30 real-time accounts of fighting against all odds
Supriya Paul of Josh Talks has edited a new anthology titled All You Need is Josh. Josh Talks is an eco-system for the youth to unlock their full potential and share their stories in vernacular languages. It is a collection of awe-inspiring real life stories of people bracing odds and obstacles and achieving their dreams. Paul has been ranked among influential women under 30 by Forbes. She launched Josh Talks with Shobhit Banga in 2015 that reaches out to over a billion viewers. Excerpts:
What led you to start Josh Talks?
It started when I met Shobhit Banga in college. We had a common frustration that all of us, especially the youth in India, have so much untapped potential but don’t have any relatable role models to look up to or people who could share their stories to inspire us to do more with our lives. Josh Talks was started to address this need with the purpose to unlock human potential. Since then, we have shared over 4,000 stories in 10 vernacular languages that have garnered over 1 billion views around the globe.
How did you research for the stories mentioned in the book?
In the last six years, we have recorded 4000+ stories across India. We have an in-house research team to find individuals who have overcome extraordinary circumstances. All You Need Is Josh is a collection of 30 of the most impactful stories showcased on Josh Talks. There are stories from the LGBTQIA community (Harish Iyer and Amruta Soni), entrepreneurs (Ankur Warikoo, Praful Warikoo and Kanika Tekriwal), IAS (Komal Ganatra), and their talks are some of the highest viewed on our channels. We wanted these stories to reach every household in India, and decided to include them in the book.
What were the challenges in launching such a platform?
The idea behind Josh Talks was considered unconventional. We were not selling content on entertainment, or comedy, so initially monetising educational content in vernacular languages at a time when there were not too many creators in this space was indeed a challenge. Eventually, our audience started looking up to us for career advice and we decided to pivot from being a content-first platform to a product-focused organisation by launching Josh Skills in late 2019. Through the belief of our 11+ million online community, we continue to grow, pivot, and build ourselves step-by-step.
Tell us about the power of storytelling directly linked to real-life incidents.
Both Shobhit and I firmly believed that stories create phenomenal social change. In the last few years, we have seen our stories change millions of lives — from inspiring a young man in Madhya Pradesh to quit his job and contribute to his community by contesting elections in his village, to giving a woman in Bihar the strength to walk out of an abusive marriage, to giving a tuberculosis survivor in Mumbai the josh to live. Our stories are centered on real-life heroes who have overcome extraordinary challenges to make something of their lives.
What next?
Our focus is on building tools and products that can advance career goals for the youth in Tier II and Tier III towns and cities.
Book Details
All You Need is Josh by Supriya Paul
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 216
COST: Rs 499