Arjun Radhakrishnan joins Abhishek Pinninti to share how he turned a love of bringing people together into an alcohol-free, judgment-free community, and a creative experiential marketing agency. They discuss building community through coffee raves and themed events, creating memorable brand experiences, learning from client work, and why consistency and written agreements matter when growing a business. Arjun is a Bangalore-born marketer who did his master's at Cranfield University in the UK. There he saw how much the people around you shape your character, skills and exposure. Back in India he struggled to find that kind of circle. So he set out to host a judgment-free, alcohol-free space where people can network openly, without a suit-and-tie feel. The aim was peer-to-peer learning, with people judged as they are rather than as they are when drunk. Coffee raves and the origin of The Window Seat He adapted the UK "coffee rave" idea to India, with the first edition in December 2024. Editions followed in Mumbai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad, building the community that became The Window Seat. TWS Studio is the creative and experiential marketing agency. It helps tech, beauty, fashion and FMCG brands build communities and cult-like followings. The name and the two entities The name comes from the idea that the best views are from the window seat, and that every mode of transport has one. Each experience is meant to be a "portal" to another place. Coffee raves give you a piece of London, and picnic raves take you to New York. He keeps the two entities separate on purpose. The community is where they give back, and it is meant to be owned by its members. The studio monetizes their core skills (creative direction, experience design, production and marketing) so they can build a sustainable business. They are 26. Proving it could be a business Arjun used to be scared of hosting because of the responsibility. In November 2024 he posted a casual Instagram reel about hosting a London-style coffee rave. It got 60–70k views, and people messaged asking for non-alcoholic ways to meet. The Mumbai edition then convinced him. It drew high-net-worth people on a Sunday morning, plus Bollywood actor Dino Morea, whom he pulled to the front of the crowd. That was when he knew it could become a business. Philosophy, upcoming events and a hypothetical brand pitch The core thesis was never the coffee rave itself. It is bringing high-quality people together for non-judgmental, intellectual conversation and networking. Formats can vary, such as listening rooms or a night at the museum. Next up is possibly a Diwali event, which neither he nor his co-founder has hosted before, and maybe something at the end of the year. Abhishek asks how he'd run an event for Claude in Bangalore, and Arjun pitches two ideas: A hackathon for small business owners at a premium resto-bar. Attendees would try Claude's use cases on the spot and present them to the crowd. A privacy- and security-themed escape room that shows threats like viruses, Trojan horses and rogue agents. Abhishek likes the ideas, and Arjun says he'd happily execute them end to end. What clients misunderstand about content Clients think quality content can be done on a small budget. Everyone wants virality but doesn't want to pay for it, and cost-cutting agencies make the business unscalable. Ideas can come from ChatGPT. Producing them well, with real characters and relatability, takes human judgment and experience, and it all comes down to relationships.
