Avik Ashar: Zilingo Ethical Dilemmas, India vs. Southeast Asia Startups & Market & Consumer Diversity - E466

Avik Ashar, Principal at Artha Venture Fund, and Jeremy Au discussed:

1. Zilingo Ethical Dilemmas: Avik reflected on his experiences at Zilingo where rapid expansion led to questionable practices such as buying and selling Apple watches on their fashion lifestyle platform just to meet monthly sales targets, in order to achieve founder and board expectations of non-stop growth. He warned that crossing ethical lines for short-term gains, like funding or fame, is difficult to reverse over the medium term. Adhering to ethical standards is key to decisions that might push the boundaries of integrity, with the option of walking away from the job.