National, February 20, 2026: After four years of celebrating Indian entrepreneurship authentically, The Barbershop with Shantanu is returning with its fifth season on 20th February 2026. This year, the platform pivots from conversations to real enablement with the launch of Khul Ke Scale, where Shantanu Deshpande and a distinguished panel of industry experts will help solve real problems posed by real entrepreneurs building real business in India. The season will also introduce Dhande Ki Baat, spotlighting game changing Indian businesses that are reshaping their categories but often remain outside popular conversations.
The initiative has already seen over 500 companies apply after being announced by Shantanu on LinkedIn. The width of applications spans exciting emerging brands, traditional companies wanting to expand online, and even ventures backed by household names. A new Khul Ke Scale episode will drop twice every month, designed as a strong source of information and learning for students, aspiring entrepreneurs and operators building similar businesses.
The first episode will feature GOATLife, a brand that has been much in the news for its innovative products and its young founder Yash Kalra, setting the tone for a season focused on clarity, scale and real business building.
Link to the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqYpwiE4c9Q
Speaking on the new season, Shantanu Deshpande, Founder and CEO, Bombay Shaving Company and Creator-Host of TBWS said, “For the last four seasons, TBWS has been about honest conversations – about wins, failures, and everything in between. But this year, we wanted to go deeper. With Khul Ke Scale, we are opening the floor to real entrepreneurs who are building real businesses and helping them solve real growth challenges. The idea is simple, if we can enable even a handful of founders meaningfully, the learning multiplies for thousands watching. This is our most real and most value-driven season yet. Grateful to all the companies, founders, experts and mentors who have given their valuable time to help realise TBWS’s vision of truly enriching Entrepreneurship in India.”
Joining Shantanu this season is a distinguished expert panel featuring Shiv Shivakumar, Operating Partner at Advent International and former CEO of Pepsi India Region; Toshan Tamhane, Global COO at UPL and former Senior Partner at McKinsey; and Adi Sehgal, former President at Reckitt and now Founder at Asgard.world. Together, they bring decades of experience across FMCG, technology, strategy and large-scale business building, offering structured and practical guidance to founders navigating growth.
Over the last four years, The Barbershop with Shantanu has helped spotlight businesses that are now widely recognised and scaling fast. This season takes that impact further. With real entrepreneurs bringing real growth challenges to the table and industry leaders stepping in with structured guidance, the stakes are higher and the conversations deeper. For founders, operators and dreamers across India, this is set to be the most action driven and value adding season yet.
Diksha Dwivedi, CEO, YOSO Media (Content partners of TBWS), said, “The Barbershop has evolved into one of India’s most influential entrepreneurial platforms, and we’re proud to be part of that journey. With Khul Ke Scale, we’ve moved beyond inspiration to activation: creating real pathways for founders to scale. The mandate from Shantanu was clear from day one: enable, don’t advise. When over 500 founders apply to a single initiative, it signals more than interest,it signals a gap in the ecosystem we’re now positioned to fill.”
The new season will stream across YouTube, Instagram, Spotify and LinkedIn starting February 20, 2026.
