">How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000740924439">How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738734300">India&rsquo;s Labour Law Reboot</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536">Viral to Valuation: Building Women&rsquo;s Cricket as a Brand</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">much more</a>.
Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on&nbsp;<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr">The Economic Times Online</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief">Amazon Music</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts">Youtube</a>.
Credits:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9JOfIp4ds0">Global News</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTGUTuokndT/?igsh=YnF5dzc1bmUycmpl">dannypryp</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snpxO9-fRm0">AP Archive</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgvI6iF7RhM">The Guardian</a>

Blood for Barrels: Venezuela Seizure, New Oil Wars and the India Angle

Do legacy brands still make Gen Z carts today

Gen Z wants uniqueness mass brands dont offers

Gen Z balances price and quality with options

Another key reason Gen Z rejects big brandsNow

Experience and personalization attract Gen Z

Legacy brands lag as loyalty fades fast today!

Does Gen Z really hate brands or just loyalty?

Is this a phase or a lasting cultural shift?

Why Gen Z trusts influencers not brands today!

Is Gen Z rejecting products lacking uniqueness

Does scale kill loyalty brands go mainstream?

What will Gen Z friendly brand look like 2026!

Generation Z has divorced legacy brands. From fashion to food, skincare to supplements, young Indians are abandoning household names for Instagram-born startups their parents have never heard of. Zara feels too expensive and repetitive. H&M lacks uniqueness. Traditional brands feel inauthentic and mass-produced. But this isn't about price alone. It's about trust, personalization, and meaning. In an era where identity is curated pixel by pixel on social media, GenZ needs brands that speak their language—brands with personality, rough edges, and values that align with their own. Brand consulting and founder of Think9 Consumer Technologies Santosh Desai, ET's Aanya Thakur and Tanishka Dubey as well as Valley's Shubh Agrawal tell host Anirban Chowdhury it’s a "fundamental structural shift"— a permanent rewiring of consumer behavior driven by technology, media fragmentation, and the democratization of distribution. Brand loyalty, he argues, was always just inertia. And that inertia is dead. Welcome to the post-loyalty economy.

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

Generation Z has divorced legacy brands. From fashion to food, skincare to supplements, young Indians are abandoning household names for Instagram-born startups their parents have never heard of. Zara feels too expensive and repetitive. H&amp;M lacks uniqueness. Traditional brands feel inauthentic and mass-produced. But this isn't about price alone. It's about trust, personalization, and meaning. In an era where identity is curated pixel by pixel on social media, GenZ needs brands that speak their language&mdash;brands with personality, rough edges, and values that align with their own. Brand consulting and founder of Think9 Consumer Technologies Santosh Desai, ET's Aanya Thakur and Tanishka Dubey as well as Valley's Shubh Agrawal tell host Anirban Chowdhury it&rsquo;s a "fundamental structural shift"&mdash; a permanent rewiring of consumer behavior driven by technology, media fragmentation, and the democratization of distribution. Brand loyalty, he argues, was always just inertia. And that inertia is dead. Welcome to the post-loyalty economy. You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: <a href="https://twitter.com/AnirbanET">X</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirban-chowdhury-b5067219/">Linkedin </a>Check out other interesting episodes like: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000742733036">How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000740924439">How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738734300">India&rsquo;s Labour Law Reboot</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536">Viral to Valuation: Building Women&rsquo;s Cricket as a Brand</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">much more</a>.
Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr">The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief">Amazon Music</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts">Youtube</a>.

How Legacy Brands Lost GenZ

What surprised and worried Glean’s founder?

Why start again after Google and Rubrik now!

Does this feel like a full circle moment now?

Has Glean solved the problem it set out to do?

Is first mover advantage fading in AI now?

 How big is your team?

Where does India stand on revenue today

Are enterprises really willing to pay for AI?

Is Glean ready if the AI bubble finally burst?

Has AI killed the first mover advantage today?

Does the pace of change keep you up at night?

What was your biggest mistake so far till now?

How enterprise buying changed in last decade?

Does sovereign AI help or hurt global scaling?

What does Glean’s next growth phase look like?

Arvind Jain couldn't find his own company's data at Rubrik. So in 2019 before ChatGPT, before the AI boom, he built Glean, the first enterprise generative AI company. Now they're doubling past $100M ARR with 1,100 employees and watching tech giants copy their playbook. But Jain admits his biggest mistake: being too conservative. "We should have gone much bigger, much faster," he says, crediting his Indian upbringing for the cautious approach. Still, Glean remains years ahead as competitors scramble to build "AI that knows your company's data." His contrarian take on AI? It won't shrink workforces, it'll just raise the bar for everyone. The real edge isn't the technology; it's execution. And despite the relentless pace keeping him up at night, Jain's never been more optimistic about building a multi-billion dollar business.

You can follow Swathi Moorthy on her social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

Arvind Jain couldn't find his own company's data at Rubrik. So in 2019 before ChatGPT, before the AI boom, he built Glean, the first enterprise generative AI company. Now they're doubling past $100M ARR with 1,100 employees and watching tech giants copy their playbook. But Jain admits his biggest mistake: being too conservative. "We should have gone much bigger, much faster," he says, crediting his Indian upbringing for the cautious approach. Still, Glean remains years ahead as competitors scramble to build "AI that knows your company's data." His contrarian take on AI? It won't shrink workforces, it'll just raise the bar for everyone. The real edge isn't the technology; it's execution. And despite the relentless pace keeping him up at night, Jain's never been more optimistic about building a multi-billion dollar business. You can follow Swathi Moorthy on her social media: <a href="https://x.com/kpswathi?utm_source=chatgpt.com">X</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/swathi-moorthy-1a628115/?utm_source=chatgpt%2Ecom&amp;originalSubdomain=in">Linkedin</a>
Check out other interesting episodes like: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000742733036">How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000740924439">How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738734300">India&rsquo;s Labour Law Reboot</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536">Viral to Valuation: Building Women&rsquo;s Cricket as a Brand</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">much more</a>.
Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr">The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief">Amazon Music</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts">Youtube</a>.

ET In The Valley: Arvind Jain, Co-Founder And CEO Of Glean

Survivor Island: The Startup Finale, Downsizing to Down Rounds

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