What happens when a second-generation business leader decides that "business as usual" is the biggest threat to survival?

In this episode of Inherited - Stories of Succession, Bijay Gautam sits down with Subrata Banik, who built Ajanta Shoes into a manufacturing powerhouse, and his son, Sagnik Banik, who is transforming that foundation into an AI-driven tech brand.

They get into:

• How the Ajanta Group evolved from Hawai chappals to India's first AI-powered smart shoe

• The journey of building a 70-year-old family business across three generations

• Why "factory first, brand later" became the foundation of Ajanta's culture

• How data-driven manufacturing helped uncover hidden inefficiencies

• The story behind Impakto Navigator and the challenges of bringing a smart shoe to market

• What it takes to balance tradition and innovation in a legacy business

• How father and son navigate succession, leadership, and decision-making

• Ajanta's vision for the future, including its IPO plans and ₹1,000 crore revenue target

No performance, no PR spin, just the honest mechanics of a father and son transitioning from Hawai chappals to AI smart shoes.

For any family business owner navigating the tension between past success and future growth, this is the blueprint you’ve been looking for.

What does it actually mean to inherit a name that was never built for you?

In this episode of Inherited - Stories of Succession, Bijay Gautam sits down with Sarah Sham, founder of Essajees Atelier, and her father Mohamedi Sham, the proprietor behind one of South Bombay's most iconic antique establishments. One has spent 40+ years finding the rarest objects in India. The other built a 60-person design studio from scratch without using a single contact from his Rolodex.

They get into:

• Why the company was called Essajees and Sons for 130 years and what Sarah did when she renamed it

• The ₹15,000 monthly salary and the five years of being an overqualified secretary

• The moment she realised her father would never truly give her the keys to the kingdom

• Why she stopped wanting them

• What the zero commission model changed in her business

• What a father chooses to write on a piece of paper when everything he's built is about to disappear.

  
  

No performance. No PR spin. Just the honest mechanics of two people who built different kingdoms from the same name.

If you're building something you want to outlast you, this one's required listening.

What does it actually take to forge your own legacy when a perfectly good one already exists?

In this episode of Inherited - Stories of Succession, Mr. Bijay Gautam sits down with Shubhika Jain (CEO), Suramya Jain (CMO), and Sangeeta Jain (CRO) of RAS Luxury Skincare, India's first Farm to Face luxury skincare brand, alongside Shaillendra Jain, patriarch and founder of the RITEE Group of Institutes, to unpack the family dynamics behind building something entirely new in the light of an already existing legacy.

They get into:

• why a father with a multi-crore empire told his daughters to start from scratch

• what working with your mother looks like at the C-suite level

• how Shubhika told the difference between her father's wisdom and his bias

• what actually happened with 32 investor rejections before the $2 million round

• the advice for women in family businesses that no one says loudly enough.

  
  

No PR spin or a packaged success story. Just the honest mechanics of three women who decided on their own what their legacy would look like before anyone else did.

If you're building something that is truly you, this one's a must-listen.