Why I Built iCraftz

In December 2024, I came across an online course that cost ₹199.

The man running it was Dr. Manjunath M.S. — a speed reading and mind power coach. His pitch was simple. Devastatingly simple.

"Do you know what is going to happen to you if you read one book per week?"

— Dr. Manjunath M.S.

That one question stopped me. I signed up.

For 6 days, I woke up at 5:30 every morning and joined a live session that ran until 7:00 AM. Dr. Manjunath didn't just teach speed reading. He rewired something fundamental in the way I thought about books — about knowledge — about growth.

He taught me that reading without application is just entertainment.

That sentence changed my life.

52 Books. 49 Read. One Website.

Dr. Manjunath's challenge to every participant was bold — read 52 books in 52 weeks. One book every single week for a year.

I didn't hit 52.

I hit 49.

And those 49 books — every one of them read with intention, every insight applied to my actual life — quietly transformed the way I think, the way I work, the way I see the world.

When I built iCraftz, the choice of 49 books in our library was not random. It was personal. These are the books I read. The books that moved me. The books I believe every Indian deserves access to.

But here is the most important thing I want you to know about iCraftz:

"We are not asking you to replace the book. We are asking you to discover it — and then buy it exclusively through iCraftz."

The Problem Nobody Was Solving

After those 49 books, one question kept returning to me.

What about everyone else?

What about the millions of Indians who want to grow but never had a Dr. Manjunath moment? No framework. No coach. No bridge between reading and real change.

And then the bigger question — the one that built iCraftz:

What about the 800 million Indians who don't think in English?

95% of the world's self-improvement content exists in one language. Which means a student in Vijayawada, a professional in Coimbatore, an entrepreneur in Sangli — locked out. Not for lack of desire. But for lack of access.

That felt wrong. Deeply, urgently wrong.

What iCraftz Does

iCraftz is not a book summary app.

iCraftz is a Non-Fiction discovery experience that rekindles the Joy of Reading. We give you enough — a Summary, Key Insights, Action Items and a Core Theme — to know whether this book will change your life. And then we make it possible for you to buy it directly through iCraftz — at a discounted price, in your language, delivered to you.

No middlemen. No marketplace markups. Just the book, the wisdom, and you.

All of this is available in 10 Indian languages — Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi and English — translated live by AI, on demand.

And very soon — working directly with authors and publishers — full vernacular editions of these books — subject to publisher agreements — will be made available on iCraftz. Imagine reading Atomic Habits in Telugu. Think and Grow Rich in Kannada. Ikigai in Marathi.

Not a summary. The full book. In your language. Only on iCraftz — subject to publisher agreements.

That is where we are going.

Less Noise. More Thought.

The algorithm knows you. It uses that knowledge to keep you scrolling — consuming without changing, entertained without growing.

Books are the antidote.

Dr. Manjunath taught me that in December 2024 for ₹199 at 5:30 in the morning.

iCraftz is my attempt to pass that lesson on — to every Indian who never got that wake-up call.

Stop Scrolling. Start Growing.
Less Noise. More Thought.

— Ashesh Thanawala
Founder, iCraftz
icraftz.com · April 2026