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.

What does it actually take to build a ₹12,500 crore empire from ₹12.50 and then hand it to 7 nephews and a son without a single split?

In Episode 2 of Inherited - Stories of Succession, Mr. Bijay Gautam sits down with Savjibhai Dholakia (Founder & Chairman, Hari Krishna Exports & Padma Shri awardee), Brijesh Dholakia (Second Generation Entrepreneur) and Dravya Dholakia (Founding Partner, Dholakia Ventures), three members of one of India's most extraordinary family businesses.

Sixty-four family members. One account. No budget rules. No splits in 30 years.

They get into the origin story of a 12-year-old boy who left his village with a ₹12.50 ticket and his mother's three dreams, the family tradition of sending every heir undercover to an unknown city with almost no money to find jobs for a month, why Savjibhai Dholakia says when a family breaks apart, it is always the father's fault, the transparent family conversation that got 9 people into a 2-pass Padma Shri ceremony, how Dravya Dholakia carved out a venture capital path inside a diamond family over 18 months of debate and what the second generation's story needs to be after a first chapter this large.

No performance. No PR spin. Just the honest mechanics of keeping a business family intact across generations.

And what it costs when you don't get it right.

If you're part of a family business, building one, or hoping to pass one on, this one's a must listen.

70% of Indian family businesses die by the third generation. The Ranga family of Cycle Agarbatti, Mysore didn't. Here's exactly what they did differently and built a ₹1,200 crore empire across three generations.

In the premiere episode of Inherited: Stories of Succession, Bijay Gautam sits down with Arjun Ranga (CEO, Cycle Pure Agarbathi) and Pavan Ranga (CEO, Rangsons Aerospace) of the NR Group the family behind India's most iconic agarbatti brand.

It's a rare, unguarded look at the human side of passing the torch: the heartaches, the hard conversations, and the hard-won systems that hold a multi-generational family business together.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

✅ The Three Circles of Governance — How the Rangas formally separated Family, Ownership, and Management to prevent power struggles

✅ The Family Constitution — What it actually contains, why they built one, and whether it restricts you or liberates you

✅ The Exit Mechanism — How they valued the business so any family member could leave without destroying what was built

✅ The Custodian Mindset — Why Pavan built Rangsons Aerospace from scratch instead of just inheriting a seat at the table

✅ Conflict Resolution — Why "equal" is not always "fair," and how they handle sibling and in-law dynamics in a business context

✅ Generational Tension — The honest truth about hot-blooded successors vs. cautious patriarchs

✅ Why Family Businesses Actually Win — What institutional investors see in family-run companies that others don't

ABOUT NR GROUP & CYCLE AGARBATTI:

Founded in 1948 by N. Ranga Rao in Mysuru, Cycle Pure Agarbathi started as a home-based enterprise — the family home literally doubling as the factory. Today, the NR Group is a ₹1,200 crore conglomerate present in 75+ countries, selling over 12 billion agarbattis a year. From incense to aerospace, defence, solar energy, and electronics, it is one of India's most remarkable multi-generational family business stories.

The third generation, Arjun, Pavan, Kiran, Anirudh, Nikhil and Vishnu, each leads a different vertical, a succession structure that is as intentional as it is inspiring.

ABOUT INHERITED: STORIES OF SUCCESSION

Inherited is an interview series that goes behind the boardrooms of India's most iconic family businesses. We unpack the governance structures, emotional trade-offs, and leadership philosophies that determine whether a family legacy survives or collapses with time.

If you run a family business, are a next-gen successor, an investor, or simply fascinated by the intersection of family and money, this series is for you.

📰 ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCE TV (PFTV):

PFTV is a dedicated content platform that simplifies complex financial and business topics into clear, practical insights. From budgeting and investing to legacy planning and wealth creation we make it accessible without losing relevance.

00:00 – Trailer

01:51 – How NR Group Became a ₹1,200 Cr Empire

05:44 – Does a Family Constitution Actually Restrict You?

10:27 – How the 2nd Gen Handed Over Without a Fight

13:41 – Can an Heir Say No to the Family Business?

19:11 – The Heartache Nobody Talks About in Succession

29:35 – What If One Sibling Works Harder Than the Rest?

33:29 – Why 70% of Family Businesses Die by Gen 3

40:11 – Why Investors Bet on Indian Family Businesses

43:13 – Who's More Likely To…? (Rapid Fire)

45:36 – How the Ranga Brothers Actually Divide Power

49:54 – Their Advice to Every Family Business in India

#CycleAgarbatti #FamilyBusiness #SuccessionPlanning