Jayesh Parekh on Building SONY TV & 2 Billion Dollar Funds | The India Opportunity Show ft Shrishti Sahu
Hello everyone, welcome to The India Opportunity Show where you get a front-row seat to people building India’s future. We talk about unlocking the potential of the country with founders, investors, creators, and successful leaders from different fields to bring you real-life stories and behind-the-scenes of what it takes to be at the forefront of building the India Story.
Episode 12, Season 3 of The India Opportunity Show is out now! You can watch it on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Today’s guest is someone who helped shape modern Indian culture more than most people realize.
Jayesh Parekh is the co-founder of Sony Entertainment Television — a channel that didn’t just entertain India, but changed it. At a time when Indian television was dominated by a single state broadcaster, Jayesh and his team brought global-quality storytelling, bold new formats, and iconic shows that defined an entire generation.
But Jayesh’s story isn’t just about building Sony TV.
It’s about vision, timing, and taking bets on India before India believed in itself.
After Sony, he became a pioneering early-stage investor, one of the founding members of Jungle Ventures, and a mentor to startups across India and Southeast Asia. He has spent the last two decades investing in purpose-driven companies, backing entrepreneurs, and shaping the early VC ecosystem in the region long before venture capital became fashionable.
What stands out about Jayesh is his clarity of thought:
How he evaluates people, how he thinks about risk, how he measures success, and how he blends intuition with discipline — whether in media, technology, or investing.
Today, we’ll explore:
How Sony Entertainment Television was born — and what it took to disrupt India’s TV landscape
His journey from media entrepreneur to global investor
How he evaluates founders, markets, and long-term opportunities
The traits that define enduring legacies and world-class companies
And his perspective on India’s next decade of entrepreneurship and creativity
Chapters
00:00 – Teaser & Intro
02:48 – First meeting with JP & launching IBM India
05:30 – How Sony Entertainment Television actually started
07:45 – The 7 founders & partnering with Sony
10:20 – Early risk, no ecosystem & raising big capital in the 90s
12:40 – Why Sony chose them over big Indian families
15:00 – Structuring the JV & giving Sony majority
17:30 – Launching the channel on 8 Oct 1995
19:20 – Scary early days: distribution, cable operators, funding
22:10 – Programming mistakes & early failures
25:00 – First hit shows & the shift in content strategy
27:30 – Sony’s early billion-dollar valuation milestone (Year 2000)
30:20 – The truth about exits & why they kept going
32:00 – When the founding team split after success
34:20 – JP’s failed startup & learnings
36:00 – Starting Jungle Ventures & Avishkaar Impact Fund
38:15 – Financial abundance at 45 & reflecting on risk
40:00 – What Shall We Do With All This Money? — the insight
42:00 – Purpose, giving & millennials searching for meaning
45:00 – Social media pressure, comparison & money mindset
47:20 – Millennials surprising him with purpose-driven giving
49:00 – What is “enough”? JP’s definition
51:00 – Happiness, bragging rights & the ego trap
53:10 – Building high-trust relationships & likability
55:20 – Luck, karma & spirituality
57:00 – Vipassana, meditation & training the mind
59:40 – Dealing with negative emotions & reframing thoughts
1:01:30 – Capital allocation: wealth, impact & risk
1:04:00 – Why he invested 60–70% in illiquid assets
1:06:10 – Integrity as the biggest red flag in investing
1:07:00 – How long-term relationships and trust shape success
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Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.