Leadership Journeys [280] - Kunal Thakker - “Entrepreneurship gives you freedom but it quietly takes your presence.”

About this episode

Kunal Thakker shares his journey of leaving banking to reinvent dentistry, discussing the challenges and advantages of entrepreneurship.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast. I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name. What does it really take to walk away from a “safe” career and build something that changes an entire industry? In this conversation, Kunal Thakker shares the raw, unfiltered reality of leaving banking to reinvent dentistry—and why fear was actually his greatest advantage. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the mental load of entrepreneurship, the sacrifices no one talks about, and how to stay grounded while scaling fast. Kunal also breaks down how he’s built a culture-first company in a highly technical field—and why that’s been his real edge. If you’re navigating growth, uncertainty, or big leadership decisions, this episode will challenge how you think and remind you what’s…

People in this episode

Host: Sumit Gupta

Guest: Kunal Thakker

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• leadership
• industry disruption
• mental load
• company culture

Keywords

• entrepreneurship
• leadership
• banking
• dentistry
• company culture
• fear
• industry disruptors

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tooth Club, LinkedIn

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