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Sussanne Khan says modern luxury is built on warmth and intention
MUMBAI: Luxury is getting a quiet makeover, and it has little to do with price tags. At Network18’s Innovate & Evolve Privé, powered by Liebherr, designer and entrepreneur Sussanne Khan said the new definition of luxury rests on warmth, intention and emotional intelligence.
Khan explained that design has shaped her life from the beginning and that true luxury lies in beauty with purpose. She shared that her work at The Charcoal Project is less about furniture and more about crafting stories within spaces. According to her, today’s idea of luxury sits at the crossroads of technology and emotion. Homes must feel soulful yet smart, blending natural materials, rare textures and thoughtful automation without losing their human touch.
She stressed that sustainability can no longer be treated as a trend. It must sit at the centre of every design choice. She highlighted practices like transforming industrial waste, empowering local artisans and experimenting with new eco-friendly materials. Curiosity, she said, is a designer’s greatest strength, because evolution stops the moment certainty begins.
Jewellery designer Farah Ali Khan added her own spark to the discussion with a story that drew both laughs and admiration. She revealed that she first tried interior design because of her mother, then dabbled in television and film, still unsure of her path. A trip to Los Angeles for what she hoped would be a carefree adventure turned into an academic triumph when she unexpectedly fell in love with gemology. She joked that she arrived hoping to party and instead became the Indian nerd who topped her class.
Farah described her design philosophy as one rooted in purpose. She cited Steve Jobs, saying design is function before anything else. Her jewellery brings together modern tools and traditional craftsmanship, creating pieces that combine precision with heritage.
With voices like these shaping the conversation, Innovate & Evolve is shining a light on how India’s idea of luxury is shifting. The new blueprint is clear: luxury today is less about excess and more about meaning, mindful choices and the willingness to evolve with intention.
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Beep App launches Gen-Z career platform, clocks 30,000 plus placements
Pune startup turns scrolling into career action with learn-explore-earn model
PUNE: Beep App has rolled out its newly positioned career-focused app aimed at Gen-Z users, as it looks to bridge what it calls a growing gap between exposure and employability among young Indians.
Formerly known as EventBeep, the platform is built around a simple but timely idea: turning everyday scrolling into meaningful career action. The app targets students and early professionals, offering a unified space to explore career options, learn relevant skills and access internships and job opportunities.
At a time when short-form content dominates screen time, Beep is attempting to flip the script by embedding structured, career-oriented insights within a familiar scroll-based interface. The idea is not to disrupt user behaviour, but to redirect it.
The platform spans a wide range of fields, including artificial intelligence, product management, design and data analytics. It provides users with insights into role expectations, required skills and step-by-step career pathways, supported by inputs from industry practitioners.
At the heart of the offering is a “learn, explore, earn” model that integrates discovery, skill-building and hiring into one ecosystem. The company says this closed-loop approach is already gaining traction, with over 30,000 placements facilitated so far.
“Gen-Z does not lack ambition; what they often lack is structured direction,” said Beep App founder and CEO Saurabh Mangrulkar. “The Beep App is designed to organise that exposure into actionable pathways so users can move from intent to execution with greater confidence.”
The launch comes amid a broader shift in India’s job market towards skills-first hiring, where practical experience and demonstrable capabilities are increasingly valued alongside academic qualifications.
Founded in 2021, Beep App has grown steadily within the student ecosystem, connecting over 6.5 million users with opportunities across more than 1,500 colleges and 7,800 hiring companies.
Looking ahead, the company plans to deepen its content across emerging sectors, expand its hiring network and build more personalised career pathways tailored to user behaviour.
As Gen-Z continues to navigate a complex and fast-evolving job market, platforms that can turn curiosity into clarity may well shape the next wave of career discovery.
