Konversation with Kushal

I started this podcast because I was tired of hearing the same complaint:

"Why didn’t anyone teach us this in school?"

So I built a platform where we ask the real questions and get answers from people who’ve actually lived them.

From founders to doctors, communication coaches to spiritual leaders, investors to finance experts, we bring you the conversations you wish your textbooks had.

💡 How do you choose the right career?
🧠 How do you build emotional strength?
💰 How do you make money work for you?
🗣️ How do you speak so people listen?

Konversation with Kushal is where curiosity meets clarity. No fluff. No filters. Just honest, powerful ideas from people who’ve walked the walk.

📈 200+ episodes. Weekly uploads. Millions reached.
🎯 Our mission: To teach what schools didn't.

If you’re ambitious, curious, and hungry to grow, this is your place.

Let’s learn what actually matters!

Podcaster

KAGR

KAGR is an Education Platform in Financial Literacy. We partner with Schools, Universities, and B-Schools to train their students on Financial Literacy, AI for Finance, Financial Analysis, Creator Economy and several topics that are not taught in academia. 

We also do Corporate Trainings for working professionals on the above mentioned topics.

If you are looking for any training related to Finance or Creator Economy, please feel free to reach out to me on kushal@kagr.club.

Founder

Aditya Birla Ventures

Aditya Birla Ventures (ABV) is the Venture Capital arm focused on early stage investments (Seed to Series A/B) across sectors (both tech and non-tech) with special focus on Consumer-tech, Fin-tech, Health-tech, Ed-tech, Enterprise Applications (SaaS), Consumer Products (Brands) / Services.

ABV is looking to back 'new age' businesses led by strong founding teams. Apart from providing capital, ABV will open Aditya Birla Group's global eco-system for the growth of portfolio companies.

Investment Team

Aditya Birla Group

1. Assisting in Macroeconomic projections and analysis for planning and budgeting of several Group business 
2. Represented to Ministry of Commerce and Industry for supporting businesses to analytically rationalize and champion the Policy Advocacy needs 
3. Updating businesses on financial markets development by conducting monthly meetings and knowledge sessions for the Group’s Forex and Treasury Committee 
4. Writing articles and recording podcast with the Group Chief Economist on current affairs to be circulated to all employees of the Group

EA to Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group

ABG-FLP (Finance Leadership Program) is a Flagship Leadership Development Program for the Aditya Birla Group (US $48.3 billion Indian conglomerate). The Program seeks to groom the Group's future financial leaders through challenging financial decision-making assignments across the various sectors the Group operates in.

Stint 1 - Strategy & Business Development, Aditya Birla Capital
1. Conducting due diligence of Business Correspondents to explore partnerships in order to expand the reach of NBFC business of Aditya Birla Capital into Tier II & Tier III cities
2. Identifying as well as analyzing M&A opportunities for NBFC and HFC businesses of Aditya Birla Capital
3. Prepared a detailed peer benchmarking analysis of Aditya Birla Capital vs its peers in the NBFC, HFC, Life Insurance, Asset Management & Health Insurance businesses

Stint 2 - Corporate Finance Group
1. Identified potential FinTech (having approximate valuation of $500 million) partnership opportunities for NBFC business of Aditya Birla Capital
2. Prepared various financial models of new-age businesses of the Group to evaluate project feasibility 
3. Assisted in sell-side diligence of sale of Grasim Fertilizers business to Indorama Corp. Pte Ltd. for $350 million 

Stint 3 - ABFRL, Louis Philippe
1. Analyzing sales data, at every shop-in-shop till Contribution Before Advertisement (CBA) level, with multiple factors like revenue generation, margins, discount, return, etc.
2. Analyzing negative factors leading to erosion of CBA

Finance Leadership Associate

Unacademy

Was ranked #2 Educator in CA Finals on Unacademy, India's largest e-learning platform. 
Trained several CA Aspirants to achieve their dream of becoming a Chartered Accountant through sharing my preparation strategies, handwritten notes, and some tips & tricks.

Educator

Gokhale & Sathe Chartered Accountants

1. Involved in all the three facets of Direct Taxation – Compliance, Advisory as well as Litigation
2. Handled direct taxation assessment as well as litigation before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and attended hearings in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal by preparing written submissions
3. Engaged into advisory of Domestic Income Tax & International Tax in relation to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements
4. Filed returns of various trusts and one of the leading sports organization
5. Involved in advisory as well as compliance in relation to Goods & Services Tax
6. Integral team member of Statutory Audit assignment of a Co-operative Bank (having an Asset Base of Rs. 9,000 Crores) and handled crucial areas of NPA Provisioning, Ledger Scrutiny, LFAR Reporting, and Vouching as well as Verification

Article Assistant

Kushal Lodha is a Finance Content Creator, Podcaster and an Author.   

He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with All India Ranks across all levels of CA Exams. He has cleared all levels of CFA and is an ACCA affiliate (World Rank 3). 

He was working in the Investment Team at Aditya Birla Ventures, the Venture Capital arm of Aditya Birla Group. Prior to that, he was an EA to the Chief Economist of Aditya Birla Group. 

He is passionate about the creator economy and loves to chat about this space. He has scaled his social media presence to over 1.2M+ followers cumulatively. He runs a podcast titled 'Konversation with Kushal' where he interviews several industry stalwarts.

He is the author of 'Acing CA', and 'Unlocking Unicorn Secrets', #1 Best Seller on Amazon. 

If you want to collaborate with him, please reach out to collab@kushallodha.in.

If you'd like to reach out to him, feel free to drop him an email at ksl@kushallodha.in.

Kushal Lodha

I cleared CA, CFA, and ACCA while working 60-hour weeks.

People think I'm lying.

But here's the truth: I didn't have a choice.

It was 2 AM.

Eyes burning. Client presentation at 9 AM. CFA exam in 3 weeks. 

My colleagues called me insane.
My friends stopped inviting me out.
My family feared I'd break.

But I kept one rule: If it's on the calendar, it happens.

My schedule:

6:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Study (CFA/ACCA)
Before the world woke up. Before emails flooded in.

9:00 AM – 7:00 PM: Work
Full-time. No excuses. I owed my company my best.

9:00 PM – 11:00 PM: Study 
Every. Single. Night.

Weekends: 12-hour study marathons. Broken only by table tennis (my sanity saver).

The hardest part?

Not the syllabus. The doubt.

"You're doing too much."
"You'll fail at everything."
"Pick one."

But I knew: Discipline doesn't negotiate.

What kept me going:

📅 Every hour blocked. No room for excuses.
🎯 One focus at a time. Work = work. Study = study.
📊 Track progress. Every chapter. Every mock test.

The result?

✅ CA – Cleared
✅ CFA (all 3 levels) – Passed
✅ ACCA – Completed

All while working full-time.

Not because I'm smarter.
Because I refused to negotiate with my calendar.

Truth bomb:

Success isn't about having time.
It's about making time non-negotiable.

If you wait for the "right time" - you'll wait forever.

To anyone juggling work, exams, and dreams:

You don't need 24 hours.
You need 2 focused hours.

You don't need motivation.
You need a calendar and courage to honor it.

What's one goal you've been postponing?

Block 1 hour this week. Just one.

#CA #CFA #ACCA #Discipline #ConsistencyWins #StudyWhileWorking #CalendarYourSuccess

Podcaster | Forbes Top 100 Digital Creators | Bestselling Author | Rankholder CA, Cleared All 3 Levels of CFA Exam, ACCA | LinkedIn Top Voice

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He worked as the RBI Governor for a salary of ₹4 Lakhs per month.

He lived in a government bungalow worth ₹450 Crores during his tenure.

He predicted the 2008 Financial Crisis 3 years before it happened.

He worked with both Dr. Manmohan Singh and PM Narendra Modi and shared his experience of working with both of them.

He argues that a course in modern plumbing should be as respected as a degree in English Literature to fix the unemployment crisis.

He is none other than Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor and a globally renowned economist.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we discussed the structural realities of the Indian economy beyond the political noise.

We covered:

=> Why Central Banks are aggressively buying Gold not for returns but as insurance against sanctions
=> Why he warns that excess euphoria could lead to the next big market correction
=> Why 1 out of 2 graduates are unemployable and how we can fix it.

The full deep-dive is live on my YouTube Channel. 

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #economy #rbi #raghuramrajan #finance #kushallodha

"I was carrying 25 kgs of books to the exam hall."

"I carried two suitcases."

"It felt like a Railway Station, not an exam center."

This was the reality of the new IBS (Integrated Business Solutions) paper for CA Final students.

I was talking to AIR 1, 2 & 3 (Mukund Agiwal, Tejas Mundada, and Bakul Gupta), and they shared a hilarious but scary reality.

Even though they realized that practically, you can't open every book in 4 hours. But the fear of "What if?" makes you carry everything.

So, how did they tackle this subject?

Here is the combined strategy of the Toppers:

=> AIR 2 (Tejas): He created a One-Pager Index just to know which chapter is in which module. When you have 5 modules for FR and 4 for DT, just finding the right book is a task.

=> AIR 3 (Bakul): He made his Own Index during revision. He spent 4-5 days mapping topics himself instead of buying a ready-made index. He also solved one case study daily with a timer.

=> AIR 1 (Mukund): He focused purely on Time Management. He solved case studies orally to cover variety and recommended giving Mocks because IBS is not just a test of knowledge, but of speed.

The lesson? IBS isn't just a test of your mental ability. It is a test of your physical strength to carry the load!

Have you faced such a moment in exams?

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #ca #ibs #strategy #kushallodha

I studied 6,400+ hours to clear CA and CFA.

Here's what compounded - and it wasn't just knowledge.

Here's the breakdown:

CA Foundation: 600 Hours
Last month: 12 hours/day × 30 days = 360 hours
Coaching: 2 months × 4 hours/day × 30 days = 240 hours
Total: 600 hours

I learned to show up when motivation was zero.​

Patience Level: 1x

CA Intermediate: 2,232 Hours
Last 3 months: 12 hours/day × 90 days = 1,080 hours
Coaching: 6 months × 8 hours/day × 24 days = 1,152 hours
Total: 2,232 hours

I stopped expecting instant results.​
Some days nothing clicked.
But I still showed up.​

Patience Level: 5x

CA Finals: 3,060 Hours
Coaching: 8 subjects × 2 months each × 3 hours/day × 30 days = 1,440 hours
Final stretch: 4.5 months × 30 days × 12 hours/day = 1,620 hours
Total: 3,060 hours

This wasn't studying. This was war.​

No social life. No weekends.​

Patience Level: 20x

I stopped asking "When will this end?"
Started asking "What am I becoming?"​

CFA (All 3 Levels): 540 Hours
Each level study leave: 15 days × 12 hours/day = 180 hours
All 3 levels: 180 × 3 = 540 hours
Total: 540 hours

GRAND TOTAL: 6,432 Hours
✅ CA Foundation: 600 hours
✅ CA Intermediate: 2,232 hours
✅ CA Finals: 3,060 hours
✅ CFA (All 3 Levels): 540 hours

= 6,432 hours of discipline

What actually compounded:

📈 Patience – From "need results now" to "trust the timeline"
🎯 Discipline – From motivation to calendar-driven​
💪 Resilience – From quitting at discomfort to thriving in it​

Because 6,432 hours taught me:

Nothing worthwhile comes fast.
Everything worthwhile compounds.​

Your turn:

What are you building that requires patience?

#CA #CFA #Patience #Discipline #CompoundingSuccess

Song - Audit Ka Paper 
Written By - Kushal Lodha  
Composed by - AI
Sung by - AI
Produced by - AI

#linkedin #ai #song #kushallodha

He manages over ₹2,500 Crores of wealth for his clients.

He generated over 100% returns on Gold, exiting at around ₹98,000 after his initial investment position at ₹48,000 - ₹50,000.

He has delivered a 12.5% CAGR on his Fixed Income portfolio, earning as high as 14-14.5% in some cases.

He also shares that Fixed Deposits are potentially riskier than the Stock Market (Please check out the podcast for his reasoning).

He is none other than Kirtan A Shah, CFP®, the Founder & CEO at Truvanta Wealth.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, he exposed the hidden "Inflation Risk" that is silently destroying the wealth in traditional FDs and challenged the popular aggressive strategy of 100% equity investing. 

He shared his "80-20 Rule" with 25 years of data, explaining why an 80% Equity + 20% Debt/Gold portfolio delivers returns at par with a 100% Equity portfolio but with significantly lower volatility. 

We also took a deep dive into his Fixed Income Masterclass, breaking down 16 different categories and the secret to predicting interest rate cycles. He shared a 7-factor macroeconomic checklist, including GDP, Fiscal Deficit, and Crude Oil, that allows anyone to predict market moves like a seasoned professional.

Our full, in-depth conversation with Kirtan Shah is now live on my YouTube Channel. 

#LinkedIn #LinkedinForCreators #StockMarkets #Investing #FixedIncome #MutualFunds #KushalLodha

He studied Philosophy at Harvard but started his career selling Vicks VapoRub in India's dusty bazaars.

He became a CEO at 37, yet his salary was legally capped at just ₹5,000/month under the License Raj.

He faced a 2-year jail threat for the crime of producing 30% excess production of VapoRub during a flu epidemic.

At the age of 50, he walked away from a $500,000 global salary to pursue his true calling - writing.

He still wakes up daily to write for 6 hours straight, even at the age of 83.

He is none other than Gurcharan Das, the former CEO of P&G India & the legendary author of 10 acclaimed books, including The Difficulty of Being Good.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we discussed the cost of freedom and the art of "making a life."

We covered:

=> A 12th-century startup story on building a fortune from zero capital 
=> Why the "License Raj" stole 40 years of India's economic potential
=> His ultimate life advice: Take your work seriously, but never take yourself seriously.

The full deep-dive is live on my YouTube Channel. 

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #business #economy #leadership #kushallodha

He lost nearly 100% of his capital during the 2000 tech crash by following a friend's advice.

He then started doing his own research and soon landed a multi bagger return (14x in 7 years)

Today, he manages an AUM of over ₹1,40,000 Crores. 

He reads 2-3 newspapers every single morning before reaching the office. 

He is none other than Kailash Kulkarni, the Chief Executive Officer at HSBC Mutual Fund.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we talked in great detail to create a complete masterclass on Mutual Fund selection and Asset Allocation.

He broke down his proprietary "50% Rule" for setting realistic SIP expectations and explained why Central Banks are dumping the Dollar for Gold. He also warned against blindly using AI tools like ChatGPT for investment advice.

The full conversation is live on my YouTube Channel. 

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #investing #mutualfunds #podcast #kushallodha

He predicted the 2008 market crash when Nifty was at its peak of around 6200.

His prediction was proven correct as the index fell by almost 63%.

In 2020, he took a contrarian bet by publicly claiming that PSU Banks would go 10x and was correct again.

Today, he boldly forecasts that Sensex will touch 1,20,000 by 2026.

He is none other than Sushil Kedia, the Founder & CEO of Kediaomics.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we talked in great detail to create a complete masterclass on Technical Analysis, Market Cycles, and Crowd Psychology.

He broke down his 40-year "Election Trading Strategy" (Buy 15 days before, Sell 15 days after) and explained why he believes HDFC Bank could fall 50% in the next major correction. He also warned why the US Dollar Index is signaling a massive crash for top Tech stocks like Tesla.

The full conversation is live on my YouTube Channel.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #stockmarket #trading #investing #podcast #kushallodha

He sold his mutual funds at an NAV of ₹58 in 2004 to buy a house at ₹5,800 per sq ft.

He saw the property surge to ₹40,000/sq ft by 2012, but it has stagnated there ever since.

He watched that same HDFC Flexi Cap fund he sold climbed to ₹220, then crashed to ₹97, and then skyrocket to ₹2,000 today.

He shared his take on Nifty 50 being the worst performing index.

He instead invests in 30-40 different funds and never sells.

He is none other than Vijai Mantri, a market veteran & founder at Vijai Mantri Financial Services Ltd.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we discussed why most investors fail to create wealth despite picking good funds. We covered:

=> Why he's betting on specific funds like Bandhan Small Cap, Invesco Mid Cap, and Helios Flexi Cap for the next 3 years
=> Why you should stop buying fixed quantities of assets and switch to Rupee Cost Averaging with fixed amounts to beat volatility
=> His bullish roadmap for 2026 which focuses on Healthcare, Energy, Manufacturing, BFSI, and Consumption

The full masterclass is live on my YouTube Channel. 

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #investing #realestate #mutualfunds #wealth #kushallodha

He started his career at UTI with a monthly salary of just ₹2,600.

He managed to scale his personal monthly SIP from ₹20,000 to a staggering ₹12 Lakhs per month.

He started his own fund in 2004 & currently manages an AUM of over ₹2,000 Crores.

He has consistently achieved a 20% CAGR on his own mutual fund portfolio over the decades.

He is none other than Hemant Rustagi, the Founder & Director at WiseInvest Pvt. Ltd.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we discussed the simple SIP systems that can make you a crorepati.

We covered:

=> Why asset allocation is like a batsman wearing a helmet, it’s not fear, it’s professional protection
=> How to pick the right mix of Large, Mid, and Small-cap funds for different life stages
=> All about concepts like arbitrage Funds, SWP, STP as well as NFOs

The full deep-dive is live on my YouTube Channel. 

#stockmarket #finance #kushallodha

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