Zero to Hero : Kiran Shah

Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Kiran Shah is steadily building a presence on Instagram and YouTube under the handle kiran_goes_zero. He is the founder of the ice-cream brand Go Zero, and is widely known for his sharp, practical takes on business, technology and social trends. His bio sums up his positioning clearly: “Shark Tank se utra, Instagram pe atka.” With over 24,000 followers, Kiran focuses on explaining complex ideas in a simple, grounded way, without leaning into hype or exaggerated optimism.

Content Style and Themes

Kiran’s content covers a wide range of internet-driven questions and real-life dilemmas. He speaks about topics such as whether artificial intelligence makes people smarter or less thoughtful, the idea of achieving financial independence by 30, finding purpose by 40, and decoding trends that dominate social media conversations.

His videos are structured, opinion-led, and often reflective, aimed at viewers who want clarity rather than motivation-heavy content. He frequently adds context from business, psychology, and personal experience to make his points accessible.

Zero In With Kiran Podcast

Kiran also runs a podcast titled Zero In with Kiran, which focuses on conversations around social issues, entrepreneurship, trends, technology, education, and everyday decision-making. The podcast positions itself as discussions that “cut through the noise”. Though the podcast’s following is currently smaller, it is designed to prioritise depth and relevance over scale.

Zero In With Kiran Podcast Episodes Look Like..

One of the recent episodes of Zero In with Kiran focused on food hygiene in India’s growing food delivery ecosystem. In this episode, Kiran spoke with Ashwin Bhadri, founder of Equinox Labs.

The discussion centred on how platforms like Zomato and Swiggy have expanded rapidly, while the number of restaurants meeting basic hygiene standards has not grown at the same pace. The episode examined whether India’s food delivery boom is improving convenience at the cost of public health.

Another podcast episode addressed a core startup question: what are the three resources every founder must optimise? Kiran discussed how founders need to make deliberate choices around time, money, and energy.

The episode focused on the importance of leverage over constant hustle, arguing that founders who scale effectively are those who learn where not to spend their effort.

Take on Nikhil Kamath’s Podcast

More recently, Kiran shared a detailed critique of Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, stating that it is likely to go viral in the coming year due to its high-profile guest list. However, he raised concerns about the quality and relevance of the questions being asked.

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A post shared by Kiran Shah (@kiran_goes_zero)

Kiran pointed out that while the podcast features globally recognised guests such as Narendra Modi, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Ray Dalio, the conversations often fail to deliver meaningful takeaways for the audience.

Criticism of Interview Style

Referring specifically to the episode featuring Ray Dalio, Kiran noted that Dalio, one of the world’s most influential hedge fund founders, even expressed a desire to share important insights on wealth management before the podcast ended. Despite this, Kiran felt the questions remained generic and did not extract value from Dalio’s decades of experience.

He said the guests themselves were not boring, but the questioning lacked depth and intent. According to Kiran, if a host is not genuinely trying to learn or ask questions relevant to a wider audience, the conversation fails to serve its purpose. He concluded that, from a viewer’s perspective, the audience is left with “nothing, absolutely nothing” to take away.

Positioning in the Creator Space

Through his content and podcast discussions, Kiran Shah positions himself as a creator focused on analysis rather than applause. As India’s podcast and creator economy evolves, voices like his reflect a growing demand for substance-led content that goes beyond surface-level trends.