Zishaan Hayath

India, startups, design, culture, travel, motorcycles rides, food and all things beautiful.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Here’s a thread of my 🏍️ motorcycle rides over the years 👇🏼

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@EchoOfIndia It was ~200K in JEE 2000. Hard to believe that it was just 5K in 1985. Also, just 5K taking the exam for ~2000 IIT seats sounds absurd.

[वरुण 🇮🇳 @varungrover]

Some late observations:

1. Students love a good fight. Esp. when it’s unfair and they are the underdogs. Plus they love community - a highly valuable state of mind available to the modern human only for a few years of youth. No money can buy those hormones.

2. Sense of humour is a great weapon against fanatics. It disarms the opponent and heals the oppressed. And most importantly, gets you Instagram views.

3. Father figures, constantly telling a nation what to eat, who to marry, who not to love etc, are easy to dislike and unite against.

4. Mainstream media committed a mass-sepukku by agreeing to peddle just the govt. narrative over the last decade. So much so that on most policy issues, they are more conservative and bigoted than the government itself.

It did two beautiful things - one, a big chunk of population started switching off, and two, the government itself ended up dumping them in the end, by negotiating with genuine protests already labelled as aatankwaadi by the news TV. On most occasions they make govt’s job more difficult than easy.

Today - watching news TV is seen as one of the most uncool, low IQ things by a majority of the population.

5. Cuss words are no longer the underground culture they were a decade ago. (Even Gangs of Wasseypur was like 14 years ago.)

Access to international rap, desi hip hop, more than 100 Indian comedians not censoring their language, even when they censor their thoughts, and in some cases political patronage to the cuss-heavy influencers have made sure that the language on the street is no more purist/sanitised. The more it shocks the authority figures, the more it will be used.

6. An aura - carefully built over a decade - took a fortnight to burst into smithereens. That’s how flimsy it was.

[Joy @Joydas]

Go watch the press conference of Rahul Gandhi. There are too many gems and great replies but this is my favourite

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@AtishiAAP Not worth it, Atishi. Read the room.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@guptar Bacchon ko pehle bhi maara tha. Unke bacche nahi the .. isi liye bhool gaye hain.

[Official PeeingHuman @thepeeinghuman]

Never thought this is how my face reveal would happen after 11 years of making content.
But worth it ✊🏽🇮🇳

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@akothari This is so so good! Happy 40th Akshay.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@rajeshsawhney There is nothing like Jubilee Hills in Bangalore

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@ilokeshmotwani @Zishan I rented a Himalayan 450 from these guys - https://t.co/tI4gr8J22r

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

In May 2026, I spent a few days riding across Kashmir. These are my notes and highlights from the trip 👇🏽

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@surjitbhalla @ZEE5India I paid but can't access on a Macbook. Had to see the game on iPad.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Last evening (and this morning), @kunalb11 evoked multiple emotions - pride, surprise, admiration, shock, regret, envy, vindication, awe - in many of us. But I guess it was just another day for Kunal. One of a kind guy.

[Joe @josephradhik]

Last 48 hrs in the Mumbai.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

The one in our lane was called Radiant Cafe.

Those cafes had a character all their own: bentwood chairs, marble-top tables, open fronts. Men would spend all day there - meeting friends, reading newspapers, even smoking cigarettes, or simply sitting.

Chai was 1 rupee or less.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Pleasantly surprised to see the humble Osmania biscuit dressed up in premium packaging and sold as “Osmania Cookies.”

Growing up in Hyderabad in the ’80s, many neighbourhoods had an Irani cafe serving the timeless pairing of Irani chai and Osmania biscuits.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@josephradhik 3.3 is less than what you’ll pay, 510 is more than what you’ll use and 0-100 numbers are irrelevant. Things that are relevant are it’s a 4L NA and it’s a 911.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@pofunder Receipts please

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

If this is VC’s standard clause, then there should be no problem in naming them. And if there is no name, then it probably didn’t happen. Just bs for X engagement.

[JJ @JosephJacks_]

There’s an Indian VC (based there, invests there) who I won’t name. Every term sheet he writes — even $1M checks — includes this: founders must return 5x, he keeps full anti-dilution AND his equity on top, and if they don’t hit it in 3 years, he gets to fire them. 😂😭

I told him, “dude, I can’t invest into this structure, it’s insane.” His response: “JJ! No no, you don’t understand — this is totally normal in India, man! We want you to invest!!”

LESSON: Any founder in India who’s been handed this — email me. I’ll personally make sure you get introduced to VCs who aren’t actively trying to fuck you over.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

@rchowdhri @MicrosoftTeams GMeet. You can join 2 meetings in 2 different tabs and it still works.

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

In May 2026, I spent a few days riding across Kashmir. These are my notes and highlights from the trip 👇🏽

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Srinagar - Doodhpatri - Tangmarg -- Gulmarg - Razan Pass - Gurez -- Tulail - Chakwali Post -- Srinagar -- Martand Sun Temple - Pahalgam -- Daksum - Pahalgam -- Aru - Betaab - Srinagar.

May 2026 / 1000 km / 7 days / RE Himalayan 450 / iPhone 17 Pro

https://t.co/jmDekbFbKb

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

In May 2026, I spent a few days riding across Kashmir. These are my notes and highlights from the trip 👇🏽

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Bangalore - Halebeedu - Belur - Chikmagalur - Charmady Ghat - Mangaluru - Bekal - Wayanad - Bandipur Tiger Reserve - Mysore - Bangalore

Nov 2023 / 1100 km / 4 days / BMW R NineT Scrambler / iPhone 15

https://t.co/pRehSxwBFu

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Earlier this month, I spent a few days riding in Karnataka and Kerala. I started riding out of Bangalore and here are some of the highlights from the ride 👇🏽

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

Guwahati - Shillong -- Mawphlang - Laitlum - Shillong -- Sorah - Tyrna - Shillong -- Dawki - Darrang -- Shnongpdeng - Jawai - Nartiang - Umiam - Guwahati -- Manas -- Guwahati

Dec 2024 / 1000 km / 7 days / Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 / iPhone 15

https://t.co/ExNgArtfI9

[Zishaan Hayath @Zishaan]

In the last week of 2024, I spent a few days riding 🏍️ in Meghalaya and Assam. I started riding out of Guwahati and here are my notes and highlights from the trip 👇🏽