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Stories from the Canvas
Stories from the Canvas Original fictional stories inspired by themes or lessons from podcast episodes.
STORIES
❝ The Lighthouse in the Storm ❞
Shyna had always been the go-to person for getting things done. Sharp, reliable, and unshakably calm under pressure. But now, as the newly appointed head of a fast-growing startup division, she found...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 1
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❝ The Consent Switch ❞
Tara stared at the dashboard blinking back at her. Another pop-up opt-in, another reminder about consent. Her product team wanted user data to refine targeting, marketing wanted segmentation, and lega...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 2
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❝ The Listening Edge ❞
Mira joined the agency as a Client Servicing Executive with a fresh degree and a fire to prove herself. Day one? A flurry of briefs, calls, and a not-so-happy client threatening to switch agencies ove...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 3
Read full story❝ The Shift ❞
Neil founded his startup in a café corner with a sketchpad and a single idea: research should mean something. Not just numbers on a slide—but insights people can act on. The early days were pure grit...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 4
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❝ The Mirror That Never Stared Back ❞
Nira worked in a market research firm tucked inside a tower of glass and Wi-Fi. Her job was to map behaviors — not just what people bought, but why. She was good at it. Pattern-finder. Insight-builder...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 5
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❝ The Invisible Conductor ❞
The project spanned three continents, five vendors, and a dozen time zones. For most, it looked like chaos stitched together by deadlines. But for Meera, it was music — a symphony of shifting parts w...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 6
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❝ Transforming Customer Experience in the Indian Automobile Industry: Trends and Insights for 2024 ❞
Ravi had always loved cars. As a boy, he’d collect miniature models and line them up on his window ledge. But today, as a 33-year-old father in Pune, he wasn’t looking for horsepower or curves. He wa...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 7
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❝ The Hours Between Naps ❞
The house was quiet—finally. Her youngest had just drifted off to sleep, sunlight catching the edge of his blanket. Marcela opened her laptop with purpose. No bosses. No clock-ins. Just her goals—and...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 8
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❝ The Bridge That Connected Dreams ❞
In a quiet room with just a mic and a curious heart, I met someone who changed how I see business—not with numbers or fancy strategies, but with something far more powerful: connection. Her name is...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode X
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❝ The Breakthrough Moment ❞
Naina had always been the quiet one. The kind of girl who noticed too much and said too little. Working a high-pressure job in Mumbai, she often felt like she was sleepwalking through her days. One ra...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 10
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❝ The Data Detective: Mira’s Mission to Save Survey Truth ❞
In the bustling tech corridors of Bengaluru, Mira, a young researcher, was drowning in dirty data. Her market research project was falling apart—not because of her insights, but because her panel resp...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode X
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❝ The Village That Didn’t Wait ❞
Sita was never the kind of woman who waited for things to change. In the dusty village of Narnal, while many waited for the government or outsiders to bring opportunities, Sita decided to create her o...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 12
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❝ The Price of Trust ❞
Aarav leaned back in his chair, sipping his coffee, eyes fixed on the dashboard. As a project lead at a mid-sized insights agency in Bangalore, he had been tasked with launching a pan-Asia B2B survey—...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 4
Read full story❝ The Door She Didn’t Knock ❞
Aisha stood in front of the wooden door — Room 307, Law and Ethics. The lecture had started five minutes ago. She could still knock, apologize, and walk in. But something inside her refused to move....
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 5
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❝ The Researcher's Breakthrough with MR Buddies ❞
Maya was a project manager at a mid-sized research firm. Her days were spent juggling survey links, handling quality complaints, and chasing different teams for updates. Each department had its own so...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 6
Read full story❝ The Lock and the Ladder ❞
Once there was a young project manager named Maya who worked at a growing market research company. She was excited about leading her first international project, but she also felt nervous—it involved...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 7
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❝ Riya and the Research Revolution ❞
Riya was a young market researcher who loved understanding people. But her job was tiring. Every day she wrote surveys, cleaned data, and tried to find meaning in thousands of numbers. She wished ther...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 17
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❝ Grandma’s Surprise Trip ❞
Meera was 65 and retired from her teaching job. Her days were full—reading books, watching YouTube, and chatting on WhatsApp with her grandchildren. One morning, she got a call from her daughter-in-la...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 18
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❝ The Mirror Brand ❞
Reva sat staring at her half-finished website, frustrated and uninspired. Her coaching practice had heart—but online, it looked like a bland checklist. Every template she tried made her feel smaller....
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 19
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❝ The Startup That Forgot the Fine Print ❞
Abhraj, a passionate founder from Delhi, launched a tech startup with his college friends. They built a great product, got their first few customers, and even had an investor interested. But Abhiraj...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 20
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❝ The Bakery Focus Group ❞
In a small town nestled between hills, there was a baker named Meera. Her cupcakes were the talk of the town, but sales had plateaued. She tried changing ingredients, offering discounts—but nothing wo...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 21
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❝ The Survey That Didn’t Lie ❞
Priya was a data analyst at a fast-growing D2C brand. Her job was to pull insights from surveys—but lately, things felt... off. The numbers didn’t match reality. Some answers looked fake. Open-ended...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 22
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❝ The Dinner Deal ❞
Tara was a seasoned private chef in Melbourne, known in her neighbourhood but invisible online. She loved cooking but hated marketing. Her bookings came from word of mouth—loyal clients, family partie...
Inspired from episode: Season 1 Episode 23
Read full story❝ The Interview That Changed Everything ❞
Anaya sat nervously with her clipboard, waiting for her respondent in a small café in Delhi. It was her second week as a qualitative researcher, and she had been trained to follow the discussion guide...
Inspired from episode: Season 2 Episode 10
Read full story❝ The Ladder No One Climbed ❞
In a bright corporate tower in Delhi, there was a company where no one questioned why certain people always made it to the top—and others didn’t. Everyone simply followed the unspoken rules. Just like...
Inspired from episode: Season 2 Episode 11
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❝ The Day My Digital Twin Took Over ❞
It started as a joke. Arjun had signed up to test a “digital twin” for a product research firm. They promised it would simulate his preferences, emotions, and even buying decisions. “Just feed it dat...
Inspired from episode: Season 2 Episode 13
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❝ The Shift ❞
Sonal had spent ten years working in market research. She loved connecting the dots between data and human behaviour. But lately, things were changing. Her new junior analyst, Raj, used AI for everyth...
Inspired from episode: Season 2 Episode 14
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❝ The Garden at Work ❞
Riya had worked at five companies in eight years. Each time, she saw the same thing—leaders posting values like “integrity” and “respect” on glass walls, but never living them. One day, she joined a...
Inspired from episode: Season 2 Episode 15
Read full story❝ Behind Closed Doors ❞
In a quiet neighbourhood of Jaipur, Anika pressed her back against the bedroom door, the latch clicking shut behind her. She exhaled deeply as she unfastened the tight strap she’d been wearing since d...
Inspired from episode: Season 2 Episode 18
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