Varun Patra is one of India’s most exciting, young culture entrepreneurs, having seen significant success in turning an infamous reputation for seemingly unachievable, larger-than-life ideas into that of a brand visionary over the last decade. He’s been instrumental in shaping creative and youth marketing strategies for leading global brands in India, most definitively as the co-founder and CMO of Homegrown—a trailblazing media company that’s quickly become hugely influential in shaping the trajectory of youth culture in the country with its publication, experiential and taste-making marketing agency and its events arm.

Fuelled by the goal of making India one of the world’s strongest creative economies, almost all of his professional endeavours have been focussed towards building foundations and plotting grand trajectories for various sub-cultures across India. From his involvement in early digital campaigns with top agencies/ pioneering events in the independent music world with Oji & Krunk (Skream & Benga + Major Lazer’s first India tours) in 2012 to launching the country’s first street culture festival, Homegrown Street, in early 2018 the goal has been tirelessly worked towards and achieved in big and small ways. In between, he’s executed 100+ campaigns for highly reputed brands like Budweiser, Audi, Nike, Absolut and more, consistently pushing them to change the narrative insofar as to how brands communicate with the region’s youth.

For his work as a media entrepreneur across culture, marketing, nightlife and more, he was recently featured on Forbes’ 30U30 Asia List and is regularly sought out for his expertise and insights on creative and music economies at conferences around the region.