Hi! I’m Ishan Shanavas, and I’m a work-in-progress.
I’m a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and speaker working at the intersection of business and the environment.
Quick Bio
Based in Bangalore, India, working at the intersection of business and the environment.
Author and illustrator of The Light of Wilder Things, a #1 Amazon bestselling book that has sold thousands of copies across India.
Founder of Eco-Inspire, a national education venture scaled to over 28,000 students across 25 cities, towns, and villages in 6 states through 100 + institutions.
Entrepreneurial operator with hands-on experience in venture design, partnerships, program execution, and scaling in real-world contexts.
Writer of the newsletter The Owlet and host of Curiously with Ishan Shanavas, focused on ideas across business, creativity, and long-term thinking.
Summa cum laude graduate of Ashoka University, with training in environmental studies, sociology, and entrepreneurial leadership.
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The Owlet
I share my work, entrepreneurial experiments, and thinking across business, ecology, creativity, and the human condition, along with the ideas and links shaping how I build and learn.
Full Story
Hi, I’m Ishan Shanavas. I’m a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and speaker working at the intersection of business, systems, and the environment.
I think about my work across two parallel tracks.
One track is entrepreneurship and venture building. I founded and scaled Eco-Inspire, a national environmental education venture that reached over 28,000 students across 25 cities, towns, and villages through more than 100 institutions.
I led the venture end to end, from concept and curriculum design to partnerships, delivery, and scale. The work involved translating complex environmental challenges into structured, repeatable learning experiences that could operate across contexts.
I spend a significant amount of time studying how successful ventures are structured, how incentives shape outcomes, and how capital allocation decisions influence long-term value creation. I am interested in businesses that are built to last, where strategy, systems, and culture compound over time. This has led me to explore questions around market design, organizational behavior, and the role of entrepreneurship in solving complex, real-world problems.
My goal is to continue building and working with ventures that take a long-term view, apply rigorous business thinking, and operate at the intersection of economic viability and meaningful impact. I am less interested in performative sustainability and more focused on models that work in practice, at scale, and under pressure.
The second track is my long-standing engagement with nature, wildlife, and storytelling. I am the author and illustrator of The Light of Wilder Things, a number one Amazon bestselling book that explores my teenage years spent chasing wildlife across India and the personal lessons drawn from that time.
The book reflects my belief that storytelling can make large, abstract challenges feel personal, bridging science and emotion to turn awareness into empathy.
Alongside this, I run a digital platform with over 60,000 followers where I create science-backed, visually driven content on wildlife, ecology, and sustainability.
I also host Curiously with Ishan Shanavas, a long-form podcast built around slow, thoughtful conversations with entrepreneurs, scientists, writers, and creators. The goal is not quick answers, but better questions about how people think, build, and navigate complexity.
I graduated summa cum laude from Ashoka University, where I studied environmental studies, sociology, and entrepreneurship. My academic training, combined with hands-on venture experience, has shaped how I think about problem-solving from first principles.
My work and writing have been featured by CNN-News18, The Better India, Mongabay, Scroll, The Hindu, The Times of India, India Today, and Hindustan Times and several other media organisations. I have delivered two TEDx talks and was invited by the U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai, to participate in a roundtable on climate communication and sustainability leadership.
This is an ongoing process. I am building, learning, experimenting, and refining how I show up in the world and in my work.
If you would like to collaborate, discuss an idea, or explore opportunities, feel free to get in touch through the contact page or reach out directly.