100x Entrepreneur: Recent Episodes
Siddhartha Ahluwalia
100x Entrepreneur is a podcast series hosted by Siddhartha Ahluwalia, a 2x founder, and VC & Startup Business Development Manager, South at Amazon Web Services (AWS).Siddhartha brings insightful conversations from successful entrepreneurs and VCs, helping you grow 100x of yourself.100x Entrepreneur Podcast is ranked among the top 15 Business podcasts in Asia recognized by Tech In Asia.
Karan is the co-founder and CEO of Cartesia, an AI model lab building the next generation of real-time voice intelligence.
In this episode, Karan explains what all goes into building an AI Lab company; from massive datasets to pre-training to post-training to inference engines, plus a heavy dose of relentless evaluation, and obsession with every layer of the stack.
We also discuss why existing AI benchmarks are not very helpful, why latency is voice AI’s biggest enemy, and why maintaining context across long conversations is one of the hardest unsolved problems.
Apart from the cutting edge tech, this conversation explores Karan’s journey from researcher to founder, building Cartesia with a five-person founding team, raising capital, and realizing why first-time founders waste years focusing on things that ultimately don’t matter.
If you want a glimpse into the future of AI, watch this episode.
00:00 Trailer
01:35 From DPS to Stanford to Cartesia
02:35 From Counter-Strike to AI
04:28 Another Research Paper Wasn’t Enough
06:48 The Story Behind “Cartesia”
07:17 Building a Company With Five Technical Founders
09:55 From Research Project to Startup
13:54 Cartesia’s Audacious Vision for 2035
15:07 What It Takes to Build an AI Model Company
18:55 Why Faster AI Doesn’t Have to Be Worse
24:12 AI Still Has a Memory Problem
27:14 Why Context Builds Trust
27:50 Will AI Replace Entire Account Teams?
29:16 Hold Music Is Now a Salesman
30:30 Designing AI That Feels Personal
31:31 Building With Cartesia
34:48 Voice AI’s Enemy #1: Latency
38:50 Why AI Labs See the Future First
41:32 Finding Product Market Fit
45:34 Great Products Don’t Need Much Marketing
48:12 Very Few Things Matter
52:26 How Big Can Voice AI Get
55:53 Fundraising And Mission
58:15 What Cartesia Is Ultimately Building
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the centre of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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What if the company quietly making OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Meta's models smarter was founded in India?
Turing is one of the companies shaping how AI is advancing. It started in 2018 as a talent platform that found the top 1% of the world's engineers, became a unicorn in 2021, and then made a bet almost nobody understood at the time.
In early 2022, long before ChatGPT existed, Turing began helping OpenAI improve its models by feeding human expertise directly into training. Today its network of more than four million vetted engineers and domain experts powers the post-training and evaluation work behind the frontier labs, and the company crossed roughly 300 million dollars in revenue while staying profitable, at a 2.2 billion dollar valuation.
Vijay Krishnan is the co-founder and CTO. He was an NLP researcher at Stanford back when almost no one believed that predicting the next word could ever turn into reasoning, and he explains why running a modern model company without human-in-the-loop data is like entering a race with three tyres instead of four. He walks through how a model is actually taught to use software like Salesforce, why coding became the beachhead for every lab, and what changed for Turing the moment Scale AI was absorbed into Meta.
The conversation then turns to the question every founder is now asked in the room. What is your moat against Claude? Vijay's answer is to go deeper than the frontier labs can reach, into the outcome you own and the context that lives inside an enterprise.
If you are excited about how AI actually gets built, who really trains the models, and how to build a company that survives the labs, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
02:20 - The Indian company quietly behind OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic
04:50 - How Turing went from a talent platform to a unicorn to an AI research partner
08:20 - The bet nobody understood
11:50 - Why a model company without human data is "racing on three tyres"
15:50 - Why coding became the beachhead for every frontier lab
19:50 - What changed for Turing the day Meta bought Scale AI
23:50 - "What is your moat against Claude?"
29:50 - Will AI create more lawyers, not fewer?
34:50 - The teams where engineers haven't written code in six months
39:50 - 16% of the Philippines' GDP is under threat from AI?
43:50 - How you actually teach a model to use Salesforce
49:50 - How robots are taught real-world work
54:50 - Why million-dollar researcher packages are breaking startup hiring
59:50 - The one kind of AI company that gets stronger as the models improve
1:04:50 - Product vs. services, and the trap that quietly kills AI startups
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the centre of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
How do India's wealthiest families actually manage their money, and why does the man who looks after roughly ₹50,000 crore of it own zero stocks himself?
Rohit Sarin is the co-founder of Client Associates, which he started in 2002 as India's first multi-family office and has grown into the largest in the country, managing around ₹50,000 crore for more than 1,100 wealthy families. The firm acts as a personal CFO for a family's entire wealth, doing for a household what a finance chief does for a company.
He built it the hard way. He left a senior banking career at Deutsche Bank and Kotak, walked away from a full salary into a negative net worth, and took no salary in the first year so every rupee could go into building revenue. The firm's first working machine was an old computer he won at a Deutsche Bank auction.
His most contrarian view is about how ordinary Indians treat the markets. He believes trading is a zero-sum game, and the data backs him. A SEBI study found that 93 per cent of individual F&O traders lost money over three years, worth more than ₹1.8 lakh crore, with only about one per cent earning a meaningful profit. Rohit made money on seven of ten trades and still ended underwater because the three losses wiped out all seven gains, so he closed his demat account entirely. He reads the AI boom the same way, as a bubble much like the dot-com era where a rare Amazon survives, and points to Byju's as a reminder of what happens when growth runs ahead of discipline.
What the rich do differently is stay patient. They spend on their needs and rarely on their wants, and their real goal is to stay rich across generations rather than to get rich quickly. His own line for it is that wealth is a gift given by the impatient to the patient. He is equally clear that this is India's century, that the country has just crossed the income level where consumption compounds, and that the next ten years may be its best for anyone who starts investing early. He lays it all out in his book, Unlocking Wealth: Secrets to Getting Rich at Any Age.
If you are excited about how India's richest families think about money and where India's next decade is headed, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
01:50 - The personal CFO for India's richest families
03:50 - Quitting a full salary for a negative net worth
05:20 - The old computer he won at a Deutsche Bank auction
06:50 - The first clients and the two crore bar he borrowed from Merrill
09:20 - How many dollar-millionaires India really has
11:50 - The income level where a country's wealth suddenly compounds
14:20 - What is really driving India's wealth creation
16:50 - How old-money families decide who controls the wealth
19:50 - The tech gap that changed who leads a family office
22:50 - Is the AI boom just the dotcom bubble again
26:50 - Why he is telling family offices to sit out AI for now
30:50 - The asset classes the ultra-rich actually hold
33:50 - Why the rich are moving money beyond India
37:50 - The one thing the ultra-rich do that the 99% do not
41:50 - His relationship with wealth, and needs versus wants
44:50 - Advice to first-generation founders who just got rich
48:50 - Why this is India's century and its best decade
52:50 - 93% lose money trading, and the demat account he closed
55:50 - The book he wrote for every young Indian
57:50 - Rapid fire: the best investment he has ever made
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the centre of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
What does a founder learn from watching the CEO of a 32 billion dollar company make his biggest AI bets from the inside?
Mahesh Ram has built and sold three companies. Thomson Reuters acquired his first, GlobalEnglish went to Pearson after teaching English to more than ten million people at companies like IBM and HP, and Solvvy, one of the first conversational AI companies, was bought by Zoom in 2022. He then spent two and a half years heading AI products at Zoom, sitting beside founder Eric Yuan as the company raced Microsoft into the AI era.
In this conversation, Mahesh takes apart the three decisions that put Zoom ahead. Eric refused to charge for AI Companion because he believed everyone in the world should have AI, he publicly promised to never train models on customer data; and he built a model-agnostic layer instead of betting the company on any single lab. Zoom shipped weeks before Microsoft Copilot. Mahesh also shares the operating habits that made it possible, from the five-part rule Eric demands on every decision to the radical transparency that turned his own team into owners.
He is just as direct about the question every founder now asks: whether OpenAI or Anthropic will simply take their market. He answers that the model companies cannot see the hundreds of custom applications running quietly inside every enterprise, so the durable business is the one that owns the messy, multi-party workflows they will never touch. On the wider fear that AI will kill SaaS, he thinks the shift is real but that Silicon Valley badly overestimates how fast it arrives, which leaves a huge opening for founders willing to go out and become the educators their market trusts.
He closes on what he has learned selling three companies, why the best ones are bought and never sold, and the community of Indian origin founders he now runs that grew from three hundred people to more than two thousand in a single year.
If you are excited about building enduring AI and software companies, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
01:27 - The three time founder who keeps destroying complexity
03:08 - Two billion people learning English with no teacher
04:45 - Building conversational AI before anyone knew what AI was
07:21 - How Zoom came to acquire Solvvy
11:08 - Working with Eric Yuan, a true force of nature
13:43 - The three bold AI bets that beat Microsoft to market
15:09 - Why Eric made Zoom's AI free and refused to touch your data
17:29 - The five part rule Eric demands on every decision
21:25 - Radical transparency: share everything except one thing
23:32 - What Mahesh would build differently today
29:05 - The moat question: how do you survive OpenAI and Anthropic
35:33 - What Claude and OpenAI can never see inside a company
41:01 - Will AI kill SaaS? And why Silicon Valley is too early
42:25 - Become the educator: the biggest opening for founders
45:39 - The Indian founder community that 10x'd in a year
52:43 - Where the founder DNA actually came from
1:00:42 - Why he has no regrets building Solvvy too early
1:01:57 - What actually gets a startup acquired
1:05:14 - Why you keep the acquisition circle very tight
1:07:47 - The real job in enterprise sales: get your buyer promoted
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the centre of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Can the biggest AI labs simply walk into any market and replace the software companies already sitting there?
Storm Ventures has spent 26 years building an answer for B2B founders. The firm has made close to 200 investments, backed 11 unicorns, and produced some of the cleanest enterprise exits in Silicon Valley, from AirGap Networks selling to Zscaler to earlier winners like Marketo and MobileIron. Its portfolio today runs from Tekion in automotive retail to Atomicwork in IT service management, Krisp in voice AI, and Synthpop in healthcare.
Arun Penmetsa is a Partner at the firm. He built enterprise software at Oracle and Google before moving into venture, and he now leads Storm's work in AI, security, and digital health. In this conversation, he is unusually specific about how the decisions actually get made. He meets ten to twelve founders every week; the entire partnership makes only six to eight investments a year, and the single filter he trusts most is urgency. If a buyer can comfortably wait six to twelve months, the pain is not real, and the company is already in trouble.
Arun is direct about the question every AI founder now gets asked, which is whether OpenAI or Anthropic will simply take their market. He answers that the foundation model companies will own a handful of core verticals and leave the rest, so the durable business is the one that owns the full stack between the model and the interface and delivers a real outcome inside law, healthcare, construction, or a market as unglamorous as convenience retail.
He also lays out where he is placing his next bets, from physical AI and humanoid robots that can retool an assembly line on the fly to vertical companies like Tote that rebuild the software running gas stations and corner stores, where a single day of downtime can cost an owner tens of thousands of dollars.
If you are excited about building enduring B2B and AI companies, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
01:21 - The 26-year-old B2B fund behind AirGapp, Marketo and Tekion
02:47 - The patterns Storm has seen repeat across 200 investments
05:37 - What actually drove seven clean exits
06:37 - The airgap story: the agentless bet that Zscaler bought
13:10 - The one signal Arun trusts more than pedigree
14:37 - Where the moats survive once the models get this good
18:01 - Why Storm backed Atomicwork against ServiceNow
20:00 - Two weeks to decide: how the fastest deals happen
25:27 - The cold email that gets a venture partner to reply
28:52 - The funnel: 500 founders a year, 6 to 8 checks
35:31 - Why Stanford on the resume buys you nothing here
38:13 - The pattern behind every 4 billion dollar outcome
40:44 - The question every AI founder gets: can OpenAI replace you
46:16 - The mistakes that killed companies Arun believed in
50:14 - The million-dollar wall every B2B founder hits
53:30 - Why buyers have already decided before they call you
58:12 - AI agents that stay on a one-hour insurance call
1:08:33 - Physical AI: assembly lines that rebuild themselves
1:12:39 - Tote: the fuel pump they built to win gas stations
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the centre of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Gaurav Jain has seen more than 10,000 startups, built the world's largest pre-seed fund, backed startups like Gamma, Hightouch and Goldcast and has missed Ramp(you can't be a great investor without having a great anti-portfolio :))
A decade ago, when Gaurav started Afore Capital, pre-seed wasn't even a recognized category. Today, pre-seed is what some of the world's most ambitious startups raise as their very first institutional capital.
When Gaurav Jain and Anamitra Banerji started the firm ten years ago, "pre-seed" was almost a slight, a label for founders who couldn't raise a proper seed round. They set out to build the world's largest pre-seed fund anyway, closing $47 million on a $40 million target, and every fund since has closed above plan. Afore now runs more than $500 million across four funds.
In this conversation Gaurav shares his journey from Dehradun to Silicon Valley and every lesson learned about backing great startups. Like how being in the very best companies matters more than anything else. He is also convinced that the genuine bottleneck is talent. There is a great deal of money in the world and very few people who can build something truly large, which is why at the earliest stage founders tend to choose their investors as much as investors choose them.
If you want to understand how the earliest checks actually get written, and what it really costs to say no, this episode is worth your time.
00:00 - Trailer
01:00 - From Dehradun to Google to starting Afore
02:08 - The Waterloo co-op that talked him out of every job
03:18 - Back when "pre-seed" was an insult
05:44 - When Sequoia said "I guess we're pre-seed investors too"
07:26 - Afore's three products, and the experiments that failed
09:01 - Hightouch was a travel company when they invested
11:02 - Goldcast: no visa, no money, funded anyway
12:07 - The through line is always the team
14:44 - The Ramp miss
17:24 - "Founders pick us more than we pick them"
18:45 - The constraint isn't capital, it's talent
22:24 - The Solana miss, when it was still Loom Protocol
24:46 - Ramp's Super Bowl ad, the buses, his wife's business
25:32 - What he looks for in founders
28:50 - Coachability, happy ears, and the Mom Test
31:28 - The biggest mistake: falling in love with the idea
35:04 - The three things that matter, and "50% of zero is still zero"
39:25 - "100% storytelling, 0% data"
41:25 - Investing in India, and the fear of being dumb capital
44:41 - "Sign the deal before Monday"
47:26 - One engineer now does the job of 20
51:43 - Raising from LPs, the undiscussed part of VC
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
What does it actually take to build a robot that cleans your home when everyone before has failed?
Matic is a home robot that sweeps and mops your floors, navigating entirely with cameras, no LIDAR. It shipped its first unit in 2024 and has since sold 6,000 units at ~2,000 a month, almost entirely by word of mouth. And is now the largest consumer robotics company shipping in the United States.
Navneet Dalal (a computer-vision pioneer who co-invented HOG) and Mehul Nariyawala met building Flutter, a gesture-recognition app that became #1 in 72 countries and was acquired by Google, where they then worked on Nest cameras and shipped one of the first deep learning algorithms in the wild. Matic is the company they decided would be their last: they wrote "Not For Sale" on the wall on day one and built it to last 20 to 30 years.
Their bet was deliberately contrarian. They chose the "unsexy" floor-cleaning market, a category with a net promoter score of -1 that people keep buying anyway (21 million robot vacuums sold in 2024), because entering an existing market beats creating a new one and because it's the foundation for true indoor autonomy. Then they put roughly $35 million of their own money in, about 70% of their net worth, with no plan B.
Along the way they lay out a full worldview: why robotics is 100x harder than software (the demo is only the first 20% of the work); why humanoids doing your chores are still 5 to 20 years away (the data problem), why no consumer hardware sells above $2,000; and the skin-in-the-game philosophy captured by his late father's advice: "Sell your home if you have to, but keep the company alive."
If you're excited about how home robots actually get built and what it really takes to bet everything on hard tech, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
01:08 - When they quit Google to start Matic
03:30 - Solving home cleaning with cameras only — no LIDAR
04:46 - The $35M bet: funding Matic themselves
07:36 - What a "level 5" robot in your home really means
08:00 - Why they started with floor cleaning — on purpose
09:45 - The rule: never create a new market with your first product
10:02 - iPod, iPhone, Tesla — all entered existing markets
11:38 - Why new hardware gives you only one shot
13:02 - "Make something people NEED, not want"
16:25 - Why the demo is only 20% of robotics
18:50 - Teaching a robot like raising a child
21:30 - How far are humanoids from real homes?
22:22 - The data problem: "500 years of driving data a day"
22:56 - 90% in the lab, 60% in the real world
26:49 - Why no consumer device sells above $2,000
27:38 - Would you buy a $10,000 humanoid — for what?
28:47 - "History rhymes": General Magic to the iPhone
29:38 - Earning trust after 20 years of broken robot promises
30:31 - Shipping the first robot
30:45 - 6,000 units, all word of mouth, zero marketing
31:10 - Why they're US-only for now
31:50 - The investors: Sutter Hill to the Collison brothers
33:20 - Two companies, both acquired by Google
35:00 - The Flutter story: #1 app in 72 countries
35:25 - Why nobody believed machine learning worked in 2011
38:40 - Microsoft Kinect: 8 million units in 60 days
40:30 - The Google acquisition — and the $35M number
44:40 - The near-death moment: switching to NVIDIA
53:10 - iRobot's bankruptcy and what it means for Matic
53:55 - The real scale of robotics: 21M robot vacuums a year
57:45 - Putting 70% of their net worth on the line
58:40 - His father's advice: "sell your home, keep the company"
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: / theneonshoww
LinkedIn: / beneon
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: / siddharthaahluwalia
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
How do you know whether an AI agent is doing its job or quietly failing in production?
Galileo is building the trust layer for AI. Its evaluation and observability platform is how enterprises measure whether the output of an LLM or an agent is good or bad.
Galileo started before "LLM" was even a word. When Atin showed his prototype to Stanford's Chris Ré, his own first question was "what is a language model?" Today its customers include Reddit, Airbnb, P&G, Comcast, and six of the Fortune 50.
Atin spent a decade in big tech before co-founding Galileo with Vikram Chatterji in early 2021. He worked on the knowledge graphs behind Siri at Apple, then became one of the leads and architects of Michelangelo, Uber's AI platform, that hosts thousands of models across pricing, ETA, and demand.
That Uber experience taught him the lesson the whole company is built on; that in AI, observability and evaluation are the real bottleneck, and bad data is catastrophic.
As ChatGPT turned every AI output into something a user sees directly, the measurement problem went from academic to mission-critical. So Atin made a contrarian bet: instead of using giant LLMs to judge other LLMs, Galileo built Luna, small 1-3B parameter models that run evals at breakthrough latencies of 100 milliseconds and below.
If you are excited about how AI actually gets shipped, trusted, and controlled inside real enterprises, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
01:14 - From India to Apple, Uber, and Galileo
01:34 - Where the name "Galileo" came from
02:38 - Building Siri's early knowledge graphs at Apple
03:29 - Becoming an architect of Uber's Michelangelo
05:15 - Why every AI output is now mission-critical
06:45 - How Atin and Vikram zeroed in on Galileo
07:42 - "What is a language model?"
09:38 - Building the world's first feature store at Uber
11:27 - Language models and tokens, explained simply
14:19 - Where the observability insight came from
15:53 - Quantifying uncertainty and hallucinations
16:36 - The first customers and first use case
19:15 - How the product evolved from a data scientist tool
23:18 - Why ChatGPT changed everything for Galileo
23:57 - The enterprise AI adoption curve, 2021 to 2026
26:35 - Why they built the Luna model
28:32 - Turning LLM "writers" into "calculators"
28:51 - Attacking the latency problem
31:48 - Luna: the modeling and infrastructure innovation
33:09 - What evals are, and why they blew up
34:26 - The case for small language models
36:58 - What "general reasoning" really means
40:39 - AI usage is exploding — and why that matters
43:08 - Online vs offline: the "it worked on my machine" problem
44:33 - The evals flywheel and evals-driven development
46:56 - Galileo in a nutshell
47:39 - What real agents in production look like today
49:30 - A sales intelligence platform, powered by Galileo
50:47 - The agent control product
52:12 - Building GTM as a hardcore engineer from India
54:43 - Garbage in, garbage out: nailing the ICP
55:42 - How the pitch changed from customer 1 to 20
57:27 - Why Atin switched from CTO to CPO
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Who is funding the students that India's banks won't touch?
Propelld is one of India's largest education-focused lenders, giving loans to roughly 1.5 lakh students every year — matching SBI — with a team a fraction of the size and no branch network. In a single financial year it now disburses more education loans than SBI did in six years of its history.
Victor started Propelld in 2016 with a thesis born out of a Milton Friedman paper: a good student should never have to walk away from a good opportunity just because they don't have the money. Propelld hit its stride by going exactly where traditional lenders refuse to — 70% of its borrowers come from tier-3 cities, a segment banks treat as too risky.
Instead of chasing the safe 1% of students at IITs and IIMs, Victor made a bet most lenders never make. He built the ability to underwrite the end-use itself — a "Crystal score" for institutes and courses that measures employability and real ROI. The result: NPAs held at ~1%, roughly one-tenth of what banks see the moment they step outside tier-1.
Victor has a clear view of where lending goes next. In a post-LLM world, risk, distribution, and fulfillment get radically more efficient — one person already drives ₹50 crore of disbursal a year, and OPEX is projected to fall toward 2% at ₹6,000 crore AUM. His ranking never changes: NPAs first, unit economics second, growth third.
If you are excited about how AI is rebuilding lending — and who gets to dream bigger because of it — this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
00:50 - The two numbers that tell Propelld's story
01:55 - Why 70% of borrowers come from tier-3 cities
02:21 - How NPAs stay at 1%
02:52 - Why education is a great asset class
04:04 - Building a "Crystal score" for institutes and courses
05:31 - End-use control: why an education loan isn't a personal loan
06:27 - Why banks only lend to IITs and IIMs
08:36 - Measuring employability to underwrite the end-use
10:23 - 10 years at the intersection of fintech and edtech
11:46 - Why education financing is only ~5% penetrated
17:53 - Do India's graduate really not get a job?
21:12 - The 8% data point, and quantifying ROI
22:24 - The social mobility no one can price
25:39 - From IIT Madras and a global bank to building Propelld
27:41 - How the post-LLM world rewires lending
30:26 - How fast an institute gets onboarded and a loan disbursed
32:12 - Profitable at a ₹1 lakh ticket size
34:13 - The financials: doubling revenue, holding costs flat to FY30
37:19 - Lending as an ecosystem enabler, not just a loan
39:33 - The most valuable courses in a post-LLM world
41:40 - The bet on arts graduates as coding gets commoditized
43:32 - The Milton Friedman paper that started it all
46:53 - 100 investors, and the few who said yes
48:33 - Co-founding with school friends since class 6
50:24 - Settling disagreements over food and Hampi trips
51:31 - The most common mistake fintech founders make
52:51 - The one metric that ranks above everything: NPAs
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Most founders build one unicorn. Naveen Tewari built two.
InMobi started with a simple bet: mobile would become the world's most important computing platform, and advertising could make it free for everyone. Every Indian VC said no.
Naveen flew to San Francisco on a maxed-out credit card and returned with a $7 million round from Kleiner Perkins and Ram Shriram. Later came a $200 million investment from Masayoshi Son. Overnight, InMobi became India's first unicorn. Then he did it again.
Glance, built quietly inside InMobi over three years, is now one of the fastest-growing consumer apps in the US, with more than 10 million monthly active users in the US.
The thesis behind both companies is the same. The world's most powerful technologies, first mobile and now AI, only reach masses when someone figures out how to pay for them. Naveen believes advertising is that mechanism, and that InMobi is uniquely positioned to subsidise AI access at population scale, just as it helped subsidise mobile a decade ago.
If you want to understand how one founder from India has quietly helped shape two technology eras, this episode is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
00:57 - Why Naveen became a founder
03:26 - How co-founders met and came together
11:33 - The pivot from mKhoj to InMobi
15:02 - Can AI be subsidised for mass consumption?
16:12 - Expanding globally before the US
18:29 - Which industries can delay entry to US market?
20:53 - What is Glance?
23:55 - Incubated within InMobi for 2 years
25:17 - What changes when you face failure in public?
29:10 - How the SoftBank round changed InMobi
32:53 - Maxing out credit cards to pay bills
38:18 - $7Million Kleiner Perkins & Ram Shriram round
43:07 - Hypergrowth journey: Series A to Series C
45:41 - $200 million funding from Masa
53:31 - Change of VC ecosystem in India
54:34 - How building for B2B differs from B2C
58:50 - How AI is changing InMobi and Glance
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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How do you get an inbound from OpenAI and Anthropic?
Goldcast is the video content platform behind companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, GitHub, Uber and Airbnb, before it was acquired by Cvent in a nearly $300 million deal earlier this year.
Palash Soni (Co-Founder and CEO, Goldcast) joins the Neon Show.
Goldcast entered one of the most overfunded categories in SaaS. Hopin alone had raised more than $1 billion. This is the story of the decisions that helped Goldcast survive the category and ultimately become one of the biggest MarTech acquisition stories of the last few years.
Enterprise customers are won long before they ever sign a contract. We trace that idea through Goldcast's journey, from landing Drift as its first marquee customer and reaching its first $1 million in ARR, to the relationships that quietly compounded over the years and eventually led to an inbound from the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic.
We discuss how retention has always been MarTech's biggest challenge and why AI doesn't fundamentally change that. And why acquisition, not an IPO, is the most realistic outcome for most companies in the category.
This episode is about winning in a market everyone had written off, and the decisions that turned Goldcast into one of the few companies left standing.
00:00 - Trailer
00:36 - How Palash caught the startup bug
05:51 - Meeting the co-founders
08:50 - Fundraising has never been easy for Goldcast
10:36 - How we got a term sheet in 2 days
12:43 - We quit HBS and they became our first customer
18:47 - Customers told us our product looked ugly
19:50 - How Drift founder changed the course of Goldcast
21:44 - When competitors raised $250 million
23:31 - How Goldcast got high-profile angel investors
30:33 - The elevator pitch of Goldcast
31:06 - When companies in your space are crashing
32:36 - Was virtual events even a valid space after COVID?
43:15 - How Goldcast won OpenAI
44:38 - What led to the acquisition
53:33 - One thing Palash would change about the last 5 years
56:58 - Founders should define company values
58:48 - Why we had an unusually large post-sales team
01:01:09 - Retention in MarTech has always been subpar
01:04:36 - Is acquisition the only path for a MarTech company?
01:09:16 - How Goldcast got great logos
01:11:01 - How the three co-founders split roles
01:12:05 - If not acquisition, then what?
01:14:20 - How founders move to higher ACVs
01:16:21 - The ethos of the founding team
01:17:25 - The book that changed me
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Who powers the cloud infrastructure behind NBC, Warner Bros. Discovery, Olympics, and the Super Bowl?
Amagi, built out of an office on Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru. What started there grew into a company that went public at an $825 million valuation and today has a market cap of over $1.3 billion, earns 73% of its revenue from the US, and proved that world-class enterprise technology can be built in India and sold to the world.
Co-founders Srividhya Srinivasan and Baskar Subramanian take us back to the days after selling their first startup to a NASDAQ-listed chipmaker, when they landed on an idea almost nobody in India's broadcast industry believed in: regionalizing satellite TV ads.
That business grew to ₹180 crore in revenue. Then the founders made a bold call: "Enough of this hardware mess. We'll host only on the cloud." It meant shutting down an 8 year old profitable business to back a cloud platform that was barely making a few crores. That decision transformed Amagi into the company it is today.
18 years later, Amagi went public, as a strong example of building a truly global enterprise software company from India. But the IPO itself was far from an obvious decision. The founders share why going public was the right choice despite not needing capital.
This episode will tell you how category-defining companies are built.
00:00 - Trailer
01:00 - How three college kids became founders
04:55 - The startup idea validated by a palmist
07:10 - How founders split roles (w/o designations)
11:04 - What Amagi 2.0 does
14:29 - Bannerghatta Road runs Olympics for the US
15:54 - Only 10% of TV networks are on the cloud
16:50 - Why shut down a profitable business?
21:25 - Why one co-founder moved to the US
28:06 - Did Amagi really need the IPO?
31:10 - What is Amagi 2.0?
36:04 - Selling to the US: then vs. now
40:44 - How NBC signed with Amagi
43:56 - How intent is measured through contracts
46:58 - 5 major decisions that changed Amagi
52:08 - How AI is changing Amagi
57:45 - Being the CTO of a public company
1:02:57 - US vs India Market: US is fast to experiment
1:04:48 - Enterprises Need Human Touch
1:11:12 - Cloud and TV: No one Believed
1:13:34 - What will Happen to Hollywood
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Nansi on:
LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nansi-mishra
X: https://x.com/nansi_mishra
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Why did global VCs invest $60M into India's most operationally heavy marketplace problem?
The early bet was undoubtedly on the founder, Anjali Sardana.
A 23 year old biology graduate from Georgetown University who is today the solo founder of Pronto. The company founded on 2nd April 2024 is at a $200 Million valuation, just a year later and they are growing at god-speed. What began in a single hub in Sector 56, Gurgaon is today 22,000 bookings a day, 5,000+ professionals, and operations across India's biggest cities.
But Pronto was never just about convenience. It was built on a belief that India’s home services market is broken not just for customers, but even more so for workers. No income stability. No safety net. No formal identity in the system.
Not many individual investors write a $20M cheque. Lachy Groom did, alongside General Catalyst and Gladebrook. One year in, Pronto’s growth explains the conviction. This episode is the story of the chaos, the urgency and the belief behind one of India's fastest moving startups.
00:00 — Trailer
01:32 — What is Pronto?
03:16 — Hiring the first 30 pros in a single day
06:13 — Delivering uniforms in 48 hours
08:02 — Hustling to make the first payroll
09:23 — The first home office
11:28 — Why the customer app is only a nice-to-have
17:18 — How pros are trained
21:11 — How Gurgaon, Mumbai & Bangalore behave differently
29:17 — TAM expands based on ease of access
34:58 — Mission is bringing dignity to formal labour
42:27 — Pronto's 30-year vision
42:48 — How US investors see Indian startups
44:37 — How a ₹400 headhunter brought the first hire
47:05 — Final round interview for Pronto's chief of staff
49:29 — How Anjali hires missionaries
54:31 — One thing Anjali would always do as founder
58:29 — One thing she's most proud of
59:29 — One value Pronto would never compromise on
1:01:44 — A company with urgency as core value
1:03:55 — What needs to change in India for Pronto to succeed?
1:05:18 — How to build a win-win-win business
1:07:40 — Why was this problem not solved yet?
1:09:02 — If Pronto fails, what would be the reason?
1:10:05 — How Anjali spends a day as a solo founder
1:15:30 — One lesson learned the hard way
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neon-fund/
X: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Nansi on:
LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nansi-mishra
X: https://x.com/nansi_mishra
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Who is teaching the world's most powerful AI models to think?
Turing is one of the largest data partners to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia. At a $2.2 billion valuation it has become one of the most important infrastructure layers in the AGI race.
Jonathan Siddharth started Turing in 2018 with a thesis that talent matching is a trillion-dollar problem. Turing reached unicorn status in 2021. Then, in 2022, as the foundation model race accelerated, OpenAI approached Turing to provide coding data for ChatGPT.
Jonathan recognised that frontier AI labs faced an enormous bottleneck: high-quality training data and human intelligence at scale. Instead of remaining just a talent marketplace, he made a bet that most unicorn CEOs never make. He built a second business on top of the first and leaned back into his AI research roots.
Jonathan has a clear view of what needs to happen before we get to super intelligence. The four keys to unlocking AGI: coding, reasoning, tool use, and multimodality. He believes we solve for those four, and AI can do almost anything a human can do in front of a computer.
If you are excited about where the AGI race is heading this episode is for you
00:00 - Trailer
01:06 - What Turing does
05:55 - Why OpenAI reached out to Turing
8:28 - How GPT-3 became ChatGPT
17:54 - How ImageNet breakthrough changed the world
21:12 - The largest provider of coding data to AI labs
24:34 - Four keys to super intelligence
28:45 - Every human will run multiple companies in 10 years
32:27 - Can agents have self-improvement loops?
34:36 - The future of software engineering
36:26 - Agents should create, humans should steer
39:46 - Is the line between products and services companies blurring?
40:42 - How an agent can handle hiring end-to-end
43:36 - Every human can now write software
45:22 - Will workflow SaaS disappear?
47:46 - No fine-tuning vs fine-tuning camps
51:49 - A case study in compute constraints
57:06 - Why the world needs so much compute
1:01:26 - Where Jonathan would invest today
1:03:16 - Where cybersecurity is heading
1:08:31 - How the world will look in 10 years
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Most AI failures won't come from a bad model. They'll come from bad data.
Shashank Saxena spent most of his career on the buying side of enterprise technology before founding VNDLY which was acquired by Workday for $510 million. He then joined Sierra as a Managing Partner before going full time as Co-founder and CEO of Pantomath, a data operations center for enterprises that are betting their future on AI agents.
We discuss why data quality is becoming one of the biggest challenges in enterprise AI.
An AI agent fed bad data for 12 hours doesn't go rogue. It just makes 12 hours of wrong decisions: rejecting insurance claims, issuing credit cards, or drilling in the wrong location.
As more business decisions are delegated to AI systems, companies will need far greater visibility into what is happening across their data infrastructure.
Shashank also shares the decisions that led to VNDLY's acquisition, the advice he'd give founders evaluating acquisition offers today, and why a Michael Jordan analogy continues to motivate him as a second-time founder.
If you're building enterprise software, selling to large companies, or trying to figure out whether experience is an asset or a liability in the AI era, this episode is for you.
0:00 - Trailer
01:00 - How Shashank became a second-time founder
07:20 - Where Pantomath sits in the data stack
10:55 - How a broken Tableau report turns mission-critical with AI
12:55 - Who Pantomath sells to
15:35 - Solving for a problem that doesn't exist yet
19:03 - How have founder expectations changed today?
20:31 - Series B companies pre- and post-AI
21:26 - The Michael Jordan example
23:57 - How a repeat founder chooses investors
25:10 - What value Snowflake adds as a strategic investor
27:05 - Data is not an open category today
28:34 - The astounding Databricks outcome
29:08 - The reality of the $100 million ARR number
31:48 - Will non-human workers 100x in the next few years?
36:00 - How to protect data in motion
37:26 - How comfortable are we giving full access to agents?
39:47 - Where is automation fastest today?
42:09 - Why entrepreneurs tend to like uncertainty
43:28 - Why Shashank chose to be a founder
45:48 - A customer-driven $510M acquisition
48:32 - Employees vs contractors in any organization
51:22 - Building from Ohio vs the Bay Area
53:14 - Learnings from selling to enterprises
56:31 - How Shashank raised from Tier 1 US VCs
59:19 - Heads down or network as a founder?
1:02:47 - First-time vs second-time founder edge in AI
1:06:22 - Hiring as a repeat founder
1:08:08 - How enterprise sales has changed
1:10:52 - How do you sell for a problem that isn't visible today?
1:12:58 - Best piece of advice
1:16:27 - The only advice for a founder considering M&A
1:21:06 - Position yourself to be capable of taking risks
1:24:51 - What matters to an enterprise buyer?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Vamshi Ambati has spent more than two decades in AI, through the symbolic era, statistical era, and the neural wave we're experiencing today. A CMU PhD, founder of LatentStructure and Predera (which was acquired), now an investor at Virama Ventures, he's one of the sharper voices on what's actually happening under the hood of the AI boom.
We discuss a simple question: Who wins when models become cheaper and more abundant?
And try to answer this by looking at how inference spend v/s compute spend is shifting, and why inference may become the biggest infrastructure opportunity of the next decade.Vamshi explains what actually goes into the cost of a token, why AI is simultaneously getting cheaper and more expensive, and why the inference market alone could reach $1.3 trillion by 2030.
If you're building in AI or someone who wants a clear mental model of where this industry is headed, this conversation is for you.
00:00 - Trailer
0:45 - How an AI researcher thinks after 20 years
05:53 - Where enterprise AI adoption is headed
08:35 - Drawing parallels between cloud and AI
11:20 - If building is cheap, what's valuable?
13:37 - Can computing get cheaper?
16:41 - What is inference, really?
22:22 - Why coding and customer support got eaten first?
26:48 - Which technologies are overvalued and undervalued?
29:56 - An accidental entrepreneur's journey
33:15 - Why is healthcare slow to adopt technology?
38:59 - Landing Walmart as a customer
42:36 - Should founders build in services if product isn't visible?
43:47 - Is Palantir a product company or a services company?
44:15 - How to win as a forward-deployed company
46:23 - What it takes to land large enterprise customers
49:20 - Building sales muscles as a technical founder
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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China processes nearly 90% of the world's rare earths.
Rare earths are hidden inside everything from EVs and smartphones to fighter jets, making them one of the most critical materials powering the modern economy.
When China restricted rare earth exports in April 2025, the world saw the huge risk of depending on a supply chain controlled by a single country. For Bhaktha Keshavachar, however, it was validation of a bet he had made 6 years earlier.
After exiting Ezetap, Bhaktha founded Chara Tech to create electric motors that don't need rare earth magnets at all. The journey was anything but easy. Six years of R&D. Investors who didn't understand the problem. Customers who weren't convinced. And a motor technology that engineers had known about for over 200 years but never successfully commercialized at scale.
Today, Chara is shipping hundreds of motors, signing major customers, and finding itself at the center of a global geopolitical shift. Bhaktha explains how software became the breakthrough that made rare-earth-free motors practical and what it takes to build a deep tech company long before the market believes the problem exists.
If you are interested in building deep tech for the world, this episode is for you.
0:00 - Trailer
01:10 - When China bans rare earth exports
04:15 - How today’s rare earth shortage is like 1970s oil embargo
05:26 - Are rare earths really rare?
07:23 - Why China has a monopoly
11:43 - 3 reasons why Chara was founded
15:11 - How Chara made a 200-year-old technology practical
16:45 - How software protects deep tech startups
18:53 - The conviction to build deep tech in 2016
21:52 - Why electricity is still the biggest opportunity
26:59 - 4+1 technologies every country should possess
28:17 - The story of 6 years in R&D
33:16 - The response from early customers
36:10 - How China’s ban changed Chara’s journey
39:30 - Why Growth-stage fundraising for DeepTech is Hard
44:28 - What India needs to win in deep tech
52:53 - 3 things needed for a deep tech startup
55:10 - Why the wealthy should invest in deep tech
58:00 - Where Chara is today
01:03:47 - Why Intel lost the race it was winning
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neon-fund/
X: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Nansi on:
LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nansi-mishra
X: https://x.com/nansi_mishra
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Will your software soon be a living organism with its own immune system?
Animesh Koratana, founder of PlayerZero, started his software career long before he founded the company. Growing up in Atlanta, he spent his childhood inside his father’s software business, watching engineers sitting through the unglamorous work of QA and keeping systems alive after launch. He saw early that writing software was only half the problem. Maintaining it was the real battle.
Years later at Stanford, he witnessed the birth of GPT-2 and Codex, the very foundation of GitHub Copilot. While much of the world focused on how AI would help engineers write software faster, he became obsessed with a different question: What happens when companies are flooded with AI-generated code that no single engineer fully understands?
With PlayerZero, Animesh is building toward what he calls self-healing software: systems that behave less like static machines and more like living organisms with their own immune systems.
At the center of that vision are “Context Graphs” which captures the "institutional memory" of a company: the deep knowledge held by a senior engineer who has spent years understanding how complex software breaks, the failure modes it develops, and the decisions behind fixing it.
If you are building software today and wondering how reliability, debugging, and ownership will work when machines write most of the code, this episode is for you.
0:00 — Trailer
0:45 — Building Self-Healing Code
2:03 — First Exposure to LLMs Through GPT-2
3:45 — What Is PlayerZero?
5:42 — Institutional Memory of a Senior Engineer
7:10 — How Context Is Built
10:06 — The Viral “Context Graph” Piece
16:24 — The Outcome PlayerZero Delivers
19:59 — When the Agent Tells the Human What to Do
23:43 — Who Is PlayerZero Selling To?
26:56 — Why Software Should Be Treated Like Biology
28:54 — The PlayerZero Customer Pitch
30:37 — Can Software Really Have an Immune System?
35:15 — How Animesh Chose His Investors
36:55 — What’s Next for PlayerZero?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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85% of AI teams will hit a serious production failure this year. The only thing separating them from the 15% who don't? Evals.
After nearly two decades of building AI systems at Microsoft, Facebook, and Dropbox, Ameya Bhatawdekar is now Field CTO at Braintrust, the AI observability platform used by Airtable, Notion, Stripe, Dropbox, Vercel, Cloudflare, Lovable, and Replit.
We discuss a shift that most teams underestimate. The winners in AI are not just shipping faster. They are building systems that behave predictably, improve continuously, and earn user trust over time. As traditional monitoring breaks down in a probabilistic world, observability now requires learning how an AI system reasons, not just how it performs. This leads to a new paradigm where agents are no longer just executing tasks, but also analyzing and debugging other agents.
The episode also traces the evolution of machine learning itself. From feature engineering to deep learning to transformers , each leap increased capability and reduced control. Evaluation is now where control sits.
Ameya is clear on one point. Moving fast with weak evaluations feels like velocity, but it compounds into technical debt, unpredictable failures, and ultimately a loss of user trust. The teams that win are the ones that invest early in rigor, especially in understanding context, which is quickly becoming the hardest and most critical layer in AI systems.
If you are a founder or engineer moving beyond the demo phase and trying to build durable, high-quality AI systems, this episode will change how you think about shipping.
0:00 — Trailer
00:55 — What’s Braintrust?
05:01 — What agents are shipping today
07:54 — What evals look like in practice for Notion & Zapier
09:44 — Evals vs Classic monitoring
11:33 — Who is the Field CTO?
16:35 — What goes wrong when agents fail
18:26 — Agents analyzing other agents
24:17 — Evals are existential in vibecoding
25:52 — Ship fast with weak evals or slow with strong evals?
25:41 — What makes enterprises trust an LLM?
29:25 — Do AI startups know how good their product is?
30:23 — 3 ML systems: Microsoft, Dropbox, Meta
36:30 — How the 2017 transformer paper changed everything
38:20 — All algorithms are predicting the next word
43:40 — What LLMs will do in 1 year
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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What does it take to build a company that industry giants want to buy?
Poojan Kumar built and exited two enterprise infrastructure companies, PernixData to Nutanix and Clumio to Commvault.
He began his career at Oracle, where he wrote the original code for Exadata and helped scale it into a billion-dollar product line. But his real founder journey began when he left the corporate world to chase what he calls the “Discontinuity Thesis.”
At PernixData, that discontinuity was the shift from hard disks to flash storage. The company scaled to $25 million in revenue before being acquired by Nutanix. At Clumio, the discontinuity was public cloud. Clumio went on to raise $186 million to build a cloud-native backup and cyber resilience platform before being acquired by Commvault, where Poojan now serves as GM of the business line.
If you want to understand how enduring enterprise companies are actually built and acquired this episode is for you.
0:00 - Trailer
0:48 - 25 Years in Enterprise
03:02 - Founders Should Look for Discontinuity
04:25 - $25M ARR, $60M Funding & an Exit in 6 Years
06:28 - The Thesis Behind Clumio's Acquisition
07:36 - The Landscape of Data Backup
09:08 - What Should Founders in Security & Data Build?
11:48 - Cloud vs AI: The New Data & Storage Stack
13:59 - The Unanswered Questions Enterprises Have Today
16:38 - How Infra Changed Between Pernix, Clumio & Today
18:31 - Scaling to $25M Before Acquisition, Twice
20:43 - Why is AI Adoption Bottom-Up, Not Top-Down?
21:26 - Claude vs Codex vs Copilot
22:34 - When Cloud Outgrew the Backup Playbook
25:41 - Are Fragmented Clouds Silent Killers?
28:06 - Fundraising Takes You from Point A to Point B
32:29 - Selling to Commvault vs Nutanix
34:33 - What Leads to an 8-Figure Exit?
36:55 - How a Technical Founder Excelled at Sales
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Healthcare has never moved this fast.
Pharma giants are no longer just buying software. They are writing $50 million checks for access to a single foundational model. Systems of record are being replaced, and the shift is unfolding fastest in a place most people did not expect: healthcare.
Vignesh Kumar, Partner at Sierra Ventures, has spent 13 years at the center of this enterprise shift. He has sourced and invested early in companies across Enterprise AI, including two unicorns, Phenom and Reify Health, with Reify reaching around a $4B valuation and Phenom crossing $1B.
Over 40 years, Sierra has backed 300+ startups, resulting in 11 IPOs, 7 unicorns, and 104 acquisitions, and manages over $2.4B in assets. Today, the firm is a focused early-stage enterprise AI investor, writing first institutional checks while staying disciplined on fund size, growing from $150M to $270M.
This episode is on how the next generation of companies in Enterprise AI will be found, funded and scaled. If you are building in AI or exploring healthcare, this will help you see the shift earlier and act on it with more clarity.
0:00 – Trailer
1:04 – Where Sierra Ventures invests?
3:33 – How to keep fund size aligned with stage
5:19 – Sierra's historical DPI
5:52 – Deals that drove big returns
8:25 – Sierra's exits
9:53 – The formula for high returns
11:47 – The perfect US–India founder example
13:07 – What outcomes VCs expects from startups
14:34 – How the partner consensus works
15:56 – Why Sierra invested in Smallest AI
17:28 – From first meeting to term sheet
17:57 – Healthcare has never moved this fast
23:20 – Where Vignesh invests
24:39 – Only one foundational model bet
25:28 – Is SaaS dead?
27:44 – How PMF changes in the AI era
30:16 – How a VC calculates market risk
31:19 – What kept Vignesh at Sierra for 13 years
33:17 – How to bet on futuristic startups
34:58 – The anti-portfolio
35:50 – First-time vs second-time founders
36:43 – Why great storytellers attract best talent
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Are recessions actually the best time to start your company?
Aneesh Reddy, the founder of Capillary Technologies, believes that economic downturns are the ultimate filter for identifying products that have a "right to exist”,which is only earned when a product solves a deep, non-negotiable pain point for the customer. This idea has shaped Capillary’s journey that led to a 4500 Crore IPO, 250 million consumers and 100,000+ stores worldwide.
We explore the internal culture at Capillary that has not only retained 20% of its core team for over a decade but has also served as a launchpad for 50+ startups. Aneesh offers a contrarian view on leadership that founders should micromanage their teams for the first six months to instill the right DNA before scaling.
We also discuss expansion into the US market, detailing the "Risk vs Reference" framework that defines how sales strategies must pivot when moving between continents. He shares what went wrong in Capillary’s early attempt to enter the US, the lessons from that experience, and what eventually helped them succeed in the market the second time around, leading to the US now contributing over 50% of their revenue.
If you are a founder building in SaaS or looking to scale from India to the world, this episode with Aneesh Reddy is for you.
00:00 – Trailer
01:50 – What to build that has not been commoditized
05:20 – Customer-facing or fast-changing products will survive
09:08 – How Capillary hit early PMF
13:54 – Risk vs Reference in the US & Asia
18:10 – How Capillary won the US market (after failing first)
24:56 – Outbound & partnerships that work better in the US
30:30 – Right to exist differs in startups vs large companies
35:34 – Micromanage in startups for the first 6 months
40:47 – How Vipassana changed the founder
49:57 – How 1/5th of the team stayed for 10+ years
55:29 – The culture that created 50+ startups
58:24 – The right metrics to go IPO in India
01:01:53 – The choice to build a product company
01:05:24 – Pioneering acquisitions of US startups
01:09:18 – Why not build a roll-up to get $200 million ARR?
01:10:43- 5 major decisions behind Capillary’s journey
01:14:46 – Why are top SaaS stocks down?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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From employee #16 to $1B ARR at Nutanix, then scaling ThoughtSpot to $150M ARR and a $4B+ valuation now building for a world where agents will drive the internet.
Sudheesh Nair joins the Neon Show.
The internet as we see it today was optimized around human strengths and weaknesses, using algorithms to monetize our greed and fear. But as agents take up more of the internet, that playbook starts to break. We are moving from a web of discovery to an outcome-driven internet, where agents care only about the destination, not the journey.
As an operator who has scaled companies, Sudheesh believes sales is a noble profession where there is no middle ground. You are either a hero or a zero. Sales is not a function at the edge of the company, it is the primary job of every employee in a company. When that happens, teams stop acting like mercenaries chasing targets and start behaving like missionaries focused on customer outcomes.
Beyond agents, we also discuss building companies and whether there are right or wrong reasons to start. Sudheesh’s view is simple. There are no right or wrong reasons, but you have to be brutally honest with yourself about why you are doing it.
This episode is one hour of clear thinking on agents, sales, and the realities of company building.
00:00 – Trailer
01:49 – What % of the internet is agents today?
10:25 – How far are we from trillions of agents?
12:47 – Why isn’t the internet ready for agents?
18:31 – Consumer is a tough game
19:49 – Selling to enterprises = high value / low risk
22:14 – A noble profession with only heroes or zeroes
24:41 – Only 3 reasons why people buy anything
26:14 – How we got Fortune 500 customers in just 18 months
27:28 – The wrong reasons to start a company
31:05 – Cursor vs Claude vs Codex
34:30 – Do investors prefer failed founders over first-time founders?
35:06 – 3 reasons why an enterprise will sign your startup
39:52 – PMF has to be proven every day
41:21 – What’s the play b/w OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic?
45:12 – Drivers vs passengers in companies
47:17 – The muscles you build as an operator
50:45 – Hire one person when you actually need four
51:41 – Why is marketing the most in-demand skill?
53:50 – Nutanix: from 0 to $1B ARR in 26 quarters
54:55 – The hardest choice Nutanix made
59:25 – Talent is universal. Opportunities are not
01:04:08 – Selling is everyone’s job
01:05:58 – Passion comes from value creation
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Can AI Rebuild the $1 Trillion Construction Industry?
Construction is one of the largest industries in the world, yet most projects still run on Excel sheets, fragmented tools, and disconnected workflows.
Sneha Kumari (Co-founder, Merlin) and Graham Blake (CPO, Merlin) break down why construction has remained one of the least digitized industries and why that is finally starting to change.
We explore why traditional ERP systems like NetSuite or Dynamics fail construction companies, how Merlin is rethinking enterprise software for builders, and why AI may finally make it possible to coordinate the massive complexity behind modern construction projects.
Sneha also shares her journey from industry operator to first-time founder, how Merlin found early product-market fit, the power of word-of-mouth growth in construction, and what it takes to build a vertical SaaS company in a “non-sexy” but trillion-dollar industry.
If you're curious about how AI can transform deep, complex industries this conversation is for you.
00:00 – Trailer
00:40 – Merlin x Neon
02:07 – Software for construction
04:37 – What convinced Graham to join
06:25 – Founder insights that discovered the pain points
08:43 – The team behind Merlin
10:15 – Challenges of building tech in construction
11:51 – Biggest pain points for Merlin’s customers
17:16 – Does ERP need a revolution?
17:55 – Merlin’s end-to-end ERP approach
20:39 – Why customers aren’t happy with existing solutions
24:36 – Why an AI-native approach makes sense
28:23 – What % of construction budget goes to tech
30:37 – How Y Combinator changed a first-time founder
31:50 – The role Neon played in Merlin
33:34 – Current players that excite the founders
36:43 – What it takes for Merlin to reach $10M ARR
39:57 – How to build with zero sales constraints
43:06 – Why become a founder?
45:56 – Build only for an industry you truly understand
47:41 – Why construction over manufacturing
48:38 – When customer called previous software a “black box”
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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What if the biggest mistake you can make as a founder is signing Apple as your first customer?
Manish Jindal spent 10 years at Cloudflare as employee #45, helping take the company from $10 million revenue to a $60 billion public company. Manish breaks down the Cloudflare playbook: why they intentionally said “no” to Fortune 500 companies early on to protect their product, and how a single phone call from a CIO birthed their entire enterprise motion.
Throughout his career, Manish has joined companies that already showed early product–market fit in large markets, allowing him to spend a decade helping scale them. Now as the President at Arize, he is building the “plumbing” that allows giants like Walmart and Uber to move from building AI agents to real-world production.
We discuss why “boring” infrastructure is a more durable bet than flashy AI apps, and why owning the data remains the ultimate competitive edge. Manish also shares insights on building Go-To-Market (GTM) teams in the Cloudflare era and how that strategy has shifted in the AI era.
If you are a founder or leader trying to scale a startup, this episode with Manish Jindal is for you.
00:00 – Trailer
01:00 – How Manish chose companies with early PMF
03:45 – Founder’s belief is most important
04:35 – Entering dev tooling when it wasn't popular
08:20 – Never leave a Co. you believe in for wrong reasons
09:45 – The “boring” industries that do well in Long run
12:40 – It’s easy to build an agent, but hard to scale one
15:06 – Why infra won’t be winner-take-all
18:02 – The keepers of data will win
20:20 – From million to billion in Cloudflare’s journey
21:32 – The “holy sh*t” moment happens fast for Cloudflare
24:30 – The CIO call that led to Cloudflare’s enterprise plan
27:04 – $50M and $100M ARR path of Cloudflare
28:33 – Build enterprise motion slowly or aggressively?
29:51 – Why Cloudflare didn’t want Apple as customer
32:10 – Early PMF at Splunk, Cloudflare, and Arize
35:40 – Choosing only decade-long stints
39:01 – Why Manish didn’t start his own company
43:37 – How GTM has changed in the AI world
54:25 – What agents need to work well in production
01:00:51 – Which enterprise use cases qualify for AI?
01:03:52 – What went wrong with Air Canada Agent?
01:04:52 – How customers are discovered
01:09:01 – Claude & Cursor are the most powerful agents today
01:10:55 – How Manish chooses companies to invest in
01:15:15 – Why acquisitions will become the Norm
01:18:35 – Technology is not a moat anymore
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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What does it look like to run the same playbook across five venture funds?
That is the bet Ashmeet Sidana has made at Engineering Capital. From Fund One to Fund Five, he has written the first check into founders solving problems with Technical insight.
His portfolio includes Rubrik, now a public company, SignalFx which was acquired by Splunk for $1 billion, and CodeRabbit, last valued at $550 million. Ashmeet runs Engineering Capital as a solo GP and the fund has been oversubscribed since Fund One.
Ashmeet says that the most common way technical founders fail is by “playing house.” Founders who build beautifully organized systems and clean processes, but don’t obsessively seek product market fit. His view is that founders should ruthlessly prioritize finding PMF above everything else.
Ashmeet is an investor who has seen enough cycles to know what actually compounds, and is still early-stage enough to care about the details that most people have moved past.
00:00 – Trailer
01:15 – Where does Engineering Capital place its bets?
10:07 – How the VC landscape has evolved
11:20 – Are technical founders the norm in AI?
16:23 – Why the name Engineering Capital?
16:50 – What every VC looks for in a founder
21:34 – Why Founders Choose Your Term Sheet
26:26 – Rule of 1-2 in-person meetings daily with founders
31:42 – Does AI give younger founders an edge?
32:59 – Founders must ruthlessly prioritize
35:58 – The trap of “playing house”
37:40 – PMF can change overnight, Ex: Facebook
40:13 – 1 in 10 companies fail due to lack of PMF
43:17 – The most valuable skill a founder can have
44:19 – Why have a Chief Engineer at a VC firm?
45:44 – The job of every CEO is to learn
46:09 – Solo founders are much riskier
48:15 – An accidental entry into VC
49:52 – Solo GP: risks and rewards
53:34 – $250M across funds
54:43 – Why solo GPs work better in the US
58:25 – Where Ashmeet’s portfolio companies are located
01:00:57 – Be very careful of vanity metrics
01:02:15 – Vibe coding will change the face of software
01:03:36 – Don’t chase trends in how companies are built
01:05:58 – $100M ARR is the outcome of a strong package
01:06:35 – How affordable is Bay Area for young founders?
01:11:32 – AlexNet, not ChatGPT, was the real AI inflection point
01:12:57 – US Public Companies Are Down 50% in 40 years
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Over 1 Trillion AI tokens pass through Portkey every single day.
Every AI product eventually runs into the same problem. The prototype works, but once it goes live the system has to manage multiple models, rising token costs, unpredictable latency, and infrastructure that was never built for AI workloads.
That is the problem Rohit Agarwal is solving with Portkey, an AI gateway that sits between applications and the models, whether that’s GPT-4, Claude, or Gemini.
With 24,000 companies routing their AI through Portkey, Rohit sits on ground-level data on how AI is actually being used in production. Which models enterprises are betting on. Where costs are quietly climbing. How usage patterns shift as companies move from pilots to real products.
When AI spend surpasses cloud spend, and Rohit believes it will, the infrastructure running underneath it becomes one of the most important bets in tech. This episode explores what it takes to run AI systems at that scale.
00:00 – Trailer
01:05 – 500 billion AI tokens every day
04:05 – First to call an "AI gateway"
07:26 – Where did the Gateway insight come from?
12:08 – How Portkey is winning this space
13:05 – Picking the right gambles over wrong ones
14:16 – What are LLM endpoints?
15:21 – AI will 100% surpass cloud spend
19:00 – Hype is coming from people still in Q&A mode
19:33 – AI employees over humans in customer support?
23:00 – For AI startups, traffic > revenue
24:43 – The bubble is in valuations, not utility
26:05 – How Rohit built his personal automations
28:38 – Costliest model is most used now
33:21 – What's going right and wrong for AI companies
37:49 – Hiring a VP of sales after $15M is possible today
39:57 – What edge does Claude have over other models?
43:35 – Founders need a "why me vs. why Anthropic" story
52:56 – What if Anthropic or AWS builds a gateway?
55:41 – Predictions for the next 12 months
59:40 – How big is the opportunity in Agents?
01:00:48 – Startups now have to prove it's not a weekend project
01:01:54 – Is Build v/s Buy no longer a Debate?
01:03:50 – What would Rohit build if starting up today?
01:05:58 – How Portkey is different from an API gateway
01:08:26 – MCP / tool calling enables agentic workflows
01:12:00 – Portkey's Community-driven early GTM
01:13:34 – Startups have only 2 reasons for Open core
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Is the best grocery platform one that decides what it WON’T sell?
That is the bet Ayyappan is making with FirstClub. Fewer products. Stricter rules. While most quick commerce apps are trying to deliver orders faster, he is asking a different question. What if consumers need not “faster or cheaper”, but a retail platform where they can trust every item listed on it?
A place where you do not have to read every label, check multiple reviews, or wonder if the top result is there because a brand paid for it. FirstClub is trying to solve a harder problem. It is trying to define what “quality” means for everyday products we consume, starting with groceries.
India has received the highest quick commerce funding of any country in the world, at $9.24B over the last 10 years. Yet only 1% of Indians use quick commerce services today. With a large market still open for expansion and the possibility of better unit economics over time, FirstClub is building a countertrend to the hype around Indian quick commerce.
Ayyappan brings eleven years of experience at Flipkart, and has also served as SVP at Myntra and CEO of Cleartrip. This episode is the story till here and the plans ahead for Firstclub.
00:00 – Trailer
01:01 – The Costco of Indian quick commerce
04:32 – Building a counter-trend company
06:15 – What consumers say v/s what they actually want
09:37 – The only retail platform to Ban 200 ingredients
12:34 – Why can’t the big players solve this?
13:21 – A simple rule of thumb for food
16:03 – Brand stories from FirstClub
19:20 – Is the problem access or income?
21:29 – Who are the 20 million FirstClub consumers?
24:14 – Only 1% of India uses quick commerce
26:04 – What does “quality” mean in grocery?
32:34 – How will FirstClub monetize without brand sponsorships?
34:53 – Do consumers behave differently across categories?
39:30 – Why is Myntra so powerful in fashion?
42:24 – What Myntra taught Ayyapan that Flipkart didn’t?
43:53 – Unlearning to build for Quick commerce
48:25 – Why Indian consumers are very experimental today
50:59 – Is India one country when it comes to quality?
52:43 – If Ayyappan was a product, what would he be?
54:47 – The hardest belief to defend while building FirstClub
56:26 – Akshayakalpa & The Whole Truth
57:48 – Not niche, but premium
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neon-fund/
X: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Nansi on:
LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nansi-mishra
X: https://x.com/nansi_mishra
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Will smaller AI models win over large language models?
Sudarshan Kamath grew up in Mumbai, taught himself AI before most Indian companies were even hiring for it, and bought the domain "smallest.ai" for $100 in 2022, two years before the company existed. Today, he runs Smallest AI, a startup focused on real time voice AI.
He started with self-driving cars, training large models and compressing them to run on vehicle hardware in real time. That's where he first saw what small models could do: a hundredth of the size, almost no loss in accuracy.
Two years later he put in his own $150K, got some GPUs, and started training. Eighteen months later he had a seed round, a Series A, a seven-figure enterprise deal, and a $150M acquisition offer he turned down.
Most of the data that goes into large models is noise. Strip it out, train small, and you get a model that matches a giant at a fraction of the size and runs in real time. That insight is what Smallest AI is built on.
00:00 – Trailer
00:51 – Sudarshan's journey before Smallest AI
05:00 – Arjun Jain & Yann LeCun
08:20 – Why build in voice AI in 2024?
15:09 – Why move the company from India to the US?
17:25 – Hiring talent via LinkedIn and X
18:49 – What large US funds actually bring to startups
21:03 – Raising a seed round with zero revenue
26:06 – Strong intros from US VCs
28:23 – What the first enterprise customer teaches you
31:50 – Raising Series A with Seligman Ventures
32:19 – The $150M acquisition offer
34:32 – When should founders sell secondaries?
36:24 – Who are Smallest AI's customers?
38:28 – What are state space models?
40:16 – Are GEPA models closer to AGI?
41:23 – Growing 10× in three months
48:03 – This is not a winner-takes-all market
49:32 – Why this is a trillion-dollar market
50:08 – Why large AI labs are not building in voice
51:26 – What it takes to reach $100M ARR
54:21 – The biggest goal for 2026
57:11 – Voice costs 1000× more than text
01:02:04 – How Smallest AI cracked large enterprises
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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What if AI can learn the “why” behind decision making of humans?
Ashu Garg and Jaya Gupta recently wrote one of the most discussed articles on AI this year. Their idea drew public responses from Dharmesh Shah, Aaron Levie, and Arvind Jain.
Enterprise software has always captured what happened. It records the order, the ticket, and the approval. But it has never captured why it happened. It does not store the reasoning, the exception, or the past decisions that shaped the outcome. Ashu argues that this missing layer is the biggest opportunity in enterprise AI right now, and that the startups that capture it will be the biggest winners in AI.
In this episode, we go deeper into what context graphs really are, how they get built, why startups have an edge over incumbents, and how close we are to seeing this work in practice.
00:00 – Trailer
00:32 – What are context graphs?
02:48 – Why agents haven't lived up to the hype?
05:18 – The "why" of Decision Making
08:17 – How agents will store data for context graphs
10:38 – What will be possible for Digital twins?
14:02 – Can context graphs reveal a company's moat?
15:50 – Guardrails on Access for agents
19:50 – Managing agents vs being managed by agents
23:01 – Will winners be vertical or horizontal players?
25:56 – The future is agent swarms
28:43 – Finding PMF is what makes a great CEO
31:40 – What will set apart successful enterprises of 2030
33:44 – Where Foundation Capital is investing
35:16 – Why AI won't be winner-takes-all
37:38 – Where will the context graph reside?
40:45 – Will systems of record be replaced?
42:42 – Human in the loop → hands-off execution
44:46 – A reality check on where we are today
46:43 – Where startups will win in orchestration
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Samay Kohli spent 12 years at GreyOrange, scaling it to over $100 million in revenue and a $3 billion valuation at its peak, making it one of the world’s largest warehouse robotics companies. Two years ago, he started again with Budy, this time in the US senior care industry.
In this industry, decisions are emotional, sales cycles can run for years, and multiple stakeholders are involved. While the market sits at the intersection of real estate, healthcare, and hospitality, most sales still depend on manual follow-ups and scattered tools.
Budy builds digital workers for sales teams: AI teammates that handle follow-ups, scheduling, and lead management across CRMs, calendars, and inboxes. Instead of adding another layer of software, Budy went zero UI-UX and focused on enabling sales teams in an industry with 99% inbound leads to manage their cold leads better.
Today, Samay joins Siddhartha (Partner at Neon Fund, and a proud investor in Budy) and shares his journey from building robots to building digital teammates for a very non-traditional industry.
00:00 – Trailer
01:00 – What Budy is building for senior care
05:15 – Real Estate × Healthcare × Hospitality
06:25 – Zero UI UX technology
10:09 – AI teammates not assistants
12:03 – How sales teams operated before Budy
12:51 – A ninety nine percent inbound industry
13:45 – The real cost of senior care homes
15:35 – Can a CRM alone solve this
17:55 – Direct benefits of a digital worker
20:49 – Two founder archetypes
22:06 – Can lights out operations become real
24:49 – What Samay underestimated about the market
25:58 – The largest players in the industry
29:07 – Treat your customer’s company like your own
30:52 – Entrepreneurship as a profession
35:36 – Unlearnings as a second time founder
37:30 – What digital workers actually are
39:47 – The original promise of SaaS
42:04 – The next decade of digital workers
45:25 – Digital workers that read best selling books
47:26 – Will Claude build CRMs
49:38 – Business etiquette across the world
55:18 – How a second time founder chooses investors
01:01:00 – Why every team member should track the P and L
01:02:14 – How Samay’s view on growth evolved
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Do startup valuations today make sense?
Umesh Padval, an early investor in Cohere, now valued at about $7 billion shares why Cohere stood out at the time of his investment. He shares what he saw early that made him believe this was not just another AI model company.
Umesh is the Founding Managing Partner, Seligman Ventures and previously at Thomvest and Bessemer Venture Partners. He brings experience from investing across multiple tech cycles, from chips to cloud to AI. Umesh talks about how deals are really done in venture capital and what he looks for when everything feels noisy and crowded in AI.
He also shares why many strong companies are choosing to stay private and what has changed in the IPO market. Public markets now demand cash flow and durability, not just fast growth.
Umesh talks about why open source has become a powerful sales funnel for modern AI companies. Developers become the first users, and community adoption turns into long-term enterprise revenue.
After four decades in Silicon Valley and 20 years as a VC, Umesh shares what keeps him in building and investing.
0:00 – How big is the scope for investing in AI startups?
04:04 – Do unit economics justify large AI valuations?
06:00 – Thomvest’s LLM investment thesis (Cohere case study)
09:18 – Are CTO roles changing in AI
11:21 – Traits of the best AI founding teams
13:40 – Timeline to find the best founders
16:52 – Partnership with Jyoti Bansal
19:07 – Where is the IPO market headed?
23:40 – Salesforce–Clari acquisition
25:18 – Is profitability a prerequisite to go public?
26:00 – Can the India–US corridor beat US–Israel?
28:53 – Umesh’s investment philosophy
31:08 – Open source as a sales funnel
33:38 – IIT → Stanford → Startups
41:45 – The only CEO with 60 direct reports
43:43 – Why Jensen never does 1-on-1s?
48:23 – What ultimately drives Umesh Padval?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Matt MacInnis spent 6 years as COO at Rippling and now leads as CPO. He joined Rippling in 2019, when there were only 70 people, and has led the company across multiple stages.
Before that, Matt was a founder for 9 years, building Inkling after 7 years at Apple. These three chapters of his career shape this conversation. We focus on how to build and operate teams as a company scales. Matt explains how he thinks about speed versus real progress, and which parts of building a company should move fast and which should move slowly. He shares how he decided when to introduce processes at Rippling, when to keep things informal, and how to recognize when a process that once helped the company had started to slow it down.
We discuss how his role changed as Rippling grew from around 70 people to 100, then to 500, and now to thousands. He explains what he paid attention to at each stage and which metrics he deliberately did not obsess over.
These are practical lessons for founders, from the earliest days of a startup to the challenges of scaling a large organization.
0:00 - Trailer
01:11 – One thing people get wrong about building a business?
04:01 – Great founders find markets that already exist
06:36 – What does a “death march” mean at Apple?
10:11 – How to build a good team in early-stage startup?
12:33 – Learnings from Apple to Inkling
18:11 – Processes to set up in startups
25:20 – Humans always optimize for comfort (and why that’s bad instinct)
33:09 – Why success teaches you more than failure
36:01 – How should processes change as company scales?
42:11 – How is AI changing the software industry?
54:03 – If Matt were starting up today, how would he do it?
57:07 – How would Next-gen PM roles look like?
01:01:51 – Matt shares about Rippling CEO Parker
01:04:32 – Founder instinct vs Data
01:06:06 – Over-optimizing for employee comfort
01:07:27 – If building a startup feels comfortable, it’s probably dead
01:08:36 – One thing only CEO’s should do forever
01:11:15 – One piece of startup advice Matt doesn’t trust
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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This is a special episode from the Neon Fund.
In 2025, the US saw $1.8 trillion worth of M&A deals, around 25× more than India. But India’s startup ecosystem is much younger, which makes every acquisition a playbook for founders on process, pricing leverage, and stakeholder management.
Neon backed Zenduty in 2020, when the founders had been bootstrapping profitably for two years and were already growing at a pace many VC-backed startups aspire to.
Today, founders Ankur Rawal and Vishwa Krishnakumar join Siddhartha, Partner at Neon, to discuss one of the most untalked acquisitions of 2025.
Over a 10-year journey, Zenduty pivoted to SRE in 2020. Vishwa and Ankur also share insights on the future of the DevTools space, which they believe will always be a strong choice to build great products, because engineers are among the hardest end users to please.
This episode is a founders’ view on how acquisitions work in Indian SaaS.
00:00 – Trailer
01:00 – Initial years of a decade-long journey
07:12 – How Zenduty chose its investors
11:04 – How much should founders dilute?
12:24 – Building with profitability before & after fundraise
14:45 – Six years of survival before the pivot
17:01 – Why the pivot to the SRE space?
18:39 – How Zenduty differentiated from PagerDuty
19:12 – End users are the toughest to please in engineering
20:39 – Is market attractive if biggest player is valued only $1.5B?
25:22 – Why acquisition and not a Series A?
27:18 – The process before acquisition
29:23 – How pricing negotiations work
31:51 – Should devtool companies build from India or US?
34:58 – Three types of connects at physical events
37:06 – What physical presence at events signals
39:06 – Founders’ feedback on Neon Fund
41:41 – “Don’t build in silence”
43:50 – How to build a core AI-native company today
47:54 – Do first-time founders have an edge in the AI era?
52:08 – Cost to PMF has drastically gone down
54:48 – What hard problems are startups solving today?
55:37 – Why are acquisitions rare in India?
1:00:20 – How US investors are facilitating M&As
1:01:14 – How to make your brand visible to potential acquirers
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Kanwal Rekhi first came to the US in the 1960s. He took his company public on Nasdaq in 1987.
As a young Indian in the US, he was laid off from his first three jobs. That experience pushed him towards entrepreneurship. At the time, Indians were known and hired for technical and mathematical skills, not as founders building companies on US soil.
But Kanwal and his co-founders decided to bet on themselves. They faced rejection from nearly 50 investors before one VC agreed to invest $2 million for 50% of the company. In just five years, the company went public.
From being appointed CEO overnight to being removed by the board two months before the IPO for a more “wall street-acceptable” CEO, this is a story of many firsts.
After Excelan, Kanwal co-founded TiE in 1992 and has mentored tens of thousands of entrepreneurs. Beyond a personal story, Kanwal Rekhi is a turning point in how Indian founders came to be seen in Silicon Valley.
0:00 – Trailer
01:11 – How TiE was formed
07:11 – DoT Hatao, Desh Bachao
11:31 – Career opportunities in the 70s
13:41 – When Indians weren’t trusted to build companies
15:44 – Pioneers in computer networking
16:51 – Finding an Investor after 50 rejections
20:31 – Becoming CEO overnight
23:29 – Spare the story, show the numbers
24:17 – The “Wall Street acceptable” CEO for IPO
27:30 – Founders have to be financial thinkers
28:14 – How Excelan could go public in just 5 years
29:27 – Cost is unrelated to pricing in software
31:12 – Do Indian companies need Americans to lead?
34:05 – Benefits of registering in the US
36:53 – $1 trillion to solve India’s problems
40:49 – Policies for India’s startup ecosystem
42:01 – Enabling entrepreneurs in villages
44:41 – India in the 80s v/s today
50:36 – US vs India vs China
01:04:52 – How did IITs start allowing donations?
01:07:25 – AI investments of Silicon Valley Quad
01:18:29 – What Kanwal Rekhi looks for in founders?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Where did the journey of iD Fresh start?
It began when a 19-year-old Abdul Nazer decided to run away from home to Bangalore with ₹100 in his pocket. He did any job that came his way: cook, cleaner, conductor and sold anything he could, from clothes and vegetables to spices and peanuts. Along the way, he brought his three brothers to Bangalore.
Even with huge losses in business, they never stopped looking for new opportunities. Their first real glimpse of success came from a tea stall run out of a rented room that cost ₹80 a month. Despite strong demand, the tea business was still running at a loss. The turning point came when they started opening the stall at 2 in the morning: a disruptive business model, says PC. Those ₹2 cups of tea taught them lessons they would carry forward.
Abdul Nazer and PC Mustafa together share these stories for the first time. Their journey reminds us that no success is overnight, especially not for these brothers. It was at their kirana store in Indiranagar that the idea of iD Fresh was born. Five brothers with no background in food technology spent six months experimenting with recipes before finding their hero product.
This is the story of five founders who pushed past their circumstances. Today, iD Fresh is at a scale the founders never dreamed of growing up in Wayanad.
00:00 – Trailer
00:55 – Dropping out of studies
02:32 – 19 Year Old that Runaway to Bangalore
04:35 – First job as a cook
11:25 – When Nazer decided to become an entrepreneur
14:01 – Huge loss in Vegetable business
16:15 – Starting the kirana store that led to iD
18:00 – On the verge of shutting down
20:10 – How Lambu Tea Stall became profitable
24:16 – When PC decided to do business with Nazer
25:14 – All the (failed) businesses that led to iD
27:04 – Why PC decided to come back to India
28:23 – The origin story of the idli batter idea
31:40 – The first $50k investment
32:57 – Cracking the batter without any food tech expertise
34:38 – The first recipe that became iD’s hero product
35:35 – Why iD failed to sell 100 packets in 6 Months
41:15 – The first customer approval
43:06 – Building awareness was the biggest challenge
44:35 – Lack of cold storage in supermarkets
45:22 – The inventory model of iD
46:25 – How the initial team was built
48:35 – Story of team spirit
50:15 – When iD Fresh Chennai & Mumbai Failed
52:27 – How the chemistry worked between the five brothers
56:52 – The buyout offer of ₹20+ crores
57:35 – How founders build the mindset to hire experts
1:00:50 – Did the runaway child achieve his dream?
1:03:09 – How Nazer’s choices directly led to iD
1:04:45 – Building within value systems
1:07:26 – Summary: what really worked for iD Fresh
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Best of 3500 Minutes in 45 Minutes
2025 was a great year for The Neon Show. 60 episodes, 72 guests, and thousands of minutes of insightful conversations on everything around building a business.
You’ll hear perspectives from Founders scaling companies across the world, sharing the real challenges behind building high-growth startups; Investors on how they spot opportunities and make bold bets; and Ecosystem leaders who have navigated multiple cycles and understand what truly lasts.
This episode is a carefully curated highlight reel. The sharpest ideas, boldest bets, and timeless lessons that defined this year. Watch it for clear takeaways to carry into 2026 on building companies that last for decades.
0:00 – Trailer
01:26 – Paras Chopra
03:37 – Avanish Bajaj
06:53 – Vijay Rayapati
08:33 – Ashu Garg
11:39 – Kiran Darisi
16:40 – Asha Jadeja
20:33 – Sanjeev Bikhchandani
23:22 – Alok Goyal
26:41 – Shiv Shivumar
29:34 – Saurya Prakash
31:59 – Raviteja
37:21 – Ashish Toshniwal
43:54 – Bhaskar Gosh
47:32 – Somesh Dash
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Harish Bhat spent 38 years with the Tata Group, working across businesses that reach millions of Indians every day, including Titan, Tanishq, and Tata Tea.
He joins Neon Show for a 3rd time and reflects on what it meant to build inside a 150+ year-old institution. The conversation begins in 1991, the year Ratan Tata took over as Chairman, a role he would hold for 21 years. Harish explains how Ratan Tata prepared Tata Sons at a time when the Indian economy was opening up and competition was changing rapidly.
We discuss landmark moments in the group’s history, including the Tetley acquisition in 2000, the first time an Indian company acquired a major global consumer brand. Harish shares how this decision transformed not only the Tata Group’s mindset but also the way ambitious Indian businesses think about their potential.
Harish speaks about Ratan Tata not as a distant icon, but as a leader he worked closely with. He shares stories of how decisions were made, how conflicts were handled, and why dignity, compassion, and keeping one’s word were always non-negotiable for Ratan Tata.
The conversation also draws from his book Doing the Right Thing, where he transfers these experiences into practical lessons on leadership shaped over decades.
https://www.amazon.in/Doing-Right-Thing-Bestselling-Tatastories/dp/0143479857
00:00 — Trailer
01:07 — Paying tribute to Mr. Ratan Tata
05:53 — The Tata family legacy
06:53 — Early childhood and education of Ratan Tata
07:48 — The decision to return to India
08:44 — How Ratan Tata prepared the Group for a liberalised economy
14:35 — How Tata Sons became a global business
16:45 — The $450 million Tetley acquisition
20:08 — Tata Group’s acquisition of Global Brands
23:33 — A visionary leader who chose to remain deeply private
25:04 — How Ratan Tata dealt with Conflict
28:58 — Dignity above all
31:29 — The only concern on renovation of Bombay House
34:41 — How the Tata Group gives back to Mumbai
39:44 — Four lessons from Ratan Tata’s Life
42:50 — The deeper purpose that drives the Tata Group
44:45 — Emotional gestures that speak to people’s hearts
48:45 — Ratan Tata as a philanthropist
51:26 — A life guided by the principle: “Do the right thing”
53:06 — The story behind the book
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Founders are often seen as superhumans. In this new series, we look at the humans behind the superhuman journey. The thrill of building, the guilt of missing out, the learnings, the failures, and why they still do it and would do it all over again.
Arpita is a second-time founder, now building Mysa. Her first startup, Mech Mocha, was acquired by Flipkart. Ananda is the Co-Founder and CTO of Astra Security. They are building in two different spaces, finance and cybersecurity, but the journeys are similar, that of a founder.
This is an unfiltered conversation between two founders about what building a company really looks like: the choices they didn’t make, the people who bet on them early, and how their identities, relationships, and sense of self changed along the way.
This episode is for anyone who is building, thinking of building, or simply curious about what being a founder really feels like.
0:00 – Becoming a Founder in 20s
05:10 – The odd realities of being a founder young
07:51 – Placements we got, but never took
10:56 – Learning to ask for help as founders
16:39 – The people who bet on you early
23:05 – Co-founder dynamics as life partners
25:40 – Handling co-founder conflict
27:21 – Making it to Forbes 30 Under 30
31:54 – How the PM award helped during house-hunting
34:10 – Being a Topper is Not Important anymore
35:45 – How close should founders be to their teams?
37:40 – Why advice hasn’t worked much for me
39:27 – Getting addicted to the thrill of being a founder
41:27 – When a founder’s identity becomes tied to their company
43:18 – Setting boundaries as founders
43:40 – Why I don’t share my Instagram with my team
44:07 – Realising that your team may not be forever
49:10 – Startups are marathons, not sprints
50:24 – Why founders need to be humanized
53:43 – Living life in the limelight as a founder
57:55 – Why work friends often don’t exist for founders
59:09 – Would you do it all over again?
01:01:36 – How family react when one decides to be a founder?
01:02:32 – Is it easier the second time as a founder?
01:03:27 – Why not knowing was actually a gift
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
In 1992, Roopa Kudva walked into CRISIL’s CEO Pradeep Shah’s office without an appointment, starting her 23-year career there. She spent over two decades at CRISIL, rising from analyst to CEO.
Roopa has spent over 3 decades in leadership roles in India and has witnessed three key phases in India’s growth: the closed economy in the 80s, the post-liberalisation era, and the rise of tech entrepreneurs.
She shares bold decisions that defined her journey. Like when she proposed to the then CRISIL CEO to create the Chief Ratings Officer role and pitched herself for it. She got the role, which set her on the path to becoming CEO. We also discuss the leaders who shaped her thinking, K.V. Kamath of ICICI, Piyush Gupta of DBS, and Katharine Graham of the Washington Post.
Throughout the conversation, Roopa returns to one idea: there is no single leadership style or fixed playbook. Her journey shows how ambition and initiative to act at the right moment can define a career and the organizations one builds along the way.
0:00 —Trailer
01:21 — IIM to IDBI
03:54 — Work Culture in the 80s
05:58 — Rise of New-Age Companies
06:55 — The Aha Moment of Leadership View
08:52 — Leaving CRISIL After 23 Years
10:49 — Choosing Omidyar & Impact Investing
16:03 — India’s Evolving Risk Appetite
20:40 — Deciding the Next Career Move
26:08 — How She Got the CRISIL Job
31:09 — Asking for the CRO Role
35:48 — Promotions Are Bets on the Future
37:37 — The Leader Who Changed Her Philosophy
43:40 — ICICI as a Women-CEO Factory
45:36 — What Holds Women Back from Rising
51:38 — DBS: The Piyush Gupta Transformation
55:06 — Entrepreneurs for the Next Half Billion
1:02:47 — The New Indian Founder Profile
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
Most conversations in startups begin at zero: what’s the idea, who’s the customer, how big is the market. But the stage before that, when you know you’re ready to be a founder yet the direction is still completely undefined. That strange, uncomfortable, high-potential zone Aditya Agarwal calls “minus one.”
In this episode, Aditya and Prateek Mehta breaks down what happens in this “figuring out” stage. The questions people avoid, the habits that matter, and why some of the best companies begin long before their founders have any conviction.
We get into how this stage is evolving in the AI era. Exploration cycles are faster, technical founders can test more directions than ever, and the gap between “I’m experimenting” and “I’m running a real company” has narrowed. India’s builder ecosystem is shifting too: more second-time founders, more people with real outcomes behind them, and far more comfort sitting with ambiguity.
Aditya shares his own minus-one moment after Facebook, his startup acquisition, Dropbox’s IPO, and Flipkart, and why that transitional period changed the way he thinks about early-stage startups. Prateek brings on-the-ground view from Bangalore, where ambition, technical depth, and the appetite to explore hard problems from robotics to voice models to AI infra are rising.
This episode is for anyone who feels they’re between missions. Anyone who wants to understand why the most important part of building a company might actually be the time you spend before you even know what you’re building.
00:00- Trailer
01:06- Aditya’s journey to starting SPC after Facebook & Dropbox
03:48- A “learning club” for people in figuring-out stage
06:23- 3 Northstars of the SPC community
07:02- How SPC evolved from a community to a fund
10:32- Not everyone should be a founder
11:51- 1% selection rate
13:53- Building conviction in 1 of 3 outcomes
16:36- SPC is at PMF stage
18:38- Mismatch of traditional VC’s v/s rapid pace startups
19:04- How AI has impacted investing at SPC
26:32- How AI has changed VC firms
29:02- Axis of curiosity replacing thesis
30:17- Star Companies of SPC US
33:34- Binny Bansal’s role in starting SPC India
37:16- Questions & confusions as founders in early stage
39:50- Number of great entrepreneurs is NOT small
41:49- Talent density in India vs Bay Area
44:04- Founders don't need a culture of permission
45:08- India tier 2 and 3 does invest heavily in AI
46:11- AI is truly democratizing tech
49:09- Math gives India advantage in AI
51:48- A lot of science fiction is coming true
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us Fan Mail
If you’re a startup selling to enterprises, understanding how a CIO discovers and evaluates you can change everything.
Most founders believe that cold emails and polished decks drive attention, but Karthik Chakkarapani, CIO of Zuora shares that nearly 80% of the startups he evaluates are found through outbound - while researching solutions, through peers, or even on LinkedIn. For many startups, this alone can reshape how they think about go-to-market.
How does an enterprise decide whether to buy from a startup or not? Karthik walks us through Zuora’s three-step buying process. It starts with understanding the problem the startup solves and how quickly the product can show value. If the early signals are strong, the next step is a deeper look at ROI, integration, security and whether the company is mature enough to be a long-term partner. The final stage is legal and procurement, which is where many early-stage startups slow down.
If you’re building a startup, this episode offers a practical look into how CIOs think, how they make decisions and what it really takes to go from a first conversation to a signed contract.
0:00 – Trailer
0:53 – Buying process of startups
05:19 – How Zuora’s SaaS portfolio looked 2 years ago
09:00 – Inbound vs outbound
10:53 – How initial contact with potential customers works
13:34 – Startups should be thought partners
16:57 – How long it takes to create value for customers
19:59 – Where startups draw the line in growth vs efficiency
23:06 – Top 5 largest spends
24:01 – Why only 1-year contracts for new AI startups?
26:12 – Why legal & procurement struggle to understand startups
29:46 – 20% of portfolio is 0–5 year old companies
30:46 – Are startups not backed by VCs a red flag?
34:29 – 60% in growth + 40% in day-to-day
37:42 – Learnings from peer CIOs
41:38 – Featurely: Case Study
45:14 – Atomicwork: Case Study
46:55 – Trupeer: Case Study
47:51 – How Zuora uses OpenAI & Anthropic
49:39 – How AI is helping personal productivity
51:26 – How agents will be managed
54:02 – Number of SaaS apps will go down, agents will go up
55:45 – Building the right security for AI
56:31 – India vs US: where founders are building from
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
After 20+ years at some of the most important Silicon Valley tech companies like Yahoo, LinkedIn, Oracle, Informix and NerdWallet, Bhaskar today leads investment of enterprise infrastructure companies at 8 VC.
Bhaskar Ghosh spent 20+ years at some of the most important Silicon Valley tech companies before moving into venture capital as a Partner at 8VC.
After completing his PhD in computer science from Yale, he worked across Yahoo, LinkedIn, Oracle, Informix and NerdWallet. He brings this experience to founders building the next generation of enterprise infrastructure companies.
In this episode Bhaskar explains how IT services are being reimagined for India, a country that over the last 25 years turned its skilled workforce into a global services engine. We discuss the shift happening inside workflows most people do not think about: mid-office ops, call centers, insurance, travel and HR. These are areas where thousands of people move information every day, and where AI is now good enough to take over entire workflows.
Bhaskar talks about the founders already building in this space, including those buying traditional services companies and rebuilding them with AI at the core. He also explains why this new wave will not behave, scale or be valued like SaaS, because this is no longer pure software. It is the reinvention of services.
If you are a founder making engineering decisions, someone curious about the less visible layers of software, or interested in people who move technology forward, this conversation with Bhaskar is for you.
00:00 –Trailer
03:03 – How India will reimagine IT services (TCS, Infosys)
04:32 – “why now” of services
06:07 – How unstructured data became easier to handle?
07:53 – What LLMs can do today with high precision
10:35 – Use of GenAI will increase margins in services
11:54 – Front & mid offices will become more productive and lean
14:30 – Will a pure services business scale anymore?
15:55 – Legacy service businesses + AI-first software
20:04 – Real challenge to operate and scale such businesses
20:33 – 3 reasons on why SaaS companies get higher multiples?
22:06 – Network-effect players win big in SaaS
24:18 – Replacing software v/s replacing services
26:16 – Business without inherent network effects (yet)
28:22 – Is AI unlocking TAM larger than Software era?
30:57 – How prosperity of a country influences growth of Co’s
32:50 – India’s tech talent is key to India-US corridor
39:36 – Deeply disruptive AI Co’s will come from India
43:04 – How new-age AI services companies of India should grow in US?
44:39 – Current BPOs have an unfair advantage
47:21 – Will older BPOs understand the importance of AI?
49:22 – A Moat in outcome-based pricing can replace old businesses
51:50 – Has the US ever been sensitive to cost?
55:23 – The new AI-enabled services have a Palantir-risk flavour
58:47 – Where to build when model Co’s eat forward & backward revenue?
01:06:10 – What type of founding teams are needed?
01:08:10 – How founders think about GTM is changing
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneon
Send us a text
130 IPOs from over 400 startups. IVP is now in its 18th fund, with companies like Perplexity, Glean, Slack, Figma, Twitter, Uber, and Abridge in its portfolio. Somesh Dash, general partner at the 45-year-old firm, has been part of IVP for more than 20 years.
We start with something we are both passionate about, building in the US-India corridor. Somesh talks about the group of people who put the silicon in Silicon Valley, the immigrants. From Andy Grove to Elon Musk to Chennai-born Aravind Srinivas.
He recalls the first time he met Aravind at a WeWork, when Perplexity had just 20 employees and a beta product or how Dylan (Founder of Figma) had the vision nobody else had on the future of design, way before ai. The early signals Somesh saw in these founders, long before any signs of massive success were visible. He also talks about the companies they missed, giants like DoorDash, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Though this seasoned investor truly believes in AI, he says the sector is due for a correction. The bubble will burst. Most Gen 1.0 AI companies are unlikely to reach billion-dollar valuations or go public. But as always in tech, the lessons from this first wave will shape Gen 2.0 companies. And the teams that understand and adapt from this early wave will build the next generation of successful AI companies.
Also, when the bubble bursts, that's the time to invest. Why?
Somesh Dash shares in this episode.
0:00 – Trailer
1:12 – Immigrants who built Silicon Valley
4:27 – India’s incredible contribution to the Valley
5:30 – How the India–US friction will actually help
6:29 – What’s at stake for both countries
10:42 – Where India stands in AI
11:45 – First meeting with Aravind Srinivas
13:47 – Why IVP invested in Perplexity two years ago
17:11 – In AI, don’t take product–market fit for granted
18:43 – Courage to fail & double down on early wins
19:36 – Why multiple investors on a cap table isn’t bad
22:14 – How IVP invested in Figma
24:28 – IPO is a milestone, not the end
25:56 – Why US public markets are not overvalued
27:50 – How a VC defines startup success
31:08 – The best thing about failed startups
32:12 – Why IVP missed DoorDash
34:54 – How IVP decides to invest or pass
38:27 – The doctor who builds tech
45:05 – Future of Content is honesty and vulnerability
47:11 – Meeting OpenAI & Anthropic in the early days
48:52 – AI “startups” with capex the size of nations
49:53 – The power law in venture capital
50:45 – Why we’re close to an AI correction
54:11 – Gen 2.0 startups are built on Gen 1.0 foundations
56:45 – Will the AI bubble burst?
1:01:32 – Do high valuations during peaks still make sense?
1:05:04 – What keeps IVP strong for five decades
1:08:11 – The Co’s making IVP more bullish on India–US corridor
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
Send us a text
When Shreesha Ramdas left Medallia after a $6.5B acquisition he decided it was time to reinvent.
At his 4th startup Lumber, before writing a single line of code, he hired a sales person and ran 200+ interviews across the industry to understand the real pain points. The interviews gave Shreesha the insight that though payments were a problem, it was neither big enough nor urgent.
But it was very difficult to hire workers, and even more difficult to retain skilled craft workers. In the U.S alone 41% of construction workers will retire in the next six years, leaving a massive gap in talent and experience. As a big believer in vitamin vs. painkiller, Shreesha is now building where the pain is deepest.
We discuss what truly needs to happen before building a startup, the foundation that will shape everything that follows. From his days at Yodlee during the dot-com boom to leading StrikeDeck and selling it to Medallia, he is now building again with clarity and intent for one of the most traditional industries: construction.
But here’s one thing that probably tells you more about Shreesha than the companies he has built and scaled. He said, “My heart beats for other founders. Startup is my world, this community is my tribe.”
0:00 – Trailer
1:04 – Why build tech for Construction industry?
3:54 – 200+ interviews to find the real customer pain
5:05 – Big believer in Vitamin vs. Painkiller
6:25 – The 2 core problems in this industry
7:02 – Repeat founders Know structure better
7:42 – First startup during the dot-com boom
8:29 – Bay Area is Disney Land for tech founders
9:23 – From engineering → sales → marketing
10:37 – Founders should trust the team, above everything
11:55 – The survey company that banned “survey”
12:17 – First startup was all about me; now it’s all about team
13:57 – Dream big, but execute in small steps
15:47 – The cost of speed in startups
16:18 – I’m a marketing-first CEO
17:27 – Hire a salesperson before the product exists
18:17 – Is Founder-led selling good or bad?
19:37 – Mean, lean & go all in
23:55 – Don’t bring humility to storytelling
27:25 – How the story should evolve as startups scale
35:30 – How Lumber will challenge giants in construction
38:53 – Do repeat founders build more in verticals?
43:39 – How to hire right people from traditional industries
44:29 – What wealth unlocked for Shreesha
45:34 – Legacy is moving the industry forward
46:38 – What the next 20 years mean for software founders
49:18 – AI should remove soul-draining work
51:19 – “My heartbeats for other founders”
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
You rarely meet someone who has built and sold five companies. Sachin Aggarwal is now building his sixth, Stackgen.
The depth of lessons from someone who has been through that journey five times and still chooses to build again is simply unmatched. Even after five successful exits, he still builds like a first-time founder. He studies every new domain from scratch, speaks to 60 or 70 people before committing to an idea, and surrounds himself with people who are smarter than him.
What stood out most is his mindset. That is what truly sets him apart. We have always been told that time is money, but he believes timing is money. Founders should time everything, including their exits because the best startups are always bought, not sold.
From building his first company during the Asian Financial Crisis in Indonesia, to creating a healthcare startup that grew with Obamacare, to pioneering cloud security before it became mainstream, Sachin has mastered the art of timing.
0:00 – Trailer
0:46 – From KPMG to becoming an entrepreneur
2:05 – Why the best startups are bought, not sold
4:30 – Does luck play a role in repeated success?
5:24 – Why is timing money?
6:46 – Exit at $8M ARR in just 18 months
8:10 – The first exit that gave financial freedom
10:14 – 26-year-old who bought an Indonesian Co.
12:42 – What drives repeat founders?
13:53 – Co’s are either Born secure or they’re not
19:40 – Founders must master timing
21:24 – How tech-savvy should a tech founder really be?
22:35 – The right way to time your exits
27:07 – How to observe new markets to build?
28:30 – The process behind starting a company
29:32 – How to find the right co-founders?
31:53 – What really builds trust?
33:05 – What founders learn building across industries
35:25 – How Stackgen’s founders met
43:36 – Industries with the best Timing today
44:41 – Where should young founders build?
48:06 – Winning InMobi as a customer
51:11 – What AI agents are doing at Stackgen
55:14 – How Stackgen could be a billion-dollar opportunity?=
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
India is the 2nd largest startup ecosystem now. But, can it be at par with Silicon Valley?
With 37 years of experience in the valley, Avanish sahai believes it can. But what made Silicon Valley the ultimate startup ecosystem? It was investors, universities and an environment where people dreamed to come live and work. And, in the last 25 years India has been going through the same transformation. And the changes are nothing short of admirable.
Avanish started his career from a Mckinsey office in 1999 which ideated India’s software dream, with policy changes the country needed to lead in Technology. Since then, he’s held senior roles at Oracle, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Google Cloud, and served on HubSpot’s board through its journey from $500M to $2B.
Avanish talks with great passion about startups that are disrupting the world today, taking lessons from small companies that took over legends who were believed to be indestructible. Even with all the hype around AI, Avanish reminds us that ultimately it's all about people.
0:00 – Trailer
1:13 – 37 years in Silicon Valley
2:33 – McKinsey’s “Vision 2020” for India (in 1980)
7:30 – When only $8 was allowed for migrants to the U.S.?
9:48 – “India is the ultimate definition of a startup ecosystem”
11:30 – How openness to the world has changed India
13:08 – India’s tech stack should go global
14:09 – Why “India is hot” right now
17:41 – Global disruptors building for the world
19:48 – Think big and fail often
24:09 – HubSpot: Single product → multi-product → platform
27:11 – How today’s startups can compete with legends
30:45 – Salesforce had APIs from day one (in 1999)
35:51 – How AI is redefining Legends vs. startups
41:51 – Life as a Stanford DCI fellow
42:53 – How should the world adapt for 20–25 extra years?
45:29 – How to spot the right wave and players in Career
45:16 – Get mentors, stay curious, and take risks
48:00 – Why it’s still all about PEOPLE
51:53 – How AI could disrupt vertical SaaS industries
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
What makes a great venture capitalist — luck, timing, or the ability to see what others miss?
Brij Bhushan (Prime Venture Partners) and Pratik Poddar (Nexus Venture Partners) talk about the long game of venture capital; the waiting, the lessons hidden in mistakes, and the emotional ride of backing founders through years of uncertainty.
With Pratik, we dive into some of the biggest names in the Nexus portfolio: his first meeting with Rapido’s founder before he even joined Nexus, the Meesho pitch that became a big miss, and his first call with Zepto’s founders. Nexus was one of Zepto’s earliest investors and has backed the company in every round since. Pratik speaks with great clarity about conviction, timing, and what truly defines great investing.
Brij reflects on his decade of building Magicpin, what it means to “build the same company three times,” and how that journey reshaped the way he now works with founders. Having lived through the chaos of scaling, near-failure, and reinvention, he brings the founder’s perspective back into venture capital.
Together, Brij and Pratik capture the essence of the VC game — how the industry is evolving, why consensus rarely creates outliers, how real decisions are made inside funds, and why the best founders often seem “too early” rather than too late.
We talk about everything that shapes a VC’s everyday life, and above all why Brij and Pratik believe it’s still the best job in the world.
0:00 – Trailer
01:59 – Biggest learnings from 10 years as a VC
05:00 – Rapido as a counterintuitive bet
06:49 – Meesho was a big miss
10:20 – Why Venture capital is the best job?
12:35 – Every meeting could be life-changing
14:54 – Knowing you are NOT in an Operating role
16:55 – How often are VCs wrong about market size?
18:58 – Where to invest in Consumer companies?
25:33 – How consumer VCs bet on behavior change
27:12 – Is e-commerce truly built for young users?
28:10 – How do Investors deal with Bias?
30:04 – Are VCs only remembered for success stories?
37:45 – Why good deals rarely come from Consensus?
39:24 – The first call with Zepto’s founders
41:10 – How often do you meet truly exceptional founders?
43:45 – Should VCs react to market shifts?
46:42 – How long VC’s take to make an investment decision?
50:53 – How founders should approach fundraising
54:27 – Can India produce 50 decacorns in the next few years?
55:51 – Best way to play VC game is to have right fund size
56:42 – Not Knowing is a pre-requisite for a VC
1:00:41 – Exceptional founders have this superpower
1:02:02 – Where Indian founders have a real edge
1:05:14 – Building AI in India: local maxima or global maxima?
1:09:00 – When will Indian Co’s acquire Indian startups for $Billions?
1:11:55 – Why Zomato & Swiggy aren’t true Consumer Co’s?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
Send us a text
When RateGain went public, it made history as India’s first SaaS listing
Founder Bhanu Chopra talks about what went into that call, how investors saw it, and what it revealed about the Indian capital market. He shares how RateGain built its global presence before turning to India, and why he bet big on a $250 million acquisition.
Today, travel is changing faster than ever with travellers planning differently, hotels pricing dynamically, and APAC leading the global recovery. Bhanu breaks down how RateGain powers this, from AI that talks directly to hotels and travellers, to India’s hospitality industry that aims to grow 100% every year.
Valued at nearly $1Billion with over $120 million in annual revenue, RateGain counts some of the biggest names in travel among its customers including Airbnb, makemytrip, Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Expedia, and Booking.com.
From taking RateGain from zero to IPO and growing revenue tenfold in a decade, Bhanu’s journey offers a grounded view of what it takes to build companies that last. This episode is about more than travel or tech, it’s about how India’s next generation of founders can think global.
0:00 — Trailer
1:00 — How RateGain became India’s first SaaS IPO
6:31 — Was India ready for a SaaS IPO?
7:31 — The $250M acquisition that cost 25% of market cap
10:58 — Why Indian SaaS is listing locally
14:48 — Travel is booming in APAC
15:34 — RateGain’s business Explained
19:09 — AI that talks to consumers and hotels
21:00 — Building a billion-dollar company is totally possible
23:03 — Why the hotel industry is too complex for LLMs
25:40 — $300M of $7.5B TAM
26:45 — Indian hotel chains aims to grow at 100%
29:39 — Travel trends across the US, Europe and APAC
32:25 — How travel behaviour changed after COVID?
33:34 — The 0→1, 1→10 and 10→100 journey
37:57 — What growth means to Bhanu as a founder
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
How do the best CEOs think, prepare, and leave a lasting legacy?
Shiv Shivakumar, former CEO of PepsiCo and Nokia reflects on decades of leading some of the most iconic companies. He shares insights on what makes a great leader, from the mindset required to the qualities that define people with a fighter’s instinct.
Shiv explains why commitment and curiosity often matter more than degrees or pedigrees, and why only about 7% of those who aspire to be CEOs actually become one. He also discusses how to navigate co-founder disagreements, knowing when a company needs you, and how to hire the right people for lasting impact.
Through stories from his own journey leading companies across sectors, Shiv highlights why unit economics, honest market sizing, and investing in innovation rather than cutting prices are critical for founders. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding culture, asking the right questions, and building trust in shaping a company’s success.
Whether you are an aspiring founder, a manager, or simply curious about how leadership works in practice, this conversation with one of India’s most experienced CEOs is for you.
0:00 – Trailer
0:55 – 3 qualities of people with a fighter’s instinct
2:40 – The biggest sin of a CEO: Past forward
5:51 – How a CEO of 20 years prepare using data?
7:56 – Why the information pyramid today is upside down
8:55 – If it doesn’t surprise competition, it’s waste of time
9:53 – The art of asking great questions
10:28 – Brands shouldn’t age: keep your core, but stay relevant
12:28 – Why Shiv calls himself a Brand person?
13:40 – Rich buy brands for vanity, poor for security
15:03 – Manyavar: Nationalism reflected in buying choices
17:15 – The Suta story
18:10 – Clothing Industry is waiting for innovations
19:28 – Brand person vs. Manufacturing person
21:27 – Why only 7% become CEOs
23:08 – CEOs Shiv admires
23:47 – Be the best prepared person in any room
24:09 – Always stress-test your assumptions
25:04 – Sending letters to great professors of the 90s
29:32 – Opportunities in India vs. abroad
36:59 – Understand culture before joining any company
40:11 – What young people should expect from work?
41:04 – People who leave a legacy
42:49 – How to hire the right people?
45:43 – Be a full-number, not decimal-point manager
46:25 – Never hire for degree or background
48:54 – Building relationships for the company’s interest
51:07 – How co-founders should handle disagreements?
52:56 – Be honest about your addressable market
54:00 – Founders overestimate idea, underestimate rigour
54:30 – ID Fresh: Founder & Opportunity
57:06 – The business model in publishing needs to change
58:58 – Is ghostwriting alright?
1:02:00 – The old model of distribution: Nokia Story
1:04:09 – Why CEOs should work across industries?
1:09:12 – When you need the company vs. when it needs you
1:15:31 – Future hiring: soft skills first, train hard skills
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter:
Send us a text
From a last-minute YC application to a $5 billion Company built on deep technical insight.
In this episode, Viral Bajaria, Co-Founder and CTO of 6sense, takes us back to the very beginning. He recounts his early days at Hulu, where managing massive data systems during the Super Bowl taught him how data could drive real business decisions.
Joining one of Y Combinator’s early batches, Viral recalls being interviewed by Sam Altman and Garry Tan, and how the team quit their jobs after getting in, moved into a small townhouse, and began writing code. While most startups begin with small customers, 6sense started with some of the biggest enterprise logos. Viral explains why repeatability and implementation are harder when selling only to large accounts, and how those lessons shaped their approach to building sustainable growth.
He also reflects on the difficult years when growth stalled, when the company had to rebuild its product, and when they learned that great technology means little without strong go-to-market execution.
It is a story about timing, conviction, and the patience to build for what will not change.
0:00- Trailer
02:26- First job at Hulu & exposure to big data
06:36- YC interview by Sam altman & Garry tan
08:22- Quitting job for YC
11:07- First version: Big data analytics platform
12:12- Getting in YC batch that downsized from 130 to 47
13:27- The need & opportunity for a Merger
15:49- Why Founders should learn to let go & avoid slow death
16:07- Why everybody at YC advised against the merger?
18:16- A VC next door that chased 6sense
20:18- Rebuilding the product for B2B
20:57- How this startup started with the biggest logos?
21:59- Repeatability is hard when selling only to enterprise
22:47- There were lot of startups, with lot more money
23:32- How to build for things that won't change in 10 years?
29:24- Ad platforms only targeted People, Not companies
32:02- Why did 6sense get a new CEO?
33:50- Funding rounds that led to $5Billion
37:20- What 2013 Co’s were doing can be done with 1% today
38:39- When competition raises a $100M round
39:40- If you build a company on LLM, there is no data moat
42:02- What is the extent of guard rails for Agents?
43:59- Viral’s Investments in India & US Companies
54:44- Co’s should raise money to appear bigger than you are
56:55- Vibe spending: People are spending money to try AI
59:52- Is there a right time for vibe mode for every industry?
01:02:00- Service as a software is selling agency to customer
01:03:58- Why co’s in the US-india corridor will succeed?
01:17:27- Why Viral invested in Neon?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
How do you know whether an iOS app you have built has potential to be big? Getting an email from Steve Jobs is probably a strong indicator.
Ashish Toshniwal, founder of 10Kr and YML (Y Media Labs), started by trying a bit of everything: classifieds, Groupons, and Facebook apps. That email made him quit his job, but as Ashish says, it took him and YML 14 years to become an overnight success. YML helped businesses go mobile-first long before it became a buzzword, with over 45 Fortune 500 clients including Apple, PayPal, Meta, and Disney.
Along the way, Ashish shares the real decisions every founder faces, such as when to take VC money, when to sell, and how to think about repeat business. He also reflects on turning down opportunities like Credit Karma equity (now worth $7billion), showing the tough choices early-stage founders make just to survive and keep their business running.
This is a story about timing, focus, and conviction, and what happens when you build something real: from Calcutta to Silicon Valley, one decision at a time.
0:00 – Trailer
03:24 – How the Co-founders met
05:28 – The first 3 ideas: Classifieds, Groupons & Facebook apps
06:30 – An email from Steve Jobs made Ashish quit his Job
07:59 – Building apps when App Store launched (Apple as a client too)
09:20 – YML was famous but not profitable
10:07 – Becoming the “app guys” of Silicon Valley
11:56 – The pivot: Stick with products or move to services?
13:43 – 6 acquisition offers on the table: Sell or not?
16:57 – The first exit: 60% acquired at $60M
18:38 – “We’d never seen that kind of money”
19:26 – IOS engineering was like AI engineering
20:13 – “If we don’t have repeat business, we don’t have business”
22:09 – Silicon valley is not a zipcode, it’s a mindset
23:54 – Clients came for design, stayed for engineering
26:11 – Does motivation change when equity shrinks?
29:01 – Firing and re-hiring yourself as founder CEO
30:50 – Why the final decision to sell YML was made
32:55 – The golden window of mobile
34:26 – Could YML have been a billion-dollar company?
37:34 – Turning down Credit Karma equity: now worth $7B
38:39 – Why CEOs are like travel agents
41:50 – Why Ashish invested in Neon
44:22 – What wealth truly enables
47:36 – Investing early in Tesla, Nvidia, and Meta
49:07 – Why founder-led companies outperform in public markets
50:54 – It’s easy to build products, harder to build real businesses
52:44 – If your product isn’t 10x better than ChatGPT, you have no chance
53:04 – The future of jobs: 5 roles merging into 2 with agents on top
57:25 – ChatGPT will not go after human-in-the-loop
59:35 – The first real challenge to Google’s dominance
1:01:59 – Building AI agents that do real work is incredibly hard
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for inform
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Jay Vijayan, founder of Tekion, and Tesla’s former CIO, has one of the most remarkable careers in technology and automotive.
Jay joined as CIO when Tesla had almost no revenue and stayed through its growth to $5 billion ARR and $35 billion market cap. Elon Musk brought him in to build Tesla’s own ERP system at a time when most companies would have chosen ready-made solutions like SAP or Oracle.
Today, Jay leads Tekion, a company valued at over $4 billion that has raised more than $640 million and has companies like GM, BMW, Hyundai, and Exor as both customers and investors.
Jay talks about how Tekion is rethinking the experience of buying & servicing cars connecting dealers, manufacturers, and partners on one platform. He explains why the company spent four years building its first product, why they acquired real dealerships to understand the business end-to-end, and what it takes to build tech for such a complex industry.
This conversation is about building deep, meaningful products, making hard choices early, and maintaining focus when the world is moving too fast.
00:00 – Trailer
02:42 – What value Tekion brings to the automotive industry?
03:56 – Enabling dealers with car buying and servicing
05:41 – Helping manufacturers connect all customer touchpoints
07:02 – Supporting partners across loans and financing
07:34 – What was the industry like before Tekion?
09:37 – Why Tekion spend 4 years in stealth mode
11:50 – Acquiring dealerships to study the product end-to-end
16:38 – Should vertical SaaS companies invest in sector businesses?
20:30 – Stay Informed, but don’t get swayed by trends
22:57 – Why Subscription model didn't work for cars
25:30 – How can founders navigate overhyped trends safely?
26:22 – Differentiation in AI: solving valuable, sticky problems
28:24 – Every business function should have an AI agent
30:31 – How can AI agents improve car servicing?
32:56 – When customers turn investors
36:58 – Why experts opposed acquiring dealerships?
40:08 – Why build an ERP backend as an early stage company?
44:21 – Do not outsource core customer functions
46:37 – Taking on a failed family business
51:38 – Paying off huge debt over 10+ years
55:21 – When seed investors get a 400x growth
58:06 – What is the right attitude early in your career?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Switzerland has quietly built one of the world’s most stable and trusted startup ecosystems.
Thomas Dübendorfer, founder and president of SICTIC, Switzerland’s largest angel investing network with over 500 members and more than 400 startups joins Neon show.
Thomas talks about how Switzerland’s startup scene has changed over the past decade from a cautious investor community to one that now has 58 unicorns across sectors like fintech, AI, crypto, and deeptech.
He explains what Switzerland is doing in AI and commercial research, why a $900 billion economy still invests only $4 billion in startups, why most exits happen through acquisitions rather than IPOs, how Zurich and Bengaluru can build stronger startup ties and what India can learn from a country that builds quietly.
Thomas also shares his own journey: leaving Google, building nine startups (three acquired), and backing over 40 founders as an angel investor.
This episode is a rare inside look at how Switzerland, at the intersection of centuries-old wealth and technology, is building a strong innovation ecosystem.
00:00 – Trailer
01:07 – How has the Swiss startup ecosystem evolved over 12 years?
03:36 – Why a $900B economy draws only $4B in startup funding
04:35 – What is Switzerland known for around the world?
05:12 – The lesser-known Unicorns
07:12 – How can Zurich and Bengaluru build stronger startup ties?
10:39 – Swiss institutions that are built to last
11:24 – Building a strong nation among powerful neighbors
12:32 – Alfred Escher: The founder of ETH Zurich
12:57 – How Gotthard Tunnel shaped Swiss finance and engineering
13:49 – Top companies that define Switzerland today
16:15 – What is Switzerland doing in AI?
18:49 – What are the exit routes for Swiss startups: IPOs or acquisitions?
20:19 – Why Zurich has a high concentrations of family offices
22:44 – Where Switzerland stands in Europe’s startup landscape
24:16 – Why build companies when you can just fund them?
27:26 – How Thomas chose his 40 angel investments
28:57 – What do the Swiss think about the Indian startup ecosystem?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Ever received a push notification on your phone? There’s a good chance it came through MoEngage.
Raviteja Dodda, founder of MoEngage, shares the story of building a SaaS company from India that now sends 80 billion messages to 2 billion users across 1,200 brands. A decade-long journey of MoEngage from its early years to becoming a category leader in customer engagement.
He shares how the company grew by focusing on Indian customers as the strongest validation of product-market fit, before expanding globally by building regional teams with autonomy and hiring people with a founder’s mindset to navigate new markets.
Ravi also shares the why behind differences in pricing between US and Indian customers (think Swiggy vs DoorDash) and how revenue margins vary when selling in India versus abroad.
Whether you’re curious about the software powering some of the most familiar brands and apps we use every day, or want a behind-the-scenes look at how MoEngage built an $800M global SaaS business from India,then this episode is for you.
0:00 – Trailer
1:12 – Founder of software powering messages to 2B Users
3:50 – Building one of India’s first mobile apps
8:49 – Acquiring India’s top consumer Internet companies
10:12 – Mobile → online → offline: Covering all touchpoints
13:19 – How MoEngage became a category leader
16:52 – Customer support is extremely rewarding in India
24:12 – Reasons for Pricing gap: Swiggy vs. DoorDash
27:55 – Revenue margins: India vs. abroad
28:30 – Moving OLA from internal solution to Moengage
29:54 – Key milestones in MoEngage’s journey
32:32 – Revenue split across customers
33:37 – GTM to take a product built in India global
41:19 – Why MoEngage should’ve entered Europe earlier
43:51 – Middle East as the fastest-growing market
44:21 – People who create v/s people who execute playbooks
50:05 – How to sign large global customers from India?
52:54 – Spotting early adopters in new markets
55:59 – Can new companies win in mature categories?
59:13 – MoEngage’s position in AI
1:01:54 – Building a $10M ARR SaaS: US vs. India
1:03:57 – Scale in India first or go US on Day 0?
1:08:45 – MoEngage’s IPO timeline
1:10:05 – Most exciting SaaS companies from India
1:14:11 – Regional teams as mini-startups
1:16:51 – What worked for MoEngage in fundraising?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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This episode with Prof. Arun Kumar is a look at the Indian economy beyond headlines and GDP numbers.
We discuss the paradox behind India’s growth story: when GDP rises, does it really reach the people? We explore how poverty in India has officially fallen from 27% to 5.3% in just over a decade, yet real wages have been shrinking, especially for rural workers. If fewer people are poor on paper, but incomes aren’t rising, what’s actually driving this improvement?
We talk about how the structure of India’s economy is changing, how wealth is concentrated, and the weakening of the public sector to how the black economy distorts policy outcomes.
We discuss why state finances are now becoming a silent crisis, and how India’s macroeconomic stability, while strong, hides inequalities that threaten long-term growth. The episode also explores the solutions, which India needs to fix over the next 20 years to make growth truly inclusive and meaningful for everyone.
0:00 – Trailer
1:01 – Does GDP growth translate to ground reality?
6:46 – Is India truly the 4th largest economy?
10:30 – Poverty fell 22% in 12 years, yet wages dropped.
14:06 – Does the poverty line reflect reality?
18:07 – What % of India is really poor?
21:00 – Are middle-class families going into debt for basics?
23:26 – How are rich, middle, and poor defined?
24:44 – Wealth is shifting
26:56 – How stable is India’s macroeconomy?
30:48 – Why India cannot open up some sectors
34:27 – Why R&D spending remains low in India
35:36 – Is the consensus on need for public sector falling?
38:18 – Black economy kills public sector
41:37 – How healthy are the Indian state economies?
44:51 – Is the tax split b/w centre and states working?
47:05 – How can India create jobs in Unorganised sectors?
53:12 – What are the solutions to fix Indian economy in next 20 years
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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“When I saw Google change the destiny of the planet, I could not imagine doing anything else but working with brilliant entrepreneurs.”
-Asha Jadeja Motwani and her husband, Rajeev Motwani, the Silicon Valley legend of technical startups, are together the founding stakeholders of Google.
In the late 1990s, they came to the United States as most Indians, as students. From being part of Google’s early days to their journey as investors and now, extending that into an active participation in American politics. She speaks about Rajeev’s pivotal role in mentoring Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-authoring the PageRank paper, and helping shape Google’s DNA.
Today, through the Motwani Jadeja Foundation, Asha continues to build on that legacy; funding entrepreneurs, supporting Indian voices in global think tanks, and opening doors at Davos and Washington. Asha also reflects on how the Indian diaspora can play a far greater role in shaping the future of India-US partnership and why entrepreneurs are critical to the future of this relationship.
If you’re an entrepreneur building in the India–US corridor, or curious about the opportunities the two nations are creating for startups, then this episode is for you.
00:00 – Trailer
01:25 – How Rajeev became founding stakeholder of Google
03:48 – The early days of Google: first office to first funding
07:52 – Investments of Dot Edu Ventures
10:03 – Asha’s role in American politics
10:45 – How Indians in Silicon Valley can strengthen US–India corridor
12:18 – The lack of Indian scholars in think tanks
13:14 – Do Indians have enough influence in American politics?
13:52 – Is Silicon Valley & the Indian diaspora shifting right?
15:00 – The impact of Trump on India–US relations
17:36 – Asha’s role in opening doors for India globally
21:09 – How the Motwani Foundation selects projects and people
24:08 – Entrepreneurs as a critical part of US–India value creation
24:54 – What’s missing in US–India value creation?
26:33 – Report on “jailed for doing business” in India
27:56 – The legacy of Rajeev Motwani
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Cybercrime is predicted to drain the world of $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, making it one of the greatest threats to modern business.
Shikhil Sharma, co-founder & CEO of Astra Security, is building one of today’s most trusted pentesting platforms. Just last year, Astra uncovered over 2 million vulnerabilities across customer systems, preventing more than $69 million in potential losses
Shikhil shares why Astra was built as a product- and marketing-first company, how storytelling helped the brand connect with people by clearly showing its purpose and expertise and how founder–investor relationships are built on conviction and trust.
He breaks down why pricing transparency is no longer optional for B2B companies and how trust is emerging as the true currency of go-to-market. We discuss what it takes to build a SaaS company in today’s AI-first world, from raising leaner rounds and running with smaller teams to creating products that customers love from day zero.
Beyond the playbooks, this is a conversation about building durable companies and the mindset that drives Shikhil as a founder: success isn’t bought, it’s rented, and the rent is due every day.
0:00 — Trailer
0:56 — Early college days that led to a startup
5:00 — AI could cut startup costs and team size by 80%
8:43 — Why seed rounds should be under $500K
11:45 — Marketing can beat sales in early-stage SaaS
16:07 — Is Google search under threat from consumer AI?
20:23 — Why B2B startups must display pricing transparently
25:41 — What VCs lend founders beyond capital?
28:36 — How 42 CIOs backed Atomicwork
30:58 — Replace GTM with COT- currency of trust
33:34 — Why 20-year SaaS playbooks no longer works
35:37 — How AI is changing cybersecurity
41:38 — How the founders first met in college
46:33 — Are “hard startups” actually easier to build?
51:50 — Neon X Astra Security
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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“Push something a millimetre in the private sector, you make an inch of progress. In the public sector, it’s a mile of progress.”
Subroto Bagchi started his career as a clerk in the Odisha government in 1976, leaving postgraduate studies. Today, eight years after serving at the rank of cabinet minister in the same government, he has certainly changed countless lives, not nameless faces. In this conversation, he passionately shares stories of young men and women from Odisha who overcame generational challenges by getting skilled, gaining not just jobs but identity.
While this conversation could have focused on his remarkable journey building Mindtree in 1999 with 9 Co-founders and taking it to IPO, it goes beyond entrepreneurship. It’s about stories from hinterland India, seen through the eyes of a founder who spent 16 years in the private sector before serving his home state. Subroto also reflects on India’s big picture: instead of just chasing the trillion-dollar goal, we should also focus on improving quality of life for the 94% in the unorganized sector.
This episode shares stories beyond metros, it highlights how building scalable solutions in business can translate into meaningful social impact.
0:00 – Trailer
1:47 – 10-6-4-2 Method to evaluate ITIs
6:15 – Muni Tigga: Locomotive Pilot story
9:12 – Basanti Pradhan: Story of 50% of garment workers in Tiruppur from Orissa
15:49 – Sumati Nayak: How skills give us identity
19:16 – Joy of building Mindtree vs. joy of working in govt
20:35 – The difficult stories of people moving away for Jobs
23:32 – How Mr.Subroto accepted the Job?
31:13 – The story behind “The Day the Chariot Moved”
33:26 – How 8 years in hinterland India changed Mr. Subroto
37:14 – India vs. Bharat
42:04 – India’s priorities beyond the $5 trillion economy
43:43 – Quality of life for a gig worker in India vs. a developed country
45:29 – Reality of 94% India that is unorganised
47:50 – What India gives its vocationally trained students?
49:09 – Stereotypes about govt, that maybe not true anymore
52:03 – The highly efficient & incorrupt politicians
54:00 – Where the government has succeeded in delivery?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Find Mr.Subroto Bagchi's latest book here: The day the Chariot Moved
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Ashu Garg has backed companies like Databricks, Turing, Cohesity, Jasper, and Eightfold.ai as General Partner at Foundation Capital. Over the years, he’s seen multiple waves of innovation but in his words, nothing in the last 45 years comes close to the transformation AI is bringing right now.
Ashu discusses how the next wave of AI products will be driven by combining reasoning with reinforcement learning, and cautions every startup building on top of foundation models: that their vendors will also be their competitors.
He also talks about how agents are moving from simple copilots to autonomous workers, how the internet itself will have to be reinvented for an agentic world, and what happens when your agent can not only draft emails but also buy plane tickets or make payments on your behalf.
We also get into the realities of building AI companies today: why your competitor isn’t GPT-5 but GPT-7, where startups can actually outcompete big tech, whether geography still matters, and how relationships and access still shape outcomes in an age that feels completely digital.
This is one of the most insightful conversations you’ll hear on what it takes to build durable AI companies in this era and where the next generation of billion-dollar startups will come from.
0:00- Trailer
0:42 – Foundation models as biggest competitor of AI startups
4:19 – Agents are visible; reasoning is underneath
6:20 – The leap of AI from autonomous to automation
9:27 – Why the internet must be reinvented for AI
10:49 – What if agents act (and do payments) on your behalf?
13:06 – Is Ashu using agents for himself?
13:54 – No tech shift in 45 years compares to today
15:38 – Who is accountable for what your agent does?
17:57 – Who has advantage: first-time or repeat founders?
19:27 – Does geography matter for founders anymore?
21:19 – Whose AI will become the user’s default?
25:44 – Where do startups have an edge in AI?
28:25 – How can startups outdo their model providers
31:21 – Does distribution still matter in the Agentic era?
33:29 – Why experience and access will always matter
35:36 – Startups today must compete with GPT-7, not GPT-5
37:09 – Why Dollars on talent poaching in AI makes sense
42:20 – Are only 1,000 people at AI’s cutting edge?
43:32 – What does Ashu garg look for in a founder?
45:15 – How to build more billion-dollar companies?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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A full founder’s arc: starting small, building global SaaS companies from Hyderabad, taking one to IPO, another to a billion-dollar exit, and then choosing to begin again (and again).
Kiran Darisi began at Zoho, founding team member of Freshworks at 25, and stayed twelve years till the company went public. Today he is building Atomicwork, reinventing service management in the AI era.
Sreedhar Peddineni started with Host Analytics back when SaaS was still called application service provider, went on to create the customer success category with Gainsight, and is now on his third venture with GTM Buddy.
In this episode, we talk about what it takes to build companies that last for decades. We discuss how startups can find the “Goldilocks zone”,why smaller teams are creating more value than ever, and the mistakes founders often make when moving from SMB to enterprise.
Both founders share how AI is reshaping every layer of SaaS, why it’s both eating the pie and expanding it and what’s left for entrepreneurs when the biggest AI companies are chasing every vertical.
This conversation looks back at some of India’s iconic SaaS companies, shares lessons from two decades of building, and looks ahead to the future of SaaS from India.
0:00 — Atomicwork x GTM Buddy
1:17 — Why They Chose to Be Founders Again
8:27 — How to generate pipeline predictability at a startup?
16:46 — Becoming Freshworks’ Co-Founder at 25
19:43 — How Atomicwork Co-Founders Connected & Chose Their Problem
23:25 — Building Companies That Last for Decades
27:18 — Why Smaller, High-Quality Teams Win
30:21 — 1st vs 2nd Founders: What They Get Wrong
31:56 — Scaling: SMB → Mid-Market → Enterprise
33:36 — Category Creation at Gainsight
40:03 — Disrupting vs Expanding Large Categories
44:08 — How to Choose the Right Market
49:08 — Why Atomicwork Chose This Category
53:11 — The 'Goldilocks Zone' for a Startup Category
57:11 — Can Salesforce Be Replaced?
58:26 — Neon Fund x Atomicwork
1:01:27 — Neon Fund x GTM Buddy
1:03:44 — If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What’s Left for B2B SaaS?
1:07:36 — What to Build in the AI Era?
1:10:35 — Is AI Expanding the Pie While Eating It?
1:17:03 — How Useful Are Custom GPTs for Companies?
1:20:34 — Workflows vs AI Workforce
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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A 14-year journey from bootstrap to scale.
Exotel’s story is one of India’s most remarkable SaaS journeys. Shivakumar Ganesan, started Exotel in 2011, bootstrapping it from the ground up. In 2012, he raised a seed round of ₹2.5 crore, but for the next eight years, the company grew without any external funding. Then came COVID and revenue went from $10M to $5M and what followed were bold strategic moves.
3 funding rounds, 2 major acquisitions, and the decision to stay focused on the Indian market despite advice to go global first. Today, Exotel powers calls for delivery executives, cab drivers, and banking relationship managers across the country.
In this conversation, Shivku shares what it’s like to tackle India’s unique AI challenge of building voicebots in 30+ languages, and how automation could reduce contact center jobs by as much as 80%. He talks about the tough transition from serving SMBs to enterprise customers and how he has built a ₹2500 crore+ business without leaving India.
If you’re interested in B2B companies built from India, this episode is full of insights on timing, reading the market, and creating deep moats in overlooked opportunities.
0:00 – Trailer
0:42 – Exotel enabling 2 Billion Calls Monthly
5:04 – 4 Fundraises & 2 M&A’s in 18 Months
12:06 – How Acquisitions Affect Company Finances
18:11 – Why 90% of M&As Fail
22:02 – Why Acquisitions Are Extremely Hard
22:59 – How AI Will Change Customer Relations
26:46 – How Customer Spending Will Shift with AI
29:10 – AI Could Reduce 80% of Jobs
30:27 – Where AI Offers Hope
31:47 – India’s Unique AI Challenges
34:60 → Actually 35:00 – Building in India for the US Market
38:17 – Why Exotel Didn’t Enter the US Market
39:49 – Indian SaaS Co’s Should Go Public
42:50 – The Mega Cycles of Tech Transformation
45:37 – Customer Segments: SMBs to Startups to Enterprise
56:45 – Find Large Uniquely Indian Markets to Solve
59:44 – India’s Shift from Price to Quality Is 20 Years Away
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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The software that powers 25% of India’s e-commerce transactions, processes a billion orders each year, and in 2025 alone fulfilled 20 million quick-commerce orders: Unicommerce sits at the core of India’s digital retail ecosystem.
It is one of the few SaaS companies from India to go public, doing so after nearly a decade of steady growth without fresh primary capital until its IPO in 2024.
In this episode of The Neon Show, we sit down with Kapil Makhija, CEO of Unicommerce, the company quietly running India's $60B E-retail market (set to hit $2 Trillion in the next two decades).
The conversation goes beyond the company’s journey to unpack how perceptions of Indian SaaS customers are changing: from the old belief that they “don’t pay” to a more nuanced reality where they value communication, support expectations, and long-term relationships define success.
We also look ahead to the future of SaaS in India: from the impact of AI, to the challenges of scaling from zero to $100M, to the balance between pricing and value, and identifying the sectors most ready for building large SaaS companies.
This episode is for anyone curious about the story of SaaS in India, from how it is being built, scaled & the opportunities ahead.
00:00 – Trailer
01:15 – India makes you product-ready & pressure-tested
03:45 – GTM: India doesn’t reward size, it rewards focus
05:00 – Joining Unicommerce the week Snapdeal acquired it
10:10 – Digital-first brands vs. traditional brands
12:36 – Why Excel and manual ops were the real competition?
14:25 – The acquisition of Shipway
17:02 – How will the company achieve 1000 Cr Revenue?
19:40 – How the decision to go public was made
23:40 – Success in SaaS isn’t sign-ups, it’s retention
29:31 – The myth that Indian customers don’t pay
33:30 – Do Indian customers want Enterprise support but SMB pricing?
36:40 – The impact of AI on SaaS
39:10 – Founder vs. CEO: Is there a difference?
47:29 – White spaces in e-commerce waiting to be built
50:35 – Q-commerce vs. E-commerce: where are brands betting?
52:07 – How SaaS companies decide if they’re IPO-ready?
55:10 – Can India build billion-dollar SaaS companies at home?
58:15 – How long does the 0 → $100M journey really take?
01:01:15 – How to build a ₹100 Cr SaaS company today?
01:09:53 – Are pricing advantages in SaaS sustainable?
01:12:22 – How much do brands actually spend on tech?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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The 21st century has shattered old assumptions about diplomacy.
Relationships between nations are no longer guided by ideology or morality, but driven by pragmatism and national interest.
This week, former diplomat Rajiv Sikri who served 36 years in the Indian Foreign Service, offers a deep dive into how global power dynamics are shifting.
We discuss why the United States still remains the only true great power, yet its tariff policies are reshaping global trade and forcing countries like India to rethink their strategies.
And explores how the Russia–Ukraine conflict has reshaped security and political choices. For India, Russia remains a vital partner, while Europe has chosen to cut ties despite its heavy dependence on Russian energy and Britain continues to commit billions to Ukraine even with its own economy struggling. Rajiv also examines China’s growing alignment with Pakistan and what this means for India’s long-term security and economic positioning.
Rajiv also argues that a future global conflict may not involve every country, but rather regional conflicts with worldwide consequences.
This episode provides a clear-eyed analysis of global diplomacy; its complexities, evolving alignments, and the choices India faces in navigating an increasingly multipolar world.
0:00 – Why US remains the world’s true great power
3:35 – Has the WTO collapsed?
5:23 – How US Tariffs have destabilised the world
7:12 – Can India become an Agri-exporter?
11:32 – Why Trump puts the MAGA base first
13:21 – The Russia-Ukraine war explained
22:24 – Diplomatic relationships are no longer based on ideology
25:22 – Why Europe cutting ties with Russia may backfire
27:52 – Why Britain funds Ukraine despite its weak economy
29:57 – Did Operation Sindhoor reveal open Chinese support to Pakistan?
33:32 – What China risks from India’s rise?
37:24 – Why morality doesn’t exist in global politics
38:30 – Will China’s attitude towards India change?
39:28 – How China dominates global manufacturing
44:40 – Why global investors should bet on India
49:20 – Israel’s War Acts
53:17 – How will WW3 actually be?
56:07 – Can the world create an organisation not dominated by the West?
59:29 – Why India must act cold-blooded in its national interest
1:01:13 – Are India’s global moves headed in the right direction?
1:03:43 – Lessons from 36 years as a diplomat
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Ashok Atluri founded Zen Technologies in 1993, bootstrapping from Hyderabad at a time when India was importing 70% of its defence equipment and private players contributed just 5% of procurements. It took Zen five years to win its first contract from the Indian Army in 1998.
Today, the company builds simulators and anti-drone systems, and has grown its market cap from ₹40 crore to over ₹13,000 crore.
Ashok shares that India needs to make it easier for private, self-funded R&D companies to succeed in defense tech and why the focus should be in building technology with India’s own IP. We also discuss the policy shifts he has seen in India’s defense tech over the last 32 years, and how policies like IDDM and Make-II have reshaped India’s defense manufacturing.
This is an episode with a founder who has spent over three decades turning India’s defence technology from an import-dependent sector into one that can build defense tech with its own IP.
0:00 – Trailer
1:18 – Why entering defense tech must be easier
8:48 – Building simulators for the army
10:53 – Zen’s entry into anti-drone systems
12:26 – 400x growth in 12 years
13:41 – Policy shifts in defense tech
15:42 – How Indian-owned IP can transform defense?
19:24 – How big is India’s defense simulations market?
22:06 – From ₹60 Cr to ₹930 Cr in 4 years
25:27 – How are simulations built for future weapons?
29:15 – India’s defense budget (foreign tech vs. local tech)
30:23 – The entry barriers in the 1990s and even today
31:43 – Is doing business with the government harder for some sectors?
36:06 – Surviving 32 years being financially conservative
37:29 – How Indian government is pushing exports in defense tech
40:35 – Zen’s anti-drone systems used in Operation Sindhoor
42:31 – Will there be an India–China conflict?
43:15 – Where does China stand in defense tech?
44:08 – How India should back its wealth creators
49:12 – Policies that are enabling Indian defence companies today
49:37 – Parrikar’s influence on private sector role in defense tech
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
From idea to IPO and beyond.
What does it take to back a company for nearly two decades?
There are no written rules to navigate one of the most important relationships in a startup. One between a founder and an investor.
This episode is an inside look at how one of India’s longest founder-investor relationships was built and tested, between Yashish Dahiya (Policybazaar) and Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Info Edge).
In 2008, a ₹20 crore cheque was signed for 49 percent of the company, based solely on a powerpoint idea.
What followed were regulatory challenges, shifting business models, new investors on-board, and moments of disagreement. But through 17 years, six funding rounds, and an IPO, they stayed aligned.
These are two entrepreneurs who built their first ventures a decade apart; Sanjeev in 1997, Yashish in 2008 and have seen the Indian startup ecosystem evolve from the ground up.
If you are building or funding startups this conversation will resonate with you for its honesty and give takeaways for your own journey.
0:00 – Infoedge Ventures X Policybazaar
1:08 – Sanjeev’s first memories of Yashish before Policybazaar
5:33 – Pitching of the Policybazaar idea
11:08 – How Info Edge almost didn’t invest in Policybazaar
15:56 – What shaped Yashish as Founder & Sanjeev as Investor
25:14 – How the founder–investor bond evolved
27:08 – The Boardroom Dynamics at Policybazaar
31:08 – Moments of Disagreement: ₹840 Cr raised, ₹700 Cr still in the bank
34:38 – What makes an investor-founder relationship work?
46:02 – What We’ve Learned after 17 years of building together
49:03 – How India can build Long-term founder-investor bonds
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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The global strategy consulting market stands at $39.5 billion, with Asia commanding $9.1 billion. India contributes just $1.09 billion. This is despite having the talent; Indians run global back-offices for McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, and other consultancies. Yet, India continues to outsource strategy to the Big 4.
Sanjeev Sanyal, PM Modi’s Economic Advisor joins us to break this down.
We discuss the factors helping and hindering India’s growth opportunities. Sanjeev has long worked on improving the process reforms with the belief that this country needs small reforms that will bring huge impact.
We also discuss AI, with a policymaker who strongly believes unregulated AI will be catastrophic. Sanjeev shares his opinions on what could be the government’s approach to regulation, with acceptance of the limited predictability of future with AI.
If you want to understand India from a policymaker’s eye this episode is for you.
0:00- Trailer
0:55 – Why India Needs Many Small Reforms
2:50 – Was WFH Technically Illegal Until 2000?
3:57 – India as the GCC Capital for the world
7:02 – How did India go from filing 6,000 to 1 Lakh Patents?
13:45 – Why India Can’t build Its Own Big 4+3
17:40 – When professional bodies in India don't work together
21:05 – What happens when branding is banned?
24:08 – Restrictions That need to stay
27:11 – How India’s IT Sector Grew Without a Governing Body
30:06 – Are we risking catastrophic failure with Unregulated AI?
36:10 – Can We Regulate AI Like the Stock Market?
41:39 – Why India Must Shut down Population Control
47:10 – Will AI Replace Lawyers and Accountants?
49:14 – What India Isn’t Ready For?
51:31 – India as a historically risk taking nation
54:31 – Why are professional bodies holding onto protection?
56:55 – The Business Culture Problem in Kolkata
58:32 – Sanjeev’s Work in Agroforestry
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
This episode is not just about Kerala; it is about how a state with limited land, strict environmental regulations, and a long history of outmigration is approaching investment and growth.
Kerala is a small, densely populated state with limited land to spare, not the typical site for industrial expansion. Yet it’s taking a distinct approach to building a knowledge based economy.
P. Rajeev (Minister for Industries, Law and Coir, Govt of Kerala) joins us to break this down.
We discuss how Kerala rose from the bottom to become the top-ranked state in Ease of Doing Business, what’s behind the ₹1.5 lakh crore in investment pledges, and why the state is prioritizing high-value industries over land and labour-intensive manufacturing.
We also unpack how Kerala plans to convert MOUs into functioning factories and real jobs, and why startups that once moved away are now beginning to stay.
Tune in if you’re curious about how Indian states are attracting investment and rethinking their development models.
0:00 – Trailer
1:18 – Is Kerala Still Fighting Old Perceptions?
5:59 – Kerala to Focus on Value-Added Manufacturing
7:45 – How to Start an IT Firm in Kerala & Where It Missed the Tech Bus
10:35 – What’s Blocking Startups from Scaling in the State?
11:15 – Can Kerala Retain Its Best Talent?
14:20 – Kerala’s Vision for a Free-Thinking Knowledge Economy
16:36 – Repositioning as an Investor-Friendly Destination
19:22 – What the “Nature, People, Industry” Motto Really Means
22:22 – Will Kerala Deliver on Its Investor Summit Promises?
23:42 – Why Vizhinjam Could Be a Game-Changer
26:00 – How Indian States Are Competing for Investments
28:47 – Is Stagnation in Productive Sectors Slowing Development?
32:38 – Is Kerala’s Geography a Barrier to Growth?
33:24 – Are Its Environmental Rules Too Rigid for Industry?
34:22 – Is Communism Holding Kerala Back?
37:48 – When the Communist Govt funded a Private Co.
41:17 – The Real Kerala Story
43:28 – The History Behind Kerala’s Education Revolution
45:14 – What the Kerala Model Must Fix
48:06 – Internet as a Basic Citizen Right
48:56 – Kerala’s Health Workers on the Global Frontlines
51:19 – Can Outsiders Easily Buy Land in Kerala?
53:01 – The State’s Only Unicorn Company
54:21 – Can Startups from Kerala Go Public?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
AI is changing how companies build and scale. But most pitch decks haven’t caught up.
Karthik Chakkarapani, CIO of Zuora, has heard plenty of startup pitches but only a few stand out. He shares why most pitches fall flat, how to fix them, and how to present both the founder and the company in a way that drives real interest.
We unpack what should go into your 30-second elevator pitch, why “Time to Value” needs its own slide, and how to bring up AI without sounding like everyone else.
SaaS is changing fast and it’s no longer just about features, but about speed, clarity, and proof of value. We explore how the next wave of SaaS companies can truly differentiate themselves.
Building a startup is different in a post-UI world, where users don’t click through screens but simply prompt systems to act. We discuss what it takes to build in a world of API-driven AI agents, along with real lessons on what most founders get wrong about working with large companies.
If you're building SaaS in 2025, this conversation is for you.
0:00 – Trailer
1:05 – How the CIO Role Has Changed
3:21 – How Zuora Enables the Subscription Economy
5:45 – Is SaaS Becoming Headless?
7:55 – Are We Entering a Post-UI World?
10:37 – What’s the New Competitive Advantage?
12:31 – Will Entry-Level Jobs Be Replaced by Tools?
14:05 – What Metrics Will Matter in an Agentic AI World?
15:55 – How to Measure AI Adoption in Your Company
18:38 – What’s the Hype-to-Reality Ratio for AI?
20:19 – What Is the Biggest ROI AI Has Delivered?
23:53 – How Startups Can Get Deployed in Enterprises
27:10 – How Founders Should Use AI in Their Pitch
28:45 – Bolt-On AI vs. Built-In AI
32:26 – Most Common Myth About CIOs
35:03 – Why You Need a Prompt Library
36:04 – What to Avoid in Your Pitch Deck
37:21 – How Atomic Work Came Onboard
42:47 – The Underrated Soft Skills Founders Need
47:55 – 3 Examples of Killer 30-Second Elevator Pitches
51:59 – The “Time-to-Value” Slide Explained
53:46 – What Founders Get Wrong About Enterprises
54:58 – Top SaaS Misconceptions About Enterprise
57:00 – Where Enterprises Adopt AI the Fastest
59:45 – How the Next SaaS Companies Will Differentiate
1:00:33 – Bay Area vs. Bangalore vs. Chennai
1:03:33 – Rapid Fire Round
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Three failed startups. One of India’s biggest B2B exits. Then returning 75% of investor money in the next venture. An entrepreneur who’s lived that arc is bound to have insights for anyone building or thinking of building.
Paras Chopra, founder of Wingify (sold for $200 million), Nintee, and now Lossfunk, joins us this week.
We discuss the small decisions that quietly define your startup: what product to build, how to structure your team, and why setting the right communication culture early can help.
Paras shares what most founders overlook early on : Pricing isn’t about effort you put but about the value you create, why having competitors might actually be better than having none, and how financial metrics often distract from what really matters to customers.
Paras talks about what changed between each attempt of building his startups, and why some lessons only reveal themselves the hard way and what shifts after you’ve seen both failure and success.
Whether you're launching your first company or planning your next, this conversation will give you the clarity needed to tilt the odds in your favor.
Check out The Book of Clarity by Paras Chopra.
00:00 – Startups Should Be Like Cults
02:25 – Building a Founder’s Value System
03:25 – Bet on What Won’t Change in 10 Years
05:15 – What AI Can’t Do Well (Yet)
10:00 – Do Humans Even Want Accuracy?
10:57 – What Founders Should Not Build or Sell
13:35 – Are many competitors better than none?
19:47 – Why Repeating Success Is Hard
21:20 – Customer Value Metrics > Financial Metrics
23:35 – Why Paras’s Startup after Wingify Didn’t Work
27:00 – What Is Micro Communication?
30:41 – Writing Culture in a Startup
32:50 – Obsess Over Organisational Design
37:15 – Is Luck in Our Hands?
41:24 – Why Bias Is Risky for Entrepreneurs
42:35 – Great Startups Look Like Toys at First
44:00 – Why Deep Tech Startups Struggle to Succeed
46:09 – Paras’s New Venture Lossfunk
49:23 – Why Uncertainty Is a Startup Moat
55:56 – What Most Founders Get Wrong About Pricing
57:36 – Should Price be on Effort or Value?
59:23 – Wingify Innovated on Just One Metric
1:00:25 – What Is Failure for Paras?
1:04:08 – Diversify Your Self-Worth Like a Portfolio
1:05:21 – The Startup Game Is a Mental Game
1:06:43 – Did Wingify Create Wealth or Just Money?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
50% of products and features built are never used.
To build the right product, every founder must answer two questions:
Are you solving a real problem? And are you solving it the right way?
Technology has rarely been democratic, it’s often elitist. So at times, it ends up solving made-up problems that don’t really exist. Yet, some companies have built truly great products.
What sets them apart? Do they share any similarities? Are there lessons for entrepreneurs?
We have with us Krishna (Vasanth) Namasivayam who has previously worked on AI products at NVIDIA, Meta, and Dropbox.
Vasanth is founder of Featurely.AI. Featurely is fixing how products get built. It does it by simulating users — not as bots, but as human-inspired digital twins.
0:00 – Trailer
02:10 – Why I chose NVIDIA in 2015?
03:55 – Working on integrity at META
04:23 – Rethinking AI for Dropbox
04:51 – NVIDIA builds for the future
05:45 – People loved working for Jensen
08:16 – What makes META so special?
10:57 – Decision-making at META was democratic
11:41 – Dropbox was once the most VIRAL product
12:55 – The power of founder-led companies
14:28 – Tech is Elitist, Build for a Few
16:43 – Silicon Valley trend of Solving Made-up problems
19:27 – A magic wand that Finds the right problem
22:17 – Synthetic users vs. perfect AI agents
25:00 – Why synthetic users can fail (and why that matters)
25:35 – What is the Future with AI agents & synthetic humans?
26:30 – Why openAI can’t/won’t choose User research
27:16 – The simplest explanation of LLMs
28:36 – Why ChatGPT succeeded like no other
31:04 – Bite-sized Info for 6-second attention span
31:37 – The Next Frontier in AI: Predicting Human Behavior
33:55 – Uses of Synthetic Humans from Product to Policy
35:55 – The biggest surprise of building a startup
37:00 – One Mistake Product folks make
38:24 – One emotional truth about startups
39:04 – What does Featurely do?
42:51 – How Featurely will measure success
46:36 – All future software will be hyper-personalized
50:24 – 3 AI companies to admire (one not built yet)
52:28 – How will Work be in 2025?
53:59 – How AI gets things (almost) right every time
57:02 – Why Featurely chose Neon Fund
01:02:51 – What the Bay Area does differently
01:04:54 – Learnings from Fundraising
01:06:49 – The vision to Build a Category defining Company
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Geopolitics is now measured in Nanometers. Anything with a battery or a plug has a semiconductor inside. But these chips aren’t just tech anymore, they’re shaping who becomes the next Superpower.
In the 1980s, India was just two years behind the world in semiconductors. Today, we’re 12 generations behind. What went wrong?
India’s top semiconductor expert, Raja Manickam, returns to The Neon Show to break it all down.
We discuss how the U.S. lost the chip race it started, China’s strategic rise, and how one visionary turned Taiwan into the most valuable island in the world.
Raja Manickam dives into what the $10B India Semiconductor Mission is getting right and where we may fall behind. He explains why <$5 chips might be India’s best shot, and how founders can enter semiconductors with just ₹1 Crore.
This episode isn’t just about chips, it’s about who gets to shape the next decade of tech, trade, and power.
From the role of the government to private capital and Mr. Raja’s own vision through his company iVP Semiconductor, this episode tells you how semiconductors are deciding India’s Future.
0:00 – Trailer
1:26 – Masters of Chips will rule the world
8:24 – Why US is falling behind despite its head start
11:22 – Does the US have the talent to win?
12:54 – How Taiwan became World’s most valuable island
18:51 – The US vs China dilemma for Taiwan
22:21 – China’s rise is strategic, not accidental
29:09 – Will India only be a chip-outsourcing hub?
32:41 – Does India want to build for itself or others?
34:07 – Why the US wants to kill the Chips Act
38:21 – US-China chip war for global power
40:16 – How can India win in <$5 chips?
43:31 – Should the Indian govt give grants or take equity?
45:05 – Semiconductor will not create jobs
47:50 – What went wrong for India post-80s?
50:11 – Why Mr. Raja returned to India
52:04 – Can India democratise chips too?
55:23 – How India’s govt is supporting chip startups
58:06 – India’s $10B Semiconductor Mission
1:03:19 – Why Raja is disappointed with Private sector
1:08:48 – iVP’s ambition to be a chip giant from India
1:10:47 – What’s India still missing?
1:16:39 – Is India not ready for 3nm Chips?
1:21:43 – How can new founders enter semiconductors?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
There are No Checklists or Frameworks on HOW TO BE A VC?
So how do you even know if it’s the right path for you?
Unlike most jobs, venture capital comes with an extremely long feedback loop. It can take years before you know whether the bets you made actually worked out.
That’s why most seasoned VCs say: only choose this path if you're in it for the long haul.
This conversation will help you think through that choice. Whether you’re considering VC as a career, love building businesses, or just want to understand who really calls the shots on a cap table.
On The Neon Show, we have with us two operators turned investors:
- Gaurav Ranjan, Principal at Prime Venture Partners, has led deals including Dozee, Hitwikcet, Poshn and Gallabox.
- Naman Lahoty, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners has been part of investments like Zouk, Nestasia, Dashtoon and Lumio.
They share lessons from evaluating thousands of startups - what they’ve unlearned about pattern-matching in investing, why Excel projections mostly fail and why founder empathy might be the most underrated edge in venture capital.
It’s truly a conversation between three VCs on what it really takes to be a VC today.
0:00 – Stellaris Partners X Prime Ventures
0:43 – How Founders Turn Into VCs
4:19 – Do VCs Need an MBA or Consulting Background?
6:32 – Why Startup Projections Rarely Come True
8:43 – Are VCs Naturally Good Founders?
11:19 – Startups we Evaluated & Founders we Met
14:51 – From First Pitch to Deal Close
19:02 – Why VC Feedback Loops Are Extremely Long
21:00 – No Checklists. No Frameworks.
25:27 – Why On-Demand Rebranded as Quick Commerce Won?
29:20 – The Stellaris Framework to Evaluate Founders
35:53 – Why Indian VCs Must Think Independently
38:28 – Rapid Fire: The Big One We Missed
39:16 – The One We Loved But Didn’t Back
42:23 – Startups We Wish We’d Invested In
43:55 – Investors We Admire the Most
47:20 – Do We Believe Peter Thiel’s Theory?
52:35 – Startup Stories: Slack, Flickr, Dozee, Rupicard
57:15 – The GTM Hack That Led to Product Discovery
58:15 – Babygogo & Atomic Work
59:55 – All-Nighter Code Sprint for the Demo
1:00:55 – Lessons Founders Taught Us
1:06:30 – What We Miss About Being a Founder
1:10:28 – When Do You Decide If You Are a Good VC?
1:13:28 – Building a Fund V/S Building a Startup
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Vertical SaaS customers don’t buy software for 10 months, they buy it for 10 years. That’s the opportunity and the challenge. Switching costs are high, which makes it hard to get in but once you’re in, you’re in.
But regular SaaS playbooks don't work here. Forget PLG. Forget design partners. These industries have been burned too many times by bad software. Here, Trust defines GTM. Think warm introductions and on-site meetings, not cold emails and Zoom calls.
But for founders building in vertical SaaS, there’s little to learn from. So in this episode of The Neon Show, we bring together three founders who are building in the trenches of Vertical SaaS.
- Omkar Patil, Co-founder of Pienomial, helping biopharma companies run faster clinical research and unlock insights from complex drug data.
- Kumar Siddhartha, Co-founder of Merlin, rebuilding ERP from the ground up for the US construction industry.
- Divyaanshu Makkar, Co-founder of WizCommerce, modernising sales and commerce tools for wholesale distributors.
If you’re building SaaS for niche markets or wondering why traditional playbooks are failing, this episode is for you.
0:00- Pienomial X WizCommerce X Merlin
0:51 – What are we building in Vertical SaaS?
4:29 – Vertical SaaS buyers are sticky by nature
6:57 – How to build for industries used to Below-Par Tech?
10:46 – Fix what your customer hated about the last vendor
12:17 – Why these industries pay billions for implementation?
13:38 – How we got our First customers?
20:03 – Warm intros and word-of-mouth still win
23:56 – Why Design Partners don’t work in Vertical SaaS?
27:17 – Why you should never sell your first product for free?
30:29 – Can you Co-build products with early customers?
34:33 – Building Your Own Platform Vs Building on Top of one
39:33 – Building alongside Legacy players or innovating around them?
44:31 – SaaS isn’t going anywhere, AI will amplify it
46:49 – Can AI agents really be reliable?
48:42 – Which roles shouldn't be automated?
52:16 – How to approach GTM where users guide you?
54:43 – Why trust is everything here?
58:54 – How to sell softwares used for 10 years?
1:01:02 – How to win when the product demo comes last?
1:03:16 – Why NOW for traditional industries with unsolved problems
1:09:17 – Thoughts on agentic workflows
1:13:02 – Why be Bearish on the “AI Employee Concept”?
1:16:57 – Rapid Fire : Google or Perplexity?
1:17:37 – LLMs: Open-source or Closed?
1:18:19 – Favorite work software + We're hiring!
1:19:42 – One business buzzword that should disappear
1:20:55 – A Vertical SaaS company we admire (and why)
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are thos
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Recko's acquisition by Stripe is one of India's biggest B2B exits.
It's a great headline. But headlines don't tell the full story. They capture one final outcome not the numerous obstacles faced.
In this episode, Saurya Prakash Sinha, co-founder of Recko, tells us what really happened behind the scenes.
From the early days when no one was buying, no VC was funding, and they had just $500 left in the bank to building a product Stripe couldn't ignore.
Saurya also shares hard-won lessons about product-market fit, customer validation, and why usage matters more than ARR in early-stage B2B.
Tune in if you want to learn about the full story behind the headlines.
0:00 - Trailer
1:01 - Why Stripe emailed 2 founders in Bengaluru
4:34 - How Recko discovered its core problem
9:34 - What IF customers and investors reject?
12:33 - How to Build with zero validation?
14:18 - Solving what the Big Four couldn’t at Myntra
17:37 - What to expect when building Products in Finance?
19:46 - Bought for the Product, Team or Scale?
21:53 - “Customer voice is the loudest in the room”
25:28 - Why VCs didn’t “get” Recko
28:27 - How to raise when investors follow success playbooks?
30:36 - Why build products to compete with the Best?
33:18 - The First cheque and first customer at Pingsafe
36:45 - How to manage Acquisitions before making them public?
41:02 - How Pricing is led during Buyouts?
42:36 - The culture of Writing at Stripe
44:08 - Why do companies Acquire?
49:16 - Why ARR at early stage is not the right metric?
52:26 - How to find what value your product really adds?
56:38 - Why $100M+ acquisitions are rare?
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
The dollar will lose its status as the world’s reserve currency & the greatest wealth transfer in history is already underway - warns the founder of one of India’s fastest-growing unicorns!
In this episode, Deepak Garg, founder of Rivigo and AnywhereJobs shares why Rivigo's iconic Relay model succeeded, and what ultimately limited it.
He predicts Zomato's dominance, questions funding choices of startups and shares why India may miss the AI revolution without a radical energy shift.
From Bitcoin vs. gold and Trump’s potential Nobel Peace Prize to Tesla becoming a $30 trillion company, Deepak’s predictions are bold and grounded in years of pattern recognition.
If you're a founder, investor, or macro nerd, this is an episode you won’t forget.
0:00- Rivigo & Anywhere Jobs
02:16 – When your business outgrows the market
04:18 – Capital raising is a Double-edged sword
05:02 – Which ideas truly need funding?
07:33 – Build teams with Accuracy, not Kindness
09:39 – How to know if you've chosen the right market?
10:41 – Why Zomato is India's best Consumer tech bet
16:00 – How the Power is shifting b/w nations today?
20:18 – Will Dollar cease to be a Reserve currency?
22:36 – Is Bitcoin better than Gold?
26:59 – Who will be the Next global Superpower?
31:56 – India in the Next 20 years
34:22 – When 2 players control 80% of India’s Private sector
35:52 – Why China is far ahead of India in Nuclear Energy?
40:17 – Will Trump win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2025?
42:01 – How Tesla could become a $30 trillion company?
47:15 – Wealth transfer from Wall Street to Main Street
50:30 – Where India should focus in AI
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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Venture capital is much fancied today.
Is this job which looks like cutting cheques for products and founders you like, for everyone?
As for any work, there are traits you should have and some which won’t help you on the job.
We have with us Kushal Bhagia (All In Capital), Karthik Prabhakar (Peer Capital), and Rajan (Upekkha).
Three people who interestingly all began as engineers and took different career paths to today become Fund managers of leading VC firms.
All In Capital’s $24M pre-seed fund backing early-stage founders,
Peer Capital’s $75M early-stage fund investing in tech-first Indian startups from seed to Series A,
Upekkha's $40M Capital’s accelerator-style fund supporting B2B SaaS startups.
Tune in!
01:53 – Why builders shouldn’t become VCs?
03:12 – Why best VCs sell well & stay curious
05:12 – How the VC job is like Flying a plane
07:48 – How parental instincts enable VCs?
10:42 – Is fundraising harder than ever?
14:12 – What makes people write VC cheques?
18:03 – Where do India’s rich family offices invest?
20:30 – Why India still doesn’t have its own YC?
22:55 – The OG YC when startups weren’t cool
28:00 – Can YC’s numbers ever be replicated?
33:03 – David v/s Goliath of Small vs large funds
39:02 – Zepto’s first $50k cheque
40:22 – Sectors VCs won’t touch
41:35 – Story-driven v/s numbers-driven Fundraising
44:36 – How we missed Swiggy, Postman & Zepto?
46:18 – The best VCs
48:24 – What needs to change in Indian VC?
49:47 – Founders we’d invest In (But not work for)
51:25 – Unlearnings as an Investor
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
In this episode of The Neon Show, Vishwa (Co-founder of ZenDuty) is joined by Rahul Sasi (Co-founder of CloudSEK) and Ananda Krishna (Co-founder of Astra Security).
They share how AI feels magical now. And how as founders they are trying to sprinkle this magic everywhere from how building products to building teams and everything that matters.
This episode is packed with valuable insights for anyone interested in startup culture, productivity, and AI magic. Tune in!
Due to some technical issues, there are disturbances in the audio in a few parts. We apologize and hope to deliver the best production quality in all our future episodes.
00:00 Everything is being Reimagined!
00:41 Meet the New Hosts
01:08 Founders' Biggest Time Killer
05:10 Why entrepreneurs should fail fast?
11:19 Will your job inevitably change?
17:40 How AI has reimagined engineering jobs?
19:13 PMs & Designers have New workflows
20:35 Why everyone should learn to Prompt?
24:14 Is your team using AI Budgets efficiently?
26:59 Do people trust AI chatbots?
32:18 Does sales still need humans?
35:53 Do we expect empathy from AI?
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In this episode, we sit down with two exceptional founders. One who is going after the biggest category, and one who created a new category and became its leading player.
Vijay Rayapati (Co-founder, Atomicwork) and Khadim Batti (Co-founder, Whatfix) share their hard-earned insights on what it truly takes to build a great company.
From closing million-dollar deals remotely to building AI-native organisations and cultivating long-term leadership, this conversation goes deep into the real playbook behind enduring companies.
Watch if you’re a founder, a team builder, or simply someone who wants to understand how great companies are actually built.
0:00 – Trailer
01:37 – The Viral Meme Story
03:28 – What the Founders Admire About Each Other
07:20 – Navigating US–India Work Timings
08:39 – Hiring & Retaining Talent
15:54 – Why Founders Need Mentors
24:53 – When Employees Think Short-Term
31:48 – Building Organic Leadership
35:58 – Hunger vs Humility
39:58 – Building Company Culture
44:55 – Why Abolish Designations
51:38 – What is Founder’s Mentality?
54:44 – Large vs New Categories
01:00:44 – When Things Go Wrong
01:02:41 – Handling Board Pressure
01:06:45 – Never Compromise on Customer Service
01:13:58 – What to build is becoming harder
01:18:57 – FOMO in AI
01:25:10 – AI Will Remove Bureaucracy, Not Jobs
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
CRM is a category often equated with its market leader, Salesforce.
Hence, companies and investors question the viability of building a business in this space.
Nilesh Patel, founder of Leadsquared, who built a Unicorn in CRM, joins us today.
We discuss the category, the business, and its competitors.
With Byju’s as their first large deal, Edtech brought over 40% of their customers.
Then the industry went through a downfall, but Leadsquared survived by a well timed expansion.
From lack of capital restricting entry into the US market, to fast-forward today, where they have gone global.
Nilesh shares his thoughts on the skills founders need and the decisions they have to make -on exits, acquisitions, and hiring.
Tune in for more!
0:00-Trailer
1:35 – Building Leadsquared
3:19 – First large deal with Byjus
7:12 – Fundraising from Private Equity
9:58 – CRM as an Undesirable Investment
12:10 – Should Co’s enter the CRM Space?
13:35 – How to price SAAS in India?
15:23 – Diversifying beyond EdTech
16:49 – How to build market differentiation?
20:29 – Highest annual deal of <$10M
23:37 – India spends $500M-$1B on CRM
26:39 – Are Indian founders underpricing?
28:40 – GTM in the US Market
33:26 – What would Leadsquared do differently?
47:32 – When Should a Founder Exit?
49:03 – How AI Will Transform CRM
55:09 – Views on Byju Raveendran
56:55 – When founders think like VC’s
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Meet Sharad Sanghi who built India’s first data center, he spent 25 years building Netmagic, India’s largest data center company. He came to India in 1995, worked at VSNL as the country was discovering the internet, and built a company focused on internet for businesses.
Now he is building Neysa, an AI cloud startup, which recently raised $50M to help businesses adopt AI, all from India.
With Neysa businesses can use AI without writing a lot of code or use five different tools to run it. And do everything—train models, test them, deploy them, and monitor them—in one single dashboard.
Sharad has a lot of perspective to share—as someone who was at the forefront while India adopted the internet, and now, the AI wave.
If you're building in AI, part of an enterprise exploring AI, or simply thinking about where India is in the AI race—this episode is for you.
0:00 – Trailer
02:00 – How Neysa makes AI easy & cheap?
04:37 – From datacentre to AI
06:54 – 1200 GPUs & 15 Clients
07:24 – Selling internet to Businesses
12:03 – Why India Needs Local AI Clouds
13:20 – How Neysa Plans to Stand Out
15:14 – Is Scaling a Hyperscaler Easy?
19:26 – Can India Shift from IT to AI?
26:40 – AI in Large Enterprises vs Mid-Market
27:51 – AI Revolution vs Cloud in 2006
31:06 – What’s the Moat for AI Startups?
33:08 – Is Private Data the Real AI Goldmine?
35:59 – Why Product & GTM Matter Early On
38:06 – Why Scaling must come before Demand
42:12 – OpenAI’s edge on Deepseek?
44:52 – How should enterprises navigate AI?
46:32 – Did Only NVIDIA Predict the AI Boom?
48:17 – Founder 1.0 V/S 2.0
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In this episode of The Neon Show, we bring you into the room with someone who’s spent over a decade backing India’s most ambitious companies.
We're joined by Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel. With over 14 years in venture capital, Prayank walks us through his journey of discovering and building expertise in specific sectors—from cybersecurity and developer tools to SaaS and marketplaces—and how VCs identify the categories they truly understand.
We dive into how Accel chooses best founders, and the balance between backing founder versus business across stages. Prayank shares his candid thoughts on why India has been slow and late to the AI race, and what a realistic way forward could look like for Indian startups.
He also offers a glimpse into Accel’s evolving investment thesis around AI, sector by sector, and talks about how the enterprise landscape is changing—and what that means for Indian founders building in this space.
Tune in!
0:00- Trailer
1:45 – Finding Great Founders
6:30 – What We'd Do Differently
10:16 – Sector Expertise Matters
13:15 – Where AI Money Should Go
18:00 – Accel’s GenAI Bets
21:18 – Sector-Wise Thesis in AI
23:24 – Growth means Product in AI
26:45 – Rise of Founder-Influencers
29:10 – $650million India Fund
31:35 – Beyond Roti, Kapda, Makaan
34:07 – Why Accel is Big on Content
36:03 – 15 Years in VC
38:16 – Highs & Lows of VC Ecosystem
43:36 – Knowledge Compounds in VC
49:45 – Conviction over Consensus
51:06 - Conclusion
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Is it time for investors to move beyond the valley when analyzing India?
Dev Khare, Partner at Lightspeed agrees.
He shares with us an interesting view on two funding models:
The Silicon valley model begins with raising millions of dollars & going through huge negative cashflow for years. Hopefully building a great product or maybe even creating a new market. And a few years later, comes out with super fast growth & revenue potential of millions & billions of dollars.
Whereas, in the Compounder model companies raise little to no funding in early days. They don’t go to negative cash flow, instead growing slowly. Not at 3x ,but at 50% and keep at it for some 10 years building a large company. Thus becoming profitable in a few years following a slow J curve, and raising rounds only to accelerate growth.
India has built exceptional companies in the software industry following this model.
But, we can all sense that lack of approval for India’s enterprise products, which we can confidently say has been achieved in the consumer markets.
With 13+ years at Lightspeed, Dev has backed companies like PhysicsWallah, Razorpay, PocketFM, ShareChat, Darwinbox, Portkey.ai, Qure.ai, and Accel Data.
Prior to VC, Dev started as a product manager then founded his company Covigo, a developer platform for mobile applications.
This episode promises an interesting discussion on building companies in enterprise.
0:00- Trailer
1:12 - Early days at Lightspeed India
8:11 - Learning curve of an Investor
11:52 - How OYO fixed supply when Airbnb didn’t
16:37 - Is organic acquisition now the norm?
19:02 - India must rediscover its AI edge
20:20 - Compounder v/s silicon valley companies
23:26 - Why Freshworks & Zoho chose mature markets?
27:40 - Can India create SAAS category leaders?
29:18 - Enterprise startups cap at 30%
33:07 - How a $3.2B company found its niche
37:42 - AI services & AI led services
40:37 - Lightspeed’s Investment thesis
45:34 - Why we have 70% second-time founders?
48:18 - Will ITC & Jio acquisitions set a trend?
52:37 - Are software IPOs sparse?
55:34 - India’s enterprise buyer market is small
1:04:47 - Missed investments & Lessons
1:06:28 - Why is India having a lag effect in AI?
1:10:19 - Has India built global enterprise products?
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In this episode, Avnish Bajaj, Founding Partner at Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), shares what it takes to build one of India's most competitive VC firms and land the best startup deals.
With over 20 years of experience, Avnish has been at the forefront of India’s venture capital industry. He co-founded Matrix Partners India in 2006 after a successful entrepreneurial journey with Baazee.com, which he later sold to eBay, serving as its Chairman & Country Manager.
From founder to angel investor to VC, Avnish has done it all—scaling businesses, backing category-defining startups, and navigating the challenges of venture investing. His portfolio includes Ola, Razorpay, Country Delight, Practo, Quikr, and many more.
Tune in as we dive into his insights on winning the best deals, building a top-tier VC firm, and the evolving startup ecosystem in India.
0:00- Introduction
2:58 - How Founders Should Choose VCs?
9:02 - Z47 as an Operator-Led VC
15:32 - Generalist vs. Specialist VCs
20:24 - India’s VC Ecosystem in Last 20 Years
6:38 - First-Time vs. Second-Time Founders
31:48 - Founder-Market Fit Explained
35:18 - How LPs Allocate Money in India?
46:22 - How Investors Bet on Countries & Assets
52:09 - Can Tech Founders Run Multiple Businesses?
57:06 - Is India’s Market Ahead of Entrepreneurs?
1:01:10 - Rapid Fire: How Z47 Picks Founders
1:03:44 - Is Seed Stage Funding the Only Battle?
1:11:21 - When VCs Like the Founder, Not the Market
1:14:11 - Z47’s Work Ethic
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In this episode of The Neon Show, we have Sharad Sharma, founder of iSPIRT, the technology think tank behind India Stack, Health Stack, and other digital public goods.
If you want to understand where India’s digital space is headed, how AI can shape its future, and why strategic autonomy is critical, this episode is a must-watch!
0:00 – Introduction
03:12 – India’s aim to prevent digital colonization
05:00 – Democratising digital infrastructure
07:09 – UPI’s 2012 vision: intraday loan for Rajni
12:50 – The origin of ‘DPI’ & misconceptions in India
14:46 – Can India keep its first-mover advantage in DPI?
16:15 – How UPI lost to Brazil’s PIX
17:49 – Introduction to MOSIP & DEPA
19:22 – Did UPI fail to detach from government control?
20:33 – The world evaluates DPI with India’s 5 sutras
22:48 – DPI interoperability & India’s global leadership
25:23 – Managing $2-3 billion funding in India’s DPI ecosystem
27:03 – Why India must stay paranoid: The David vs. Goliath mindset
30:09 – Sam Altman doubted India’s AI, now wants in
33:25 – Facebook opposed net neutrality in India, backed it in the U.S.
36:46 – Regulatory Innovations: Cable TV, mutual funds & OTAs
40:19 – Did GST replace 4 tax filings with 36?
44:05 – Does India have a regulatory framework for digital?
51:06 – Scaling 10-100 with help from educational institutions
53:02 – Breaking away from Visa & Mastercard
55:47 – The ‘Stay in India’ checklist to bring back talent
59:58 – Grading India on DPI globalization
01:00:57 – U.S. antitrust battles & how they shaped big tech
01:08:25 – Building India’s AI ecosystem using its data advantage
01:12:50 – Picking India’s battles in AI: healthcare as an opportunity
01:15:00 – Can India build its own AI assistants?
01:17:56 – Why India must update academia & build industrial labs
01:22:18 – DEPA: Enabling Low-Cost Access to Non-Public Data
01:27:55 – UPI was age & color blind, DEPA won’t be
01:31:06 – How will India approach AI regulation?
01:39:05 – Creating ‘landing spots’ for Indian AI talent
01:41:53 – Five key actions for India’s AI success
01:45:01 – Hiring call for India’s AI & DPI visionaries
01:51:55 – Building Co’s for India’s strategic autonomy
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In this episode, we have Vishal Jain, CEO of Zerodha Fund House, who brings over two decades of experience in building ETFs and passive investment products.
From launching India’s first-ever ETF with Benchmark AMC in 2001 to now leading the country’s first passive-only AMC, Vishal has contributed through various roles to India's financial markets.
We break down:
- The history of mutual funds in India from the 1960s to today’s ₹68 Lakh Cr AUM industry.
- Why index funds & ETFs are transforming retail investing.
- How retail participation is growing (but why 2/3rd of investors still hesitate).
- Vishal's investing philosophy is rooted in a belief in India's growth story, beyond the obvious goal to beat inflation.
- The role of gold as a portfolio hedge, even for those bullish on India.
- Zerodha Fund House’s vision—Can passive investing truly take over?
If you're curious about where India's investment space is headed and how you can position yourself wisely, this episode is a must-watch!
2:10 - History of mutual funds in India
7:09 - Exchange-traded funds
10:13 - Employee Provident Fund in ETFs
11:01 - Why COVID increased trading activity?
12:36 - Is now a good time to invest?
14:02 - How Vishal builds his portfolio
16:18 - Trends in India’s mutual fund adoption
17:44 - Why only 1/3rd of retail investors buy mutual funds?
21:36 - Can investment markets learn from OTT growth?
22:52 - Does India need more mutual fund providers?
23:51 - Is India’s growth limited to the top 1%?
27:06 - Can you buy mutual funds w/o a demat account?
28:07 - Physical gold vs. gold ETFs
29:34 - Who’s buying mutual funds?
33:11 - What’s driving usage of financial products?
34:26 - AI’s role in customer acquisition
36:40 - What’s Zerodha Fund building?
38:32 - Risk & return across asset classes
40:12 - Is Vishal bullish on India’s future?
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
A seasoned investor who ran India's Finance Ministry.
This week on The Neon Show, we welcome Jayant Sinha—Investor, Policy Maker, and former Minister of Finance & Civil Aviation.
Mr. Sinha shares how the government builds innovative investment solutions for startups and large-scale funding programs for institutions.
He played a key role in launching a ₹2,000 crore Fund of Funds, which invests in startups through domestic VCs. He was also instrumental in establishing India’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, managing ₹39,000 crore in assets as of 2024.
As Civil Aviation Minister, he worked on policies like UDAN to make aviation more inclusive and played a key role in DigiYatra, driving digital transformation in air travel.
Mr. Sinha is focused on policies that drive India’s economic growth in a climate-conscious way. From research to action, he is working across policy, investment, and technology to shape India’s path towards Net Zero.
Read Jayant Sinha’s Latest book : “India’s Green Startups:Entrepreneurs That are Driving Growth” - https://www.amazon.in/India%EF%BF%BDs-Green-Startups-Entrepreneurs-Paperback/dp/9353458633
00:00 - Highlights
03:01 – Growing up in a diplomat household
05:34 – Working at McKinsey
06:48 – The Opportunity cost of a political career
08:03 – From Harvard to Hazaribagh
09:18 – Exposure to Policymaking & elections
11:52 – First electoral win in 2014
14:37 – Twice chosen as Union Minister
15:33 – Arun Jaitley: Also an Excellent Advocate
16:55 – India’s Sovereign Wealth fund
18:17 – Higher Education Financing Agency
19:32 – Taxation of Alternative Investment Funds
20:17 – Fund of Funds for Domestic VC’s
21:47 – Aviation Reforms: UDAN & Digiyatra
30:26 – Privatization of Air India
33:32 – India’s vision to lead globally
35:42 – India's path to a green future
39:31 – The CO₂ blanket effect
42:04 – Nuclear fusion as a zero-carbon solution
44:24 – Why land will be hotter
46:13 – How climate change affects Economy
48:57 – India’s Net Zero Goals
50:04 – $1 Trillion Investment to Finance Net Zero
55:00 – Scaling green businesses in India
56:26 – Global North’s carbon responsibility vs India’s emissions
1:00:52 – Chronic health effects of pollution on children
1:02:07 – What India can learn from Beijing
1:06:42 – India’s Net Zero Bill & global legislation
1:08:08 – Personal connection to The Environmental Cause
1:12:47 – Trump’s impact on the global green mission
1:15:05 – Why India must invest in R&D
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
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In this episode, Sharath shares his journey of building two successful AI-driven enterprise solutions.
Sharath Keshava Narayana, founder of Sanas and Observe shares his market-product fit approach of winning enterprise clients in the US- Identifying large, underserved markets and solving their biggest problems.
He also dives into fundraising stories, from getting into Y Combinator to attracting top VCs, leading to an $8 million seed round.
Sharath emphasizes why founders must be great sellers and how building the right team early on is crucial for scaling a business.
If you're looking to build a SaaS company, expand into the US market, or understand the power of AI-driven enterprise solutions, this episode is a must-watch!
________
00:00 - Trailer
01:50 – Early Entrepreneurial Days: From India to the US
07:10 – Building a US Clientele for an Indian Product
10:55 – Idea Stage of Observe.AI
15:20 – Raising the First Cheque
16:35 – Y Combinator: From Application to Selection
20:38 – Inbound from Top VC’s
24:53 – Meeting the Sanas Co-Founders
27:29 – Raising Funds Pre-Product & Pre-Revenue
30:10 – The Sanas Investment Thesis
34:03 – What Drove Success at Observe & Sanas
38:09 – Drawing Parallels in Building Two Companies
45:00 – Scaling Challenges: Hiring & Team Building
50:15 – Fundraising Lessons: Always Be Ready
54:17 – Market-Product Fit vs. Product-Market Fit
57:10 – Solving the Black Box of Call Centers
59:12 – Solving for Speech-to-Speech in Real Time
1:05:15 – Thoughts on The Neon Fund
1:07:03 – Bengaluru vs. Bay Area
1:11:10 – Founders Must Be Sellers
1:19:42 – Do Indian Founders Underprice?
1:23:13 – Final Thoughts: Likeability as a Founder
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Venture Capitalists on Venture Capital
In this episode we have Alok Goyal and Ritesh Banglani, Partners at Stellaris Venture Partners, one of India’s top VC firms. We go into details on running a VC firm in India.
We discuss the ambition of Indian founders, what are the next B2B SaaS billion-dollar outcomes, market-first vs. founder-first investments, decision-making process at Stellaris and why DPI (Distributed to Paid-in Capital) is the ultimate measure of success.
If you’re curious about how top VCs invest, what makes a great fund, and what advantages Indian startups have in the AI race then this episode is for you.
0:00 - Stellaris Venture Partners Introduction
0:50 - How Stellaris Measures Success
3:16 - Deal Sourcing in Venture Capital
5:40 - Coverage Ratio in Venture Capital
7:39 - Contrarian Bets: Mamaearth and Whatfix
9:34 - Independent Conviction in Venture Capital
12:03 - Trust in Venture Partnerships
15:12 - The War Stories Behind Stellaris’ First Fundraise
18:10 - Fundraising during COVID
22:30 - How Stellaris Raised Its Third Fund
26:31 - Stellaris’ Investment Strategy
30:08 - Founder-First Vs. Market-first Investments
36:32 - Strengths of Stellaris’ Four Partners
41:07 - Culture of Open Disagreement in Decision-Making
48:08 - The Ambition Levels of Indian Founders
50:08 - Next Billion-Dollar SaaS Companies From India
56:17 - How Venture Investing in India Has Changed
57:38 - Decision-Making in Stellaris vs. Other VC firms
1:07:43 - Global AI Trends and Stellaris’ Investment Thesis
1:11:31 - Opportunity For Indian AI Startups
1:16:17 - How Stellaris is Evolving with Time
1:17:24 - The Need for Bigger Outcomes in Fund Three
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
Ganesh Krishnan is the man behind some of India’s most iconic startups, including BigBasket, Bluestone, Homelane, and TutorVista—India’s first ed-tech startup before ed-tech was even a category.
Ganesh explains how he thinks about business opportunities in India, why he keeps it simple, and why Indian entrepreneurs need to keep it simple. He shares candid stories—from raising BigBasket’s first $10M on a flight to successfully exiting an ed-tech company 15 years ago.
If you’re curious about India’s startup ecosystem and want to understand what works in India, this episode is for you!
Read Ganesh Krishnan's latest book: Mastering Disruption: A Practical Guide to Understanding New-Age Business Models
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:37 - Introduction to K. Ganesh
02:05 - Ganesh's Entrepreneurial Journey
03:32 - The Growth Story Model
06:28 - Challenges and Successes in Fundraising
09:25 - Case Study: The BigBasket Story
22:12 - Business Models and Market Timing
33:51 - Opportunities in India's Broken Systems
41:44 - The Evolution of Business Models
42:15 - Valuation of Loss-Making Companies
42:51 - Network Effects and Demand Economies of Scale
43:51 - Platform Businesses vs Traditional Businesses
46:27 - Challenges in Platform and Marketplace Ventures
50:36 - Exploring SaaS and FinTech Opportunities
51:41 - Growth and Monetization Challenges
57:44 - Consumer Behavior and Microtransactions
01:06:08 - The Rise of Quick Commerce
01:09:21 - Vertical Software and Generative AI
01:15:43 - What’s Next for India’s Startups
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the fascinating history of semiconductors, their evolution over the years, the rise of old giants and new disruptors, and explore why India has yet to produce a leader in one of the most important technological races of all time.
Raja Manickam, a serial entrepreneur in the semiconductor industry, shares from his decades of experience about the business and science of semiconductors and offers a glimpse into the future
Timestamps
0:00 - Trailer
1:20 - Introduction
2:10 - History of Semiconductors
2:56 - Raja Manickam’s Journey in the Semiconductor Industry
7:02 - Evolution of Semiconductors Over Time
9:49 - Why Silicon Valley?
11:30 - NVIDIA: A Leader in Chips
14:55 - Competition in the Semiconductor Industry
17:31 - Building Microprocessors
23:08 - The Race for Top Talent
27:41 - NVIDIA’s Journey with CUDA and Artificial Intelligence
32:03 - NVIDIA’s Market Dominance
35:07 - How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Became NVIDIA’s Key Customers
36:13 - IBM’s Transformation: Market Leader to Reinvention
37:48 - India’s Journey in Semiconductors and IT Services
43:22 - Why India Lacks Semiconductor Giants
48:00 - India’s ₹100,000 Crore Semiconductor Plan
57:28 - IVP: Outsourcing Chipmaking and Focusing on Design
1:01:22 - Cost of Starting a Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
1:05:38 - India’s Vision for Its Semiconductor Future
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice
Send us a text
India’s leadership story is a fascinating journey full of lessons for anyone looking to make an impact.
In just two years, opening up the space economy has led to over 100 new startups in aerospace, sparking innovation and fueling the dreams of a new generation of changemakers.
And it doesn’t stop there—India is heavily investing in future-focused areas like green hydrogen, quantum computing, and the blue economy, showing a clear vision for industries that will define tomorrow.
Drawing from its rich heritage, India blends ancient wisdom with modern governance.
Texts like the Arthashastra guide policies that empower people and prioritize collective welfare.
Initiatives like Aadhaar and participatory governance models reflect these principles in action, bringing millions into the financial mainstream and fostering inclusive growth.
Experts believe India’s leadership also addresses the need for decolonization—not just in reclaiming cultural pride, but in rediscovering its intellectual confidence.
This leadership model, rooted in inclusivity, resilience, and innovation, is steering India into a brighter future.
In this episode of The NEON Show, Dr R. Balasubramaniam, author, member of the Capacity Building Commission (Government of Bharat), and Chairperson of the Social Stock Exchange Advisory Committee at SEBI, shares the essence of Indic leadership as explored in his book Power Within.
Time stamp
00:00 Intro
00:12 Dr. Balu’s contributions to rural service
00:41 Current roles: Capacity Building Commission member & Rhodes Professor
00:55 Overview of "Power Within"
01:13 Journey: From physician to policymaker
02:16 India’s traditional wisdom in governance
03:08 PM Modi’s leadership focus in Balu’s analysis
05:24 Modi’s ethos of service (Seva Bhaav)
08:09 Modi’s leadership during Morbi tragedy
10:06 RSS philosophy: Cultural nationalism & service
13:15 Overcoming colonial mindsets to restore pride
17:09 Participatory governance: Janbhagidari & Mission Karmayogi
23:57 Revamping civil services training
26:08 Influence of Ramakrishna Mission’s seva philosophy
28:01 Panch Pran: Vision for a self-reliant India
29:51 Chanakya Niti: Ancient leadership principles
34:38 Decisive actions: Doklam, surgical strikes, Pulwama
38:14 Challenges in implementing farm laws
45:51 Repeal of Article 370: J&K integration
50:05 India’s balanced foreign policy (Russia-Ukraine, Qatar)
52:03 Comparing Modi’s leadership to global icons
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
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Harish Bhat, ex-Brand Custodian of the Tata Group, joins us to share unique moments from the extraordinary life of Ratan Tata.
From creating India’s first indigenous car, Tata Indica, to his on-ground response during the 26/11 Taj Hotel attacks, to the Tata Finance crisis, to leading India’s fight against cancer, Ratan Tata led from the front.
Harish shares how he first met Ratan Tata and the personal note he received, highlighting Ratan Tata’s integrity, humility, and more-than-a-businessman philosophy.
Tune in to know more about one of India’s greatest icons.
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
02:20 – Introduction
02:39 – Reflecting on Jamshedji Tata’s Legacy
04:13 – Celebrating Ratan Tata’s Life
05:46 – First Meeting with Ratan Tata
08:26 – The Birth of Tata Indica
16:31 – Ratan Tata’s Dedication to Healthcare
19:23 – Handling the Tata Finance Crisis
25:19 – Ratan Tata’s Response to 26/11
29:05 – A Story of Grace and Dignity
31:33 – A Personal Note from Ratan Tata
33:20 – Defining Characteristics of Ratan Tata
34:03 – Influences and Inspirations
35:49 – Ratan Tata’s Vision for the Tata Group
37:53 – Fondness for Dogs and Bombay House
40:01 – Legacy and Transformation of the Tata Group
43:31 – Philanthropy and Nation Building
46:18 – Reflections on Ratan Tata’s Leadership
52:50 – Lessons and inspirations from Ratan Tata’s life
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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In 2010, Facebook opened its first office in India, four years after it went online.
They needed someone bold to lead their journey in India which had a major customer base potential.
That someone was Kirthiga Reddy.
Under Kirthiga’s leadership, Facebook not only grew its user base but also planted deep roots in a complex and rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.
Today, India has the most Facebook users with over 448 million, followed by the US (258 million).
After six years of phenomenal growth at Facebook, Kirthiga decided it was time for a new challenge.
In 2018, she became the first female partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, managing over $5 billion in investments.
Today, Kirthiga leads her own venture, Verix, focusing on trust, transparency, and community-driven solutions.
In this episode of the NEON Show, Kirthiga Reddy shares her inspiring journey. From a small-town upbringing in India to building Facebook in India, Kirthiga takes us through the challenges of scaling operations, transforming workplace culture, and driving growth. She also opens up about her transition to SoftBank. From leading the fund’s first investments in quantum computing and additive manufacturing, Kirthiga shares how she worked closely with founders to shape strategies and scale businesses.
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:51 - Intro
02:09 - Kirthiga’s career from Facebook India to SoftBank
03:17 - Childhood in Nanded shaping values
04:46 - Early career programming for Let Us C
06:20 - Masters in the US and arranged marriage
08:33 - Syracuse University and joining its Board
09:30 - Silicon Graphics high-tech projects
12:20 - Stanford MBA and transition to business
17:58 - Startup role in product management
21:20 - Motorola acquisition and return to India
23:08 - Meeting Sheryl Sandberg
27:32 - Joining Facebook as its first Indian employee
28:50 - Facebook’s 100-100-100 strategy
30:40 - Building a Facebook culture
35:30 - Personally hiring Facebook India’s first 100 employees
36:45 - Success stories of early hires
37:50 - Leaving Facebook to balance family and career
45:20 - Joining SoftBank & managing $5B in investments
47:19 - Key investments in IonQ and 8fold.ai
52:38 - Transition from SoftBank to new ventures
56:14 - Founding Verix and Virtualness
57:00 - AI-first companies and tech vision
01:00:28 - India’s thriving tech ecosystem
01:03:51 - Vision for Verix, Virtualness, and social impact
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This show is for informational purposes only.
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How a 1,500-Year-Old Game Became an Online Sensation
It started as a simple idea in 2005—a hub for chess enthusiasts to connect, chat, and share their love for the game.
Erik Allebest and Jay Severson, two college buddies with a shared passion for strategy, had just purchased the domain Chess.com for $55,000.
Initially, it was a forum, but then the demand for online play began to soar.
In 2007, they launched the first subscription-based version of Chess.com.
Within a few years, the platform began to gain members and marked its place as the go-to site for chess lovers.
In 2023, it hosted the first-ever Champions Chess Tour, offering a record-breaking $2 million prize pool.
Last year alone, 12.5 billion games were played on Chess.com—an astonishing 35 million games per day.
In this episode of the NEON Show, Erik Allebest, co-founder of Chess.com, discusses his journey from a chess enthusiast to creating the world's largest online chess platform. He talks about his entrepreneurial start, the hurdles in building a sustainable business, and key moments in Chess.com’s success, including lawsuits, early VC rejections, a $600 million valuation, and scaling during the pandemic.
Timestamp
00:00 - Introduction
02:06 - Family influence on Erik’s entrepreneurial mindset
05:00 - Falling in love with chess at 18 through books
07:25 - Selling an e-commerce business to fund chess.com
09:00 - Founding challenges and initial growth struggles
13:50 - Why conventional careers didn’t suit Erik
18:30 - Settling lawsuits, including the vodka-based case
21:50 - Persevering despite doubts about the chess market
22:55 - General Atlantic’s investment in chess.com
26:10 - Key insights learned from investor partnerships
29:56 - Shifting from entrepreneur to CEO
33:24 - Erik’s passion for creating products
37:18 - How media boosted chess’s popularity globally
44:23 - The downsides of rapid monetization
46:53 - Managing chess.com’s pandemic-driven growth
50:06 - Erik’s focus on sustainability and future growth
56:00 - India’s cultural impact on global chess
59:24 - Erik’s views on digital security risks
01:03:40 - Why employees stay for passion, not just pay
01:07:26 - Erik’s belief in chess’s continued global growth
01:09:00 - Embracing errors as learning opportunities
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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These farmers lost around $1.72B in a single morning.
It was all because of tit-for-tat import taxes.
But what really happened and who were these farmers?
It all started when Donald Trump walked into the White House in January 2017, promising to take on what he called “unfair trade” with China.
March 2018, Trump slapped $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, aiming straight at the heart of China’s industrial ambitions—its "Made in China 2025" strategy.
This marked the start of the trade war.
April, 2018, Beijing hit where it hurt—Trump’s voter base.
It announced a 25% tariff on American soybeans, cars, and chemicals.
And it wasn’t just any random pick. China was the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, importing 60% of all U.S. exports.
The markets reacted immediately and soybean prices went into free fall, erasing $1.72 billion in market value by morning.
Farmers who relied on China as their primary buyer suddenly found themselves staring at massive losses.
In this episode of The NEON Show, Matein Khalid, a seasoned financial advisor, shares his fascinating four-decade journey. Starting as a teenage trader in Dubai, he later advised corporate boards and family offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Matein talks about global trade, geopolitics, and economic strategies, providing insights on the US-China trade war, Trump's economic policies, and shifting global power dynamics.
Check out Matein's writings here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateinkhalid/
Timestamps
00:00 – Trailer
01:17 – Introduction
02:38 – Matein’s early trading and wealth management
04:37 – Trump’s unpredictability in geopolitics
06:04 – Rise of China hawks in US policy
07:40 – India’s edge in US-China tensions
09:50 – Starlink vs. Indian telecoms
10:30 – US Steel and political influence
12:51 – China’s slowdown and unemployment
19:02 – US K-shaped recovery and inequality
21:46 – US debt crisis and risks
26:41 – Adani controversy’s geopolitical angle
31:17 – Possible end to Russia-Ukraine war
33:55 – Israel weakens Iran’s air defense
37:35 – Trump’s isolationist policies
41:02 – Trade and capital flows in forex
42:39 – South Korea’s political turmoil
48:04 – Syria’s proxy wars reignite
52:04 – Modi’s UAE visit boosts financial flows
54:34 – India’s entrepreneurial spirit
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professio
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In this episode of the NEON Show, Boris Wertz, a renowned venture capitalist and entrepreneur, shares his extensive journey through the tech and investment world over the past 25 years. From founding a company that was acquired by Amazon to becoming an investor and backing emerging fund managers globally, Boris offers a rich and unique perspective on the evolution of venture capital.
Timestamp
00:00 - Trailer
01:40 - Introduction and background
03:17 - Journey as a venture capitalist
04:49 - Boris’s first investments in emerging managers
07:32 - Why is Boris so focused on the Indian market?
09:48 - Fund sizes and strategy
13:03 - VC returns and liquidity
16:06 - Boris’s key learnings from successes and failures
21:20 - Themes like AI, crypto, and climate tech
25:00 - India as the next frontier
28:50 - Challenges Indian entrepreneurs face
35:46 - Boris’s concept of minimum viable fund
39:10 - Cycles in venture capital
43:46 - A16z board partner program
48:45 - Evolution of venture capital mindsets
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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In this episode of the NEON Show, Ashok K. Lahiri, a leading economist and former Chief Economic Advisor, talks about India’s economic journey and the changes in its tax system. Lahiri shares why India has fallen behind some countries, pointing to missed opportunities in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. He also highlights the importance of India’s democracy and federal system in shaping its progress.
Check out Ashok K. Lahiri’s book, India in search of glory, https://www.amazon.in/India-Search-Glory-Political-Calculus/dp/067009207X/
Time Stamp
00:00 - Trailer
01:27 - Introduction of Ashok K. Lahiri
03:07 - Ashok’s upbringing and early education in economics
05:27 - Why Ashok went abroad and how UPSC got him back
08:33 - Are you satisfied with GDP growth
12:42 - Education and health lead to long-term economic growth
15:27 - The right to information is important but debatable
18:27 - The govt went overboard in the 70s
20:37 - What happened to West Bengal
24:32 - Improvement will come with liberal society
25:57 - Troubles of taxations
29:42 - Taxing in the Indira Gandhi era
33:27 - People once informed take the right decision
37:32 - Chicken and egg in politics
39:27 - Why India is on the right track
43:27 - Challenges faced by Bangladesh and lessons for India
47:32 - India: union of states
52:07 - Struggle of India to get where it is right now
58:32 - Why we can't blame our ancestors
01:01:52 - Importance of transportation and Connectivity
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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The world’s largest tech-focused venture capital fund. And the man behind it is Masayoshi Son, often referred to as Masa.
At 16, Masa moved to California, drawn by the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley.
Before he turned 21 years old, Son sold his first company— a multilingual translator bought by Sharp for about $1 million.
Masa returned to Japan and founded SoftBank as a software distribution company.
In 1995, Masa made one of his first bold investments— a $100 million for a 30% stake in Yahoo.
In 1999, Masa made an even bigger move, investing $20 million in Alibaba, a year-old e-commerce startup.
Over 23 years, that investment turned into a $72 billion gain, making it one of the most successful tech investments ever.
In 2014, he brought in Alok Sama who had a key role in some of SoftBank’s biggest successes, like the $32 billion acquisition of ARM and the $59 billion Sprint-T-Mobile merger.
In this episode of the NEON Show, Alok Sama, takes us behind the scenes of his journey at SoftBank, where he played a crucial role in shaping the group's global investments and strategy. He shares insights into working alongside Masa, managing the Vision Fund, and the challenges of betting on transformative entrepreneurs.
Check out Alok Sama’s book, The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble - https://www.amazon.in/Money-Trap-Alok-Sama/dp/9361134337
Timestamps
0:00 - Trailer
1:13 - Alok’s career, and Money Trap
2:20 - Transition to SoftBank and the motivation behind Money Trap
3:29 - what Alok thinks about Nikesh Arora and Masayoshi Son
5:07 - Masayoshi Son’s visionary mindset and why Alok admired him
6: 40 - Why Alok values intellectual curiosity in people and himself
7:50 - Alok’s entrepreneurial journey post-Morgan Stanley
09:30 - The meaning behind Money Trap and reflections on money
12:30 - Masa Son’s struggle growing up and the freemium coffee model
17:00 - Alok’s last year at SoftBank and decision to leave
18:08 - Alok’s relationship with Nikesh Arora
20:10 - Delhi roots, and family time
21:20 - Alok's view on vulnerabilities
27:20 - Masa Son’s character and commitment to backing entrepreneurs fully
31:10 - Valuation lessons in technology investments
34:20 - Son’s early bets on AI and his timing challenges
37:30 - Joined SoftBank to impress Alok’s teenage son and connect with family
40: 10 - experience of writing a book
43:10 - Masa’s thesis on India
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This show is for informational purposes only. The v
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Why does 50% of India’s workforce remain in agriculture while the U.S. has just 2%?
Despite all those hands in the soil, the sector contributes just 15-18% to the GDP.
While countries like the U.S. and Europe shifted quickly from agriculture to industry, India's progress was pretty slow. So, is it too late for India to catch up and move on from agriculture?
Although India did build textile mills and steel plants, its industrialization lagged behind faster-growing Asian economies like Japan, South Korea, and China, which aggressively pursued manufacturing.
So, what happened?
Well, India’s focus remained on agriculture, missing the chance to build a strong industrial base that could absorb its large agricultural workforce. But there’s a new hurdle—manufacturing isn’t the job creator it once was.
Experts like Subhash Garg argue India may have missed the industrialization train. With automation reducing labour needs, ramping up manufacturing might not create enough jobs for India’s vast workforce.
In this episode of The Neon Show, Subhash Garg, former Secretary of Economic Affairs, shares his unique perspective on India's economic ambitions and the journey toward the $10 Trillion Dream.
Check out Subhash Garg's book, The Ten Trillion Dream Dented, https://www.amazon.in/Ten-Trillion-Dream-Dented-2019-2024/dp/0143467433
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:25 - Subhash Garg’s background in economic affairs
03:27 - Why has India's "10 Trillion Dollar Dream" dented
10:04 - India’s current GDP
12:50 - Need to shift labour from agriculture to high-value sectors
16:48 - Why India missed industrialisation
20:26 - The global manufacturing train left—and India missed it
21:55 - Why should you invest in services for real growth
26:55 - Sports, gaming, and entertainment are hidden gems for rural jobs
29:54 - Why is agriculture unreformed
31:34 - The impact of subsidies: is it a dead-end for farmers?
36:47 - Garg explains GDP with the “potato chip” example
42:42 - Why is farmers’ share of the final product small
47:10 - India’s manufacturing needs a tech boost
48:22 - Why India’s PLI schemes aren’t hitting their targets
52:58 - How India’s service sector thrived due to minimal regulation
1:01:57 - Garg’s positive take on brain drain
1:10:10 - Millionaires on the move
1:11:50 - Support for short sellers as market correctors
1:13:12 - Announcement of Garg's book, expected in October
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes on
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In India, financial security often seemed just out of reach, especially when it came to insurance. For many, insurance was complex, filled with hidden terms, and often mis-sold.
That’s exactly what happened when an engineer-turned-consultant discovered that his father had been duped by insurance agents into purchasing a policy that was both confusing and overpriced.
Instead of just shrugging it off, this experience sparked an idea: why not create a platform where people could get straightforward, honest information about insurance?
So in 2008, Yashish Dahiya, along with co-founders Alok Bansal and Avaneesh Nirjar, launched Policy Bazaar.
Today, Policy Bazaar has grown into India’s largest insurance aggregator, with an annual run rate of 100 million visitors.
In 2022, The platform accounted for 93% of online insurance sales in India, holding 25% of the country’s life insurance cover and 7% of retail health insurance cover.
In this episode of The Neon Show, Yashish Dahiya, co-founder and Chairman of Policy Bazaar, shares his journey of building India’s leading online insurance platform.
Drawing from personal experiences, including his family’s army background, Yashish explores the challenges of creating financial security for India’s middle class, when not taking risk is the biggest risk and the HUGE India opportunity.
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:18 - introducing Yashish Dahiya
02:18 - Policy Bazaar’s rise as India’s top online insurance platform
03:26 - India’s rising costs and financial aspirations
05:11 - Sanjeev Bikhchandani’s early investments in Policy Bazaar
06:43 - India’s economy as a mix of Bahrain, UK, Brazil, and Africa
07:49 - Financial inclusion across India’s diverse social structure
11:53 - Why does mass class movement happen
16:20 - Institutional strengths drive GDP
19:38 - Why Policy Bazaar outperformed its competitors
25:22 - Daily discipline and the importance of consistent execution
28:36 - How Yashish built team trust and values at Policy Bazaar
31:38 - Things changed when I got married
33:40 - Managing family life across India and the UK
36:36 - Why the value system is important
41:48 - What is stress exactly for an entrepreneur
46:18 - Sanjeev view on Policy Bazaar
49:40 - Policy Bazaar’s vision for social impact
53:58 - Consistent values pre-and post-IPO
57:33 - Why did Policy Bazaar go public
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the in
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Ever heard of the M Document?
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, an economist in govt of India, saw that India needed to make some big changes to keep up. So, he started working on what would become the M Document.
The M Document suggested bold reforms. Many government officials thought these ideas were too radical.
Then, something unexpected happened: the M Document got into the hands of journalist Ashok Desai, who saw its potential, and gave it the now-famous name, the M Document.
Even though the document was just meant for internal review, the leak sparked public debate on how India’s economy could be modernized.
Though it didn’t lead to immediate changes, the M Document planted seeds that grew in a few years.
In this episode of the NEON Show, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a renowned economist and former Deputy Chairman of India's Planning Commission, shares insights from his pivotal role in shaping the 1991 economic reforms and reveals the behind-the-scenes story of the influential "M document" and how it ultimately shaped India’s approach to liberalisation.
Check out Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s book, BACKSTAGE: The Story behind India’s High Growth Years, https://www.amazon.in/BACKSTAGE-Story-behind-Indias-Growth-ebook/dp/B084P4Y3VW/
Time stamps
00:00 - Introduction to Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia
01:04 - Early life and family’s experience post-partition
05:11 - Winning the Rhodes Scholarship
06:14 - Early career at the World Bank
07:15 - Returning to India as an economic advisor
09:02 - Washington invitation and Planning Commission role
13:02- 1991 economic reforms
18:40 - Committees for economic reform
22:00 - High import controls as an economic issue
26:34 - Challenges in policy reform
28:38 - V.P. Singh asks Montek to write the document”?
31:36 - How did the “M document" leak
38:40 - Maruthi engine block story
48:35 - SEBI and financial system reforms
58:25 - Moving past the “Tonga mindset.”
1:01:20- Why controlled imports are tax on exports
1:09:00 - How do exchange rates impact imports and exports?
1:12:04 - Discovery of Roman gold coins in South India
1:16:50 - Narayana Murthy’s import struggles
1:22:25 - Politicians should openly support beneficial policies
1:32:55 - Montek’s vision for India’s next decade
1:39:58 - Final thoughts on India’s future
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
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After India’s big economic shift in 1991, each state grew at different rates—but they didn’t all get there at the same speed.
Western and southern states saw major benefits, while many in the east and north struggled to keep up. In fact, by 2021-22, the per capita income in the top five states was 3.3 times higher than in the bottom five—a clear sign of the widening divide.
So, what does this uneven growth look like?
In the 1960s, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal were leading India's economy with contributions of 14.4%, 12.5%, and 10.5% of GDP, respectively. Today, Uttar Pradesh's share has fallen to 8.4%, and West Bengal's to 5.6%, but Maharashtra remains a top contributor.
Gujarat's share grew from 6.4% in 2000-01 to 8.1% in 2022-23, driven by strong industry and urban centres. Southern states like Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala now make up about 30% of India's GDP, boosted by cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
In this NEON Show episode, economist and policy advisor Sanjeev Sanyal discusses India’s economic journey and why growth has been so uneven across states. He explains why some regions have surged ahead while others have lagged behind, touching on the role of anchor cities and old policies like the Freight Equalization Policy that held back Eastern states.
Time stamps
00:00 - Trailer
02:40 - Banking Reforms and Creative Destruction
03:20 - Process vs. Structural Reforms
05:33 - Bureaucratic Challenges Affect Efficiency
14:09 - Autonomous Bodies and Obsolete Institutions
16:02 - Is it time to rethink outdated National Monuments?
26:06 - What Does Data Reveal About Indian States
35:03 - Did “Freight equalization” Rob Kolkata of its Competitive edge?
36:25 - East vs. West: Is this India’s true economic divide?
37:32 - Southern and Western India's Success
42:42 - High Growth States Rely on Anchor Cities
44:01 - Reviving Kolkata and Eastern India
45:12 - Local policies that can make or break state economies.
49:11 - Tourism Has Made Sikkim and Goa Economic Stars.
53:35 - India Needs to Modernize the Shipping Sector
01:00:36 - India Needs a Healthy Clash of Ideas
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
Sponsor shout out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies. To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
This video is for informational
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The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a game-changer for India, shaking up its economy, defence strategy, and foreign relations.
For years, the USSR had been India’s largest trading partner, pumping in vital support through the rupee-ruble trade agreement. But then, December 25, 1991, arrived, and the Soviet Union collapsed.
While the Soviet Union’s collapse seemed like a disaster at first, it actually pushed India to evolve—fast.
In this episode of The NEON Show, a former diplomat with a 36-year career in the Indian Foreign Service, Rajiv Sikri examines India’s complex ties with neighbouring countries exploring issues like Kashmir, economic interdependence, and political dynamics. He also sheds light on the impact of global powers, especially the US and China, on India’s strategic choices.
Check out Rajiv Sikri’s book Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India's Foreign Policy: https://www.amazon.in/Strategic-Conundrums-Reshaping-Indias-Foreign/dp/0143464574
Timestamps
00:00 -Host Siddharth Ahluwalia introduces The Neon Show.
00:43 - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.
01:04 - Pakistan’s economic/political issues.
05:06 -Pakistan's ties with the West, China, and the military's role.
08:40 -Kashmir conflict and India-Pakistan relations.
12:06 - Pakistan's internal political dynamics.
15:24 - Bangladesh's identity and India relations.
18:00 - India-Bangladesh economic interdependence.
26:06 - India’s strategic geographic position.
29:52 - India’s foreign policy after the Berlin Wall’s fall.
33:40 - Economic impacts and India-US relations.
37:52 - US-Russia relations and the Ukraine conflict.
42:12 - Russia-Ukraine war’s effect on India.
48:16 - US dominance and unilateral actions post-1989.
52:04 - Challenges to US hegemony.
56:00 - India-US relations amidst strategic concerns.
1:01:20 - BRICS and global multipolarity.
1:04:40 - Dollar dependency and US financial power.
1:08:20 - Concluding thoughts on India’s foreign policy.
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
Sponsor shout out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies. To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
From Baker's Son to Global Investment Legend.
Mark Mobius is known as a foundational figure in emerging markets investing. He is the chairman of Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund. Before that, he led the Templeton Emerging Markets Group for over 30 years, during which the group's assets under management grew from $100 million to over $50 billion.
In this episode of The NEON Show, Mark shares his rules for wealth creation, why India is his top investment pick, his reasons for pulling investments out of China, what keeps him at the top of his game at the young age of 87, two ways to lose money fast, and why understanding art and creativity is more important than finance when it comes to making money.
Connect with Mark Mobius
LinkedIn | Twitter
To learn more from Mark check out his The Book Of Wealth
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
00:00 - Early Lessons in Money & Creativity
04:13 - Becoming a Professional Student
05:43 - The Road to Mark’s First Million
08:04 - The First Emerging Markets Fund
11:03 - To Make Money Don’t Focus on It
12:38 - Making 10 Million Dollars
14:20 - Mark’s Early Investment Assets
15:56 - Power of Compounding: Reaching $100 Million
16:51 - Mark’s Success with Investing in Asia
19:22 - Why Mark is Not Bullish on China
22:44 - How Mark Invests in India
25:01 - Why Mark is Bullish on Taiwan
25:56 - Mark’s 3 Reasons to Invest in India
28:19 - When will India Surpass China?
30:51 - From Emerging Markets to Emerging Opportunities
32:37 - It’s All About Liquidity
34:27 - Mark’s Principles of Wealth Creation
35:49 - How Mark Invests in Startups
37:33 - How Not to Lose Money
38:43 - Make Friends & Learn From Them
39:38 - What Mark Learned From John Templeton
40:54 - Why Invest in Emerging Markets
42:10 - Who are the Best Political Leaders
42:50 - Why Mark Shifted to Dubai
44:02 - No Recession Anytime Soon
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn | Twitter
Sponsor shout out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies. To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
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In 1947, India gained independence with a per capita of around $2000(adjusted with inflation).
But over the next few decades, the govt adopted socialist policies, emphasising self-sufficiency and state-led development. As a result, India’s economy grew at a slower pace of 3.5% per year.
In 1991, India introduced a series of reforms— liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation. India’s growth rate picked up, and by 2023, India’s per capita GDP was back to $2,600, driven by market-friendly policies and increased global trade.
In this episode of the NEON Show, Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Executive Director at the IMF, explains how India can become a $55 trillion economy by 2047.
To learn more read India @100 : Envisioning Tomorrow’s Economic Powerhouse
Connect with Krishnamurthy Subramanian
Linkedin | Twitter
Timestamp
01:20 – The power of compounding in GDP
04:55 – Chess game story that explains the power of compounding
06:19 – Rule of 72 to understand how money doubles
09:06 – How India will become a $55 trillion economy by 2047
12:33 – Thalinomics to understand inflation
14:20 – What is money in economic terms?
17:22 – Why was the inflation-targeting regime introduced post-1991?
20:30 – Inflation's effects on currency
26:42 – How does a currency react to economic shocks?
30:34 – India’s GDP in 1947 vs today
31:28 – How socialist policies potentially held India back
34:40 – Capitalism has always been in India's DNA
44:31 – How socialist policies have hurt Indian farmers
57:22 – Is agriculture a state subject?
59:59 – How India's growth is linked to productivity
01:09:30 – China’s GDP vs India’s GDP
01:16:48 – Why India is a top investment destination
01:26:10 – Indian startups should innovate differently
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Follow Neon:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter
Connect with Siddhartha:
LinkedIn | Twitter
Sponsor shout out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit primevp.in
This episode is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the
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How the 1991 crisis got India to rethink its economic approach.
By early 1991, India’s reserves were nearly gone.
The government took a desperate step—it sent 67,000Kg of gold abroad to secure a loan from the IMF.
This was a last-ditch effort to avoid default, but it only bought a little time. But soon, the govt collapsed again, leading to a new election.
In June 1991, P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister, and he chose Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister— and things changed.
Rao and Singh quickly implemented reforms: they removed restrictive licensing, welcomed foreign investment, and eased machinery imports.
The 1991 crisis forced India to rethink its economic approach—it highlighted the risks of heavy borrowing and too much government control. But it also showed that when things get tough, bold decisions can turn a bad situation into an opportunity.
In this episode of the NEON Show, Rajrishi Singhal, a senior journalist, banker, shares his deep insights into India's economic reforms and financial sector. Singhal offers a nuanced perspective on why India's economic progress hasn't met expectations, touching on issues from private sector investment to the success of reforms during coalition governments.
Timestamp
00:00 - Introduction to the podcast and guest, Rajrishi Singhal.
01:23 - Corruption in India and its impact on the economy
05:30 - how demonetization was not to take out corruption
07:06 - Rajiv Gandhi was the original ‘Accidental Prime Minister’
12:29 - What pushed us into the 1991 crisis
14:45 - Raids on reliance industries
18:57 - How India almost went bankrupt
21:45 - Complexities of India’s banking system
19:15 - What are regional rural banks (RRBs)
25:26 - Corruption's impact on investments.
28:41 - Why doesn't India have more new banks
32:00 - Why private sector investments in India have been limited
34:25 - Success of reforms during coalition governments
40:26 - Foreign investors' concerns about sudden policy changes in India
41:26 - Impact of demonetization on the Indian economy
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Send us a text
In the competitive world of online grocery shopping, BigBasket is a name that stands out.
But how did they get here?
By 2011, smartphones were everywhere, and you could buy almost anything online—except groceries. The co-founders decided to try the grocery game online again, leading to the birth of BigBasket.
In 2015, BigBasket pioneered the dark store model, using small, strategically placed warehouses to speed up deliveries and roll out express delivery services.
In May 2021, Tata Digital, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, acquired a 64% stake in stake in BigBasket for about $1.5-2 billion from major shareholders, including Alibaba and Actis.
In this episode of Neon Show, Vipul Parekh, the visionary co-founder of BigBasket, shares his invaluable insights and experiences from his entrepreneurial journey. Vipul shares candid insights on the recent disruption in the online grocery space with the rise of quick commerce.
Timestamp
00:00 Introduction
01:14 Reflections on building BigBasket for 13 years
02:21 Admitting wrong predictions about online grocers
03:25 Analysis of online grocery delivery changes in India
05:30 Factors behind quick commerce success in India
07:45 Quick Commerce's success in India vs. other countries
09:22 Profitability challenges for dark stores
11:52 BigBasket's market share and transition plans
13:06 Leveraging Tata Group synergies in retail
15:36 Shift in household behaviour towards quick commerce
21:53 Why India doesn't have its own Walmart-equivalent
23:15 Learnings from Big Basket
28:22 Tata's long-term approach to business
30:04 BigBasket founders' future involvement
31:47 Lessons from Tata
33:00 Implementing financial governance at BigBasket
36:08 Trillion-dollar question
39:49 Potential for $100B Indian Startups
45:18 Building financial independence through startups
49:15 Hard work Vs Luck
52:20 Vipul's background
55:40 Time in Wipro and meeting VS Sudhakar
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
Every entrepreneur dreams of turning a small startup into a global powerhouse. But how do you do it without following the typical "build a product, get funding, scale it, and exit" playbook? Luca Ferrari, founder and CEO of Bending Spoons, did just that— their journey is anything but conventional.
It started in 2013, when their first-ever startup Evertale flopped and left them with just $40,000. After Evertale missed PMF, they pivoted, bootstrapping Bending Spoons by focusing on acquiring digital products with solid market fit but untapped potential.
Bending Spoons has mastered the art of turning underperforming digital businesses into powerhouses using operational tweaks, AI, and machine learning.
In this episode of Neon Show, we sit down with Luca Ferrari in the heart of Milan, at the headquarters of a tech company that's rewriting the rules of how digital businesses scale.
Discover their bold acquisition strategy behind major deals like Evernote and Splice, and how they’ve managed to serve 150 million monthly active users with just 400 employees!
Timestamp:
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Who is Luca and what's Bending Spoons?
02:32 Bending Spoons by the numbers: Users and revenue
03:05 Recent funding rounds: 2023 and 2024
04:59 Profitability and use of debt
07:27 Luca's previous startup experience
10:17 The birth of Bending Spoons in 2013
13:35 The secret sauce: Product-market fit and talent
15:29 First acquisition: iPhone keyboard app
18:28 Top revenue generators: Remind, Evernote, Splice
20:26 Future acquisition strategy debate
24:24 Price range for acquisitions
33:29 Transforming acquired products like Evernote
37:00 Competing with giants: Evernote vs. Notion
42:32 Plans to enter enterprise software
45:07 Luca's take on product-market fit
47:58 Luck vs. skill in Bending Spoons' success
51:30 AI's Impact on Bending Spoons
54:42 Why Italy for Bending Spoons?
59:08 Going public: Future plans
1:00:32 Luca's journey: From small town to tech CEO
1:04:27 Why aren't more tech companies starting in Europe?
1:10:54 Bending Spoons' unique hiring approach
1:14:35 Future growth areas for Bending Spoons
1:16:47 The art of pricing in acquisitions
1:21:49 How accurate are Bending Spoons' acquisition predictions?
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
—---------------------
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
—---------------------
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
—---------------------
Disclaimer
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not c
To say that India needs to create more jobs, is a downplay - what we need are 20 million jobs every year. But jobs can’t be created out of the wishing well.
We have resources, but not proper skills. We have opportunities, but not proper initiatives to boost on the employment elasticity. We need a shift from Tier 1 to Tier 2 cities. We need a shift of capitals. We need immigration-based jobs for our youths, and we definitely need the women workforce landscape to improve at the earliest. But, will this be enough?
Check out our latest podcast where we are in a conversation with Sridhar Krishna, a senior scholar at the Takshashila Institution, to know more!
Timestamps
00:00 -
00:47 - The Karnataka Job Reservation Bill
04:19 - The impact on the recruiters/builders
07:00 - Public Transport and Women in Karnataka
09:16 - Bangalore is not just for startups!
09:27 - Government’s performance: what we have done well & where can we improve?
11:19 - India needs 20 million jobs each year
12:00 - How to create jobs in India?
13:16 - Annual PLF data on unemployment - truth or facade?
14:12 - Have “100 million people joined the workforce” truly?
14:52 - Labor productivity in India vs in the US
15:22 - Statistics on how to grow employment elasticity
16:25 - 1800 people apply for 10 vacancies in Gujarat - why?
17:23 - ILO reports on job skills and job vacancy mismatch
18:56 - Is manufacturing & services good options to transition from agriculture?
20:32 - Shridhar talks about his take on Raghuram Rajan’s book “Breaking the Mould”
21:26 - Are PLIs unable to craft job growth?
22:30 - Rebuilding big cities - a solution for employment growth?
23:22 - Lavasa, Maharshtra failed - why?
25:02 - Utlising AI to analyse the nature of jobs in other countries
27:08 - Career Impact Bonds - What’s that?
33:14 - 6 pillars as proposed by the recent Eonomic Survey
33:49 - Focus needs to shift from Tier 1 to Tier 2 cities
34:40 - Women workforce participation better in Bangladesh than India?
39:57 - India losing significant GDP due to fewer women in the workplace
Follow Sridhar Krishna -
Linkedin - / sridharkrishna
X - https://x.com/sridhar_kri?
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Over the last decade, we have been getting news updates, social media highlights, and WhatsApp forwards about India being the “fastest growing economy” in the world. IMF, World Bank, and ADB have confirmed this. The question is, in the face of demonetisation, GST, and the drastic shift of focus to the organised sector from the unorganised one, is this data a true reflection of India’s economic reality?
Today, Neon talks about these facts with Professor Arun Kumar, a renowned author of economic titles and an Economic Professor at JNU.
Watch the episode to know more!
Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
0:14 - Introducing Economist Arun Kumar
0:40 - Current scenario of India’s Economy
1:25 - South East Asian countries' growth from 1947 as compared to India?
3:31 - Proof of India’s failure in education system
5:20 - How can India develop education & health?
8:48 - Does India really have “TOO MANY” billionaires & why is it a concern?
9:24 - The journey from becoming a “developing” nation to a “developed nation.”
10:51 - The “Bottom-Up Approach” - What’s that?
14:00 - Growing chasm between high-earning & low-earning category?
15:22 - Is the current budget failing to fund labour-intensive sectors?
17:03 - What’s the unorganised sector in India?
17:47 - What are the Micro, Small & Medium Sectors in India?
18:33 - Robot uprising vs human employment!
21:03 - What are the 4 types of unemployment in India?
23:27 - 60k jobs and 47 lakhs applicants ?
27:20 - Is GDP a proxy of the organised sector for the unorganised sector?
30:03 - Demonetisations hits the unorganised sector
32:12 - Is IMF, World Bank & ADB’s version of India’s fastest economic growth true?
34:25 - Black economy = Digging holes & filing holes
40:40 - India should have been 8X its current economy - how & why did we fail?
42:31 - Are we really a 3.6 trillion dollar economy?
51:11 - How can we help the unorganised sector generate more income?
1:01:48 - Bottom economy = 40% of the Goverment’s vote bank & yet not the focus of development & growth? Why?
1:05:26 - Why does the government want to help the organised sector?
1:11:38 - How will India transform into a “developed” nation or double the GDP per capita?
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
SaaS is Dead. There is Too Much SaaS.
The two most common proclamations about SaaS these days. But where is the truth?
In this episode we analyse the State of SaaS in 2024. We discover new truths and uncover fundamental truths.
From where is the money in SaaS to where is the market. From the challenges first time founders face to the mistakes second time founders make. We cover the heavy cost of not understanding brand marketing, why PMF is not a science, IPOs in India, The India SaaS Advantage, Pricing Innovation and so much more.
Tune in for insights to power your SaaS strategy in 2024 and beyond.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
1:06 - Where is SaaS in 2024
2:08 - Delivering Value is the Most Important Thing
3:57 - AI is a Tool not a Magic Wand
5:04 - SpotDraft's Super Growth
5:36 - Is There Too Much SaaS?
9:49 - Where is the Money?
12:22 - Metrics, Metrics But No Vanity Metrics
14:50 - Is There an India advantage for SaaS IPOs?
17:18 - Pallav's lessons from Investing in 50+ SaaS companies
23:30 - What First: Feature Parity or Pricing?
25:24 - Where Are Category Creators SaaS Startups in India?
28:02 - Has AI Changed Buyer Expectations
30:24 - The Next SaaS Unicorns From India
32:35 - Exploring Exit Options for Indian SaaS Unicorns
35:01 - So Much to Learn From SaaS Startup Community
37:19 - Why Do Second Time Founders Fail
40:39 - PMF is Not a Science
44:14 - SaaS is Dead?
48:55 - Digital Marketing or Billboards?
51:02 - The Cost of Not Understanding Brand Marketing
54:44 - Is Europe a Good Market for SaaS Startups?
59:36 - How to Expand Globally
1:01:30 - To Be a US HQ or India HQ Company?
1:05:01 - Pallav on Fusion Charts and Presentations dot ai
1:09:00 - Discussion on replacing established SaaS products
1:15:11 - Success in SaaS: Product vs Distribution
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
150 Years of Greatness in 50 Minutes.
There is much talk about John D Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie but not much about India’s first business Titan, Jamshedji Tata.
In this episode, we sat down with Harish Bhat, Former Brand Custodian of Tata Group, and dive deep into Tata Group and its legendary founder. The founder who kept community at center and nation first, who brought the best to India and built the best in India with fire in his eyes and kindness in his heart. And the giant which never stops, the Tata group, from building India’s first steel plant to India’s first airlines.
Tune in to hear lesser-known but must-watch stories about what it takes to build great companies with mission and purpose.
00:00 - Introduction
01:12 - The Story of A Titan
07:31 - Lessons From An Entrepreneur With Purpose
09:41 - The Value of Values
13:22 - Great Founders Are Always in The Room
17:56 - Because Right Decisions Matter
20:37 - The Everything Company: From Textiles to Telecom
23:08 - The Great Digital Evolution
24:46 - How Tata Group Created India’s First Cancer Hospital
29:35 - Building The Best With Fire in Eyes & Kindness in Heart
37:15 - What Makes Someone a Patriot
39:31 - Great Leaders Are Great Readers
43:42 - How India Started Flying
50:32 - Always Be Learning
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Success Starts with Belief. And Belief Comes from Actions.Indians and the world are optimistic about India. But what actions has India taken that inspire this belief? And what actions does India need to take to keep up the momentum?
From independence to today, India has increased its GDP 40x, its per capita income 8x, its literacy rate 6x, and its electrification 300x, among many other achievements. But the ambition of its people has also grown manifold.
In this episode, we talk about India's journey from a survival mindset to a thriving mindset, and its road to becoming a developed nation. From entrepreneurs everywhere to numerous IPOs. From brain drain to reverse flipping. And what the government needs to do to what we, the people, need to do.
Tune in and let us know what are you optimistic about.
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - The Hero’s Journey Of India
03:31 - Doing Business Is Not A Bad Thing
07:02 - India Is More Ambitious Than Ever
09:10 - Entrepreneurs Everywhere: From IITs To Tier 2 Cities
11:59 - What’s NAAMM?
12:47 - India's Pivot From Socialism To Capitalism
16:07 - India Story Vs China Story
20:47 - How Flipkart’s Acquisition Changed Everything
22:46 - How Much Should Regulators Regulate?
26:56 - IPOs, IPOs and More IPOs
28:36 - The Era of Reverse Flipping
30:28 - The $10 Trillion Dollar Economy Goal
31:14 - India is Growing But Are All Indians Too?
33:08 - Will SaaS Be India’s Next Growth Lever?
34:52 - What Inspires Us At Neon?
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
China is the 2nd largest economy. India is on its way to become the 3rd largest economy. Few decades ago both were at the same level. Is there anything for India to learn from China? Or we will have our own unique journey?
In this episode of The Neon Show we explore the nuances behind the economic and political landscapes of India and China. From becoming the world’s biggest factory to now shifting to high-end manufacturing. From economic liberalisation to now back to being heavily controlled by the government. From boom to bust.
China & India are two very unique countries. But are there any similarities between these two Asian giants? Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on two of the world’s most important economies.
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 - Similarities and Differences Between India and China
08:49 - How China Became The World’s Factory?
16:04 - Do Indian & Chinese Cities Face Same Challenges?
21:45 - What Caused The Real Estate Bubble in China?
30:24 - Why is China Shifting to High-End Manufacturing?
36:03 - Charlie Munger on India Vs China
42:11 - Does India Have The Right Industrial Policy?
46:09 - The Right Job For The Right People
49:36 - The Power of Good Infrastructure
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Talent Investing and the Future of Entrepreneurship
In this episode, we have Matt Clifford, founder of Entrepreneur First, an organization focused on talent investing. We cover how EF invests in talent, the success stories and unicorns that have emerged, and whether location truly matters for entrepreneurs.
Matt also discusses the optimism of Indian talent, the regulatory environment in Europe, and India’s unique AI opportunities. We also explore how the UK differs from the EU in tech innovation, why Silicon Valley remains the best, and what it takes to win in the software market.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - Investing in Talent First
07:34 - Matt’s Journey From Mckinsey to EF
11:13 - Why EF is Now A Venture Fund
15:02 - How EF Investments in Talent
17:55 - EF Success Stories & Unicorns
26:16 - Does Location Matter for Entrepreneurs?
30:38 - Why Indian Talent is So Optimistic?
33:33 - Is Europe All About Regulation?
37:29 - India's Unique AI Opportunity
45:06 - How UK is Different From EU
50:08 - Why Silicon Valley is Still The Best
54:02 - What to Win in Software Market
56:34 - Key Learnings from 13 Years of EF
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Mobile App is The New Bank Branch.
In this episode we have Vinay Bagri, co-founder of Niyo, one of the leaders in the Neo banking movement in India. Vinay shares fascinating insights on how young India travels, the opportunity size of the travel tech market and why India hasn’t become a major travel destination despite having the best to offer.
We also cover Vinay’s journey from FMCG to Banking, The Impact of Regulations on FinTech, And large untapped opportunities in Fintech space.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
01:19 - From Water Bottles to Personal Loans
10:17 - Mobile App is The New Bank Branch
14:03 - The Launch of Niyo
17:35 - Is Travel Tech a Big Market?
20:27 - Where & How Young India Travels
30:18 - What is the Impact of GDP on Travel
38:20 - Why Aren’t More People Travelling to India
42:10 - The Good & Bad Of Regulations on FinTech
50:23 - Is IPL Good For Acquiring Customers?
51:21 - What’s Next for FinTech in India
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Nishit had a front-row seat to the growth of the Indian Startup ecosystem. And often times he was in the driver's seat as well.
Nishit Garg, a partner at RTP Global, shares his experiences from his early days at Flipkart, discussing the pivotal 0-1 journey and key projects that shaped his career. He provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Tiger Global revolutionized the Indian startup ecosystem and his reasons for joining RTP Global.
We also cover the scaling challenges for Indian startups, staying relevant in a rapidly evolving market, the ability to sell and the surprising nature of Indian markets.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:07 - Nishit’s Entry in The Startup World
07:55 - The 0-1 Journey at Flipkart
09:34 - How Tiger Global Changed the Indian Startup World
10:07 - Why Nishit Joined RTP Global
17:46 - Why India Surprises Everyone?
24:06 - The Right to Win For VCs
26:41 - Venture Capital is About Power Law
35:33 - Challenges & Opportunities For Indian Founders
40:09 - Scaling Challenges for Indian Startups
47:48 - Growth is The Only Way to Stay Relevant
57:31 - Future of Indian Startup Ecosystem
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
__________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
__________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Manav Garg is the founder of Eka and Together Fund.
Manav started Eka before SaaS was even a word. We start with Manav's journey from a small town in Punjab to founding Eka, one of India's first vertical SaaS companies. He shares all the ups and down in Eka & his life in the last 20 years. From building and selling from India to global businesses. From pivoting, which few companies survive, to coming out not just alive but highly profitable again.
We also discuss his work with SaaS Bhoomi, future of Indian B2B SaaS, Together fund and Manav’s next mission.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
00:39 - From Small Town Punjab to International Trading
12:08 - Quitting Job & Now What
17:00 - Fundraising Struggles & Launching Eka
23:07 - Scaling Eka from $3-4 million to $10-20 million
26:57 - The Journey of Scaling a SaaS Business From India
30:00 - The Time To Pivot & How to Come Out Alive
35:23 - Build SaaS From India: But Where Are The Lessons?
36:26 - Reaching Revenue Peaks Again After The Pivot
37:23 - Next Mission After Eka
41:14 - How To Plan An Exit Like a Pro
48:30 - Together Fund and Its Mission
54:17 - AI Wave & SaaS: What’s Changed?
1:00:08 - The Growth of Indian B2B SaaS
1:03:33 - AI-First Tools From India
1:08:08 - AI and New(&Old) Industries
1:12:00 - Business Runs On Trust
1:17:20 - Don’t Be Indisciplined About Discipline
1:21:14 - Lessons From 20-year journey with Eka
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
___________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
___________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
___________________________________
VCs Invest in Startups But Who Invests In VCs?
In this episode we host Raja Doddala, an experienced investor and a key figure at Churchill AM a leading Fund of Fund.
Raja shares how he judges the strategy of a VC fund, metrics to evaluate a fund manager, which sectors have yielded the best returns and the differences between the best VC funds and the rest.
We also discuss how funds compete for the best VCs, why old days of fundraising are over, whether Indian public markets are better than the US for IPOs, why he and Churchill are excited about India and much more...
If you are interested in startups, venture capital, fund management, and investment strategies then this is the episode for you.
___________________________________
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:11 - From Software Engineer to Investing in VC funds
03:53 - The People Who Invest in VC Funds
05:33 - State of Fund of Fund Ecosystem in the US
06:51 - What Makes Fund of Fund Different from University Endowments?
07:42 - What Makes Someone an Emerging Manager
08:59 - Churchill’s Strategy for Venture Capital Investments
12:56 - How to Choose The Right Fund of Fund Manager
15:10 - How Fund of Fund Compete For The Best VCs
18:10 - Churchill’s Evaluation Criteria for VC Funds
22:34 - At What Stage of Fund Does Churchill Invest
24:17 - Churchill’s Geographical Focus From US to Israel
26:29 - Manager Is More Important Than The Strategy
30:01 - Metrics to Evaluate a Fund Manager: IRR, DPI & TVPI
33:39 - Which Sectors Have Given The Best Return
36:40 - How Raja Judges The Strategy of a VC Fund
38:09 - How The Best Differ From The Rest
39:59 - Old Days of Fundraising Are Over
42:20 - Decide Your Minimum Viable Fund Size
44:03 - The Mortality Rate of Funds
45:02 - Mistakes Funds Make When Building Data Rooms
47:45 - Why Raja & Churchill Are Excited About India
49:57 - Churchill’s Investment Strategy for India
50:59 - Churchill’s Investment Strategy for Israel
53:05 - Are Indian Public Markets Better Than US for IPOs
___________________________________
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
___________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
___________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
___________________________________
In this episode of The Neon Show, we dive deep into the serious world of casual gaming in India with Dilsher Malhi, the founder of Zupee.
We discuss the uniquness of Indian gaming market, why entertainment is a feature and not a bug, India’s trillion dollor digital economy dream and how will regulation affect the gaming industry.
If you are serious(or casual) about gaming and startups then this episode will offer a range of insights to you.
________________________________
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:20 - Gaming Market in India: Who, What & How Much
06:20 - Did You Win By Skill Or Chance?
08:20 - The Serious World of Casual Gaming
14:00 - Is Real Money Gaming Bad for Society?
15:20 - Entertainment is a feature, not a bug
18:00 - Real Money Gaming & Stock Markets
21:15 - Innovation Vs Regulation: What’s The Right Balance
24:00 - From Infosys mafia to Flipkart mafia
26:15 - Why Indian Gaming Market is Unique?
28:00 - Why is RMG Successful in India and NOT Everywhere?
29:45 - The Tencent Story: Power of Brand & Distribution
31:00 - Does India Have a Gaming Ecosystem?
32:10 - Gen AI Will Make Everyone Creative
33:40 - What Makes Zupee Successful?
35:00 - Break Barriers and Build Amazing Things
36:20 - Lessons From an Unstructured Learner
38:00 - The Joys of Crazy Inherent Curiosity
________________________________
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Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Join us on this exciting episode of The Neon Show as Siddhartha Ahluwalia hosts an insightful conversation with Sanjay Swamy, Shripati Acharya, and Amit Somani, Managing Partners at Prime Venture Partners.
We discuss the past, present and future of Venture Capital in India. In this unfiltered conversation we cover the struggles, successes, opportunites and failures as well.
From MakeMyTrip IPO to the evolution of the Indian market. From why talent left India to why it is coming back now. From building a career in venture capital to the nuances people miss. And so much more
Don't miss this episode if you want to gain a deeper understanding of venture capital in India from seasoned experts.
___________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
___________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
___________________________________
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:09 - The Origin Story of Prime Venture Partners
02:48 - India’s Place In The Global Macro
04:02 - MakeMyTrip IPO and The Evolution of the Indian Market
06:29 - Why Is Talent Returning to India
11:55 - What’s Unique About The Indian Tech Ecosystem
17:45 - The Impact of Global VC Funds' Presence in India
20:59 - Prime Venture Partners' Strategy and the India Opportunity
26:24 - The Magic Four-Letter Word (Exit) In Venture Capital
34:14 - Building A Career in Venture Capital
39:03 - The Nuances of Venture Capital People Miss
50:20 - The Venture Capital Opportunity In India
52:34 - Lessons Learned From Companies That Didn't Succeed
In this episode, Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Managing Partner at Neon Fund, sits down with Sri Batchu, Chief Marketing Officer at The RealReal. Sri has had an impressive career, having held key positions at highly successful companies like Opendoor, Instacart, and Ramp.
Sri shares his thoughts on career pivots, the debate between founder-operators and career VCs, the relevance of operator experience over time, and transitioning from big companies to startups.
Sri also shares valuable insights on identifying the right tech companies, constructing the perfect investment round, and the current AI hype cycle.
Don’t miss this episode if you are an operator, founder, or an aspiring investor.
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Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
___________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
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___________________________________
Timestamps:
0:36 - Sri Batchu’s Career Journey From Opendoor, Instacart, And Now The RealReal.
4:00 - How You Should Think About Career Pivots
10:00 - How To Identify The Right Tech Company To Join
16:48 - Why You Should Not Skip Diligence
18:40 - Founder-Operator Or Career VC?
28:39 - Challenges Faced By Operators Moving From Large Companies To Startups
32:40 - What Do People Get Wrong About The Venture Capital Profession
34:01 - What Matters More: Intrinsic Or Extrinsic Motivation?
36:07 - What Is The Ideal Career Stage For Transitioning To VC
40:13 - How Starting A VC Fund Differs From Starting Up
41:10 - How To Think About Angel Investing
48:49 - Angel Investing And Venture Investing Is Not The Same
55:16 - New Funds Vs Top-Tier VCs
1:01:07 - How Founders Can Build A Perfect Round
1:09:28 - How AI Will Impact Consumer And B2B Markets
Meena Ganesh is the founder of Portea, India's largest platform for delivering healthcare services at home.
On the episode Meena's shares her vision and passion for improving healthcare accessibility and quality. Meena shares her journey of founding Portea, the challenges faced by healthcare startups, and the opportunities available for entrepreneurs. Learn about the evolution of healthcare infrastructure in India, the rise of home healthcare, and the role of digital transformation in the sector.
Finally, Meena provides insights into the pharmaceutical industry, medical devices, and the future of healthcare in India.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:15 - Meena Ganesh's Journey Building Portea
06:53 - How is Healthcare Technology Adoption in India
11:16 - Opportunities for Entrepreneurs in Healthcare
21:07 - Building Sustainable & Profitable Healthcare Companies
37:44 - Digitisation of Healthcare In India by Government
43:26 - The Evolution of Indian Pharma Industry
51:04 - Challenges and Opportunities in Health Insurance
55:22 - Growth of Medical Tourism in India
1:00:02 - Innovations in Medical Devices and Equipment in India
___________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
___________________________________
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
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On this episode of The Neon Show we have Laura Raggl, a distinguished partner at ROI Ventures. Based in Europe, ROI Ventures is renowned for its strategic investments in B2B SaaS companies globally.
In this episode, Laura shares her extensive experience and insights into early stage investing. With a portfolio of 18 diverse investments, Laura discusses ROI Ventures' approach to angel investing, their investment criteria, and how they nurture long-term growth without initial revenue or traction requirements.
We also explore the intricacies of the European startup ecosystem as Laura highlights the unique challenges and opportunities it presents, especially in contrast to other major markets.
Whether you're an investor, a startup enthusiast, or someone curious about the venture capital world, this episode offers valuable lessons and insights into venture capital and angel investing.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:41 - What's Happening In The European Startup Ecosystem
07:23 - The Journey of ROI Ventures
12:30 - Understanding B2B SaaS Dynamics in Europe
25:12 - How Investing In Europe Differs From The World
31:18 - The Growth of Indian Startup Ecosystem & Public Markets
42:06 - Why Focus on B2B SaaS Investing
46:58 - B2B Investing Vs B2C Investing
51:55 - Family Office Dynamics & Venture Investing
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Hunter Somerville is a partner at StepStone, one of the largest fund investors globally with over $600 billion in capital responsibility and $100 billion in AUM.
Hunter shares deep insights into the factors that make StepStone different, their extensive global coverage, and the strategies that drive their success.
You'll also discover what it takes to succeed as an emerging manager, the importance of building long-term relationships, and how StepStone navigates the complexities of fund investing, direct investments, and secondary markets. Plus, Hunter provides a candid look at the challenges and opportunities in the venture capital landscape, particularly in emerging markets like India.
Join us for an enlightening conversation filled with valuable lessons on venture capital, fund management, and the nuances of building a successful investment platform.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:15 - Hunter Somerville's background and history with Greenspring Associates
05:40 - The evolution and strategy of StepStone
09:20 - Differences between StepStone and other fund investors
13:45 - Global coverage and geographic focus of StepStone
17:10 - Insights on venture capital management
20:50 - Strategies for emerging managers
25:30 - Building long-term relationships in venture capital
30:15 - Navigating fund investing, direct investments, and secondary markets
35:40 - Challenges and opportunities in the venture capital landscape
40:00 - StepStone's approach to investing in emerging markets, particularly India
45:20 - Importance of relationship building and pattern recognition
50:10 - Characteristics of successful fund managers
55:30 - Advice for new fund managers
1:00:00 - Closing remarks and final thoughts
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Listen to this episode to learn about:
0:00 - Intro
1:22 - The Life and Challenges of an IAS Officer
3:34 - Distinguishing Roles: Finance Secretary vs. RBI Governor
6:57 - Populism vs. Fiscal Responsibility: A Balancing Act
15:01 - Rethinking IAS Recruitment: Criteria and Challenges
17:38 - The Judicial Process: Why It Feels Like Punishment
19:24 - Civil Servants and Their Respect Tied to Power
21:47 - The Effectiveness of British Administrative Systems
24:08 - IAS Officers and the Legacy of Colonial Policies
26:08 - Exemplary Duty and Loyalty of District-Level Staff
28:44 - Contrasting Worlds: Scarcity in India vs. Plenty in the US
35:04 - Has the IAS Failed the Nation? An Introspective Look
39:10 - Andhra Pradesh’s Growth: A Tribute to Visionary Leadership
41:15 - Tribal Development and the Impact of Land Transfer Bills
48:34 - Key Decisions and Reflections as RBI Governor
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
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Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
Listen to this episode to learn about:
01:14 - Neon’s Journey From Podcasting to Investing
11:00 - Important Factors When Building a VC firm
20:34 - Exciting Portfolio companies: Atomic Work, SpotDraft, Gallabox & Infeedo
25:30 - Working with Ambitious & Humble Founders
30:12 - Key Questions and Important Metrics For Founders & Investors
36:08 - Key People who helped in Neon's journey
39:22 - Changes in the investing world
40:42 - What makes Neon the best place for founders?
42:28 - Fun question: If not an investor, who would Siddhartha be?
Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShoww
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
This week is in conversation with Arjun Sethi, co-founder of Tribe Capital, about Chamath Palihapitiya, FTX Failure, B2B Saas And how it is India’s Century!
What Makes India An Exciting Prospect For Investments?
Is Enterprise SaaS Crowded?
Will US Companies Engage In M&A With Indian Companies?
First Time Founders vs Second Time Founders
Watch this fascinatingly insightful conversation about where India’s SaaS ecosystem is headed and why venture capital in India will soon face a boom… Tune in NOW!
*Sponsor Shout Out*
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
In India, public policies surround the circumference of our daily lives.
Despite their omnipresence, citizens of the country adopt a rather nonchalant attitude of ‘Jo dikhta nahi hain, woh hume affect nahi karta.’ (What we don’t notice won’t affect us.)
The government in India makes, enforces, and changes laws without much scrutiny from its people. The elite tend to overlook the government's actions because they no longer expect the unexpected. On the other hand, less privileged groups seek immediate gains from the government instead of asking for lasting solutions.
Nonetheless, neither side is fully satiated and seldom have time to think about how public policies affect their lives.
Watch this educational masterclass of a conversation with Pranay Kotasthane, Deputy Director at Takshashila Institution, about India’s policy making since the colonial era to learn more about what entails policy making in India, how it affects each of us and what role the government plays in your life… Tune in NOW!
This week is in conversation with A.K. Bhattacharya, the Editorial Director of the Business Standard, about India’s economic reforms of the 90s through a close-up view of the many disruptions that took place in that decade!
Most Iconic Finance Minister Of India?
How Can Government Incentivize Billionaires To Stay?
Why Couldn’t India Match Singapore/China’s trajectory?
Banking System Scam Of 1992 EXPLAINED
Watch this fascinatingly insightful conversation about the role that the finance ministry plays in India's economic growth and how they have shaped up the lives of crores of people in India… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:04 - Introducing A.K. Bhattacharya To The Neon Show!
02:02 - The Role Of The Finance Ministry In India
04:48 - Most Iconic Finance Minister Of India?
10:05 - Banking System Scam Of 1992 EXPLAINED
16:48 - Why Demonetization In India Happened in 1978!
24:29 - Balance Of Payments Crisis in The 80s!
27:12 - Sanjay Gandhi’s Role In Indian Political History
30:59 - Was The 1991 Finance Team The Best?
33:24 - Why Couldn’t India Match Singapore/China’s trajectory?
40:05 - The History Of Taxation In India
42:51 - How Can Government Incentivize Billionaires To Stay?
45:17 - The Role Of The RBI
52:21 - Sanjay Gandhi’s Role In Maruti’s Inception!
1:00:03 - P. Chidambaram & Pranab Mukherjee As Finance Ministers
1:04:01 - Issues Of Duopoly In The Telecom Industry
1:10:15 - How Aspirations Have Changed India’s Rate Of Growth
This week’s episode is about the UPSC, Working With PM Modi, Incredible India & Amrit Kaal as we welcome G20’s Sherpa, Amitabh Kant to the Neon Show!
Will Next 25 Years Be India’s Amrit Kaal?
Heterogeneity In India: Challenge or Opportunity?
What Are The Biggest Inequalities That India Currently Faces?
His Message To The Youth Of India!
All these juicy topics and more in this COMPELLINGLY DETAILED conversation about how much India has grown over the last 60 years and what the country’s future plans are to become the world’s largest superpower… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
00:59 - Introducing Amitabh Kant To The Neon Show!
02:05 - Will Next 25 Years Be India’s Amrit Kaal?
04:28 - What Did India Look Like In The 60s?
06:15 - How Digital Infrastructure Has Changed India!
08:51 - Is Public Infrastructure Catching Up?
14:00 - What Was P.C. Mahalanobis’s Impact on India?
17:07 - Is The UPSC A Waste Of Time?
22:24 - India’s Evolution From Doordarshan Era to Cable TV!
25:13 - India’s 10 Year Plan Explained
29:20 - Why Are Bihar & Jharkhand Lagging Behind?
33:01 - Amitabh Kant’s Journey From IAS To Thought Leader
39:39 - His Secret On Staying Mentally & Physically “Young”
41:28 - Biggest Inequalities That India Currently Faces
43:39 - Why Indian Thought leaders Are Data Driven!
47:29 - Heterogeneity In India: Challenge or Opportunity?
48:41 - Inefficient Allocation Of Resources In India
50:28 - Experience Working With Narendra Modi?
53:12 - Institutions’ Role In Economic Growth Of India?
55:55 - Can India Create Its Own Microsoft/Apple?
1:01:10 - His Message To The Youth Of India!
1:02:10 - Concluding Remarks
This week’s episode is about whether quick Commerce could eat Amazon, Flipkart’s business as we welcome Rainmaker Group founder, Kashyap Chanchani to the Neon Show!
Why Quick Commerce Is Future Of Retail In India!
Will An Indian Company Be Top 3 In International Markets?
Why Are Public Markets Punishing PayTM?
What Are The Future IPOs In India?
All these juicy topics and more in this DATA-ORIENTED conversation about where Indian companies stand in regards to the International public markets and whether quick commerce is the future of retail in India… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:04 - Introducing Kashyap Chanchani To The Neon Show!
02:00 - How Many Startups Are Listed In India Today?
04:31 - % Of Startups That Occupy Public Markets In US & China?
06:09 - Will Startups Reach 10% Public Market Space In India?
08:48 - Decoding 2021/22 Startup IPOs In India
14:57 - Why Has Public Sentiment Changed Around Zomato?
20:26 - Why Quick Commerce Is Future Of Retail In India!
25:22 - Will An Indian Company Be Top 3 In International Markets?
28:16 - Why Are Public Markets Punishing PayTM?
31:53 - Public Market Investors’ Biggest Concerns!
33:50 - How Does The Public Market View Mamaearth?
41:37 - Future IPOs In India
46:53 - How Can Startups Help Unlock Wealth For Indian Masses?
50:52 - Concluding Remarks
This week’s episode is in discussion with one of India’s most promising AI content creators who talks about India Vs America, AI Creators, Job Loss, & Life Post Acquisition as we welcome Varun Mayya to the Neon Show!
Why Is The U.S. Culturally Declining?
Why Capitalism Should Be Celebrated In India!
Will India Ever Produce An Apple or Microsoft?
How Much Do You Need To Retire In India?
All these juicy topics and more in this CHARISMATIC conversation about why capitalism should be celebrated in India. A dive into the inner workings of the current Indian mentality and what the future of AI will be in India… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:12 - Welcoming Varun Mayya To The Neon Show!
01:51 - Why The U.S. Is Culturally Declining
04:04 - India vs America: Growth Story
08:34 - Why You Shouldn’t Leave India!
10:25 - Truth Behind Unemployment Rates In India
16:06 - Decoding Sanjeev Sanyal’s UPSC Comments
21:50 - Why Capitalism Should Be Celebrated In India!
27:58 - How Much Do You Need To Retire In India?
31:45 - Will AI Replace Creators?
36:23 - Is Sora AI A Gamechanger In Content Creation?
39:47 - What Sectors Will Be Most Affected By AI?
48:03 - Will India Ever Produce An Apple or Microsoft?
54:53 - Which AI Stocks Does Varun Invest In?
57:00 - Unreliability of AI: Gemini’s Racial Profiling Case In India
1:02:21 - Apple vs The U.S. Justice Department
1:05:12 - Is EdTech Dead In India?
1:10:30 - Varun’s Advice About Following His Career Path!
This week’s episode is in discussion with Bihar’s First Lady IPS officer who talks about Bihar’s Decline, Working With Lalu Prasad, & The 1984 Bokaro Riots Tragedy as we welcome Manjari Jaruhar to the Neon Show!
UNTOLD 1984 Bokaro Riots Story!
What Was Bihar Like In the 1960s?
Is The Indian Police Force Corrupt?
Do IPS Officers Get Influenced By Politicians?
All these juicy topics and more in this EYE-OPENING conversation about the lives of India’s civil servants. A dive into the inner workings of the Indian police force, from the perspective of a woman & how much Bihar as a state has changed since the 60s… Tune in NOW!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon Show
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:04 - Welcoming Bihar’s First Lady IPS, Manjari Jaruhar!
01:45 - What Was Bihar Like In the 1960s?
05:13 - Life As A Lady IPS In Bihar!
09:24 - Was The System Pulling Down Lady officers?
11:23 - UNTOLD 1984 Bokaro Riots Story!
17:37 - How Did Manjari Ma’am Deal With Emotional Trauma?
22:05 - Is The Indian Police Force Corrupt?
26:36 - Why Bokaro Was Her Most Challenging Posting!
31:54 - Do IPS Officers Get Influenced By Politicians?
34:31 - UNTOLD Operation Gangajal Story!
40:54 - Reality Of 1990s Bihar Kidnappings!
45:12 - Downfall Of Bihar’s Education System DECODED!
49:35 - Experience Working During Lalu Prasad’s Reign!
55:13 - Why Was The Central Government Posting Life-Changing?
1:03:39 - Current Government vs 90s Government
1:09:35 - The Importance Of Giving Your Daughters “Freedom”!
1:13:37 - Concluding Remarks
This week’s episode is once again in discussion with PM Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisor who talks about Kolkata’s Downfall, Bihar’s UPSC Craze & The Indian Dream as we welcome once again, Sanjeev Sanyal to the Neon Show!
The Reason Behind India’s Rapid Growth
The West’s Problem With India!
Why Did Jyoti Basu Get Elected As CM?
What Led To Bihar’s Downfall?
All these juicy topics and more in this UNFILTERED conversation about India’s growth story. A dive into the “poverty of aspiration” that has limited India in the past till recently & why it is now a country that is to be reckoned with… Tune in NOW!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon Show
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:14 - Welcome Back Sanjeev Sanyal!
01:40 - What Is Sanjeev Sir Up To Now?
03:00 - Kolkata’s Downfall EXPLAINED In Detail
09:04 - Why Did Jyoti Basu Get Elected As CM?
10:31 - How “Poverty Of Aspiration” Affected India’s Growth
14:31 - Are India’s “Zero Food” Kids A Real Problem?
18:10 - REALITY Behind India’s Gender Selective Abortions Crisis
23:32 - “1/6th Of The World’s Billionaires Should Be Indian!”
25:52 - The Reason Behind India’s Rapid Growth
30:52 - The West’s Problem With India
32:11 - What Led To Bihar’s Downfall & Its Craze Of Civil Service?
35:11 - How Middle-Class India’s Aspirations Are Evolving!
37:04 - The Great Indian Dream
40:32 - Conclusion
This week’s episode is an EXTENSIVE BREAKDOWN about Dark Indian SCAMS - Jamtara, Aadhaar Data, and Dark Web Secrets as we welcome Rahul Sasi, founder of CloudSEK, to the Neon Show!
Why Are Scams Originating From Tier 2/3 Indian Cities?
The Jamtara Scam DECODED
Is Your Aadhaar Data Safe?!
How Many Hackers Are There In India?
All these juicy topics and more in this DETAILED conversation. An eye-opener about the millions of cyber threats around us & what danger they carry… A crisp & efficient discussion about everything in the cyber space. Tune in NOW!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon Show
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:13 - Welcoming Rahul Sasi, co-founder of CloudSEK!
02:27 - What Is Dark Web & CloudSEK's Role?
08:50 - Why Dark Web Is So Difficult To Take Down!
11:35 - Bangladesh Bank Heist DECODED
16:08 - The Role of AI In Cyber Crimes!
19:31 - How Many Hackers Are There In India?
22:14 - Country With The Best Cyber Security Talent!
24:45 - In India, Which Is The Best Cyber Security Company?
25:46 - Jamtara Scam DECODED
29:09 - Why Are Scams Originating From Tier 2/3 Indian Cities?
31:53 - Chinese Loan App Scam EXPLAINED
34:46 - How Does Money Laundering Work?
37:06 - Other Deadly Cyber Scams
40:01 - Is Your Aadhaar Data Safe?!
41:46 - How Do You Gain Practical Knowledge of Cyber Security?
44:01 - What Inspired Rahul Sasi To Create CloudSEK?
50:23 - Will AI Machines Attack Humans In The Future?
52:46 - How Many Jobs Will Be Lost To AI In The Future?
55:00 - Understanding What Privacy Entails Legally
58:53 - Concluding Remarks on Future of Cyber Security!
This week’s episode is a HEARTFELT conversation between 2 women founders who discuss beauty standards in India, healthy living, career & much more as Nansi takes over hosting duties while welcoming Yoga Bar founder, Suhasini Sampath, to the Neon Show!
How Has The Beauty Industry Impacted India?
The TRUTH Behind Low & No-Added-Sugar Products!
Prioritising “Needs” Over “Wants”
Biggest Lesson Learnt From ITC Acquisition?
All these juicy topics and more in this SINCERE conversation. A dive into the mind of one of India’s brightest female founders & one who has beautifully balanced her career & family commitments… Wishing you all a very Happy International Women’s Day! Tune in NOW!
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:26 - Welcoming Suhasini Sampath, founder of Yoga Bar!
04:51 - Life Growing Up As A “Tam-Brahm”
07:52 - Prioritising “Needs” Over “Wants”
11:55 - Turning To A Minimalist Lifestyle
14:54 - How Does She Balance Her “Multiple Lives”?!
15:49 - Beauty Industry’s Impact On India
22:23 - Social Media’s Impact On Mental Health
26:58 - “Health Taste Ke Bina Nahi Bikega!”
28:35 - Unhealthy Products Indians Eat
30:35 - “Diabetes Is A REAL PROBLEM In India!”
34:36 - 5 Poor Diet Choices Indians Are Making
38:04 - The TRUTH Behind Low & No-Added-Sugar Products!
41:22 - SECRET Behind Suhasini’s Drive!
44:23 - Motherhood vs Career
47:13 - Biggest Lesson Learnt From ITC Acquisition
48:55 - Difference Between Institutions vs New-Age Brands
54:28 - 5 Brands That Changed Indian Consumer Habits For The Better
56:40 - Concept of “VC Hallucination” Explained
1:01:12 - Importance Of Supportive Men
1:06:00 - Concluding Remarks
This week’s episode is an assortment of INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION about stocks in the banking sector, PayTM vs RBI & Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s strategies to becoming generationally wealthy as we welcome once again Deepak Shenoy, founder of CapitalMind, to the Neon Show!
What Happened To PayTM?
What Is The State of Banking Stocks & Sector in India!
Is PM Modi Right About PSU Stocks?
Are Startups Going IPO A Good Trend?
All these juicy topics and more in this DETAILED conversation. A dive into the psyche of the man who manages over Rs. 1700 crore in the Indian markets… One of the rare times where the conversation never stops being informative & gripping. Tune in NOW!
_________________________________________________________________
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon Show
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/
__________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
___________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:34 - Welcome Back Deepak Shenoy, CEO of CapitalMind!
01:52 - What Happened To PayTM? Fintechs vs RBI
11:21 - State of Banking Stocks & Sector in India!
28:07 - Should You Buy A Banking Stock?
34:23 - Is RBI Mis Selling Information?
39:07 - Why Are Public Sector Banks Doing So Well?
40:10 - Indian Banks’ Bad Lending History!
45:07 - ArcelorMittal DRAMA Decoded!
52:20 - What Was The Problem With Yes Bank?
58:13 - Is PM Modi Right About PSU Stocks?
1:08:00 - Is The Indian Stock Market Currently Overvalued?
1:11:41 - Are Micro Cap Companies The Best Bet Right Now?
1:15:57 - Are Startups Going IPO A Good Trend?
1:31:03 - Are Jio Financials A Good Stock To Invest in?
1:33:06 - Top 3 Active Stocks In India!
1:39:57 - “The Market Goes Up When You Sleep!”
1:41:11 - Should Financial Advisors Be Held Accountable?
1:48:51 - Is Buying Large Caps The Safe Option?
1:50:18 - Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Strategies
1:55:52 -
This week’s episode is a case study which explains Bangalore's water crisis and raises the question whether Karnataka government is at fault for how Bangalore has struggled to deal with water issues as we welcome water activist Viswanath Srikantaiah to the Neon Show!
Will WW3 Happen Because Of Water Scarcity?
Has The Karnataka Government FAILED Bangalore?
Why Metropolitan Cities In India Are Unliveable!
“The TRAGIC Reality About India Is…”
All these EXPLOSIVE topics and more in this BRUTALLY HONEST conversation about India’s long standing relationship with water. A deep dive into how water may lead to the waging of the next big war in the world as well as a special focus on Karnataka & Bangalore's struggles with water… Tune in NOW!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon Show
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Precap
01:46 - Introducing Viswanath Srikantaiah, Bangalore-based water activist!
02:19 - Will WW3 Happen Because Of Water Scarcity?
05:04 - Indo-China Water War On Brahmaputra Explained!
07:22 - Indus Water Treaty Conflict Between India & Pakistan
08:53 - Cauvery Water Dispute Decoded!
15:14 - Geographical Breakdown of Bangalore’s History
22:40 - Has The Karnataka Government FAILED Bangalore?
26:43 - Is Urban Architecture At Fault For Water Issues?
31:33 - Will Indian Water Quality Reach Levels Of U.S. & Australia?
35:00 - Why Metropolitan Cities In India Are Unlivable!
41:40 - Why Is Bangalore Poor At Dealing With Water Issues?
45:58 - Can India’s Economy Thrive Like Japan & Singapore?
48:26 - History Of Migration In Bangalore!
53:48 - Impact of Green Revolution on India
1:03:22 - Why India Will NOT Leapfrog China’s GDP!
1:06:30 - Social Impact of Water Crisis on Farmers
1:09:53 - Is Migration DESTROYING Kannadiga’s Livelihoods?
1:13:44 - Impact of Population Explosion on India
1:18:42 - “The TRAGIC Reality About India Is…”
1:29:42 - Shining Light On The Well Digging Community In Karnataka
1:36:31 - Concluding Remarks
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This week’s episode is about India’s Gold Obsession, Pitching to Anushka Sharma, and Silver Jewellery’s $4 billion Business as we welcome GIVA’s Co-founder Ishendra Agarwal to the Neon Show!
History of Gold & Silver As A Stored Value!
Why Does South India Love Jewellery So Much?!
How Has Perception Of Jewellery Changed?
How Did GIVA Pitch To Anushka Sharma?
All these JUICY topics and more in this HONEST & DETAILED conversation about India’s jewellery industry. A deep dive into how jewellery became such a large part of Indians’ lives & whether silver can eventually take over the jewellery sector in India… Tune in NOW!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon Show
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[01:09] - Introducing Ishendra Agarwal, founder of GIVA
[01:42] - History of Gold & Silver As A Stored Value!
[05:19] - Evolution Of Gold & Silver In India!
[09:04] - % of India That Invests In Jewellery
[12:09] - Early Days Growing Up In Agra
[13:29] - The GIVA Journey
[19:55] - How Did GIVA Become Such A Recognizable Brand?
[22:44] - Pitching To Anushka Sharma!
[26:13] - Breaking Down India’s Jewellery Sector
[30:02]- Why Are Making Charges So High For Silver?
[32:17] - How Do Silver Brands Solve For Low Average Order Values?
[35:25] - Breaking Down GIVA’s Revenue Structure
[36:55] - Why Does South India Love Jewellery So Much?!
[39:23] - How Has Perception Of Jewellery Changed?
[44:34] - Will Made To Order Be The Future Of The Jewellery Sector?
[46:47] - North India vs South India: Observations On Jewellery
[52:01] - Can Tanishq Take Over Market Share For Jewellery In India?
[56:26] - Concluding Remarks
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
This week’s episode is in discussion with India’s ex-RBI Governor about Dr. Manmohan’s Legacy, India's 1991 Reforms & Future Economic Plans as we welcome C. Rangarajan to the Neon Show!
What Was Life Like After Independence?
What Was RBI’s Role Before & After Rangarajan Came In?
Why Did The Partition Of Tamil Nadu Happen?
Was Manmohan Singh A Good Prime Minister?
All these SPICY topics and more in this PREMIUM conversation about India’s economics. A deep dive into how India became a powerhouse economy in the world since 1991 & the man behind reviving India in the 90s… Tune in NOW!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[01:14] - Introducing C. Rangarajan, ex-RBI Governor of India!
[02:36]- Balance of Payments CRISIS That Led To 1991 Reforms!
[06:23] - Why Did 1991 Economic Reforms Happen?
[07:40] - Socialist India’s Downfall During The Late 80s!
[11:49] - Who Did India Owe Its Default To?
[14:10] - How Did India Overcome Its Current Account Deficit?
[18:27] - Influence of Narasimha Rao & Manmohan Singh
[20:37] - What Was RBI’s Role Before & After Rangarajan Came In?
[28:43] - RBI’s Biggest Policies During Rangarajan’s Tenure!
[33:57] - Rangarajan’s Childhood Before Partition!
[38:46] - What Was Life Like After Independence?
[41:35] - Could India Have Changed From Socialist Principles Earlier?
[42:50] - Why Did The Partition Of Tamil Nadu Happen?
[45:27] - Reason Why Tamil Nadu Has Become Industrial Hub Of India!
[47:47] - How Terms Like NPA & FDI Get Created!
[50:32] - How Did The Advisory Team To Manmohan Singh Get Assembled?
[53:30] - Was Manmohan Singh A Good Prime Minister?
[59:47] - Why Did Rangarajan Step Down in 2014?
[1:00:59] - His Message To The Youth of India & Where India Is Headed!
[1:09:18] - Concluding Remarks
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is an EYE-OPENER for those who want to understand how AI impacts our lives & to be aware of potential AI scams as we welcome Manoj Agarwal, co-founder at DevRev, to the Neon Show!
Can Machines Think For Themselves?
What Jobs Are Most At Risk Due To AI?
Is AI Progression Outpacing Humans?
All these JUICY topics and much more in this DEEPLY INSIGHTFUL conversation about the AI revolution that has taken over the world & how it will impact future generations… Tune in NOW!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[00:48] - Introducing Manoj Agarwal, co-founder of DevRev
[01:25] - Journey At Nutanix & Building DevRev
[10:18] - Why Is AI At The Heart Of Innovation Today?
[12:34] - Can Machines Think For Themselves?
[17:51] - Why Is ChatGPT So Monumental?
[21:19] - AI & Geopolitics
[22:38] - BIGGEST Problem With Enforcing Laws on AI
[25:19] - Is AI Progression Outpacing Humans?
[27:07] - What Jobs Are Most At Risk Due To AI?
[29:59] - What Jobs Will Be Created Due To The AI Revolution?
[33:14] - How Is Gen Z Using AI Today?
[34:40] - How Do AI Models Ensure There Is No Confirmation Bias?
[37:35] - Why Are Indian Engineers/Developers More In Demand Now?
[40:45] - Is India’s Talent Pool The Best In The World?
[42:51] - Difference Between AI Focused Companies In The Past vs Now
[47:00] - How AI Is Making Day-To-Day Life Easier
[49:53] - The Concept Of “Hallucination” In Technology
[53:51] - Concluding Remarks
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
This week’s episode is a MUST WATCH for Indians abroad as we welcome Saravana Kumar, co-founder at Kovai.co, to the Neon Show!
Why Are Expats Coming Back To India?
Is a Masters' Degree Abroad Still the Best Option For Indians?
Why Hasn’t India Produced A Company As Big As Microsoft or AWS?
All these INFORMATIVE topics and more in this DEEPLY INSIGHTFUL conversation about the exponential changes taking place in India and why Indians abroad are eager to make their way back to their home country… Tune in NOW!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00]- Precap
[00:46] - Introducing Saravana Kumar, co-founder of Kovai.co
[02:06]- Middle-Class Upbringing in Coimbatore!
[04:18] - Biggest Learnings From Childhood To Now
[06:14] - “They Put a Team of 18 People To Replace Me!
[10:24] - Why Are Expats Coming Back To India?
[12:19] - Reasons For “INDIA SHINING”
[13:46] - Why InfoSys Is The McDonald’s of India!
[20:56] - Is a Masters' Degree Abroad Still the Best Option For Indians?
[28:34] - Creating Silicon Valley In Coimbatore
[30:48] - Secret Behind His Efficiency & Speed!
[33:44] - Will ChatGPT & AI Kill Many Indian Startups?
[38:09] - Why Hasn’t India Produced A Company As Big As Microsoft or AWS?
[42:29] - What Indian Founders Need To Unlearn!
[48:11] - What Kind Of Leader Is Saravana?
[49:17] - Is Narayana Murthy’s 70 Hr Week Policy Correct?
[53:58] - Will Bangalore Continue To Be Tier-2 India’s First Choice Of Escape?
[58:49] - How Many SaaS Companies Are In Coimbatore?
[59:11] - The Future of Kovai
[1:03:30] - Concluding Remarks
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This week’s episode requires that you watch this podcast before you apply for a Venture Capital job, as we welcome Ashish Fafadia, Partner at Blume Ventures, to the Neon Show!
The History of Venture Capital in India!
Is Obsession Required To Be A Successful Founder?
What Is The Right Skill Set Required To Be In The VC Ecosystem?
All these INFORMATIVE topics and more in this MASTERCLASS conversation about the inception of venture capital in India, what the DNA of a successful fund is & how to succeed in the VC ecosystem… Tune in NOW!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[00:54] - Introducing Ashish Fafadia, Partner at Blume Ventures!
[02:03] - The History of Venture Capital in India!
[17:10] - Blume Ventures’ Inception
[24:19] - Do Investors Have FOMO?
[29:03] - Food Chain Model in Venture Capital
[32:57] - Blume’s Fund 1 & 2 Journey
[37:46] - Why A DNA Change Was Necessary For Blume!
[42:18] - How To Raise Funds From Large Institutions
[52:54] - $102 Million Fund 3 Journey!
[55:55] - $290 Million Fund 4 Journey!
[1:02:25] - Top 5 Investments Made By Blume Ventures
[1:10:04] - Biggest Learnings From Investing!
[1:14:58] - Is Obsession Required To Be A Successful Founder?
[1:19:45] - Future of The India Opportunity
[1:23:47] - Want A Job In VC? Watch This!
[1:28:25] - The Right Skill Set Needed To Be In A Fund!
[1:30:35] - How To Succeed In The VC Ecosystem!
[1:34:26]- “Fund Is A 5 Muscle Job!”
[1:37:21] - Concluding Remarks
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
This week’s episode is about why India as a country loves seeking status, as we welcome Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder of ShareChat, to the Neon Show!
How Have Indian Consumers Evolved In The Last 10 Years?
India vs Bharat Argument
Are Majority Of Indian Products Aimed At Tier-1 Cities?
All these CAPTIVATING topics and more in this FREE-FLOWING conversation about how social media has played a part in the consumer behaviour of Indians. A deep dive into why Indians are so status-driven rather than wealth-driven… Tune in NOW!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[01:02] - Introducing Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder of ShareChat!
[01:45] - Siddhartha & Ankush’s Friendship Journey!
[03:44] - Setbacks Ankush Faced Before ShareChat
[04:39 ]- Previous Companies Ankush Tried Building!
[09:48] - Lessons Learnt From His 14 Previous Failures
[13:30] - ShareChat’s Untold Story
[17:45] - India vs Bharat Argument
[20:26] - Why India LOVES Seeking STATUS!
[24:20] - Are Bharat’s Audience Poor Spenders?
[28:57] - How Have Indian Consumers Evolved In The Last 10 Years?
[34:50] - How Far Is ShareChat From Profitability?
[39:23] - How TikTok’s Ban Affected ShareChat!
[45:14] - Does China Have Better AI Algorithms Than India?
[53:04] - Why Is Generative AI Taking Over The World?
[57:03] - Will AI Read Human Minds In The Future?
[58:47] - Can AI Capture Human Desire?
[1:02:19] - What Categories Does India As A Country Love To Consume?
[1:09:33] - Are Majority Of Indian Products Aimed At Tier-1 Cities?
[1:13:09] - Will Mainstream Professions Like Doctors & Engineers Change In India?
[1:16:55] - Concluding Remarks
_____
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about the most important tips required to get a good night’s sleep as we welcome Ankit Garg, co-founder of Wakefit, to the Neon Show!
Why Do Indians Sleep So Poorly?
Misconceptions Indians Have About Sleep!
Will Quality Of Sleep Get Better Or Worsen In 10 Years?
All these JUICY topics and more in this EYE-OPENING conversation about sleep cycles in a country like India. A deep dive into why India’s ambitious goals come at a loggerhead with the amount of sleep it gets… Tune in NOW!
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[01:09] - Happy New Year Neon Tribe!
[01:38] - Introducing Ankit Garg, co-founder of Wakefit!
[02:22] - Why Do Indians Sleep So Poorly?
[04:56] - Gen Z’s Relationship With Sleep
[06:40] - Why Is Quality Of Sleep Going Down But Focus On Health Going Up?
[08:45] - How Has The Indian Consumer Changed Over The Years?
[11:50] - Ankit’s Backstory & Its Influence On Creating Wakefit
[15:53] - Sleep Patterns That The Highest Performers Across Business & Sports Have!
[18:39] - Which Cities In India Sleep The Best?
[20:57] - Steps Required To Get Good Sleep!
[29:14] - Will Quality Of Sleep Get Better Or Worsen In 10 Years?
[30:28] - What Is REM? Various Phases Of Sleep?
[34:39] - Misconceptions Indians Have About Sleep!
[38:36] - Is The Neck Pillow Industry Operating On A Placebo Effect?
[41:19] - Will People Go Back To Buying Cheaper Mattresses In The Future?
[43:16] - Wakefit’s Agenda
[46:19] - Concluding Remarks
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about Building Snapdeal, IIT Delhi - 2006 Batch & India’s Positive Future as we welcome Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal & Titan Capital, to the Neon Show!
What Sells & Doesn’t Sell In India?
Have Aspirations Of Young India Changed In The Last 20 years?
The Most Common Misconceptions About Investors!
All these JUICY topics and more in this MASTERCLASS conversation about India’s e-commerce industry. A deep dive into how India has grown incrementally in the e-commerce industry over the last 15 years & what it takes to create a great product-market fit in the e-commerce space… Tune in NOW!
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[01:18] - Introducing Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal!
[01:50] - Small-Town Upbringing in Rural Punjab!
[04:33] - Further Education in DPS, R.K. Puram & IIT Delhi
[06:49] - Meeting Kunal Bahl & Sacrificing Their U.S.-Based Jobs
[10:13] - Have Aspirations Of Young India Changed In The Last 20 years?
[12:32] - Rohit & Kunal Bahl’s Top 3 Ever Investments!
[16:48] - Qualities Titan Capital Looks For In Indian Entrepreneurs!
[22:30] - The Iconic 2006 and 2007 Batches of IIT Delhi!
[27:24] - Changes In Indian E-Commerce Over Last 15 Years
[33:20] - E-Commerce: India vs China!
[35:42] - What Sells & Doesn’t Sell In India?
[46:23] - Why Are Copycat Companies So Common In India?
[49:15] - How Would Rohit Describe India’s Growth In The Last Decade?
[54:10] - What Has Changed About Startups In India Since The Early 2000s?
[57:19] - Can People Go Into Angel Investing Full-Time?
[1:01:19] - Why Titan Capital Is So Successful!
[1:04:08] - Common Misconceptions About Investors
[1:06:33] - Concluding Remarks
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
Shot By: Aravindh Yuvaraj
Check his profile out here: https://www.instagram.com/createdby.aravindhyuvaraj
This week’s episode is in discussion with PM Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisor who talks about Kolkata’s Decline, Amrit Kaal & India’s $10 Trillion Economy as we welcome Sanjeev Sanyal to the Neon Show!
What Changed in India After Liberalisation in 1991?
Does Being World’s Largest Population Help or Hinder India’s Growth?
Sanjeev Sanyal’s Role In Reforming The Banking Systems
All these JUICY topics and more in this ROUSING conversation about India’s economics. A deep dive into how India became a powerhouse economy in the world since 1991 & where it aims to be as a country by 2050… Tune in NOW!
🎇CHAPTERS
[00:00] - Precap
[01:01] - Introducing Sanjeev Sanyal, PM Modi’s Economic Advisor
[01:31] - “Kolkata DIDN’T DIE. It Was MURDERED!” Sanjeev’s Childhood Days
[05:08] - Life In India After Independence & Before 1991!
[08:37] - What Changed in India After Liberalisation in 1991?
[10:42] - Why India’s Banking System Was Reformed Post Modi!
[15:32] - Sanjeev Sanyal’s Role In Reforming The Banking Systems
[21:01] - How India Maintained Its Stability Even After Covid!
[23:08] - 5 Influential Economic Reforms Sanjeev Has Been Part Of!
[30:35] - Can India Become Top 5 Nation In The Ease Of Doing Business Index?
[36:21] - Does Being World’s Largest Population Help or Hinder India’s Growth?
[41:24] - India’s Amrit Kaal: The Global Factors That Could Play A Role
[46:01] - India’s Growth Rate vs China’s Growth Rate
[50:55] - Can India Become a $20 Trillion Economy In The Near Future?
[52:22] - Will India’s Population Continue to Grow In the Next 50 Years?
[53:22] - What Economic Reforms Can Indians Expect In The Next Few Years?
[56:43] - What % Of The Indian Economic Advisory’s Time Goes Into Propelling Startups?
[59:59] - Concluding Remarks
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
Shot By: Aravindh Yuvaraj
Check his profile out here: https://www.instagram.com/createdby.a...
This week’s episode is about Chandrababu Naidu's influence, the inception of ISB Hyderabad & Rajat Gupta's Case Study as we welcome Pramath Raj Sinha, founding member of ISB & Ashoka University, to the Neon Show!
Chandrababu Naidu’s Role In Building ISB Hyderabad!
Why Is ISB Unable To Break IIT’s Monopoly In The Educational Sector?
What Makes US Education STAND OUT From the Rest Of The World?
Would ISB Have Happened WITHOUT Rajat Gupta’s Involvement?
All these CAPTIVATING topics and more in this MASTERFULLY INFORMATIVE conversation. A deep dive into where India is headed as a country & how important education will be in propelling it to new heights… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
Shot By: Aravindh Yuvaraj
Check his profile out here: / createdby.aravi. .
This week’s episode is about India's BRIGHT FUTURE by 2030… as we welcome Bhaskar Ghosh of American Venture Capital firm 8VC to the Neon Show!
How Much Has Bangalore Changed In The Last 30 Years?
Is SaaS The Future of India?
What Role Is India Playing In AI?
All these CAPTIVATING topics and more in this HONEST conversation. A deep dive into whether is equipped to grow to the next level & how Bhaskar thinks about where India's future will be by 2030… Tune in NOW!
Check his profile out here:
/ createdby.aravindhyuvaraj
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about India's spending habits, ONDC & building 10club… as we welcome Bhavna Suresh, founder of 10club, to the Neon Show!
How Is ONDC Impacting the E-Commerce Market?
Is There A Bias Towards Women CEOs In India?
How Much Has Entrepreneurship CHANGED In India?
All these TRENDING topics and more in this CAPTIVATING conversation. A deep dive into what makes ONDC such a force to be reckoned with in the e-commerce industry & how Bhavna Suresh is leading the charge for home decor in India… Tune in NOW!
Shot By: Aravindh Yuvaraj
Check his profile out here: / createdby.aravindhyuvaraj
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about the brutal truths that working mothers in India have to experience… as we welcome Neha Bagaria, founder of HerKey formerly known as JobsForHer, to the Neon Show!
Biological Clock vs Career Ambitions
Why Working Women Are ESSENTIAL For India’s Economy!
Which Fields Are Indian Women Excelling in?
Where Will India Be As A Country For Women IN 10 YEARS?
All these CAPTIVATING topics and more in this VIBRANT & HONEST conversation. A deep dive into what makes Indian women so vital to India’s economy & how Neha Bagaria is seeking to become a catalyst and a STRONG voice for them… Tune in NOW!
Shot By: Aravindh Yuvaraj
Check his profile out here: https://www.instagram.com/createdby.aravindhyuvaraj
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about meeting India’s breakfast king who created a Rs. 3,000 crore business from idli, dosa batter & much more as we welcome PC Musthafa, founder of iD Fresh Foods, to the Neon Show!
Were iD Fresh PIONEERS In Selling Batter In Stores?
Why Don’t Indians TRUST Packaged Foods?
Why Did Idli/Dosa Become So Popular Around The World?
All these EXCITING topics and more in this WONDERFULLY GENTLE conversation. A deep dive into what makes iD Fresh a powerhouse in the Indian batter market & how PC Musthafa became the man he is today… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about The REAL REASON Indian Farmers Struggle as we welcome Shashi Kumar, founder of Akshayakalpa, to the Neon Show!
What Does An Indian Farmer Want?
Why Did INDIA Become A Farming Nation?
Why Are Indians Antibiotics Resistant To Milk?
All these UNIQUE topics and more in this INCREDIBLE conversation. A deep dive into why farming is so prevalent in India & why it will continue to be a big part of India’s economic ecosystem… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about the UPI Struggle Story, India vs The World and brain drain challenge for India as we welcome Sharad Sharma, founder of iSPIRT, to the Neon Show!
How Has India Grown As A Country In Last 30-40 Years?
Will INDIA Be Next THAILAND vs Next KOREA?
Why Are Startups So Successful In China?
All these gripping questions and more in this MASTERFUL conversation. A deep dive into why India as a country is on the cusp of world dominance & iSPIRT's role to play in accelerating this process… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is about the mastermind behind India’s hottest startups such as Sharechat, Sugar Cosmetics & Kuku FM as we welcome Anand Lunia, founder of India Quotient, to the Neon Show!
Is The Youth Of India Bad At Saving?
Can India Become The Largest Economy In The World?
Why Has India Not Created a Successful Role Model In Startups?
All these exhilarating topics and more in this GRIPPING conversation. A deep dive into why India Quotient understands the consumers of India so well and how India is at the cusp of glory… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is all about discovering OUR SECRETS as we let you in on how we gained 25,000 subscribers in JUST 90 days as our founders welcome Vidit Agarwal, our branding manager and founder of Witchcraft, to the Neon Show!
Where Did Neon’s Journey Begin?
How Did We Build BRAND LOYALTY For The Neon Show?
Why Did The Name Neon Have To Be “Sexy” To Attract Viewers?!
All these juicy topics and more in this HONEST conversation. A real look into why branding is so important for building loyalty amongst consumers & how it can transform a company’s fate, like it did Neon’s… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is a SURPRISE feature with an UNEXPECTED host!
Our co-founder Nansi Mishra takes on hosting duties as she looks at why Indians worship Bhagwan using puja flowers in Hinduism as we welcome Rhea Karuturi, co-founder of Hoovu Fresh, to the Neon Show!
What Was It Like Growing Up In Ethiopia & Learning From The World’s Best Rose Exporter?
What Are Some Practices Indians Use While Praying?
What Is Rhea’s Family’s Relationship With God?
How Difficult Is It To Be A Woman Entrepreneur In India?
All these fascinating topics and more in this CAPTIVATING & INFORMATIVE conversation. A real look into the inner workings of faith in India & how impactful flowers can be in Hinduism with a woman that’s only began the start of her highly successful journey… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is an CAPTIVATING look at how Reliance changed India forever, the flaws that Bharat as a country has & how BigBasket has empowered farmers as we welcome V S Sudhakar, co-founder of BigBasket, to the Neon Show!
How Did Mukesh Ambani Change India Forever?
What Weaknesses Does India Have As A Country?
Does BigBasket Have Any Benchmarks For Profitability?
“We See Education Not As A Barrier, But As An Enabler At BigBasket.”
All these riveting topics and more in this PLEASANT & INFORMATIVE conversation. A real look into the hidden brains behind BigBasket’s success & a man with a golden smile… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
This week’s episode is an HONEST look at why Indians love government jobs, how Kuku FM is aspirational for Indians & whether Indians are now changing their views on private jobs as we welcome Lal Chand Bisu, founder of Kuku FM, to the Neon Show!
Are Indian Masses Willing To Pay For Subscriptions?
Why Do Tier-3 City Indians Aspire For Government Jobs?
GOVERNMENT Jobs vs PRIVATE jobs
Most Popular Kuku FM Series?
All these captivating topics and more in this DOWN TO EARTH conversation. A real look into the spirit of the man who runs a company that handles over 2 million active subscriptions… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!
Put your thinking caps on because this week’s episode is an assortment of INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION about stock markets, trading & entrepreneurship as we welcome Deepak Shenoy, founder of CapitalMind, to the Neon Show!
Which Company Transformed India’s Trading Market?
Indian Stock Market vs Global Stock Markets
Are Financial Influencers Fooling Their Followers?
Would Global Companies Ever List In India?
All these juicy topics and more in this EXTENSIVE conversation. A dive into the psyche of the man who manages over Rs. 500 crore in the Indian markets… One of the rare times where the conversation never stops being informative & gripping. Tune in NOW!
*Sponsor Shout Out*
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit Prime Venture Partners!
Welcome back Neon Tribe!
This week’s episode is a DETAILED DIVE into the stock market through the eyes and mind of one of India’s most successful stock traders as we welcome Ravi Kumar, co-founder & CEO of Upstox, to the Neon Show!
How Many Brokerage Accounts Are There In India & What % Of Them Use Upstox?
What will The Stock Market Look Like In America, China & India In 10 Years?
Why Was India A Better Choice Than America To Start Upstox?
What Does The Future Of Indian Startups Look Like?
All these exclusive topics and more in this DENSE & EDUCATIVE conversation. An exploration of the man behind a 30,000 crore company … This is a MASTERCLASS about everything stocks. Tune in NOW!
*Sponsor Shout Out*
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit https://primevp.in/ !
Welcome Back Neon Tribe!
This week’s episode is a MUST WATCH for India’s youth because we delve deeply into the insights and learnings gathered by one of India’s youngest crorepatis as we welcome Ishan Sharma, co-founder of MarkitUp, to the Neon Show!
Ever wondered what the life of a content creator actually looks like? Well… This episode reveals everything!
What Is The Biggest Difference Between India’s Youth & The Youth Abroad?
How Much Has Timing Played A Role In Ishan’s Success?
Will We See More Indians Dropout Of College In The Near Future?
Who Are The Top 5 Indian Leaders Ishan Is Inspired By?
All these captivating topics and more in this VIBRANT conversation. From being a BITS Pilani dropout to crossing 1 million subscribers on YouTube at the age of 22… Ishan Sharma’s story is an inspiration to all Indians that an unconventional path in life does not mean a wrong one. Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shout Out
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit Primevp.in !
Welcome Back Neon Tribe!
This week’s episode is a vast case study into the psyche of one of India’s brightest and most inspiring men as we welcome Vijay Rayapati, founder of Atomicwork, to the Neon Show!
Clocking in at a whopping 2 hours, this detailed episode has everything… Experiences shared about the pitfalls of a difficult childhood journey, the aspirations of youthful adolescence and the wisdom that came with maturing age.
Do Indian founders command respect in the Valley ecosystem?
What was it like growing up in a village and why was he bullied at school?
How was it dealing with his mother’s battles with cancer?
What is the story behind his successful exit from Minjar?
All these spellbinding topics and more in this DEEPLY STIRRING conversation. From being just a farmer’s son to one of the most influential founders in India’s SaaS ecosystem… Vijay Rayapati’s story is not just one you listen to, but one you take notes from as well. Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shoutout
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit Primevp.in !
Welcome Back Neon Tribe!
This week’s episode is the definition of captivating as we welcome Pallav Nadhani and Paras Chopra, founders of FusionCharts & Wingify respectively, to the Neon Show!
In today’s episode, we learn about the journey of their 13-year old friendship and how young both of them were when they attained financial independence.
Is it better to be your own boss or work for large corporations? What’s the major difference?
What does happiness & death mean to them? What topics in life give them anxiety?
How important is legacy for an entrepreneur?
Did they startup companies for money or to change the world?
All these engrossing topics and more in this RAW & SAVAGE conversation with two of India’s brightest millionaires. The most distinct conversation we’ve ever had on the Neon Show… Tune in NOW!
Sponsor Shoutout
Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.
To know more, visit Primevp.in !
Welcome Back Neon Tribe!
This week’s insightful episode is about India’s favourite drink “Chai”! We welcome the founder of India’s original Chai startup, Raghav Verma of Chaayos, to the Neon Show!
In this week’s episode, we learn about the ingenious man behind the Chai Revolution that’s taken place in India over the last 10 years!
In a country where Chai is consumed at 30x the rate of coffee, can you imagine having 80,000 varieties available to you all at one store?!
How has Indians’ opinion on the country’s culture changed over the course of the last 20 years?
Truly unbelievable! This outrageous flavour is Raghav’s favourite at Chaayos 😱 You will have to hear it to believe it… Trust us on that!
Wait… Chaayos had a huge impact on our host’s love story? Find out how!
All these Kadak topics and more in this highly ENGROSSING conversation with one of India’s Brightest Founders. Pour yourself a Chai while watching, as this episode will give you Sereni-Tea 😉 … Tune in NOW!
Welcome Back Neon Tribe!
This week’s episode is an extraordinarily explosive one as we welcome Mohandas Pai, ex-CFO of Infosys, to the Neon Show!
In this week’s episode, we learn about the “rebellious” man behind India’s largest midday meal programme, Akshaya Patra, and his highly inspiring journey from childhood days to Infosys and way beyond!
How did Jawaharlal Nehru set India back 30 years as a country and why is PM Modi, India’s best prime minister till date?
India vs America! Who do you think is better at Marketing?
Why are Indians incomparable to any other population in the world?!
All these fiery topics and more in this UNFILTERED conversation with one of India’s most proud citizens! Unlike any conversation we’ve ever had on the Neon Show… Tune in NOW!
Welcome back Neon Tribe!
This week’s episode features one of the most resilient founders we’ve ever met. We welcome Vinay Singhal, co-founder of STAGE, to the Neon Show!
In this week’s episode, we learn about the tough tenacity of small-town entrepreneurs and the extreme strength they have to pick themselves up after failures.
Many may know our guest from his emotional segment on Shark Tank but how many of you know his heartbreaking story about WittyFeed, his first company, which got shutdown by Facebook overnight?
Why is depression such a silent killer in the Indian startup ecosystem? How did Vinay tackle his own battle with it?
Want to know more about how Vinay and his co-founders created India’s very own NETFLIX?
Well to find out all this and much more, join us on this rollercoaster ride of a conversation! Trust us when we say this is the most emotional conversation we’ve had yet!
Welcome back Neon Tribe!
This is an episode we have been waiting years to make happen and the dream has finally come true! We welcome Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, co-founders of SUGAR on the Neon Show as we delve into the depths of the beauty industry in India.
In this week’s episode, we learn about the electric duo’s combined entrepreneurship journey which began in 2012 with Fab-Bag, a subscription platform that provided deliveries of beauty products.
Ever wondered what it is like to be husband & wife as well as being co-founders of a company? The answer to that question will be found here as Vineeta and Kaushik discuss finding the right balance between their personal and professional lives!
Curious to find out how big of an impact Shark Tank has had on SUGAR’s overall growth?
Join us to find out about all this and more as we discuss in detail with perhaps the most dynamic duo in India’s entrepreneurship landscape currently!
Neon Tribe!
Get ready for another gripping episode as we welcome Tarun Mehta, the founder of Ather Energy on the Neon Show! Tune in as we thoroughly delve into the inner workings of the two-wheeler and EV industry in India.
In this week’s episode, we learn about a truly one-of-a-kind backstory which began from deep within IIT Madras’s engineering department! Get ready as you will find out exactly how Tesla inspired Ather and whether Ather would have still reached the same heights it has today, if Tesla never existed.
Equipped with an abundance of knowledge on the EV industry, Tarun also shares his understanding of the market dynamics for EVs in India as well as the current state of the Indian scooter market.
Curious as to why a career in software engineering is more rewarding than one in hardware engineering? Well, look no further as Tarun explains in detail why college students would prefer the former over the latter!
Join us for all this and more as we candidly engage with the genius mind responsible for turning a 20 crore ARR business from five years ago into a colossal 1800 crores as of today!
Today I have with me the entrepreneur who I’ve always looked up to. I consider him the Dronacharya of the Indian startup ecosystem.
This man has never shied away from expressing himself freely.
His company was the first tech company in India to go public and inspired a generation of companies to go public like MakeMyTrip, Zomato, and PolicyBazaar.
All entrepreneurs dream of taking their companies public and the very few who reach that milestone remain busy managing that company or end up taking retirement.
But this man never rested. He is responsible for many startups in India that have gone public.
Today I have with me Padma Shri awardee Sanjeev Bikhchandani Sir.
This episode is about the unconventional choices of Sanjeev Sir and his philosophy of making India great.
I would also like to thank our sponsors Prime Venture Partners for sponsoring the Neon Show.
Hope you enjoy it.
Today we have with us Jigar Shah, co-founder 82 Degree East, a skin care brand that he started along with Deepika Padukone.
Jigar's journey, from an investment manager at a VC firm to managing investments for Deepika Padukone and finally co-founding a self-care brand with her, is nothing short of captivating.
Jigar shares how the idea of starting 82°E came to life. Despite having Deepika Padukone as a co-founder, Jigar and Deepika veered away from banking solely on star power.
They concentrated on creating a unique skincare brand committed to satisfying real consumer needs. From establishing an R&D center in Bangalore, catering to a global audience, Jigar also talks about how he and Deepika tackled the design and marketing aspects of their brand to differentiate it in a saturated marketplace.
Subscribe to the 100x Entrepreneur podcast today for more inspiring and informative episodes on the entrepreneurial journey!🚀✨
CHAPTERS: -
00:00:00 - Intro
0:02:21 - 0:04:59 - Jigar's Skincare Routine
0:05:00 - 0:07:58 - Life as a Founder
0:07:59 - 0:13:59 - Indian Entrepreneurs Jigar Admires
0:14:00 - 0:15:11 - How Jigar Met Deepika Padukone
0:15:12 - 0:16:33 - Jigar's First Investment Endeavors
0:16:34 - 0:22:09 - The Birth of 82E
0:22:10 - 0:23:49 - Managing Consumer Expectations with a Celebrity Co-founder
0:23:50 - 0:27:37 - Jigar's Business Relationship with Deepika
0:27:38 - 0:30:43 - Mistakes to Avoid as a Founder
0:30:44 - 0:33:50 - Rapid Fire Questions
0:33:51 - 0:37:41 - Unique D2C Processes at 82E
0:37:42 - End - Unexpected Challenges in the Business Journey
In today’s episode of the 100x Entrepreneur podcast, we're joined by our very own co-founders, Nansi Mishra, and Siddhartha Ahluwalia.
Did you know that behind the scenes, these founders have been cooking up some incredible strategies? While many listeners might not be aware, Nansi will reveal how Siddhartha's passion for investing led him on an extraordinary journey.
Siddhartha shares his quest of understanding the VC world from close quarters, his struggle to get into the world of VC, and his final landing at Prime Ventures Capital as the community head. Nansi and Siddhartha also throw light on the dynamic landscape of second-time founders , Siddhartha’s preference for companies and why SaaS companies are securing funding with relative ease nowadays.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, an aspiring founder, or just curious about the startup space, this episode is your one-stop resource for all things venture capital. Learn what it takes to attract VC attention and raise that crucial funding.
Subscribe to the 100x Entrepreneur podcast today for more inspiring and informative episodes on the entrepreneurial journey!🚀✨
In this episode of the 100x Entrepreneur podcast, we have Mr. Shripati Acharya, Managing Partner of Prime Venture Partners, one of India’s top early-stage venture capital funds.
Throughout his career, be it as a business lead at Cisco or as a co‐founder of Snapfish, the world's largest photo site acquired by HP, or at Transarc, which was acquired by IBM, Shripati has combined his passion to build great teams, an extraordinary desire to excel and a keen eye for spotting the tales. He is known for being astute with a razor-sharp intellect and a Zen‐like devotion to data-driven decision‐making.
Shripati has also worked alongside Mr. Nandan Nilekani on the UIDAI project. Having spent substantial parts of working career in the United States and India addressing worldwide markets, Shripati brings a global management perspective.
During the podcast, Shripat shares valuable insights on raising funds,early stage investing, avoiding mistakes as a founder, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and missed investment opportunities too.
If you are an early-stage entrepreneur, we recommend that you tune in to the podcast for a wealth of insights from the startup ecosystem. Be sure to hear the podcast to the end and leave a comment with your favorite parts!
Welcome to this exciting podcast ep, where we will delve into the world of Prafull Billore, the most famous Chaiwala. In our conversation, we highlight various aspects of his life that have contributed to his success. From understanding how he gets his passion and self-confidence to discussing short-term versus long-term goals, we cover it all!
We also talk about Prafull's journey post-COVID and how he has been able to recover after facing several challenges that helped him mature with experience despite being only 26 years old. As you listen further, you'll discover why Prafull believes that bigger struggles lead to bigger successes and how he constantly strives towards improvement every day.
So come join us on this thrilling ride where we learn more about what else Prafull is planning in store for the future!
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
01:12 - Prafull Billore, the most famous Chaiwala
03:05 - What makes him so confident
06:58 - Having short-term goals v/s long-term goals
09:25 - Opening his 2nd outlet
12:33 - Recovering post COVID
15:21 - Current scale of opening new outlets
17:58 - Challenges while scaling
21:17 - How do his thoughts become inspiring?
25:42 - Emulating successful people like Jeff Bezos
28:33 - Maturing with experiences at the age of 26
30:09 - “Bigger the struggle, bigger the success.”
32:23 - How is Prafull of today better than the Prafull of yesterday?
34:13 - Best quality - “Learning How to ask for help!”
40:14 - Bias for action - Content creator vs Entrepreneur
42:12 - What more is he planning for?
Whatfix has a user base of over 10 million people and has been used to create over 1.5 million digital walkthroughs and tutorials. It has 500+ enterprise customers worldwide, including companies like HP, Schneider Electric, and Autodesk. Since its launch in 2014, Whatfix has become a go-to solution for businesses across multiple industries.
The platform has also received the "Best SaaS Product for Web/App Development" at the 2021 SaaS Awards.
In this episode, we have Whatfix founders Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar Namburu share the journey of Whatfix from their first offline Dreamforce event to reaching 10 Million people, their vision, clients, scale, culture and more.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
02:06 - What’s Whatfix and how it’s unique
04:07 - Strategy of CTO moving to the US and CEO being in India
06:31 - Bringing Vispi Daver as an Angel Investor
10:18 - Avoid falling into the trap of following someone else’s playbook as a first-time founder
14:13 - Getting the first few Enterprise customers
15:57 - Taking Counter-intuitive bets
19:40 - Their first big event Dreamforce
25:02 - Going one step back, would they do a 10-15 member round table for their most interested CIOs post Dreamforce event?
26:49 - Focusing on farming with Account Managers
31:36 - Advice to SaaS founder: When to focus on Brand?
34:10 - Brand-building after their first Dreamforce
36:45 - Their initial Ideal customer profile
37:58 - Challenges & Hurdles in their 1 to 10 journey
39:23 - Examples where the deal got stuck at IT Security or CFO-level
43:55 - Enabling multiple stakeholders in a sales decision
46:30 - Traditional profile of a sales person
47:24 - Hiring profile of their initial senior sales team
49:28 - How to deal with people’s Title expectation?
54:23 - Building their culture early-on
56:28 - Mistakes in their early journey
58:06 - Guiding the early team in current journey
1:00:05 - Time & efforts in recent rounds of fundings
1:04:27 - Raising from Stellaris Venture Partners
1:05:32 - Changing path amongst the founders
1:06:59 - Account plan review with customers
1:08:50 - Having set accounts with every leader to help the customers succeed
Imagine a social micro-blogging platform like Twitter that allows users to express themselves in their local languages on a large scale. Well, that's precisely what Koo offers. In today's episode, we are joined by Aprameya Radhakrishna, the Co-Founder, and CEO of Koo.
Aprameya's first startup was TaxiForSure, which was acquired by Ola Cabs in 2015. Since then, he has invested in over 30 early-stage startups, including Unacademy, TapChief, and Daily Ninja.
During our conversation, Aprameya discusses his thoughts on Indian startups and tech talent building for global markets, his experience with VCs as a second-time entrepreneur, and much more.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights
01:47 - Aprameya Radhakrishna and Koo's story
03:23 - Koo's scale in India and Brazil
08:30 - Current market headwinds
10:59 - Koo's positioning in the audience's mind
13:17 - VC and investor perspective being a second-time founder
15:13 - Going deeper in India v/s Going Global
16:30 - Exiting TaxiForSure
17:56 - Focus on product and traction while building a product
20:29 - Learnings from TaxiForSure
22:36 - Confidence to go global as a consumer internet company from India
26:50 - Self-doubt while starting Koo
31:14 - Change in Aprameya's ability to read the market
33:22 - Gut feeling about the recession's duration
37:04 - Balancing confidence and arrogance as a founder
40:17 - Relationship with VCs over time
45:00 - Future bets in the next 10 years
46:32 - Riskiest bets that paid off
48:02 - Financial independence's impact on Aprameya as a person
49:57 - Aprameya's other aspirations besides building Koo
51:53 - Is the core India shining?
A report by Deloitte and Wipro estimated that the value of B2B digital payments in India will reach $700 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 30% from 2020.
**The B2B digital payment ecosystem in India has been growing rapidly, driven by factors such as:
Government initiatives to promote digital payments
Increasing adoption of mobile devices and internet connectivity
Growing awareness of the benefits of digital payments among businesses and more**
In this episode we have with us Akash Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashfree payments, talking about B2B Digital payments ecosystem in India.
Cashfree Payments has processed over 200 million transactions as of 2021, with a total transaction value of over $12 billion.
It serves over 3,00,000 businesses, ranging from small startups to large enterprises, across various industries such as e-commerce, travel, hospitality, and fintech such as Dream11, Zomato, Dunzo, CRED, Acko, and Nykaa amongst others.
Cashfree Payments offers various payment solutions, such as payment gateway, payouts, auto-collect, recurring payments, and marketplace settlements. They have also launched new products like Cashgram and Cashfree AI to improve the user experience and prevent fraud.
Let’s deep dive into the episode where Akash has their initial journey with heavy competition in the market, complying with RBI regulations as a payment solution provider, and much more.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
02:07 - Intro to Akash Sinha, Cashfree Payments and Payment ecosystem in India
03:09 - Journey so far & Indian payment’s landscape
06:37 - Mapping the payment landscape’s online segment
10:05 - Cashfree’s share in B2B payments in India
11:06 - Strengths of Razorpay & Cashfree Payments
13:59 - Larger customers such as - Meesho, Swiggy, Zepto, and CRED among others
14:50 - SME signups and payments insights across India
16:59 - Scaling with a Platform approach
18:14 - Being part of YC early-on
20:22 - Strengths as a CEO & Founder
24:57 - Y-o-Y growth at Cashfree Payments
26:01 - Plans for IPO
26:31 - Emotional Journey of a founder in the last 8 years
27:53 - Steering clear in a competitive market back in 2015
32:05 - Building multiple products to solve multiple problems
34:44 - India’s growing Digital infrastructure
38:03 - Advice for entrepreneurs to choose tough markets with large tailwinds
39:56 - Coming from a Non-fintech background
42:32 - How fast is the Digital payments market growing?
43:35 - How tough is it to be compliant with RBI regulatory changes?
By end-2019, just before the pandemic, the market for Coworking spaces was spread over some 30 million sq. ft, with 471,782 seats across the top seven markets in India, per JLL Research data.
In December 2022, the numbers grew to 50 million sq. ft and 750,000+ seats. In the next three years, the co-working space market in India is set to cross the 1-million-seats mark spread over 75 million sq. ft.
WeWork India is the leading provider of flexible workspace solutions with almost 70,000+ seats across 44+ locations in India.
In this episode, we have Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India, talking about his experience of bringing and scaling WeWork in India, over the past 7 years.
Karan brought WeWork to India in a partnership tie-up with his family's Embassy Group. Starting business operations in the country with 100k sq ft, WeWork India has progressed to 6.5mn sq ft as of today. Within 6 years, WeWork India has grown from 2,200 members in WeWork Galaxy, Bangalore, to 44 locations across 6 cities in India today - Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, and Pune.
During the episode, Karan shares the ups and downs in their journey, especially during Covid, and how they tackled the situation which helped them build goodwill and scale back faster post things normalized.
This podcast is for anyone who wants to have an insider view of India’s growing Flex workspace market.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
01:34 - Intro to Karan Virwani, WeWork and Global Co-working phenomenon
02:27 - Bringing WeWork to India
09:36 - Why not start under the Embassy brand name and why start with WeWork?
12:16 - Borrowing the DNA of WeWork Global to India
13:37 - Scaling to 40+ WeWorks and 70,000+ Desks in India
15:57 - Back into Growth mode post Covid
17:14 - Having multiple landlords for Pan-India growth
18:39 - Initial investment & roadblocks in their journey
24:43 - Plans for WeWork IPO in India
25:33 - Coworking customer segment in India v/s Global
33:16 - Coworking as a culture amongst Traditional & Legacy companies
34:05 - Operating in a certain price segment
36:44 - Partner-led approach during Covid
40:01 - Sector-wise demand of commercial real-estate
43:07 - Hitting $1 Bn revenue in 3 years
43:38 - Coworking as a % of Commerical Real Estate in India
As per Tracxn, there are 1100+ SaaS startups in Chennai as of Feb 2023.
Chennai has rightfully gained the title of the SAAS capital of India, thanks to the expansion of companies such as Zoho and Freshworks.
Although these two firms have recently surpassed the $500 million revenue milestone, making them the most prominent success stories in the realm of Indian-based SAAS companies, there are other companies contributing to Chennai's reputation in the market. Chargebee, CloudCherry, HappyFox, and FourKites are among the businesses that are creating a unique space in the industry.
In this episode, we have with us Srikrishnan Ganesan Founder, Rocketlane. Srikrishnan's SaaS journey began with Konotor, which got acquired by FreshWorks and later became Freshchat. He has experienced scaling from 0 to 100 and is now building Rocketlane, a customer onboarding platform that reduces time to value and eliminates hit-or-miss experiences.
During the episode, he talks about his inspiration behind building Rocketlane, Planning and doing GTM early on being a SaaS founder, setting up a base in Chennai, and much more.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
01:32 - Intro to Srikrishnan Ganesan, Rocketlane and Chennai’s SaaS ecosystem
02:36 - Why do SaaS founders prefer Chennai?
06:09 - Advantages of building prior-product building experience
09:50 - Choosing the domain for Rocketlane
13:12 - Rocketlane’s Pre-Launch setup
18:53 - What works in customer conversation’s Pre-Launch?
22:44 - Why do SaaS founders ignore GTM?
24:35 - Raising their 1st round
26:32 - Choosing to become a Category creator
29:08 - Investing in Brand-building upfront
30:39 - Funding announcement with a Rap video
34:15 - Learnings from his journey
37:54 - Their strategy for Demand-Gen
40:29 - His thoughts on Generative-AI
45:47 - Slowness demand for Rocketlane or similar companies serving SMBs
Imagine you’re part of an NBFC, how would you lend to a person running a Kirana business? Without any proper credit score, current account or other standard checks.
Finding it difficult to evaluate the credit worthiness of the shop owner. Right? In the age of the internet, UPI, net banking, Jan Dhan Bank account and almost all transaction-related data available with transparency, it seems possible.
Now imagine dealing with the same issue, back in 1984. Seems impossible right?
Well, that’s when Five Star Business Finance, ventured into small business financing.
In this episode, we have with us, Rangarajan Krishnan, CEO, Five Star Business Finance.
Dive into this episode as Rangarajan shares the journey of Five Star, their experience of going IPO recently, how RBI regulates NBFCs, what differentiates them from other NBFCs, Banks Fintech, and more.
This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone looking to learn more about the working, valuation, and scaling of NBFCs in India.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
01:28 - Intro to Rangarajan & Five Star Business Finance
02:38 - Valuation for NBFCs while going IPO
03:14 - Their IPO journey over three phases
10:29 - Private round valuation Pre-IPO
13:33 - History and background of Five Star
22:03 - RBI’s regulations around deposit-taking NBFCs
23:26 - How does the lending market in India looks like?
26:29 - The simplest way to define a customer of Five Star
31:51 - Branch presence across major geographies in India
37:10 - RBI scale-based regulations for 10,000+ NBFCs
39:45 - What differentiates them from other NBFCs?
42:41 - Do they aspire to be amongst the Top 10-15 NBFCs in the next 2-3 years?
44:11 - Prerequisites from RBI for starting an NBFC
46:16 - Do they want to become a Fintech eventually?
49:20 - Being a CEO and a Non-founder
51:39 - His interaction while joining Five Star
56:53 - Managing his & promotor's responsibilities
57:46 - Things he has changed & retained in the company in the last 7+ years
In this episode, we talk with Mithun Sacheti, the founder of CaratLane, who has disrupted the traditional jewellery industry in India by leveraging technology and innovation. He started CaratLane in 2008 with the vision to provide access to beautiful jewellery designs at an affordable price.
Mithun Sacheti comes from a Marwari family and joined the family jewellery business, Jaipur Gems, after graduation. He started its stores in Chennai. Later, he founded CaratLane in 2008 after being inspired by the online jewellery retailer, Blue Nile. CaratLane aims to solve the problem of limited access to beautiful and affordable jewellery designs for the middle class in India.
The conversation dives into his entrepreneurial journey, his insights on the Indian D2C startup ecosystem, and the challenges he faced along the way. Mithun recalls the struggles he had in convincing Bluedart to be their shipping partner and how it took them almost a year and a crore to build their website.
Tune in now to know Mithun’s journey of building CaratLane from scratch, his belief that in life, the harder thing is not to find answers but to find the right questions and what are the next questions for him in life.
Notes -
00:00 - Highlights of the conversation
01:45 - The idea & Need of CaratLane
01:55 - Disrupting the underserved jewellery market in India
03:19 - The first one to bring jewellery at low prices
03:33 - The designs should be democratised
03:55 - Becoming the Market Maker
04:04 - The reality of the Jewellery Market in India
06:08 - Why 25% of your wealth should be in form of gold?
06:47 - The effect of the Ukraine War on the purchase of gold
07:05 - Quitting family business to start Caratlane
08:30 - Life of kids born in families running big businesses
08:58 - Inspiration behind starting Caratlane
10:36 - First few pivots in their product journey
13:38 - Initial phase of building and growing Caratlane
17:57 - Raising funding & building for Titan
21:57 - Journey after Tiger Global’s funding
24:12 - Getting advice from Raamdeo Agrawal at Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s dinner
31:48 - Why do people really buy jewellery?
39:13 - Tata group being able to marry the Entrepreneur to the business post-acquisition
43:03 - Learnings while working with Tata
46:15 - What are the next questions in life for him?
Manish Mundra is an Investor, a film producer, and a man whose story is an inspiration for all the small-town people with big dreams.
Manish was born in a Marwadi family based in Deoghar, Jharkhand. He along with his family experienced a difficult time when his father’s business suffered a setback. From selling sarees to cold drinks, he had done it all to support his family. Manish later on focused on his education and did his MBA from a college in Jodhpur. He, later on, moved to Nigeria to join a multinational Petrochemicals firm and rose up to become its CEO.
In 2013, Manish responded to a tweet by actor-director Rajat Kapoor, offering to produce a movie based on his script—Ankhon Dekhi (2014).
After that, Manish founded Drishyam Films to back socially relevant films like Masaan, Newton, Ankhon Dekhi and more becoming one of the most promising filmmakers of Indian cinema. Recently, he also released his first movie Siya as a director.
In our conversation with Manish, he shares his journey from his early days in Deoghar to moving to Nigeria and then finding a way to produce and direct movies.
He also opens up about his passion for promoting diversity and inclusivity in cinema and why it's so important to give a voice to underrepresented communities.
Manish's infectious energy and inspiring story that he has will definitely make you think that when it comes to dreams, the sky's the limit for him.
Notes -
02:08 - Intro to Manish Mundra
05:48 - Moving out of India
10:33 - Initial life in Middle-class families
20:34 - Working hard early in career to scale faster
23:50 - His experience with his first film - “Ankhon Dekhi” with Rajat Kapoor
35:33 - Slow compounding throughout his journey
39:18 - Being a filmmaker who has no background of movies
42:47 - More screens for independent film-makers
52:02 - Dealing with your inferiority complex?
56:35 - More evolved and More Spiritual
57:14 - What’s the purpose that’s driving Manish at the age of 49?
In the recent episode of Shark Tank India which went viral, we saw Ganesh Balakrishnan, the Co-Founder of Flatheads Shoes, pitch his sustainable and ethically-made footwear brand to the Sharks.
Although Ganesh faced some initial skepticism from the Sharks, he didn't give up and continued to present his vision with confidence and determination.
And through his pitch, he made everyone realize that entrepreneurship is not only Unicorns, fundraisers, and large secondaries for the founders. It's mainly about the fight that goes on within an individual and with the outside world.
Ganesh's tenacity and perseverance in the face of rejection are an inspiration to all entrepreneurs, and his story is a reminder that success doesn't come easy and entrepreneurship is a long journey.
In this episode, we talk to Ganesh about his journey as an entrepreneur, the inspiration behind Flatheads Shoes, and the challenges he's faced along the way.
Listen to the full episode to learn more about Ganesh’s new Mantra for Entrepreneurship "Down but not out"
Notes -
01:22 - Intro to Ganesh
02:42 - Getting into Shark Tank
05:02 - What happened once the episode aired?
07:32 - The Joy of Creation
14:12 - Emotional Journey with family as an Entrepreneur
20:51 - Impact of Covid on Flatheads
28:44 - What’s next for Flatheads?
33:15 - Pandemic-driven thought process: Offline vs Online
35:28 - What else was discussed in the Shark Tank pitch that wasn’t aired?
38:12 - Why didn't he take the Shark Tank offer?
39:45 - What brings humility to an entrepreneur?
43:50 - Knowing what he got to know after Shark Tank, what would he have done differently in Flatheads' journey?
47:11 - His focus in 2023
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
The Indian Grocery market was at 396 Billion Indian Rupees in 2022.
Over 95% of Indian grocery stores are made up of Kiranas or small grocery stores.
While supermarkets account for about 4% of total grocery shares, online groceries are not even near one percent.
Which stands as a huge potential market for companies like BigBasket, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, JioMart, and Dunzo to scale.
Zepto pioneered 10 min grocery delivery In India. It’s a phenomenon that took India by storm. And this is a unique Indian offering. Nowhere in the world has 10 min delivery been pioneered and scaled like in India.
And there are very few businesses born once in a decade that change consumer behavior permanently. Flipkart pioneered e-commerce in India, BigBasket pioneered grocery in India delivered in 3-4 days and Zepto has pioneered grocery delivered in 10 mins.
In this episode, we have Aadit Palicha, Founder & CEO, Zepto sharing his journey so far with us.
During the conversation, Aadit also mentioned about his first startup, moving back to India during Covid, dropping out of Stanford, and starting Zepto.
Notes -
00:00 - Intro
01:36 - The life story of Aadit before starting Zepto
02:36 - First startup at age 16
08:18 - Dropping out of Stanford
10:21 - First round of funding from Y-combinator and Nexus
12:30 - Growth & Challenges in Zepto’s journey so far
17:35 - Is grocery a big enough category to build a large enough business?
20:54 - Is it possible to become profitable in this space?
25:50 - Headwinds in their business
28:46 - Going public in India at $10 Bn
34:00 - Where does 99%+ of his learnings come from?
37:45 - Avoid taking a hit on culture as you scale
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
SaaS startups in India have seen significant growth in recent years. The country's SaaS market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.5% from 2020 to 2025, reaching a value of $6.3 billion.
A few of the factors driving this growth are:
- Increasing adoption of cloud computing
- Availability of advanced tech infrastructure in India
- Support from the Government of India for funding, mentorship, and other resources to entrepreneurs.
In India, there are Investors and founders who have witnessed the evolution of SaaS in India. With his notable investments like Whatfix, LimeChat, GTM Buddy, Alok has built his own thesis for SaaS over the years.
Tune in to hear Alok sharing about the top SaaS companies in India, what all has changed in his investing thesis, the categories he’s most bullish on, and why SaaS sector is only going to rise in the coming years.
Notes -
01:53 - How Alok got into investing
02:44 - Evolution of SaaS in India
08:16 - Definition of global category leaders in SaaS
10:02 - Is there a known pattern in the US for his portfolio companies in India?
13:23 - SaaS investments in 2022
14:02 - Next 3-4 years for SaaS in India
19:03 - Building a GTM engine in the US with a seed round in India
23:00 - Focus on reducing burn
24:51 - Growth in more & more $100Mn ARR companies in India
29:14 - The Edge India has in creating successful SaaS startups
31:28 - Major shift in his thesis in the past years
38:21 - His focus on AI automation startups
43:55 - Thesis on Developer-Centric Softwares
48:50 - Backing founders at Idea Stage
58:34 - What he looks for in founders?
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
- Why the DARLING Edtech in 2021 became a taboo in 2022 for VCs?
- What do students really expect?
- Why do Edtech entrepreneurs fail?
- And what's the most important factor in EdTech Success?
Today we talk with Manan Khurma, Founder at Cuemath who answers all these questions for us.
During our conversation he shares how building an Education venture is not like building on a rocket ship, but building with trust.
He has been building Cuemath for almost the last decade and he highlights that unlike the common notion or FOMO behind going online being an Edtech venture, right before Covid, only 5% of their entire revenue came via Online classes.
His first question to any new entrepreneur looking to enter the Edtech space is if they are ready to give atleast two decades to build their educational venture.
Further during the episode Manan shares their views on performance marketing in edtech, building trust for students and parents, and much more.
Notes -
02:21 - Manan’s journey to becoming a teacher and entrepreneur
04:31 - What’s his view of Edtech landscape both in India and globally?
08:08 - Which are the institutions that inspire him?
11:55 - Going down the attention span of kids in the last decade
17:45 - Certain kids already being great at grasping new things
21:19 - Zoho Shoutout
23:30 - Getting answers has become really easy
27:39 - Real learning happens when a student puts their brain in isolation to a problem
29:07 - Increase in the number of screens in our home
33:11 - Thesis on how not to build an Education venture
39:31 - Mercenary category of Entrepreneur
45:15 - Current scale of Cuemath
47:55 - Their approach to starting coding courses
49:30 - Essence of Analytical thinking
50:54 - Goal to build a strong base and system
51:52 - Best way to build a 1,00,000 paid students base in Educational venture
54:22 - How have the customer acquisition channels evolved?
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
Recently the trend in startups has been around growing fast, scaling faster, and becoming humongous with viral products, ideas & marketing.
But in most cases, such ideas come crashing down in a short span of time, because of the lack of depth either in the product or the customer base.
In this episode, almost after a year and half since we published NoBroker Founder Amit Agarwal’s episode, we have with us his Co-founder Akhil Gupta to talk more about their journey of building NoBroker with depth in every market and focus on customers over the last 10 years.
During the episode, Akhil shares the ups and downs in their journey, along with the initial response they got while they were trying to raise their first round, what are his thoughts about the current & future of the housing market in India, and more.
Notes -
01:26 - Early Product Market Fit moment for NoBroker
07:19 - Clarity to make NoBroker the largest Real Estate solution in India
08:53 - The most challenging obstacles
13:35 - Defining moments in their journey
15:19 - Mistakes they made being founders
16:46 - Key factors why they succeeded
20:35 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on What does Zoho Payroll do and what’s the story behind it?
21:36 - Future Plans
23:41 - How they become the Amazon of Real Estate
25:16 - Passion behind starting NoBroker
30:40 - Why they got rejected by so many VCs
32:29 - Realistic way of building a sustainable growing startup
38:07 - Reason behind the sky-rocketing of rentals in Bangalore
42:04 - Impact of global factors on the Indian Housing market
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
**Where was the Indian Startup Ecosystem back in 2010-12, where is it now in 2022 and where is it headed 5 years down the line, in terms of -
Digital Infrastructure
Tech Talent
Innovative mindset amongst founders
Investments from VCs and Angel Investors and more.**
In this episode, we will talk about all of it, with our guest, Santosh Panda, Co-founder, Foundership where he is Incubating & Accelerating Top Founders & Builders Launch Defining Web3 Startup of tomorrow.
Tune in to hear Santosh share his insights on the importance of finding a Co-founder, the opportunities of the Indian Startup Ecosystem in the years to come, the past, present & future of Web3, and much more.
Notes -
00:00 - Bhai tu Co-founder banega?
01:55 - Meeting with Santosh for the first time
06:40 - Being compassionate
09:05 - Convincing someone to become your Co-founder
16:22 - Being within the Startup Ecosystem since 2008
19:57 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on how is Zoho Payroll solving problems beyond payroll.
23:35 - Thoughts about the current Indian Startup Ecosystem
31:00 - How would 2025-2030 be like for Indian Startups?
34:47 - Tech Innovation in India for last mile connectivity
37:09 - The essence of having a Digital Infrastructure in India
41:18 - What is there for India in Web3?
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
As of today, only 15% of India’s population lives in the top 50 cities, and the remaining 85% which accounts to around 119 crores, live in towns or villages.
According to an ASER survey, the availability of smartphones in rural India was 67.6 % in 2021, primarily bought for kids’ studies amid the pandemic.
With this, we can make out that even in towns and villages, the penetration of smartphones and the internet is huge and people in villages are driven to spend higher to provide better learning resources to their children.
This exact learning is what drove our guest, Lal Chand Bisu, Founder, Kuku FM, to build a product for Bharat.
In today’s episode, we talk with Lal Chand Bisu to understand, how he was able to build a subscription model product for the mass Indians and what have been his learnings over the years while scaling Kuku FM.
Notes -
01:50 - Intro
02:20 - Do the mass Indians pay for subscriptions?
03:46 - How do Indians define value?
05:37 - How is Kukufm an aspirational product for the masses?
08:05 - Indians consuming aspirational content
11:33 - Split of content on Kuku FM
12:36 - Starting Non-series content in form of Mini-episodes
16:25 - Popularity of Personal Finance on Kuku FM
18:24 - Family Background and the entrepreneurial path he chose
20:26 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on what makes Zolo Payroll different from its competitors?
28:46 - How was he motivated to do something out of his league?
32:36 - Why do people in towns or villagers aspire for Government jobs?
36:44 - Convincing Indian consumers to pay for Non-fictional content subscriptions
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
The direct-to-consumer market, known as the D2C market had a size of about $33 billion in India in 2020. By 2025, the total addressable D2C market is forecast to grow almost threefold and reach $100 billion.
In today’s episode, we have with us, Abhishek Goenka, Head of Investments, RPSG Capital Ventures.
RPSG Capital Ventures is an early-stage consumer VC fund focused on investing in the D2C ecosystem including food & beverage, personal care, and lifestyle goods.
Some of their portfolio companies are mCaffeine, Plixlife, and The Souled Store among others.
In today’s episode, Abhishek shares the differentiating factor of what led them to invest in Plixlife, one of their portfolio’s profitable exits, and more.
Notes -
01:07 - Intro to RPSG and its investments in D2C space
02:42 - Largest portfolio companies and what helped them reach there
03:45 - What’s D2C from his perspective?
05:04 - What has helped D2C in India to have explosive growth?
13:51 - How does a D2C brand differentiate itself in today’s time?
20:39 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on what is their long-term vision with Zoho Payroll.
22:23 - Thesis which didn’t work out
29:41 - Why don’t we see many D2C unicorns in India?
32:14 - What are the moats for a D2C brand?
34:54 - Doubling down on the Hero product
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
Karthik Jagannathan, after working for more than two decades across cross-functional experience in Telecom and Internet businesses, with a specific focus on SMBs, decided to build a solution to help SMBs scale faster with Gallabox.
In today’s episode, Karthik shares the backstory of what led him to starting up at the age of 50, building something for SMBs, and more.
Notes -
01:36 - Serving a business like it's your own
04:10 - Where do the roots of ownership come from in his life?
06:27 - What other significant events in his life lead him to here today?
08:58 - Building and growing sustainably in crisis
12:06 - India wasn’t a place of - “Grow fast, Break fast.”
18:34 - Landscape out there in Small & Medium Businesses in India
24:33 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
26:44 - Zeroing down on an idea to solve for SMBs
36:22 - Leveraging Whatsapp with Gallabox
39:06 - Themes that he wanted to solve for
40:49 - Scaling to over 500+ business
49:39 - Learnings from their journey so far
51:50 - What helped them grow faster?
57:49 - Advice for entrepreneur building for SMBs
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur! https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
With so much happening in our work and personal lives on a daily basis, how do you keep track of things?
Which one of the following do you generally practice?
1. Just try to remember all of it with your brain
2. Save reminders or alerts with a calendar or events management app
3. Maintain a daily diary
4. Some other way!
As argued and mentioned by most founders and VCs on our podcast so far, like Gaurav Munjal, Founder Unacademy, its futile to put so much pressure on your brain to try and remember everything all the time.
Instead, its best to take notes of all the things that matter to you or you think would matter to you down the line, store it somewhere and refer it when needed, and just use your brain as a processor, rather than a hard drive.
In today’s episode, we have with us, Tiago Forte, Founder, Forte Labs and we’re going to talk in-depth about his book - “Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organise Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential”.
In simple words, taking and processing notes in an effective and efficient way.
During the episode, Tiago talks about our mental blockers which hold us back from taking effective notes, how to get back at reviewing them later, how to get started with step 1, and more.
Notes -
00:36 - Intro
01:24 - Key takeaways from his book for a layman
03:30 - What’s his why behind writing his book and creating this system?
06:01 - Why or how do health issues triggers to write such an unconventional book?
07:04 - Initial system of note-taking and how it has evolved.
08:34 - What’s the App-stack that he relies on?
10:00 - How has this journey transformed him as a person?
11:36 - First set of things anyone can do to get started?
16:13 - How to review or revisit your notes effectively?
18:14 - His daily schedule: Between first brain & second brain
20:20 - Why is it difficult for people to take this 1-extra step?
22:26 - What can help our listeners help overcome procrastination and start note-taking?
25:39 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
26:55 - How to manage accountability in note-taking?
31:23 - How to make note-taking frictionless?
34:18 - Three personas from his book where note-taking made a significant change to their life
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
There’s been a high rise in global data breaches for several years, and 2022 has been littered with information thefts.
As per Analytics India magazine, the data breach cost averaged Rs.176 million in 2022, reaching an all-time high.
In July, Twitter suffered a data breach of 5.4 million accounts, and throughout the year so far, there have been several cases of data theft of various scales.
Our today’s guest, Jaspreet Singh, Founder & CEO Druva, has built and scaled the company since 2008 to provide a solution in this space.
Druva is trusted by over 4,000 global organizations. The company has such strong faith in these data-protection systems, that they even offer a Data Resiliency Guarantee up to $10 Mn against five key data risks.
In today’s episode, Jaspreet shares with us the backstory of what led him to start Druva, move to the US, and more.
Notes -
00:42 - Intro
01:13 - Conceptualizing Druva
04:06 - What kept him going in the first 5-years?
05:37 - Reaching $1 Mn ARR
07:08 - Druva’s revenue till 2013 before getting their first large customer
07:49 - What were they building in the first 5 years and what did they transition into after 2013?
10:46 - Letting go of $8 Mn revenue
11:45 - Milestones and evolving for revenue growth
14:19 - Critical requirement to shift to the US for scale
17:19 - Is a India Product-Market-Fit exactly replicable in the US?
19:26 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
20:26 - What worked well for Druva in the 10 to 100 journey?
24:52 - His advice to SaaS entrepreneurs to reach $20 Mn ARR
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
What are some of the valuable learnings and inspirations Siddhartha and Nansi got after recording 200+ episodes with the most successful entrepreneurs, VCs, and creators on the 100x Entrepreneur podcast?
The new episode with our duo is out now!
Tune in to learn how to start a podcast, what you can expect after a certain number of podcast episodes, how you grow with each conversation, and which guests inspired Nansi & Siddhartha the most!
We hope you enjoy this short, crisp and insightful episode from 100x!
Notes -
00:22 - Intro
01:15 - Learning Consistency: Publishing episodes every Monday
02:26 - Learning Networking: Bringing Top-notch guests
06:24 - Learnings from Gaurav Munjal, Unacademy: 10000+ Notes on his iPad
08:40 - “A Startup Team is Sports Team, not a family.”
09:34 - Learnings from Vidit Attrey, Meesho: Listening to your customers
12:35 - Realising that you know nothing and absorbing the best of your guests
14:02 - Shoutout with Prashant Ganti, Head of Product, Zoho on where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
16:12 - Learnings from creators who’ve cracked distribution
17:42 - Being professional with people you work with
In 2021, 125 Indian companies raised over $18 Bn through initial public offerings (IPO) in public markets.
Out of $18 Bn, over $7.3 Bn was raised by 11 Indian Tech Startups from Nazara to MapmyIndia.
In today’s episode, we talk with Abhishek Goyal & Neha Singh, Co-founders, Tracxn, which recently went IPO.
But unlike the other major tech startups which went IPO in recent years, at Tracxn, they decided to go IPO at a probably early stage, considering their ARR of $10 Mn.
During the episode, they share there view point on why they chose to do it on an initial ARR rather than going IPO, once they’ve grown big enough and more.
Notes -
00:37 - Intro to Tracxn
01:27 - Feeling of going IPO
02:27 - Preparing for an IPO
05:06 - Splitting the roles within team to be prepared from Day 1
05:41 - Documents which they had to submit to SEBI or any other regulator for the DRHP
06:46 - Trendsetter by going public at $10 Mn ARR
08:44 - Convincing VCs for going IPO-early
11:33 - Mentors from whom they took advice for going public
12:59 - Is it possible to time the market for IPO?
14:58 - Raising an Anchor allocation Pre-IPO
16:17 - Most stressful part of going IPO: Market Uncertainty
18:34 - Rollercoaster set of emotions they went through
22:24 - Moments of giving up during the whole process
24:16 - How to prepare mentally before entering the IPO-process?
24:33 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
26:01 - IPO-Checklist and learnings
31:26 - What does it requires for tech companies to go public?
35:03 - Playbook where companies can go public and build in long-term
35:54 - Founder aspiration beyond becoming Unicorn
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
What are those 5 key decisions Siddhartha and Nansi took to building 100x Entrepreneur?
The new episode with our duo is out now! Tune in to hear their journey, learnings, and the hard work they put into bringing the best startup podcast to you all!
We hope you enjoy this podcast.
Make sure to watch it till the very end and share it with your friends!
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
The number of retail grocery retailers across India in 2022 amounted to about 13 million.
Grocery retail account for about 65% of India's overall retailers.
And the most common problems faced by these retailers on a financial front up until a few years back were -
- Accepting digital payments such as UPI or Cards
- Easy & Quick access to loans for expanding business or in the form of working capital for buying new stock.
In 2018, BharatPe was started to cater to these problems faced by every day retailers in India.
Since then the company has grown to enable 10 million merchants in 400+ cities, processing US$ 20 bn of annualized TPV in payments.
During the peak of Covid, they also joined hands with ICICI Lombard to launch Coronavirus insurance cover for shopkeepers. To enable hands-free checking of transactions they also launched Speaker.
To know how digital payments turned out as a big break for them, we’ve got BharatPe founder Shashvat Nakrani & CEO Suhail Sameer on our guest seats this time.
In this episode we discuss-
- How they’ve scaled BharatPe over the past 4 years?
- Does the age gap between them affect the decision-making at the top level?
- What do they keep in mind while building or scaling any new product?
- And much more
Notes -
01:35 - Expectations with BharatPe’s current scale
03:17 - Joining a Rocket Ship as a CEO
05:10 - Changes in culture and customer offerings in the last 2 years
12:19 - Very less attachment to a particular role amongst founders & CEOs
16:30 - Dealing and coming out the challenging times at BharatPe
18:17 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
19:33 - Helping the team innovate faster and plan Go-To-Market strategy
25:37 - Strengths & Weakness of Shashvat
29:33 - Strengths & Weakness of Suhail
31:03 - Handling the firing decisions
35:17 - What are the things they bond over?
36:38 - Processes v/s Hustle in 0 to 1 and 1 to 10 journey
40:49 - Secret recipe behind success at 0 to 1 on a product-level
44:02 - Idea behind building distribution network
47:33 - Suhail’s top priorities while joining BharatPe
49:29 - Biases and things Suhail had to unlearn
55:21 - Listening to Younger v/s Older Team members while decision making
58:39 - Next Chapter of BharatPe
01:01:00 - What is being IPO-ready?
01:07:39 - Things which they could have explored outside of Fintech?
As per Statista, Market size of the cosmetics industry across India which was at $3 Bn in 2010 is expected to grow to atleast $20 Bn by 2025.
In today’s episode, we talk with Manish Taneja, Co-founder and CEO, Purplle, which was started back in 2012.
During the podcast Manish talks in detail about -
- How he along with his Cofounders have always thought for the long-term?
- Problems they faced back in 2012 in Vertical Ecommerce.
- How MOATs against competitors are mostly in the minds of the founders? rather than being actually relevant to Indian customers, who are most price and value sensitive.
- What’s unique about their culture that has helped them retain as well as hire new talent?
- And more…
Lastly before we dive deeper into the podcast, something that Manish mentioned during the episode - “Our 2nd part of the journey has been about, believing in yourself, doing things that are contradictory to the world but at the same time, we think could create massive value in the future.”
Notes -
03:19 - Intro to Manish & Purplle
04:57 - Being from a Finance background what got him to start his 2nd venture in Online Beauty space?
10:32 - Challenges in Vertical Ecommerce back in 2012
12:29 - Challenges in delivery, cash flow and more in the first 5-6 years
17:30 - Two defining characteristics in their fund raising journey
2!:52 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
22:55 - Learnings while his exit from Avendus Capital
24:18 - Major changes in the 2nd part of their journey from 2016-17 onwards
28:34 - Launching their own brands with 65%+ Gross Margin
31:08 - How has he evolved as a founder during Purplle’s journey?
33:21 - Shaping Purplle’s culture over the years
38:34 - “MOATs aren’t as relevant for consumers, as they are for founders against competition.”
42:23 - Opportunity to build a $20-30 Bn FMCG company from India
45:26 - Not succumbing to external pressures around Growth
**Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll**
Thinking about Entrepreneurship or Startups which of the following do you think really matters -
# Having Degree from a Tier-1 college?
# Having or finding the right Co-founder?
# Sky-rocketing your scale up as soon as you secure funding?
# Pouring in your resources to get as many customers as fast as possible via Ads?
Well the short answer to all the above questions is, IT DOESN’T.
In today’s episode we’ve with us Vaibhav Sisinty, Founder, GrowthSchool. And in this episode, while sharing his experiences of building and scaling GrowthSchool, he busts all the above myths one-by-one.
For all of you, who’ve been active on Linkedin, in the past few years, especially around themes like marketing and growth hacking, you would have surely noticed a post or an Ad by Vaibhav, or his perfect case of personal branding and self-curated courses on Sisinty.com.
During the episode, we talk with Vaibhav about how he learnt and grew his marketing skills during his job at Uber and Klook, how he used a brilliant growth hacking method even while raising his first round and much more.
Lastly before we dive deeper into the podcast, something that Vaibhav mentioned during the episode - “True Product Market Fit is, If I shut down my product today, will 25 people line out of my office, requesting to please turn it ON.”
Notes -
00:54 - Intro
01:55 - Starting in Growth Journey: From his 1st Venture to Uber
05:24 - Helping other startups: His playground to learn
06:29 - Building Organic v/s Paid Channels of Growth
12:02 - Founder-Market Fit towards starting GrowthSchool
16:02 - 0 to $1 Mn ARR before first round of funding
20:36 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
22:33 - Running Lean & Shrewd to achieve profitability
23:58 - Scale & format of courses before and after the funding
29:00 - Growth Hacking his way to raise funding from Sequoia, Owl & 80+ Angels
36:15 - “Blitzscaling right after funding will break things.”
39:17 - Focus & Internal goals in near future
41:46 - What’s his definition of PMF for GrowthSchool?
49:15 - Managing his time as a Solo Founder
52:55 - Various process which he has built in his life
**Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll**
**As per Statista, globally there are more than 2.6 Mn Apps on Google Play Store, and when you’re building in today’s age of internet, you need as much as visibility possible around -
Accurately measuring the impact of your marketing initiatives**
# Actionable insights on your user behaviour
# Potential Competitors & on what metrics do they compare with you and where do you & your team needs to focus more.
To understand mobile marketing analytics better in this episode we’ve with us Oren Kaniel, CEO & Co-founder, AppsFlyer.
Founded in 2011, AppsFlyer has grown leaps and bounds and is currently amongst the top choices of marketers to mobile marketing analytics.
In today’s episode, we talk with Oren about how they built and grew AppsFlyer where there was almost a free option like Google Analytics available to the masses, also what’s their focus triangle about Privacy, Users Value and Safety.
Lastly before we dive deeper into the podcast, something that Oren’s mentioned during the episode - “Do not fall in love with your product, fall in love with the ecosystem, with the problem-statement.”
Notes -
03:09 - Intro to AppsFlyer
03:55 - Starting with Entrepreneurship
05:53 - Identifying the opportunity and starting AppsFlyer
09:18 - How well positioned is Israel for capturing Asian and Global markets?
12:55 - $300 Mn ARR from the US & rest of the Global market
13:46 - Journey from 0 to 1 and 1 to 10
20:13 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
22:25 - Ensuring faster growth by balancing pricing and revenue model
27:53 - Evolving of Go-To-Market insights over time
38:19 - Building the team and culture
**Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll**
Today being an entrepreneur and starting with a new idea, you can take either of the two approaches -
1. You can build on top of an existing category in the market and bring your unique offerings
2. You can take the riskier bet and create an entire category.
In India, companies like Flipkart, Oyo, Ola etc. are the ‘Regional’ first movers. Although their concept was inspired from the global companies, however, being the first mover in the Indian subcontinent region gave them an advantage.
In today’s episode we have Bala Srinivasa, Managing Director, Arkam Ventures, who has a great focus on identifying and investing in such Category Creators for Middle India.
Prior to Arkam, Bala, was part of the founding team at Vistaar, which in simple words helps companies like Cisco, Dell, GE, Ford, and Hitachi to make better, faster, and more profitable business decisions.
Post that he became one of the founding members of Amba research, which was acquired for $100 Mn by Moody’s.
After Amba, he was also with Kalaari Capital for over 3 years, post which he co-founded Arkam Ventures, a Venture Capital firm with a focus on “Category Creators for Middle India” and “Enablers for the Global”.
In today’s episode, we talk with Bala about key ingredients of building a Category Creator, Solving for the pricing problem in SaaS startups, taking SaaS to the mass audience in Tier-3 cities and towns and much more.
Notes -
02:01 - Intro
04:05 - Essential ingredients to build a $10 Mn ARR company
06:29 - Why focus on category creators for Middle India?
18:38 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
20:08 - Evolving from a single problem statement to a platform with multiple offerings
22:23 - Razorpay’s gameplan for trust building for Small town customers
24:06 - His thesis around investing in enablers like Signzy and Spotdraft
30:26 - His thoughts on India-focused SaaS with regards to pricing
33:24 - Themes and Thesis which didn’t worked out
38:42 - What gave him an edge into the middle India consumer?
**Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll**
How can an experience being a VC come handy while starting up? To answer this today we’ve with us Divyaanshu Makkar, Co-Founder, Sourcewiz.
Prior to starting Sourcewiz, Divyaanshu had already tasted entrepreneurship with his first venture in EdTech space, Connect2Teach in London. Post that after working with EY-Parthenon for a brief period of time, he joined Bessemer Venture Partners in California, United States.
At Bessemer he focused on EdTech, Consumer Tech for India/SEA and Enterprise/SMB SaaS being built from India/SEA for the world.
In today’s episode, we talk with Divyaanshu understanding his journey from being a Entrepreneur to becoming a VC and then going back for Entrepreneurship, his learnings and networks from his VC-period which came handy while starting Sourcewiz and more.
Notes -
02:24 - Intro
03:53 - Early Career and background in Venture Capital prior to Sourcewiz
07:35 - After VC what made him come back as an entrepreneur?
09:38 - Learnings from Mistakes from his previous venture
13:02 - Mistakes he observed other founders make while being a VC
15:04 - Key criterias for him while selecting a market from a VC’s lens
20:03 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
21:58 - Quitting at Bessemer Venture Partners to starting up Sourcewiz
31:10 - Connecting with Sajith Pai from Blume Ventures
35:02 - Identifying and Focusing on the problem statement within SaaS
41:08 - Getting their first paying customer
44:45 - Figuring out a scalable GTM for Tier-II customers
47:34 - Acquiring 400+ Paid customers in within first year
49:20 - Building a marketplace and its current traction
53:59 - His path to a $1Mn ARR and then for $10Mn ARR
56:16 - Building mechanism for scale
1:00:34 - Unknowns in the market they are still figuring out
1:02:12 - Closing their second round of Seed funding with Matrix Partners India
1:05:02 - Selection criteria for Angel Investors
1:06:44 - Key pointers of Do’s and Don’ts for new founders
**Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll**
The Indian market is seeing several startups offering innovative products in the D2C & FMCG segment.
One such innovative brand is Rage Coffee.
Founder Bharat Sethi launched Rage Coffee in the year 2018. It offers a variety of vegan-friendly, vitamin-infused instant coffee flavours. The brand is currently present in 2,500+ retail outlets pan-India and plans to expand its offline presence 5X within a year by strengthening its distribution channels.
In today’s episode, we talk with Bharat Sethi who has been a serial entrepreneur about his entire journey so far and how does Rage Coffee stands out as a brand, the mistakes he made being a founder and what are his future plans for Rage Coffee.
Notes -
02:02 - Intro
02:47 - Family background & what led him to entrepreneurship?
06:35 - Conceptualising PosterGully in 2012
11:09 - Exit from PosterGully
11:50 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
12:59 - Mistakes and learnings from iDecorama
18:45 - Ideating for Rage Coffee
25:55 - Milestones & Growth over the years
**Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll**
Founded in 2013, Portea Medical, India's Leading Home Health Care Company employes over 4000 people and covers 40+ cities in India doing 1,50,000+ home visits every month.
Portea has also helped about 5,00,000 COVID-19 patients, working with seven different cities and state governments, including Delhi, Mumbai, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Chennai, Bengaluru and all of Karnataka.
Meena Ganesh, Chairperson and Co-Founder, Portea Medical is one of India’s most celebrated entrepreneurs and business leaders. She sits on the boards of numerous firms like Axis Bank, and has a string of start-up successes to her credit. She co-founded her first company, Customer Asset, in 2000 and later on sold it to ICICI. Then came TutorVista, which she ran successfully till it was acquired by British publishing giant Pearson.
Before founding Portea, Meena also served Pearson India as the chief executive officer and managing director.
With her incredible career and achievements, she also became part of Fortune India’s ‘50 Most Powerful Women in Indian Business’ from 2015 to 2021.
In today’s episode, we talk with Meena about her entrepreneurial journey so far, learnings from building a healthcare startup in India and why even getting two large exists previously, she still thinks that journey with her third venture Portea is the most satisfying in terms of learnings.
Notes -
01:36 - Intro
02:04 - Family background & what got Meena into entrepreneurship
08:02 - Brainstorming Ideas during the conception of Portea
12:46 - Milestones after Series A till date
17:53 - Her thoughts on the notion that - “It’s difficult to create money from healthcare & health-tech startups”
21:36 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
22:37 - How has the pricing model evolved at Portea?
24:06 - Learnings from building in healthcare in India
27:14 - How has she grown as a founder during her entrepreneurial journey?
30:04 - Her fundraising journey at Portea
30:33 - Balancing investor-founder relation over the course of a startup’s journey
32:07 - Managing her time between GrowthStory, Portea and home
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
In startup ecosystem a lot of people talk about Category creating startups, but it is equally difficult and as it sounds glamorous and exciting.
That’s possibly the reason why we don’t see a lot such Category creating startups around us very frequently. And even if they do come up, they don’t sustain very long.
In today’s episode we are talking with Vijay Arisetty, Founder, MyGate, i.e. a category creating startup in its space.
As of now MyGate cators to almost 4 Million+ homes across India. It is very likely that you would have interacted with MyGate directly, as its installed in your society or indirectly probably when you would have visited to meet a friend or family in a gated community, and you would have experienced the seamless flow it brings to gates of these gated communities.
During the episode, catch Vijay sharing what all challenges and opportunities did they come across being a category creating startup in terms of hiring, what to offer to its customers, how to monetize better and much more.
Notes -
01:51 - Intro
03:11 - Family Background and joining the Armed Forces
06:55 - His first startup - PurpleRoad in the Delivery space
08:19 - Aha moment which led to starting MyGate?
11:53 - Final Scale with his logistics startup and initial scale at MyGate before first funding
14:48 - Challenges during the first funding round being a category creator
21:25 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
23:13 - Current and operationally capable scale of MyGate
24:56 - Evolution of monetary channels
29:48 - Challenges during their 0 to 1 journey and then in 1 to 10 journey
37:36 - Existential crisis prior to first round of funding
42:13 - Journey from Series A to Series B and beyond
44:55 - How were the two years of Covid for MyGate?
49:02 - Similarities between being in the Armed Forces and being an Entrepreneur
54:08 - 30 Million homes untapped market by MyGate
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
In Sales the stakes are high. And for company’s growth it is important to get it right.
Thanks to multiple options of Sales engagement softwares which streamlines the sales process through integrations which enables companies to combine their sales and marketing efforts to create personalized and automated sales journeys.
In today's episode of 100x Entrepreneur, we have with us Yamini Bhat, Co-founder & CEO, Vymo; i.e An intelligent sales engagement platform for financial institutions.
Started in 2013, Vymo is used by 300,000+ Sales Reps across 65+ Enterprises such as HDFC Bank, SBI Life Insurance, and Sun Life Financial among others.
While most SaaS startups go global from Day 1, Vymo is one of the few Indian SaaS companies which scaled to more than $10M ARR with India Enterprises as clients.
During the episode, catch Yamini sharing why did they chose to focus on BFSI, how did they brought awareness for both their team and customers about their product and much more.
Notes -
01:33 - Intro
03:05 - Career background in Sales Transformation at Mckinsey which led her to Vymo
06:48 - Family background and getting into BITS Pilani & IIM Bangalore?
14:58 - Quitting Mckinsey and identifying the problem statement to startup
17:29 - Till Series-A being focused on a horizontal solution
20:53 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
23:04 - Milestones during Vymo’s journey
26:26 - Key challenges with team and customers early-on
28:56 - Convincing the first few BFSI customers for an average contract value of $350K
31:54 - Building a SaaS behemoth from India and then expanding globally
36:16 - Her 0 to $10 Million ARR playbook for SaaS-entrepreneurs in India
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
As per a recent article,“About 60% of companies that reach pre-series A funding fail to make it to Series A, so the success rate is only 30%-40%.”
Infact if you check on Crunchbase, in India you’ll find 4300+ startups at Pre-seed or Seed-stage, but only 600+ out of them have managed to reach Series-A, which bring the success rate to even lower at just 15%.
Apart from this, even in the entire Indian startup ecosystem, there are so many Product Managers, Ex-founders, and many more, who either have an idea around a Problem-statement, but don’t know how to proceed or there are students in college, who are amazed by the startup ecosystem, and want to take their early step, but afraid on how to take the next step.
In order to solve this we have with us our guest of this episode, Rajiv Srivatsa & Nitin Sharma, Antler India.
Antler unlike most VC firms bets on the startup ideas at Pre-seed stage with their Antler India Residency or in some cases even earlier with college students via Antler India Fellowship.
During the episode, catch Rajiv & Nitin sharing their First Principles approach and what infrastructure they are building at Antler India to make the founders succeed considering the time constraints at Pre-seed stage and much more.
Notes -
03:50 - Intro
04:44 - Why did they choose to build Antler India?
09:35 - How did Antler happen?
12:02 - Why kind of institutional mindset do they bring in?
16:18 - How do they balance the equation of a Founder’s optimism & a VC’s pessimism between them?
18:22 - Background around Antler’s India Portfolio over the last 18+ months
22:08 - Zoho Sponsored – Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
23:47 - What’s their approach and what’s the general cheque size?
29:48 - Learnings from the Ups & Downs in Urban Ladder Journey
33:28 - Focusing on building around core foundational use-cases during times of crisis
38:18 - Keeping founders from falling in love with the product and not the actual problem-story
42:12 - Examples of building PeakPerformer & Bookee with Antler
46:47 - How & when do founders get distracted after funding?
50:08 - When do founders have the best chances of succeeding at Seed-stage?
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
Leveraging YouTube Community to build a 100 Cr SaaS company ft Varun Mayya, Founder, Scenes
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
According to a recent article in Forbes, as per data of ProductLedGrowth.org,“Buyers want to self-educate.”
Personalization is expected by customers—not only are 80% of people more likely to do business with a company that offers personalization but Salesforce’s 2017 State of Marketing Report found that 52% of B2C customers would actually switch brands if they weren’t getting a personalized experience.
In today’s episode we’ve some Dheeraj Pandey, CEO at DevRev; Board Member at Adobe; Investor & Co-founder at Nutanix.
During the episode, catch Dheeraj sharing his experience around Product-Led Growth over the past two decades, taking Nutanix Inc. public within 6 years of inceptio and much more.
Notes -
01:44 - Intro
02:26 - Achieving Product Market Fit - “What is the journey is not a destination.”
05:15 - Identifying the problem statement for first 10 customer at Nutanix
07:54 - Main value prop by Nutanix for early customers
10:11 - How to identify large problems?
13:22 - Whether to find a niche problem and then expand or find a problem statement of the larger market?
15:07 - What’s the first Aha moment for customers on DevRev?
20:04 - Zoho Sponsored - Prashant Ganti on Where do founders struggle with Payroll and how can they fix it?
21:18 - Why have Startups as the target audience v/s Large Entreprises?
27:10 - History of Product-led growth
32:50 - First principle thought behind Product-led growth with velocity
37:49 - Customer Relationship Management v/s Sales First Automation
39:07 - How a B2B developer can think like a B2C developer?
40:23 - What are risks of failure they need to think about?
41:40 - Building an entrepreneurial culture
43:47 - Dealing with the most difficult part of an acquisition (i.e. Integration)
45:38 - An early childhood in Patna, graduating from IIT Kanpur & Ph.D. dropout from University of Texas
50:33 - Why did he chose to startup in a downturn of 2009?
54:07 - Milestones in Nutanix’s journey
58:31 - Becoming a Public company
59:58 - Aspirations for DevRev
1:02:29 - What kind of person he is in his personal life?
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
https://zoho.to/zoho-payroll
In today’s podcast, we have Ishan Sharma with us! Ishan is a Youtuber, Entrepreneur, and Founder of MarkitUp. He droped out of his college(BITS Pilani, Goa) at the age of 20 and decided to continue his entrepreneurial and content creation journey!
Ishan Sharma has around 500k Subscribers on Youtube and about 100K on LinkedIn. He also wrote a book called "Crush It on LinkedIn" back in Mid 2020 which summarises his experience of using LinkedIn and it is a guide for college students to find opportunities.
Ishan will share his YT journey so far, why he decided to drop out, what motivated him to do so, how MarkitUp was formed, and a lot more!
Let’s listen to his inspirational journey so far and what he plans to do next!
0:00 - Intro
2:05 - What drives you in your life?
2:49 - How did you overcome the pain of Failing in JEE Advanced Exam?
6:22 - Do you remember the date you started your YouTube Channel?
7:18 - What's the main reason behind starting your YouTube Channel?
9:13 - What other skills have you learned after Coding & Content Creation?
11:40 - When did you make your First Money?
12:16 - How was your YouTube Journey & How did you reach 10,000 Subscribers?
13:35 - What are your learnings from YouTube?
15:24 - How did you master YouTube Thumbnails?
17:47 - What are your other Income Streams beside YouTube?
19:56 - What was your income in May?
21:44 - When did you get your First Brand Deal & What does it takes to reach here?
24:56 - What is the Sales Engine looks like for 'MarkitUp'?
26:20 - Where do you want to see yourself in 1 Year in terms of numbers?
27:15 - How many Brand Collaborations do you do in a month?
28:52 - How much do you pay a Freelancer per month?
30:05 - How does a day in your Life look like?
33:14 - What made you choose not to spend any more time in college?
39:00 - How do you differentiate your income?
39:55 - What do you do with the money you are making right now?
41:08 - Do you draw any salary from 'MarkitUp'?
43:05 - What is enough for Ishan?
45:02 - Why does $1 Million in Investment important for you?
46:03 - What is one thing that is missing in your life?
47:48 - What do you do to make your growth engine proactive?
49:32 - Have you explored during 10 Day Meditation or Vipassana?
50:43 - What is Your Biggest Fear right now?
53:14 - Do you watch Netflix or any other OTT platform?
54:16 - Do you believe in Manifestation?
55:18 - What's your process for recording a YouTube Video?
57:08 - What would you do if your Investment Portfolio reaches $1 Million?
59:49 - Outro
Also, try out a 30-day free trial of Zoho Payroll, and simplify your Payroll journey as an entrepreneur!
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If you’re a startup enthusiasts, its highly likely that you would have read or atleast heard about the book - Saying No to Jugaad: The Making of Bigbasket by by T. N. Hari & M. S. Subramanian.
In today’s episode we have Hari Menon, BigBasket’s founder sharing the his experience in the Indian Ecommerce Ecosystem over the last two decades.
In May 2021, Tata Digital invested $375 Mn in BigBasket. They have also recently launched their quick commerce vertical called BBNow and will now compete alongside the existing players such as Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto and Dunzo.
During the episode, catch Hari talking about his learning from his first venture, his thoughts on the current market and the investment slowdown, and much more.
Notes -
02:20 - Building India’s online grocery market in the last two decades
14:37 - Starting BigBasket at the age of 50
21:16 - Dividing equity between the founders
21:42 - Mistakes & Biases which got carried from his first venture
24:15 - Becoming a part of Tata Group and growing bigger
27:16 - Top learnings and observations from Tata Group
29:30 - His thoughts on “10-minute delivery”
33:14 - Any similar patterns between June 2022 and 1999 boom and bust?
35:14 - Business which are not building a profitable model will suffer the most
38:22 - Indian Startup Ecosystem in the next 5-10 years
40:20 - Framework to identify large opportunities: Scale & Profitability
42:36 - Culture at BigBasket which keeps people from moving out
46:45 - Growing with the business as CEO
We’ve heard inspiring stories of founders of Facebook and Microsoft who’ve dropped out of Harward and even some of the well known Indian Entrepreneurs who’ve dropped out of IITs to build on their dream venture.
But in today’s episode we’ll talk with Anish Achuthan, who ran away from his hometown during his Class 11th with dreams to build something big in the Dotcom space and currently is the Cofounder of Open, which recently became Kerala’s first unicorn start-up.
Listen to Anish talk about his journey through his various ventures over the last two decades and how he’s building for Open to democratize the Neobanking space in India.
Notes -
02:42 - Being born in Govt service-oriented family in Kerala to getting inspired by Dotcom
06:11 - Meeting his cofounder & life partner
07:49 - Cumulative learnings from his previous companies
11:27 - Product Offerings by Open for SMEs, Banks and Fintech Entreprises
13:57 - Key milestones in Open’s journey
15:49 - Current metrics on the platform
16:56 - What are his plans with Open for the long term
19:17 - Their moat against other Neobanks and traditional banks
23:04 - Product & distribution strategy for the first 100 to 1000 users
31:46 - Licenses and certifications needed for Neo Banking
33:47 - Challenges while cracking the first banking partner
35:27 - Monetizing their services on Freemium model
36:55 - Advice to early-stage entrepreneursa
On the podcast today, we have with us Sandeep Jain, Founder GeeksforGeeks. GeeksForGeeks is the world’s second-largest content platform for developers.
Sandeep is from Firozabad which is 40 kms away from Agra in UP. He studied in a government school before doing his graduation from UP Technical University and masters from IIT Roorkee. In the year 2009, he created a blog with the intent to help engineering students prepare for placements. What started as a blog is today a 40 Crore+ annual revenue Edtech company with 250+ team members.
Let’s dive deep into his journey from leaving his engineering job to becoming a teacher to 10 Million+ registered 'Geeks' from across the world.
Notes -
03:07 - Growing up in Firozabad to growing the love for coding
07:20 - Joining D. E. Shaw & Co after graduation
09:24 - 30% Salary cut in his first Teaching job v/s being a Software Engineer
10:00 - Starting GeeksforGeeks in 2009
16:03 - Hiring the initial team
18:26 - Annual revenue growth from 18 Lacs to 40 Crore+
24:12 - Learning the skills and growing in the role of a CEO
30:35 - Growing against well-funded competitors
March 2019 was when we published our first episode of 100xEntrepreneur.
So far we’ve covered 150+ VCs, Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs from the Indian startup ecosystem.
Alongside 100xEntrepreneur podcast we’ve so far invested in 30+ portfolio companies via like Airmeet, PlumHQ, Zencastr and Neeman’s.
In today’s episode we share our journey so far. We are Siddhartha & Nansi, a husband-wife entrepreneur-cum-content creator duo who started their podcast journey with a purpose to make behind the screen conversations, thought process, and mindset of VCs, Investors and Successful entrepreneurs accessible to thousands of early-stage entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts like you.
We really hope that we have been able to serve you with great content so far and would really appreciate your feedback. How can you share your feedback with us?
- Reply to this email
- Comment on our Youtube, iTunes, Castbox or Spotify Channel
Notes -
01:09 - How 100xEntrepreneur was born?
09:44 - To Unlock Growth: Start reaching out to people who are better and bigger than you
14:19 - What went in the background while recording a podcast?
21:01 - Joining AWS to setting up 100x Fund
23:33 - Building the team at 100xEntrepreneur
27:46 - Our favourite episode so far
India’s largest Content Marketplace with 1L+ creators, 2500+ customers, out of which 70+ are Unicorns.
Does that ring any bells?
We’re talking about Pepper Content, founded by Anirudh Singla, in his 2nd year of undergrad college.
Pepper’s journey started when Anirudh during his college decided to take up freelancing and content creation to fund his graduation all by himself. He then realised the potential of content creators in India and decided to organize it by creating an Indian marketplace for the same.
In our conversation with Anirudh, we dive into the journey of building and scaling Pepper to $8 Million ARR Content-marketplace in under 5 years and their plans ahead.
Notes -
03:06 - Baniya-family background, freelance exposure while at college
07:06 - First few steps to building a marketplace
11:06 - Splitting equity early-on
12:46 - Reaching out to 80+ VCs and Angel Investors while raising their 1st round
17:20 - What made them raise their 1st round?
18:43 - Scaling from $500k ARR to $8 Million ARR in 14 months
21:20 - Client base: 550+ Active customers and 70+ Unicorns
24:20 - Need to focus on a SaaS based approach for Content
26:15 - “Hustle doesn’t scale. By the same time what scale’s is the mindset of thinking big enough!”
28:25 - “Not building a family, but instead building a high quality sports team.”
#1 Smartwatch Brand in India
#3 Smartwatch Brand in Asia
#9 Smartwatch Brand Globally
All the above feats are not from Apple, Samsung, or a legacy player in the market, but from our own homegrown Indian brand - Noise.
In this week’s podcast, we turn the spotlight on Noise : A brand that’s on a mission to offer quality smart wearables at affordable prices to its customers.
In our conversation with Amit Khatri, Co-founder of Noise, he shared how the brand started bootstrapped in 2014, what have been the challenges and how have they scaled over the years.
We have tried to summarize some key themes & takeaways from our conversation.
Notes -
02:09 - Early Career & Family Background before starting Noise
05:45 - Product development & Revenue journey from 2014 to 2018
08:04 - Finalising the main categories - Smartwatch and Wireless Earbuds
09:55 - Why prioritize growing own Website instead of relying on marketplace?
12:18 - Testing your idea in the market being bootstrapped
13:36 - Vision & plan of the brand early-on
14:56 - Initial Learnings for early-stage D2C Entrepreneurs
16:16 - Focus on building the brand from Day 1
18:55 - Building and launching the first product
24:15 - Secrets of scaling from Rs.160 Cr+ to Rs.800 Cr+ Revenue
26:26 - Key elements of creating a playbook for a Rs.1000 Cr+ D2C brand
31:36 - Keeping prices reasonable while ensuring better quality
Why is HUL considered a Leadership factory?
“Every great brand is built on a fundamental human insights.”
Do you agree that people come before revenue?
“Invest in Brand, even as little as possible, and not just Performance Marketing from Day 1.”
Listen to Shashank Mehta, Founder of The Whole Truth Foods and a passionate HUL Ex-employee in today’s episode to know his perspective about everything mentioned above.
Notes -
03:43 - Definition of D2C market in India context
07:11 - His early career prior to starting his entrepreneurial journey
09:40 - Post-MBA why he chose Marketing over Finance?
11:30 - Why HUL is considered a leadership factory?
14:30 - Learnings from his stint at HUL
18:48 - Why he joined Faasos (now REBEL Foods) a lesser known startup leaving HUL in 2012?
23:40 - Scale of Faaso’s when he joined and left the company
24:30 - Why he left Faasos and joined HUL again?
28:22 - Learnings from setting up an Ayurveda-brand within HUL
34:09 - Consumer insight which HUL was trying to solve with its AYUSH proposition
34:54 - His blog about food and fitness - FIT SHIT
41:54 - Raising around 5 Cr+ initial funding during his Notice Period
45:10 - Zero to One Phase of The Whole Truth Foods
50:02 - Realizing the ‘Aha Moment’ of brand’s journey
52:32 - Sales & Revenue Milestones during their journey
54:05 - Being a Truth company rather than being a food company
57:00 - Key learnings while scaling a brand
MobiKwik is one of the largest Mobile Wallet and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platforms in India. Its tech platform has 120 million Registered Users, 25.3 million pre-approved BNPL users and more than 3.4 million merchant partners. MobiKwik's top line grew by 80 percent from INR 300 crore in FY21 to INR 540 Crore in FY22.
Tune in to this conversation with Bipin Preet Singh, Co-founder, MobiKwik where we talk about his journey of building and scaling the company for the last 13+ years.
During the episode, Bipin also shares about how they started first with a basic problem of the masses with mobile recharge and then scaled over time, how they sailed through the difficult times of Covid and took Mobikwik to 100Mn+ users.
Notes -
02:21 - What led him to founding MobiKwik?
09:00 - “You can’t build the platform on Day 1, the platform has to evolve.”
11:58 - Advice for early-stage entrepreneurs pitching to build a platform
14:27 - How did MobiKwik evolve as a platform?
27:23 - What has transformed significantly in the last 1-2 years?
30:33 - Current revenue, profits, and scale
36:25 - Is the economy currently going into recession?
38:11 - What kept him going for 13+ years?
40:33 - Tailwinds which are supporting Fintech in India
44:52 - Creating a mental model to build in markets with already existing large players
Any idea what’s common between Flipkart, Ola, Swiggy, Zerodha and 6000+ other Businesses in India and South-East Asia?
They all rely on Exotel for their customer communications, no matter the size, scale, or industry within which the company exists; Exotel has the a product-solution for all of them.
In this episode, we talk with Shivakumar Ganesan, Founder of Exotel to learn more about his journey and challenges building and scaling the company.
During the episode, Shivakumar talks about his experience with VCs & Angel investors, having Ola as a customer and much more.
Notes -
03:48 - Early days, Family, background & career
06:40 - Entrepreneurial attempts before starting Exotel
09:51 - Initial Problem statement and solutions
13:50 - Raising money from Blume Ventures
18:30 - Scale and Customers at $1Mn ARR
30:21 - Cofounders leaving the company
37:30 - Dealing with thoughts about quitting
41:55 - How did A91 Partners chose to back Exotel?
49:38 - Current Capabilities & Scope for growth
52:15 - Proving naysayers wrong by building a $60Mn ARR SaaS from India for India
53:39 - Key lessons from his journey
55:56 - Advice for understanding market size
With the emergence of health issues in recent years, most people have started becoming proactive to improve their immune system and diet, rather than being reactive at a later stage when the damage has already been done.
Even most doctors agree that if from an early age, we somehow get access to a preservative-free, natural source of nutrients, it might significantly boost our health in the long-run.
Our guest Aarti Gill’s OZiva is India's leading Clean, Plant Based Wellness brand.
OZiva was started back in 2016 and since then the company has scaled significantly with a large base of repeat customers.
During the episode, Aarti talks about how she pivoted from her first venture to OZiva, what are the major challenges she has encountered during her journey and much more.
Notes -
05:38 - Initial intro about OZiva
08:40 - High-level metrics around customers and revenue
09:44 - Building an Omni-channel brand v/s a D2C brand
11:26 - Early Education & Career prior to OZiva
14:14 - Meeting her co-founder and their first venture
18:35 - Deciding the first 4 products
21:14 - Market demand of OZiva’s Prime membership
22:26 - Challenges during the early years of OZiva
24:38 - Building a 20 Cr+ revenue from 2016 to 2020
26:53 - Building online & offline distribution channels
28:03 - Nuances while building distribution channels
30:10 - Rapid scale of 5x within a year
31:37 - Ensuring repeat purchase by customers
36:46 - Funding interest while growing from 0 to 20 Cr+
38:45 - Mental model of self-evaluating during each funding rounds
40:10 - Deepika Padukone as a brand ambassador
42:44 - Framework behind brand positioning campaigns
44:37 - Things which didn’t work out & learnings
46:19 - Why build new categories apart from nutrition
# Can a passionate cricketer become a passionate entrepreneur?
# Can you and your spouse be Cofounders without conflict?
# How many successful & fulfilling stints can an entrepreneur have?
All the above questions get answered during the episode with our guest Ashish Tandon, Founder & CEO, Indusface.
Indusface is his 3rd venture after 2 successful exits and a short but successful early-career in Cricket.
During the episode, Ashish talks about how his wife has supported him throughout his journey, what led him to start over and over again post his multiple exits and much more.
Notes -
03:08 - Early background in Cricket
06:30 - 1st venture right out of College
08:46 - Getting acquired by SIFY within 2 years
09:49 - What led to his 2nd venture?
13:21 - Multi-million dollar Exit to TrendMicro
15:16 - Reason behind Bootstrapping his ventures
17:55 - What led him to starting Indusface?
19:42 - Problem statements solved by Indusface
24:32 - Journey from $1Mn ARR to current scale
28:10 - Key Levers to doubling their ARR within a year
31:32 - Challenges in building Indusface
36:58 - Having your spouse as your Cofounder
38:50 - Reflecting back how he feels about his journey?
44:09 - Lessons from all his ventures
# China Accused of cyber-attacks on Ukraine before Russian invasion
# Buget 2022: $9.9 billion towards cyber security aims to make Australia a key 'offensive' cyber player
These are some of the recent headlines around Cyber threats globally. Cyber attacks have been rated the fifth top rated risk in 2020 and continues to grow in 2022 as IoT cyber attacks alone are expected to double by 2025.
In this episode our guest Rahul Sasi, Founder CloudSEK, talks about the key challenges in Cyber Security in India today.
CloudSEK’s customer list includes Axis Bank, NPCI, Netcore, OLA, Sun Pharma, ICICI Lombard, IndusInd Bank, MakeMyTrip and many more who don’t wish to take a chance with the growing threat of global cyber crimes.
11 of the Fortune Global companies, and 7 of the world’s biggest banks, trust XVigil (one of CloudSEK’s flagship products) to safeguard their security posture.
During the episode, Rahul talks about how they started CloudSEK, customer acquisition strategy, and much more.
Notes -
04:04 - Background before starting CloudSEK
08:55 - Current ARR and scale in terms of customers
09:45 - Milestone since launch
12:04 - Products and Problem Statements solved by CloudSEK
14:44 - How has been the industry response?
20:19 - Challenges with hiring the right people
24:40 - Targets for the next 2 years
26:17 - Learnings from their fundraising journey
28:26 - How to leverage your investors?
The Internet of Things category is not slowing down for anyone to catch up. It is projected to be a $1.1 trillion category by 2027, with the number of active IoT-connected devices expected to reach 30.9 billion units by 2025.
Targeting this, we have our guest Yadhu Gopalan, CEO & Founder at Esper, with a vision to power the next billion smart devices.
Currently, Seattle-based Esper has more than 200 paying customers and over 2,000 developers using its platform for product development.
During the episode, Yadhu talks about his journey building Esper, how he met his cofounder, what learnings he has brought from his stint at Amazon and Microsoft, and much more.
Notes -
01:12 - Journey before starting Esper
02:20 - Early Childhood and moving to the US
03:48 - Problem statement behind starting Esper
05:25 - Product offering and clients
10:25 - The founding team at Esper
15:43 - Attracting the best talent
16:50 - Building a team across geographies
19:07 - Execute distribution and partnerships at scale
20:39 - Work Culture & learnings from Microsoft & Amazon
27:51 - Key learnings from his startup journey
As per a recent Entrackr report, Indian startups saw over 250 acquisitions in 2021.
Edtech startups like Byju’s, Unacademy, and upGrad have been in the headlines for their acquisition spree, and also startups in the e-commerce roll up space such as Mensa Brands, GlobalBees, 10club, Upscalio, and fitness tech platform Cultfit (Curefit) also took over smaller brands, recording the highest number of acquisitions last year.
With so much going on around acquisitions, our guest Rohit Anand, Founder, 1digitalstack.ai shares his experience of getting his first venture acquired.
During the episode, Rohit talks about bringing in a third-party consultant to assist with the acquisition, his second stint at entrepreneurship, and much more.
Notes -
02:12 - Starting his first entrepreneurial venture in 1999
06:34 - “Importance of going after a problem where you have a natural advantage.”
11:39 - What did Value Edge work upon?
12:57 - Value Edge’s ARR at the time of Exit
13:39 - Thought process behind the Exit
18:46 - Process of identifying the right M&A Advisor and the help an entrepreneur can expect
24:00 - Maintaining balance during the stress while acquisition
28:57 - Deciding to start 1digitalstack.ai
32:31 - Current scale in terms of ARR & top clients
35:17 - Taking investor money during his 2nd entrepreneurial stint
38:10 - Future plans for 1digitalstack.ai (in terms of ARR & Growth drivers)
42:15 - Vision and Ambition of building a large company
46:19 - Current practices: Same & Distinct from Value Edge
50:32 - His approach towards investing
Many founders try to build for large markets. But Saahil Goel, Founder, Shiprocket thinks differently.
In his opinion, it’s okay to build small or lesser things and target a core segment of users, instead of jumping into a competition with large players, where you might not stand a chance.
In other words - Picking your battles wisely.
During this episode, Saahil talks about finding the right investors, current focus of the company, and much more.
Notes -
01:56 - Finding his Co-founder & brainstorming around data-driven logistics
09:04 - Problem with starting in a large competitive market
12:02 - Focus metrics during the initial journey
14:12 - Current scale of Shiprocket
22:04 - Warehouse as a Service
26:24 - Y-o-Y growth of platform
27:49 - Approach to fixing broken things & building new
32:14 - Raising initial rounds of funding
45:01 - “Unless and until you have clarity about something, it won’t work.”
48:19 - Ensuring focus within the team
Suppose you're a marketer or have a marketer friend/colleague. During an event like IPL or Diwali, you need to get 100+ variations of creatives with 20-30 sizes for each, within a few days and not weeks, so that you can test campaigns on multiple platforms at the earliest.
However, traditional software is time-consuming, especially if you have a small design team with limited bandwidth.
Our guest, Satej Sirur, Founder & CEO, Rocketium, solves this for 1200+ brands like Bigbasket, cult.fit, Groww, Meesho, Supr Daily, Urban Company, and many more across 95+ countries.
During the episode, Satej talks about how customers differentiate between them and Adobe, the fundamental principles he focuses on to include in Rocketium's culture, and much more.
Notes -
00:52 - Initial Intro
05:13 - Pivoting in early years of Rocketium
09:50 - Metrics around ARR & Customer base
11:31 - Customers comparing Rocketium to Adobe
18:07 - Company building: Attracting the best talent
22:36 - Principles in Rocektium's work culture
25:51 - What's 8-4-5?
28:02 - Framework while setting internal metrics
30:07 - Playbook behind International expansion
33:45 - Importance of deeply knowing who your users are
39:08 - Fundraising journey: Finding the right investor
"You never know when and where you can be "bitten by the entrepreneurship bug."
Something similar happened with our guest Shashank Bijapur. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he was working with a New York-based top-tier law firm; when he came across the news of Elon Musk launching Self-driving cars. He realized his manual work on Legal contracts was easily replaceable by AI automation soon.
This led him to start SpotDraft, an end-to-end contract automation platform for companies of all sizes.
In this episode, Shashank talks about his initial hiring struggles, getting new clients, some of his mistakes as an entrepreneur, the future plans for SpotDraft, and much more.
Notes -
01:19 - Starting SpotDraft and meeting his wife for the 1st time
04:51 - First few years of struggle
07:28 - Timeline of Shashank & SpotDraft's Journey
10:34 - Switch of TG: From Enterprise to Startups
12:58 - Early customers: Unacademy & Chargebee amongst others
14:36 - Hiring A+ talent: Referrals from existing employees
17:01 - Mistakes in 0 to 1 Journey
22:18 - Competitive edge over large competitors
25:23 - "Let's get SpotDrafted."
# Marketer of the Year 2018 and 2019 by IAA Leadership Award held by International Advertising Association (IAA)
# Most Influential Youth Marketing Professional by Global Youth Marketing Forum 2019
# Top 30 CMO's in India 2020 by IAMAI
#" Marketer of the year" by The Economic Times ET Brand Equity
#SharkAwards2021
All of the above recognitions have honored our guest Karan Shroff, Partner & CMO at Unacademy, for his marketing strategies and the stellar brand campaigns time and again.
Before joining Unacademy, Karan was Heading Marketing at Xiaomi, and in this episode, he shares his decade-long experience in the marketing domain.
During the episode, Karan also talks about his first meeting with Unacademy Co- Founder & CEO, Gaurav Munjal, keeping his learners' emotions at the heart of all his campaigns, and much more.
Notes -
03:19 - Early career journey
04:39 - Story behind joining Unacademy
07:32 - Marketing campaigns close to his heart
10:30 - Learnings from Gaurav and Unacademy's culture
14:45 - Finding creativity, ideas and tapping into it
18:17 - Audacity of ambitions & goals
20:38 - Secret Sauce: Keeping the sentiments of the users at the core of the campaign
23:24 - How to build an iconic brand?
27:24 - What has Karan Unlearnt?
31:24 - Changes in marketing strategy as per the dynamic needs of the customers
35:36 - His timeless marketing advice for startups
Do you know about the most interesting headline of all Indian business newspapers on 30 November 1999?
It was India's most prominent Internet deal at the time - a $115Mn acquisition of IndiaWorld, founded by our guest Rajesh Jain.
After this successful acquisition; Rajesh started Netcore. Yes, the same company is responsible for 75% of India's email traffic and 50% of Asia's email traffic through its Cloud network.
During the episode, Rajesh explains how they've been one of the Proficorns at Netcore, all his learnings and experiences over the last two decades, and much more.
Notes -
03:17 - Early career and failures
09:42 - Learning entrepreneurship from his father
11:32 - Starting and scaling IndiaWorld
22:04 - "More important than knowing when to enter a business, is to know when to exit a business."
24:26 - His perspective about businesses in India
31:46 - "StarTech: Great Golden Era of Indian Entrepreneurship."
34:33 - Building Netcore after the previous acquisition
38:45 - Pivots and growth of Netcore
43:45 - What is Proficorn, and why has Rajesh strongly advocated for it?
51:48 - 25% ownership by employees
# Does the word 'Compounding' excite you?
# Have you always wondered what 'Value Investing' is and how can you follow this approach?
# Are you biased in your investment decisions?
Then, this is an episode you shouldn't miss. Our guest, Gautam Baid, CFA & Founder at Stellar Wealth Partners, and Founding Creator at Chapter talks about his journey in the stock market from his early days, learning through great books on investing to eventually becoming a writer and fund manager himself.
During the episode, Gautam talks about his personal experience of gaining and compounding knowledge, his recommendations (in terms of books, checklists, biases) for first-time investors entering the stock market, and much more.
Notes -
03:46 - His family background and childhood
09:21 - Compounding of Knowledge: Spent on hours of learnings
14:28 - "Nothing teaches you the biggest lessons of life, more than an empty pocket and empty stomach."
21:19 - His thoughts about 'Value Investing.'
31:35 - Checklists in his investing decisions
33:15 - 3 biases every investor should know
49:28 - "Time is the new status symbol."
50:35 - His book recommendations
Additional links:
Link to Gautam Baid's smallcase: www.stellarwealthpartners.com
Link to Gautam Baid's Chapter: https://getchapter.app/@gautam
Link to Gautam Baid's book: www.TheJoysOfCompounding.com
As per the recent data by Tracxn, there are 1338 AgriTech startups in India. However, with 118.7 million farmers, who contribute to a mere 17-18% of Indian GDP, many problem statements are left to be solved at a larger scale.
In March 2020, we interviewed Vaibhav Domkundwar from Better Capital, where he mentioned their then-recent investment in Bijak - their first interaction with the founders and their thesis behind the investment.
In today's episode, we're interviewing Nukul Upadhye, Co-Founder at Bijak, where he talks about how and why he started Bijak. Bijak is a one-stop agriculture marketplace where sellers and buyers can find trustworthy, reliable, and transparent counterparties. Bijak processes transactions worth more than Rs 1.5 billion on a monthly basis.
During the episode, Nukul also talks about their initial challenges, leveraging the pre-existing offline supply chain, and much more.
Notes -
01:48 - Creating a B2B marketplace - Bijak
05:55 - Alternate ideas while starting Bijak
09:24 - How does Bijak differentiate itself from traditional offline marketplaces?
17:33 - Challenges during the initial journey
31:42 - How has he personally evolved over the past two years?
Since early 2020, we've noticed numerous startups becoming Unicorn one after another.
But something a bit unnoticed by the wider audience is the valuations of startups at Seed-stage, which has grown multiples in the last two years.
Bipin Shah, Partner at Titan Capital and this week's guest, says, "Till 2019, a great startup idea with an awesome team would be valued around $2Mn to $3Mn, which has now gone up to $10Mn+."
So far, Titan Capital has made more than 250+ investments in early-stage startups. Bipin shares his experience and the thesis around identifying, mentoring and investing in seed-stage founders.
Notes -
01:18 - Joining Titan Capital
06:10 - Finding Soonicorns and Unicorns
08:27 - How did they manage to make 90+ investments in a year?
12:02 - What support does Titan Capital offer to portfolio companies?
15:58 - Thesis: Focus on bottom 50% of companies
28:10 - Change in valuation at the Seed stage
31:20 - Learnings in the last six years as an investor
When you hear the word Startups & Angel Investing, which cities do you most commonly think they are based out of? Bengaluru, Delhi / Gurugram, Mumbai, or Chennai.
The guest of our today’s episode, Abhishek Rungta clearly breaks this stereotype.
Back in 1997, when he was still in his graduation, he had two options post college -
- Join his father’s family business in Jute Trading
- Start something totally unexpected
And that’s exactly what he did, he founded Indus Net Technologies from Kolkata, completely bootstrapped, which today has 200+ active clients across Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Retail, Publishing, Media, Government, Healthcare and Entertainment sectors in five continents.
Today his company has an ARR of $11Mn, and offers services in verticals such as:
- Integrated Digital Marketing Services
- Cloud Application Development (CMS, CRM, E-Commerce, ODC, OPD)
- Enterprise Mobility
In parallel to this, he also started as an Angel Investor and later as an LP.
During the episode, Abhishek talks about the crux of his journey as an investor, his learnings along the way, what mindset he currently carries as an investor and much more.
Notes -
01:07 - Family Business Background - Jute Trading
03:48 - Acquiring a global client base from Kolkata
06:50 - His journey in Angel Investing
12:13 - valley of despair in investing
15:14 - Thesis: Investing in 2nd time founders
22:05 - Diversifying your investments
33:01 - Learnings to intake as an LP
35:11 - Investors’ whose thesis he looks up to
Habits! Our habits make us who we are as a person. Since an early age we’ve been told by our parents and mentors, the distinction between a good and a bad habit.
But how often do we skip to the good one’s?
Specially as grown-ups, can you confidently say that you have the best habits in terms of -
1. Managing your finance & expenses
2. Managing your work life balance
3. Having a fruitful & fulfilling day
Something similar intrigued Rajan Singh, the guest of our today’s episode, to start HabitStrong in early 2020.
Prior to HabitStrong, Rajan served as a IPS officer, as a McKinsey consultant, and as an investment professional with a private equity fund.
HabitStrong started with him inviting people to join him on YouTube sharp at 5 am, for a 30-day challenge. And the next morning, he was surprised to see several people already waiting. Over the next few months, through several bootcamps, thousands of applicants and several hundreds of volunteers, HabitStrong was on its journey to positively create an impact in everyone’s life.
During the episode, Rajan talks about how people run after work, money and luxury lifestyle and how it can lead to a deterioration of mental peace over time, and much more.
Notes -
01:18 - Journey to starting HabitStrong
05:02 - “Things that sound the simplest are often the most powerful and most overlooked.”
11:15 - Why did he make the choices he made?
19:48 - Current scale of HabitStrong
29:15 - What does Financial Independence mean for him?
33:33 - His definition of happiness - “Ability to step back from what is not making your life meaningful.”
# 5M+ Shopping Moments Personalized
#400M+ Monthly Active Users Engaged
#30B+ Messages Sent Monthly
#$10B+ Additional Revenue Delivered
These are some of the metrics driven by WebEngage, which caters to 400+ global brands as a robust customer data platform, personalization engine, omnichannel campaign manager, and an analytics engine.
In today’s episode we have Avlesh Singh, WebEngage’s, CEO & Co-founder, sharing insights on how they’ve built a seamless full-stack Retention OS.
During the episode, Avlesh talks about how companies can reach out to their own users, reducing churn and increasing retention, instead of reaching out to third-party ad platforms, and much more.
Notes -
01:45 - Intro to Webengage
05:06 - “Marketing will only put a certain amount of value to the software, only if we are able to bring more users back to the platform.”
13:20 - Current scale in terms of revenue & customers
36:51 - Learnings from his experience as a founder
"The world is going through one of the worst recessions, and you plan on starting a Travel venture. You must be out of your mind!"
This was precisely the reaction of everyone around Prashant Pitti, the guest of today's episode, and his co-founders when they decided to launch EaseMyTrip during the 2008 Recession.
In fact, when they approached a few VCs during their early days to pitch for an investment, they received multiple preset filters and nuances -
# A B2B travel venture won't grow big enough
# You're late; there are so many travel startups already
However, proving everyone wrong, they've grown leaps and bounds since inception, so much so that they were one of the first internet companies to go public during Covid.
During the episode, Prashant talks about how they are thankful for not being VC-funded, some of the tough calls they took during their journey, which propelled their growth, and much more.
Notes -
01:02 - Starting a travel venture during recession
02:52 - Problem statement solved by EaseMyTrip for Travel Agents
05:49 - Impact on growth because of not charging “Convenience Fees”
07:44 - Being extremely efficient and disciplined as a company
13:41 - Decision behind going public
16:59 - How did EaseMyTrip remain profitable even during Covid?
25:31 - Why does EaseMyTrip prefer hiring Non-IITians?
4.03 billion people!
That’s the most recent reported number of email users worldwide. No platform even comes close to the potential reach of email. The latest Facebook statistics give them over 2.8 billion monthly active users.
As of today there are almost 1 billion and 700 thousand active users of Gmail, being of the most popular email service providers. But it was launched on 1 April 2004. Prior to Gmail, the tech trend of that era was Hotmail, and if you had a Hotmail account, that was something worth showing-off.
Founded in 1996, by the guest of our today’s episode Sabeer Bhatia and his co-founder Jack Smith, Hotmail was the world's first web-based email when it launched.
Back then, they sold it two years later to Microsoft for an estimated $400m. Since then Sabeer, became the face of tech entrepreneurship, and has been inspiring generations.
Recently last year, in 2020, he’s back with an idea, which might lead to another tech revolution, named ShowReel. Consider this as a short-video version of Linkedin, where your profile, all your posts, and feed will have just videos.
During the episode, Sabeer talks about his vision with Hotmail, what are his current plans with Showreel, what all founders can learn from his entrepreneurship journey and much more.
Notes -
01:02 - Right timing as an entrepreneur
03:06 - What led to Hotmail’s acquisition?
09:55 - His journey as an entrepreneur & investor post acquisition
11:27 - Problem statements being solved by ShowReel
17:21 - His opinion about Web 3.0
23:47 - “Only crazy entrepreneurs change the world.”
A founder’s role is challenging, requiring expertise in multiple enterprises. From funding to hiring, it is entirely the onus of the founder to convert visions into reality.
In today’s episode, we’ve brought Sameer Guglani, Founder of Supermorpheus, a Community-driven seed investing platform, to simplify the founder’s role and expand it beyond finance to foster the entire Startup team’s well being. Supermorpheus (the evolution of Morpheus) is a curated global community of founders and folks in the startup space focussing on consciousness-driven creation of Startups and wealth with 350+ founders and 40+ investments.
During this episode, Sameer talks about how startups need to focus on integral growth, optimizing startups for the long run, and prioritizing excellence over the competition.
Notes:
3:12 Birth of Supermorpheus
29:12 Fundamental Changes in the Indian Startup Ecosystem
33:00 Role of Financial freedom in Sameer's Journey
38:49 Time spent on self-development
43:17 Similar Patterns observed among founders
A notion amongst most Indian SaaS entrepreneurs is to move to the US to expand or start from the US from Day 1 itself.
However, in today's episode, we've brought Anand Jain, Co-founder of CleverTap, to debunk this myth and shed more light on what an early-stage SaaS founder's roadmap should be in terms of either staying in India or moving to any global market.
CleverTap is a leading customer engagement and retention platform, trusted by over 10,000 apps, including Gojek, AirAsia, Sony, Vodafone, Carousell, and Cleartrip.
During the episode, Anand talks about how a company needs to adopt new market plans to continue growing one milestone after another, his learnings early-stage SaaS entrepreneurs can consider in their journey, and much more.
Notes -
00:55 - Founding CleverTap
06:57 - $45 Mn ARR and customer growth Y-o-Y
10:43 - “What got you to 45 will not get you 100.”
16:55 - Is moving to the US to expand as a SaaS company necessary?
24:03 - 3 Key points in his $1 Mn to $10 Mn ARR Playbook
27:10 - Mistakes in his journey building CleverTap
40:10 - Game Plan to market your product in newer markets and different ARR levels
With so many Indian startups achieving unicorn status in 2021, the situation begs an answer to the question:
Is this growth sustainable or are we in a bubble?
What does this mean for foreign and Indian investors?
What does this mean for the next decade of VC and Startups?
To understand this better, in today’s episode, we’ve brought Anjali Bansal, founder of Avaana Capital, that invests in innovation-led start-ups creating sustainability and impact at scale while delivering outsized returns.
Previously, Anjali has been Global Partner and MD with TPG Growth PE and a strategy consultant with McKinsey and Co. in New York. She’s also the former non-executive Chairperson of Dena Bank, where she successfully led the resolution of the stressed bank.
She has invested in and regularly mentors various successful start-ups including Delhivery, Nykaa, Alpha Vector, Lenskart, Urban Company, Darwinbox, Coverfox and FarMart.
She is closely associated with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform and Digital Solutions and is on the Expert Advisory Committee for the Start Up India Seed Fund Scheme.
She has been appointed as President, Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and serves as an independent director on several leading boards including Tata Power, Kotak AMC, and Piramal Enterprises.
During the episode, Anjali talks about the volatility in the Indian startup ecosystem, the opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors; she also shares learnings from her portfolio and much more.
Notes -
00:40 - Intro and background
02:55 - Working at ISRO and early career
04:59 - Ideology behind Avaana Capital
08:22 - Is the Indian startup ecosystem in a bubble?
17:21 - Common patterns and learnings from the winners
20:50 - Mistake: Investing in the idea and not the team
22:44 - Ability to move quickly as a fund
34:49 - Learnings from early-career at Mckinsey
36:29 - Potential in Indian startups
41:01 - What all she prefers to read on a daily basis
# What is Financial Independence?
# Does everybody need precisely 10 crore to be happy?
# Is the process of “Wealth Creation = Cutting out on all your wants & desires completely”?
For the past 2 years, it seems like everyone around us is investing either in stocks or crypto and also making generous profits.
And you too are probably thinking to jump in right? After all -
# Markets are at an all-time high
# Crypto is “The New Thing” and you don’t want to miss out
Well, just wait for a moment, before you begin, in today’s episode we’ve brought Deepak Shenoy, Founder and CEO at Capitalmind (SEBI registered - Portfolio Manager).
During the episode, Deepak will help you have the right mindset to begin your investment journey, what to and what not to expect off your investments, and how to evaluate an investment opportunity much more.
Notes -
01:40 - Beginning of his investing journey
04:33 - Where would your 1st crore of wealth come from?
07:17 - Behavioural changes in growing from 1 to 10 crore wealth
10:29 - True definition of financial independence
14:20 - Are emotional buying decisions hindrances in wealth creation?
24:13 - Has investing become mainstream in 2021?
33:30 - How to find under-valued investment opportunities?
41:43 - His upcoming book “MONEY WISE: Timeless Lessons on Building Wealth”
Diwali just got over, and following the fatal trend of smog in the nation's capital for the past five years, it is here again.
It is alarming to recognize that India is home to 7 of the top 10 cities globally, notorious for its air pollution levels.
With increasing incomes, more and more people can afford cars, increasing the severity of the already worse air pollution scenario due to fossil fuels.
All this emphasizes the need for greener transportation alternatives.
Despite the bad news, we have several large companies and startups leading the way to clean modes of travel, be it the prominent players like Tata Motors, MG, and Hyundai or the startups like Ola Electric, Ather Energy, Yulu, and Blu Smart, among others.
In today's episode, we've brought Arpit Agarwal, Director at Blume Ventures, to talk about the current scenario of EV startups in India.
During the episode, Arpit talks about the various challenges and opportunities for EVs in India, some of Blume's portfolio companies, how they contribute to India's EVs revolution, and much more.
Notes -
02:40 - Future of EVs in general
06:01 - Adoption by TCO positive segments
07:25 - 5-year use case of an electric scooter
10:13 - Key challenge in EV market
17:22 - Challenge with charging stations
24:30 - Opportunities for EV in India under various sub-segments
32:53 - Large players engaging with the EV ecosystem
34:12 - Funding & duration of developing an EV from scratch
37:28 - Future of mobility C.A.S.E.
"Don't be afraid of failure. Always optimize for success, but be prepared for failure." - Ashish Singhal.
In today's episode, we've brought Ashish Singhal, Founder & CEO of CoinSwitch, to talk about their journey globally and how they're shaping the narrative around crypto in India.
Recently, CoinSwitch, caught people's attention when they used the entire front page of The Times of India to simply wish Happy Diwali, bringing back the pure festive joy, instead of bombarding users with bumper-sized Ads and unrealistic offers like 100% cashback and more.
CoinSwitch currently has more than 13 million+ users, with more than 55% of their users coming from Tier 2 and 3 cities.
Last month, they raised over $260 million in its Series C funding round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, and existing investors. With this, American venture capital firm a16z made its first investment in an Indian unicorn.
During the episode, Ashish talks about the problem-statement CoinSwitch is after, how they are giving an initial flavor of crypto to first-time investors with referrals, and much more.
Notes -
01:40 - Background prior to CoinSwitch
05:33 - Hackathons and starting CoinSwitch
08:39 - Growing globally and launching in India
12:17 - Choosing the right investors for their journey
15:49 - Success of the pre-launch campaign in India
17:19 - Simplifying the crypto-investing experience
29:57 - Current scale on platform
33:14 - “Users always come first, business comes second.”
As per a recent article by Economic Times - “Early stage investing is at an all-time high in post-pandemic India with the country averaging one seed round a day this year.”
As of Sept, so far over 240+ companies have secured their first funding in 2021 v/s 302 companies in 2020, and 257 in 2019, and with a few more months remaining, this number is expected to cross last year’s benchmark.
In today’s episode we’ve brought Kushal Bagia, CEO of FirstCheque, to talk about the current scenario of early-stage funding in India.
So far with their first fund, they’ve done over 100+ deals, and some of the well know portfolio companies are Giva, Kaagaz, Able Jobs, and Mailmodo among others.
During the episode, Kushal talks about the influx in pre-seed investing post the pandemic, how they’ve created a moat for themselves and much more.
Notes -
01:19 - Background prior to FirstCheque
03:00 - Various domains where they’ve invested
05:35 - Performance of the companies from Fund-I
07:48 - Change in valuations in early-stage funding
13:18 - Top performing portfolio companies
16:50 - FirstCheque’s edge in early-stage investing
25:49 - Value addition by FirstCheque to founders
During and post the pandemic, several sectors have seen a dramatic rise in customers & sales, specially the ones which were ready to embrace the new change and leverage the new opportunity of everything going online and remote.
With 2021 being the most prominent year for Indian startups achieving unicorn status, Edtech isn’t left behind.
In today’s episode we’ve brought Vamsi Krishna, CEO and Co-founder of Vedantu, India’s 5th and most recent Edtech startup to become a unicorn.
Prior to starting Vedantu, Vamsi, and his team had prior experience in offline education with their venture - Lakshya Institute. This definitely helped them with a lot of learnings and the initial groundwork for building Vedantu.
During the episode, Vamsi talks about the Vedantu’s role being an early entrant and being a category creator, how they’ve built and leveraged organic growth over the years and much more.
Notes -
02:29 - Co-founding and running Lakshya Institute for over 8 years
05:28 - Pivoting from offline to online and starting Vedantu
08:50 - Prior to scaling, first validate if the solution works
14:47 - Revenue milestones
18:49 - Conscious considerations while building new features
22:41 - 3 Verticals at Vedantu
24:10 - Focusing on Organic vs Paid Acquisition
26:22 - Importance of referrals in Edtech
30:19 - Advice to first time entrepreneurs
According to WHO, obesity has doubled since the turn of the century, and almost 40% of all adults globally, i.e. 2 billion people - are overweight or obese, resulting in 4 million deaths per year.
HealthifyMe an AI driven health and fitness app startup, took up this problem statement 10 years back and has been building and solving for individuals to curate and track a healthier diet.
The company crossed 25 million downloads recently and is on track to hit $50 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the next six months.
In today’s episode we’ve brought Tushar Vashisht, CEO and Co-founder of HealthifyMe, to talk about the journey of creating a monetizable healthcare & fitness platform in India.
They’ve recently raised $75M in Series C round led by LeapFrog and Khosla Ventures, with which it plans to further expand into India and South East Asia markets besides making inroads into North America. Currently, it generates around 25 percent of its revenues from overseas markets.
During the episode, Tushar talks about the casual and unexpected moments when he got several breakthrough ideas, why they consider minor consistent pivots essential for thriving in the long-term and much more.
Notes -
02:29 - Roller coaster moments in HealthifyMe’s journey
06:02 - Strengths as a founder
08:21 - Essence of assembling a team for experienced mentors as board members
13:11 - Experiencing living like an average Indian
15:17 - Early concerns with HealthifyMe’s model during initial funding
20:52 - Advice for entrepreneurs: When to pivot vs when to be persistent?
26:19 - Myth: Indians don’t pay for digital healthcare services
28:05 - Growth hacks like VaccinateMe
29:25 - Getting the first 1000 customers
Personal branding is something that’s drawing a lot of attention from people across all domains.
And the only proven way, to create a personal brand for yourself, is by becoming a consistent and quality content creator.
With over 200+ speeches in 26+ countries on wealth & personal growth, the guest of our today’s episode, Raj Shamani describes his journey from 0 to a million+ followers and building a strong personal brand.
Other than that, being -
# One of the youngest Indians to represent India at the United Nations
# Featured amongst Top 10 Young Entrepreneurs in India - Asian Age
# Featured amongst Top 5 Young Influencers in India - YourStory
# Featured amongst Top 10 Business Podcasts in India - Itunes
Are just some of the feathers in his cap, during his personal brand building journey.
During the episode, Raj talks about starting small with consistency, importance of building a team and much more.
Notes -
02:29 - Becoming a speaker at small scale
04:43 - Strengths from 0 to 100k followers
05:21 - Getting 900k+ followers organically in just over a year
10:23 - Expanding team over time
13:38 - Monetizing multiple channels over multiple platforms
18:50 - Recommendation to first time content creators
21:19 - Journey as an investor
Sponsors
-This episode is brought to you by Prime Venture Partners, an early-stage VC fund led by Amit Somani, Shripati Acharya, and Sanjay Swamy. Prime is often the first institutional investor in category-creating tech startups in fintech, SaaS, Healthcare, and Education such as MoneyTap, Happay & Mfine. To know more about Prime visit primevp.in
-This episode is also brought to you by Red Bull Basement. Red Bull Basement is back to empower the next generation of young innovators like you! Present your unique idea in a simple video of up to 60 seconds and the most impactful and creative ideas will stand a chance to represent your country at the Global Finals in Turkey!
Last date of Registrations: October 25th, 2021
Register here: https://basement.redbull.com/en
India is becoming the world's fastest-growing startup ecosystem with over 60+ Unicorn Startups, out of which 25+ have gained their Unicorn status in 2021 itself.
One of the youngest amongst them is headed by the guest of our today’s episode, Amrit Acharya, Co-founder & CEO, Zetwerk.
Zetwerk started in 2018, with the idea to help manufacturing managers with managing several suppliers with ease using a dashboard, as previously the role had been very “manual and prone to errors”.
The product was great, but when they reached out to potential customers, they didn’t get a very optimistic response. Instead these customers wanted a marketplace solution where they could discover and connect with new suppliers. And that’s what led to Zetwerk's pivot within 6 months of starting up.
Currently Zetwerk helps its customers reduce costs, optimize suppliers and execute production faster.
Some stats relating to its current scale -
# 15+ Countries - North American, Indo-Pacific & Middle Eastern regions
# 25+ Industries - Oil & Gas, Aerospace, Automotive, Construction, Mining & more
# 100+ Retained happy customers
# 1000+ projects
During the episode, Amrit talks in-depth about the nitty-gritty of the manufacturing sector, what are some of the key focus points for customers and much more.
Notes -
01:29 - Revenue and scale at Zetwerk
04:26 - Solving for market access & capital expenditures for small manufactures
05:31 - Zetwerk’s revenue model
10:15 - Time v/s Quality in manufacturing
18:30 - Nature of retained customers
20:47 - Order size from $1000 to $30 Mn
24:32 - Creating a catalogue for the uncatalogued market
36:15 - Approach as an entrepreneur during fundraising
Normally for the most of us our buying focus is around products like -
# Which smartphone to buy?
# Which laptop to buy?
# Which car to buy? And so on.
But have you ever thought for a bit about which mattress should I buy? Probably No, right.
This is the reason why, in almost the last 10-15 years, prior to 2015-16, we’ve barely seen any innovation in mattresses or competitive pricing amongst brands?
But a lot of that has changed in the last 3-4 years, with companies like Sleepyhead, The Sleep Company, Wakefit and a few other D2C mattress brands coming up.
In today’s episode we’ve brought Ankit Garg, Director and Co-founder of Wakefit, to talk about the journey of the brand and how he and his Co-founder, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, won the hearts of several customers in this segment.
Founded in 2016, in current financial year, Wakefit recorded 2X growth, clocking Rs 410 crore revenue. The year earlier, it registered a turnover of Rs 197 crore.
They manufacture all their products in-house across nine factories in Bengaluru, Jodhpur, and Delhi.
While they only sell online and drive most of their sales from Amazon (i.e. mostly by new customers) and their own website (i.e. mostly by returning customers), they also have over 22 experience centres — six in metros and nine in smaller towns.
During the episode, Ankit talks about focusing on making their customers happy, understanding simple yet viral strategies to continue driving up their revenue and much more.
Notes -
02:58 - Getting a taste of failure early-on
09:05 - Working on your idea part-time during the early phase
12:25 - Building a D2C vs B2B company
15:17 - Initial pricing experiment of selling mattresses on Amazon
18:16 - Core habit of talking to customers
22:10 - Focus on NPS & customer happiness
25:23 - Removing inefficiencies in the product to offer better prices
26:17 - Revenue growth over the years
32:09 - Approach while reaching out to investors
36:13 - Wakefit’s 100 Nights Trial campaign
48:01 - Wakefit’s sleep campaign
50:30 - Advice for D2C founders
Have you heard about “Programmatic Advertising”?
Well for those of you who haven’t, Programmatic Advertising, also known as programmatic display advertising, is an automatic process of planning, buying and selling ad inventory.
Before advertising was programmatic, it was done manually, which included being in touch with a sales team, and included requesting for proposals, bidding, quotation, and human negotiation. And as you can imagine, this was a very time intensive task.
With Programmatic Advertising the system automates all of this for this, and as a cherry on the cake, it provides actionable data in planning and determining what Ad content is relevant to a particular user.
For instance, a user is scanning some blog related to “baby food”. The Ad tech system evaluates the user and displays an Ad related to “offers on baby food items” or “baby food pouches”.
The guest of our today’s episode Kshitij Jain, with his company Joveo, enables recruiters with one of the most advanced Programmatic Job Advertising Platform.
Their clients include - Wells Fargo, Barclays, Rolls-Royce, Sony, HCL and several other Fortune 500 companies.
Their system claims to be driving up to 2X more relevant applicants, 40% higher click to apply conversions, at 20-50% lower Cost per Hire.
Kshitij who has spent over 20+ years in the online recruitment and hiring industry, is a second time founder with Joveo. His first company, MoBolt was acquired by Indeed in 2014, just under 2 years of being operational.
During the episode, he talks about his experience in the industry over the year, how did he and his team made MoBolt a big success within such a short-time, his learnings from his traditional-family background in India and much more.
Notes -
00:50 - What does Joveo stands for?
02:17 - Insights related to online Jobs & Hiring industry
09:47 - Motivation behind spending 20+ years in this industry
13:03 - Difference between Sales & Selling
17:16 - Magic recipe behind Mobolt
19:35 - How to focus on what the customer needs and not what the customer wants?
25:27 - “Everybody who wants to be an entrepreneur needs to know how to cold call.”
27:58 - Key milestones in Joveo’s journey
30:22 - Learnings coming from Marwari family background
39:41 - “I’m the business of the unfinished business.”
How often and sincerely do you help someone for free?
Moreover when it's related to building/growing their business?
Only some of us can confidently say yes to the above questions. However today we have Manish Pandey, who heads Culture and Brand at Josh Talks.
Coming from Silvassa (i.e. headquarters of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu), Manish had very humble beginnings.
He’s been featured on Josh Talks series - #RagsToRiches and Ranveer Allahbadia’s #TheRanveerShow, Ranveer also referred to Manish as his mentor for career and spirituality and also credits him for helping to build and grow Beerbiceps and Monk entertainment.
Similarly, Manish has selflessly helped several solopreneurs and founders in building and scaling their brands for free.
During the episode, Manish shares with us what drives him to help other entrepreneurs grow, his recommendations for building a personal brand and more.
Notes -
02:50 - Helping Entrepreneurs and Content Creators
07:49 - Introspecting life backwards to 5th standard
16:04 - Meeting Ranveer Allahbadia
21:12 - Advice to 100xEntrepreneur to build its Social Media Brand
23:44 - Putting out one’s vulnerability
26:08 - Manish on Spirituality
In whichever industry or ecosystem you are, there are some people you just can’t not know about, because they are the ones who have either -
# had a major role in shaping the industry as it is today
# or achieved something at such a massive scale that no one can miss to notice it
The guest of our today’s episode Vani Kola, founder and managing director of Kalaari Capital, is one such person. She was listed as one of the most powerful women in Indian business by Fortune India in 2014.
She started her career in the silicon valley, as a serial entrepreneur and spent close to 22 years. While in silicon valley, she founded an e-procurement company RightWorks, which was later sold for $657 million.
After returning to India in 2006, she founded Indo-US Venture Partners (IUVP) in 2006, which was later rebranded as Kalaari Capital.
Some stats around Kalaari Capital -
**# 188+ Investments; popular portfolio companies are Dream11, Myntra, Cure.fit, and Snapdeal
23+ Exits; most notable exits include Workday, Milkbasket, and Simplilearn**
During the podcast, Vani shares with us how she approaches any new investment, how she suggests the founder to treat any failure, how yoga and meditation have positively impacted her life and more.
Notes -
02:50 - “What you can’t dream, you can’t achieve.”
10:32 - “What didn’t work can give you an actionable insight.”
18:09 - Assessing a founder’s potential vs pedigree
23:12 - Having a depth of clarity rather than just being a good storyteller
38:54 - Balance to life: Meditation & Yoga
41:05 - CXXO Initiative: $10 million fund for women founders
Did you used to get pocket money before the age of 18 to manage your expenses? I personally used to get a fixed & tiny pocket money after 10th, thanks to my parents.
When I was in college, I stayed away from my hometown, in a PG with a roommate, unlike me, he didn’t had a fixed or tiny pocket money, he used to get an X amount from his father whenever the previous X amount got over.
I was always a bit envious, as to why he has a free flowing pocket money, whereas I have to manage everything (Travel, Accommodation & Misc expenses) in a fixed amount.
Fast forward 7 years, I’m a lot thankful to my parents for both -
# giving me pocket money, and
# keeping it fixed (mostly) on a monthly basis.
This helped me in learning how to manage my finances better, which definitely helped, once I got into a job.
Btw this is exactly what Sambhav Jain, guest of our today’s episode is trying to do with his company Fampay.
Fampay, being a virtual card prepaid card for teenagers, enables them to do online transactions and manage their finances, eventually educating them to be more financially aware down the line as grown-ups.
Recently after adding 2 million+ registered users on platform Fampay raised USD 38 million in funding from Elevation Capital and others.
During the podcast, Sambhav shares with us how he came across the idea behind Fampay, what were the initial challenges when they approached several banks with this concept and more.
Notes -
02:02 - Graduating from IIT Roorkee and working in Product roles
06:28 - Concept of pocket money in western countries
09:14 - Problem statement of financial literacy among kids in India
16:25 - Initial discussion with Elevation Capital & achieving PMF
20:05 - Driving hyper-growth with campus ambassadors
28:14 - Building the product like a community rather than a transactional app
30:02 - Initial response from traditional banks
32:53 - Working of a Fampay wallet
34:48 - Adoption of technology among teenagers
Data access for App development for startups and enterprise is very complex and has a lot of security concerns. It gets even worse when you plan to scale the product.
This has vastly changed since Hasura came into existence. Founded by the guest of our today’s episode, Tanmai Gopal, Hasura provides an open-source engine for developers to streamline data access in a secure and scalable way to make app developments easier.
Started in 2018, it has seen adoption from thousands of developers across fast-growing startups and Fortune 500 companies.
During the podcast, Tanmai shares with us how they ideated Hasura as an open-source engine, and when did they realize the right opportunity to monetize it by launching a commercial model.
Notes -
01:22 - Hasura in layman’s term
03:56 - Early childhood and graduating from IIT Madras
10:21 - “Until you build a product and take it to market, you actually don’t know anything.”
13:11 - Launching Hasura as an open-source engine; 2 Mn+ downloads in first year & 100 Mn+ downloads in the second year
14:34 - Changing perspective from being bootstrapped to raising VC funding
21:23 - Shifting from free open-source to a commercial model
25:38 - Milestone around Mission Critical Adoption
34:02 - GTM strategy - Free adoption followed by commercial conversion
38:50 - Hiring for the Non-dev team
41:33 - His advice to entrepreneurs building open-source products
Venture Capital or Angel investments aren’t a must have, to make your startup successful. This has been demonstrated again and again by several bootstrapped startups which have been very successful, namely - GrabOn, Zoho, Zerodha, Wingify & others.
The guest of our today’s episode Rajdip Gupta, CEO & Founder, Route Mobile, similarly has an exquisite journey of taking his company from being completely bootstrapped to getting listed in the share market and growing to a market share of Rs.11,000 crore+.
Just to understand the faith amongst retail investors in Route Mobile's strong growth potential, you must know that in September 2020 its Rs 600-crore IPO was oversubscribed 74 times. It made a stellar debut with a 105% rise on day one of listing.
As a niche player operating in an extremely dynamic, high-growth segment of the cloud-communications space and catering to the digital user engagement needs of enterprises, Route Mobile has a limited number of competitors and no publicly listed rivals.
During the podcast, Rajdip shares with us, what are the various offerings Route Mobile has for its enterprise customers, where it stands against its Indian competitors and how he personally tackles things to bring a work-life balance in his daily life.
Notes -
01:53 - Creating a story & value from India
04:17 - Solutions for enterprise customers
10:02 - Scale & revenue breakup across geographies
12:25 - Benchmarking against Indian competitors
16:07 - Challenges during the early phase of building Route Mobile
22:19 - Work-life balance and unavoidable circumstances in a startup journey
36:11 - Future plans for Route Mobile
Today most companies around us follow two approaches to presenting their user data via Ads -
# Company A - We have 60% of our users coming from Tier-I cities with greater than Rs.50,000 monthly income.
# Companies like Uber - Rahul & Rashmi, a couple from Gurgaon take an Uber to their office everyday and get a background verified driver, with a well-sanitized car, at an affordable price.
# Companies like Meesho - Sarah, a housewife from Lucknow wanted to support her family, she started her online store with Meesho and now earns Rs.25000 from home.
Now which of these companies will you feel more attracted towards? Very like towards Uber & Meesho right, because they showcase real people instead of just numbers.
Well, this is exactly what the guest of our today’s episode, Roshan Abbas also tries to emphasize upon.
Throughout his career he has focused on being best at storytelling for various brands. As per him, in order to be a good storyteller, you need to wrap your data with a real person’s journey & life experiences, rather than making it less life-like and treating people like Cohort A, B & C.
Roshan has been a radio jockey, theatre actor, TV anchor, writer, director, angel investor & entrepreneur over his career.
He credits this to his attitude to - “Listen, Assimilate & Action”.
During the podcast, he shares with us how he kept successfully surfing across multiple roles throughout his career, how he picks the companies he wants to invest in, and how he enjoys life along with constantly achieving his goals.
Notes -
03:23 - Mastering multiple skills; Creators are curious people
05:37 - Scale & opportunities from Radio to Television
06:10 - Identifying the next step
11:21 - “You can’t have every skill, then you hire for the right skill.”
13:17 - Importance of accountability in creativity
17:53 - Being a seller of dreams
22:34 - Be interesting or be interested
26:46 - Building Kommune for young creators
28:56 - Being militant with removing distractions
42:15 - Future & the change in media consumption
48:12 - Importance of having a great hook in storytelling
During the pandemic & lockdown since last year:# Initially people weren’t able to visit a doctor personally;# And, currently both the patient & the doctor try to avoid meeting physically unless it's absolutely necessary
During this period, Telemedicine has grown silently and rapidly, revolutionizing Indian healthcare.
Recent report by EY, has predicted robust growth in the country’s telemedicine (e-consults & e-pharmacy) sector between now and 2025 – at a 31% compound annual growth rate, securing up to $5.5 billion.
And today we have Prasad Kompalli, CEO & Co-founder Mfine, which is acing this tailwind with an over 8x growth in users, and adding 250 hospitals to its platform, taking the total partner hospitals to over 550, in just the initial months of lockdown.
Mfine, which was started in 2017, is enabling doctors to diagnose more number of patients, with higher accuracy, thanks to its AI & ML integrations.
During the podcast, Prasad talks about their learnings of a customer’s journey on product, his view on the future of telemedicine in India and his advice to first-time entrepreneurs entering this sector.
Notes -
02:23 - Growing up in Vijayawada; Engineering background at family
10:06 - Key learnings from working at Myntra
13:59 - mfine thesis: Power of mobile & healthcare being a data-driven business
16:54 - Current Scale: Monthly transactions & Customer journey
18:36 - Early investments from Stellaris & Prime Venture Partners
29:42 - What worked: Primary care & Digitizing specialist care
32:39 - What didn’t work: You can’t inflate the demand
37:55 - Advice to first-time health care entrepreneur
46:34 - Being a Calm vs Aggressive startup CEO
How often do you see an entrepreneur’s last employer putting equity in their idea?
Well, this is exactly what happened with the guest of our today’s episode, Shantanu Deshpande, Founder - Bombay Shaving Company.
In 2015, when Shantanu decided to dominate the men's grooming space and he was quitting his job at McKinsey, then his peer’s and seniors didn’t just allow him to leave but decided to back him up with an initial Seed funding.
Last year when the country went into lockdown, the company’s revenues increased by 3x. One of the interesting driving factors behind this was the women employees at the company.
Their perspective was very straightforward:
# Problem Statement: During the lockdown, there was a shortage of women's hair removal products and razors.
# Opportunity: They were working for a company, which made razors for a living.
# Solution: These women employees then decided to coordinate with the product designers, test the product on themselves, put in their inputs, and get their own women’s razor out in the market.
With this the Bombay Shaving Company, which earlier had 27% women customers buying their products for the men in their life (i.e. partners, father, brother) as a gifting option, now had 50% orders coming in from women with a major share of them buying women’s hair removal products.
During the podcast, Shantanu shares with us what other tailwinds he leveraged during last year’s lockdown, how he believes in enabling his investors to partially exit from the brand from time to time, and how he derives the best value from his large institutional investors.
Notes -
01:38 - Growing up in Florida (US) and moving back to India
06:50 - Leaving McKinsey & starting Bombay Shaving Company
09:18 - “The richest source of information is a conversation with people who are in it all the time.”
17:13 - Tailwinds which enabled 3x revenue post-lockdown in Mar’20
19:50 - Channel-wise revenue break-up
21:47 - Raising initial seed-round from McKinsey
23:30 - “My belief was always, that we should never raise money to buy revenues, we should always raise money to build a brand.”
26:24 - Core-target metrics since launch
30:02 - 3 Crucial things to winning customers early-on
33:07 - Enabling exits for early Angel investors
39:57 - “Having good organic traffic is a proxy for brand strength.”
44:32 - Deriving best value from financial investors
# Saffola - Cooking Oil
# Parachute Advansed - Hair Oil
# Nihar Naturals - Hair Oil
# Set Wet - Hair Gel
# Livon Hair Serum and many more...
You must have seen or used at least one of these names in your house, on TV, or in Newspaper Ad right?
Do you know what connects all these names? Its Marico Ltd, one of India’s leading consumer products companies operating in the global beauty and wellness space.
Marico touches the lives of 1 out of every 3 Indians, through its portfolio of brands.
In today’s episode, we have with us Harsh Mariwala, the man behind building Marico over 30+ years, with a Market Cap. of 68,000cr+ and making it a common name in every Indian home.
During the podcast, he shares with us how he experienced the Ins & Outs of business from childhood at family’s dinner-table discussions and how he joined the family business - Bombay Oil Industries at an early age, and built Marico, a Fortune India 500 company.
Notes -
02:02 - “When business topics get discussed in your presence, then even if you may not be able to add value, you’ll get a good understanding of the business.”
04:15 - Early exposure to the brand & business at the age of 20
06:02 - Forming Marico as a separate entity in the 1990s
11:27 - Building the team at Marico
13:50 - “Involvement brings in commitment, and you have to involve people in some organizational issues if you want their commitment.”
17:46 - Thought process behind Brand-Building
19:54 - First taste of success with Parachute & Saffola oil
22:15 - Personal Social Responsibility initiatives by Marico
26:19 - Reduction in entry barriers for consumer brands
27:47 - Levers of growth as an individual
30:11 - Treating your employees as Brand Ambassadors
34:33 - Advice to entrepreneurs to pioneer in their segment
36:11 - Source of learnings: Books & Thought leaders
In a recent report as per KPMG, “Online gaming industry in India is going to be worth Rs.29,000 crore by FY25.”
Have you heard about Nazara Technologies?
Probably Yes, when its IPO came in March 2021, as it was very well highlighted in the News, being one of the portfolio companies of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Nazara’s founder and the guest of our today’s episode, Nitish Mittersain probably saw this coming much early, almost 20 years back.
With its IPO, Nazara gave 80%+ as listing gains to its IPO applicants, this reflects how well the Indian stock market has reacted to a gaming company, and also highlights the potential of India’s gaming industry in years to come.
During the podcast, Nitish talks about his journey of building a gaming company in India, when no one believed that gaming as a domain was properly monetizable.
He also shares how Nazara got listed in NSE & BSE and how it impacts the company's future growth plans.
Notes -
01:14 - Textile business family background; coding games in BASIC
02:33 - Started Nazara in 1999 while he was 1st year in college
04:27 - 2000 Dot-Com Bubble - “I often say, I did an expensive but enriching MBA, sitting here in Bombay.”
06:54 - Focus on Cash Flows; not chasing vanity metrics
07:13 - Raising funds & Friends of Nazara
07:59 - Acquisition since 2015 - NODWIN Gaming & Nextwave Multimedia among others
08:44 - Synergy between the acquirer & the acquiree company
10:14 - “Over a 20+ years journey gaming always looked like a mirage in the desert.”
13:10 - “Just trying to run a profitable business today may not be good enough.”
14:56 - Advantage of being the only listed gaming company
20:09 - Source of Revenue: In-app purchases vs Advertising
20:51 - What convinced Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to invest?
24:53 - Getting listed in Indian markets being a startup
Would you dare to create a TEDx version from scratch for the Indian audience
-Right out of college?
-Without any good-paying job?
-And living on a shoestring budget?
Well, that's the story of Supriya Paul, Co-founder, Josh Talks, and the guest of this week’s episode of 100x Entrepreneur.
She along with her Co-Founder, Shobhit Banga started Josh Talks in 2015, with a vision to bring access to the right role models for the audience in Tier-II & Tier-III cities.
She wanted to create an Indian version of TEDx, that could be accessible in multiple regional languages and bring such stories on the platform which could be easily relatable by their Indian youth.
Today Josh Talks has grown leaps and bounds and some of its milestones include -
**# 2000+ stories
10 vernacular languages**
**# No-cost career-guidance under Josh Kosh to 500000+ people/month
1 Mn+ app installs & 100k+ paid users of their e-learning platform, Josh Skills**
During the podcast, Supriya talks about her journey of building and growing Josh Talks over the years and also shares her insights on what keeps her team aligned and focused on delivering their best.
Notes -
02:18 - Starting Josh Talks straight out of college
05:27 - Revenue growth over time
10:13 - “I think vulnerability & purity in storytelling is what has gotten us this far.”
11:52 - What works on YouTube: Consistency, Authenticity, & Packing as per its algorithm
14:55 - Moments of self-doubt
20:11 - Core metrics for Josh: Talks, Skills & Kosh
24:12 - Business targets over the next 2-3 years
25:23 - Hiring & retaining quality talent
26:01 - All You Need is Josh: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Conviction in 21st Century India
27:58 - Defining work-culture & core values at Josh Talks
29:25 - Strengths & weakness of both the co-founders
31:26 - Connecting with Ankur Warikoo as Mentor & Investor
Have you ever heard about Infotel Broadband Services Limited (IBSL)?
Even if you haven’t, I’m very much sure that you can’t deny that you don’t know its current rebranded form.
I’ll give you a hint; this company currently has the largest market share in terms of wireless subscribers (i.e. telecom) in India, even greater than Airtel.
Yes, you’ve got it right, it's Jio.
Before getting rebranded as Jio, the original company IBSL, was the only company that won broadband spectrum in all 22 circles in India in the 4G auction in 2010.
And later that year Reliance Industries acquired the company.
After Jio’s official launch in September 2016, it gained the first 50 million customers in just 83 days of launch and currently has an overall subscriber base of 414.9 million customers.
“That’s the Reliance way of doing things”, quoted by Farooq Adam, during the podcast.
What he means is that at Reliance, just the sheer scale at which they launch and operate their product and make their marketing strategy, ensures the success of the product.
And when Reliance approached him in 2019 after he had raised the Series-C led by Google, this is exactly what convinced him to combine Fynd with Reliance and support the rollout of JioMart.
During the podcast, Farooq talks about the early days at Shopsense (rebranded as Fynd), getting rejected by investors during the first round, and his experience being an Angel Investor.
Notes -
01:18 - Early childhood in Kuwait; getting into IIT Bombay
05:01 - Initial stint with Adsale; adding another sale by recommendations & coupons
10:12 - Visiting Diesel (clothing store) on Juhu Tara Road (Mumbai)
14:58 - Problem statements solved by Shopsense
17:24 - Getting benchmarked against Capillary Technologies by investors
22:40 - Rebranding Shopsense as Fynd to cater to hyperlocal marketplace
31:26 - “How & when you collect your NPS is very interesting.”
32:08 - Acquired by Reliance after getting Google-led Series-C funding
51:39 - Experience as an Angel investor
52:10 - Co-investing with First Cheque VC
57:47 - Advice to his portfolio companies
59:44 - Book recommendations for founders
Venture debt was introduced in India 15 years ago. However, it has gained traction in the last decade.
In the last 6 years itself, approximately $4 bn of debt has been deployed across 150+ deals in India.
But, not very often you come across an investor talking proactively about both debt & equity investments in the startup ecosystem!
That’s why in this episode we’ve brought Ashvin Chadha from Anicut Capital.
During the podcast, Ashvin talks about the various debt funding deals he came across at Anicut, and while he considers debt funding to be lucrative over equity investments over a short period, but for people who are willing to stay invested for over 10-15 years, he points out how we are in the golden age of early-stage investing.
He also talks about how a lot of VCs in the Indian Startup ecosystem are already getting 100x returns on their equity investments, we shouldn’t be surprised to see 1000x returns becoming normal in years to come.
Notes -
01:56 - Setting up Anicut Capital
03:24 - Initial equity & debt investments
04:51 - Structuring debt investments by setting up an AIF in 2015
06:04 - Investing in Sharechat during an internal bridge round
09:19 - Exits & thesis with debt investments
10:52 - “In my view it takes 10-15 years to build brands in India and if you don’t stay the course, your compounding doesn’t happen.”
13:55 - Parameters & mental models while making equity investments
15:56 - Learnings from portfolio companies hitting a roadblock
24:12 - “We are in the golden age of early stage investing.”
26:56 - “A good company will last even in a bad market.”
27:07 - Backstory & thesis of investing in Bira 91
30:51 - Backstory & thesis of investing in Wingreen Farms
42:02 - Backstory & thesis of investing in Neemans
“We don’t think of ourselves as fund managers. The fund manager is someone managing 100s of millions of dollars, your job is largely doing money management.
Our job is not to do money management, our job is to look at the new trends, try to meet the smartest of the smartest guys, and somehow try to convince them to take out money, and be a good part of the ecosystem and make other good people within the ecosystem come and talk to us.”
**Can you ever imagine someone who has been an NGO worker for a long time, suddenly switch careers and;
Setting up a VC firm
Raising $120.9M+
Investing in 102+ companies
Getting 11 exits**
Well, that's the story of Madhukar Sinha, Co-founder, India Quotient, and the guest of this week’s episode.
Most of us get comfortable in our jobs post the age of 30, let alone the thought of setting up a VC firm. But that’s exactly what Madhukar, along with his Co-founder Anand Lunia did, back in 2012.
During the podcast, Madhukar talks about his first experience with 3G, how he didn’t let his NGO background limit his career choices, and much more.
Notes -
01:12 - Early life: Growing up in Jamshedpur to working in NGO
06:14 - Understanding what India really is, not only in metros, but in terms of Tier-II & Tier-III cities
06:47 - NGO background stereotyping & limiting his career choices
07:12 - Completing his MBA and joining Aavishkaar
10:55 - Experiencing the potential of smartphones after getting his first 3G phone in 2011
12:32 - Co-founding India Quotient in 2012; at the age of 35
15:51 - Being more of Entrepreneur, less of Fund manager
26:18 - Not continuing what you aren’t comfortable with
32:35 - Making investment decision for early stage companies
43:05 - Talking about portfolio companies - Sharechat, Lokal & BharatAgri
50:28 - Fund return expectation in 5+ year period
57:54 - First Cheque: Investing in unique ideas that don’t directly match India Quotient’s thesis
1:02:34 - Getting personalised deal flow via founders of portfolio companies
“Financial independence is nothing but freedom of thought, freedom of action, and I think that’s invaluable. If you have to constantly work in your life to live, then you’ll have all sorts of restrictions.” - quoted by Paras during the podcast.
The term “Financial independence” has gained more popularity in Google searches (i.e. Google Trends) post-2020, and we all know why that is.
When Covid-19 got widespread last year & brought chaos and anxiety in our lives, then a lot of people experienced job losses, business-shutdowns, which as a ripple effect lead to non-payment of loans, and monetary crisis. This represents making the wrong decisions with choosing where to spend your money.
During this period, there was another set of people who were able to save more as a result of working from home (i.e their native place) and not having to pay regular expenses like - house rent (of living in a metro city), groceries, commuting costs, etc.
And if you’re wondering, what did most of these people choose to do with their savings?
As per CNBC’s recent article -”15% of current retail stock investors began investing in 2020.”
Probably because as per Paras, “For most people, the way to becoming financially independent, is to hit a jackpot or lottery.”
During the podcast, Paras talks about the money-related choices he made early on in his life. And he doesn’t hesitate to openly talking about the bad choices he made while making his investments and warns our listeners to be cautious of the same.
At the same time, he also recommends how one can educate himself/herself in the right way to build a mindset for achieving financial independence.
Notes -
02:09 - Meaning of “True Wealth” for him
05:15 - “Money creation is obviously not a trivial thing. It requires a non-trivial amount of commitment, intellect, passion, and so on and so forth.”
05:40 - Wingify: 4th attempt of trying to build a startup
06:59 - “If money was a primary motivator, I imagine, I would have gone ahead and we would have raised some funding, but we didn’t.”
10:15 - His definition of financial wealth
13:29 - #1 mistake in investing: Real estate
15:31 - “Chasing safe assets like FD early on is a big mistake.”
18:34 - Having 70-80% asset in equity markets
22:56 - “Diversification is the only free lunch, in finance.”
24:02 - Advice to a 25-year-old on “spending wisely”
26:31 - “If you have to constantly work in your life to live, then you’ll have all sorts of restrictions.”
27:55 - ULIPs: “The more complex something sounds, the riskier it is.”
31:23 - Investing in Index funds
34:37 - His ideal investment: being passive, no speculation, & growing faster than inflation
35:50 - Treasure to read: Warren Buffett's Annual Letters
37:17 - Focusing on what new to do at Wingify
39:59 - Following Deep work principle
In this episode, we chat with Amit Kumar Agarwal, NoBroker.
NoBroker, as the name suggests eliminates the middle-man/broker most of us have to go through when we look out for our buy/rent a property.
NoBroker handles $2 billion worth of transactions on its platform every year and claims to have helped save brokerage worth Rs 1,100 crore last year.
During the podcast, Amit shares how he built NoBroker while facing troubles from local brokers and brought it into realization as a broker-free platform at a time when larger competitors like Housing.com and Commonfloor still had brokers on their platform.
Notes -
01:39 - Family background & childhood, shifting cities too often
06:36 - Challenges while beginning with your Startup in your 30s
09:54 - Ideating the concept of NoBroker
13:25 - Approaching VCs for initial funding
14:37 - Investors seeking the existence of a US/China counterpart
22:18 - Choosing BTL advertising over ATL considering the ROI at a premature stage
26:02 - Not expanding too fast to multiple cities
37:43 - Listening to what your customers want
42:58 - Bringing premium Add-on services
47:01 - Changes in his personality as a founder in 0 to 1 & 1 to 100 journey
In this episode, we chat with Sanjeev Kapoor, the famous Indian celebrity chef, Padma Shri-awardee, entrepreneur and television personality.
He rose to fame after hosting Khana Khazana (an Indian cookery show) in the early 90s. It was the longest-running show of its kind in Asia with over 649 episodes over 19 years.
He also holds a Guinness World Record for cooking 918 kg khichdi live at World Food India 2017. In 2017 he was the only chef in Forbes ‘top 100 Indian celebrities’.
Sanjeev’s business ventures range from premium cookware and appliances brand Wonderchef to TV channel FoodFood and 65 chain restaurants under different brands in nine countries.
During the podcast, Sanjeev talks about creating the content that he personally enjoys and running multiple ventures with partners he trusts and is comfortable with.
This conversation is pure gold for someone who’s either currently in or planning to enter the food industry to get a top-level perspective of how things work and what all should you consider and various stages in your journey.
Notes -
02:30 - Getting nostalgic with the Khana Khazana show
04:54 - Being a content person at heart via books, website, social media, & TV channel
07:48 - Working with Pharma companies to bring nutritional foods of medicinal value
08:21 - KitFresh via Amazon: Ready to cook fresh meal kit
09:19 - 4000+ employees under Sanjeev Kapoor’s Brand
11:12 - Family background & early career
16:38 - Being comfortable with discomfort
18:57 - Drive to start working on something new
23:45 - “If you continue to do things that give you pleasure, satisfaction, & purpose then it's not work, it's something that you’re enjoying all the time.”
26:34 - Deciding ownership of actionable in a partnership
33:43 - Understanding numbers and building scalable businesses
36:55 - Building comfort & trust prior to entering into a partnership
In this episode, we chat with Karan Bajaj, Founder, WhiteHat Jr. From being the CEO at Discovery, to being an author with Penguin Random House & HarperCollins Publishers, to curating his Edtech venture Karan has donned many hats.
Founded in November 2018, WhiteHat Jr is focused on helping children between 6 to 14 years in developing commercial-ready games, animations, and apps online using the fundamentals of coding. In August 2020, Whitehat Jr was sold to Byju’s in a $300 million all-cash deal.
During the podcast, Karan talks about how he took 3 breaks in his professional career and how they impacted him as a person, he also talks about what roles should a founder play at various growth stages in a startup’s journey.
For anyone looking to make a planned approach & setting outcomes for sabbaticals, or for any founder confused with prioritizing the impactful things in their journey at various stages, this conversation can be of great value.
Notes -
01:03 - Early childhood & career prior to WhiteHat Jr
03:49 - Taking breaks in a professional career
04:10 - Becoming consistent with writing - “Natural consequence of living what I thought was a very interesting adventure, an experience that I thought that many people should do.”
07:04 - Major career sabbaticals throughout his journey
14:24 - Impact of 1st Sabbatical: Understanding that the world is very boundary-less
15:06 - Impact of 2nd Sabbatical: Productivity as an individual
15:41 - Impact of 3rd Sabbatical: “If I pick up something, I just have to keep at it every day.”
17:00 - Growing leaps and bounds in corporate career after 2nd sabbatical
18:30 - Self-doubts while writing and publishing his books
22:04 - Accepting and realising that growth isn’t linear
28:43 - Ideating and pursuing WhiteHat Jr
34:46 - Initial scale, revenue, and metrics tracked at WhiteHat Jr
38:17 - Top mistakes at WhiteHat Jr while blitzscaling
41:45 - Being mindful as a founder while facing criticism
43:15 - “The founder in a blitzscaling phase has to let some fires burn.”
45:41 - Byju’s & WhiteHat Jr deal: Startup economics for Acquirer, Acquired & Investors
51:19 - Enabling 11000+ women teachers on the platform
52:07 - Karan’s perspective on the Wolf Gupta’s Ad
1:00:14 - WhiteHat Jr’s journey in a book & chapter names for each phase
1:04:32 - One major personality change while building WhiteHat Jr
Ranjeet Pratap Singh is the Co-founder & CEO of Pratilipi. Prior to Pratilipi, he worked at Vodafone with stints in Marketing, Retail, and Channel Sales.
Pratilipi, is the largest vernacular Indian story-telling platform with over 320,000 writers in 12 languages and over 25+ million Monthly Active Readers.
There are several sub-categories and sub-products within the brand such as - Pratilipi Literature, Pratilipi Comics, Pratilipi FM & their latest acquisition IVM Podcasts.
During the podcast, Ranjeet talks about simplifying the creation of online consumer internet companies, creating their own definition of growth, giving ownership to employees to define their plan of action, and set their individual North star metrics amongst other work culture practices followed at Pratilipi.
Notes -
01:03 - Pratilipi - Vernacular self-published content platform
02:53 - Problem statement behind starting Pratilipi
05:04 - Onboarding first set of users & building traction on the platform
06:11 - Current scale in terms of authors, stories, & readers
07:19 - Revenue model: Brand advertising for IVM Podcasts
08:34 - Revenue model: Subscription & Virtual gifting for Pratilipi Literature
10:22 - Revenue model: Early access model for Pratilipi Comics
11:45 - Optimising your odds based on a long-term future as a founder
12:49 - Challenges while raising initial funding
16:12 - Transparency & Ownership amongst employees
19:10 - The thought process behind hiring: “We don’t look at people as dots, but we look at people as journeys.”
21:22 - Adopting things from work culture at Freecharge, CRED & Flipkart amongst others
25:31 - Setting product-wise North-star & check metrics
28:44 - Not following the general Growth Playbook
31:22 - Future goals as a platform: Democratizing Storytelling
32:33 - Thesis behind Audio Content: IVM Podcast & Pratilipi FM
39:24 - Things that didn’t work out at Pratilipi
In this episode, we chat with Malika Datt Sadani & Mohit Sadaani, The Moms Co. which deals with toxic-free products for newborns and mothers.
The Mom’s Co’s journey started from a personal experience. Both the couple’s daughters had skin conditions which made them scourge for natural products that were free of toxins and artificial fragrances.
During the podcast, they talk about how to build trust amongst customers in D2C products, what are the things a first-time entrepreneur in D2C should consider, and how they’ve built a closely knit community to stay connected with their customers, amongst other things.
Notes -
01:12 - Background of The Moms Co.
02:32 - Family & career background prior to The Moms Co.
03:27 - Meeting each other as life partners & co-founders
05:22 - Mindset prior to the launch of the first product
07:47 - Raising initial funding for a D2C brand in 2017
10:22 - Life-changing conversation & insight for Malika in the early days of The Moms Co.
16:12 - “How do we change the definition of what mom’s skin, face & hair care look like and allowing us to play into a lot of other very large categories with a very different proposition.”
17:32 - Consumer journey over the past 5 years
19:04 - Close touch with customers over Whatsapp & Facebook community
22:27 - Brand advocates, including Genelia D'Souza to build brand trust
24:55 - Challenges while setting up distribution channels
29:35 - Advice to D2C entrepreneurs
31:36 - Malika’s experience shifting from a home-maker to an entrepreneur
38:43 - Founders & Mentors they reach out to for brainstorming
In this episode, we chat with Pravin Agarwala, founder BetterPlace.
Blue-collar workforce management is one of the biggest industries in the Indian economy.
Urbanization and deeper penetration of the internet have helped players like QuikrJobs, LinkedIn, Just Jobs, Aasaan Jobs, and Google to make inroads into this segment.
BetterPlace is India's largest technology platform delivering digital solutions for blue-collar workforce management, throughout the entire value chain.
Pravin started Betterplace in January 2015 as a background verification company. However, they eventually realized the need for an enabler to bridge existing demand and supply gaps in the ecosystem, thus moving to a B2B2C business model and creating a digital platform to enable the ecosystem.
During the podcast, Pravin talks about defining and solving the challenges for the blue-collar workforce in India and also shares the company's vision to go global soon.
Notes -
01:26 - Coming from Dibrugarh (North-east India), working with SAP India
03:15 - Backstory behind starting BetterPlace
05:20 - Defining Workforce Management Solution for blue-collar employees
07:04 - Solving for improving productivity, attrition, time & attendance among other challenges
Ft3 - First step in the product - Onboarding solution with background verification
14:39 - Current key customers, metrics & milestones
16:09 - Challenges while raising funding for a SaaS startup impacting blue-collar workers
19:58 - Global expansion plans for BetterPlace
23:28 - Approach behind the valuation of early-stage SaaS startups
26:35 - Focus on: Customer value, Step-by-step approach, Team building among other elements
30:18 - Bringing an Angel Investor within the company full-time to build on core principles
30:31 - Value addition from investors
34:01 - Things he’ll do differently if he got another shot at building BetterPlace
37:25 - Starting early in your startup journey as a founder
39:40 - Why a founder shouldn’t have a Plan B while starting up?
From investing all his savings in Sahil Barua's Delhivery in 2011 to becoming an angel investor in 130 Indian startups, the story of Abhishek Goyal, Co-founder, Tracxn is worth listening for everyone in the ecosystem. Being an Ex-Yahoo & Amazon employee, Abhishek stepped into the startup investing ecosystem with Accel Partners in 2008.
Traxcn aims to become the largest platform tracking Innovative Startups, Private Companies & Emerging Sectors globally. They track millions of companies, to enable Investors & global corporates to track sectors of their interest effortlessly.
During the podcast, Abhishek talks about how to identify founders who’ll make category-creating startups, important signals to predict a brand’s success, starting as an Angel investor in the ecosystem.
Notes -
03:06 - Background with Yahoo & Amazon, joining Accel Partners
09:58 - The story behind Accel's investment in Flipkart
16:33 - Identifying patterns and traits in successful founders
18:09 - Unlearning your existing beliefs as an investor
22:01 - Explaining Unicorn startups and the general notion of ownership amongst investors
29:47 - Importance of customer signals at an early stage
31:28 - “Capital doesn’t follow fundamentals, fundamentals follow the capital.”
36:10 - “10 years later we as Indians won’t be celebrating Unicorns.”
37:44 - Sectors he’s bullish for this decade: SaaS, EdTech, and Banking among others
46:42 - Preventing forced exits being an Angel investor
49:36 - Advice to first-time investors in Startups
55:01 - Reading and keeping himself updated with Startup news
In this episode, we chat with Ashish Jhina & Karthik Venkateswaran, co-founders of Jumbotail, a 5-year-old online wholesale marketplace for grocery and food items.
Jumbotail serves more than 30,000 neighborhood stores (popularly known as kiranas in India) in the country with its full-stack B2B e-commerce model, which includes warehouses, a last-mile delivery supply chain network, and a fintech platform for payment and credit solutions to store owners.
During the podcast, they talk about breaking down a problem to its finest version and then solving for it, they also talk about how capital has wrongly been seen as a golden solution by most entrepreneurs for solving all challenges at a startup.
Notes -
02:44 - Karthik & Ashish’s backgrounds as a Major in the Indian Army and Apple farmer respectively
08:55 - First-principle thinking applied at Jumbotail
13:57 - Core-Engineering Principle: Build for utility, not for the use case
19:24 - Problem statements solved by Jumbotail, for Kirana (Grocery Retailers)
23:18 - Capital cannot be an only moat, where “unit economics” are extremely difficult to figure out
24:32 - Rapid scale-up pushing towards $250 Mn
27:25 - Raising first-funding from Nexus Venture Partners
38:16 - Identifying your co-founders at a mature-career stage
Harpreet Singh Grover founded CoCubes.com, an online platform for assessments and hiring along with his batchmate Vibhore Goyal in 2007 after completing his graduation at IIT, Delhi. CoCubes was acquired by Aon Hewitt in an all-cash deal in 2016.
Harpreet has also authored a book titled Let’s Build a Company along with Vibhore Goyal. This book is a tale of persistence & grit and about a company built in India by two Indian founders. It is written in the hope that entrepreneurs can avoid the mistakes Harpreet and Vibhore made and learn from what they did right.
Harpreet is also an active angel investor, with his deals including Chaayos, ShopKirana, and Avail Finance.
When it comes to entrepreneurship most people only talk about immersing themselves in the company they’ve been building while ignoring everything else. To contrast with this, during the podcast, Harpreet shares the emotional and personal aspects while making the tough decisions and the importance of spending time with family in an entrepreneur’s life.
Join this heart to heart conversation with Harpreet to know how entrepreneurs, while building their dream startup, compromise on their emotional and personal aspects, and how Harpreet’s journey can add value to anyone who is doing a startup and experiencing the ups and downs while building a company in India
Notes -
02:47 - Harpreet’s journey: Lowest point as an entrepreneur
08:42 - “My best investments were done when I had less money.”
15:12 - “At any point in your journey, if you’ve been in a tough spot, talk to someone who has been in that tough spot.”
21:30 - “Companies are not sold, they are bought.”
22:16 - Life after the acquisition
29:12 - Importance of having family time in an entrepreneur’s life
35:19 - What choices he would have changed in life, 10-12 years back?
39:42 - Being an Entrepreneur: Solving for simple problems
In this episode, we chat with Mitesh Shah, who has headed finance at startups like Ola, BookMyShow & Being Human Clothing, and currently is co-founder at Inflection Point Ventures.
IPV comprises about 4,000 investors, who are CXOs at various top of line brands across the globe. Till date it has been part of 55 deals and these include names like Milkbasket, Blusmart, Truly Madly, and Multibhashi among others.
During the podcast, Mitesh emphasizes how the average early startup mortality rate is generally 70-80% across industry and has been brought down to 30-40% in the case of IPV portfolio companies. And he credits this to the robust support system between startup founders and IPVs extensive network of CXOs who guide and enable them to solve problems across hiring, growth, and monetization amongst others, with their rich experience.
For any early-stage founder looking to raise funding, or CXOs who wish to contribute to the Indian startup ecosystem, this conversation can be of great value, and help them take their first step with a structured approach.
Notes -
02:20 - From being a traditional CFO to becoming a VC
05:47 - What role does Inflection Point Ventures play?
07:01 - Helping the founders with CXOs on platforms
09:35 - Back Story: Investing & exiting from BharatPe
10:56 - IPV Thesis: “Businesses will keep pivoting, invest in great founders.”
19:05 - Portfolio investments in E-vehicles, Healthcare, SaaS among other sectors
28:02 - Message to founders: “Be very selective & critical while choosing the investor you want to have.”
In this episode, we chat with Ghazal and Varun Alagh, Co-founders, Mamaearth.
Ghazal & Varun’s entrepreneurial journey began when they were expecting their first baby and were on the lookout to ensure that they could use the best childcare products to keep their baby safe. But what came up as a shock for them was that every product out there had some or the other form of harmful chemical component.
This experience drove the duo to create then a babycare brand: Mamaearth.
Mamaearth is Asia’s first brand with MadeSafe certified products and has recently crossed Rs.500 crore revenue run rate.
During the podcast, they talk about how they initially started interacting and understanding their future customers and their concerns. They also share how they built a closely-knit community of parents with a newborn where prior to every product launch, they would take feedback from them, and then they’d launch the product after working on their suggestions.
For anyone looking to start up a D2C brand, this conversation can be of great value. From building a close connection with your prospective customers to earning their trust to building your brand, to differentiating your brand vs other players, this podcast has it all.
Notes -
03:13 - Their personal experience which led to founding Mamaearth
04:30 - Career prior to Mamaearth
07:42 - Things to prioritise early on to build a base for a D2C brand
11:28 - Top-seller product categories at Mamaearth
13:36 - Journey & Challenges from 0 to $1 Mn ARR and beyond
15:34 - Major milestones and fundraises
17:43 - Difference in Mamaearth’s growth strategy vs other D2C brands
21:47 - Future plans with Mamaearth
23:38 - Connecting & Understanding with the first few customers (mothers)
26:51 - Identifying vendors for packing, shipping, and production
29:02 - Bringing Shilpa Shetty on board as a Brand Ambassador & Investor
33:11 - Leveraging Influencer marketing to propel growth
35:01 - What they admire in each other as Co-founders & life partners
In this episode, we chat with Dilipkumar Khandelwal, Limited Partner with Stellaris Venture Partners & Fireside Ventures, and an active Angel Investor in 25+ companies.
He’s Ex-President at SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud business and came closer to the startup community in late 2016.
He has keen interest in D2C, Consumer-Tech and B2B SaaS. Some of his portfolio companies include Whatfix, Signzy, Moglix, Yellow Messenger, Credgenics, and Pepper Content among others.
During the podcast, he shares how he initially got introduced to investing in startups and began building his portfolio.
For anyone looking to begin investing in startups either by their own-self as an Angel Investor or as an LP with a VC firm, this conversation can be of great value. From building your own thesis to curating an exit strategy, this podcast will really help you through it.
Notes -
00:59 - From a Traditional Rajasthani business family to Investor in Early stage
04:28 - First interaction to Startups via Alok Goyal - Stellaris Venture Partners
07:12 - Change in perspective; investing in startups
08:51 - Thesis: Solving small but focused & specific problem statements
11:15 - Scaling can only work with the overall fundamental mechanism of the Org
15:09 - Making a product scalable is different vs adding more features
18:11 - Exit strategy as an Angel Investor
27:30 - Importance of deeper understanding with a sectoral perspective
28:14 - Upcoming trends over the next decade
In this episode, we chat with Arun Venkatachalam, who comes from the Murugappa Group - family, and is also an active Angel Investor.
Arun has invested in 25+ companies including Posist, ZoomCar, ZestMoney, AdPushup among others. And he has also got successful exits from companies like Innov8 CoWorking (acquired by OYO Rooms), Yourbus (acquired by Naspers/Ibibo Group), Endless Robotics (acquired by Mojay) etc.
During the podcast, he also shares how he initially invested in equity markets to build his own capital, which he later invested in his studies and his portfolio companies.
For anyone looking to start up as an Angel investor, this conversation can be of great value. From gaining a deep understanding of a particular space, to sourcing potential deals, to making your first investment, this podcast will really help you start and build.
Notes -
00:55 - Belonging to Murugappa Group (Family Enterprise); starting in Investment Banking
04:56 - Initial investments as an Angel investor
07:42 - “In order to be an expert down the line, someone has to start somewhere.”
12:50 - Creating an impact on Cap-table
25:21 - Investing in Recykal; creating impact because of ESG
28:01 - Advice for a first time Angel investor
32:12 - Having a conservative approach as an Angel investor
34:32 - “Opportunity isn’t in running with the herd, it's always in running against the herd.”
36:51 - Finding investment deals as a first-time investor
39:17 - Having a nuanced view while investing in Fintech
In this episode, we chat with Nishith Rastogi, Founder of Locus.sh; a startup that uses technology and proprietary algorithms to provide smart logistics solutions to businesses such as route optimisation, real-time tracking, insights, and analytics, vehicle allocation, and utilisation.
In 2015, Nishith along with his former AWS-colleague Geet Garg, built RideSafe, a real-time route deviation detection, for passenger safety in cabs. However, they eventually realised the potential of this concept in logistics & supply chain, which led to pivoting to Locus.
Apart from India, Locus.sh is present in Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh, San Francisco, and the East Coast.
For anyone looking to explore horizontal pivot or growth strategy, this conversation can add great value. From identifying the problem statement to creating customer-focused solutions, by leveraging a committed team & inward focus for efficiency, this podcast will guide you through it all.
Notes -
01:55 - Graduating from BITS Pilani, joining Amazon
03:11 - Creating RideSafe, a geo-tracking app for women’s safety
04:26 - Identifying the problem statement in supply chain & logistics
05:53 - Early adopters of Locus.sh
09:30 - Having more PhD’s in the team than engineers early-on
11:58 - Onboarding experience with Unilever; as first enterprise customer
17:56 - Scale up journey from India to 20+ countries
22:15 - Clarity of purpose both as a startup & founder
30:40 - Inward focus on efficiency in terms of capital
31:20 - Cultural shift with the growth of Locus.sh
31:35 - Focus while hiring: Ambition, Commitment & Integrity
36:48 - Concept of “Yes process, but no policy”.
39:21 - Implementation & Ideation OKRs
42:01 - Helpful books & resources
In this episode, we chat with Bhaskar Majumdar, Founder of Unicorn India Ventures; an early-stage fund with portfolio companies such as - Inc42, OPEN Bank, and VLCC’s VanityCube among others.
Bhaskar spent his early career in various Media companies like - Zee Network & Times Group. He also had an entrepreneurial stint with Recreate Solutions in 2001, which he later sold to US systems integrator.
He has since been an investor in several early-stage technology startups over the years, in India and the UK.
For anyone looking to start up in unconventional sectors, this conversation can add a great value. From identifying the problem statement to creating digital solutions, by leveraging trends & technology, this podcast will guide you through it all.
Notes -
02:04 - Early career in Media domain and founding Unicorn India Ventures
04:25 - Traditional mistake - “Finding a Co-founder whose skillset is exactly complementary to your own”.
06:26 - Identifying portfolio companies in uncommon sectors
08:04 - Thesis behind investments: Digitization of old, rugged & broken systems
11:07 - Investing in Neo Banks based upon the trend shift in large banks abroad
16:59 - Enabling Indian portfolio companies to go global
In this episode, we chat with Geetha Manjunath, Founder of NIRAMAI; one of India’s most awarded health tech startups using AI to solve the detection of early-stage breast cancer.
Prior to NIRAMAI, Geetha has made her mark at CDAC, HP & Xerox, with her 25+ years of research and innovation background.
Set up in 2016, NIRAMAI is India’s only startup among CB Insights’ 100 most promising AI startups.
For anyone exploring health tech, this conversation would be of great value. From identifying the problem statement to creating affordable solutions for the end-user, by leveraging AI & technology, this podcast will guide you through it all.
Notes -
01:33 - Her belief in “Karma Yoga”
05:11 - Family background and upbringing
06:20 - Getting into IISc, learned - “Enjoying the newness of something”
07:36 - Joining CDAC - Member of the team that developed the First Indian Supercomputer
10:23 - NIRAMAI’s cause - Enabling early-stage detection of Breast Cancer
15:16 - Identifying problem statements and creating solutions
20:11 - Partnering with hospitals and health startups
21:54 - Mammography vs NIRAMAI screening (in terms of OpEx & CapEx)
29:06 - Challenges while fundraising as a Healthcare startup
34:33 - Opportunities for Healthcare startups in India
36:10 - Challenges Healthcare startups should brace up for
42:53 - Future plans at NIRAMAI
In this episode, we chat with Viraj Sheth, Co-founder, Monk Entertainment and the man behind one of the fastest-growing Influencer marketing agencies in India.
At the age of 24, Viraj started his entrepreneurial journey with his college senior Ranveer Allahbadia who is better known as BeerBiceps on social media.
In this episode, catch Viraj talking about starting Monk Entertainment, getting their first few clients, achieving their current scale, working with companies like Nykaa Men, MamaEarth and much more.
For anyone looking to explore influencer marketing, this conversation would be of great value. From building an audience by sharing about your niche, to having a long term vision when working with a brand, this podcast will guide you through it all.
Notes -
01:14 - Starting Monk Entertainment with Ranveer Allahbadia
06:33 - Working part-time on acquiring clients and Quitting a stable job
08:07 - Growing the startup at the age of 25
10:11 - Current scale at Monk-E
15:35 - Building monetization & business model with creators
19:39 - What differentiates them from other Influencer Marketing Agencies?
22:16 - Setting the right practices for influencers while interacting with brands
23:40 - How is India’s influencer market space evolving?
26:27 - Segmenting creators
30:51 - Two rules to grow the audience on Twitter
35:22 - Structuring and organizing the workflow at Monk-E
39:50 - Learnings from Ranveer Allahbadia
On our 102nd episode, we chat with Jon Sakoda, Founder, Decibel Partners, a Cisco-backed venture fund. Jon founded Decibel to push through the conventional boundaries of early-stage investing in SaaS startups.
After being an entrepreneur for a few years and working as a General Partner at New Enterprise Associates, Jon decided to set up Decibel Partners.
With Decibel, Jon’s vision was probably an industry-first approach to provide a way for entrepreneurs to get access to unparalleled resources at a time and stage when they need it most.
In this episode, catch Jon talking about pivoting as an entrepreneur, finding the right coach to guide you through your startup journey, and much more.
Notes -
01:39 - “I’m a recovering entrepreneur.”
06:29 - Pivoting and finding product-market fit
09:11 - Partnership with Cisco
13:20 - Leveraging strongholds of industry dominant LPs in the VC firm
17:20 - “What makes you great in getting you from 0 to 1, may not be great in getting you from 1 to 10 or 10 to 100.”
23:10 - Coaching for early-stage founders; for Performance and Efficiency
29:27 - Having an Advisor v/s having a Coach as an early-stage founder
32:30 - “You should be more conscious about who you want to work with, rather than, where you want to work.”
The guest for our 101st episode of 100xEntrepreneur is Abhishek Asthana, Founder, Ginger Monkey, and the man behind one of the most followed accounts on Twitter, @GabbbarSingh with 1.3 Million followers.
He is amongst the few who have transitioned from an engineer to a successful marketer. He has been the brains behind some of the marketing campaigns at AirAsia, Bounce, Durex, and Urban Company among others.
It was in 2019 when he decided to help companies with their branding and marketing strategies by founding Ginger Monkey.
In this episode, catch Abhishek talking about starting GingerMonkey, working with AirAsia, Durex India, Urban Company, and much more.
For anyone looking to explore digital marketing, this conversation would be of great value. From building an audience by tapping your creative side, to building a brand for a D2C company to reach your customers, this podcast will guide you through it all.
Notes -
01:39 - Abhishek’s journey as an engineer
03:28 - Corrupted by Twitter
04:21 - Getting featured in Outlook while doing his MBA
06:37 - Founding GingerMonkey as a first-gen Entrepreneur
08:02 - Taking calculated risk while setting up the business
09:17 - Key milestones of GingerMonkey’s journey
11:12 - “We don’t have a BD team, our clients are our BD team. It’s a complete word of mouth.”
16:39 - Viral campaigns for Schindler - Getting Ankur Warikoo & Ranveer Allahbadia
19:17 - Creating and going viral with @GabbbarSingh on Twitter
21:43 - “If you’re not able to monetize your hobby, it will die.”
32:02 - Indian D2C brands leveraging digital marketing
38:18 - Branding without burning money on advertising
44:12 - Reaching out to early adopters being a new D2C brand
Our guest for the 100th episode of 100x Entrepreneur Kunal Bahl is best known as the co-founder of Snapdeal & Titan Capital.
He co-founded Snapdeal back in 2007 along with his high school friend Rohit Bansal. It initially started as a daily deals platform but soon expanded to become one of the largest online marketplaces in India.
Over the years, Kunal has mentored and invested in several early-stage entrepreneurs. In 2011, he decided to formalize it by setting up Titan Capital. Titan Capital has invested in the likes of Ola, Urban Company, Mamaearth, and Bira among others.
In this episode, catch Kunal talking about starting Snapdeal, guiding and investing in early-stage founders, having the drive to keep going as an entrepreneur, and much more.
For anyone looking to explore entrepreneurship, this conversation is worth its weight in gold. From learning from your own mistakes & failures to keep going even when you want to give up your entrepreneurial dream, this podcast will guide you through it all.
Notes -
01:43 - Launching Snapdeal after getting H1-B Visa rejected
03:59 - Pivoting from coupons marketplace to a marketplace for physical products
05:17 - “Identifying the type of businesses Rohit and I like to build”
12:01 - Why not fearing being wrong/failing is important
13:29 - “Our greatest powers will come from our greatest wounds”
15:04 - What drives Kunal even after 13 years as an entrepreneur
18:29 - Tectonic shifts in the Startup ecosystem over the last decade
26:42 - Investing in D2C companies; Beardo, Mamaearth, & OZiva, etc
39:02 - Investing in Urban Company based on their customer-first approach
43:32 - Investing in companies prior to Product-Market Fit
51:48 - Starting up as an Angel Investor and eventually setting up Titan Capital
56:59 - What has changed for Kunal after becoming a parent
Kunal Kapoor is someone who dons many hats - an actor, director, and entrepreneur. Some of the well-known movies he has been a part of - Rang De Basanti, Don 2, and Dear Zindagi among others.
In 2012, he joined hands with Varun Sheth & Zaheer Adenwala with a mission to create a change in society and connect people to access healthcare and share happiness and co-founded Ketto.
Over the years, Ketto has emerged as Asia's most trusted crowdfunding platform with a network of over 55 lakh donors who have funded around 2 lakh, online fundraisers. So Ketto as a platform has successfully raised over ₹1100 crore in online donations since its debut in 2012.
In this episode, catch Kunal talking about becoming an entrepreneur, what’s it like running an online crowd-funding platform, gaining the trust of investors in the vision, and much more.
**To anyone looking to get into the crowdfunding space, this conversation is a great place to start. From making the right use of technology to building a sustainable business model for investors, this podcast will guide you through all.
Notes -**
01:30 - Intro of Kunal Kapoor & Ketto
02:16 - Becoming an Entrepreneur & Co-founding Ketto
03:27 - Democratization of Capital
04:12 - Initial challenges with Ketto
05:17 - Building an online presence for NGOs
09:41 - Future plans at Ketto around medical & health services
12:15 - Ketto’s impact during the pandemic
14:20 - Business model at Ketto (As a Profit venture)
16:46 - “Building a tech company is like bodybuilding, but building a tech company with a celebrity is like bodybuilding on steroids.”
18:47 - Growth & Scaling-up plans at Ketto
23:24 - Essential mental models for Kunal as an entrepreneur
25:31 - “Whether it’s acting or entrepreneurship, it’s not as glamorous as it looks.”
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we chat with Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, CropIn Technology- a leading "Full-Stack AgTech" organization that provides SaaS-based solutions to agribusinesses globally. CropIn serves 220+ agribusinesses and numerous governments and non-government organizations present in over 52 countries. CropIn has digitized over 5 million acres of farmland, enriched the lives of nearly 2.1 million farmers, and gathered data on 265 crops and 3,500 crop varieties. In this episode, Krishna shares his journey of being the change-maker and being one of the first entrepreneurs to step into Agritech in India.Listen to this podcast to learn about:01:57 - Intro of Krishna & his journey04:08 - Interacting with farmers and key-stakeholders within the Agri-Ecosystem05:10 - Identifying the problem statement06:43 - Building the team at CropIn10:30 - First project with Safal- a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board15:12 - Pooling initial $10k from his friends19:50 - Scaling up from first few clients to going global in 52 countries28:56 - Enabling banking ecosystem for lending & insurance for farmers34:55 - Tech Products & offerings from CropIn for farmers42:49 - Leveraging AI to transforming agriculture at scale45:15 - Potential for upcoming Agritech startups in India47:18 - Adoption of Agritech offerings by Enterprises
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we chat with Shailesh Ghorpade, Managing Partner and CIO, Exfinity Venture PartnersThroughout the podcast, Shailesh shares his deep understanding of the SaaS startups building for Enterprises from his close to two decades of experience working at Infosys, Suzlon & Azure Capital, and others.02:31 - Intro of Shailesh03:25 - Background in the VC ecosystem06:07 - Major milestones at Exfinity Venture Partners08:36 - Fund growth over-time & thesis change09:50 - Investing early-on in AI startups like Mad Street Den13:29 - Identifying Mega-trends while looking out for potential portfolio companies17:33 - Differentiating factor between top portfolio companies vs other portfolio companies funded around the same time19:59 - Essential fundamentals to get from 0 to $1Mn ARR early-on22:52 - Standing out amongst thousands of SaaS businesses in India25:47 - Approaching Enterprises to validate problem statements as a SaaS founder35:23 - Challenges restricting founders in between $1Mn to $10Mn ARR39:50 - India market not completely ready for SaaS offerings48:39 - Hiring the right people for Enterprise SaaS startups59:55 - Book Recommendation - Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Pranav Pai. He early on in his career implemented learnings from his father’s (Mohandas Pai) in his work and curated new approaches to finding horizontal & uncommon investment ideas. Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 00:11 - Intro of Pranav & 3one4 Capital01:50 - Influence of upbringing and early career choices05:25 - Background and setting up of Aarin Capital by Mohandas Pai08:17 - Learnings & practices at 3one4 Capital, inspired from Aarin Capital17:25 - Balancing the Venture fund performance & relationship with LPs18:33 - Investing early-on in uncommon ideas like - Licious & Yulu22:17 - Investing in horizontal businesses like Darwinbox27:48 - Fund-III - Lookout for New format for Indian digital citizens29:12 - Changes in Fund-III - More variance & verticals35:42 - “Not enough Indian capital is available for Indian funds to raise.” 38:21 - Top 3 advice from his father - T.V. Mohandas Pai
In this special episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we have Sanjay Swamy & T.N. Hari with us who were once best friends in School. After many years, they reunited again to write a book - “Sailing Through a Storm: Making a Crisis Work for You”.Sanjay Swamy is the Founding Managing Partner of Prime Venture Partners. Sanjay who also co-founded ZipDial and EzeTap is known for his sense of humour and his impeccable expertise over fintech.T. N. Hari is the Chief People Officer at BigBasket. Hari is an advisor and mentor to numerous young entrepreneurs and startups. He is also a Strategic Advisor at Fundamentum, a growth Fund, co-founded by Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal.Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 00:31 - Intro of Sanjay and Hari01:52 - Background story of their friendship03:28 - Idea of writing a book together06:43 - “Socially nobody likes to talks about things which are not going well” - Sanjay Swamy07:31 - Biggest crisis faced in personal lives24:07 - Experiences/Lessons from the crises37:49 - Leadership traits a person must possess to make a crisis work
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Ashwini Asokan, Founder & CEO, Mad Street Den. During the conversation, Ashwini shares how she built the processes for scale while building the team, delivering the best value prop to customers, and more.Listen to this podcast to learn about:00:59 - Serendipity, luck, or intent? What initiated her journey in the creative field of AI?03:11 - Influence of Carnegie Mellon University on her career05:16 - Initial days of Mad Street Den07:51 - Challenges while building an AI startup in India08:08 - Building Vue.ai after 3 years of deep-research11:42 - Essence of storytelling in positioning their offerings14:28 - Building the team to scale to $1 Mn ARR24:32 - Getting Sequoia India, Exfinity, GrowX, and FalconEdge on board27:41 - Building processes to reach from $1 Mn to $10 Mn ARR35:31 - Learnings/Advice to early-stage SaaS founders38:18 - Early-stage founders comparing their journey vs some other founders’46:19 - Has her “Why” behind starting Mad Street Den changed during her journey?
“Always make more mistakes but make sure to recover quickly & learn from them.”In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Beerud Sheth, Founder and CEO of Gupshup, the leading smart messaging platform. He previously founded Elance (now Upwork), which pioneered the gig economy and went IPO in 2018.Throughout the podcast, Beerud shares his experience of over 22 years as an Entrepreneur building Elance and Gupshup.Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 00:30 - His journey from IIT Bombay & MIT to founding Elance & Gupshup05:21 - Transitioning from a Wall-Street trader to an entrepreneur07:55 - How did the idea of Elance come up?10:02 - Key pivotal moments during his early days of entrepreneurship13:57 - Scale at which Upwork was operating when he left & why did he leave?22:56 - How did the idea of Gupshup come up?26:50 - Growing Gupshup to $100 Million ARR and plans of taking it to IPO30:41 - Highlights of the recent partnership with WhatsApp Business45:09 - Grit, perseverance & mental fortitude necessary for an entrepreneur47:23 - Learnings from his mistakes from over 22 years as an entrepreneur49:33 - Looking at resume value vs other soft-attributes while hiring
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Shripriya Mahesh from growing up in Madras (India) to working with eBay & Omidyar Network, making Films, battling cancer while founding Spero Ventures.Prior to Spero Ventures, she led Emerging Tech investing at Omidyar Network. Shripriya has been an active angel investor in, and board member or advisor to, private technology companies throughout her career. Shripriya formerly held several leadership roles at eBay including as Vice President of Product Marketing (US, revenue), and as Vice President of Global Product Management. Shripriya has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MFA in Film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a B.A. in Economics from Stella Maris College, Madras University.Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 00:58 - From growing up in India in the early 90s to moving to the US02:50 - Doing MBA from HBS & moving to Bay Area09:26 - After eBay what prompted her to move to NYC to do a film-making Course?15:47 - Joining Omidyar Network and later starting Spero Ventures21:39 - Investing in mission-driven founders23:44 - Battling cancer and building Spero Ventures29:09 - “How technology is designed/biased towards the mainstream audience”.30:51 - Building empathy in technology36:53 - “The mission & business model of a company needs to be perfectly aligned”.37:58 - Her perspective of Gen-Z’s mission-driven attitude to make the world a better place
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through Jay Vijayan’s journey from working with Tesla, VMware, Oracle to building a Billion Dollar Company, Tekion. Tekion has raised $150 million as part of its Series C financing led by private equity firm Advent International, at over $1 billion valuation.Jay’s insights which we discuss during the podcast are on -Notes - 00:58 - From working at Oracle, VMware, & Tesla to Founding Tekion 05:21 - From bootstrapping to getting VC funding10:25 - Thoughts on Founder & VC alignment13:40 - Challenges for startups in the Automotive retail industry16:13 - Building a single platform for OEMs, dealers & customers22:25 - Getting General Motors, Nissan–Mitsubishi, FM Capital, Exor (Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari) on Tekion’s cap table24:02 - Developing end-to-end solution for Mid-Small Dealers - Automotive Retail Cloud31:08 - ARR growth42:19 - Creating transparency for customers while buying a new car49:52 - “Life is a never-ending journey of learnings”.54:58 - What has always stopped him from settling down?58:19 - “When an egg-shell break from within - Life begins, but when it breaks from outside - Life ends.”- Jay’s philosophy on continuously pushing himself 1:03:25 - What made Elon Musk approach Jay twice in a span of 12 months for the CIO role at Tesla1:14:17 - What core things he learned from working with Elon at Tesla?
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Priya Mohan, Startup Sensei, Venture Highway. She became a VC after exiting her Edtech Startup - Vidyartha to Byju’s.During the podcast, Priya shares her story of breaking the glass ceiling, being one of the few women leaders in the Indian Venture Capital industry. Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 06:23 - Problem Statement solved by her first venture Vidyartha11:30 - Having clarity to become a VC post-exiting as a founder14:56 - Investing experience in Swiflearn being a parent & ex-Edtech founder16:58 - Portfolio companies where she has led investments 19:36 - How does Venture Highway differentiate itself from other VC firms?23:03 - “Having the opportunity to learn from Failures”.23:48 - “The biggest bias is Confirmation Bias”.25:52 - Pros & Cons of being a VC with a background as an Entrepreneur34:01 - “There’s no good or bad news, there’s just news”41:38 - Recommended read for listeners - “Principles” by Ray Dalio
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Aloke Bajpai building ixigo over the last 13 years.Aloke is one of the few founders who experienced & survived the 2008 crisis. During the podcast, he shares how ixigo applied similar strategies and learnings to tackle the current pandemic. Aloke’s insights which we discuss during the podcast are on -00:28 - USP of ixigo - Built its major user base organically01:36 - Building quirky sharable content around travel03:56 - Where does ixigo stands in terms of net profits & GMV for FY20?07:26 - Launching ixigo assured & TARA assistant (i.e. Travel agent of the future)10:42 - How travel is going to open up in the next 6-12 months?13:50 - His lessons from surviving the 2008-crisis22:35 - 20% of ex-ixigo employees becoming entrepreneurs24:50 - Key-value props which have pushed ixigo into a higher orbit against its competitors28:49 - “ixigo Train App” having higher numbers of users vs all of its travel competitors apps combined31:19 - Pursuing Ph.D. in Survival Sciences32:39 - Identifying organic growth hacks to tackle Zero-budget marketing42:50 - Raising capital after the 2008-crisis50:45 - Destination for ixigo ahead: Becoming the most loved OTA in India56:33 - Mentoring first-time entrepreneurs & supporting them as an Angel Investor
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the investment thesis opted by Jishnu Bhattacharjee, Managing Director, Nexus Venture Partners, behind investments in SaaS platforms like - Postman, Druva, & Observe.AI among others.Jishnu began his stint in the VC world with Nexus VP in 2008, and since then he has been part of many cross-border investments in SaaS startups.Jishnu’s insights which we discuss during the podcast are on -Notes - 00:28 - Joining Georgia Tech for MS & Ph.D.03:02 - Finding his first job offer based on his Ph.D. research paper05:32 - Joining Business school to move-out of his regular desk-job06:10 - Connecting with Naren during the early days of Nexus10:52 - Why did he choose to focus only on SaaS?15:27 - Journey of his first SaaS investment, Gluster which later got acquired by Red Hat17:33 - Discovery of Postman23:49 - Nexus being one of the few VC firms to have a common cross-border investment team & fund25:41 - “Product-first thinking” the common trait of all the SaaS investments by Nexus VP33:30 - How did organic growth come early for companies like Druva & Postman?43:37 - Key aspects influencing Postman’s valuation going forward51:37 - Broadening the horizon being an Entrepreneur- “Think broadly but act narrowly”58:22 - Thesis for future investments in SaaS
In this episode, we bring Shanti Mohan, Founder, LetsVenture on the 100x Entrepreneur podcast who has been enabling Investors & Entrepreneurs to meet each other and make the best investments happen.Shanti with her experience at LetsVenture of seeing over 260+ funding rounds, helps us understand what distinguishes the good vs bad in terms of founders, investors, and deals in great detail.Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 00:28 - Building LetsVenture being a 2nd-time entrepreneur 05:35 - Solving the problem of ACCESS15:05 - Serving as a marketplace for founders to fundraise16:12 - Enabling first-time investors to co-invest with Lead investors 17:42 - Building LetsVenture Plus for family offices and HNIs18:58 - Building MyStartupEquity for founders to manage their Cap. table & ESOP 23:31 - Helping founders and investors with legal compliance and due diligence 31:12 - What leads to failed transactions38:22 - Insights for angel investors40:39 - On competition from platforms like AngelList46:07 - Angel Investing as an asset-class then and now
In this episode of 100x Entrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the investment thesis of Rahul Chowdhri, behind investments in D2C, E-commerce & Edtech platforms like - Mamaearth, Shop101, & Swiflearn respectively.We also discuss the common question a new founder thinks about while entering the Edtech sector, “Is the Indian Edtech sector saturated with the large players like Byju’s, Unacademy, and other presents in the market?”.Rahul’s insights which we discuss during the podcast are on -Notes - 00:56 - His journey from working at BCG to joining Helion Ventures & then founding Stellaris Venture Partners03:25 - Sectors at which he looks after - Consumer Retail, Edtech, Agritech, Horizontal Content & Social Network platforms04:07 - Thesis behind investing in Mamaearth - Founder’s understanding of brand-perspective & online-thinking11:14 - Can digital-first D2C brands achieve $100M+ ARR & achieve $500M+ Valuation?12:10 - Moats which digital-first D2C brands can build to stay ahead of competitors14:10 - Indian D2C brands which he admires and why - OZiva, FableStreet, Yoga Bar16:35 - Are there still opportunities left for new players in Edtech, with large businesses like Byju’s & Unacademy already present?20:10 - Thesis behind investing in Swiflearn and the problem they are solving? 25:56 - Thesis behind investing in Shop101 & the company’s growth so far30:21 - Investments where their thesis didn’t work out and what were their learnings from it?36:53 - Biases among VCs & founders about “What models & monetizations would work out?”
In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we have interacted with Mohan Lakhamraju where he shared his journey of building Great Learning and Great Lakes Institute of Management.Mohan initially worked with Tiger Global Management for 3 years, setting up their India office. During this period one of his focus areas was the education sector in India and South-east Asian markets.This was how he developed an inclination towards the education sector and decided to set-up a B-school specifically catering to management professionals in the Energy sector.Notes - 01:20 - Journey from IIT Bombay, UC Berkeley & Stanford University to joining Tiger Global06:19 - Realising himself to be more of an Entrepreneur than an Investor07:13 - Taking insights for online learning from the early journey of Coursera08:56 - How has high-quality education impacted his journey?10:15 - “Most people never experience excellence”17:05 - Learnings while building Great lakes & Great learning?23:33 - At what scale Great learning is currently operating in terms of enrollments & programs31:09 - What is the opportunity cost of not learning or not doing something new?38:50 - How is Great learning helping colleges & universities conduct effective online classes with their platform?43:36 - His viewpoint on the future for Edtech in India49:22 - His advice for entrepreneurs looking to build Edtech startups
In this episode, we are in discussion with Amit Somani, Managing Partner, Prime Ventures. Also bringing to you an entirely new format, in this episode, we discuss what goes behind building a successful podcast.Some of the key points which Amit & Siddhartha discussed and their experiences during the podcast were -01:07 - Idea to start a podcast and how has the journey been so far?05:19 - What have been their learnings being the host at a podcast?06:25 - How to go about and solve core problem statements like content creation & distribution while running a podcast?13:25 - What were the memorable moments while recording the podcast?15:43 - How did they improvise themselves and became a better podcast host overtime?18:04 - How to differentiate between open-ended & close-ended questions during a podcast and make the conversation more open & free-flowing?19:35 - How has being a podcast host helped them in their personal & professional life?23:21 - How to be an interesting guest?29:29 - What are some of their recommendations to someone who wants to start podcasting?
After having an elaborate educational and career background in finance, right from becoming a CA & CFA to working at Morgan & Stanley and Citi, Ankur decided to join BlackSoil Capital.BlackSoil, growing fast into the Venture Debt fund space, has so far disbursed over Rs.450crore+ to VC backed start-ups & growth companies.Some of the notable startups under its portfolio are EarlySalary, Vogo, & Nearbuy among others. In this podcast, Ankur seeks to help our listeners understand the entire Venture Debt fund ecosystem and its working in a better way.Notes - 00:38 - Founding BlackSoil and initial focus areas02:39 - How is BlackSoil and its working structure different from other VC firms?03:30 - Value propositions which BlackSoil brings to the table while funding its portfolio companies06:54 - What are the interest rates, loan tenure, repayment modes which they currently offer as a working capital to Startups?09:06 - Which family-offices is BlackSoil currently backed by? How did they build that credibility?15:57 - How is Venture Debts different from traditional Bank loans for businesses?17:30 - How do warrants work in case of Venture Debt funding?18:59 - How’s the future of Venture Debt in India?
Shruti is one of the few Indian-origin VCs in US who invest in Enterprise focused Startups globally.After spending 9 years of her career at IBM as an Engineer, she joined Samsung Next as a Principal, where she spent the next 2 years investing in early-stage startups. This was probably what worked out as a perfect mix of (a) Her understanding of Enterprise focussed SaaS businesses & (b) Venture funding ecosystem, which helped her start Array Ventures.Some of her notable investments are CasaOne, Blumira & Modal among others. In this podcast, Shruti shares her experience of supporting founders building early-stage SaaS businesses focussed on solving problems for Large Enterprises.Notes - 00:57 - Her journey from Mumbai to the US and transitioning from an Engineer-cum-Founder to a VC02:35 - How and why did she choose to start a fund to cater to startups selling to Enterprises?05:20 - Changing growth & opportunities for SaaS startups focussed on Enterprises in India & the US08:19 - Her thesis of investing in Blumira based on how their automated threat detection can benefit companies09:53 - Is the recent IPO of 6 Enterprise companies including Palantir, Snowflake, Sumo Logic, Bentley Systems, creating real value or is it a bubble?11:20 - Her learnings from Array VC exits: Passage AI, Hivy, & Simility13:10 - What would be an ideal exit for her - Large Acquisition (in 5-6 years) or IPO (in 10 years)?14:13 - What value does Array VC bring to its portfolio companies?16:10 - How’s the growth trajectory for her portfolio SaaS companies from 0 to $10M and then from $10M to $100M ARR?19:02 - What are things which worked for her portfolio companies for exponential ARR growth?
Baskar’s journey is very similar to what classic Product-driven Tech entrepreneurs have, i.e. a college drop-out built several tech solutions from an early age, founded a fast-paced startup growing multi-folds over years.He co-founded Amagi Media Labs, in 2008 with the intent to revolutionize global content delivery & monetization of the Media Industry. Amagi is one of the few startups which experienced constant growth even in the Covid-19 circumstances and has no plans of slowing down its growth engines anytime soon.In this podcast, Baskar shares his experience of building tech solutions and his learnings from being a Tech entrepreneur for over two decades.Notes - 01:09 - Enabling end-to-end global virtualization of content delivery and monetization in Media Industry03:22 - Major emerging trends in Media & OTT platforms for broadcasters08:50 - Evolution of OTTs in the US and how Amagi helps them as a one-stop-shop!11:59 - His journey from dropping out of IIT Bombay (during MTech) to starting Amagi?21:12 - Transiting from an Advertising sales model to a Technology platform25:44 - Growth in Revenue from 2012 to till date28:35 - How was the fund-raising experience being in the Media industry?32:32 - What’s his end goal with Amagi? Going Public, achieving a $200 Million ARR or something else?36:34 - What are the processes which helped him as an entrepreneur & the company to grow exponentially?38:25 - How “letting go” is a very crucial part of the growth process?40:36 - How being open, vulnerable, and accepting your mistakes openly within the team can help a company grow?
Naren is probably one of the earliest VCs in India’s startup ecosystem. He co-founded Nexus Venture Partners in 2006. He has also been mentoring early-stage entrepreneurs and supporting them since 1990.With investments in over 200+ companies in India and the US, Nexus Venture Partners have some of the most notable startups in their portfolio - Postman, Rapido, and Unacademy among others.In this podcast, Naren shares his experience of investing in early-stage product startups for over three decades.Notes - 01:16 - His journey from moving to the US being an IIT Gold Medalist 02:10 - Lessons from his first venture - Integrated Systems Inc.05:45 - Starting Nexus Venture Partners and deciding upon sectors it won’t invest14:25 - Building a cross border teams18:50 - Uniqueness among entrepreneurs and growth journey of portfolio companies24:52 - Being an early-stage investor and also being consistent through the follow-up rounds29:25 - What are the metrics of success upon which early-stage founders and VCs should focus?35:13 - At what stage do things like - go-to-market, building stronger organization & sales, become a part of board-meeting discussions?
From working at PwC, while pursuing his CA to starting a Venture Fund which invests in Early-stage disruptive Tech startups, Vishesh has experienced it all.He started his investing career at VenturEast in 2007. This was where he understood the Ins & Outs of Venture investing. From its Fund-I, Speciale Invest has invested in a total of 10 portfolio companies, some of which are Scapic, Agnikul, and Kawa Space among others.In this podcast, Vishesh shares his experience of investing in seed-stage Hardware & SaaS startups.Notes - 01:10 - His journey from a CA to becoming an Early-Stage Investor07:41 - Starting Speciale Invest aiming to invest in disruptive tech startups09:30 - Developer Tools companies in his portfolio - Scapic, Kawa Space, TotalCloud, and iauro10:44 - Conversation AI startups in his portfolio - True Lark & Wingman 12:35 - Investing in Cynlr with a vision to evolve Visual AI and Industrial Robotic Arms14:47 - Investing in Agnikul - India’s version of SpaceX16:27 - His experience Investing & Exit from Vogo19:48 - Is the Indian startup ecosystem mature enough for early-Exits within 5-6 years of investment?24:31 - What are some of the recent tailwinds for Hardware & SaaS startups in India?28:19 - How are B2B founders different from B2C founders in terms of Go-to-market strategy, customer acquisition, and other parameters?31:18 - His learnings from being a VC-cum-Fund Manager and managing LPs
Ashmeet started his career at HP in 1989. He founded Sidana Systems in 1995 (later sold to Doclinx in 1999).He started his stint as a VC at Foundation Capital in 2004. Eventually, he founded Engineering Capital in 2015, which focuses on investing in Tech startups, based on Technical insights. He is one of the few VCs to have been to the base of Mount Everest. In this podcast, he also shares his experience of climbing mountains, one step at a time.Engineering Capital is based in the US and majorly in the San Fransico Bay area, some of its notable portfolio companies are Robust Intelligence, Concentrix, and vFunction among others.In this podcast, Ashmeet shares his thesis of investing in Tech Startups and the approach he follows while evaluating them.Notes - 01:24 - His journey from growing up in Rural India to becoming a VC dedicated to Engineers02:43 - Purpose of starting a fund focussed on engineers04:04 - Difference between Market insight, Technical insight & Consumer insight06:43 - Investing in SignalFx based on its use case - “Enabling cloud-based monitoring and analytics.”08:18 - Investing in Robust Intelligence based on its use case - “Solving the issue of User Data contamination.”10:51 - Investing in vFunction based on its use case - “Allows users to take any legacy applications and break them into micro-services & benefit from the cloud.”12:35 - Is Technical insight alone a sufficient reason for a VC to back a Tech Startup?15:49 - Making an early seed-investment in Azure Power (India) as an Angel Investor20:50 - His perspective and view-point on Postman & potential of Tech Startups in India24:55 - Learnings about Market size with future entrepreneurs in B-schools29:36 - “Even though Venture Capital attracts the brightest and smartest minds all over the world, but still most VCs are not successful.”36:12 - “The magic of making a startup successful is to focus on an incredibly narrow problem, that has a wide application.”
Nikhil is one of the most Tech & Product-centric VCs in Asia. This probably comes from his early career with Microsoft, and later with Pie (acquired by Google).He also founded a company called TommyJams, a tech-enabled Artist management platform.He has been with STRIVE Ventures for over 5 years. STRIVE’s portfolio includes HASURA, Classplus, and Saleswhale among others.In this podcast, Nikhil shares his experience of investing in SaaS startups in Asia and helping them achieve Product-Market Fit.Notes - 01:03 - Two major SaaS buckets for STRIVE - (1) Global SaaS (US, European, & Asian markets) and (2) Local SaaS (India SaaS / Indonesian SaaS and similar others.)04:48 - How does STRIVE focus on such segregated SaaS markets?09:28 - Not only monetizing Local SaaS startups through the typical Subscription-Business model (Example - Classplus) but also through transactions17:34 - What was the thought process at STRIVE while coming up with a Non-subscription model for monetizing their portfolio companies in the Indian market?20:27 - Indonesia SaaS market in terms of product adoption, willingness-to-pay & market penetration26:21 - Portfolio of Global SaaS - Healint, HASURA, Saleswhale29:18 - Investing in HASURA with a vision to simplify backend development 33:10 - Investment Thesis - “Founders & Teams who Do More with Less”36:10 -Common early-stage mistakes in SaaS startups40:05 -Crucial changes in GTM strategies for SaaS startups in Pre-COVID vs Post-COVID market48:22 - Emphasizing on portfolio companies to build user engagement and reach an initial $1 million+ ARR
Sheel is a Fintech-Entrepreneur turned Fintech-VC investing in Pre-seed & Seed rounds.His first startup was FeeFighters in 2010, which was acquired in 2012 by Groupon.In this podcast, Sheel shares his experience of being an entrepreneur twice and becoming an Angel Investor and later starting his own VC firm. Notes - 01:03 - His journey from a Fintech Entrepreneur to a Fintech VC04:50 - Starting “The Pitch Podcast” (acquired by Gimlet, Gimlet was later acquired by Spotify)07:55 - What does he look for in founders while investing in startups at Seed/Pre-Seed stage?09:57 - Brief about his game-changing fintech portfolio companies13:29 - From hating working at a company that made software for hospitals to investing in a startup which makes software for hospitals14:50 - “Majority of companies in the future will be Fintech companies”22:15 - How did he spot his first Angel Investment?
Amit being one of the co-founders of India’s first Unicorn Startup - InMobi, needs no introduction. After driving InMobi’s growth journey for over 10 years, he decided to start Yulu (E-bikes & Mobility solutions) in 2017. In his 2nd entrepreneurial stint, he also convinced Rajiv Bajaj (MD, Bajaj Auto) for investing in Yulu & assembling Yulu bikes in India by Bajaj Auto.As an Angel Investor, Amit has backed over 30+ Early-stage startups, as a gesture of giving back to the community. Some of the popular ones being - HealthifyMe, Applicate & Vahak.In this podcast, Amit shares his experience of building two great companies, along with his core beliefs & principles as a long-time entrepreneur.01:28 - Starting his Entrepreneurial Journey 04:04 - Co-founding InMobi in 2006, based on his intent to disrupt Mobile Advertising in India11:50 - How did he identify the potential in mobile advertising in India, back in 2006, when mobile internet wasn’t mainstream?16:02 - What made him start a new venture after 11 years in InMobi?27:30 - Convincing Rajiv Bajaj for investing in Yulu & assembling Yulu bikes in India by Bajaj Auto30:40 - Future plans & product positioning of Yulu with the current COVID situation in perspective39:23 - How did Yulu negotiate free parking spaces for YuluZones?42:37 - Was raising funds for Yulu easy, being a 2nd-time entrepreneur?59:40 - Startups he’s backing as an Angel Investor
Sajith has been constantly sharing his thoughts & thesis around the Startup ecosystem on social media since 2012.This probably reflects from his background, of being at the Times Group for over two decades and his love for reading and taking copious notes.He joined Blume Ventures in 2018, in his 40s. As he didn’t have a background in VC & Angel investing, he humbly considers himself, “An Accidental VC”.Some of Blume Ventures portfolio companies include - Unacademy, Dunzo, and Cashify among others.In this podcast, Sajith shares his experience of becoming a VC, from a Non-investing background and identifying startups that outshine during Covid-19. Notes - 00:55 - A Day in the life of a VC during Covid-1902:02 - Why does Sajith refer to himself as “An Accidental VC”?07:09 - Building a personal brand & experience to enter the VC Ecosystem09:44 - Emphasis on Note-taking for collating thoughts & ideas12:56 - Secret to being an open-minded VC - “Having Strong Views, weakly held”22:30 - Strongly backing Unacademy’s incredible growth journey25:55 - Markets where vacuums have been created in situations like Covid-1942:10 - What’s his perspective on “Moats” in Early-stage startups vs Bigger players in the market?45:27 - What things did he have to unlearn to succeed as VC?53:45 - What does he consider, as his edge as a VC, coming from a Non-investing background, at the age of 40?
Pratik Poddar having his roots back in a Tier-II city, Patna, is probably one of the youngest Principals at a VC firm in India. After having multiple entrepreneurial stints, Pratik joined Nexus Venture Partners, in 2015 as an Investment Associate and has grown tremendously since.Some of Nexus Venture Partners’ portfolio companies include - Zolo, Postman, and Unacademy among others.In this podcast, Pratik shares his experience of identifying potential Edtech Startups in India and adding them to his Portfolio. Notes - 01:29 - Focus on Product-first companies in the Portfolio05:35 - How Edtech startups made themselves resistant from Covid-19?07:46 - Edtech Companies in Portfolio - Unacademy, WhiteHat Jr., and Quizizz among others09:58 - Monetization & Growth Journey of Unacademy with 1200+ Cr. Annual Revenue11:08 - TestPrep Market Scenario & Opportunities in India21:30 - Investing in WhiteHat Jr. a very new concept in Edtech41:25 - Untapped Opportunities in early school for Edtech 49:02 - How big is the potential market for “Pay After Placement model” startups like Newton School?52:45 - 3 Key Qualities VCs look for in Edtech Entrepreneurs
After completing his MBA from Delhi School of Economics, Ishpreet worked with many banks like - Kotak Mahindra, IFDC, and Citibank among others.For a major part of his career, he worked on Debt funding companies via Banks as Financial Institutions. Eventually, this made him start a Venture Debt Fund of his own, Stride Ventures in December 2018.Some of its portfolio companies include - Stellapps, CredR, and LetsTransport among others.In this podcast, Ishpreet shares his experience of being a part of Debt funding in companies across all domains and building a Venture Debt Fund ecosystem in India. Notes - 01:05 - His early career in Investment & Corporate Banking04:30 - Experience the VC Ecosystem and founding Stride Ventures06:58 - How does Stride Ventures differ from other Venture Debt Funds in the market?09:22 - At which stage does Stride Ventures enter in a Company? 13:55 - With what financials does it makes sense for a company to raise a Debt round?19:50 - How much returns do a Venture Debt fund typically expect?22:27 - Investing in companies like Stellapps & CredR27:53 - Potential sectors in 2020-21 from a Debt Fund’s perspective - SaaS, Logistics, and Gaming among others29:45 - Building an ecosystem of Venture Debt Fund in India
While having his family roots back in Odisha (India), Somesh had his upbringing in the US.After completing his graduation from UC Berkeley in 2001, as the US job-market was hit after 9/11 he came to India and joined Sony Entertainment.Later in 2005, he joined Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) back in the US. IVP was founded over 40 years ago and has so far invested in over 400+ companies out of which 111 have gone public.Some of its portfolio companies include - Twitter, Slack, and Soundcloud among others.In this podcast, Somesh shares his experience of investing in growth-stage companies across various sectors. Notes - 02:20 - Building a portfolio with numerous public companies05:52 - Two lessons the Startup Ecosystem can consider during Covid-19 crisis as learnings from similar past events12:51 - Starting his career in India after 9/1123:22 - Investing in companies in their growth-stage - Twitter, Thrive Global, Netflix among others27:30 - Diversity in portfolio companies spread across Cyber Security, Consumer, Analytics & Enterprise Softwares31:27 - Missing out on Salesforce & Zoom39:08 - Second wave of Tailwinds which most people might missout in the startup ecosystem43:50 - “A Startup’s aspirations shouldn’t be to raise the next Unicorn-venture round, it should be to build the next Microsoft or Google.”53:27 - Importance of Mental Health from a VC perspective
Dhruv worked with ABN AMRO and McKinsey & Company in Investment Management & Strategy roles in the early days of his career. He stepped into the VC ecosystem in India by eventually joining Helion Ventures in 2008.At Helion Ventures he was part of investing in companies like Ezetap, Azure Power, and MoEngage among others.Later when in 2015, Sistema (Russian conglomerate) decided to set up a Venture Fund in India, Dhruv joined Sistema Asia Capital in order to bring the best practices and 8 years of experience on board with him.Some of Sistema Asia Capital’s current Portfolio includes - Licious, Lendingkart, Netmeds & Faasos among others.In this podcast, Dhruv shares his experience of investing in mid-stage growth startups across various sectors in India’s Startup Ecosystem. Notes - 00:57 - His Journey from working at ABN & McKinsey to joining Venture Capital04:30 - Experience of working with Helion Ventures07:56 - Joining Sistema Asia Capital - Building the foundations of a VC firm10:15 - Sistema’s background & establishment in India14:34 - Executing Exit from Qwikcilver (Acquired by Pine Labs)19:44 - Investing in Faasos - reaching $1 billion valuation25:30 - Impact on fintech portfolio companies during Covid-19 lockdown - Lendingkart & Kissht31:26 - HealthifyMe’s transition from human-centric model to AI-based model33:30 - Netmeds offering a full-stack model & growing scalable margins37:04 - Sectors at which Sistema is bullish in 2020-21 - Edtech, Healthcare, & Agritech
Ganesh began his career working in Strategy & Acquisition at Infosys in the San Francisco Bay area. He founded his first startup - Travelguru (later acquired by Travelocity) while he was pursuing his MBA from Harvard Business School.In 2006, he began his journey as a VC with Greylock Partners. In 2014, he Co-Founded Quona Capital, which is a Fintech-focused VC firm, making investments across Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.A few of its successful exits include - IndiaMart (went IPO) & Coins.ph (acquired by Gojek).Some of its current Portfolio includes - ZestMoney, Fisdom, & Neogrowth among others.In this podcast, Ganesh shares his experience of investing in emerging markets and fintech-businesses with robust teams. Notes - 00:54 - His Journey from working at Infosys to Co-founding Quona Capital04:39 - Quona Capital: Countries of operations, Cheque-size & Ideology07:58 - Starting Travelguru while pursuing MBA at Harvard Business School14:07 - Investing in teams who respect & fear lending18:17 - Exit from IndiaMart - Most Successful Digital IPO22:30 - Exit from Coins.ph - Acquired by Gojek28:08 - Managing investments across multiple countries and diverse markets34:02 - Fundamentals driving rapid growth in Indian startups in Quona’s portfolio36:23 - Rise of Neobanks in India
With over 14+ years of experience in investing, Sushma has been acknowledged for “40 under 40 - Alternate Investment Professionals” in India.Currently, at Aavishkaar, she majorly looks after Fintech & Microfinance.Aavishkaar is also well-known for being one of the few VC firms in India, well known for its Impact Investing Thesis. Some of its portfolio companies are - Chqbook, Agrostar, and Soulfull among others.In this podcast, Sushma shares her experience of investing in high-growth socially responsible startups. Notes - 01:10 - Her Journey from real estate equity background to joining Aavishkaar03:08 - How does Aavishkaar differentiate itself from other funds in terms of thesis - Impact Investing06:36 - Is impact-investing successful in giving justified returns to LPs?08:55 - Investing in socially responsible businesses - Micro-finance & Agritech13:42 - Investing in Chqbook - Making credit cards & short-term loans accessible19:23 - Diversification in investments between early-stage & growth-stage companies22:25 - Significant evaluation around Exit-thesis at the time of new investments28:33 - What does the Indian startup ecosystem requires to mature similarly to Silicon-valley?30:48 - Gender Diversity in the VC & Startup Ecosystem in India
Anand has worked with some top companies in SaaS & Product roles - Yahoo, Airtel, Snapdeal, Freecharge, Facebook & currently at Five9.Since 2014 he has been an Angel Investor in over 50+ companies, some of the popular one’s being - Yulu, Khatabook, and MoEngage among others.In this podcast, Anand shares his experience of building consumer-friendly products & becoming a successful Angel Investor. Notes - 01:10 - Journey of one of the best product thinkers in the country - Entrepreneur in SaaS (2001-2008), Multiple Product Leadership Roles across few of the best companies in the world 2008 - Present (Airtel, Snapdeal, Facebook, Five9) and now an investor in startups 2016-Present (Rupeek, Khatabook and 48 other companies) 03:16 - Joining Five9 after Facebook04:09 - Leading acquisition of Whendu and Virtual Observer06:55 - Five9’s future plans with over $400 million ARR and becoming a Decacorn soon09:42 - Working in India with Airtel, Snapdeal & Freecharge (from 2013-16)13:12 - 50+ portfolio companies as an Angel Investor - Khatabook, MoEngage, Innov8 etc.16:56 - Investing in Rupeek - Building a customer-friendly product in a market with very low NPS19:32 - Investing in Nobroker - Solving rental issues on consumers21:16 - Investing in MoEngage - Solving the user engagement marketing needs with SaaS23:00 - Exits from Fynd & Innov8 - More of a founder & team bet, than a market bet!28:37 - Failures Startups face - Cash burn without Product-market fit & Lack of team chemistry36:50 - Covid-19 crisis - Not just conserving cash but creating solutions to tackle it38:16 - Working & learning with Marissa Mayer (Yahoo), Mark Zuckerberg & Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Gopal Vittal (Bharti Airtel)44:15 - “The tools that people continue to pay for during a crisis are the ones which grow in the long run.”51:02 - His first principle of being an Investor -“You are not the Hero of the story, the founder is!” - Just be founder friendly53:01 - His second principle of being an Investor - ”You make your money with the success, but you make your reputation with the failures.” - Being with founders during their bad times54:30 - His third principle of being an Investor - Not to exit from a company, as soon as it breaks-out56:10 - In India would it make sense for Angel investors to Exit-early at a good valuation?
Anup worked with some top of the line consumer brands like - Bata, Yum! Restaurants International (Pizza Hut), Whirpool, and P&G among others for over 20 years of his career.In 2015 he started his own family office through which he mentored and Angel Invested in several startups over the next 2 years.In 2017 he joined Orios Venture Partners, where he currently focuses on retail, fintech, healthTech, edTech and D2C brands.Some popular startups in its portfolio - PharmEasy, Zostel, MoneyOnClick, CountryDelight, Gully Network, BeatO among others.In this podcast, Anup shares his experience of identifying top-quality founders and how their portfolio companies are combating with the lockdown due to Covid-19. Notes - 00:42 - Working at Consumer Brands to joining Orios Venture Partners05:11 - Thesis behind investing in Portfolio companies - Multiple pain points, Founders & Team with quality execution experience08:06 - Investing in BeatO - Personal assistant for managing Diabetes09:10 - Investing in MoneyOnClick - Personal loan for salaried professionals09:52 - Investing in Gully Network Retail11:58 - What are their portfolio companies doing to survive through Covid-19?16:08 - Exploring new investments vs re-investment in existing portfolio companies18:15 - Helping out Portfolio companies with - Extending runway & Optimising operations19:25 - Is it a suitable situation to consider an M&A?21:45 - PharmEasy being the crown-jewel of Orios Venture Partners26:12 - Sectoral outlook for potential tailwinds during Covid-19
During her early career, Ritu worked in Product Development at Unilever and later in Marketing Strategy at Philips. In 2013 she Co-founded Ankur Capital with Rema SubramanianAnkur Capital has so far majorly invested in Agritech & Healthcare sector, some of its portfolio companies - Health Sutra, Cropin & Niramai among others.In this podcast, Ritu shares her experience of investing in Agritech & Healthcare space in India, and her vision going forward. Notes - 00:42 - Her Journey from a Physicist to the VC ecosystem06:50 - Thesis behind investing in Cropin & Niramai10:21 - Concentration of Portfolio towards Agritech & Health-tech11:20 - Future of Agritech in India by emerging startups21:36 - Training farmers for adopting Agritech solutions23:20 - Deployment of Fund II in 2020 & 2021 (at Pre-Series A & Series A rounds)25:07 - Recent successful exit from Carmel Organics and others in the pipeline (next 6-8 months)27:40 - Is it difficult for women to mark a place as VC?35:07 - Thesis behind investing in Jiny
Deepak’s investment journey started with him joining Intel Capital in early 2000, where he spent 14 years managing global investments, mergers & acquisitions. In 2015, he started Equitycrest, which identified and worked with early-stage startups and assisted them in engaging with investors to realize their funding needs.After gaining over 17 years of investing experience and managing acquisitions, in 2017 he founded WEH Ventures.Some popular startups in its portfolio - Trell, Pratilipi, and smallcase among others.In this podcast, Deepak shares his experience of investing during the 2000 & 2008 crash and what he expects now. Notes - 00:43 - Joining Intel Capital & starting WEH Ventures03:05 - Successful exits from Telecom, Consumer Internet startups05:07 - Working at Intel Capital & understanding fundamentals of Venture capital06:57 - Investing during previous downturns of 2000 & 200809:27 - Investing in Pratilipi - Crucial to India’s vast vernacular landscape13:08 - Investing in smallcase - Simplifying investing in Stocks by creating thematic bundles16:31 - Overall approach to finding & adding portfolio companies18:45 - Advice for Startups in tailwind sector - Being semi-aggressive20:15 - Advice for Startups in badly hit sectors - Cut down cost & preserve your runway22:22 - Distinct qualities of entrepreneurs who survive & thrive during such crisis 28:06 - Impact of Covid-19 on upcoming investments (Series A & Series B) in 2020 & early-2021
Pankaj joined Bertelsmann New York in 2009 and later started Bertelsmann Corporate Services India Pvt. Ltd and Bertelsmann India Investments. Bertelsmann India Investments has several popular startups in its portfolio - Licious, Pepperfry, and Quikr among others.In this podcast, Pankaj shares his opinions on how startups can optimize spendings and become more cash efficient in the long run. Notes - 00:40 - Joining Bertelsmann in New York & starting Bertelsmann Corporate Services India02:33 - Thesis behind the diverse portfolio of Bertelsmann India Investments07:02 - Exit from Saavn which is now JioSaavn11:02 - What change can startups expect in consumer behaviour post Covid-19?14:45 - Biggest value addition which Bertelsmann brings to its portfolio companies20:20 - Average ticket size & ideal phase for making an investment at BII21:12 - Personal habits and hobbies which he attributes to his success23:35 - Ability to see far & deep and implementing future prospects within the business26:30 - Investing companies which raise minimum capital and are able to build great businesses28:58 - Identifying companies with high profit margins(Treebo as an example)29:59 - Advice to entrepreneurs to sail through Covid-19 crisis
Coming from a Tech-background Mekin spent his early career at Yahoo, Ugenie, Lulu.com, and Flipkart.Since 2016, he has also been an Angel Investor investor and exited a few startups such as - UrbanClap, Vaahan, Tapchief, Quizziz & mGaadi.In 2017 he started Udhyam, it focuses on nurturing and guiding students to become future entrepreneurs at the school level. In 2018, he parallelly started Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, referred to as GAME. As the name suggests, it aims to create 10M entrepreneurs (50% of women), who will create 50M jobs by 2030.In this podcast, Mekin shares his opinions regarding the current situation of MSMEs and how Udhyam & GAME are moving towards their goals amid Covid-19 crisis. Notes - 00:48 - Joining Flipkart and founding Udhyam02:52 - How does Udhyam stimulates and encourages young entrepreneurs?04:34 - How was GAME founded and what problem does it solve?06:14 - Enabling entrepreneurs who run a small business and employ 5-20 people12:53 - How are MSMEs affected by Covid-19?18:21 - Behavioural changes after the crisis20:45 - Opportunities which might emerge from the current scenario27:30 - How is Udhyam leveraging the current lockdown?36:02 - Advice to entrepreneurs to navigate through this crisis
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Sanjay Nath, Managing Partner at Blume VenturesIt seems as if Silicon Valley has been a consistent choice during the early career phase for several Indian VCs! Sanjay isn’t an exception as well. After spending his early years in Silicon Valley, in 2006 he came back to India and became an active member of Mumbai Angels.Finally, after 4 years of being an Angel Investor, he cofounded Blume Ventures in 2010. So far Blume Ventures have announced funds of a combined value of $150M with over 192 Portfolio Companies.Some of its Portfolio Companies are - Dunzo, LBB, Cashify, and Unacademy.In this podcast, Sanjay shares his opinions on Indian startup ecosystem navigating through Covid-19 crisis. Notes - 00:44 - From Joining Mumbai Angels to Co-founding Blume Ventures03:40 - Backing Naveen Tiwari, InMobi during 2008 Crash07:35 - How do you test the founders in good vs bad times?12:02 - How has Covid-19 affected Mobility & SaaS Startups?15:30 - Advice to founders to navigate through these tough times16:30 - Startups contributing to building the Future of Work21:53 - Change in Investment Thesis from 2011 (Super-Angel Fund) to 2020 (Fund-III)24:31 - Post Covid-19 Scenario for Non-Consumer Startups (SaaS, Deep Tech, Enterprise)29:55 - Survival of best companies being self-sufficient32:05 - How to evaluate & implement cost-saving strategies?40:10 - Considering and dealing with possibilities of mergers & acquisitions
Mark started Omnivore, an impact Venture Fund focused around Agritech back in 2010. Omnivore has so far invested in over 57 startups which are based on multiple verticals such as - B2B, B2C, Fresh-to-home & Rural Fintech.Some of his Portfolio Companies are - Bijak, Stellapps, and DeHaat.In this podcast, Mark shares his experiences & learnings of investing in Agritech Startups in India over the last decade. Notes - 00:40 - Omnivore’s Background03:06 - Why was Agritech chosen at the focus at Omnivore?05:50 - Investing in Stellapps full-stack dairy digitization08:18 - Portfolio Company - Intello Labs building fresh produce quality system using AI & ML09:47 - Impacting Indian farmers - Lowering cost, increasing profitability, insurance, better techniques13:55 - Co-investing with other Indian Venture Capital firms17:13 - Various verticals in Agritech - B2B, B2C, Rural Fintech, Fresh-to-home21:12 - Challenges while investing in Agritech - Incubation period of the investment, Connecting with farmers, Finding the right opportunities24:40 - How is Omnivore creating a difference in Agritech in India?31:28 - Impact of Covid-19 on Agritech
After working at BCG for 2 years, Ishaan joined Sequoia India's Analyst Program in 2011. He spent around three and a half years at Sequoia India. He then went to business school and joined Sequoia India back in 2016. In this podcast, Ishaan shares his experiences & learnings of investing in Consumer brands and Fintech Startups. Notes - 00:42 - Joining Sequoia India's Analyst Program01:57 - Investing experiences over 9 years at Sequoia03:34 - Culture at Sequoia - “Singular focus on doing the right thing for all the stakeholders”.04:45 - “We help the daring entrepreneurs build from Idea to IPO & beyond”.06:23 - “While investing you never have the right or wrong answer”.09:29 - Macro-trends driving Consumer Brands in India11:05 - Financial Services in India are still unpenetrated12:21 - Mamaearth - Being a digital-first personal care brand for their consumers12:57 - Eruditus - Making Ivy league colleges more accessible15:18 - Fintech Startups in India leveraging large digital footprint of their customers to serve them better18:30 - Razorpay - Solving merchant payment issues with innovative solutions20:34 - Scope & Future of Neobanks in India across various customer segments28:37 - Challenges while investing from a large pool of amazing founders
“It’s fine to grow slower, but importantly to grow sustainably.” Mohit has been a successful Angel Investor since 2012 growing over 20x in his portfolio. He even considers his learnings from one of his early investments - Local Banya equivalent to an MBA degree.Since 2017 he has been a part of the Investment Trust of India Group and manages investments in early-stage innovative ideas.Some of his Portfolio Companies are - REVOS, Evolve Snacks, and ten3T Healthcare.In this podcast, Mohit shares his experiences & learnings of investing in Startups which have sustainable growth models. Notes - 00:42 - His learnings from being an Angel Investor05:40 - Investing his own money in early ideas in Ecommerce Startups09:32 - Co-investing in REVOS - Smart Mobility Platform11:15 - Investment & Growth Thesis in Evolve Snacks12:40 - Investing in Preventive Healthcare - ten3T Healthcare18:04 - Avoiding over-ownerships in Portfolio Companies to have a downside protection26:20 - Is securing a Hyper-investment a sure success parameter for a Startup?28:59 - Important to have Sustainability in Investing v/s Spray & Pray
100xEntrepreneur Podcast with Vaibhav Domkundwar, CEO at Better Capital“Do Zero Paid Marketing - To Understand What’s Working And What’s Not” Vaibhav has founded successful companies like Roamware (acquired by Audax Group) and Better Inc. As a VC & a founder, he’s a core believer in implementing & experimenting with organic growth hacks to grow a company, this reflects in most of his portfolio companies as well. Some of his Portfolio Companies are - Khatabook, OPEN Bank, Gramophone, and ShopKirana.In this podcast, Vaibhav shares his experiences & learnings of investing in Startups which provide a simple but complete solution to a consumer problem. Notes - 00:35 - His Journey from Founding Two Companies to Becoming a VC05:20 - Investing in 45 Companies in Last 2 Years07:02 - While making an Investment Decision it’s important not to Templatize a Founder’s Idea09:30 - Investing in Asia’s first Neobank - OPEN14:29 - Creating a product which completely solves a problem rather than offering a better way of dealing with it - Khatabook16:05 - Agritech Portfolio Companies - Gramophone, Jai Kisan, BharatAgri18:49 - Investing in a Truly AI-first company30:57 - How does Better helps its Portfolio Companies?
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Rutvik Doshi, Managing Director, Inventus Capital PartnersRutvik refers to himself as an “Accidental Venture Capitalist”, coming from a Product management & Software Engineering background.He’s an IIT Kharagpur alumni and later did his MBA from INSEAD. During his early career, he worked at Broadcom Inc. & Google.In this podcast, Rutvik shares his experiences & learnings of building relationships with founders, scanning through potential investments & more. Notes - 00:35 - Accidental Venture Capitalist03:50 - Being a part of Inventus Capital Partners05:50 - Investing in PolicyBazaar & RedBus.in09:14 - Scaling & Diversity in HealthifyMe12:35 - Filters & Criteria to scanning potential investments15:43 - Being a mentor to the founding team22:30 - Giving 1st Priority to Founder / Business & then later check on the Market32:10 - Common traits among founders who’ve scaled 100x36:45 - Fine line between Conviction & Stubbornness in founders37:55 - Challenges while fund-raising as a VC
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, MeeshoAfter completing his B.Tech. from IIT Delhi, Vidit worked with ITC & InMobi during his early career. It was around 2015 when he decided to try out something and while exploring other options he came across this idea to create a platform (Meesho) where people could start & manage their business from the comfort of their home.In this podcast, Vidit shares his experiences of building Meesho & understanding the core needs of their customers. Notes - 00:40 - His career background and bringing an un-organized business online04:30 - Building 1st version of Meesho11:10 - Aggregating distributors on the platform12:50 - Making investors understand the new business model15:55 - What helped him keep growing while building a new business model?17:40 - Tackling the growth slowdown 6 months after raising capital from SAIF Partners26:25 - Listen or Die (Talking to users every 30 days)27:43 - Meesho’s revenue model29:30 - Current User Persona32:38 - Culture & DNA of Employees at Meesho35:55 - Change in Go to market strategy41:45 - Hiring strategy for Key Leadership roles48:50 - Irrespective of your growth don’t compromise with Culture Fit
After completing his MMS from BITS Pilani in 1993, Rahul entered into the Investment Banking domain. From 1997 to 2006, he was part of Walden International as an Investment Manager. It was the first Silicon-Valley based VC Firm to come & establish a presence in India. This was when Rahul experienced Venture Capital & Angel Investing from a close perspective.Later in 2006, he cofounded Helion Ventures with a $140M fund size, which has since then made over 135 investments across Finance, Healthcare, Logistics & Agri.Some of the Portfolio companies are MakeMyTrip, Bigbasket, RailYatri, and Ezetap among others.In this podcast, Rahul shares his experiences of finding & nurturing Indian entrepreneurs for the past 15 years. Notes - 00:38 - Sharing his Journey via his book - The Moonshot Game: Adventures of an Indian Venture Capitalist03:10 - Working as an Investment Banker in 199509:05 - Cofounding Helion Ventures in 200622:10 - Starting multiple VC firms/funds from Helion25:15 - Traits of founders who build great companies28:22 - Three core reasons behind Investing in Bigbasket32:30 - Taking tough calls as a VC based on your experience38:50 - Giving synthesised advices as a VC vs a Canned-one44:44 - Starting Unitary Helion Fund45:17 - Building products for middle class by design & not by accident
After completing his graduation from IIT Bombay, Hemant worked at AMD during his early career. In 2012, after completing his MBA from Cambridge University, he joined Google, where he worked in New Partnerships & Development for 5 years, post which he joined Andreessen Horowitz in 2017.Lastly, after seeing a huge potential in the growing Indian Startup Ecosystem, he ended up moving to India in 2018 and joining Lightspeed India.Some of Lightspeed India portfolio companies are Udaan, Darwinbox, OKCredit, and Shuttl among others.In this podcast, Hemant shares his learnings of building a Tech company in India, he also shares his Venture Investing experiences in India & the US. Notes - 00:46 - Growing up in Middle of Himalayas to joining Lightspeed India05:38 - Joining Corporate Development at Google after MBA06:26 - Choosing Lightspeed India vs any other VC firm in the US12:10 - Is it necessary to raise a Venture Capital to build a big company?15:38 - Is it the right time to build a Tech company in India?18:16 - Looking after Enterprise, Fintech & Logistics focused deals19:59 - Big wins for Lightspeed in India - Byju’s, OKCredit, Udaan, OYO25:25 - Difference b/w Venture Investing in US & India (Andreessen Horowitz vs Lightspeed)30:42 - What Indian Entrepreneurs can learn from their US counterparts?33:22 - “Most problems are solvable if you immerse yourself deep within”38:33 - Best Founders know much better about a Market than a VC
After completing his MBA from IIM Lucknow in 1998, Anand started his first EduTech company around the Dotcom boom - Brainvisa which became one of the largest eLearning companies in India and later on got acquired by Indecomm Global Services. From 2007 to 2012, he backed several startups as an Angel Investor - Fasoos & MyDentist.Later in his career in 2012, he became a Founding Partner at IndiaQuotient, Venture Capital Firm which has invested in over 50 startups in the last 8 years.Some of his portfolio companies are LoanTap, Clip, and Sharechat among others.In this podcast, Anand shares his understanding of the Indian Middle-class consumer & also shares his learnings on how can startups build products for them. Notes - 00:35 - His Journey from Starting the first company in Dotcom boom to becoming a VC in 201201:50 - Experience with Early Portfolio Companies - Financial Services & Content09:00 - Understanding Indian consumers & building products for them16:55 - Investing in Indian Cosmetics Brand - Sugar20:50 - Serving the average Indian consumer with disposable income27:30 - Thesis behind building Indian Consumer Brands32:50 - Core Themes for future Portfolio companies at IndiaQuotient 38:50 - Portfolio Companies in Small Business Software - Vyapar, Fleetx, BharatAgri39:48 - Being bold & Taking Contrarian bets as a VC
After graduating from IIT Kanpur in 1992, Manish worked with several top firms - Tata Elxsi, Motorola, Ittiam Systems & Sling Media.In 2013 he started LetsVenture which enables Angel Investors, Family Offices and Funds to discover and invest in early-stage and growth startups.Post that, in 2016, he started pi Ventures, which primarily invests in AI, IoT & Blockchain companies.Some of his portfolio companies are FrontdeskAI, Wysa, and SigTuple among others.In this podcast, Manish shares his experiences of investing and helping entrepreneurs build AI Startups. Notes - 00:40 - From Graduating IIT Kanpur in 1992 to starting pi Ventures in 201606:50 - Keys learnings while building Venture firms10:58 - Learning from path-breaking Entrepreneurs14:08 - Unsolved problems & prospects for upcoming startups in AI16:54 - Criteria for evaluating AI companies27:52 - Helping in building AI Startups28:22 - Convincing VCs to invest in AI Startups30:15 - Challenges while fund-raising as a VC37:26 - Advice for Founder’s who get lost in their Journey
Sameer’s journey in India’s venture capital ecosystem began back in 2007 when he joined Reliance Ventures, where he focused on early-stage investments in the Technology, Media / Entertainment & Telecommunications domain.After being with Reliance for 4 years he joined Nexus Venture Partners in 2011 & currently leads their Bangalore office. At Nexus in the last 9 years, he has been part of the investment team that has lead investments in over 35 of their Portfolio companies.Some of Nexus portfolio companies are Druva, OLX, NetMagic, PaySense, Gluster, Rancher, H20, MapMyIndia, Pratilipi, Delhivery, Myupchar, Rapido, Snapdeal, Unacademy, Zomato, and Zolo among others.In this podcast, Sameer shares his experiences of identifying top-notch founders & his signature style of signing the Term sheet in the first meeting with the founders in whom he sees potential. Notes - 00:36 - From CFA Level-I to spending over 11 years in Venture Ecosystem07:48 - I’m very fond of what I do as VC10:50 - Investing in over 35 Portfolio Companies across - Business Services, Consumer Brands, Data & AI, Enterprise & Healthcare16:30 - Top 2 Portfolio Companies in every fund18:00 - Growth & Success of Postman and UnAcademy20:19 - Story behind signing term-sheet at UnAcademy27:11 - Size of Test Prep market in India28:48 - Investing in Postman right around its buyout stage33:37 - Signature style of getting Term-sheet signed & Investing then & there38:30 - Learnings from Mistakes as a VC41:05 - Identifying secular trends/shift in markets44:48 - Guiding founders in situations where they are able to raise $50M+ but haven’t had experience building big startups47:17 - Quality of founders is getting better & better51:55 - Low-value creation in several crappy companies in India01:01:20 - Low-key & Successful Portfolio Companies at Nexus Venture Partners01:04:50 - Being called a P/E VC Investor01:07:10 - Culture of hierarchy-free & openness at a VC firm
Sanjay started his career in Silicon Valley in 1992 & spent over 7 years at his first company, working in different roles across - Sales, Customer Support, Engineering & Marketing. He then worked with Xerox & Portal Software in US before coming back to India in 2003.From 2003 to 2011, he had several experiences most of which revolutionized entire ecosystems they were part of, right from mCheck, ZipDial, Ezetap & Aadhar Team (at UIDAI).Finally in 2011, he started Angel Prime (now Prime Ventures) which invests in early-stage entrepreneurs to build great companies.Some of his portfolio companies are Moneytap, Ezetap, Happay, and Kredx among others.In this podcast, Sanjay shares his experiences & learnings from being on both sides of the Startup ecosystem - An Entrepreneur & A VC. Notes - 00:38 - His journey from a small town in Karnataka to Silicon Valley & finally becoming a VC04:04 - Part 1- Experience & Learnings in Silicon Valley (from working in Sales, Customer Support to Engineering)05:55 - Working with Xerox 08:40 - Coming back to India and working with mPortal & mChek11:20 - Realizing of being Ahead of Time at mChek 14:08 - Successful Startups which Controlled their Ecosystem like Paytm & those which rode the Ecosystem changes like PhonePe & GooglePay16:49 - Part 2 - Working with Aadhar (UIDAI Team) & Experiencing the formulation of Aadhar19:56 - Part 3 - Bringing together previous learnings & starting AngelPrime (currently Prime Ventures)22:51 - Conceptualizing ZipDial while being on a flight25:10 - Validating Market Fit in less than $100 at ZipDial28:45 - Building Ezetap - Being on the Merchant Side30:45 - Being the First Sculptor of the Company34:16 - Formulating Market Specific Preferences as a VC40:00 - Importance of being Honest & Open with your VC Partners44:57 - There’s No Completely 100% Right or Wrong situation being a VC47:59 - Being a Founder in Late 30s or 40s50:37 - Having 360 days of Frustration & 5 days of Glory as an Entrepreneur
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Sid Talwar, Managing Partner, Lightbox VenturesIn 2001, Sid founded Evolv, a vocational training company funded by Singapore Technologies. Over the next 6 years, he built it into a business that trained 20,000+ people annually across 200 cities in South Asia and the Middle East. He later sold it to NIIT in 2007 but continued to lead the internal teams in adopting new technology as a transformative force in education and vocational training.Post that, after being associated with GSF India for about a year, he Cofounded Lightbox Ventures in 2014. Some of his portfolio companies are Furlenco, Embibe, Dunzo, Cleartrip, and Bombay Shirt Company.In this podcast, Sid shares his experience of helping Entrepreneurs solve & avoid mistakes in their Entrepreneurial Journey. Notes - 00:36 - His Journey of helping Entrepreneurs Solve & Avoid Mistakes 01:58 - Invest in Few Companies at a time to understand them better04:03 - Top Exits from Fund-II07:34 - Building relationships with Portfolio Companies10:40 - What kind of businesses is Lightbox trying to promote?18:39 - Investing in Embibe based on the Aditi’s conviction as a Founder22:54 - Investing in Furlenco after getting to know Ajith Karimpana In & Out26:34 - Challenges in building a subscription model in India for Furniture35:42 - Thesis behind recent Investment in Nua 39:18 - Advice to Entrepreneurs while Pitching to VCs
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Adith Podhar, Founding Partner, Gemba CapitalAdith belongs to a typical Marwari family from Mumbai, after completing his MBA from the University of Mumbai, he worked with ICICI Bank handling fundraising for individual investors in Private Equity. During 2013 to 2017 he also headed Motilal Oswal Private Equity as their Vice President. In June 2017, he finally decided to start his own journey as an Early Stage Investors and started Gemba Capital. Some of his portfolio companies are myHQ, ClearDekho and HoiFoods.In this podcast, Adith shares his experience of operating as an Early Stage Investors and his learnings. Notes - 00:42 - Journey from Typical Marwari family to experiencing different stages in Entrepreneurial Journey and finally becoming a VC 05:11 - Why he started Gemba Capital? 06:48 - How did he develop his Priority Sectors and created his Investment Thesis? 11:40 - Investments, Vision & Thesis in Fintech 13:19 - Difference between companies which have scaled faster compared to others15:10 - Macro Factors behind Scaling faster and larger for a Company16:44 - Why is Cashout / CreditLine model becoming a popular product in Fintech?17:55 - How to crack your Distribution Channels suitable to your Products?22:04 - Ideal Co-investors24:20 - Overcoming Challenges and Hardships as a VC29:57 - Is the Sequoia Surge Programme a Threat to Small/Early Stage VC Firms?30:52 - Overcoming biases as a VC while Investing33:22 - Mistakes & Learnings as an Angel Investor
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Tej Kapoor, Co-Executive President of Fosun RZ Capital (India & Africa)From 2007-13, Tej held several key positions at AOL in the United States and then at Naspers Group.In 2016 he joined Fosun RZ Capital, where some of his portfolio companies are Gland Pharma, Delhivery, MakeMyTrip, Ixigo and Kissht.In this podcast, Tej shares his experience of working with both Large scale markets as well as Seed-stage startups in India & China. Notes - 00:47 - Journey from AOL in the US to Naspers and finally heading Fosun RZ (India & Africa)04:17 - What is Fosun RZ Capital about? 05:42 - Typical Ticket Sizes08:45 - Focus Markets in 2020 - Fintech, Travel, E-commerce, Consumer Brands10:54 - Parameters to evaluate Seed/Early stage companies12:41 - Shift from dealing with Large Ticket Sizes at Naspers to Seed Stage Investing at Fosun RZ 15:25 - Role of Storytelling in Fundraising by Early-stage founders17:46 - Crucial aspects to building and selling your product20:20 - Growth Scale of Ixigo & Delhivery 22:31 - Key investments & Thesis at Naspers25:12 - Experience & Learnings in working with Founders of Ixigo, Delhivery & Ibibo28:57 - How’s the Startup and Angel Investing culture in China?34:50 - New Verticals of E-commerce Startups coming up in 202036:58 - Evaluation of a Fintech Startup & New opportunities in Fintech Space
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Gaurav Munjal, Co-founder, Unacademy“Every single mistake that entrepreneurs do 99% of that is already documented somewhere.” - Gaurav MunjalSince his childhood Gaurav was an innovative person, at the age of 12 years, he created a similar to KBC-like quiz which was demonstrated amongst his classmates and the school. In 2013 he started Flat.to (real estate platform for college students and bachelors across India) which later become FlatChat and got acquired by CommonFloor in 2014.In 2015 he Co-founded Unacademy, which was originally a YouTube channel started back in his college days. Today Unacademy gets 140Million views / month on its youtube channels + app/web.In this podcast, Gaurav shares his experience of scaling & creating a dent in the Edtech space, as well as lays down the path to how can one grow personally & professionally as an Entrepreneur. Notes - 0:53 - Journey from a 12-year curious kid to Founder of Unacademy03:32 - First Entrepreneurial Journey Flat.to (Real estate platform for college students and bachelors across India) (Later FlatChat)09:12 - How he got started with Unacademy in 201509:54 - Learnings for building a product for Large markets11:02 - Mistakes as a first-time Founder & Learnings14:37 - “Learning should be part of a CEO’s schedule.”17:05 - What do his notes or learning structure look like?18:03 - How does his recall process work to revisit his ideas or tasks?19:09 - Key milestones of Unacademy over the years 24:11 - Is storytelling a major pillar for an entrepreneur?25:38 - Building a successful company that will create a dent in the Industry28:25 - What is Unacademy replacing in the physical world?32:42 - Getting the best educators on Unacademy35:50 - How being an Obsessive founder helps him compared to other founders who are more relaxed?37:53 - How does he transfer his passion for learning among his team members?39:27 - “The values of an organisation are not what they put up on the wall, it’s what you do every single day!”40:00 - Distribution & Branding at Unacademy41:22 - What have been the Growth levers for Unacademy from 2015 - 2019?45:16 - Cracking Monetisation54:57 - Book recommendations by him for the listeners
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Kitty Agarwal, Head of Corporate Development, Info EdgeBelonging from a Calcutta based Marwari business family, Kitty completed her MBA from IIM Ahemdabad in 2012, post which due to her interest in Entrepreneurship, she came in touch with Sanjeev Bikhchandani and joined Info Edge.She has spent the last 6 years investing in early-stage consumer internet companies. Working closely with portfolio companies for strategy-building, monitoring progress and follow-on fundraising. She also looks after deal sourcing, due diligence, and legal documentation.Some of Info Edge’s Portfolio Companies include - Zomato, Ustraa, and MeritNation among others.In this podcast, Kitty shares her experience of Early Stage Investing at Info Edge and How she closely works with Founders to enable Growth.Notes - 00:41 - Her Journey from a Marwari Business Family in Calcutta to Info Edge03:15 - How did investing in other Startups began at Info Edge?05:50 - Recent 5 Investments06:35 - First Cheque Size & the Stage at which they enter a business08:00 - What value does Info Edge brings to the table apart from money in Portfolio companies? 08:56 - Misconception about Info Edge owing a greater than 50% stake in Portfolio companies13:26 - Evaluation Process for Potential Portfolio companies 19:00 - What’s her take on Content-based startups in India?20:55 - Potential Markets & Opportunities in 2019-2026:30 - How does Info Edge help its Portfolio companies in setting up Corporate Governance34:30 - Lessons for Founders, based on her experiences with their Portfolio companies
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Shripati Acharya, Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners“I’ve more patience than the average person, because life is a marathon, not a sprint” - Shripati AcharyaComing from a very humble background, Shripati did his schooling in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bhopal. Later took admission in IIT Madras, then went to Stanford to pursue his Masters and finally did his MBA from Harvard.In 1999, he Co-founded Snapfish (now part of HP) - One of the largest online photo services in the world with over 70M members. In his later career he worked at Senior Management roles at Cisco & UIDAI Aadhaar.In 2011, he Co-founded Prime Venture Partners, one of India's Premier Early Stage Funds, focused on creating disruptive, category creating technology companies out India for local and global markets.His Portfolio Companies include - Ezetap, Happay, and MyGate among others.In this podcast, Shripati shares his deep insights of the SaaS opportunities in India & the core fundamentals of Early Stage Investing.Notes - 00:36 - His Journey from Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bhopal to Stanford01:47 - How did he start Snapfish?03:10 - From being the Founder of Snapfish in the US, what brought him into the Indian Startup Ecosystem?04:17 - How was Prime Venture Partners started?06:06 - “Being a VC you should meet every entrepreneur with an open mind and not have preconceived notions” 08:24 - Operating Thesis at Prime Ventures15:45 - Meeting existing Portfolio companies regularly for discussing Strategic Actions 17:27 - His thoughts on Wealth Creation & Public Marketing Investing19:14 - What are the parallels between Early Stage Investing & Public Market Investing?22:17 - Potential in Indian SaaS companies to go for an IPO25:28 - Unfortuante failures or hurdles occur when Entrepreneurs are caught up in hindsight32:54 - Is it possible to build breakout companies like Whatsapp in India?
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Ashu Garg, Partner, Foundation CapitalAfter graduating from IIT Delhi, and later completing his masters from IIM Bangalore, Ashu worked at various companies such as - Unilever India, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft and a few others.In 2008 he joined Foundation Capital and since then he’s been primarily investing in B2B & SaaS Companies for the past 11 years.Foundation Capital invested early in Netflix.His Portfolio Companies include - Localytics, QuanticMind, Opas.ai, ZeroStack and FundsIndia among others.In this podcast, Ashu shares his deep insights of the B2B & SaaS space in US & the opportunities coming ahead.Notes - 00:56 - His Professional Journey - A series of Serendipitous Events.05:03 - What caught his interest in the B2B & SaaS market space?07:23 - What are the key skills, he looks for in B2B founder?10:05 - How to sell B2B or SaaS products?12:01 - Why is having clarity on ICP (Initial Customer Profile) crucial for a business?14:40 - How long does it take for him from - “First email from a founder to Cutting a Cheque”?16:40 - Success & Struggles in Foundation Capital’s Portfolio Companies25:10 - What’s his advice for founders who struggle to scale up in the SaaS market?27:55 - When does he plans to invest more in Indian Companies?31:23 - Themes he’s been on a look out for - Task Automation, Tools to make Development easy, Cybersecurity27:15 - Will Startups in Credit Lending Space be able to make money?38:00 - How can B2B entrepreneurs crack the next big thing?
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Amrish Rau, Co-founder at Citrus Pay, Head of Investments & Partnerships at PayU“Life is Game, Treat it as a Sport, Enjoy your time in the Field, & It will be Fantastic!” - Amrish RauAfter starting his career as a Sales Manager at Siemens Nixdorf in 1996, he later worked extensively with Teradata & First Data. He later started Citrus Payments in 2014, which was acquired by PayU for $130Mn in 2016, one of the biggest FinTech deals in India.As an Angel Investor, his Portfolio Companies are - CRED, Khatabook, Signzy, and OPEN Bank among others.In this podcast, Amrish shares his deep insights of the FinTech space in India & opportunities coming ahead.Notes - 00:56 - How did he grow from a Sales Manager at Siemens to one of the renowned names in Indian Fintech Space?05:20 - How does he treat his work life?06:36 - His experience of Investing in CRED, Mobile Premiere League, Khatabook, Dunzo & Bira 13:28 - Formation of Citrus Pay14:42 - Seeds of Entrepreneurship17:55 - First few years of Citrus Pay - Testing the Market19:26 - His thoughts on Business Capital requirement & Funding21:45 - “You should not tie your dreams to - How much funding I can raise?; Instead, think of - What problem statement can I solve?”23:11 - Pivots v/s Experimentation & Improvisation24:32 - Core Unsolved problems in FinTech for B2C & B2B27:15 - Will Startups in Credit Lending Space be able to make money?28:24 - Credit Lending opportunities in SMEs30:23 - Cost of money is extremely high through NBFCs31:37 - Other Markets he’s interested in - Transactions & eKYC32:52 - “The number of Quality founders, I meet every day, I’m soon going to end up broke being an Angel Investor.”35:26 - Preparation for the Big War in FinTech 37:33 - Advice to listeners - “Spend time in understanding the complexity of FinTech”44:45 - No.1 Golden Rule for a Cofounder is to put the Company First
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Sasha Mirchandani, Founder, Kae CapitalIn early 2000 Sasha was approached by two guys from IIM Ahmedabad with a Startup idea, to invest in. Later he went on to understand the entire Angel Investing & Seed Captial from his fellow Venture Capitalists. After being a solo Angel Investor for over 5-6 years he started Kae Capital in 2012.Some of the Portfolio companies include - Healthkart, LoanTap, Nua and 1mg among others.In this podcast, Sasha shares his deep insights of the Indian Startup Ecosystem from his 18 years of Investing Career.Notes - 00:36 - Mission of Kae Capital01:56 - His 18 Year Journey as an Investor06:53 - Looking at “How well the Founders deal with when the tough times come.” 08:52 - “There’s a Time & a Place for a Market to Take-off”10:55 - Failures while trying to Time the Market11:44 - Recent Investment & Thesis - Nua, Loan Tap, Zetwerk14:37 - Quality of Founders in 2019 vs Quality of Founders 10 Years back16:20 - Markets he prefers - Healthcare, AI, B2B Commerce & SaaS17:10 - Experience investing in Analytics & Home Services ?22:27 - The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz25:24 - Common Patterns in 100x Growth Startups27:29 - Advice to Entrepreneurs “Start, Pivot, Stop, Repeat”
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Alok Goyal, Partner, Stellaris Venture Partners“It’s essential that you find the perfect balance between passion and money” - Alok Goyal.After heading SAP India as COO for 3 years, he decided to become a Venture Capitalist and joined Helion Ventures in 2013 to understand and experience the Indian Startup Ecosystem. In 2016 he Co-Founded Stellaris Venture Partners, where he looks after the following markets - SaaS, Logistics, Recruiting.Some of the Portfolio companies of the firm include - Mamaearth, Whatfix, mfine and Shop101 among others.In this podcast, Alok shares, about Electric-vehicle & SaaS space in India and more.Notes - 00:35 - Journey - COO at SAP India to a Venture Capitalist05:38 - How he got introduced and joined Helion07:02 - Led investments in Software & Services markets at Helion 09:15 - How are Investment decisions taken at Stellaris?11:20 - Deals led by him - Whatfix, Signzy, noticeboard, LOADSHARE 15:05 - Reasons behind rapid growth in Whatfix and LOADSHARE18:05 - Does he needs validation on his investment decisions from a senior investor?19:05 - “If you are a reasonably sized fund, it’s not possible to build Theme sized funds?” 21:39 - Why is he so bullish in the Electric-vehicle space in India?24:53 - Two-wheeler & Three-wheeler vehicles would be first adopters of EVs in India26:36 - “EVs Market would be bigger than Ola & Uber combined due to Economies of Scale”27:42 - SaaS Startups Growth in India vs US32:20 - Evaluation of Founders - “Great Founders don’t fit into any pattern, they define new patterns”35:05 - Key Strategies in SaaS - “Ability to sell your solutions, Scale what works & Kill what doesn’t”44:22 - Role of Markets in Growth - “Great Entrepreneur + Average Market = Average Outcome” & “Average Entrepreneur + Great Markets = Decent Outcomes”
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Sandeep Sinha, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Lumis Partners“The belief of the Entrepreneur & the team that you are building & serving for a larger potential market is one of the differential factors in startups which grow 100x.” - Sandeep Sinha.After completing his Post-Grads from London School of Economics, he worked at GE and 3Com Corporation during his early career. In Sept 2006 he started Lumis Partners an Operating Private Equity Fund, with some focus areas which include: Education & Skilling, Recruitment, Assessment, Human Resources and Career Community Solutions.Some of the Portfolio companies include - SHEROES, Wheebox, Altizon Systems among others.In this podcast, Sandeep shares, about role play as an Investor, building relationship with founders and more.Notes - 00:32 - From working at GE in his early career to starting Lumis Partners in 200601:30 - Working closely with Entrepreneurs gives you the opportunity to learn & experience a lot02:25 - Prioritizing select markets can be done by regular experimentation & persuasion 04:44 - Identifying Recession-Proof markets with opportunities of big wins07:32 - Can startups with great teams persuade an Investor to make an Investment?10:24 - The Kind of Entrepreneurs he as a VC would love to work with again & again12:45 - Some of his exists from Healthcare, Human Resource & Fintech14:55 - Being a Hands-on Investor & Methodology of Engaging with Portfolio Companies 16:43 - Pros of being an Open-Ended Equity Firm in case of having to deal with LPs17:56 - Identifying Founders with Deep domain Industry Experience & Understanding20:19 - Engaging with Companies from the start by testing Pre-revenue Models20:56 - Anti-Portfolio Companies - MakeMyTrip, OYO, ShareChat26:30 - Enabling Founders to discuss Challenges & Problems with Investors by building a strong relationship27:57 - Ideal Co-Investors - Clarity in terms of Role Play as a Co-Investor 32:27 - “At the end of the day deliver Great Financial Results, Make an Impact & Enjoy the ride of being a VC”
100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Karan Mohla, Executive Director at Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India)“As a VC to add value, keep asking yourself, What are the one or two things which if the company does, based on your experience, they’ll thrive. And then Discuss & Communicate that with the Founders.” - Karan Mohla.After graduating from the University of Michigan, Karan joined Jefferies & Company in Silicon Valley, where he first experienced Capital raising, Strategic Company Analysis & Investment Banking.He was also the Youngest person admitted in the INSEAD Executive MBA program history. In 2010, after his Masters, he joined Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India) as a Senior Associate. Since then during his 9 years journey over there, he moved up the ladder to become Executive Director and Head of Consumer Tech & Media SectorCurrently, Karan is a Board of Member in Bounce, HealthifyMe, LittleBlackBook, POPxo, Tripoto and several other big names in the Indian Startup Ecosystem.In this podcast, Karan shares, about the Opportunities in Consumer Tech & Digital Media, Challenges faced by a Venture Capitalist and more.Notes - 00:50 - From being an Intern at E&Y to becoming Executive Director at Chiratae Ventures07:16 - “There are ways in life through which you can create an Impact, Entrepreneurship is one of them”09:40 - Challenges while Fund-raising as a Venture Capitalist & Being a Venturepreneur14:30 - His first Thesis based investment in FirstCry17:30 - What are the scenarios where Top-down or Bottom-up Strategy are suitable for?19:50 - Which markets & business models have been a big win in the past decade?21:37 - Why most Advertising & Ed-Tech Startups don’t work out in India?23:46 - Three Signs of a Bad Investment Opportunity 26:08 - Potential business models to look out in Consumer-Tech30:43 - Thesis for Digital Media Companies32:50 - Creating a Full Stack Business Model = Content Community + Commerce (not being a force fit)37:10 - Recipe to Scale Fast - Surround yourself with good people early on as an Entrepreneur39:55 - Proper Execution is more valuable than just having a Vision50:45 - Not having personal biases to your role as an Investor51:04 - “While making an Investment Decision, something or the other would always go wrong, it’s better to plan much in advance.”52:33 - Dealing with Uncertainties in the form of delayed results being a VC
Shalini started as a Venture Partner in the Venture Capital Ecosystem with 500 Startups in 2015.Post which later she started her own Rewards & Loyalty based product Epic.one in early 2019.In this podcast, Shalini shares, the investment philosophy & thought process practised by her at 500 Startups.Notes - 00:20 - Unusual for a VC to become an Entrepreneur01:30 - How did your life shape up your background?02:30 - How did 500 Startups happen?03:20 - Purpose in life as a VC & Now as an Entrepreneur04:17 - Epic.one (Solving the fragmented rewards space)05:15 - Profiling a Customer07:16 - Building an Ecosystem of Players09:38 - Teaming up with Cofounder - Amit10:25 - Key learnings at GSF as an Investor12:20 - Wave of Financial Startups13:40 - Investment Strategy at 500 Startups17:24 - “In early stages folding of Companies is very common, 40-50% close in first 2-3 years”19:50 - “Sometimes your hypothesis is wrong & sometimes it’s not well executed”23:01 - Four things I learnt from the mistakes of Startups we invested in!P.S.I would like to give shoutout to my friend Swayam Prabha, who is the founder of Divine Rejuvenation.I signed up for Divine Rejuvenation wellness class online. It was 30 min session where the instructor uses state of the art bio-energetic tool for your physical, emotional and mindful well being.I had one of the most deep sleep that day and next day my meditation session was wonderful.For 100x Entrepreneur listeners they have launched a special one time 30 min session at 100% discount. Use the code “100X” while signing up on https://divinerejuvenations.com/appointments/
Podcast with Vishal Gupta, Managing Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners.“When you create a Network effect, your moats become stronger and your growth is also disproportionate.” - Vishal GuptaVishal did his MBA from IIM Calcutta, in 2002. Post which he initially worked with HCL and later joined Reliance Capital Private Equity in 2003.Finally, he joined Bessemer Venture Partners in 2006.Some of the portfolio companies at Bessemer Venture Partners India include - Bigbasket, Swiggy, Pharmeasy, Urbanclap and DocsApp among others.In this podcast, Vishal shares, about startups with Strong Distributions Channels, opportunities in Healthcare and more.Some Questions answered by Vishal in this Podcast -1. What’s his take on Operational heavy businesses like Bigbasket & Swiggy ?2. What does he think Distributions & Supply Channels in Startups?3. Why does he believe in Data-driven board meetings?4. What is his thesis for opportunities in Healthcare in India?5. What markets didn’t worked out for him?P.S. I would like to give a big shoutout to Qtrove.comQtrove.com is a content and community driven curated marketplace that exhibits and sells natural, organic and non-mass produced products made by small and local sellers driven by passion and purpose. Qtrove.com wants its consumers to 'MakeTheSwitch' to a sustainable lifestyle for a better tomorrow. Qtrove.com wants to change how you consume products IN your body (that is food), ON your body (that is personal care) and AROUND your body (Household Care). They are the G-Commerce (G stands for Good) guys. Use the code 100x to get exclusive 20% discount till 31st oct 2019. I have myself made lifestyle switch into more organic and sustainable products. For eg. the honey and sugar which I consume, the soaps which I use at my home are all made by these local sellers made by hand. Not only you are using something which is good for your body, you are also providing livelihood to so many people.
Ash started his career in Banking and joined Silicon Valley Bank and has been since associated with them.He is credited with bringing the major VC & Investment houses of Silicon Valley & San Francisco Bay Area to India in 2003 (also known as the birth of Venture Capitalism in India).He later started Saama Capital in India with the vision of being an Active Co-Investor.Saama Capital is also well known for being an early investor in Paytm. Some of the other investments of Saama Capital include – Raw Pressery, Sula Vineyards, Shaadi.com, and Games2Win among others.In this podcast, Ash shares his journey and experience of bringing the VC culture in India, setting it up and investing in several well-known Consumers Brands & Fintech companies.Some Questions answered by Ash in this Podcast –1. How did the birth of Venture Capital happen in India back in 2003?2. How was his experience during his first meeting with Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm) during his investment pitch?3. How does he see a Startup doing pivots and what was some of the successful Pivots in his investments?4. What has been his philosophy during all of his investments?5. Where did his market thesis didn’t work out?6. What are some of his big companies & exits in Consumer brands?7. What habits does he attribute to his successes?8. How is 2019-20 for founders?9. What are some of his advice for new VCs?A big shoutout for my friends at Sleepy Owl Coffee. Sleepy Owl makes super smooth Cold Brew Coffee and Hot Brew Coffee that requires no equipment to brew. Their Brew Packs are made from the best Indian Coffee beans, carefully roasted and packed immediately to seal in the flavour. Ready to brew, anywhere. Just add water & let it brew overnight. Apart from cold brews, Sleepy Owl recently announced their entry into the hot coffee segment with the launch of an entirely new category- 100% biodegradable, Equipment-free 5 min Dip-N-Sip Brew Bags. . Real coffee that’s made at home. Available at www.sleepyowl.co – use the code 100x at checkout to get 15% off your first order.
“What kind of products can I build for consumers who are already on the Internet, rather than bringing offline consumers online.” - Miten SampatMiten started his career in US after completing his Masters in Computer Science, in 2007. It was in 2012 that he began as an Angel Investor and Advisor for Startups.Around the same time, he took the call to move back into India and explore & leverage the Startup ecosystem here.In 2013, he joined the TimesCity and later shifted to managing investments decisions at Times Internet. Some of the portfolio companies at Times Internet include - MX Player, ET-Money, Dineout, Haptik, Shuttl and Cricbuzz among others.In this podcast, Miten shares, the investment philosophy & thought process practised by him at Times Internet.Some Questions answered by Miten in this Podcast -1. What made him come back to India & join Times Internet?2. What does he think about Times Internet investing as a Minority Share Holder?3. What markets or investment thesis didn’t work out for them ?4. Why did Times Internet Shutdown TLABS (Accelerator for Startups like - Inshorts & Pratilipi)? 5. What habits does he attribute to his success as an investor ?6. How does Times Internet chooses build Vs buy ?
Anurag Ramdasan, Head Of Investments at 3one4 Capital (Early Stage VC Fund).Out of the 60 Portfolio Companies, some well-known names are OPEN, Licious, Pocket Aces, YourStory & Darwinbox.In this podcast, Anurag shares his experience of coming from a hardcore Coding background into the VC world and also talks about some specific markets in the Startup Ecosystem like Content, Consumer Brands & Fintech.Some Questions answered by Anurag in this Podcast -1. How was his journey from being an Engineer to an Investor?2. How has their journey been with OPEN & Licious?3. Being one of the Youngest Principal’s, how did he mature so fast?4. How did 3one4 Capital establish themselves into this Ecosystem?5. Which were the markets where they had a Thesis and got a win?6. What were the markets which didn’t work out for them?7. What excites them being an Investor rather than being an Operator in the Startup Ecosystem?8. What are the upcoming markets in India where they are interested?9. How do you solve monetisation consents of Founders?
Utsav Somani, Partner, AngelList India shares his experience at AngelList India & Syndicates (Private Single-deal VC funds led by Top Angels).Some of the Startups where Utsav has invested as angel investor are BharatPe, AdPushup, Innov8, CoinDCX, Elemential Labs, Sugar Cosmetics, LogiNext, ARATA, Stranger & Sons, Mall91, Pernia's Pop-up Shop.Some Questions answered by Utsav in this Podcast -1. What is a Syndicate & How does it work?2. What are the minimum requirements to become a General Partner in a Syndicate?3. How can first-time founders approach AngelList for raising funds?4. How many Startups have been funded by Syndicates in India until now?5. How does AngelList ensure Startups which are funded by Syndicates to get updates & communicate with the Investors?6. What does an average Syndicate ticket size look like?7. What is “The Collective by AngelList India”?8. What is the Investment Thesis followed at AngelList - “Top-down” or “Bottom-up”?9. How does AngelList India work in sync with AngelList US?A guide for founders how to use AngelList in India:https://medium.com/@AngelListIndia/how-angellist-helps-indian-startups-raise-capital-277076828f5b
Dheeraj Jain, Founder at Redcliffe Capital shares his experience and thoughts around investing in Biotech / Health Care & Consumer Brands in India.By now he has invested in 32 companies, whereas some of his notable exits include Innov8, Burger Singh & Supr Daily. Some of the successful companies where Dheeraj initially invested, and since then they have raised significant amount of subsequent fundings are PeeSafe, LifCare, The Man Company, Drivezy, Coho, Coutloot and Qdesq, among others.Some Questions answered by Dheeraj in this Podcast -1. What caught his attention towards Health Care companies in India?2. Why is it the right time for Biotech Startups to scale up in India?3. Can Consumer Brand Startups become massive?4. What were his thoughts while investing in PeeSafe & The Man Company?5. What’s was the secret behind the 100x growth of Drivezy?6. What role do markets play when a company has to scale?7. What kind of characteristics does he look for in a Founder, during the early stage funding?8. Over the last 4-5 years, How has he seen himself grow as an Investor?
Brij Bhasin (General Partner at Rebright Partners, Ex-Operating Partner at GSF India).In 2012 he joined GSF (India's first multi-city accelerator program for early-stage tech product startups). Then in 2015, he joined Rebright Partners (an early stage Japanese Venture Capital Fund investing across Deep Tech, Healthcare, Mobility, Enterprise SaaS, B2B products and Internet/Mobile). Some successful portfolio companies in DocsApp & LetsTransport.Some Questions answered by Brij in this Podcast 1. What were his key learnings at GSF India?2. What were some of the key startups he advised or mentored?3. How did he joined Rebright Partners?4. Which few startups has he invested at Rebright Partners recently? How has their growth been?5. While evaluating deals for Rebright Partners, how does deal flow works for him?6. As an early stage investor what markets have been a win for him in the last 5 years?7. What would be his advice to founders in order to reach out and pitch to him?
Sukhbir Singh is a well-known Bollywood singer. He is also called the prince of Bhangra. He has recently become an active startup investor. His first investment is in the beverage market in India.In this podcast, Sukhbir shares his journey of how living hand to mouth in Kenya, in a Gurudwara taught him humbleness and never letting your success or work change your human principles. His parents migrated when he was just two years old from Jalandhar, India. His father was into singing, classically trained, but he was spiritually inclined. So he worked as a Gyaniji in Gurudwara in Kenya.He learned different instruments by being in a band in Kenya, started off as a keyboard player, then progressed to a drummer, guitarist, and then eventually a singer, started from backing vocals and then lead vocal. More on his journey in the podcast.When being asked on:1. How do you feel when you meet young founders today?I see myself in them. I see when I was their age and I had that desire and passion to create a song, would take an idea from just a melody to a song. And, for Startups I see them in a very similar fashion it starts with an idea and then the passion behind the ideas of people actually take that idea and make it into a reality. 2. How music production and startups are related?It's the same thing with startups you don't know if that is going to work. It's unless and until you put it into practices. Similarly, with music production, you take an idea to make it into song and then let you know the masses decide whether it's a hit song or not.Sukhbir also shares:1. What he is looking in startups and founders that he wants to fund2. His advice to founders to deliver excellence in business3. His learnings from 25 years in the music industry that can be applied to startups4. His advice from his own experience on dealing with failure in startupsFrom Siddhartha: A shoutout to India’s first start-up to create shoes with Natural and Sustainable Fibres. Neeman’s shoes are extremely lightweight and flexible. I wear them without socks, and I don’t have to worry about odour anymore. Plus, if they ever catch a stain, I dump them in a washing machine. Overall, after wearing Neeman’s – I don’t think I can wear any other shoes. So, go ahead and try them. Just for the audience of 100X, my buddies at Neeman’s are offering an exclusive 15% OFF using the code 100X on https://neemans.com
Semil Shah, Founder at Haystack & Venture Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, talks about his journey to becoming a successful Venture Capitalist.Semil founded Haystack in 2013 (An Early Stage Investment Fund). Some successful portfolio companies in Haystack include DoorDash, Instacart, Carta, Giphy, and Wag.Some Questions answered by Semil in this Podcast -1. What are his learnings for people who want to become a VC?2. How to choose the kind of Investor you want to become? Do you want to sit on the Board or do you want to be Growth & Network Driven?3. Is there any other path to become a VC other than an Ivy League college followed by some experience as a Consultant? 4. What should a 23-24 year old be doing fresh after college, to enter this Ecosystem?5. What was his First Fund size? How did he convince his first 5 LPs to put in the money?6. How did he happen to join Lightspeed Ventures?7. What are the Key Elements he looks for while investing?8. How much of his time does he dedicate to raise funds vs time spent on deploying it?9. What habits does he attribute for his success as a VC in such a short time (which generally takes others 10-15 years to achieve)?
Sanjeev Aggarwal is the Founder of The Fundamentum Partnership, Growth stage fund.Sanjeev has also been the Founder of Helion Ventures, one of the earliest Venture Capital Funds in India established in 2006.Sanjeev started his entrepreneurial journey as the Co-Founder of Daksh, one of the largest BPO in India which sold to IBM for $150 Million in 2004.Sanjeev shares his investing thesis in the podcast where startups need to solve a big problem for a large market. And if the participants in the market is very diffused which is the case with most consumer businesses, then organising that market can deliver you a very big impact.Eg Daksh was participating in $100 Billion outsourcing industry.MakeMyTrip $20 Billion travel industry.BigBasket $300 Billion grocery industry.Common theme is that very large market, highly under penetrated in terms of how it is organised and how digitally influenced it is.In founding team Sanjeev looks for First Principals thinkers. Reason that element is you are solving problem that has never been solved before so you can’t use a template to replicate. You have to create you template on the run.He is looking for Co-founders who are like Hindu gods Brahma and Vishnu, who are very complementary to each other, one if the visionary and other executes and builds on that vision.Why story tellers win ?Storytelling is as much about your thinking process as it is about communication process.Capital goes to those founders who are thinking big and who are thinking scale. Investors make their own mistakes but that is what is very attractive to investors. Are you solving a big problem. Do you have vision of the future. While you will solve actual problems bottoms up but do you have bigger picture very clearly in front of your mindThere is value in how you communicate but to me communication skills is an outcome of your thinking skills. And therefore they are the rightful recipient of large capital because in India GDP is growing and digital GDP is growing even faster. So there are lot of big problems which are waiting to be solved which is what these entrepreneurs are doing.Journey of scale up think in horizontal. It’s really about 4 things:1. Strategy: How are you thinking of shaping a market2. Structure: What is the organisation design. 3. Putting the right people 4. Having a very strong governance mechanism.
Prashant Pansare is the Co-Founder of Eagle10 Ventures, Seed Stage Fund investing $150,000 to $450,000 as the first external check in the startup.Eagle10 has invested in 6 startups which include TravelSpice, Zestl, Pi Beam Labs, Mate Labs, Net Analytics.Prashant has been founder of Playerify, Online Prasad, Medissist.Excerpt from the podcastPrashant's 5 favourite mistakes from his entrepreneurial journey:1. When we were building Playerify, Just Play sports, we kept on building considerable amount of time. We should have shipped lot faster, we should have iterated lot often. Key thing that I have learned the hard way that iterate faster, make mistakes.2. Being overworked as an Entrepreneur. Most of the entrepreneurs think that they need to keep clocking the hours. But I learned the hard way that it is important to take a pause. Moment of reflection really helps to see, to reassess. “Even Ferrari takes a pitstop”. 3. I have made tons of mistakes in hiring and not hired the best way in my earlier journeys. You need to always hire the people who are committed to you in your vision. People who come with a short term vision of may be making quick money or not understanding your vision they usually fall apart first. They don’t contribute to you as meaningfully as you would expect. 4. I didn’t do really well which I picked up in 4th year is peer to peer learning. You need to talk to more founders, share yours and listen to their challenges and not build in silos.5. Not just go for your passion. Most of the entrepreneurs tend to start their journeys with something they are extremely passionate but it may not be a business worthy idea. Passion is something you really love but is the market large enough. Because what you are doing if doesn’t have a wider acceptance, it’s really hard to build a large company even to be self sustainable forget about raising venture capital.
In this podcast with we explore Mayank Khanduja’s journey as an investor at SAIF Partners India. SAIF is among the Tier-1 early stage investors in India, investing across all sectors.Mayank comes from a family of engineers so getting highest education was the top priority in his family. After completing his engineering from Delhi, Mayank went on to MBA from IIM-Calcutta.After working 5 years in Technology consulting in McKinsey, Mayank itch to work closely with technology companies brought him to world of early stage investing with SAIF Partners. Some of the companies at SAIF, Mayank has been involved and invested in, are Sharechat, PropTiger, NoBroker, Playsimple, Treebo, TravelTriangle, Airblack.Mayank has spent most of the time at seed stage of the companies. SAIF had invested in 2015 in Sharechat. Back then there was no wave of content startups. It was a thesis from SAIF looking at growth of content consumption in China and asked themselves will India get to that stage in 3-4 years. Yes of course it will. And once data and handsets are available to Next Billion Users, which is a big term now. Back then they thought next 200-300 Million users what will they do first. They will like to access some content, some entertainment on their phones. And that was SAIF thesis when they invested in Sharechat there was a new wave of users coming in India and they would like to access some form of entertainment content on their handsets.In the podcasts Mayank continues to share his insights on:1. Importance of storytelling in building a large company. Can it be learned or great founders are born with it ?2. What happen when your competitor in a large market raise tons of money from VC like Softbank ?3. How to spot the Founders who create 10x - 20x value for their stakeholders ?4. Key skills for Founders to learn and keep building on ?5. The current exit scenario in India and some of the SAIF portfolio exits ?6. Book recommendations by Mayank for founders on scaling and thinking ?7. What habits Mayank attributes in his success as a Venture Investor ?8. What is the one most important factor which will have disproportionate impact on the size of outcome you generate ?
Raja Ganapathy is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Spring Marketing Capital, a skin in the game marketing capital firm that partners with founders to offer capital & marketing expertise.Raja has been ex-Chief Marketing Officer of Sequoia Capital India and has delivered some of the biggest marketing campaigns like BYJU'S.Why should you listen to the podcast ?- If you would like to know success story behind the marketing campaigns of Byju, Cars24, Epigamia ?- What power can celebrities bring to your brand ?- How did Byju team and Raja came up with the idea bringing the king of bollywood Shahrukh Khan in Byju marketing campaigns ? - The process that goes behind creating Wow and Viral marketing campaigns- Raja’s journey as a investor in Startups and his 10 year stint in Sequoia India as Chief Marketing Officer - What’s the new term on the block coined by Spring marketing capital. How Raja, Arun, Vineet and their team are creating magic by marrying marketing and capital for young startups.
Ajay Hattangdi is Managing Partner and Co-founder of Alteria Capital, India’s largest venture debt fund. Ajay started the country’s first venture debt program while at Citibank in 2005. He subsequently went on to create the first dedicated venture debt business in the country as the founding CEO for InnoVen Capital’s flagship India NBFC which he ran from 2007 to 2017. Alteria Capital was started by Ajay Hattangdi and Vinod Murali in 2018. It has invested in almost 20 companies including Stanza Living, Dunzo, Universal SportsBiz, ZestMoney. Vogo, Country Delight and Toppr among others. Here are some of the key takeaways from the podcast:1. Venture debt is very helpful for companies to add to their cash runway between equity rounds. It can help the startup improve valuations while minimizing dilution when taken as part of an equity round. Companies should not take venture debt where there is a binary element to their business or if the business model is still in the proof of concept stage.2. Entrepreneurs should not underestimate the importance of serendipity in achieving success. Serendipity is the combination of preparedness and timing. Once you have the opportunity and the timing is right, execute the heck out of it.3. It is very important for entrepreneurs to balance passion with cold logic to chart the path forward in their business. Passion provides the fuel that entrepreneurs need to obsess about their companies and drive forward relentlessly. But entrepreneurs that work with only pure passion may miss the signs that the business is off course. Knowing how to balance these two forces is critical for success.4. The best teams always include people with complementary skills which compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Build your teams accordingly.5. The best advice is to find something you enjoy doing, stay curious, not be afraid to revise your thinking if the facts change, take ownership for your mistakes, and don’t take life so seriously.
Hari TN is Chief People Officer BigBasket and Strategic Advisor, The Fundamentum Partnership, Growth Stage VC Fund.Hari is also an angel investor in Rocketium, BestDoc, UnFound.ai, Jiny.ioWe discuss in the podcast about:1. Hari's learnings and lessons from 17 years journey in Startups2. The early story on team building in TaxiForSure. Also we discuss about the TaxiForsure $200 Million exit and what led it. Key lessons on building a marketplace and raising capital.3. The culture of BigBasket and key processes incorporated which makes Big Basket the largest grocery service in India4. Hari's experience in working with Daksh, Virtusa, Amba Research, TaxiForSure, BigBasket. Key lessons on why only few companies scale 100x5. If you are looking to work in startups how to choose which startups to work for. Hari has identified his key criteria on it.
Ameera Shah is Founder and Managing Partner of Metropolis Healthcare, one of the largest and most trusted Healthcare Diagnostic company of India.Ameera joined Metropolis when it was 1 lab in South Mumbai started by her father. Over the years she expanded Metropolis to 120 Labs and 2400 collection centres. Metropolis Healthcare went IPO in April 2019. The company in recent fiscal year posted Rs 760 Crores revenue and Rs 205 Crores EBITDA.The podcast shares her journey to make Metropolis one of the most trusted names in Healthcare in India.Some notable quotes from the podcast:1. I started building Metropolis at the age of 21 in 2001. When I started building this firm the biggest issue people had with me was with my age, the lack of medical qualifications and with my gender. People couldn’t see me as somebody who could be relevant as I had none of these three attributes which people assumed to be very necessary to build something.2. To me the principles and the values that built Metropolis are probably the most important pieces of the journey. And we are very happy and proud to say that we accomplished that. Whether we accomplished the size we wanted is secondary. What we wanted is reputation. Whenever we meet anyone in the fraternity, Metropolis and I are recognised for being a clean promoter, for always being fair to people, for giving credible results and for making sure we take care of patients.3. In healthcare industry commercialisation, corporatisation and profit are all bad words. Because in India we are conditioned to believe if you make money you are not good.4. I discovered along the way that expressing your emotions in your work life actually can be a huge strength because it allows you to relate to people, it allows people to feel like they are understood, that we are not all robots coming to work and just doing our jobs but actually we are human beings. That allows ourselves to engage with each other on non professional fronts and that actually helps huge amount in building connections. Along the way I started showing my emotions. Some of my employees have seen me cry.5. I have 3 investors in Metropolis and I have made sure to deliver excellent financial returns on their investment: ICICI Ventures in 2005, Warburg Pincus in 2010 and Carlyle group in 20156. A lot of people used to ask me how are you so confident ? And what I realised where does confidence come from. Confidence doesn’t come from trying to be confident, confidence doesn’t come from suddenly you being born with confidence. Especially for women confidence comes from actually confronting the biggest, deepest fears that you have. And when you come through the biggest fear on the other side, that’s the thing that builds confidence. 7. Governance is a mindset. It’s not for everybody. But for me I was very clear I would build a company like HDFC or Kotak which is about good governance, transparency, good communication and not being overly aggressive but being consistent and delivering what we say.
Kunal Khattar is the Founder and Managing Partner of AdvantEdge Founders, an early stage Venture Capital Fund focussed on transportation and mobility sectors in India.The big investments of the fund include Shuttl, Rapido and Chalo.We discuss in the podcast about:1. Why AdvantEdge chooses to focus on only mobility startups ?2. In India 300 Million commutes happen every day India. How AdvantEdge plans to solve for it via investing in technology mobility startups3. Why the fund chooses to focus only asset light models ?4. Impact of Uber and Lyft IPO5. Kunal past experience as founder of Carnation, one of the earliest marketplaces in India for used automobiles.6. Why home startups have an advantage as compared to overseas startups in India7. The early story of Shuttl, the largest intracity bus service in India.
Sarbvir Singh is Managing Partner at Waterbridge Ventures, an early stage Venture Capital Fund based out of India. Sarbvir started his journey as a Venture Capitalist in 2007 with Capital 18, the VC arm of media conglomerate Network 18.Back then he was one of the first institutional checks in Bookmyshow, which is today a Unicorn and Yatra, which went public on NASADAQ.Waterbridge was started by Manish and Sarbvir in 2016. It has invested in 16 companies some on which well known ones are Unacademy, Chalo, Ziploan, MagicPin and DoubtNut.Here is what we are going to discuss on in this podcast:1. Why did Manish and Sarbvir start Waterbridge Ventures ?2. What is Waterbridge looking in early stage ventures while evaluating them ?3. What qualities is Waterbridge looking in Founders ?4. The most common mistakes founders make while pitching ?5. What should be the number 1 or 2 slide that should be in your pitch-deck and which thing you should be spending your most time on in investor pitches ?6. What value does Waterbridge ventures add in their portfolio companies ?7. What makes some companies 50 to 100x ?
Rajan Anandan is an Angel Investor and Ex-VP, Google India & SEA.Here is what we discuss in this podcast:1) We seem to have entered a new phase of the Indian startup ecosystem..what has changed ?2) Is monetising getting better for consumer startups ?3) Views on SaaS ?4) Big spaces like e-commerce and mobility seeing a lot of renewed interest..what is happening?5) 3 of Rajan's recent investments we are very excited about and why?6) What segments is Rajan focused on as an angel investor?7) What has been different about Rajan's investee companies who have been mega hits?
Kanwaljit Singh is the Managing Partner and Founder of Fireside Ventures. Fireside Ventures is early stage Venture Capital Fund investing only in Consumer Brands.Kanwaljit Singh is also known as the gardener of new Consumer Brands in India. Before Fireside, he invested personally in Paperboat, IDFresh. Both of them showed interesting sparks of what was happening in the Indian consumer market. He continued to personally invest in Epigamia, Licious, Yogabar, Vahdam Teas.FireSide has invested in 18 companies in the last 2 years which include MamaEarth, boAT lifestyle, Bombay Shaving Company.Kanwaljit Singh talks in the 100x Entrepreneur podcast about:1. Why he started FireSide Ventures ?2. How Indian consumer has changed in the last 5 years ?3. What’s are two large factors coming together in India which will give rise to hundreds of new consumer brands ?4. How new brands can be built in 5-7 years ?5. The new channels of engagement and sales which have completely shifted how new age brands are built ?6. Why disruption is must have thesis for the companies Fireside invests in ?7. What Founder DNA he is looking to invest in ?8. The evaluation process Fireside Ventures follows in investing ?9. His advise for Founders to deliver excellence in their business ?
Amit Somani is Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners, an early stage fund investing in Technology startups in India.Amit previously was Chief Product Officer at MakeMyTrip, which went IPO in 2010. Before MakeMyTrip Amit was Head of Product at Google India.Few notable quotes from Amit Somani at 100x Entrepreneur podcast:1. "Came back to India in 2007 from Silicon Valley when I though India was a really really tall building and I am getting in the ground floor. Now 11 years later now I still feel India is going to be a really really tall building but hopefully we have now come onto the second floor."2. "Every 10 years people should take a year off on a self-imposed sabbatical or jobbatical. Take that time for self discovery, take that time to find yourself, take that time to learn about what else is happening. 3. There is Alvin Tofler who is this futurist has this beautiful quote, that people who are going to succeed in 21st century are not going to be the gyanis or the wise people. It’s the people who have the ability to unlearn, re-learn, learn all the time because you are seeing new situations all the time.4. Number 1 reason for startup success is not market, not team, not the product, nor some bell and whistle feature but TIMING. And you can’t predict it as an entrepreneur.5. If you have tailwinds behind your back, or timing is right or market is ready for your solution that is often the big difference between the companies that really break out and those that don’t.6. So really timing and getting some wind or current behind your back so you can get velocity that is often the predictor between the 100x startups and the 3-5x startups7. I have mantra called MEDS - Meditation, Exercise, Diet or Nutrition and Sleep. I try to follow daily all of those and recommend the same to all entrepreneurs because entrepreneurship is a marathon and not a sprint.
Karthik Reddy is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, one of best early stage Venture Capital Funds in India.Blume Ventures started in 2010 as $20 million fund. Today the 3rd fund of Blume is $100 million. Blume has invested in 120 startups in the last 8 years. Some of the well known startups in Blume portfolio are TaxiForSure, GreyOrange Robotics, Unacademy, Locus, Exotel, Mettl.Karthik shares very candidly in the podcast:1. "Why to build for an IPO" is the only thing Founders should aim for and nothing less2. How Focus on new behaviour creation leads to creation of incredibly large long term value in the world. 3. Why to build a very large business without the capacity to storytelling is fooling yourself. 4. How founders who build 50-100x ventures punish themselves5. Why the early exits are never phenomenal.6. Why good storytelling is must in founding teams which make it large7. The Life Time Value (LTV) of a founder8. The Purpose of Blume is to nurture really passionate entrepreneurs who are trying to solve really hard problems.
Rajul Garg is the Founder and Managing Partner of Leo Capital, a Pre-Series-A Venture Capital Fund. Rajul has been the founder of two Billion Dollar companies Global Logic and Pine Labs. Rajul is counted among the top 10 early stage investors from India. Some of notable quotes by Rajul from the podcast:1. On purpose in life ?"My view of life is to be more in the present. I like to think here in this moment how I can be most productive. So my main focus now is how we make this conversation most productive for the listeners. So in my ideal state I would like to blank myself from everything else and be fully here in this moment. I feel if I can achieve that in every moment, in every hour that would come closest to my purpose."2. I do think when you look at any success including the companies I founded there definitely an element of topicality in the time they happened. Lot of different things come together to make a big company. There were so many points in the journey where the two companies could have totally shut down. Lot of ducks have to line up to make a company successful.3. "The quality of people you assemble in the company is really really important."4. Every big success is death by thousand cuts, it not one big thing but a combination of small things.5. Out of the three things - Market, team and traction, Market is something you can’t just fight with at all. Team you can still work with, you can hire more people, chip and chop, thought it's still difficult. Market is very very hard to fight. If you find yourself in a market which is small, hard to penetrate or super competitive or timing wise wrong, that is the number one reason why things don't work out. Number 1 predictor of success for investment has been timing.Getting the timing right of why this make sense to do it today is a very difficult part from an investment perspective and you often get it wrong as an investor.6. The magical thing which leads to scale of 50-100x? "I think it’s Product Market Fit. Product Market fit is one of those non-deterministic problems. It’s like asking - How do I fall in love or How can I be happy. It is not a problem that you can solve with money. It goes back to the timing thing, Is the market ready for the product today ?"7. "For me what I seen over the years I tend to let the process take over instead of thinking too much about the outcomes. I get into action mode and do things which need to be done instead of thinking what will happen tomorrow."8. On strengths and weaknesses “Because I am so aspired to be in the moment I am a good tactical thinker. Given 3 options I quickly able to latch on to what to do now and move forward, sort of bury the past, keep going. I am able to quickly correct mistakes and navigate my way through complex problems step by step. At the same time I don’t think of myself as a big strategic thinker like how will the market evolve in 5 years or 10 years.”9. The only way you can really judge an investor is look at their portfolio. Everything else is just talk. I can talk endlessly but you have to look where I have put my money in. That defines me more than anything else.10.Philosophy I life by:"You can’t make your happiness conditional to everything else. You can’t generally say if I do this then I will be happy. Specially for entrepreneurs if you say if I raise the next funding then I will feel happy. I feel there is an intrinsic fallacy in this. Chances are if you are not happy today you will not be happy tomorrow either. So I think happiness is something which comes from within and has to run like a fabric parallel to every thing else. Find a way to be calm, joyous and happy today because its not contingent on your business success or any other success, find that place today work on everything else alongside."
Pawan Raj Kumar is the Founder of Supa Foods and Hoi Foods. Supa foods is known for products like Supa corn and misht which are available in more than 3,000 retail outlets in India.Pawan is also an active angel investor in 15+ startups. Some of well known startups, where is an angel investor are Qikwell(Acquired by Practo), LifCare and Leverage Edu.Pawan has an entrepreneurial experience of 24 years. He started out in his family venture of Industrial Food Equipment, supplying and servicing to Large Food Chains like McDonalds, Pizzahut and Dominos. Some key quotes by Pawan during our conversation are:“After Graduating from IIT-Delhi and IIM-Lucknow I joined my family business as a welder. Spent first 3 months as a welder.”“If I am salesman of discounts then it’s not a business I want to be in because I am not adding any more value.““Businesses have to be built without emotions. Emotions about passion in business are important, but emotions about making business like a child of yours is wrong emotion to have for a business. I stopped having those kind of emotions long time back and I think that has served me well. One of the biggest mistake I have seen a lot of entrepreneurs make is that they can’t just let it go. There is a time when an entrepreneur’s passion cannot grow the business anymore. You need either professionals to come and run your business. You need to take a backstep, you should be ready to do that. The old mentality of building a legacy out of business is over. One should look at business as generating value for the society and hence you make money out of that. And the minute you are not adding any more value to the business, you have to step out.”“Whatever has happened in the world so far and whatever will happen in future is because of entrepreneurs. Because somebody is taking a risk in innovating something, coming up with something new, trying to change something small or big. And that what keeps on improving the world. So I want to be part of that journey in my small way and that’s what drives me towards investing in startups.”
Alok Mittal is the Founder and CEO of Indifi, SME lending platform leveraging technology and data in full loan lifecycle. Before Indifi Alok was Managing Partner of Canaan Partners India, one of well known Venture Capital firms. Alok's first startup JobsAhead was acquired by Monster.Alok shares during the podcast:1. Why he invests in startups ?2. How he evaluates the startups which reach out to him for investment?3. His schedule and work ethic at Indifi.4. What role Focus plays in his life and investments ?5. 3 advises to deliver excellence in business.6. How should startups reach out to him for the first time ?
Anjalli Ravikumar is the Social Mission Director at Unilever, the largest FMCG company in India and one of the largest in the world. Anjalli heads Fair and Lovely Career Foundation which is making huge impact in education and career guidance for young girls.Anjalli wanted to solve big problems for which there are no easy answers. She quit corporate sector very early after doing MBA and joined development.Spent 2.5 years at Naandi foundation and went onto Harvard to do masters in development. And then came back to India to work across consulting, and in Unilever bring projects to life which are going to make a difference to people.In this podcast Anjalli shares 1. How startups can work with corporates like Unilever and understanding their pain points2. Startups can learn relentless customer focus from Unilever.3. Startups have to stand for something. Even Unilever has discovered that brands that have purpose do better in the market place. Today’s millennial and GenZ really do care. You need to stand for a cause that young people will resonate with.
Hetal Sonpal is a well known Angel Investor in more than 20 startups in India. He has 20 year corporate technology business stint with Wipro, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Intel. In this podcast Hetal shares:1. Why he became an angel investor ?a. He has successful exits with BabyChakra, MassBlurb and AllisHealthb. His portfolio companies Vahdam Teas, Advantage Club, Impact Guru, Leverage Edu are the biggest winners in his portfolio and are doing fantastically well.2. What motivates him to help startups to scale3. He has completed half iron-man. How running has helped him set higher benchmarks for himself in personal and business life as well ?4. How taking up the challenge of reading 100 books in 2018 has transformed his life.5. Why he returned to India from Japan in 2010 ?6. His favourite books "Thank you for being late.- Thomas Freidman""21 Lessons of 21st Century""The art of Good life" Rolf Dobelli7. He considers Azim Premji and Remaesh Emani from Wipro his mentors and shares lessons which he has learnt from him
If you want to know how Private Equity investors can help in your entrepreneurial journey you must listen to the podcast with Sandeep Aneja, Founder and Managing Partner, Kaizen Private Equity. Kaizen is the only home grown fund which has scaled across geographies.Kaizen is investor in companies like KLAY, Toppr, Varthana Finance, Insofe. Sandeep shares his thoughts on1. Why he choose to start a fund focussed only on education2. He was a very successful Investor with Outlook Ventures in USA which was early investor in Yahoo3. How he missed investing in LinkedIn in 2004-20054. How he is riding on the back finance as a vehicle to drive quality education for everyone in India irrespective of their economic strata.5. What differentiates the companies which are able to scale 50-100x and which are not able to scale ?6. Do PE Investors take control of the company once they partner with the company ?7. Working with Founders on exit strategy from Day 1 and Introducing the companies to potential buyers so companies can see the exit route 10 years down the line.8. How he sees Exit as a natural path of companies growth, and it should be viewed as process to change investor set. 9. Why Having an open conversation about financial disengagement from each other is very critical though the event happens 7 years down the line from when they partner with companies.10. How he felt lost when he started Kaizen and didn’t budge his values for the sake of money.11. 4 advises to all entrepreneurs from Sandeep:a. To identify the problem you are solving very clearly. The problem should be clearly identified at a deeper level. eg. Problem of online education is a symptom or solution. The problem is personalised education.b. Continuing to identify the problem as the world changes as you changec. Communicating the identified problem with a differentiated perspective to the investors. d. Being ready to hire and being capable of hiring people who could scare you."OMG this person could take my job". Hire the person to help you grow. Once you get such people in they stick with you through thick and thin.
Rehan Yar Khan is the Founder and Managing Partner at Orios Venture Partners. Orios is considered among the best Venture Capital firms in India focussed on early stage startups.Rehan was the first investor in Ola & Dhruva, among the few startups in India with Billion Dollar valuation. Ola is the largest Mass Transportation company in India.In this podcast Rehan shares:1. His entrepreneurial journey of 20 years from 1992 to 2011.2. Early journey of Ola Cabs and Bhavish Aggarwal. Rehan was the first investor in Ola and when he took Ola to his fellow investors they said "we can call cabs in Mumbai by waving our hands" and passed on Ola.3. Why he became a Venture Capitalist.4. Market VCs are looking for in 2019-20205. What market thesis of Rehan have worked. 6. The Anti-portfolio companies for Rehan.7. The biggest reason why few entrepreneurs are able to scale their companies 100x.8. What Orios VC looks for in companies while investing ?9.What habits & mindset have made Rehan a successful founder and then a successful investor.10. 3 traits what makes a successful entrepreneur and a successful business
Girish Shivani is a Co-founder and Partner at Yournest Venture Fund. Girish started Yournest Venture Fund in 2011 and has witnessed Indian Startup evolve from infancy in last 8 years.In this podcast Girish shares:1. Why all Venture Capalists are not evi😈2. How he became a VC by accident 3. What is required from an entrepreneur to make him sign a check💰4. Why he replies to all emails by entrepreneurs, even cold ones. 💎5. What is required from an entrepreneur which can scale his startup 100x 💯🚀6. What differentiates between startups that scale 100x and those that do not scale7. His life and schedule as an investor8. The habits which make him successful as an investor9. His Anti-portfolio, the companies who went big and in which he could not invest in
Pankaj Bansal is the Founder and CEO of PeopleStrong, India's largest HR Tech company.In this podcast Pankaj shares:1. How he built a $100 million yearly revenue business 2. His plans of taking PeoplesStrong to IPO in next 3 years3. His daily habits, mindset and schedule4. How he built a large and efficient sales engine5. How with only 150 clients PeopleStrong is doing business of $100 million6. Why he started People Strong in 2005 ?7. His favourite books and how they have shaped him.8. The secret recipe behind Pankaj's and PeopleStrong's success
Originally from Australia, Glen has been a student and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism since 1995 and graduated from the seven-year Masters Program in Advanced Buddhist Studies of Sutra and Tantra at the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute (Pomaia, Italy) in 2004.Since 2005 he has taught and led meditation retreats in India, Europe, North America and Australia with a teaching style emphasising clarity and stressing the integration of philosophical view, meditation and daily life conduct.I, Siddhartha Ahluwalia, have been part of many meditation retreats led by Glen and found them helpful in establishing practice of mindfulness and meditation.
Priya Krishnan is the Founder of KLAY Preschools, India's largest chain of Pre-schools.Priya has built a large profitable organisation with yearly revenues upwards of $20 Million. In this podcast Priya share about1. Why every team member in KLAY team is an entrepreneur2. The culture at KLAY Preschools3. How by helping parents raise better kids, KLAY is helping build new India4. Habits and Mindset which make her successful5. How she balance her many roles in life: Entrepreneur, Mother, Wife6. What gives her peace and balance on the entrepreneurial journey
Daljit Singh has 35 years of experience as a business leader. He is a IIT Delhi graduate. Currently he serves as the President of Fortis Healthcare. He is also an active Angel Investor in Indian startups focussed on Healthcare and Wellness.In the podcast he shares about:1. His professional journey of 35 years2. Daily Habits & Rituals which make him successful3. Why relationships is the top priority for him ?4. How at 62 years of age, he is super healthy and fit ?5. Which startups he is invested in and why he supports young entrepreneurs ?
Dr Aniruddha Malpani is a well known Angel Investor from India investing in Healthcare, Education and Social Impact startups.He is also among the top 10 IVF specialists in India.In this podcast he talks about:1. Why entrepreneurs need to be atrocious readers2. Why he never misses to post on LinkedIn everyday3. How he manages to read for more than couple of hours everyday inspite of his busy schedule4. Why he became an Angel Investor5. How interacting with entrepreneurs keep him young