Speaking at the second episode of Level Up with Gameskraft, Lal Chand Bisu, Co-founder and CEO of Kuku FM, shared the remarkable journey of building India's largest storytelling platform from a failed podcast idea. His talk revealed how trusting entrepreneurial intuition, understanding uniquely Indian consumer behavior, and leveraging Generative AI created explosive growth that took Kuku FM from audio-first content to video dominance.
Bisu's story demonstrates how persistent iteration, strategic simplification, and AI adoption can transform startups from struggling ventures into market-leading platforms serving millions.
The Evolution from Podcast Failure to Audio-OTT Success
Bisu candidly shared Kuku FM's origin story: inspired by consuming three-hour Joe Rogan podcasts in 2016, he recognized that post-Jio internet accessibility and audio's "off-screen" consumption habit created unique opportunities. However, his initial podcast app concept failed within three months because "podcast is not working in India."
Rather than giving up, he embraced multiple iterations over two years, finally discovering success with audio-first entertainment content stories, dramas, and serialized content that resonated with Indian audiences. This pivot from podcast aggregation to original audio-OTT content became the foundation for building India's largest premium storytelling company.
Trusting the Entrepreneurial Gut Over External Noise
One of Bisu's most powerful insights centered on developing and trusting entrepreneurial intuition. He emphasized that while "you listen to everybody," successful founders must ultimately trust their gut instincts.
Initially, these gut calls will fail, but over time, entrepreneurs develop "strong intuition" that guides critical decisions about marketing spend, feature development, and product direction. Without this internal compass, founders remain perpetually in chaos, swayed by conflicting external feedback.
His advice: listen to advisors, investors, and users, but cultivate the courage to follow your inner conviction when making counterintuitive decisions.
Cracking the Code of Indian Consumer Psychology
Bisu shared an insight that challenged Silicon Valley-centric thinking: "Most of the Silicon Valley knowledge is not usable in India." Through extensive user interviews about payment motivations, he discovered that Indian consumers, especially beyond metro cities, think and make decisions very differently. His striking example: while metro users make rational, consultative decisions, Tier 2 and Tier 3 users often seek guidance from say, Bhagavad Gita, for business problems.
Understanding cultural nuances like how Indians connect their lives to content, what they perceive as valuable, and their willingness to pay when they "feel the value add", became crucial for building products that truly resonate with India's diverse market.
Generative AI: The Ultimate Growth Catalyst
Bisu identified Generative AI as Kuku FM's "big unlock" that transformed their entire growth trajectory. By scaling their ad creative production from 500 monthly creatives two years ago to 8,000-10,000 today, they could "connect to almost everybody" by addressing diverse audience interests and hook points.
This AI-powered creative scale didn't just drive Kuku FM's growth, it gave them confidence to launch Kuku TV, their vertical video platform that achieved in nine months what took Kuku FM seven years.
His prediction: Content companies will see AI's biggest impact, with his team already achieving 70-80% AI-powered workflows in audio content creation.
Leadership Through Strategic Subtraction
Perhaps Bisu's most counterintuitive leadership philosophy centers on strategic removal rather than addition. With 150 team members generating endless "good ideas," his primary focus is "what to remove from the company", whether it is features, content, marketing elements, or organizational complexity.
His approach involves systematically cleaning and removing elements to see if they're actually valuable, discovering that "80% of the time" removed items generated zero complaints. This philosophy of strategic simplification prevents product complexity that obscures whether new initiatives actually work, enabling rapid experimentation and clearer success metrics.
Level Up Lessons for Krafters
Lal Chand Bisu's insights offer Krafters essential strategies for scaling digital platforms in the Indian market. His emphasis on understanding uniquely Indian consumer psychology provides crucial guidance for Gameskraft's diverse user base, while his AI-powered growth tactics demonstrate how technology can exponentially increase reach and engagement. Most importantly, his leadership philosophy of strategic simplification and trusting entrepreneurial intuition offers a framework for navigating Gameskraft's continued expansion while maintaining focus on what truly drives player satisfaction and business growth.
