What makes a business truly exceptional is not just how fast it grows, but how it navigates setbacks, withstands uncertainty, and emerges stronger over time.
Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers and a widely read author on business and markets, joins us to explore what separates enduring businesses from the rest — and why understanding a company's fundamentals, leadership, and long-term decisions can reveal far more than its share price alone.
In this episode, Roshan Cariappa sits down with Saurabh Mukherjea on his new book The Art of Enduring. They break down how to identify great businesses and long-term wealth creators using his toughest filters yet: 15 years of 15% return on capital, with revenue and profit growth beating GDP.
The five case studies: Bajaj Finance, Dr Lal PathLabs, Tata Elxsi, Divi’s Laboratories and Titan.
Inside the conversation: why most PSU banks and big-name companies fail the test, the brutal collection machine behind Bajaj Finance’s sub-1% NPAs, how Dr Lal PathLabs turned diagnostics into a retail powerhouse, why engineering R&D beats IT services, and why even Apple, Microsoft and Titan spent a decade in the wilderness before compounding again.
If you care about investing, the stock market, and building long-term wealth in India, this one’s essential.
📚 CHAPTERS
(00:00) - Why “Being Ruthless” Doesn’t Build Great Companies
(01:35) - Why We Stay Distant from Our Own Legends
(02:35) - The Three Tests a Company Must Pass
(09:40) - Why Regulatory Monopolies Don’t Make the Cut
(17:00) - Stock Price Is Noise, Fundamentals Are the Signal
(18:20) - What Jack Welch Got Wrong
(21:20) - Bajaj Finance: Right Place, Right Time - or More?
(25:40) - Inside Bajaj Finance’s Brutal Collection Machine
(30:50) - The Data Machine: 120 Million Indians
(34:00) - The Zero-Cost EMI Masterstroke
(35:20) - Dr Lal PathLabs: Diagnostics as a Retail Business
(47:00) - Tata Elxsi: Why Engineering R&D Beats IT Services
(50:30) - How Tata Elxsi Cracked Open Japan
(52:40) - Divi’s Labs: How India Became the Pharmacy of the World
(55:30) - Staying True to Your Strengths (The Rahul Dravid Lesson)
(57:40) - Titan: Surviving 12 Years in the Wilderness
(1:00:20) - What Really Sets These Leaders Apart
This episode is also available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/qNvzFXLqGK8
📘 ABOUT THE BOOK
The Art of Enduring: How Great Companies Turn Crisis into Opportunity breaks down five of India's greatest companies - Bajaj Finance, Dr Lal PathLabs, Tata Elxsi, Divi's Labs and Titan - and what makes them built to last through every crisis.
🛒 Get it here: https://amzn.in/d/07bfo9QK
📚 All books by Saurabh Mukherjea (The Unusual Billionaires, Coffee Can Investing, Diamonds in the Dust, The Victory Project, Behold the Leviathan & more):
👉 https://www.amazon.in/stores/author/B08GQ5H3XW/allbooks
👤 ABOUT SAURABH MUKHERJEA
Saurabh Mukherjea is the founder of Marcellus Investment Managers and one of India's most widely read voices on investing and wealth creation. A former CEO of Ambit Capital, he has spent two decades studying what makes great Indian companies - and how ordinary investors can build long-term wealth. The Art of Enduring is his latest book.
🇮🇳 ABOUT BHARATVAARTA
Bharatvaarta is a long-form podcast focused on India's politics, policy, economy, technology and culture.
🌐 Website: https://www.bharatvaarta.in
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