Rooted in Words
Sangeetha’s love for the spoken word runs deep. Even as she built her career across different industries, she kept coming back to one concept: stories shape how we see the world – and ourselves. “There’s something magical about audio,” she says, smiling. “It’s intimate. It feels like someone is sitting right next to you, telling you something important.” As podcasts started gaining a tiny foothold in India, she saw a gap no one else seemed to be noticing. Where were the Indian voices? The Indian stories told our way? That question became her answer.
Building Cronica
Cronica Media wasn’t born out of a business plan. It came from a belief that there was a better way to connect with people – especially kids and women – through meaningful audio storytelling. “Our aim was to design podcasts that felt real, that made you think and feel at the same time,” Sangeetha explains. Not just talking heads or news, but narratives that created empathy, sparked curiosity, and sometimes, simply made you smile. She called it Cronica – the Spanish word for ‘chronicle’ – because at its heart, it was always about recording life in its truest form.
Early Days, Big Questions
Podcasts were still new to most Indians. “People kept asking me – why listen when you can watch?” Sangeetha laughs. She spent months figuring it all out – recording clean audio without fancy studios, editing episodes herself, convincing parents and schools that podcasts could be educational and fun. “There’s no shortcut,” she says simply. “Every script, every book, every episode – I listen to it all personally before it goes out.” If it didn’t feel right, it didn’t make the cut.
Learning Made Lighter for Kids
From day one, kids have been at the heart of what Cronica Media does. Sangeetha and her team wanted to build safe spaces where young minds could stay curious, ask questions, and make sense of the world around them – without feeling like it’s all too much.
They started with The Lighter Side, a fun newsletter that makes tech and news easy and actually interesting for kids. Then came What’s New Today, a podcast that breaks down current events in a way children can understand and care about.
For slightly older kids – 8 and up, they brought out colorful, printed magazines packed with stories, facts, and ideas that make them pause, wonder, and look at things differently. And for teenagers stepping into adulthood, Misadventures of a Sneaker – a travel podcast for 18+, opened up new worlds through stories of places, people, and experiences far beyond school walls.
Through it all, Cronica’s approach has stayed real – spark curiosity, encourage kids to ask the right questions, and show them how to work with information instead of just absorbing it. In the process, they learn how to solve problems, think critically, and find positive ways to navigate challenges. It also helps them stay aware and connected to what’s happening around them, giving them the confidence to engage with the world instead of tuning it out.
Letting Kids Take the Mic
One of the first big wins for Cronica was the Book Club Podcast – a show that flipped the usual script by letting children do the talking. Instead of adults reviewing children’s books, Cronica handed the mic to kids. They read the books, shared what they thought, and even decided the age group they’d recommend it for.
“You’d be amazed,” Sangeetha says, lighting up. “Kids talk about bullies, about neurodivergence, about feeling different – with so much honesty. Sometimes I think we underestimate how much they understand.” For many children, these conversations became more than just reviews, and turned out as lessons in empathy.
Talking About Things We Don’t Talk About
Another standout project was Quirky Scribbler, a podcast designed mostly for women navigating complicated spaces – like workplaces where the lines are blurred, or social situations no one teaches you how to handle. Through gentle, relatable storytelling, Cronica created episodes that gave listeners a kind of quiet permission to ask, “Is this okay?” and “What should I do?”
“Growing up, no one taught us how to handle grey areas,” Sangeetha says. “Quirky Scribbler was my way of saying – it’s okay to ask questions, it’s okay to not have all the answers.”
Why Passion Alone Isn’t Enough
One thing Sangeetha is very clear about is that passion alone isn’t enough to build a business. “People often say, ‘Follow your passion,’ but that’s a very simplistic view,” she says. “Passion doesn’t pay for your rice, your routine, and your shelter.” For anyone dreaming of quitting their day job and striking out on their own, her advice is practical – Make a clear, realistic plan for how you’ll monetize your idea. Give yourself a timeframe. Set specific targets – the kind of revenue you’ll need to cover your basics. Analyze your cash flows. And most importantly, double the time and effort you think it’ll take, because things often take longer than expected.
“It’s wonderful to want to change the world and be passionate,” she says, “but it’s equally, if not more important, to have a business plan, to understand your cash flows, and to think very rationally before you take that leap.” Sangeetha herself followed this method when building Cronica. It took her about one and a half years before the company started breaking even, and having enough savings to survive that period helped her make better decisions without financial pressure.
She also shares another important tip – if you’re not sure yet, continue working your day job while pursuing your passion project on the side. “When it’s your passion, you won’t mind spending that extra time on it,” she says. And when your passion project consistently hits the financial targets you need, that’s when you should confidently make the switch.
Cronica Media’s Growth
Today, Cronica’s shows are available across Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google, and other major platforms. The website is still a work in progress – “I know, I know!” Sangeetha laughs – but word of mouth has been their biggest growth engine. Parents trust Cronica’s shows to be thoughtful and safe for their kids. Young women find comfort and confidence in knowing they’re not alone.
Through it all, Sangeetha hasn’t lost sight of what matters most to her. “For me, it’s never been about the numbers or going viral – It’s about that one person who listens and feels a little less alone, a little more understood.” She pauses for a moment, thinking. “If I can create even a tiny space where people feel heard, that’s enough.” And slowly but surely, that’s exactly what Cronica Media is becoming – a quiet corner of the internet where real stories find real people.
