In this episode of the WeRise Wellness Podcast, host (Speaker B) interviews young entrepreneur Tanishq Jaiswal, founder of Travelpreneurs and creator of the Founders' Backyard podcast. Tanishq shares his humble upbringing in Prayagraj, early academic struggles, and how discovering Heartfulness meditation at 18 transformed his introverted nature, helped him develop confidence, and sparked a passion for volunteering and community building. He recounts the genesis of his podcast name during a meditation session and explains how the practice led to the creation of Travelpreneurs, a series of wellness retreats for founders held in Satpur, Uttarakhand – a location he describes as spiritually charged and historically visited by figures like Steve Jobs and Neem Karoli Baba. The conversation details the retreat’s components (meditation, yoga, healing therapies, trekking, diary writing, one‑on‑one “sitting” with a preceptor) and its purpose: to give founders mental clarity, mentorship, networking, and access to funding. Tanishq provides concrete examples of founders who, after attending, gained clearer product strategy, learned Lean Canvas methodology, secured mentorship, and even launched new products. He claims participants can achieve up to 2× productivity and 5× growth, and emphasizes that consistency in meditation and habit formation is essential for sustained success. The host reinforces these points, adds his own reflections on the power of stepping away from daily chaos, and both agree that habit consistency is a key lever for entrepreneurs. The episode closes with mutual appreciation and a teaser of future global (even space‑bound) retreats.
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Hello everyone and welcome to a new episode of We Rise Wellness Podcast. Today we have Tanishq Jaiswal with us. He is so young and an entrepreneur at his age. He is the founder of Travelpreneurs and he is also a podcaster and YouTuber. Welcome Tanishq, thank you so much for coming here today and we would really love to know more about you. From you.
Pleasure to be a part of this wonderful podcast. And yeah, so my journey is quite interesting. And so usually in the podcast, people start like they have a successful staff doing this, this, this, but I'll start with really basic, like I was no one and what— how I reached here. So it will be quite a different and not a successful kind of a podcast, just because still I'm in my journey and still figuring out stuff, learning and doing it.
So yeah, we are all learning, Tanishq, and I think the audience resonates more when you are coming naturally from what has happened with you and you are willing to share your story and be open and vulnerable about whatever you have been through. So I think, uh, audience will really love what you have to say today.
Yeah, that would be great. So yeah. So, uh, I did my schooling and all in Prayagraj. Right now I'm in my hometown only. I'm working from my hometown. And, uh, it was quite a humble journey, humble beginning, simple family, nothing really extraordinary, simple beginning and everything. So then I did my schooling, and I want to highlight this really specifically, I was really a bad student in my school. Really bad. So I remember in my 6th standard, I got 3, literally 0-3 in my literature exam. And my teacher used to say, you won't be able to do anything in your life, you'll be a big failure. Been there.
I've been told that as well. So don't worry, it will work out fine for you. Don't worry.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So usually in my school, it was quite bad because I used to get tortured a lot from teachers, my school students, because of my, uh, bad marks. And I was also quite, uh, introvert. I usually not open with a lot of people and stuff like that. And it was quite bad experience overall. So, but in my class 11th, I got some good marks and I got— I was into commerce, right? So I did that and I was into some school activities as well, learning, evolving myself. And, uh, after completing my schooling, I got into Heartfulness Meditation. My family was there from the very beginning, from my childhood, but I discovered the Heartfulness Meditation was quite interesting for me. I discovered myself through that, meditating on regular basis, personal level, and it helped me to open So as I was sharing, I was into meditation, uh, by the age of 18 I started meditating along with my family, and that journey was quite interesting. I, I discovered myself through meditation and internal learning, and I, I could balance my, uh, material life and spiritual life in a better way. And, uh, uh, we got some task like a volunteer kind of thing where we used to go and promote Heartfulness Meditation in different, different colleges, schools around India. So I was much into volunteering. So through that, I have also discovered myself, my inner talent, my inner capability, and my really good skill of— I was introvert, right? I used to be really introvert, but through Heartfulness Meditation, through talking to new people, through meeting, and that, that's really been a game changer in my life. So yeah, that's really helped me overall. And through meditation, I have got a lot of new connections. And Heartfulness— this Founders Bag podcast had been started through meditation in Kana Shanti Vana. This is the headquarters of Heartfulness Institute. I have started my, uh, journey from that only. And the best thing I want to share The Founders' Backyard name, when I was meditating one day, and before meditation I gave a thought that I want some name for my podcast, right? So then I just gave a seed like I want name, and when the meditation was done, it was there on my journal, Founders' Backyard. So this has been the story and journey.
Wow, superb! I am so inspired, Tanishq, and I think meditation is something which has changed my life as well. And we are not just two of us, I mean everybody around the world who have you know, experienced transformation in some way or the other, have been in mindfulness practice and have meditated and have learned the power of meditation, I believe. Uh, so yeah, hats off to you that you would have got that kind of opportunity at such an early age. I learned about meditation at the age of 40 and you learned at 18. So, and you have the whole life ahead of you. I'm sure you are going to turn out so good because you have learned meditation so early in life. Um, having said that, Tanishq, I would really love to know more about Travelpreneurs— why you started it, how you started it, and how it is going now.
Yeah, sure. So it's a really interesting and lovely journey. So, uh, Satpol is a place, it's a heaven on earth. It's based in Uttarakhand. So I went for my retreat. So that retreat happened, uh, quite, you can say, it was nothing kind of plan. I requested for that, and from past 2 years I was requesting for the retreat because it's quite rare. You get, you have to fill a form and then you get request confirmation and stuff like that happen. So I was doing my startup primarily, ExcelUp, my earlier startup. So I was doing that and we were middle of launching something but I got the confirmation of Satguru's retreat, right? Then only, there only, I just booked the tickets and everything, and I went there. And on first, second day, I was meditating, experiencing the whole vibe, the whole nature and everything. It's quite a serene place, and I was doing diary writing and internal exploration and doing meditation overall. So then I also took a sitting. Sitting is that thing when you directly take from a preceptor, one-to-one individual sitting. So I took that, and he was sharing that this place is quite best for entrepreneurs because Neem Karoli Baba is nearby, and Steve Jobs have came here, meditated here, and this place is quite magical. You can also try, you are into startup, and you can also try exploring yourself within, and you might explore something really extraordinary from this place you can get. So I was just doing that day by day, day by day, learning and introspecting, writing diary. So diary writing had helped me a lot in my overall journey. And then, uh, I got this idea about— I was into too much into— earlier I was into photography as well, right? So I love traveling, exploring new, new places. So this place was quite interesting and, uh, intimidating at the same time because of the overall geographical location and the energy over there. So I meditated over there and found that this place would be the best place for entrepreneurs and change makers from around the world because of the energy that it holds, right? So Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and, uh, and, uh, Swami Vivekananda, these kind of people have meditated there. That's why we have chosen this place for all the entrepreneurs from around the world to come together, learn, meditate, and get mentored, get funding. Overall. So our perspective is that the mentoring and the stuff that is happening right now in Five Star Motel, people are just in that small room and discussing everything. So if they come to these kind of retreats, they can explore the unlimited potential that they are having within.
Yeah.
And they can reach and change the world overall by overall talking to each other, grasping the energy of that place, vibes, and everything. So that would be a game changer for them. And these retreats include meditation, yoga, healing, different, different healing therapies, trekking, and overall personality development. So that is really a game changer for entrepreneurs. And I recommend all the entrepreneurs from around the world join our retreat. This is our first location, Satpur, and in future we are going to have retreats in all over the world. And not only in this world, in Earth, We are going to go beyond space travel as well. Yeah, so that is the—
yeah, more power to you for that. I'm sure, I mean, having a vision like that might actually end up, you know, taking you out of space, and that is possible. I mean, I think it is becoming a possibility now that anything is possible. Uh, so I'm sure space travel could also be possible one day, fingers crossed. And I would love to do that, uh, to have that on my, you know, Bucket list. Right. So Tanishq, coming to this concept of founders wellness, I have personally had been through a journey of transformation post-COVID because I think post-COVID this has become a norm now that founders have started addressing their mental health issues. And let's face it, being a founder, we go through a lot. We also encounter dark places and people are just too scared to talk about it. And when we are talking about it so openly and talking about having retreats where we are focusing on the wellness of the founder, this definitely opens up, you know, the Pandora's box and, um, you know, opens up opportunities for everyone to explore what, what better, uh, way they can handle their life. So tell us from your experience, what kind of transformations have the founders felt when they came to these retreats?
Yeah, so I'll share the experience of, of founders only. So in the first retreat, uh, there were people, uh, founders. They were initial founders. They were, uh, struggling into their journey of what to do, how to do in terms of finalizing the products and services because they were into launching phase and stuff like that. So, uh, initially when they came, they were puzzled about the whole stuff, how they will be executing everything. But when they got mentorship, personal mentorship from Sandeep Das, founder of MyCare, he gave a personal mentoring session to them individually. So these entrepreneurs got a clear perspective about how they should, uh, touch the point of valuation, evaluating the company, or problem solving, solution and all the kind of different, different perspective that are there in the, in overall launching the product and services, like a Lean Canvas business model, right? We really focus on this Lean Canvas business model so that startup can start, start from the really basic stuff and they can reach to overall their product or some services that they want to introduce into the market, right? So, and overall, when you are meditating, you are focusing on your mind, your energies, and you got, you got to focus really deep into your product and services. And when you are talking to your networking, talking to your peers about their startup, you got different, different perspective about your startup, different, different ideas and perspective. So that really help you in your journey, how you can evolve your product or service. So it's kind of a game changer for people. So I, uh, so I also want to share one more experience, not my personal, but one of my— our mentor. She, she's a yoga trainer, right? She has her own yoga studio and everything in Agra. She's a part of our, uh, she's been collaborating with us in this journey. So she has her own universal oil. She made it for his child, right? Her child. And she applied it and it really worked. So after this mentoring session, she got— she got to know how to launch this product. So she's been coming to Delhi and the checking out the packaging, how it can be launched, how it can be branded, how she got her domain listed and everything. She's going on a right, a great track. So people are— one more brother, he was already into startup community, discovering, uh, mentoring different, different startups. So he got really a different perspective about how to approach startups. So he, he's into helping farmers in terms of startups and stuff like that. So he got a really clear perspective about he can mentor entrepreneurs in a really different perspective. He was saying that earlier I didn't got to know that this perspective also existed. So different, different pathways have been opened from, for, for the people who were part of this retreat. So I recommend all the entrepreneurs from around the world should experience this kind of transformational journey. And you never know, you can get something that you were— it's there in your heart, but you are unable to explore your within talent, inner talent. So like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs used to say, right? You have to discover your inner talent by exploring and talking to new people, like networking. That's a really best part. And also mentoring. Mentoring helps a lot. So, right, yeah.
Right, so Tanishq, I think I'll go a little further on what you are trying to say and actually, you know, break it down for the viewers to understand how meditation is helpful in business. The thing is, when you start meditating, you actually access that memory in your brain that you have not been able to use. And those memories, when you start meditating, you start accessing those memories, and it then gives you intuitions. It gives you intuitions on what actions you need to take, for your desired outcomes. But for that, you need to show a vision to your mind that, okay, this is where I want to reach, now help me, how do I reach there? That's when, you know, you start getting those intuitions. But then you have to actually get away from all the chaos in life, go to a place where you can actually, you know, bring down the number of thoughts you process on a regular basis. And when you are like focusing on one single thing at a time, I think that's when you start getting those views, getting those intuitions. And if there are people in the community who are coming at a place for the same thing, I think it's mind-blowing. I mean, what you are doing, Tanishq, I'm really blown at what impact it can create for founders. Because when you're sitting in a regular conference room, you're talking about the same things. But when you go out in nature, and try to reflect back to the place that, you know, to your workplace. I think that is really, really transformative. And kudos to you to, you know, be able to pull off this one. So congratulations for this, Tanishq. Congratulations so much. And so tell me, if, you know, a founder has to come to this kind of retreat, what kind of outcomes can you promise them that, you know, this is what you are going to experience, and you should come for this retreat, um, and this is how you can bring a change in your life. Give us that pitch that, you know, uh, would help the founders to make that decision whether we want to go on this retreat or not.
Okay, so first of all, uh, founders can experience 2x productivity in their startup and 5x growth. I can assure you because people have been to that. And also you can get a lot of access of top entrepreneurs and networking to the right community, right? And also in terms of funding, we are also helping with that as well. So you can get funding if you are looking for that. And these kind of things really help you as an individual to explore within and also get a proper success in your startup. So this is in brief, I would like to share about this.
Okay, so here, founders, listen to him carefully, that if you go to these retreats away from your workplace where you can focus on, you know, what business you want to create, what are the desired outcomes, they'll help you do mindfulness practices and help you grow in productivity and your business. So that is your pitch, right, Tanishq?
Yeah. Great.
And I have personally experienced it. I did not go to nature, but I have taken solo trips, and basically to reflect on what I actually want, what are the desired outcomes that I have, at what timelines, what measurable goals I have. So you have to spend a lot of time with yourself and people, uh, you know, uh, with people who actually resonates with what you are thinking and what you are trying to achieve in life. Once you do that Anything is possible, believe me, anything is possible. I have made so many things possible with me just by diverting my thought to my desired outcome. So I think that is the power of meditation and mindfulness. And I'm sure each and every founder who, you know, watches this podcast will have a takeaway that how much time they need to focus first, take a step back from their regular work analyze the whole situation and then get back to work completely in full force. So yeah, that's, that's the takeaway from this podcast today. Tanishq, thank you so much for coming and sharing your insights. Yeah, there is one last thing I think you want to say that we missed. Please go ahead.
Yeah, I also, I also want to highlight one thing more. So apart from doing all this retreat, one thing is really necessary in entrepreneur's life. One is consistency. And if you, you need really a good consistency in terms of creating your brand, you should be regular. Also, when you are meditating, you should be consistent because then only you can achieve certain goals and targets. So that is really important. Consistency is the key to success.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And basically consistency comes with the good habits. So, uh, there are techniques to develop good habits also. It's all about learning them. Once you have learned it, I think it becomes easy to be consistent. I have done it for myself. and I have courses on this that I've created, I've taken several workshops on this, I've even gone to schools and taken these workshops. Habit is the number one thing that can take you closer to your goals because it keeps you consistent. And it's easy to build habits, it's not that difficult. It's only knowing the right hacking system to your brain that how it creates habits. Once you know that, you can hack into your brain's system and actually create consistent habits for yourself. So I think, yeah, completely. I completely resonate with you on that, Tanishq. Consistency is the key. And with that, I'll bring this podcast to a close. Thank you so much for coming today. And this has been really insightful. And I am personally looking forward to one of your retreats pretty soon.
Yeah, that would be great. And pleasure to be a part of this wonderful podcast.
Thank you so much, Tanishq. Have a great day. Thank you.
