Why Sustainable Businesses Start With Integrity | Rakesh Tiku | The Value Creation Mindset

In this episode of The Value Creation Mindset, host A.J. Singh is joined by Rakesh Tiku, President and CEO of Infield Solutions, for a deep conversation on why sustainable businesses start with integrity, ethical leadership, and long-term thinking.

Rakesh shares his journey from an academic upbringing to becoming a serial entrepreneur focused on solving real problems through technology, IoT platforms, and workflow automation. The discussion explores decision-making with incomplete information, forgiveness in leadership, fairness in negotiations, and why people are the only asset that truly increases in value over time.

If you are a founder, CEO, CTO, or business leader building for the long term, this episode offers practical insight into values-driven leadership, creating real customer value, and building teams that thrive on trust.

00:00 Why integrity matters
01:00 Rakesh’s origin story
04:30 Solving real problems
06:00 Happiness as a choice
07:40 Forgiving yourself
10:00 Letting go of baggage
12:10 Ethics and fairness
15:00 Sustainable profit
17:10 Trust and leadership
20:00 Redefining success
24:00 Building trust at scale
27:00 Leadership styles
30:00 Strategy and focus
33:00 Working on the business
36:00 People as the core asset
39:00 Loyalty and culture
43:00 Global productivity
47:00 Quality over hours
50:00 Identity and culture
53:00 Being on the right path
55:40 Defining legacy
58:30 Purpose and joy
01:01:00 Final reflections