The Indian Startup Show: Recent Episodes
Neil Patel
Stop Doom-Scrolling! In 2026, the global average screen time has climbed to a staggering 6 hours and 38 minutes a day. We are constantly plugged in, but is it a lack of willpower, or are we just losing a rigged game? Today on the podcast, we sit down with Aditi Mandal to find out. Aditi spent a time working as a UX researcher, designing and making highly engaging digital products.
But in 2017, she realized she was falling victim to the very systems she helped build. After embarking on a digital fitness journey, Aditi successfully beat the algorithms, engineering her own screen time down from 6 hours to just 1 intentional hour a day., Now, through her company Take Back Your Time, she coaches adults on how to build sustainable digital habits.
We break down the exact mechanics of why we are addicted to our phones, the specific design tricks apps use to keep you scrolling, and the step-by-step toolkit you need to reclaim your attention without deleting the apps you need for work. Whether you're an entrepreneur struggling to focus or just someone looking to reclaim your attention span, Aditi breaks down actionable strategies—from introducing "positive friction" to buying an old-school alarm clock—that actually work in the real world.
Key Takeaways from this Episode The UX of Addiction: Why screen addiction isn't your fault—it's the consequence of thousands of engineers designing platforms to capture your attention. * How Aditi: operates as a solopreneur and runs her 5-week cohort programs. * Navigating the social perception of screen addiction and convincing people to invest in digital fitness. * Real client stories: Better sleep, increased energy, and a touching story of a father bonding with his son. * Beating the Algorithm: We break down the specific mechanical tricks apps use to keep you hooked, and the exact counter-strategies you need to fight back. * The 4 Foundational Digital Habits: The exact, step-by-step mechanisms Aditi uses to help her clients break free from endless scrolling. * The "Necessary App" Dilemma: How to set boundaries with mandatory apps like WhatsApp and LinkedIn that you simply cannot delete. * Building a Wellness Business: Aditi’s journey of bootstrapping Take Back Your Time*, finding her first paying clients, and growing her WhatsApp community. * The Myth of Device Addiction: The core issue isn't an addiction to the physical device, but a compulsion to consume content every 10 to 15 minutes. * Engineering "Positive Friction": How to make content consumption inconvenient by changing settings like YouTube autoplay, pausing your watch history, and keeping devices in another room. * The "Long-Distance" Phone Relationship: Why keeping your phone physically away from you in a backpack or another room creates the necessary pause between a thought and a distraction. * Why Digital Detoxes Fail: Retreats offer temporary peace, but they remove you from your real-life context. Sustainable change requires doing the habit work in your actual environment.
and much more!
Links
www.takebackyourtime.in
https://x.com/takebackyortime
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditi-mandal-77139742/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Travel isn't just about places, it's about the stories and the people behind them. In this episode of the Indian Startup Show, I sit down with Dr. Tathagata Neogi, Co-Founder and CEO of Immersive Trails. Armed with a PhD in archaeology, he returned to Kolkata to build a dynamic, tech-enabled marketplace that connects conscious travelers with expert curators.
We dive into the realities of bootstrapping a startup, the challenge of educating investors on a niche business model, and how Immersive Trails is organizing India's fragmented local guide market.
Tathagata also shares powerful insights on building a high-trust team culture, leveraging AI to speed up market entry, and navigating the startup ecosystem while managing Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
We also talk about working with his wife, 19th-century true crime and cemeteries in Kolkata . Finding toilets, and everything in between. So please enjoy the show.
What You Will Learn In This Episode:
- The Origin Story: Transitioning from an archaeology PhD in England to launching a research-driven walking tour company in Kolkata.
- Early Wins & Skepticism: Hosting the very first walking tour at the South Park Street Cemetery and proving the concept to family and friends.
- Bootstrapping & Tech Challenges: Learning marketing on the fly and why finding the right tech leadership was a game-changer.
- Investor Relations: Why investors often confuse Immersive Trails with MakeMyTrip and how to effectively pitch an experience-based marketplace.
- The Value Proposition: Organizing the highly fragmented market of local tour guides and delivering quality-controlled experiences..
- Culture & Leadership: Building a high-trust, empathy-driven team of five and rejecting toxic hustle culture.
- Co-Founder Dynamics: The unique advantages of building a startup alongside a spouse with complementary academic backgrounds.
- AI Integration: How Immersive Trails uses a custom AI model and writes 30% of their backend code with AI.
- Founder Lessons: Why hiring a technical co-founder early on is the one thing Tathagata would do differently.
- Visibility & Leadership: Tathagata opens up about living with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) to bring visibility to founders navigating invisible disabilities.
- Popular Experiences: The platform offers a wide range of tours, with popular examples including a "Murder and Mayhem" true crime tour in 19th-century Kolkata, historical tours of the Red Fort from the perspective of Mughal women, and specialized food experiences in Lucknow
Links
Website: immersivetrails.com
Connect with Tathagata Neogi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tathagataneogi/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Freezer Epiphany That Sparked a Zero-Waste Bakery. Today I speak with Sarah Patka, the visionary chef and founder behind Mumbai’s premium niche bakery, Love & Flour.
Driven by a passion for baking science and a strict zero-waste philosophy, Sarah shares her journey from working the grueling shifts at the Taj Mahal Palace to bootstrapping her own boutique dessert brand.
We dive deep into the operational strategies of running a made-to-order, storefront-free bakery, the art of fusion desserts, and why prioritizing consistent quality over mass-market scaling is the secret recipe for building a legacy brand. Whether you are an aspiring baker or a seasoned entrepreneur, Sarah’s advice to "start before you feel ready" will leave you inspired.
In This Episode, We Cover:
- The Origin Story: Leaving the traditional hotel hospitality world for the creative freedom of baking.
- The "Aha" Moment: Finding clarity and passion during a hectic shift in a freezing hotel walk-in.
- Tackling Food Waste: How witnessing the staggering 70-80 million tons of annual food waste in India inspired Love & Flour's strict zero-waste, pre-order business model.
- Overcoming Failure: Sarah Patka shares a personal story about a failed baking venture during her student years where a recipe was ruined by excess baking soda!
- Content Creation: Recognizing the adage that customers eat with their eyes, Sarah Patka taught themself photography and videography to produce marketing content, choosing to invest in a camera rather than hiring expensive photographers.
- Bootstrapping a Bakery: Wearing multiple hats, from accountant to self-taught food photographer, to build a brand from scratch.
- Menu Innovation: Introducing global concepts like cookie pizzas and interactive Diwali fusion desserts to the Mumbai market.
- The Authenticity of Sugar: Sarah's philosophy on maintaining the integrity, texture, and flavor of traditional desserts rather than compromising with sugar-free or gluten-free substitutes.
- Future Vision: Why Love & Flour is aiming to be a legacy boutique brand rather than a mass-market commercial enterprise.
- Beginner Baking Advice: For those interested in starting to bake, Sarah Patka recommends beginning with brownies or cookies rather than cakes,
- Essential Baking Tools: Sarah Patka identified four key tools for bakers: a spatula for cleaning batter, a whisk for mixing, a scraper for finishing cakes, and a hand blender.
- Advice for Founders: Why you shouldn't fear failure, the importance of showing up every day, and why you must start before you feel fully ready.
Connect with Sarah Patka & Love & Flour:
- Instagram: @LoveandFlour
- LinkedIn: Sarah Patka
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Marry the problem, not the product! In this episode, I sit down with social entrepreneur Nikky Kumar Jha, the first engineer from his small village in Bihar, India. Nikky initially set out to tackle massive global issues like climate change—until a professor advised him to look in his own backyard. What he found was a devastating local crisis: despite the fertile soil along the Ganges, farmers were losing 40% of their produce to rot because standard refrigeration was too expensive and the rural power grid was too unreliable. From a "hilarious" first prototype that short-circuited in 30 minutes, Nikky went on to build a tech revolution for the "last mile." This episode covers the messy reality of grassroots innovation, why Nikky turned down a massive investment on Shark Tank, and how his hardware is transforming local economies. Finally he shares the amazing story of a visually impaired woman who used his device to boost her profits so much, she built her own home.
Episode Highlights The Solution: How a portable, 20-watt storage unit extends the shelf life of produce by 3-5x without refrigeration or chemicals. * Massive Impact: The tech is already cutting food waste by over 40% and boosting the income of small marginal farmers and street hawkers by 60% to 70%. * Designing for Reality: Why building for a "utopian world" fails, and how local power fluctuations (110-volt vs 220-volt) forced a complete redesign. * Leverage Design Thinking: Aspiring founders should conduct thorough empathy studies and regularly utilize the Business Model Canvas (BMC) to manage execution. * Management Style: Nikky kumar jha described their management style as encouraging entrepreneurship, stating that they do not fire employees. Instead, they encourage employees to eventually start their own ventures, offering to introduce them to the ecosystem and investors. * IEEE Global Involvement: Nikky kumar jha serves as a lead for IEEE CS Global's special projects, including a global incubation center. They credited their network within the IEEE ecosystem for helping them overcome problems and find new collaborative opportunities. * The Shark Tank Rejection: The real reason Nikky walked away from a Shark Tank India* offer to keep his focus strictly on marginalized farmers instead of third-party vendors. * Revitalizing Rural Ecosystems: How moving his factory back to his home village in Bihar created dignified jobs and actively stopped youth migration to the cities. * Co-founder Dynamics: Nikky kumar jha advocated for having family members as co-founders to avoid disputes, provided they possess complementary skills. Their sister, a biotechnologist, and their brother, who focuses on sales, are their current co-founders. * Hometime Hero. Instead of building his empire in a massive tech hub, Nikky moved his factory right back to his village in Bihar. This move created dignified local jobs and actually stopped the migration of youth leaving the village for city work. * What’s Next: A sneak peek at an affordable, modular housing that can be assembled in 15 minutes for flood-prone areas.
The Founder's Playbook* "Marry the problem, not the product." Ideas are worthless unless they execute on a genuine local problem. * Nail the Customer Service: Never launch a hardware product in a geography where you cannot realistically provide service and maintenance.
Resources & Links* Connect with Nikky Kumar Jha on LinkedIn. * Learn more about the technology at https://saptkrishi.com/products/ * The Indian Startup Show has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 70 Tech Startup Podcasts on the web.https://podcast.feedspot.com/tech_startup_podcasts/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Giving People a Second Life! We are thrilled to welcome back Rishi Krishna, the visionary Founder and CEO of Symbionic, for his first appearance since November 2021! A lot has changed since our last conversation.
After losing his right arm in a tragic bus accident in 2018, Rishi channeled his personal adversity into founding Symbionic, an assistive tech startup dedicated to building affordable, life-changing prosthetic devices.
In this episode, we dive deep into the massive pivots the business has undergone, what it really takes to build and scale in India, and how Symbionic is quite literally giving people a second life. Rishi also pulls back the curtain on his recent experiences pitching on Shark Tank India Season 4 and Startup Singham, offering invaluable advice for early-stage founders on navigating the noise, securing finance, AI and finally An inspiring story of delivering a prosthetic to a user just before her wedding, allowing her to celebrate with confidence and without self-consciousness.
🎧 What You'll Hear in This Episode:The Origin & The Human Impact
- The Catalyst: Rishi reflects on the 2018 bus accident that changed his life and sparked the creation of Symbionic in 2019.
- Wearing Prosthetics in Public: Overcoming stigma and the emotional reality of living as an amputee.
Building the Tech & The Business
- Engineering Robotic Arms in India: The challenges of R&D, hardware design issues, and combating prosthetic abandonment rates.
- The Major Pivot: How the product and the company’s trajectory have drastically evolved since 2021.
- Scaling Up: A look at the numbers—revenue targets, distribution channels, and building a robust customer data engine.
- The Team: How Rishi's childhood friend, Naranjan, stepped up as Co-Founder and Head of Engineering, and how Rishi’s own role as CEO has shifted over the years.
Pitching, Funding, & The Future
- Under the Lights: Behind-the-scenes insights from pitching on Shark Tank India Season 4 and Startup Singham.
- Mastering the Pitch: Rishi’s top tips for founders preparing to pitch their startups on television or to investors.
- The AI Advantage: The good, the bad, and how Rishi currently spends 60% of his day leveraging AI tools like Claude to streamline operations.
💡 Rishi's Top Advice for First-Time Founders"In an era where technology makes building products easier, the real challenge is managing the endless possibilities. Figure out exactly what to do, rather than trying to do everything. It is far more effective to perfect one thing than to do many things inadequately."
- Persistence is Non-Negotiable: Too many founders pivot or give up at the first sign of a minor obstacle. Stay the course and trust your R&D.
- Lean on Your Support System: Success is rarely a solo endeavor. From early collaborators to incubation teams, finding the right support network is crucial to scaling.
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned Learn more about Symbionic: https://www.symbionic.co/ * Watch Rishi on TV: Search for Symbionic Shark Tank India Season 4 or Startup Singham* on YouTube/SonyLIV.
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Turning Wanderlust into a Business. Can falling in love with a place completely change the trajectory of your life? For Alankar Chandra, a trip to the Masai Mara did exactly that.
Today, I speak to Alankar Chandra, the CEO and Founder of Wild Voyager and Ilora Retreats. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, Alankar left his comfortable corporate job to pursue his true passions: wildlife and travel.
In this episode, we discuss how he turned his hobby into a thriving experiential travel company, born out of a desire to rekindle a true sense of wonder through authentic adventures.
Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a travel enthusiast, Alankar’s journey from having zero background in the travel industry to building a successful business is packed with incredible insights.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The Lightbulb Moment: How falling in love with the Masai Mara inspired him to leave the corporate world behind.
- Starting from Scratch: Navigating the industry without a travel background and treating the first year as a "discovery phase."
- Building the Business: Effective marketing strategies, getting early customers, and lessons learned from what didn't work.
- Team Dynamics: The challenges of hiring and retaining great staff.
- Founder Life: What a typical day looks like and the realities of being a solo founder.
- The Travel Industry: Dealing with competition, prioritizing sustainability in tourism, and exciting expeditions like tracking snow leopards.
- What's Next: Exciting future plans for Wild Voyager and Ilora Retreats.
Please enjoy the show!
Links
https://www.wildvoyager.com/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
The India–Scotland Entrepreneurial Journey! Today’s guest is Nishant Sharma. the Indian-born, Edinburgh-based entrepreneur whose company blends Indian heritage with Scottish craftsmanship. Nishant’s story is one of resilience, legacy and bold reinvention.
After leaving a successful career in financial services, he set out to build a brand with long-term meaning. Inspired by his late grandmother — and a family history that traces back to his great-grandfather becoming a whisky distiller during the British Raj — he brought his Assam roots into the heart of Scotland’s spirits industry.
The journey, however, was anything but smooth. At one point, the business had just £25 in the bank with major bills due. The stress led to a near-fatal heart attack at just 35. He survived. Rebuilt. And came back stronger. In this episode, we discuss building a global spirits brand against the odds. Operating in highly regulated markets; India's complicated relationship with alcohol, building a global brand. Great advice for first time founders. Why ignorance can be bliss; raising investment; and even how to drink it — ice or no ice? And finally… if India plays Scotland at cricket, who is he supporting?
We also talk about:
- Growing up in India and moving to Scotland
- First impressions of Scotland: cold, rainy… but kind people
- Working as a waiter, dishwasher and cleaner in Glasgow
- The family whisky connection during the British Raj
- Why he chose spirits
- Spending 4 years perfecting the recipe
- Creating the world’s first oolong white tea infused chai-spice spirit
- Why 2021 failed… and why 2022 failed again
- building without industry experience
- Building a global premium brand in a crowded market
- Expanding into India — why it’s not for the faint-hearted
- The aspirational Indian consumer market
Links
https://rutlandsquare.com/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Reinventing Kids Hospitality in India. Today my guest is Kanupriya Poddar, CEO of MagickWorld. She is building a platform to help parents discover kid-friendly stays, experiences, shops, and enrichment services across cities. In this episode, she shares how she launched MagickWorld alongside her 8-year-old daughter (a mini-entrepreneur, Shark Tank fan, business mindset!), onboarded 100+ local businesses within two months of soft launch, and cracking the distribution model. She reflects on lessons from her McKinsey background, explains why she prefers top-down strategy over bottom-up execution, and talks about bootstrapping, investor interest, the pressure of startup life , and staying grounded with advice from her father. And finally she shares must visit Jaipur recommendations, including places to see, do, and eat, along with advice for anyone considering leaving a corporate career to build a startup and much more!
In this episode we talk about:
🚀 Building MagickWorldCreating the world’s first kids-focused lifestyle & travel ecosystem
The problem MagickWorld is solving for parents & families
Launching with a free directory model
Onboarding 100+ local businesses in 2 months
Cracking distribution and early customer acquisition
Managing supply & demand in a two-sided marketplace
👩💼 Founder JourneyGoing from McKinsey to startup life
Lessons learned from McKinsey: simplifying complexity
Tackling “elephants in the room” in business
Bootstrapping vs investor interest
Managing early-stage pressure
Getting advice from her father
Building a startup while raising an 8-year-old daughter
Her daughter as a mini-entrepreneur (Shark Tank fan, business mindset)
🧠 Strategy & Product ThinkingTop-down vs bottom-up strategy — and why she prefers top-down
Developing the product roadmap
Pricing & discovery challenges for small businesses
Pay-to-play discovery vs affordable visibility
Solving real customer problem statements
🤖 AI, Tech & Future VisionBeing optimistic about AI
Building an AI recommendation bot
The future of kids hospitality & family travel
What hospitality in India looks like in 2026
🌏 Geography, Culture & HospitalityRunning hospitality businesses in Singapore & India
Why Indians are great at hospitality globally
Why Jaipur is the hospitality capital of India
Staying in Jaipur instead of moving to Bangalore
Jaipur’s rise in tech talent & innovation
Predictions for Jaipur in the next 5–10 years
🍽️ Jaipur RecommendationsBest things to see, do, and experience
Weekend itinerary ideas
Food & restaurant recommendations
Why she’s obsessed with Jaipur’s culture and energy
💡 Advice & TakeawaysAdvice for people thinking of quitting corporate jobs to start a company
Hiring strategy: young talent & unconventional thinkers
Staying resilient as a founder
Links
https://magickworld.in/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@magickworldindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magickworldindia
Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/magickworld
LinkedIn: @magickworld
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Building a global brand from India. Today my guest is Ritesh Arora, Co-Founder of TRU.BIKE, TRU.BIKE designs premium, lightweight and safe bicycles for children, and is now exporting e-bikes to Europe.
In this episode he talks about why India, despite being the second-largest bicycle manufacturer, has no global brand, and how TRU.BIKE is changing that.
Ritesh shares their journey from bootstrapping in year one to raising funds, achieving product–market fit, and growing fast. He talks about building a strong marketing engine.
Being mentally prepared for the startup journey. Why your first hire should be a finance person. He talks about taking Indian products global that comes from a deep sense of patriotism and finally some great book recommendations and much more.
In this episode he talk about
- Bootstrapping.
- His Co-founders.
- Competing in a crowded market (and why you shouldn’t overthink it)
- The primitive nature of India’s domestic bicycle market.
- Attending global bicycle exhibitions.
- Maintaining quality standards and pricing correctly.
- Opening retail stores.
- Why bikes aren’t e-commerce friendly and how they overcame that!
- What excites Ritesh most about the future.
And much more
Links
https://tru.bike/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
In this episode, I sit down with Saurabh Nigam—HR leader, angel investor, and author of People-Powered Startups: Building a Culture of Collaboration, Innovation, and High Performance.
With over two decades of experience, Saurabh shares actionable insights on building a thriving startup culture, avoiding common HR mistakes, and hiring the right people at the right time.
We dive into: Why startups struggle with HR—and how to fix it. The role of AI in recruitment. How to retain top talent and manage toxic high performers. Managing mental wellness in a high-growth startup environment. The three non-negotiables in any startup culture. Red flags that indicate a new hire isn’t working out. The best time to hire your first HR professional and much more.
In this conversation we talk about:
- How Saurabh became a LinkedIn Top Voice and his strategy for success
- Top HR Skills: Why empathy and resilience are key traits for success
- Remote Work: Myths and best practices for building a distributed team
- Giving Tough Feedback: How to deliver criticism without demotivating employees
- Angel Investing in HR Tech: What Saurabh looks for in a startup
Links
https://www.amazon.in/dp/0143473743
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Showcasing emerging artists—today, my guest is Leia Tyebjee, co-founder of Pylot Studios, an interdisciplinary creative platform dedicated to artistic design, curation, and community engagement. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of creating spaces for artists, breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, and how Pylot Studios is redefining art curation. Leia also shares her thoughts on AI in art, mistakes emerging artists make, the importance of community, and why she still chooses to work with film photography in the digital age. And finally, we talk bananas, interesting first impressions of New York, travel photography tips, and much more!
In this episode we talk about:
- The Birth of Pylot Studios – From a coffee-fueled idea in 2019 to a thriving creative platform
- The Problem They’re Solving – Helping artists find space and opportunities to showcase their work
- The Hardest Part of Curation – Reaching out, building trust, and bringing themes to life
- Leia’s Background – From Mumbai to New York, studying photography, and her artistic influences
- Why She Still Shoots on Film – The tactile, immersive experience of analog photography
- Photography Trips & Creative Rituals – Habits that fuel her artistic process
- Mistakes Emerging Artists Make – And how to navigate the art world more effectively
- Art & Technology – Thoughts on AI’s impact on creativity
- Breaking Barriers – Navigating a male-dominated industry and standing up for yourself
- The $6.2M Banana?! – The wild side of the contemporary art world
- Building Community – How to start from scratch, make connections, and find your creative tribe
and much more
Links
Pylot Studios Website
Pylot Studios Instagram - @pylotstudios
Leia Tyebjee Instagram - @leiatyebjee
Yitzhak Franco Instagram - @__ytzk__
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Indie Hacker Special! I speak to Piyush Patel, the founder of AmplifyX Labs and a prominent voice in the micro-SaaS and indie hacking space. From bootstrapping projects to building in public and exploring AI-powered tools, Piyush shares invaluable insights into his personal journey, product development strategies, getting your first customers and the future of micro-SaaS. This episode is packed with actionable advice for aspiring indie hackers, developers, and entrepreneurs who want to build and scale meaningful projects without funding. He also shares how numerology and astrology influence both his personal and business decisions, and reveals the surprising story of how he used Bumble to gain new customers!
in this conversation we talk:
- Why most people don’t know what indie hacking is, and how the small but vibrant community in India is shaping the space.
- Piyush's step-by-step ideation process for identifying and validating product ideas.
- Building Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and finding your first customers without breaking the bank.
- Common mistakes to avoid when developing and scaling a micro-SaaS product.
- The key strategies Piyush uses to scale his projects while staying bootstrapped.
- Why he prioritizes “selling before building” and “distribution before product” as the foundation for success.
- Navigating tough calls, feature prioritization, and knowing when to pivot or shut down a project.
- His thoughts on the rise of "AI for X" products and how indie developers can leverage AI to innovate.
- Opportunities and threats AI presents for the indie hacking community.
- Learning from failure and building emotional resilience as a bootstrapped founder.
- Tips for indie developers to build their personal brand on YouTube and social media.
- How to prioritize marketing efforts across channels like SEO, Meta, TikTok, and email marketing.
- Why networking is crucial for indie developers and Piyush’s advice for making meaningful connections.
- How public speaking has helped him grow personally and professionally, with tips for beginners.
- Where Piyush sees the micro-SaaS industry heading in the next 5–10 years.
- Advice for aspiring indie hackers: Qualities you need, mistakes to avoid, and how to stay motivated.
- What he would do differently if he had to start over from scratch.
and much more!
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/whatsuppiyush/
https://bento.me/whatsuppiyush
https://x.com/WhatsUpPiyush
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends.
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https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Chicken and hot sauce are a match made in heaven! In this episode, II’m joined by Mikhel Rajani, co-founder of Naagin Sauce, India’s first and favourite hot sauce brand. Mikhel and his team spotted a gap in the market about five years ago and have since transformed Naagin Sauce into a household name, now partnering with KFC India and reaching both domestic and international customers.
We dive deep into the story of building Naagin Sauce and what it takes to pioneer a brand in an untapped market. Here's what we cover:
- Why India didn’t have a hot sauce brand before Naagin and how they championed Indian Ghost Chillies.
- The challenges of being first movers in the market—and how they overcame the heat, both figuratively and literally.
- Creating and testing recipes that balanced nostalgia and innovation.
- Mikhel’s insights from 15 years in the F&B industry: branding, marketing, and growing a team from 3 to 50 employees.
- His hiring philosophy: "Loyalty over certificates."
- Overcoming the challenges of Covid, raising funding, and why every business idea should be stress-tested by smarter people who can punch holes in it.
We also touch on fascinating behind-the-scenes stories:
- The quirky inspiration for the brand name, involving cricket and the iconic "Naagin dance."
- Mikhel’s preference for low-key launches instead of flashy events.
- His incredible marketing innovations, including the world’s first pizza delivery by drone in 2012, which was featured on BBC and CNBC.
Mikhel also shares valuable advice for founders:
- Why India is not for beginners, and how to handle 100 rejections without taking them personally.
- How his management style has evolved over the years and why documenting mistakes is crucial for growth.
- Practical tips on working with co-founders and maintaining healthy partnerships.
Finally, Mikhel’s closing advice for first-time founders:
“Don’t accept defeat. There will always be someone willing to help you on your journey.”
Links
https://www.naaginsauce.com/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
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Music by Punch Deck.
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The world is getting fatter! In this episode, we dive deep into fitness and nutrition with Adarsh Gopalakrishnan, founder of Move101 in Chennai. Move101 is a unique strength and conditioning gym tailored for regular folks with little to no training background, and it also offers online coaching.
Adarsh’s journey into fitness began in an unexpected way: he started working out to impress a girl who liked the biceps of a popular MTV VJ. He had no biceps and he wanted biceps and he started lifting weight and he got biceps! Thirteen years later, he’s trained hundreds of clients both in-person and online.
Here’s what you can expect in this episode:
- Adarsh’s Journey: Being an unconventional, anti-institutional kid who dropped out of school.
- Right Place, Right Time: Catching the CrossFit wave in 2008–2010 and building a unique, community-driven gym.
- Word-of-Mouth Success: Why Adarsh spends zero on Google or Facebook ads and still has an 80% client retention rate—higher than most big box gyms.
- The Protein Problem in India: Why Indians often lack protein in their diets, the supply chain issues around whey protein, and what alternatives you can eat.
- Fitness in a Post-COVID World: How the pandemic actually boosted his business and his thoughts on the global obesity crisis.
- Social Media Pressure: The unrealistic expectations to look “jacked” and the common mistakes people make in strength training (like too much volume and variety, and poor goal setting).
- Adarsh shares insights on improving your communication skills
- Training Myths & Realistic Goals: Why you don’t have to train like a beast, loving single-leg squats, and why a six-pack is hard. But a four-pack is good enough!
- The Problem with Corporate Wellness Programs: Why Adarsh isn’t a fan and his thoughts on the most effective exercises.
- Navigating Diet Fads and Fitness Trends: Adarsh’s advice on avoiding the hype around the latest diet crazes, fitness gadgets, and weight-loss drugs.
- The Indian Fitness Market Today: His views on why he’s not interested in scaling his business and how his philosophy on fitness has evolved over the years.
And for a fun finish: we talk about how to handle those family gatherings where well-meaning aunties offer Pepsi and jalebi when you’re trying to stay on track!
Links
https://www.move101.net/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
On a mission to make intimacy easy, approachable, and fun. Today my guest is Anushka Gupta, co-founder of MyMuse. MyMuse is India’s first bedroom essentials brand, dedicated to making intimacy easy, approachable, and fun for Indians everywhere.
Anushka and her husband started in a small apartment and now operate a warehouse serving over 150,000 customers across 1000+ Indian cities. They've also built a massive community of over 100,000 followers on Instagram and other social media platforms.
During our conversation, Anushka discusses smashing taboos and disrupting the industry, as well as the different and innovative products offered by MyMuse. She also talks about the pros and cons of being the first to market, funding rounds, and social media marketing including the 3 second rule. Additionally, she shares valuable insights on building a brand from scratch, utilising email marketing for brand loyalty, conducting customer development and dealing with assumptions.
Anushka reflects on her journey, from meeting her husband to overcoming conservative mindsets and the role of education in dismantling taboos. She also discusses the future of sexual wellness in India and what has surprised her the most in her entrepreneurial journey with India's leading luxury intimate wellness brand. Finally, we delve into the topic of which city in India is the most friskiest and much much more.
Links
https://mymuse.in/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Experience real cricket at home! In this episode, I sit down with Prince Thomas, co-founder of MetaShot, a Bangalore-based gaming startup. MetaShot offers a unique and immersive cricket experience through a cutting-edge metaphysical smart bat.
Prince shares how the idea for MetaShot emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the early days of development, from the initial prototypes—a cricket bat with a sensor and a copy of EA Cricket 2007—to securing significant investments from prominent investors and eventually having a best selling product on Flipkart.
Throughout our conversation, Prince delves into the intricacies of how MetaShot works, the major challenges faced, and why they chose to launch exclusively in Bangalore initially. He offers insights into their marketing funnel strategies, leveraging social media influencers, and handling both positive and negative feedback.
We also explore the future of the gaming industry in India, pitching to investors, and using customer feedback to refine the game. Prince shares his experiences working with co-founders, the unwavering support from his wife, and overcoming scepticism from his father in the early years. Additionally, he reveals some fascinating hiring strategies. We talk about the T20 in America, being a cricket nut and finally an interesting tale on the origins of his name.
Links
https://metashot.in/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Step into the dynamic world of Indian menswear fashion with our latest episode! Join us as we sit down with Karan Singh, the creative force behind Aristobrat, a brand renowned for its premium men's clothing. In this insightful conversation, Karan takes us on a journey from his inspiration drawn from a transformative trip to Scandinavia to the inception of his own fashion brand.
Delve into his innovative financial strategies, including the use of factoring, and gain a deeper understanding of India's burgeoning menswear scene. Discover Karan's pearls of wisdom as he discusses crafting a brand strategy, mastering social media marketing, how he came up with the name and his take on social media influencers.
He unveils his secrets behind effective Google & Meta ads campaigns and his unique perspective on decision fatigue. Karan talks about his favorite brands, the importance of gut instincts in business, and learning how to navigate competition while staying true to your brand's narrative.
But that's not all! Karan shares his fashion disasters, reveals the benefits of avoiding the news, discusses whether Indian men are fashionable compared to the rest of the world, and explains why focusing on the constant rather than the changing is key. For aspiring founders, Karan offers invaluable advice, and for fashion enthusiasts, he provides expert tips to elevate your wardrobe game.
Links
https://www.aristobrat.in/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Drawing inspiration from the timeless game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, today's guest is Lalit Kalani, the Founder of Rock Paper Rum, an innovative Indian Rum brand prominently featured on Season 3 of Shark Tank India.
In this episode, Lalit delves into the journey of launching his venture, shedding light on navigating the competitive Mumbai market, mastering branding, product development, and effective marketing strategies.
He talks about India's complicated relationship with alcohol. He offers invaluable advice on pitching, discusses the transformative impact of Shark Tank, and reveals insights into the decision-making process behind delaying the launch.
And finally, Lalit shares enticing cocktail recipes for our enjoyment. Join us for an insightful discussion that not only explores entrepreneurship but also reflects on the significance of reestablishing family legacy as a third-generation entrepreneur, along with its accompanying pros and cons.
In this episode we talk about:
- Thoughts on going global
- Why rum?
- What can go wrong?
- What should first time founders be focussing on?
- Mentorship
- Influencer marketing.
- Dealing with regulations
- Being a 2nd time founder.
- Spending time in America.
Links
https://www.rockpaperrum.com/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Driven by love for Table Tennis. Megha Gambhir, is the amazing co-founder and CEO of Stupa Sports Analytics. Her company is revolutionising the world of sports by providing athletes with cutting-edge analytics and insights to improve their performance.
She talks about how she got started with a MVP - an Excel spreadsheet, to now working the ITTF and multiple international federations on her client list and a number of global clients. She talks about leaving a well-paying job to figure it all out.
Talks about working with her husband (pros & cons) She talks about pivoting. Building a B2B AI-based SaaS platform, enabling end-to-end tournament management with live streaming and building an AI-based video analysis solution. She talks about funding. The two main questions VC’s asked about. Advice for building an MVP . What should a first time entrepreneur be focusing on? Manifesting things, and table tennis tips. So please enjoy the show.
In this episode we talk about:
- Being in a data driven world
- Matches analysed.
- What excites her most about building this startup
- Digitising sports events.
- Being motivated my money.
- Bring an IT professional turned entrepreneur,
- Video analysis.
- Implementation
- Real time analytics and performances (KPIs)
And much more
Links
https://stupaanalytics.com/#/home
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Making India sleep better: More than 55% of Indian adults face trouble falling asleep at least three nights a week. Today, I speak with Surbhi Jain, the founder of Neend, a free app offering stories, soothing sleep sounds, meditation, and more to help users unwind and nod off.
Launched in 2021, Surbhi shares how she started this journey after contracting Covid and struggling with sleep issues. She released the MVP on YouTube, experiencing significant organic growth. Surbhi discusses building a consumer app in the wellness space, addressing topics like traction, funding, her background, dealing with competition, and a referral scheme that didn't work out.
She also shares insights into investing in startups, revealing what she looks for and her thoughts on the wellness space. Finally, Surbhi talks about handling criticism of her WhatsApp display picture by an unnamed investor and much more!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- How it works
- Her reluctance to seek feedback from friends and family
- Contacting customers first thing in the morning
- Business model.
- General sleep tips
- Thoughts on blue light glasses , do you they work.
- Dealing with biases.
- Scaling the business.
Links
https://neend.app/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Universal factories of the future. Today my guest is Gokul NA, Co-Founder of CynLr. a pioneering deep-tech startup dedicated to the radical reinvention of dynamic vision-enabled robots, unlocking the potential to create the 'universal factories' of tomorrow.
In this enlightening discussion, Gokul takes us on a journey back over a decade, recounting the humble beginnings with his co-founder in a modest office that evolved into a sprawling 13,000 sq ft research space. This state-of-the-art facility boasts robot research cells, cutting-edge electronics, a sophisticated camera and vision laboratory, all meticulously managed by an expert team of engineers and researchers.
He delves into topics ranging from design, product development, and entrepreneurship. Why does he seek more competition, not less? Gokul discusses the impact of robotics on jobs and elaborates on the intricacies of the design process. The conversation explores high barriers to entry ($30K to buy the robot arm, $250K to adopt the full solution, over 12-24 months) , The robotics scene in India, energy consumption considerations, and the evolution of early prototypes. Gokul sheds light on their business model, detailing the planned volume of robot sales, revenue figures, and the current status of funding.
Gokul shares insights into motivation, the strategic onboarding of new team members, market validation, and adoption strategies. He imparts valuable advice tailored for first-time founders, Real-world applications. in the final stretch, Gokul provides an in-depth answer on the art of securing partnerships for startups.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Selling to engineers.
- Coconuts!
- Building the ecosystem before building your business.
- Onboarding new team members
- Meeting his co-founder
- Opening an office in Switzerland.
- Dealing with initial feedback
Links.
https://www.cynlr.com/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
From a 13-year-old dreaming of becoming a YouTuber to now leading a 6-figure video content agency, today I speak with Pratham Jindal, Founder and CEO of Praper Media—a content agency collaborating with some of the biggest creators on the planet.
In this episode he shares insights into launching the agency, recounting the story of securing his first customer by spending 100 Rupees on a super chat. Pratham delves into his unique hiring philosophy and offers perspectives on AI, Chat GPT, and Sora. Additionally, he unveils his distinctive framework for hiring staff and discusses effective cold email strategies.
Pratham provides valuable advice on transitioning from a solo freelancer to starting an agency, reflecting on some mistakes made, such as not trusting his gut. He shares insights for first-time founders and entrepreneurs, discussing his hands-off management style. Why his first content channel failed and key takeaways and starting your own content channel. Content is not an easy game!
Pratham highlights why Instagram is his most significant marketing channel and explains his reluctance to use freelancer websites. Talks about the startup scene in Chandigarh. Finally, he talks about his venture into creating a KPOP channel in India and much more.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Starting in his parents bedroom.
- Not having issues with pricing
- Algorithms
- Meeting his Co-founder
- Being consistant.
- The booming creator scene
- Plans for the future.
- Starting young, did he miss out on social life?
- A great story about using the wifi restaurant password to complete a job.
- Getting referrals.
- Growing quickly 1. to 45 team 1,000 sqft office
- Qualities entrepreneurs must have - Communication.
And much more
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pratham-jindal/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
It's a tough job market out there folks! , and on today's episode, we have an expert to guide us through it. I'm joined by Sarabjeet Sacher, the founder of Aspiration Jobs, with a profound passion for coaching professionals in areas such as career growth, career development, job search strategies, and interview techniques.
He shares valuable insights on crafting a compelling CV—what to include and what to avoid. The episode explores the intricacies of salary negotiation, providing tips on answering pivotal questions like "Why should I hire you?", 'Where do you see yourself in 3 years time?’ And his thoughts on software billionaire NR Narayana Murthy 70 hrs comment
In this insightful conversation, Sarabjeet delves into the question of whether working for a startup is a wise career move. Great advice for first time graduates with no work experience. And how to deal with those gaps in your C.V!
We even touch on some wisdom inspired by Tony Robbins. Sarabjeet also offers practical advice on handling rejection gracefully.
As we wrap up, he generously shares his top recommendations for achieving career growth. This episode is packed with invaluable information, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- What is the purpose of your CV/Resume
- Work life balance
- Thoughts on moonlighting
- Do people still want careers?
- What about the traditional 9-5 workday
- Which is more important: culture fit or technology fit.
- Don’t do a 13 page resume!
- Are CV’s are still relevant?
- The future of job interviews.
- The importance of soft skills.
And much more
Links
https://www.facebook.com/sarabjeet.sachar/
https://www.instagram.com/sarabjeetsachar/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabjeetsachar/
https://aspirationjobs.com/
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
Music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Enabling the well-being of more than 355 million Indian women through products, experiences, and experts. Today my guest is Aruna Chawla, founder of Salad, a lifestyle planner mobile app that support women to better manage their health throughout the menstrual cycle by providing personalised nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle advice.
She talks about her own personal journey of being in and out of hospital. She talks about building an MVP without a CTO or developers. Aruna talks about why they don’t want to go viral and or build landing pages. She talks about the first version of Salad, a condom company which sold 20,000 in only two months with no paid marketing.
She talks about her time at the Antler India residency , where they raised a pre-seed round and met her co-founder. She talks about being a FemTech founder in India and the size of the market. Every month, nearly 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate, and nearly 85% of this group suffer from hormonal imbalances.
She talks about hormones , period tracking and finally she talks about her super strength and advice on how to build healthier habits and goals using behavioural science and much more!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Keeping it lean
- Stats so far
- Having a bias of action
- Not wanting to be a founder or do a startup in the beginning.
- First impressions of her co-founder
- The state of the sexual wellness and FemTech industry india.
- Conducting over 1000 interviews with women across Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.
- 6 years of research
- Her motivations.
- Shaking up the healthcare industry.
and much more
Links
https://www.grabsalad.com/
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Bye Bye Potholes! Today I have the pleasure to talk to Sourabh Kumar, co-founder of PotHoleRaja, a social venture that 's on a mission to make India & the world pothole-free. He got the idea After reading a tragic story about a woman who lost her life due to a pothole. He gave up his highly paid corporate job to fill in potholes around the streets of Bangalore at 5AM! He didn't tell his parents but he started getting goosebumps when random strangers started to praise his work and efforts.
Without any background in civil engineering he started doing crazy google searches and ended up creating a number of cool products including Gridmats. a revolutionary patented product that’s eco-friendly, durable and crafted entirely from 100% recycled plastic waste to construct pavements/roads.
He talks about a life changing moment meeting his co-founder. Talks about key learnings in the early days. Thoughts on social entrepreneurship in India some do’s and don’ts (You can make money!) Why waste is the new gold. Talks about why you must be a risk taker and good at sales.
Talks about the uncomfortable question he asks people when hiring. Talks about keeping the faith and business models including franchise models. He talks about growing rapidly (100% growth) He reflects on this past year (2022). Thoughts on building a culture of being open. And finally he talks about the biggest pothole he has ever seen and explains how filling a pothole is as easy as making 3 min Maggi noodles and much more.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Why potholes
- Going to Singapore and reflecting on it's infrastructure.
- The promise he made to himself when quitting
- Becoming a problem solver
- Thoughts on why the government are not doing this despite everyone paying taxes.
- 15000 km road trip checking out the potholes.
- Expanding into different countries.
- Civic tech helping the government
- What does leadership mean to Sourabh
- Dealing with and the war with waste.
- Just him and his co-founder for the first two years
And much more
Links
https://www.potholeraja.com/
Check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Join for free for 1 month and access all my classes!
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music by Punch Deck.
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Content is king! Today my guest is Gautam Madhavan CEO & founder of Mad Influence and influencer management agency. They do more than just connect creators and brands. They do digital marketing, social media management, content authoring, and providing consulting services to businesses.
They are trying to create the biggest content companies in the world. In this episode he talks about how he got this off the ground by seeing the shift from Blogging to Vlogging 2017/18, realising the power of video and was laser focussed on tiktok in the early days before it was popular. He explains why you shouldn't plan too much when starting up.
Talks about dealing with uncertainty in the early days and hiring strategies. Advice for all you budding social media creators (Don’t do it for the $$). Building an AI platform for content creators and why you shouldn't worry about the algorithms. Thoughts on Twitter for content creators.
Talks about who are the upcoming social media influencers in India. His favourite content creators. Talks about research, conversation rates and analytics. Talks about how they Influence the influencers and why you cannot learn this at University, it’s all about building relationships. And he gives great advice on building relationships (be transparent) and why they don’t poach clients/creators/staff.
He talks about what he looks for when choosing social media influencers (it's not just the numbers) And finally we talk about his favourite campaign promoting the movie Bachchhan Paandey which got a billion organic views which involved kidnapping a bunch of influencers on a train.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Running India’s & Asia’s biggest content creator festival in Goa (2023)
- First mover advantage.
- Being down to earth and humble.
- Short video culture.
- What excites him most about building this company.
- Why he prefers content creators instead of social media influencers.
- Getting support from Mum and Dad.
- Bootstrapping
- hiring advice
And much more
Links
https://www.madinfluence.com/home
Check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Join for free for 1 month and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/en/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Building the next wave of technology. Today my guest is seasoned investor Nitin Sharma, general partner & co-founder of Antler India. A global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. They're one of the fastest growing VC firms in the world.
In this episode he talks about his 15+ year investing experience. He talks about how they help early stage founders. He talks about the differences between American entrepreneurs and Indian entrepreneurs. Talks about the No1 mistake founders make after raising money and how he deals with startup failure.
He talks about Web3, Metaverse, Fintech and ONDC. Gives important advice if you want to become an investor. And finally he talks about the importance of mentorship and gives great startup advice based on Aristotle's persuasion triangle (character,emotion, logic)
In this conversation we also talk about:
- His first year (2008) as a VC
- How many startups they invest in and how much
- How to help founders with the residency program.
- Values, vision and skills.
- Going global from day one
- Pitching advice (why you & why now?)
- The importance of building a global network.
- Validating ideas.
- Dealing with new technologies
- Being passionate but not emotional.
and much more!
links
https://www.antler.co/india
Check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Join for free for 1 month and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/en/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
India is expected to be home to 700 million gamers by 2025. So Today my guest Piyush Kumar, he is the Founder and CEO of Rooter. A game streaming and E-Sports platform. Rooter has emerged as the largest player in the Indian gaming category, with close to 50 million downloads, making it the No. 1 app in the ‘sports’ category on the Google Play Store since October 2020.
Rooter is at the perfect intersection of Gaming and Content surge in India. So he talks about how it got this off the ground. He talks about what your MVP should look like. Talks about hiring strategies and philosophies. Mistakes made in the early days. Talks about why the future of social networking is gaming. Talks about the business model & raising $25+Million.
Talks about finding his co-founder via Twitter and talks about the E-Sports landscape in India including dealing with the parents! Talks about how to build a consumer app and pivoting. Gives some great book recommendations and finally he talks about why everyone should try entrepreneurship at least once in their life and much much more so please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we talk about:
- E-Sports in the Olympic games.
- Being an Esports player is becoming a respectable job.
- Stats
- Influencer marketing
- Performance marketing
- Research.
- Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
- Book recommendation - How to build a billion dollar app.
- Advice for first time founders.
- Esports tournament.
Links.
https://web.rooter.gg/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.
Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 1 month.
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Sports tech and driving sports engagement. Today my guest is Amit Purohit CEO & founder of Fantasy Akhada, a fantasy sports platform that provides you with an opportunity to play Fantasy Cricket, Fantasy Football and Fantasy Kabaddi by using your sports knowledge and skill.
So today he talks about building a hyper growth sports tech startup, going from the 181st fantasy app to being in the top 5 , amazing stuff. He talks about the USP - focusing on customer delight. Talks about marketing and why they focus on quality not volume.
A great story about getting legendary cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle into becoming a brand ambassador and investor with a cold email. Gives advice for first time founders and his primary role as a founder. Nearly giving up , raising finance and finally some fantasy sports do’s and don'ts for first time players.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Why didn't they go for a subpar cricketer to promote the brand.?
- Dealing with customer service calls on New Year Eve
- Being an ex-Star Sports employee.
- Getting support from friends and family
- Being a very competitive market because of the Low barrier to entry
- Key learnings and customer feedback in the early days.
- What is the business model?
- Having all the skill sets to get this off the ground.
- Raising finance.
- Talks about the team.
- How fast are they growing?
- Stats and engagement so far.
Links
https://www.fantasyakhada.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.
Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 1 month.
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Get your popcorn ready! Today my guest is Shalibhadra Shah, CEO & Co-founder of ABC Talkies. An online movie platform for filmmakers to submit their films and for cinema lovers to watch independent cinema on a pay-per-view model.
He talks about what motivated him to get this off the ground and what problem they are solving . He talks about how they add value to the filmmaker and talks about the business model & revenue streams including variable ticket pricing.
He talks about being blessed with failure in the early days and keeping the faith. Talks about the current state of the movie industry in India and the booming regional content in tier 2/3 cities. And finally he talks about the time he spent working with PM Modi sharing some interesting tales and insights including the Modi masks and much more .
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Having an interesting background in digital media
- leadership
- Digital consumption trends
- How it works & who owns the copyright.
- Short film market is booming
- The team and hiring process.
- Huge amount of content not being monetized
- Wanting to be the Youtube of Movies.
- Being a stepping stone
- Favorite movies.
and much more
links
https://abctalkies.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.
Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 1 month.
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Launching rockets into space! My guest is Srinath Ravichandran CEO & co-founder of Agnikul, a Chennai-based Indian aerospace manufacturer specialising in building launch vehicles capable of taking micro and nano-satellites to Low Earth Orbit, on-demand.
He started as an outsider , working in finance but his heart was always in aerospace. In this episode he talks about the crazy amount of networking, cold calling professors and asking himself some existential questions to get this off the ground!
He talks about going through the Airbus Incubator. Raising $11million in Series A funding. Talks about 3D technology, the business model. Great product milestones. Why India is the best place to build rockets. Talks about the Space Tech community in india.
Thoughts on Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos endeavours. Talks about dealing with red tape & the government. He gives great advice on networking if you're a bit shy and finally he talks about why he thinks there is life on other planets and why it could be a good thing!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Making the experience of going into space , like booking an Uber
- Meeting his co-founder playing cricket.
- Advice for first time founders.
- Personalising the building of the rocket.
- Advice on starting your own space tech startup.
- Educating investors using a 3 step process
- Dealing with the doubters.
- Living close to SpaceX in the early days.
- Building the engine using 3D tech.
- Why building a rocket company is like running a transportation business.
And much more
https://agnikul.in/#/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.
Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 1 month.
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Transforming storytelling. Today my guest is Summit Nayak - Co-founder of Ekank. They are building a storytelling platform, democratising non-fiction by bringing lost and forgotten history to the forefront. He talks about how they got this off the ground.
Talks about ignoring the experts who told him not to build the product because it wasn't cool enough. But since launching they have 13.8 million monthly active users, spending in total 74 million minutes on the app and have raised a cool $1million in funding.
He talks about building the community, gives thoughts on product management. He talks about building a niche product. Why they are different from other platforms. Talks about the creator economy and scaling too fast in the early days. Pitching & fundraising insights. Declining attention spans. Having a pool of creators & storytellers. And finally he shares his favourite stories (The Battle of Plassey) and much more.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Building a culture company
- What problem are they solving?
- Research & customer development
- Having a proven track record in building startups
- First impressions of his co-founder.
- Understanding what the market wants
- Is it pressure off or on after raising $
- Gamification
- Talking to the experts - William Dalrymple
- Business model
- Key metrics they focus on
- Why they invite creators
- Hiring/interview process
And much more
https://www.ekank.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.
Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 1 month.
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Disrupting the traditional fashion supply chain with digital intervention. Today my guest is Pawan Gupta. Co-founder and CEO of Fashinza. They are digitising the supply chain to make it more efficient, transparent, fast, and sustainable.
It all started with a trip to Jaipur the clothing manufacturing capital of India - not to talk about manufacturing but pain points. He will discuss what those pain points are! He talks about how they went from building the MVP using WhatsApp, AirTable and Excel in 2020 to now being one of the biggest companies in the world in this sector. Amazing stuff!
He talks about how they use technology (new and old) to digitise the supply chain. Thoughts on scaling. How they work with brands and how they onboard customers. Talks about building trust in the early days. Dealing with fast fashion and ethical issues. Gives great advice for first time entrepreneurs, Being 2x entrepreneur.
Talks about having a successful exit. Talks about his 2 part hiring process. And finally he talks about NFT's his sporting hero Sourav Ganguly and why you should think BIG!
In this conversation we talk about:
- How they connect customers, buyers and suppliers.
- Growing 20% each month.
- Digitising the shop floor.
- Personalised fashion being the next big thing.
- What motivates him?
- It's a data problem. Not tech or people problem
- What was his best day so far.
- What will this company look like in 10 years time?
- Being a technology first company
- Providing real time data, to save costs and be more efficient.
- Reducing rejection rate on an assembly line from 20% to 3%
And much more!
Links
https://fashinza.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 1 month.
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Make your startup investment ready! Today my guest is Priyanka Madnani, Founder & CEO of Easy to Pitch. Easy to Pitch is one of the fastest-growing one-stop pitching solutions for start-up founders & entrepreneurs looking to raise capital for their unique ideas. Since starting she now helps over 500 startups and reviewed over 5000 decks.
So in this episode she talks about how she spotted a gap in the market for pitching solutions. Talks about helping founders and what investors are looking for. She talks about what founders should include in the pitch deck & getting your first 3 slides right.
She talks about whether you should demo the product and thoughts on Shark Tank pitches. She talks about what founders struggle with when pitching. She talks about the reality of funding and a 10 second pitch which helped her get a client. She goes on to talk about branding, building relationships, winning awards and leadership. and much more!
In this conversation we talk about:
- What inspired her to do this?
- Why her first ever pitch deck flopped and how she turned it all around
- Not everyone gets funding
- Advice on starting your own brand.
- Having no role models or mentors at the start.
- Starting a Facebook group and using Youtube, Instagram, Linkedin.
- Being a top entrepreneur in india
- Getting funded.
- Don't forget the financials!
- Being a solo player and turning into a team player.
- Advice on finding a co-founder
- Make sure you practice and be patient
And much more
links
https://easytopitch.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Your 24x7 singing buddy! Today my guest is Gopal Krishna Koduri CEO & co-founder of Riyaz. A music learning app that offers an easy and convenient way for aspiring singers to practise their music lessons anywhere, anytime make music learning accessible and affordable.
He talks about his love of classical indian music which inspired him to build this app. How the app works. He talks about building a venture-funded, steadily growing music learning app that is used around the world (2million downloads, 4k paid users) Talks about UI & UX design challenges, talks about how they deal with feature requests.
Talks about pricing and subscription models. Talks technology stacks , how they use data to improve the product. How they get users to download the app. Dealing with positive and negative feedback.
Talks about the EdTech scene in india. Building an MVP in 2017. Thoughts on building an edtech and finally he talks about his fav singers, pays tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, one of India's most beloved singers, who passed recently and he gives you some singing tips for the next time your in the shower! & much more!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- organic growth
- What problem they are solving?
- 4,000 paid users
- 18-35 category not being served.
- Killing features
- Keeping track of OKRs
- Being a hands on founder
- how long does it take to be a great singer?
And much more
links
https://riyazapp.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Make Memes Earn Money! Today my guest is Kyle Fernandes CEO & Co-founder of MemeChat. Founded in 2019, it is a platform that allows users to create viral memes and get rewarded for them. So in this episode he talks about how he came up with the idea. Talks about being a hyper growth startup (25 million memes , 6 million downloads, 1.3 monthly active users). Talks about how he designed & developed the app from scratch. Talks about getting funding from 500 Startups. Next he talks about a new NFT marketplace he is creating called - MemeClub, so anyone can buy and sell memes globally. He talks about scaling, the business model, Meme marketing, viral content, being confident and key metrics -( Daily active users) He talks about giving users a solid reason why they should download the app. Creating an acquisition and distribution channel. And finally he talks about his favourite memes and how to get your meme to go viral and much much MORE!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Fundraising advice - be patient!
- Reaching millions of people on a daily basis
- Thoughts on Shark Tank
- Being a entrepreneur at the age of 15
- Getting 50x rejections from VC and then turning down 50 x VC's!
- Getting approached by major brands to do meme marketing
- Setting up 600+ pages on Facebook
- No other company was doing this!
- Bringing technology and memes together.
- Creating value for creators
- Why memes
- Creating a memechat keyboard
and much more
Links
https://memechat.app/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Adding fun to a ‘White’ industry. Today I speak to Sulay Lavsi, the founder of Bummer, whose mission is to disrupt the millennial-focused underwear market.
In this episode he talks about his amazing journey from not being taken seriously in the early days to his dramatic appearance on Shark Tank India. He shares brand building strategies and talks about marketing to GenZ & millennials. He talks about pricing philosophies -are you playing the brand game or the price game? & spotting a gap in the market . He talks about The mild negative reaction to Shark Tank india on social media
He talks about the business model and building partnerships. Why they use micro-influencers rather then the big social media influencers. Why he used paid marketing at the start to establish the brand. Talks about Falling in love with the business and brand. Hiring challenges in Tier 2 cities. He talks about spending 2 years on R&D and finally he talks about his life changing trip to America. and much more so please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about
- Why underwear?
- Assumptions made in the early days
- Design challenges
- Going on Shark Tank & pitching in front of millions watching.
- Studying entrepreneurship in California.
- His primary role as a founder.
- Pitching advice
- Whats special about bummer underwear?
- The manufacturing process
and much more!
Links
https://bummer.in/
P,S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfCbGXHPfStMMtghzjqfe?si=f79e5abeed7c480e
Hello everyone, Thank you for downloading the last episode 2021. After 5 years of interviewing amazing Indian Entrepreneurs I am thinking about investing in a few Indian startups in 2022! if you are building something exciting and need some seed funding to get your startup off the ground please contact me.
Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to over the past 12 months. You will hear from Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri (2.39m) on building an alternative news model & paying to keep the news free! Next up is Siddharth Manvati (Ph.D) Co-Founder of ClearMeat. (35.06) He talks about building India’s first cell based meat company.
Next is Vivek Bajaj co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets (59.40) he talks about building the Bloomberg ecosystem for retail Investors in India. And last not least Minakshi Singh Co-founder & CEO of Sidecar & Speakeasy (1hr34m) She talks about building India’s best bar & being featured in the coveted Asia 50 best bars in 2020. So sit back & enjoy some of the best moments of The Indian Startup show and I wish you all the very best for 2022!
Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri on building an alternative news model & paying to keep the news free!(2.39m)
Indians don't pay for news! Well they do and today my guest is Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry, a news, current affairs & media analysis organisation. They are building an alternative news model , so in this episode he talks about building this high risk venture. Old media & new media business models.
Not being dependent on eyeballs. Find out which newspaper is worth reading. Dealing with Twitter trolls. Govt interference in the news. Thoughts on PM Modi, Arnab Goswami and what kept him going in the early days. And why the 'self made man' is a myth. Finally we talk about his experience of directing/producing Highway On My plate , the award winning travel and food program.
Where are they now? Dr Siddharth Manvati (Ph.D) Co-Founder of ClearMeat. On building India’s first cell based meat company. Chicken 2.0
I catch up with Dr Siddharth Manvati, co-founder of Clear Meat. He came on the podcast last year (EP125) And a lot has changed since we last spoke. He finally talks about the magical moment he finally tasted the first product. He talks about the science behind evaluating taste and smell.
The economics of making lab based chicken. Talks about raising finance. Talks about proof of concepts, having 14 sleepless nights , why they are moving from the Indian market to the global markets. When will this be available to the general public? And how they plan to scale the company.
Vivek Bajaj co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets on building the Bloomberg ecosystem for retail Investors in India
Vivek Bajaj is back on the show! He is co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets.com. He appeared back in August 2016 (EP39) and since then his app has gone from 50K downloads to 1.5million downloads. And has gone from employing 25 staff to over 140 staff. So in this episode he talks about how they have scaled the operation. Talks about finding great business partners. Thoughts on the current stock market.
Common mistakes first time investors make. Shares formulas for investing including the ‘10 10 10’ rule. Talks about his best investments and worst. Why Reliance stock is a ‘buy’. Why he doesn't invest in Bitcoin. Talks about raising finance. Gives great advice for entrepreneurs And finally the most important lesson about money he has learned so far!
Minakshi Singh Co-founder & CEO of Sidecar & Speakeasy on building India’s best bar & being featured in the coveted Asia 50 best bars in 2020
Minakshi started with an Excel spreadsheet back in 2006. And this year has recently been awarded the best bar in India , and in Asia’s 50 best bars list of 2020. Amazing achievement considering women working in bars is extremely uncommon. it's a bit of a taboo subject. So she talks about how she overcame those challenges.
She talks about finding her passion, Working 14-15 hours a day. She reveals how she got people in India to drink an Old Fashioned & Whisky Sour’s! What she learned about herself during lockdown. We talk about india’s complicated relationship with alcohol. And finally she shares her secrets to making a great cocktail. It's truly an amazing story and one that will inspire you as well.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE PODCAST & SEE YOU IN 2022!
P,S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfCbGXHPfStMMtghzjqfe?si=f79e5abeed7c480e
Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to over the past 12 months. You will hear from Raghav Gupta, the co-founder of Nymble labs. (2.57) His team has built a personal cooking assistant called Julia, so we talk about his appearance on TV. He talks about how they have developed the robot since we last spoke, talks about raising finance ,setting up offices in China and California.
Next we have Nitesh Salvi Founder & CEO of Pocket52 (39.11) on building India’s largest poker platform .He talks about how he went from playing poker in the late nights in his student dorm with friends to building India’s largest poker platform.
And last but not least we have Yash Pariani (1h.08m) co-founder of The Indian Gaming League (IGL) . On building India’s most popular e-sports league & the booming indian e-sport scene.
Catching up with Raghav Gupta, the co-founder of Nymble labs.(2.57)
He came on the show back in November 2017 and he is back again with an update. His team has built a personal cooking assistant called Julia. We talk about his appearance on TV. How they have developed the robot since we last spoke, talks about raising finance ,setting up offices in China and California. Talks about why they are changing market focus from India to US. Gives great advice on customer development and how they qualify customers. Talks about becoming comfortable with uncertainty. He talks about how they demoed the robot at TechCrunch robotics conference without paying $$$$ for a booth. And finally we got some music at the end of the show.
in this conversation we talk about:-
- Being VC backed & new business model
- How they came up with research goals
- Developing a Customer Development process that helped gather more insights about consumers.
- How they separate feedback from noise
- How they capture the feedback.
- Taking the cooking robot to the houses of people who had signed up in SF, San Diego and LA
- Dealing with the coronavirus
- Thoughts on the b2b and b2c markets
- Dealing with the competition
- Don't fall in love with your product. Fall in live with the problem!
Nitesh Salvi Founder & CEO of Pocket52 (39.11)
You Got to Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them! Today I speak to Nitesh Salvi, founder and CEO of Pocket52. He talks about how he went from playing poker in the late nights in his student dorm with friends to building India’s largest poker platform. He talks about how they build trust and loyalty on the platform. Talks about getting rejected over 150 times despite already having a previously successful exit. He talks about creating a white label business as well as a B2C model. Talks about the psychological side of Poker. Dealing with fraud. And we talk about gambling responsibly and finally he talks about his biggest wins and losses on the poker table! and much more.
in this conversation we also talk about
- Growing the user base
- Spending 6/7 researching the market
- Coin dumping
- Building a scalable product
- The importance of using Lava lamps!
- Pitch deck advice
- Creating the right environment for customers
- Advice for first time entrepreneurs
- Playing poker with his family
- Reading people
Yash Pariani (1h.08m) co-founder of The Indian Gaming League (IGL)
The Indian e-sport scene is booming. So today I speak to Yash Pariani co-founder of The Indian Gaming League. IGL is India’s most popular competitive gaming and esports league that hosts gaming tournaments online and they are growing fast! IGL hosts daily online tournaments and battle royales across all your favourite game titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Fortnite, Dota 2, Fifa 20, 8-Ball pool, Clash Royale, Pubg and many more. So in this episode he talks about how he is creating an infrastructure for Indian gamers. Talks about building trust within the community. How demonetisation helped the esports industry in India. Talks about esports as a respectable career.and finally he talks about Steve Jobs, dealing with concerned parents and dealing with cheats!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats so far
- Key learnings as an entrepreneur
- Why Fortnite became a hit game
- What you need to be a top esports player?
- Streaming games
- Esports v traditional sports
- Will it become an Olympic event
- Offline tournaments v online tournaments
- how much can you win?
- Thoughts on starting your own Esports team
- Female E-gamers
- Seeking challenges
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfCbGXHPfStMMtghzjqfe?si=f79e5abeed7c480e
India’s fintech adoption is booming. So today my guest is Ankur Joshi CEO & Co-founder of Nuclei,a bootstrapped software enterprise startup that helps banks improve digital banking services by integrating its API platform to increase customer engagement through merchant marketplace and wealth management services.
He talks about how he got this off the ground. Mistakes made in the early days. He talks about why they bootstrap and not raise any capital. He explains why the primary product is the team. He then talks about building partnerships, thoughts on B2C and B2B business models. Talks about sharing equity with staff.
Talks about why they think globally from day one & the tech hiring challenges in India. Talks about going fully remote and building culture. And finally he talks about mental toughness and What he looks for in a co-founder.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Having patience
- Being a serial entrepreneur
- Don't worry about the vanity metrics!
- Onboarding new employees.
- Choosing attitude over skill set.
- Management style - depends on the maturity of the other person.
- Building an integrated API platform
- Processing 3 million transactions a month.
- Partnering with 18 banks in India and S.E Asia.
And much more
Links
https://gonuclei.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
The wearable devices market in India is expected to reach a sales volume of 16.22 million units by 2024. So today I speak to Anmol Saxena, the CEO & founder of Ashva Weartech. They develop wearable solutions for chronic knee pain & spine.
So in this episode she talks about her own battles with knee pain that inspired to build a prototype at a hackathon. And since then they not looked back! She talks about how the products work, quitting her job at Ford. Building a MVP. Talks product development.
She talks about her research in the early days. She went to 50 clinics and spoke to over 110 knee pain patients. She talks about dealing with feature requests and how they kill products. Getting paying customers and then having to refund them and then getting to pay again! Why they use an Excel spreadsheet when things go wrong. Partnering with one of India's leading physiotherapist.
Talks about an offline marketing campaign that worked really well. Talks about sales forecasts for next year. How they onboard customers. And finally she talks about how the lean business model canvas can help you with your pitch.
In this conversation we also talk about:-
- The wearables market in India
- Having a great team
- Mudra - a motion sensor worn on the upper back. It corrects your spine posture with sensory feedback.
- Sales forecasts for next year
- Creating a reporting system for chronic knee pain
- Getting support from Mum and Dad after quitting Ford.
- Book recommendation - The art of startup fund raising - Alejandro Cremades
- 3 stages of building the first MVP.
- 8/10 patients do not turn up to the clinic after the first session.
- The two business models
- Stress!
- Going through an incubator
- Not having access to high quality physio in the early days
and much more
links
https://www.ashvaweartech.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Building bionic arms for people with disabilities! Today I speak to Rishi Krishan, the CEO & Co-Founder of Symbionic. Symbionic is an affordable, assistive technology startup that makes smart prosthetic devices.
It all started due to a freak bus accident which led to him losing his arm. So in this episode he talks about the huge challenges building a bionic arm. He talks about how he validated the idea by being a human guinea pig. Talks about how they build empathy into the product and the market size.
Talks technology and the business model. Talks about the key takeaways in building the first prototype , talks about user experiences and 3D printing. Talks about what makes this bionic arm so special. Why your users should be your first investors. Getting great advice from AssisTech Foundation (ATF).
Talks about being able to ride a bike again! Predictions for 2022. And finally he talks about advice he would give to his younger self and what first time founders should be focusing on.
In this conversation we also talk about:-
- Using 3D printing customisation and sensors
- Breaking out of the biases.
- Having small breakthroughs
- 10 million amputees in India.
- How would he sum up his journey so far?
- Thoughts on recruiting & why you shouldn't always hire the most experienced person.
- Working with a great team
- Existing solutions did not work
- Building something cooler, functional and cheaper.
- Using it in public and dealing with the reaction.
- Funding
- Creating crowdfunding campaigns
- Working in a niche market
- Feedback loops & dealing with the steep learning curves.
and much more!
Links
http://thesymbionic.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Ganesh Shankar is back! He came on the show in October 2017 (EP68) & he is celebrating 10 years as an entrepreneur! Ganesh is the co-founder & CEO of FluxGen FluxGen is on a mission to help industries become water positive, and aims to help save 1 billion litres of water everyday using his product AquaGen, a smart real-time water flow and level monitoring system. So in this episode he talks about improving the product using design thinking.
He talks about time spent in the Cisco Launchpad Tech accelerator. Talks about dealing with the water crisis. He gives bootstrapping advice. Talks about digitising water structures and how they reduce water consumption by 30%. He talks about bringing water transparency and data to clients.
‘Who will marry you now’ - his mom's reaction to him quitting General Electric to do this (he got married!) He talks about India being the largest groundwater extractor in the world, bigger than China & USA. He talks about the original MVP back in 2017. Having big clients onboard. Questions you should ask yourself before quitting your 9-5 job to do a startup. and finally we reminisce about his epic bike journey from Bangalore to Goa and getting a proposal on Valentines Day, but not that type of proposal! and much more!
In this conversation we talk about:
- 10 years as an entrepreneur!
- Looking back would he change anything?
- A commencement speech that still motivates him
- New projects in solar using drones
- Bootstrapping is good if you don't have a scalable plan
- Getting criticism in the early days
- The true cost of water
- How does he keep on top of things?
- The ongoing climate crisis
- A question you must ask → What is the primary driver for buying your solution?
- Transitioning from projects/consulting company to a product company.
- Not getting too worried about not getting sales in the early days.
- Start with the customer or start with the idea?
- How they de-risk industries and facilities from the water crisis.
- Dealing with the pandemic
- Building AI & IoT based end to end water management solutions.
- Being the founder and director of the non-profit The Sustainability Mafia (Susmafia.org).
And much more!
Links
https://fluxgen.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Nivedha is back on the show! I spoke to her back in December 2017 (Ep 72). She is the Co-founder of TrashCon. They have created a machine that helps solve India's huge waste management problem by converting mixed waste into Biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable Waste. They started with one tiny machine doing 100kg/day to now doing 200,000 kgs/day! Last year they did a million dollars revenue and have 3 million dollars in the pipeline this year. She talks about spending 2.5 years working in a dumpsites around India . She talks about working with big corporations and municipalities. Nivedha then talks about how they launch & test MVP’s and product development. She talks about when to use experts & when NOT to use experts. Going from 3 to 60 staff & what they look for in hiring, having a great co-founder and finally she talks about how you shouldn't look for 100% perfection in building a startup..85% is ok! , Doing TedX talks (Failure is when you decide to fail...) Winning awards, and why they have banned the word ‘impossible’ and looking back would she change anything? and much more!
In this episode we talk about:
- Creating wow boards
- Having more downs then ups
- Patents
- Has india's attitude to waste changed?
- Having no credibility at the start to now working with big corporations & municipalities.
- Having a co-founder who is a chartered accountant & engineer helps.
- How they use the technology to separate the waste
- Building a culture & not micromanaging everything
- Having a strong vision.
- Advice for first time founders - Have a clear problem statement.
- Don't look for perfection! The market is not looking for perfection.
- Going global.
and much more
Links
https://trashcon.in/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Logistics is the hottest industry to be in right now , according to my guest Mudasar Mohamed, Co-Founder & COO of Ezyhaul. Ezyhaul is a logistics tech startup based in India and South East Asia. They are on a mission to transform transportation logistics by building an ecosystem around shippers, truckers, government agencies, and third party service providers.
So in this episode he talks about how they validated the MVP by talking to experts & truck drivers. Talks about being very close to going bankrupt but are now growing fast! 300% in 2 years with $180 million in revenue.
Talks about how they digitize the trucking process. Talks about how they use data, dashboards and analytics to improve decision making. Talks about the two reasons why startups fail. Why three is the magic number in founding a startup.
What to look for in a co-founder and the qualities you need to be a COO. Talks about the golden rule in growing a 2 sided market. Why do they employ data scientists?
Talks about not getting carried away with valuations & Why is the transport industry still 20 years behind? And finally he talks about whether you!.. YES YOU! should pursue entrepreneurship or stay in your 9-5 job and much more! So please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Ecommerce is booming.
- How they matching supply & demand
- Dealing with resistance to change.
- Beating the competition by entering Tier 2 cities.
- First impressions of his co-founders
- He shares what he looks for in hiring (do something entrepreneurial)
- Books/podcasts recommendations
- Creating a blue ocean & staying away from the red oceans
- Why the focussed initially on Delhi and Bangalore
- How they improve the life of truckers.
- 75K trucks on the platform
and much more!
Links
https://www.ezyhaul.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
If everything is going digital why not theatre? Today I speak to Shreyas Talpade, actor , director , producer and now he is entering the exciting world of entrepreneurship building India's first ever streaming platform dedicated to Theatre and Performing Arts called Nine Rasa. This platform gives you access to several hours of plays, skits, story-telling, stand-Ups, chats and more across several languages. In this episode he talks about how the idea got conceptualised during the pandemic. Talks abut how the platform works, developing the ecosystem and being a first time entrepreneur. He talks about the decision making process on what goes on the platform and what doesn't. Shreyas then goes on to talk about his acting career including his big break, learning the craft, getting recognised for the first time. Talks about dealing with directors & writers and finally he talks about why you should ignore the critics , stop overthinking and just go do it!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Streaming 100hrs of content
- The rise and fall and now the rise of theatre in india.
- Millennials liking the concept
- Who are they targeting?
- Everyone's a critic!
- Could he have made it as a cricketer after staring in Iqbal?
- Dealing with the emotional side of acting.
- Getting out of the comfort zone & thinking outside the box
- Theatre classics v new content.
- Not spending any money on marketing
- Advice for first time entrepreneurs
- Why he is not competing with Netflix and other streaming services?
And much more!
Links
https://www.ninerasa.com/portal/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Making it easier and cheaper for e-rickshaw drivers to earn a livelihood. Today my guest is Varun Goenka, CEO & Co-Founder of ChargeUp. Charge-up offers the simple solution of Battery as a Service (BAAS) to a growing community of 2.4 million E-Rickshaws.
The company enables the e-rickshaw drivers to join the service without any upfront costs. By subscribing to a daily battery rental plan. Charge-up allows the drivers to visit the swapping station as many as 2-3 times a day to swap the discharged batteries with fully charged batteries.
In this episode he talks about how he got started by talking to over 500 drivers, finding huge pain points on the way. He will explain what they are. Talks about working backwards to create product market fit , which they did in 12 months. Talks about traction, the business model and how they use technology and data to grow the business. E.g driver behaviour, patterns, performance analytics and how they leverage the data.
Talks about missing out on the opportunity in solar and what he learned. Talks about the positive impact they have on drivers earnings and the environment. Talks about trying influencer marketing, partnerships with dealers. How fast they are growing. Thoughts on oil/fossil companies. He talks why reading Bhagavad Gita helps and finally he talks about having a growth mindset and why being a backbencher at school helped!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Battery technology
- Product research
- Helping drivers overcome range anxiety & increase revenue
- Overcoming negative feedback from the battery dealers.
- How they stop the theft of batteries
- How they build trust with drivers and dealers
- Having a co-founder with 'no attitude'
- Pay per use v buying the asset
- 'Imagination is more important than knowledge' - Albert Einstein
- Last mile connectivity/shared mobility
- Thoughts on the indian Government role in the clean tech space.
- Working on B2B deliveries
- The experience of driving an electric vehicle.
- Thoughts on bootstrapping
and much more
Links
https://echargeup.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Every year 300,000 wheelchairs are sold in india. 95% of all wheelchairs are one -size fits all. Imagine wearing shoes and everyone has to wear size 14 shoes! So today my guest is Swostik Dash, CEO & Co-Founder of Neomotion. This Chennai-based startup has developed a personalised wheelchair, and a battery-powered clip-on device that converts the wheelchair into a roadworthy electric vehicle.
So they helping people with disabilities to live a more independent life with their products. So in this episode he talks about how the journey started by talking to 200 Wheelchair users in 40 locations around india. Talks about the initial stages product development. You will learn how he makes decisions around feature requests.
Talks about how they balance creating impactful products, social change while making money at the same time. Talks about the main 5 metrics he checks every morning. Why don't they go after fancy features. Interesting thoughts on what Wheelchairs will look like in 100 years time . Talks about the donation drive business model, major milestones. And finally talks about the huge impact he is making on people's lives.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Why they don't want VC funding yet.
- Traction & sales so far
- Customisations -No two wheelchairs are the same.
- Supply chain management
- Manufacturing / fulfilling orders/ quality control
- Proof of concepts
- Advice on product development
- Product iterations
- What they are working on right now.
- What went wrong in the early days.
- Enabling wheelchair users to live life to the fullest.
- Advice for first time founders.
- Using a whiteboard to deal with negative and positive feedback
- Product design advice
- Why you shouldn't get stuck on your idea
- ‘Startup is a systematic risk minimisation’ - Warren Buffet.
- Solving the problem of Indoor and outdoor mobility
and much more
Links
https://www.neomotion.in/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Cryptocurrency is a trillion dollar industry & with a billion people in India the potential is huge! So today my guest Edul Patel CEO of Mudrex. A Y-Combinator startup building an algorithmic trading platform for cryptocurrency.
They help crypto traders create, test and deploy their trading rules into automated trading algorithms without writing code. Started back in 2011 reading the original white paper while still in college and now they are growing 40% month on month. They have 2.5k paying customers and $10 million of assets under management.
So today you will find out how he got his first 1k customers. Insights into the crypto scene in india. Talks about the hype/greed/fear/excitement/ in crypto. Are crypto trading bots better than human traders?
Talks about the best advice he received at YC(19) & the intense 24 hr demo day. Edul shares his product strategies on how products should be built and should they how they should be killed. The 3 books he gives to all his employees. And finally I talk to Edul about my first week as a crypto trader! So we talk about portfolios & trading advice.
Please note I am not a financial advisor. So please seek financial advice and if you're interested in buying crypto please see the link on the show notes.
In this conversation we also talk about
- Traction
- The Crypto lightbulb moment
- Indian regulations
- Who are they targeting?
- Talks about why crypto is so volatile (or is it?)
- Dealing with user experiences issues in the early days..
- The challenge indian regulations dealing with crypto and what he would change.
- Happy to let his bots trade while sleeping.
- After 10 years finally breaking even and making profit
- Deal making advice (less is more)
- 3 key skills to become a product manager (32.49)
- Whats can do wrong in crypto
- Advice for first time product managers with no experience
- Dealing with stress.
- Originally building a crypto exchange for India.
Links
https://mudrex.com/
P.S
Earn $10 USD in bitcoin
gemini.com/share/qng4qpxce
P.P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to over the past 5 years. You will hear from Vineet Rajan. Co-founder of Scout My Trip - India's premier do-it-yourself platform for road trips .talks about pivoting, new insights on the India travel market , growing 5x , expanding into S.E Asia, using virtual scouts & life changing road trips! Next we have Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith. (45m.46sec) India’s first tech-driven footwear brand, offering customisation of shoes at an affordable price. Next up Vikas Jha CEO & founder of Alore CRM (1h 19m) - On building one of India's fastest growing sales platform. And last but not least I speak to The Startup Guy aka Vijay Anand , Founder of the Startup Centre (1h 54m) he talks about the Indian Startup Ecosystem - what's going right, what needs to be tweaked and where to next? So sit back & enjoy some of the best moments
Vineet Rajan. Co-founder of Scout My Trip
This is an exciting new feature called Where Are They Now ? I catch up with previous guests who came on the show. I catch up With Vineet Rajan the co-founder of Scout My Trip India’s first subscription-based travel planner powered by local travel experts. He gives us an update on what’s been happening since I last spoke to him over 2 years ago including being recognised as being of the top 50 startups to watch in india. Talks about expanding into SouthEast Asia. He explains why they pivoted and now use virtual scouts, talks about raising $500k, talks about content marketing strategies , talks about hot new destinations in india you should visit , talks about a life changing trip to Ladakh and finally he talks about eating ghost chillies in North East India and his second wife latitia(his bike!)
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Growing 5x since 2018
- A phenomenal 2019 winning 6+ awards
- Offline marketing strategies
- Business Travel market
- Working with Honda
- Climate change & sustainable travel
- Great story how he met his co-founder on the highway
- Great road trips
- Being a startup guy and his co-founder being a corporate guy
- Consumer mindset in india
- Income Tax Exemption granted under Startup India Programme
- How they use virtual scouts
- Using AI in the future
- Being trapped in the snow for 20hrs!
Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith. (45m.46sec)
'It was his birthday & I thought of customising a shoe and gifting it to him on his birthday' And so Toesmith was born! and they haven't looked back . I speak to Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith , India’s first tech-driven footwear brand, offering customisation of shoes . In this episode he talks how the 3d customisation works. Talks about customer research , pitching his parents the prototype , how they target customers via Facebook and Instagram, how many orders that get a day, quitting the corporate life, how they plan to scale the operation and finally he gives advice on building an e-commerce business & brand in India.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Pricing strategies that don't pinch!
- Getting great feedback & design from a tattoo artist
- Walking away from nice job at Bain
- How they deal with copyright issues
- Thoughts on the offline / retail market.
- Is it pressure off or pressure on?
- Launching internationally & scaling
- Experiencing failure on his previous start-up
- Getting advice from parents who work in the shoe manufacturing business.
Vikas Jha CEO & founder of Alore CRM (1h 19m)
India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for SaaS (software as a service)-based customer relationship management (CRM) firms. So today i speak to Vikas Jha founder & CEO of Alore. Alore offers everything needed to run a sales team at scale - from finding business email addresses to running automated drip campaigns to monitoring the performance of sales teams. So he talks about it all got started , how the product works. How they acquire customers around the world organically without spending money on marketing. Talks about nearly going bankrupt , talks about what makes a great salesperson, being an ex-merchant navy officer turned venture capitalist turned entrepreneur. Gives great book recommendations , talks about burnout , mental health. He talks about bootstrapping strategies what worked and what didn't work and finally he talks about how he transitioned from corporate life to startup life.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Sales so far
- Early bootstrap strategies using Facebook groups
- Product design process
- Unique pricing models
- 2 business models
- Is email still a good way to sell?
- The 'land & expand' strategy
- Book recommendation - Atomic Habits by James Clear & OKR by John Dorr
- Seeing 800 business plans in a year as a VC and what to put in a pitch deck.
- Great hiring advice and processes.
- How he dealt with mental health & burnout
- Advice on pivoting
- Dealing with rejection
The Startup Guy aka Vijay Anand , Founder of the Startup Centre (1h 54m)
India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, what’s going right, and what needs to be tweaked? I speak to Vijay Anand, AKA The Startup Guy, founder of The Startup Centre in Chennai. He is an entrepreneur and has been mentoring startups in India for the past 10 years. So In this episode we talk about the state of the Indian startup ecosystem. Talk about finding India's identity - China has processes & innovation, Germany does precision machinery, US and Israel drive innovation, Japan has quality. What is India's story?The involvement of India's government - the good & bad. Talks about If someone wants to start a venture today, what areas should they focus on? talks about the 2 kinds of entrepreneur, overvaluation of startups, ethics, blockchain, dogs!, space travel, super human beings and what does he go for - the person or the idea? And much more , so please enjoy the show.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Differences in the Indian eco-system v Israel eco-system
- Big observation about indian startups
- Indian domestic market v global market
- Bill gates & Mark Zuckerberg chat
- How do you unlearn
- Looking at a person as asset not a liability
- The 3rd wave of startups
- How to find co-founders
- What gets Vijay out of bed?
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Giving a voice to people who don’t have a voice. Today my guest is Meet Singhal. Co-founder of Stamurai. A Mobile app that helps you learn & practice speech therapy exercises for stuttering & stammering. So in this episode he talks about how stuttering controlled his life almost having a breakdown and how he turned it all around by developing this mobile app. Talks about the initial prototype & acquiring his first customers. Which now has 40,000+ installs across 155 countries around the world. Talks about the science and psychology around stuttering. Never ordering food he liked only ones that were easy to say. Dealing with speech therapists. (30% sceptical , 70% encouraging) Talks about the best day so far. What you should and should not do when dealing with a person who stutters and telling his first ever joke! Talks about the subscription based business model . Does music work? - We talk about the headphone scene from the King's Speech! And finally gives great advice about raising finance & finding product market fit. Its an inspiring story and one that will inspire you!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Traditional speech therapy is expensive
- Growing 15% every month.
- His Initial assumptions - would people use a self-directed product?
- Honey is not the cure for stammering & other quacky myths!
- Speech therapy has not changed for the last 100 years.
- Being a 2x entrepreneur
- Why do people stutter?
- Biggest learning from the initial MVP
- Why his first startup failed (Khan academy for india)
- Being Inspired by Charlie Munger.
- App design challenges.
- ‘Getting rich is never easy in a well formed society’
- How they onboard users.
- Getting help from Prosus, a global consumer internet group.
- Why do products fail?
- ‘It's a hard journey , but filled with meaning’
- Product roadmap - expanding into other speech disorders.
links
https://stamurai.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Pampering your furry friends the right way! Today my guest is Anjali Kalachand, co-founder of A Petter Life an e-commerce platform to understand your dog’s nutritional & lifestyle needs. In this episode she talks about why she quit corporate life to do this. Growing 150% after launching only 2 months ago. Talks about identifying gaps in the market and being a bootstrapped startup. She talks about why the pet industry is similar to the children's industry. Mistakes made in the early days and lessons learned. The rise of dog ownership in India due to the pandemic. Thoughts on the offline competition. And finally she talks about dog friendly vegan ice-cream & why you should buy a dog!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Helping new/existing pet parents
- Starting this during the pandemic
- Stray dogs in Mumbai
- What problem are they solving?
- Dealing with bureaucracy in corporate life.
- Do dogs have personalities similar to their owners?
- Is india a nation of dog lovers?
and much more
links
https://www.apetterlife.in/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Dropping out of education to do an EdTech startup! Today my guest is Mohammad Yousuf CEO of Edunify. Edunify assists schools in connecting with prospective parents online and helps parents find the right schools for their children. Think of it like a matchmaking service. So in this episode he talks about great traction so far, talks about how they went about validating the idea. Why is selling to schools is one of the toughest markets you can be in. Thoughts on the indian education system & what can be improved. Talks about being a successful 3 time entrepreneur at the age of 21. Talks about successful SEO strategies to get parents to the website. Getting zero marks on his exams including entrepreneurship! and how he turned it all around despite personal hurdles like significant leg disability. Why pretending to be 24 yr old helps! And finally he talks about time blocking techniques that help him focus and be more productive. Which you can try as well.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- The business model
- The startup scene in Lucknow & thoughts on moving to Bangalore.
- Advice for first time founders.
- Paying his own way through college
- Thoughts on paid advertising.
- Being a big fan of Clubhouse
- What problem are they trying to solve?
- Customer discovery & feedback
- What was he like at school?
- Recalling his first pitch!
- Thoughts on going global
and much more
Links
https://www.edunify.in/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
I catch up with Dr Geetha Manjunath, CEO & CTO of NIRAMAI, a deep-tech startup, offering a radiation-free, non-invasive, non-touch, breast cancer screening solution. I spoke to her back in Sept 2017 (Ep67) when they only had a handful of customers, now they are one of the top deep tech startups in India. In this episode we talk about their core technology called Thermalytix. How they have innovated during the pandemic. Talk about how they create AI/ML models and how they test them before production. Talk about scaling issues & being part of Google Launchpad and Phillips accelerators. How they have shortened the B2C sales life cycle from 6 months to 6 weeks. Thoughts on selling to hospitals. A deep dive on how do they train the machine when there is little data. She also talks about developing (AI)-based computer-aided software for controlling the spread of River Blindness with the help from Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. She takes a trip down memory lane and talks about being a member of the C-DAC team which built the first commercial indian supercomputer. And finally she gives great advice for first time entrepreneurs.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Talk about patents & IP.
- Being a thought leader
- Supervised v Unsupervised learning
- Launching a new B2C home screening service
- Working with data augmentation
- Thermal imaging
- Taking it to the villages
- Scaling from 1 to 10 then 10 to 100
- Using microservices
- Getting in the shoes of the users
- Are they still a startup?
- Major milestones reached
- Healthcare startups take time!
and much more!
Links
https://www.niramai.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
My first ever guest is back on the show! Harshdeep Singh Hura founder of WrapItUp - a text summarizer. He appeared on show back in August 2015. We talk about how his app now has 3.5M users. Why he turned down $20 million acquisition for the app. How a anthropology course on apes was a breakthrough moment. Talks why he almost quit tech, what changed and gives us his new fresh perspective on life. He gives us great insights on mobile app design, development &marketing strategies. Talks about going from idea to MVP (starts at 25.19 take notes!) and why does not want a co-founder. Talks about becoming a pastry chef. Thoughts on Clubhouse being the next big thing. And finally we take a trip down memory lane and talk about the embarrassing first ever episode of the indian startup show.
in this conversation we talk about:
- Starting out writing algorithms on paper & not using existing NLP algorithms
- Being the most successful solo iPhone app developer in India (in my opinion!)
- Taking risks in your 20’s
- Reaction to friends and family on turning down $20million
- Setting up Indoor Hydroponic farming space.
- Entering the News Summarization space with a new line of products built around the WrapItUp algorithm, L.A.S.T. 5 [Linguistically Advanced Summarization Technique]
- Is it still a good idea to build an iphone app in 2021
- Helping salesforce administration to learn to code and then getting angry feedback from Salesforce content creators
- Being stressed & receiving a cold email that got his life back on track
- Growing an inch since we last spoke (6ft 9 inch)
- Building a remote first E-commerce agency
- Why they don't do regular marketing to create brand awareness.
- Hiring only fans influencers
- How he settles arguments with his dad.
- Why ‘luck can only take you so far!’
- Why you shouldn't change the world - but change one person’s world
- Starting WrapitUp because he was too lazy to read
And much more!
Links
http://harshdeephura.com / @kinngh on Clubhouse and Twitter / http://admin2dev.com / http://wrapitupapp.com (both available on http://harshdeephura.com)
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Building India’s first home-grown AR headset. Today my guest is Pankaj Raut the co-founder & ceo of AjnaLens. AjnaLens designs & manufactures AI-powered mixed-reality glasses for defence , education and enterprise customers. He talks about it all got started by being inspired watching James Bond movies. He talks about how the product helps the Indian armed forces & talks about design and development process. He talks about VC funding, future trends & opportunities. He gives us his thoughts on the AR/VR startup community in india. Thoughts on Google glasses 10 years on and dealing with the competition. And finally he talks about leaving India at the age 17 to go study in London. Meeting his co-founders at Google startup weekend. Seeing his first hologram and being inside a tank!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Building the first prototype
- Challenges in the AR/VR market
- What will VR/AR devices look like in the future.
- Getting a scholarship to go London
- Where the names comes from.
- Common mistakes AR/VR startups make.
- Meeting people with the right synergies.
- How he resolves differences of opinion with his co-founders
- Advice for first time founders - take 2 steps back!
and much more!
Links
https://www.ajnalens.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Building a digital bank to help small businesses in india. My guest today is Anish Achuthan CEO & co-founder of Open - a new age digital banking platform. In this episode he talks about how they raised $37 million from prominent investors, and shares amazing growth statistics. He talks about how they use customer acquisition channels. He shares UX strategies when developing the website & mobile app. Talks about being a 5x entrepreneur. Talks about the importance of branding and PR in getting your startup off the ground. Talks about how they evaluate talent. Going from 10 to 250 employees. Thoughts on demonetisation 4 years on. Hiring a sales guy when they couldn't afford one. Pitching to investors with a live demo instead of a slide deck.And finally you will learn how to deal with corporate companies if you’re a startup.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- User testing
- Creating a pilot
- Being the first mover in the market
- Building Culture & Leadership
- Being persistance
- Being married to the co-founder
- is 'Cash still king?'
- Reaching out to small villages
- Banks having reservations in the early days
- Integrating legacy systems
and much more
links
https://open.money/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Nothing is useless in this world. What can be a waste to you is someone's asset’ - The ‘Recycle man of India’ aka Dr Binish Desai, social entrepreneur & founder of Eco-Eclectic . I spoke to him back in February 2019 (Ep 106) and he is back again to talk about inventing a new type of brick made from recycled PPE material. He talks about creating a female empowerment centre for former sex workers. He then talks about building low cost homes using 3D technology, talks about trust issues after getting ripped off by a business partner. The pillars of success and what we can expect in 2021. And why you should start identifying waste as an asset.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Observe - fail - Learn - Solve framework.
- Creating Eco Bins
- The process of converting PPE into bricks..Brick 2.0!
- Creating affordable housing in the USA, Philippines & india, & Africa
- The Recycle man - the book
- What did he learn about himself during the pandemic
- Making jewellery & crockery out of coffee waste
- Carrying 2 bricks around wherever he goes
- Stop using single use coffee mugs!
- Expanding globally
- Trying to create the world's first recyclable house.
- 3D printing of the entire home.
- Coming from a family of social entrepreneurs.
and much more
links
https://www.binishdesai.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
100 million famers are expected to be online in the next 5 years. So today I speak to Siddharth Dialani, co-founder & CEO of BharatAgri a farming technology platform where they work with farmers directly. improving their productivity. Think of it as a digital farming assistant. So in this episode he talks about what inspired him to do this, building the first prototype. The problems farmers face. Time spent working on a farm for a year & being treated like an outsider . He then talks about how they create an algorithm that decreases the cost of production to farmers. Talks about how they use analytics to improve the customer journey. Talks about raising finance , how you should pitch investors. Why 'investors want you to do less not more' How they on-board farmers online. And finally he talks about his time at housing.com. The current farmers strike and being awarded Forbes 30 under 30!
In this conversation we also talk about:-
- Insights gained from talking to over 400 farmers
- Why agriculture is a complicated business.
- Farmers not understanding the share icon & notification icon. And how they changed it
- Soil/water/weather parameters that go into building an algorithm.
- Quickly pivoting to a digital strategy during the pandemic
- Thoughts on product market fit
- What will farming look like in 20 years time?
- Pitching & getting $50k from Uber.
- Book recommendations.
and much more
Links
https://bharatagri.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
No 1 Best Business Podcast in india! Big Thank You to CEO magazine India. I am humbled and honoured. Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to over the past years. You will hear from Shankar Prasad. Founder of Pureplay Skin Sciences. They are Building India's fastest growing new-age, values-driven vegan skin care & beauty brand. Next I speak to Akriti Khatri The founder of the Venus Detective Agency - India’s leading female private detective agency And finally I speak to Naina Hiranandani, COO & Co-Founder of Sirf Coffee. A Bespoke dating service revolutionising dating for global Indians. So please enjoy the show, and i wish you all the best for the new year!
Pureplay
‘One piece of advice I will give is this - listen to the consumer , listen to the consumer, listen to the consumer , everything flows from that, if that’s not part of you equation then your starting at the wrong place - Shankar Prasad. Today I speak to Shankar Prasad, Founder, Pureplay Skin Sciences.One of indian fastest growing vegan & grooming brands. He has over 20 years of creating and building consumer goods india. So in this podcast we talk about his iterative design process, his research , his pricing strategy , using social media influencers, the Skin care for men market, taking calculated risks, advice on building your own consumer goods brand and learn how to improve your communication skills. And finally some warren Buffett chat as well.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Starting out as a chemical engineer.
- Leaving corporate life and going it alone.
- Why vegan?
- Bring inspired by the goodness of nature, and & doing good
- Online & offline selling strategies
- Understanding want goes on in the west ,will likely happen in India
- Social media advice - Earn your place at the table.
- Launching skin care products for men & size of market.
- Favourite brands and why.
- Thoughts & experiences on using Youtube video for marketing & advertising.
Sirf Coffee
What do women want? & how do you deal with those annoying Aunties! Well today your going to find out. My guest is Naina Hiranandani, COO & Co-founder Sirf Coffee. Sirf Coffee is a bespoke dating service revolutionising dating for global Indians. In this exciting episode she talks about servicing clients around the world using an offline approach to dating and why they take this approach. She talks about the operational side of the business and why the business model has not changed over 10 years. She talks about why they don’t spend money on marketing or take investment and finally she shares some great dating advice you can try if your footloose and fancy free!
In this episode we talk about
- How many dates have they have setup
- Walking away from a lucrative career to do this
- Building a prototype
- Word of mouth marketing
- Do opposites attract?
- What it takes to be a COO
- The future of dating
- Being different to the rest of the competition
- Having courage
- Book recommendation Sapiens - Yuval Harari & Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari
Venus Detective Agency
The explosion of online dating & matchmaking apps in India has led to a huge rise in the number of private investigators tasked with exposing love cheats. Today my guest is Akriti Khatri , the founder of Venus Detective Agency . She is like the female Miss Marple, So in this exciting episode she talks about how she got started and turned this into a very successful business with offices around india. She gives great advice for first time founders and she will also talk about going undercover to check up brides and grooms before they get married , she talks dating, using high technology gadgets, conflicts, emotions. Why business is booming due to soap operas and why spending 30 days in the office doing nothing set her up for big success!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Business model
- Blackmail , honey traps & love affairs
- Why females make the best detectives
- Whats in her spy kit?
- The Long hours
- Would she recommend this as a career?
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
Big News I am starting a production company creating Indian based dramas documentaries & animation shows package them up for multicultural audiences around the world. So if you are writer ,scriptwriter, producer animators or know someone who is or has an original and interesting story tell or want to pitch me your concepts then get in touch and we can turn this into the next big Netflix / Amazon Prime show. Please get in touch
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to over the past 5 years. You will hear from The Tech Witches - A group of 5 Indian high school girls. They have built an app that connects children at orphanages to senior citizens in nursing homes, allowing them to spend time together. Next up Dr Siddhant Bhargava co-founder & nutritionist at Food Darzee.He is tackling India's growing obesity problem.by creating a health & nutrition company offering fresh, healthy food delivered daily to your doorstep. And last but not least I speak to Tanul Mishra CEO of Afthonia labs. Afthonia labs focuses on early stage startups in Fintech and provides them with a trusted ecosystem to grow and succeed.
Finally I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past five years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! So I’m very grateful
TechWitches
After losing both grandparents Ananya Grover & her fellow classmates decided to build something in the social sector space. So she and her fellow classmates aka 'The Tech Witches' decided to build an app called Maitri. An app that connects children at orphanages to senior citizens in nursing homes, allowing them to spend time together. In this episode I will talk to two of the ladies. CEO Ananya Grover & CTO Arefa Muzaffar. They talk about how it all works. Flying out to San Francisco and pitching the app to Google Ventures. They talk about how this app can fight depression in two groups. Being the only indian team in the Technovation Girls competition - A global competition featuring 19,000 kids and 170 teams from across 38 countries . They talk about what makes a great entrepreneur, how they work together and finally some Michelle Obama & Malala Yousafzai chat.
in this conversation we talk about:
- Sleepless nights!
- How they dealt with skeptical adults
- Improving everyone's social and mental well-being.
- The rise of loneliness in a connected world.
- Research/design/coding challenges
- Targeting two sets of users
- Why they call themselves the TechWitches
- Getting feedback from Google Ventures.
Food Darzee
India has a growing obesity problem! Today I speak with Dr Siddhant Bhargava co-founder and nutritionist at Food Darzee. Food Darzee is a health and nutrition company offering fresh, healthy food delivered daily to your doorstep. So in this episode he talks about his rollercoaster startup journey so far. Overcoming challenges, shares great advice for first time founders. Why obesity is a growing problem in India to dealing with Bollywood celebrities. Helping comedian Tanmay bhatt lose weight. Learn about the practical diet changes for a fit body. Advice on losing weight, nutrition being body positive, and finally his love of butter chicken!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Statistics so far.
- How does this work
- Having sleepless nights.
- Being the Keto expert in India.
- Educating Indian Mothers!
- Protein v carbs
- What keeps him going?
- the next milestones
- Siddhant's idea of food heaven & food hell
- How much protein do you need?
- Digital marketing advice.
- Siddhant's advice on what I am eating!
Afthonia labs
With over $1.85 Billion invested in the Indian FinTech space so far, I speak with Tanul Mishra CEO of Afthonia labs. Afthonia labs focuses on early stage startups in Fintech and provides them with a trusted ecosystem to grow and succeed. She talks about what startups should be focussing on and what they are looking for . She also reflects on her time as the co-founder of Eatelish, a successful food service that is a bridge between artisan foodmakers from across India and consumers. She talks about surviving the early days, breakthrough moments, having a successful exit and an interesting story about pickles and sorting things out over a cup of hot chocolate!
In this episode we also talk about:
- Funding is not the ultimate benchmark of success.
- Advice on launching startups.
- What should go in your pitch deck
- Being excited & emotional after a successful exit.
- Having an epiphany when trekking
- Great thoughts on when the right time to sell your startup.
- Examples of Fintech startups
- Book recommendation - Calvin and hobbs
- Partnering with VC's
and much more!
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Charanjeev Singh aka CJ aka The Flying Sikh is back on the show! I spoke to CJ on the show 5 years ago and he is still going strong. In fact they are now launching in Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and Singapore. He talks about acquiring 10% Sikh grooming market just through word of mouth. Talks about Product development life cycle and why the weather plays a big role. He talks about building a community centric brand. Talks about product failures Talks about the importance of Sikh culture in 2020. Why the indian hipster phase has died. Launching a streetwear brand. Shopping card abandon rates. And finally he talks about creating the world's first beard deodorant and much more.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Not burning money on marketing
- The good & bad of Covid
- Why it takes 8/9 months to launch a product.
- Demonetization & implementing GST issues
- New thoughts on entrepreneurship
- Being patient
- Going offline
- Would he change anything
- Being the 'GQ' for Sikhs
- Why beard textures are different around the world.
and much more
https://www.singhstyled.com/
Making space explorable & economical for the future generation. Today i speak to Dr Srimathy Kesan CEO of SpaceKidz India - SpaceKidz india helps students to pursue their space dreams regardless of their field of education, social status, and geographic location. in this episode she talks about how it got started. How under her guidance, students designed Kalamsat - the world’s lightest satellite ever to be placed in orbit! Her team of students are currently building the world's lightest rover for the moon. She also talks about how they use ‘ the make or break approach. Using 3D technology. Being mocked in the early days and people refusing to turn up to the first launch .She talks suborbital launches and trusting yourself. She talks about winning 20+ awards , Great advice for first time founders. She talks about being a former paratrooper, why she called herself Indira Gandhi as a 5 year to get into a top school. And is there life on other planets?
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Taking a 16 year sabbatical
- The space community in India
- Vision & redefining space dreams for Indian kids
- Going to Nasa
- Her initial dream of joining the army was rejected by her father,
- Designing & building a satellite from scratch in 6 days
- Being emotionally attached to the moon
- People refusing to turn up to the first launch
- Why her dad turned up at school for 15 days in a row at 5am!
- Turning her kitchen into a science lab
- Married at a young age, which put all her dreams and wishes on hold.
and much more
https://www.spacekidzindia.in/
P.S
Podcast Hosting Special Offer for Indian Startup Show Listeners.
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P.P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
India's drone whizz kid Harshwardhan Zala is on the show today. He has built a drone that sniffs out landmines. So In this conversation we talk about how it all got started at the age of 9. Spending 6-8 hours in a cyber cafe with his grandfather. Being inspired by a YouTube video where soldiers were trying to defuse a mine. Talks about the remarkable journey from not being taken seriously to be mentioned in the speech by PM of Israel. Talks about working with the indian government and military. Talks about how they implement AI/Machine learning and GPS in the drone and how it all works. Talks about being invited to Silicon Valley, Talks about The early prototypes, accuracy rates, the successful demos and not so successful demos! Working with adults. Talks about the future of drones . He then goes on to talk about burnout, and some insights on the drone community in India. And what makes a great developer.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Teaching engineering graduates at the age of 12 for extra pocket money
- Thoughts on being called a child prodigy/genius
- Completing 40+ projects by the age of 12
- The hardware, software and design challenges.
- Dropping out of school
- How you can get started with hardware development
- Public perception of drones
- Not having enough drone parts in India.
- Great tips on staying focus
- The problem - 110 active mines buried around the world.
- Developing code in-house v open source
- When will it go live?
and much more
Links
https://www.aerobotics7.com/
P.S
Podcast Hosting Special Offer for Indian Startup Show Listeners.
50% Off Your First Two Months on Simplecast
subscribe with the promo code ONSIMPLECAST below
https://simplecast.com?fp_ref=neil34
P.P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
and finally ...PLEASE STAY SAFE!!
Don’t be a Vanity SaaS. Be a value SaaS business. Today my guest is Shekar Nair - Partner & co-founder of Upekkha a business accelerator for early stage SaaS startups. They help founders build value based startups not vanity based startups. So he talks about why they focus on SaaS startups only. We talk about pricing strategies. Launching strategies & getting your first customers. We talk about co-founder issues, setting up in Delaware, USA. Why is there no Microsoft equivalent in India yet? and who could it eventually be and finally what he learned most about himself during lockdown .
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Developing the fundamentals of the SasS flywheel
- Growing fast
- What does Upekkha mean?
- Biggest insights do far
- Future of SAAS.
- Advice first time founders
- What are they looking for?
- What is a vanity SaaS business?
- Being a thought leader for SaaS based businesses in India.
and much more
links
https://www.upekkha.io/
P.S
Podcast Hosting Special Offer for Indian Startup Show Listeners.
50% Off Your First Two Months on Simplecast
subscribe with the promo code ONSIMPLECAST below
https://simplecast.com?fp_ref=neil34
P.P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
and finally ...PLEASE STAY SAFE!!
I speak to Yashika Shah the co-founder of Nandoo. Nandoo is India's only FUN health & wellness startup. Since launching they already have 200,000 members. So in this episode she talks about how it all works. You will learn how she manages a full time job working in investment banking, while working on this startup. Being married to the co-founder. She talks about building a community & targeting stressed out Indian millennials and find out how many minutes you need to walk to get an IPhone!
In this episode we also talk about:
- 4.30AM starts!
- Taking fun seriously! Today
- How they went from 0-200,000 in under 6 months
- Future business models
- Indian marketing strategies - what worked, & what didn't work
- Work life balance
Next up I Rajiv Talreja India’s Leading Business Coach and is the author of the International Bestseller called – “Lead or Bleed” So in this episode You will learn how to stand out from the competition. Mistakes entrepreneurs make. Examples of core strategies that you can use in your business. And why the customer is not the king!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Having a strict father
- Being in debt
- "If you don't lead in your business you will bleed!"
- Two failed businesses.
- Anyone who has scaled a business is not the most intelligent person on the team.
- Spirituality.
- Business heroes
- Being a selfish cricketer
- Being a freak of work life balance.
- Living an 'And' life not an 'Or' life
- TedX talk
- Why self employment is a trap.
Next up Akshaara Lalwani founder of Communicate India one of the fastest growing Marketing and PR companies in India. She started this business from her bedroom age 23 and now in the 10th year employs over 100 people has clients around the world and won a number of awards. So in this episode she talks about her amazing journey. Some of her favourite PR campaigns - including flying pizzas. You will learn about client relationships and how she measures success , and dealing with crisis management and finally some chat about Margaret Thatcher , sushi , Will Smith, Tequila, insects and eating pizza 14 days in row!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Challenging first year
- Growing 150% in the last year
- 'You can't please everyone - Not even chocolate can!'
- Getting a pizza delivered by a drone!
- The dream company she would like to work with.
- Being careful of how you use social influencers
- Establishing a 90:10 gender ratio
- Learning on the job
- What she has learned as a female entrepreneur
- Being called the Margaret Thatcher of the PR industry
- Expecting the worst not the best
And Finally Venk Potula. Venk is an award-winning Indian-American filmmaker and actor, producer & creator of the new Indian-American fiction podcast called Masala Jones. A subversive and daring new comedy about one man's journey to become the world's first Indian-American adult actor. Venk talks about his life in Hollywood as an Indian-American , how he come up with idea. his entrepreneurial spirit. An amazing story of how he got discovered. What fame is really like and what comes with it. His dream role. We go through his IMDB appearing in VEEP and finally a great story about playing a zombie (make sure your not eating anything!)
in this conversation we also talk about
- How much research did he do?
- Working with hall of fame AVN actress Aurora Snow
- Virtual Reality in the theater
- Appearing on Veep was he star struck?
- Time spent at UCLA
- Hollywood parties
- Stay out of L.A!
- Making money in the entertainment business
- Taking acting classes - Running around staring at walls
- Being a hustler
P.S
Big News I am starting a production company creating Indian based dramas documentaries & animation shows package them up for multicultural audiences around the world. So if you are writer ,scriptwriter, producer animators or know someone who is or has an original and interesting story tell or want to pitch me your concepts Then get in touch and we can turn this into the next big Netflix / Amazon Prime show. Please get in touch ,
P.P.S
Podcast Hosting Special Offer for Indian Startup Show Listeners.
50% Off Your First Two Months on Simplecast
subscribe with the promo code ONSIMPLECAST below
https://simplecast.com?fp_ref=neil34
P.P.P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
and finally ...PLEASE STAY SAFE!!
Minakshi started with an Excel spreadsheet back in 2006. And this year has recently been awarded the best bar in India , and in Asia’s 50 best bars list of 2020. Amazing achievement considering women working in bars is extremely uncommon. it's a bit of a taboo subject. So she talks about how she overcame those challenges. She talks about finding her passion, Working 14-15 hours a day. She reveals how she got people in India to drink an Old Fashioned & Whisky Sour’s! What she learned about herself during lockdown. We talk about indian’s complicated relationship with alcohol. And finally she shares her secrets to making a great cocktail. It's truly an amazing story and one that will inspire you as well.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- How she came up with concepts and themes
- Building a bar from scratch or buying an established business.
- Non alcoholic v alcoholic cocktails
- Favorite cocktails.
- Dealing with the lockdown.
- Getting an adrenaline rush from bartending
- Why being a bartender is similar to giving a theatre performance .
- Not taking it too seriously
- Dealing with bureaucracy
- Advice on building your own bar,
- Getting women into the industry
Links
https://sidecarbarindia.com/
P.S
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if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Vivek Bajaj is back on the show! He is co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets.com. He appeared back in August 2016 (EP39) and since then his app has gone from 50K downloads to 1.5million downloads. And has gone from employing 25 staff to over 140 staff. So in this episode he talks about how they have scaled the operation. Talks about finding great business partners. Thoughts on the current stock market, Common mistakes first time investors make. Shares formulas for investing including the ‘10 10 10’ rule. Talks about his best investments and worst. Why Reliance stock is a ‘buy’. Why he doesn't invest in Bitcoin. Talks about raising finance. Gives great advice for entrepreneurs And finally the most important lesson about money he has learned so far!
in this conversation we talk about:
- Revenue stats so far
- What problem are they solving
- Which product makes most revenue?
- Are they still a startup?
- Dealing with the big losses
- Never comprising on sleep
- Why you shouldn't just look at the price of a stock
- Using you gut/intuition picking stocks
- The importance of interest rates on the stock market
- What is going to happen to the stock market in the next 6 months
- Thoughts on robo advisors
- Why your tech product should always be in 'beta'
And much more!
Links
https://twitter.com/vivbajaj
P.S
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50% Off Your First Two Months on Simplecast
subscribe with the promo code ONSIMPLECAST below
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P.P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
If sex sells, why is it so difficult to make money? Well today we are going to find out! I speak to Shakun Sethi founder of Tickle.life - The world's first community based discovery platform for sexual wellbeing and sexuality.She talks about her desire to build this. She goes in depth about building not one but two MVP and spending a year visiting over 100 sex toy shops for research. She talks about getting user feedback, using the sprint model. What metrics they use and the design issues faced. She talks about what really matters when building a community from scratch. She talks about the Indian market. And finally she talks about how to improve your EQ.
In this episode we talk about:
- What are the users needs
- getting 5k people to download the app with marketing.
- Indian customers being ready but still having reservations
- What she learned from her first startup
- Having a therapist
- why she gets DM's but no RT's!
- Failure is ok!
- Building a discovery platform not a social network
- Her leadership style
- Idea V Execution
- What she googled before telling her parents!
Links
https://www.tickle.life/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
I catch up with Dr Siddharth Manvati, co-founder of Clear Meat. He came on the podcast last year (EP125) And a lot has changed since we last spoke. He finally talks about the magical moment he finally tasted the first product. He talks about the science behind evaluating taste and smell. The economics of making lab based chicken. Talks about raising finance. Talks about proof of concepts, having 14 sleepless nights , why they are moving from the Indian market to the global markets. When will this be available to the general public? And how they plan to scale the company.
In this conversation we talk about:-
- shifting from the lab to industry.
- Plant based v cell based thoughts
- What does it taste like?
- Why they not ready to start branding yet
- How they hire scientists
- Not being a salesperson
- Thoughts on the China market
- Chicken nuggets chat.
- What does the law say?
- An update on what we will be eating & drinking in 100 years time!
and much More
links
https://www.clearmeat.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Indians don't pay for news! Well they do and today my guest is Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry, a news, current affairs & media analysis organisation. They are building an alternative news model , so in this episode he talks about building this high risk venture. Old media & new media business models. Not being dependent on eyeballs. Find out which newspaper is worth reading. Dealing with Twitter trolls. Govt interference in the news. Thoughts on PM Modi, Arnab Goswami and what kept him going in the early days. And why the 'self made man' is a myth. Finally we talk about his experience of directing/producing Highway On My plate , the award winning travel and food program.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Subscription stats
- How he got started
- Mistakes made
- The culture of paying for news
- Advice on building your own media company
- What questions would he ask PM Modi
- Working on a piece about the Delhi riots
- Great food experiences & not so great food experiences.
- Podcast recommendations
and much more
links
https://www.newslaundry.com/
P,S
I am producing a brand new indian comedy drama called he 'The Great indian Startup' Check out the first episode now!
Rajeev quits his boring corporate job to start his own venture on comic books with his two friends Veronica and Siddharth. The plot revolves around various issues the entrepreneur faces in starting up - conflicts with girlfriend, family, fundraising, hiring, scaling. Original Scripted Comedy Drama coming soon!
https://soundcloud.com/indianstartupshow/new-updated-version-the-great-indian-startup-ep1
The Indian e-sport scene is booming. So today I speak to Yash Pariani co-founder of The Indian Gaming League. IGL is India’s most popular competitive gaming and esports league that hosts gaming tournaments online and they are growing fast! IGL hosts daily online tournaments and battle royales across all your favourite game titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Fortnite, Dota 2, Fifa 20, 8-Ball pool, Clash Royale, Pubg and many more. So in this episode he talks about how he is creating an infrastructure for Indian gamers. Talks about building trust within the community. How demonetisation helped the esports industry in India. Talks about esports as a respectable career.and finally he talks about Steve Jobs, dealing with concerned parents and dealing with cheats!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats so far
- Key learnings as an entrepreneur
- Why Fortnite became a hit game
- What you need to be a top esports player?
- Streaming games
- Esports v traditional sports
- Will it become an Olympic event
- Offline tournaments v online tournaments
- how much can you win?
- Thoughts on starting your own Esports team
- Female E-gamers
- Seeking challenges
links
https://www.iglnetwork.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
W.V. Raman’s vast experience as a player and coach at the top level will provide wonderful learnings on how to achieve one’s potential in all walks of life. - Sachin Tendulkar. Today I speak with Mr W V Raman - Former test match cricketer , and coach of the indian women's team. We talk about his book The Winning Sixer , leadership lessons to master. He talks about how anyone can be a leader. He talks about building credibility. Biggest mistakes leaders make. He talks about life changing advice from a non-cricketer which led him to break all records in 88-89 season and scoring one of the best knocks overseas by an indian batsman. Talks about dealing with the pressure of playing for India. Nasser Hussain's perceptions on the Indian touring sides in the 1990's and how S.Ganguly changed it. Thoughts on the winner takes all 'mentality' and finally we talk about his current coaching career .
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Dealing with Sledging
- Getting bowled out for 66 in Durban
- Do you have to be selfish to be a top cricketer?
- Going back to school
- Listening to talking ratios
- Talks about underrated Indian cricket players
- How he got his big break as a top order batsman
- Facing a prime Allan Donald!
- Life in the dressing room
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
You Got to Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them! Today I speak to Nitesh Salvi, founder and CEO of Pocket52. He talks about how he went from playing poker in the late nights in his student dorm with friends to building India’s largest poker platform. He talks about how they build trust and loyalty on the platform. Talks about getting rejected over 150 times despite already having a previously successful exit. He talks about creating a white label business as well as a B2C model. Talks about the psychological side of Poker. Dealing with fraud. And we talk about gambling responsibly and finally he talks about his biggest wins and losses on the poker table! and much more.
in this conversation we also talk about
- Growing the user base
- Spending 6/7 researching the market
- Coin dumping
- Building a scalable product
- The importance of using Lava lamps!
- Pitch deck advice
- Creating the right environment for customers
- Advice for first time entrepreneurs
- Playing poker with his family
- Reading people
and much more
links
https://www.pocket52.com/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Having been stuck inside coronavirus lockdown since late March. I decided to listen back through the archives and put together some of the best interviews.
Today you will here from 'The Recycle Man of India' Dr Binish Desai Forbes 30 under 30 Asia social entrepreneur & founder of Eco-Eclectic. We talk about:-
- Being inspired by Captain Planet!
- Building houses, toilets, lamps & other products out of waste - What's next?
- First brick looking like a roti
- Working in slums
- Dealing with negativity & proving people wrong.
- Why he takes 2 bricks with him everywhere he goes!
- Creating a micro social enterprise to help women
- 3D printing houses in the future
- Dreaming of getting on the Forbes list & getting on the list.
- Being cheated by a partner & what kept him going
Next up is Krishnan Nair -CEO of Geektrust he talks about on creating an online platform that connects talented developers with great opportunities. We talk about :
- Taking the plunge
- Stats so far
- Being a first generation entrepreneur
- Being In it for the long haul.
- Figuring out your core value
- It's time to move on from the outsourcing industry and build kick-ass products for the world from India!
- Marketing strategies - Writing things from the heart! not clickbait.
- Don't drink your own Kool-Aid!
- Business model
- Being mentally prepared. Startup life is a lonely journey.
- Indian VC's, China VC's, American VC's
And finally I speak to the amazing Pooja Dhingra Celebrity chef, entrepreneur & founder of Le15 Patisserie. We talk about:
- Starting with 3 people and now employing 140+
- Falling in love with Macaroons!
- Bringing a piece of Paris back to Mumbai
- Starting a business being young & female
- Going to events in the early days and getting asked about her husband and father
- Dropping out of law school after 2 weeks.
- Management styles
- Building a brand
- Eating dark chocolate
- Being open to change
- Setting crazy goals.
- Oprah Winfrey chat
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Futurepreneur Grand Challenge winner Radhika Timbadia Owner of Champaca , Campaca is a unique cafe venture around books, food, curation and a strong community. She talks about how it got started. Talks about spotting the gap in the market . Thoughts on building a community. Talks about not being taken seriously by vendors and also challenges of retaining employees. She talks about dealing with Covid19. Advice for first time entrepreneurs. Great book recommendations, why she loves books, Bangalore traffic! Spotting snow leopards and online pub quizzes.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Creating online voucher system during the shutdown.
- Getting help from fellow cafe owners
- 360 degree personality change
- Was it a difficult concept to sell in the early days
- What will the cafe shop look after Covid19?
- Book recommendations Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities
by Harini Nagendra, Seema Mundoli and Exhalation - Ted Chang - Making tough decisions
- Exploring different niches.
- Bangalore weather.
- Motivating herself in the lockdown.
and much more!
Links
https://www.champaca.in
Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and Facebook India launched the FUTUREPRENEURS GRAND CHALLENGE for women mass entrepreneurs in the Food and Beverage Sector (F&B) in Bangalore to catalyse women entrepreneurs and recognize and reward the best among them. GAME is a non-profit platform for mission-aligned partners to learn, innovate and collaboratively build a self-sustaining mass entrepreneurship ecosystem. By identifying and scaling breakthroughs with partners, we want to build a movement for creating and sustaining 10 million job-creating ‘mass entrepreneurs’, half of whom will be women. For more information:
https://massentrepreneurship.org/
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Catching up with Raghav Gupta, the co-founder of Nymble labs. He came on the show in November 2017 his team has built a personal cooking assistant called Julia. We talk about his appearance on TV. How they have developed the robot since we last spoke, talks about raising finance ,setting up offices in China and California. Talks about why they are changing market focus from India to US. Gives great advice on customer development and how they qualify customers. Talks about becoming comfortable with uncertainty. He talks about how they demoed the robot at TechCrunch robotics conference without paying $$$$ for a booth. And finally we got some music at the end of the show.
in this conversation we talk about:-
- Being VC backed & new business model
- How they came up with research goals
- Developing a Customer Development process that helped gather more insights about consumers.
- How they separate feedback from noise
- How they capture the feedback.
- Taking the cooking robot to the houses of people who had signed up in SF, San Diego and LA
- Dealing with the coronavirus
- Thoughts on the b2b and b2c markets
- Dealing with the competition
- Don't fall in love with your product. Fall in live with the problem!
and much more
P.S
if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare and Creative Live. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
The Indian Startup Show Trailer - A weekly podcast Show about Indian startups, entrepreneurs & more ! Hosted by Neil Patel & friends.
India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, what’s going right, and what needs to be tweaked? I speak to Vijay Anand, AKA The Startup Guy, founder of The Startup Centre in Chennai. He is an entrepreneur and has been mentoring startups in India for the past 10 years. So In this episode we talk about the state of the Indian startup ecosystem. Talk about finding India's identity - China has processes & innovation, Germany does precision machinery, US and Israel drive innovation, Japan has quality. What is India's story?The involvement of India's government - the good & bad. Talks about If someone wants to start a venture today, what areas should they focus on? talks about the 2 kinds of entrepreneur, overvaluation of startups, ethics, blockchain, dogs!, space travel, super human beings and what does he go for - the person or the idea? And much more , so please enjoy the show.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Differences in the Indian eco-system v Israel eco-system
- Big observation about indian startups
- Indian domestic market v global market
- Bill gates & Mark Zuckerberg chat
- How do you unlearn
- Looking at a person as asset not a liability
- The 3rd wave of startups
- How to find co-founders
- What gets Vijay out of bed?
links
https://in.linkedin.com/in/vijayanands
https://twitter.com/vijayanands
P.S
I am starting a production company creating Indian based dramas documentaries & animation shows package them up for multicultural audiences around the world. So if you are writer ,scriptwriter, producer animators or know someone who is or has an original and interesting story tell or want to pitch me your concepts Then get in touch and we can turn this into the next big Netflix / Amazon Prime show.
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
'There was no alternative to buying expensive furniture for temporary needs' and so City Furnish was created. Today I speak to Neerav Jain, the co-founder of City Furnish a rental subscription service for furniture & appliances. So in this episode he talks about how he got this off the ground by talking to 200 people , going through Y-Combinator last year , and how they validated the market ,raising $5million and talks customer retention strategies , the 2 macro changes contributing to the rise in the renting economy in India. What did the first MVP look like. Learn how to talk to your potential customers. Why his parents thought it was a bad idea and why they want more competition not less!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Growing fast
- Playbook for launching new cities
- How they scale & deal with logistics
- Meeting Paul Graham
- Expanding to the Middle East
- Why they got rejected 400x
- For every assumption you need validation
- Book recommendation - The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win - Steve Blank
- Furniture rental market v furniture buying market
- Why has there not been a furniture rental unicorn yet?
- Hiring for culture fit rather than skill
and much more
Links
https://cityfurnish.com/
P.S
I am starting a production company creating Indian based dramas documentaries & animation shows package them up for multicultural audiences around the world. So if you are writer ,scriptwriter, producer animators or know someone who is or has an original and interesting story tell or want to pitch me your concepts Then get in touch and we can turn this into the next big Netflix / Amazon Prime show.
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Trapped indoors by the Storm Ciara & Storm Dennis. I decided to listen back through the archives and put together some of the best bits. So today you will hear from Govinda Upadhyay- Cofounder LEDsafari, Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur - On bringing solar-powered light to students in India., we talk about:-
- Going from one village to the next with a suitcase
- A great example of entrepreneurship in Uganda
- The one child one lamp initiative.
- Grandma & Grandpa thoughts!
- Dealing with the knockbacks
- Interesting story where the name comes from
- Growing up in an army family & changing friends every 3 years.
- Don't build product build solution - Former President of India - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Next up is Venkat Iyer - the author of Moong Over Microchips - Adventures of a techie turned farmer! We talk about:
- Unable to sleep
- Dealing with the silence and the darkness
- Depression
- Russels Viper Snake
- Not knowing anything about farming
- Getting ripped off the first time
- The 4 C’s and 2 P’s of success
- How being project manager helped!
- Taking risks
- Someone interested in buying the movie rights
- Realities of living on a rural farm in India (kids not interested!)
Next the 'The Guru of Giggling' Dr Madan Kataria - Founder of Laughter Yoga Clubs- On why laughter really is the best medicine! Including exercises you can try at home helped me a trapped nerve in my shoulder! We talk about:
- The body not being able to differentiate between fake laughter or real laughter.
- His mother being embarrassed when she found out and how he turned it around.
- Milkshake laughter
- Dealing with shy and inhibited people
- The gibberish workshop!
- Skype laughter club.
- Being a social crusader
- Not having a business brain! but reaching 100 + countries.
- Depression is the No1 sickness in the world
- Acting like a happy person
Last but by no means least - Rajeev Tamhankar founder of TBS Planet a comic & animation startup. He is building the next Indian Superhero Universe!. We talk about:
- Leaving the corporate life
- Attending Comic-Con
- Developing superheroes including Karma & Mother Nature
- Writing his first novel - Get corporate before you get fired!
- Joining an accelerator
- Creating an augmented treasure hunt at Comic-Con
- Dads feedback.
- Getting his first sale
- State of the Indian comic market.
- DC/Aquaman chat.
- Experiment - content development takes time!
I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past four years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! So I’m very grateful.
Links : http://www.indianstartupshow.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
'It was his birthday & I thought of customising a shoe and gifting it to him on his birthday' And so Toesmith was born! and they haven't looked back . I speak to Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith , India’s first tech-driven footwear brand, offering customisation of shoes . In this episode he talks how the 3d customisation works. Talks about customer research , pitching his parents the prototype , how they target customers via Facebook and Instagram, how many orders that get a day, quitting the corporate life, how they plan to scale the operation and finally he gives advice on building an e-commerce business & brand in India.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Pricing strategies that don't pinch!
- Getting great feedback & design from a tattoo artist
- Walking away from nice job at Bain
- How they deal with copyright issues
- Thoughts on the offline / retail market.
- Is it pressure off or pressure on?
- Launching internationally & scaling
- Experiencing failure on his previous start-up
- Getting advice from parents who work in the shoe manufacturing business.
and much much more
Links
https://www.toesmith.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
This is an exciting new feature called Where Are They Now ? I catch up with previous guests who came on the show. I catch up With Vineet Rajan the co-founder of Scout My Trip India’s first subscription-based travel planner powered by local travel experts. He gives us an update on what’s been happening since I last spoke to him over 2 years ago including being recognised as being of the top 50 startups to watch in india. Talks about expanding into SouthEast Asia. He explains why they pivoted and now use virtual scouts, talks about raising $500k, talks about content marketing strategies , talks about hot new destinations in india you should visit , talks about a life changing trip to Ladakh and finally he talks about eating ghost chillies in North East India and his second wife latitia(his bike!)
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Growing 5x since 2018
- A phenomenal 2019 winning 6+ awards
- Offline marketing strategies
- Business Travel market
- Working with Honda
- Climate change & sustainable travel
- Great story how he met his co-founder on the highway
- Great road trips
- Being a startup guy and his co-founder being a corporate guy
- Consumer mindset in india
- Income Tax Exemption granted under Startup India Programme
- How they use virtual scouts
- Using AI in the future
- Being trapped in the snow for 20hrs!
and much much more!
https://scoutmytrip.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Part 2 of my interview with Sanil Sacher co-founder of huddle a startup incubator based in Delhi. So in this episode he talks his entrepreneurial life. Talks about his moment of epiphany. Gives great advice on beating the Monday morning blues talks about how to scale consumer goods companies, some Richard Branson chat , key takeaway from working at Star Sports , and mental health chat. Finally a first for the indian startup show, Sanil reads out some of his wonderful some poetry.
Links
http://huddle.work/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Providing 360-degree support to multiple startups. Today I speak to Sanil Sachar co-founder of Huddle a startup incubator based in Delhi. He is also an entrepreneur, national best-selling author, angel investor, columnist, co-owner of global sports brand, Trusox, motivational speaker and leadership coach. I decided to split this into two parts . So in this episode we talk about the startup incubator he co-founded , what inspired him to do this, what they look for when it comes to investing, raising funds in india, exits, advice for first time investors ,he talks about what startups you should be investing in and what he likes & dislikes in the Indian startup ecosystem.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Mentoring startups
- The application process
- Being open to single founders & non technical founders
- How much do they invest & how much equity do they take.
- Investing in data over sound technology, blockchain & keto markets
- Startup scene in Delhi , compared to Mumbai & Bangalore.
- Motivations
- How much should you invest?
and much more
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
‘One piece of advice I will give is this - listen to the consumer , listen to the consumer, listen to the consumer , everything flows from that, if that’s not part of you equation then your starting at the wrong place - Shankar Prasad. Today I speak to Shankar Prasad, Founder, Pureplay Skin Sciences.One of indian fastest growing vegan & grooming brands. He has over 20 years of creating and building consumer goods india. So in this podcast we talk about his iterative design process, his research , his pricing strategy , using social media influencers, the Skin care for men market, taking calculated risks, advice on building your own consumer goods brand and learn how to improve your communication skills. And finally some warren Buffett chat as well so please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Starting out as a chemical engineer.
- Leaving corporate life and going it alone.
- Why vegan?
- Bring inspired by the goodness of nature, and & doing good
- Online & offline selling strategies
- Understanding want goes on in the west ,will likely happen in India
- Social media advice - Earn your place at the table.
- Launching skin care products for men & size of market.
- Favourite brands and why.
- Thoughts & experiences on using Youtube video for marketing & advertising.
and much more
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for SaaS (software as a service)-based customer relationship management (CRM) firms. So today i speak to Vikas Jha founder & CEO of Alore. Alore offers everything needed to run a sales team at scale - from finding business email addresses to running automated drip campaigns to monitoring the performance of sales teams. So he talks about it all got started , how the product works. How they acquire customers around the world organically without spending money on marketing. Talks about nearly going bankrupt , talks about what makes a great salesperson, being an ex-merchant navy officer turned venture capitalist turned entrepreneur. Gives great book recommendations , talks about burnout , mental health. He talks about bootstrapping strategies what worked and what didn't work and finally he talks about how he transitioned from corporate life to startup life.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Sales so far
- Early bootstrap strategies using Facebook groups
- Product design process
- Unique pricing models
- 2 business models
- Is email still a good way to sell?
- The 'land & expand' strategy
- Book recommendation - Atomic Habits by James Clear & OKR by John Dorr
- Seeing 800 business plans in a year as a VC and what to put in a pitch deck.
- Great hiring advice and processes.
- How he dealt with mental health & burnout
- Advice on pivoting
- Dealing with rejection
and much more
links
https://alore.io/
P..S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Student living 2.0! Today I speak with Annu Talreja and Priyanka Gera they have co-founded OxfordCaps. OxfordCaps is Asia's first branded and tech-enabled student housing company they started in Singapore and now growing rapidly in India so in this episode they talk about how they went from quitting their corporate jobs to raising $10 million dollars in funding. They talk about how they are enhancing the student experience, female entrepreneurship , the hardest part about doing business in India , they talk about pitching to investors and knowing each other since childhood. And finally some Steve jobs, Jack Ma chat.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Going from 200 beds to 15000 beds
- Are they growing too fast?
- First impressions of each other
- How they divided the different roles & responsibilities at the start.
- Appreciating each other
- Getting customers
- Having supportive investors
- Lion mom culture & stress
- Technology
and much more!
links
https://oxfordcaps.com/
What do women want? & how do you deal with those annoying Aunties! Well today your going to find out. My guest is Naina Hiranandani, COO & Co-founder Sirf Coffee. Sirf Coffee is a bespoke dating service revolutionising dating for global Indians. In this exciting episode she talks about servicing clients around the world using an offline approach to dating and why they take this approach. She talks about the operational side of the business and why the business model has not changed over 10 years. She talks about why they don’t spend money on marketing or take investment and finally she shares some great dating advice you can try if your footloose and fancy free!
In this episode we talk about
- How many dates have they have setup
- Walking away from a lucrative career to do this
- Building a prototype
- Word of mouth marketing
- Do opposites attract?
- What it takes to be a COO
- The future of dating
- Being different to the rest of the competition
- Having courage
- Book recommendation Sapiens - Yuval Harari & Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari
and much more
links
https://www.sirfcoffee.com/
P.S
Follow me on @Skillshare Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Big News I am starting a production company creating Indian based dramas documentaries & animation shows package them up for multicultural audiences around the world. So if you are writer ,scriptwriter, producer animators or know someone who is or has an original and interesting story tell or want to pitch me your concepts Then get in touch and we can turn this into the next big Netflix / Amazon Prime show. Please get in touch , hello@neilpatel.co email title production. Thank you for downloading the Best of The Indian Startup Show Part 10. So Today you will hear from
Ganesh Shankar, Co-Founder of FluxGen - On Solving India’s Water Shortage Crisis.
"WHO WILL MARRY YOU!" - Ganesh's mother's reaction to him quitting General Electric & starting his own company! A start-up company based in Bangalore they has developed a low-cost and local Internet of Things (IoT) solution for energy and water management (EWM). So in this podcast we talk about - How he got the idea, how it works, the ups and downs of entrepreneurial life to bootstrapping the company.
We also talk about management styles & why the 14th February is an important date! Nothing to do with Valentine's day! Future of Indian Startups. Stats. The cultural advantages of Indian startups. He also talks about an inspirational cycling adventure from Bangalore to Goa.
Examples of troubles & challenges
Stats so far
Starting the business without a business plan
Can anyone be an Entrepreneur?
What problem are they solving?
Aims and objectives in the next 2 years
How does he keep on top of things
His management styles "You focus on your work, I will focus on your career!"
Life at General Electric
Comparing management styles between Fluxgen & General Electric
Cycling chat!
Next up is Vineet Rajan , Co-Founder of Scout My Trip - On building India's premier do-it-yourself platform for road trips .
When Vineet was 5 years old, his dad shoved him into a car and took him on his first ever road trip! Now he is the co-founder of Scout My Trip, a platform & planner for road trips anywhere in India, they are doing really well. Its a big market 90% of all travel today is by road. 60% of all vacations today are road trips. We talk about how he got 5,000 signups before launching, being part of a tech accelerator, mistakes he has made on the way, to being profitable. We also talk about amazing road trips you can try, His passion for riding his Royal Enfield bike around India and much more.
In this conversation we also talk about:
Stats for far
Meeting his co-founder on the highway
What he calls his Royal Enfield bike!
A key takeaway from being in an accelerator
Trying to be the Uber for travel agents.
Getting people to the website
Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
Iconic road trips in India
Road trips do's and don'ts
What keeps him up a night?
Having a supportive dad
Taking risks
Lessons learned
The dream trip
Bill Gates chat
And finally Mathew Browne, CEO of Kolkata Yoga Club - On bringing Yoga to the masses!
we talk about the difficult first 3 months in his startup journey, marketing tactics, pricing strategies, roadmaps, his management style, getting into the corporate wellness space we also discuss laughter yoga, super brain yoga, desk yoga and some Conor McGregor chat as well and much much more so please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about:
Stats
Delivering yoga to your home
How they got started
Painting walls to attract customers
No pushy sales!
Who are they targeting?
Popular classes
Thoughts on online yoga apps
Why Yoga?
Dealing with Corporate companies
How big do they want to go with this?
I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to show for the past four years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! I’m very grateful.
Sit back & enjoy some of the best moments of The indian Startup Show. But first I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to show for the past four years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! I’m very grateful. You will hear from
Anupama Gowda, Co-founder of Workbench Projects - On building a maker space for tinkerers, artists, makers, engineers & anyone with an inspired spirit!
- A project using tidal wave energy for domestic use
- Thoughts on Hyperloop is it hype? or for real?
- Building amazing things with wood!
- A project using the first electronic stethoscope
- Her dad supporting her madness
- Arts background
- Working with Colonel Vinod - ex-Paratrooper & international hockey player!
- Favourite pieces of Art
- Working with Tamil children to produce digital fabricated puppet show
Raghav Gupta, Co-founder of Nymble Labs - On creating a curry cooking robot! Freeing Indians from their kitchen!
- Meet Julia your curry cooking robot!
- Best advice received from the Bosch Tech accelerator
- His favourite & least favourite foods
- Being covered by Bloomberg
- How much will it cost?
- 600 people applied for the Bosch accelerator - Why did they get in?
- What would this business look in 10 years time
- Favorite products - Dyson
Nivedha R.M - Co-founder of TrashCon - On a mission to solve India’s huge waste management problem.
- Being a mentor to people 3 times her age
- Not giving up easily!
- Age, qualification , status - does not matter
- Seeing huge mountains of landfill
- Bringing about a change in society.
- Hitting the right pain point at the right time
- How she got the idea - great story!
- What happens after the waste gets separate - very interesting case studies!
- What can go wrong?
- Getting help from her mother
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
"Growing up in a country that has been credit starved"- Satyam Kumar. Satyam is the CEO & Co-founder of Loan Tap a digital lending platform for salaried employees. They are one of the fastest growing Fintech startups in India. So in this episode he talks raising $22 million in funding from bootstrapping the business 3 years ago. The Indian lending ecosystem, shares digital marketing strategies including Diwali marketing tips. He talks about mistakes startups make when pitching for investment. Learn how they deal with fraud. He also shares excellent financial advice and finally some Amitabh Bachchan chat.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Bootstrap strategies
- Creating customer awareness
- Wedding loans
- Being profitable
- Book recommendation - Measure What matters:OKR's John Dorr
- Indian Poetry
- Fintech startup advice
- After raising $22 million is it pressure on or off
- Thoughts on Bitcoin
https://loantap.in
This episode is brought to you by Manning. Manning is an independent publisher of computer books and video courses for software developers, engineers, architects, system administrators, managers and all who are professionally involved with the computer business. Now you can get 40% off all Manning products use discount code podinstartup19 https://www.manning.com/
I use Manning in my own software development career, It has helped me build awesome web apps , mobile apps , voice apps, helps me debug code, getting my head around Test driven development and prepare for those technical pair programming interviews and much much more , so it’s great to have them onboard. Latest Manning Titles include Zero to AI, Fighting Churn with Data, and Machine Learning for Business
Manning Publications now offers regional pricing for Indian residents. Check out https://www.manning.com/ for pricing in Rupees. So if you want to build the next big thing check out https://www.manning.com/ and use discount code podinstartup19 you will get 40% off off all Manning products.
The explosion of online dating & matchmaking apps in India has led to a huge rise in the number of private investigators tasked with exposing love cheats. Today my guest is Akriti Khatri , the founder of Venus Detective Agency . She is like the female Miss Marple, So in this exciting episode she talks about how she got started and turned this into a very successful business with offices around india. She gives great advice for first time founders and she will also talk about going undercover to check up brides and grooms before they get married , she talks dating, using high technology gadgets, conflicts, emotions. Why business is booming due to soap operas and why spending 30 days in the office doing nothing set her up for big success!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Business model
- Blackmail , honey traps & love affairs
- Why females make the best detectives
- Whats in her spy kit?
- The Long hours
- Would she recommend this as a career?
links
https://www.venusdetective.com/
This episode is brought to you by Manning Publications - Manning is an independent publisher of computer books and video courses specifically for software developers, engineers, architects and system administrators.
For the last 4 years I have personally used Manning in my own software development career, side projects and hackathons. So it’s fabulous to have them onboard. Even when I have been struggling debugging front end & back end code, preparing for a technical interviews these books & videos have been an absolute lifesaver. Titles include Zero to AI, Fighting Churn with Data, and Machine Learning for Business
And now Manning Publications now offers regional pricing for Indian residents. Check out https://www.manning.com/ for pricing in Rupees. So if you want to build the next big thing check out https://www.manning.com/
Nothing gratifies the soul than a good read! Today I speak to Dalbir Kaur Madan - The founder of One Up Library a unique entrepreneurial venture that aims to revitalize the idea of traditional libraries into inviting child-centered learning space designed for the 21st century child. In this episode she talks about how it was a difficult concept to sell in the early days. You will learn how she builds a community. She talks about the business model. Talks about getting kids off smartphones and getting them to read 150 books a year. How reading Malcolm Gladwell helps her with the business strategy. Great book recommendations so check the show notes for more details. Some Harry Potter chat and some surprising research & data on why you should read out loud to you kids.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- The 10,000 hours rule
- Why most people stop reading after they leave school
- Thoughts on audio books
- Reading is like breathing in & writing is like breathing out
- Why is Harry Potter so popular?
- Challenges need to be solved instead of weighing you down!
- How to raise a reader
and much more
links
http://www.oneuplibrary.com/
Book Recommendations
- The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
- Maccher Jhol - Richa jhu
- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
- Theres a Giraffe in my soup by Ross Burach
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- Outliers by Malcolm Galdwell
- The Moment of Life - Melinda Gates
P..S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
After losing both grandparents Ananya Grover & her fellow classmates decided to build something in the social sector space. So she and her fellow classmates aka 'The Tech Witches' decided to build an app called Maitri. An app that connects children at orphanages to senior citizens in nursing homes, allowing them to spend time together. In this episode I will talk to two of the ladies. CEO Ananya Grover & CTO Arefa Muzaffar. They talk about how it all works. Flying out to San Francisco and pitching the app to Google Ventures. They talk about how this app can fight depression in two groups. Being the only indian team in the Technovation Girls competition - A global competition featuring 19,000 kids and 170 teams from across 38 countries . They talk about what makes a great entrepreneur, how they work together and finally some Michelle Obama & Malala Yousafzai chat.
in this conversation we talk about:
- Sleepless nights!
- How they dealt with skeptical adults
- Improving everyone's social and mental well-being.
- The rise of loneliness in a connected world.
- Research/design/coding challenges
- Targeting two sets of users
- Why they call themselves the TechWitches
- Getting feedback from Google Ventures.
links
https://twitter.com/Techwitches5
P..S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
'Get out of bed! & do the stuff your excited about' - Today I speak to Advait Gupt founder of Supari Studios an award winning digital content studio. They help brands build scalable, immersive content to Gen Y and Gen Z audiences online. Over the past 7 years, they have produced over 450 projects that have been viewed over half a billion times online, for brands such as Red Bull, Google, Estee Lauder and Twitter. In this episode he talks about creating content at scale. How they manage the creative side with making money. You will learn how to grow your own content on Youtube. He also talks about the streaming wars in India. And finally he talks about creating a Simpsons type animation show set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have gone extinct. It follows the adventures of a cow , chicken , goat and a pig four crime fighting vigilantes. & working with one of Indians biggest rappers Divine.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Working with top international brands
- Business models
- Book recommendation - Creativity inc & Measure what matters
- Animation scene in India
- Think about the consumer
- Aims & objectives in the next 3 years
- Advice on how to be taken seriously.
- You don't need a fancy degree!
and much more
links
http://suparistudios.com/
P..S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Anyone fancy a lab-grown chicken burger? Today I speak to Dr Siddaharth Manvati Co-founder of Clear Meat. This company seeks to produce India’s first cell-based chicken minced meat. In this exciting episode you will learn how they create lab grown meat from molecules. He also talks about business models B2B & B2C. He talks about being part of an accelerator a global food accelerator programme shaping the future of food. He talks about the importance of being patient. Raising finance and discusses price points. Working with farmers not against. And finally some interesting ideas on what were going to eat and drink in a 100 years time!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- The aim in the next 2/3 years
- Thoughts on plant based v lab based meat
- Taste?
- What about fish & bacon etc.
- The future of food - Chicken Nuggets with insulin & bubble water
- Advice for first time founders
and much more!
Links
http://www.clearmeat.com/
P.S
If you want to ask a question for next week's guest , record your question and upload to Soundcloud , don’t forget to add your name & city. send me the link to hello@neilpatel.co e.g my name is (name) , I am from (city) my question is .. and I will select the best ones. Good luck!
P.P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.P,S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
With over $1.85 Billion invested in the Indian FinTech space so far, I speak with Tanul Mishra CEO of Afthonia labs. Afthonia labs focuses on early stage startups in Fintech and provides them with a trusted ecosystem to grow and succeed. She talks about what startups should be focussing on and what they are looking for . She also reflects on her time as the co-founder of Eatelish, a successful food service that is a bridge between artisan foodmakers from across India and consumers. She talks about surviving the early days, breakthrough moments, having a successful exit and an interesting story about pickles and sorting things out over a cup of hot chocolate!
In this episode we also talk about:
- Funding is not the ultimate benchmark of success.
- Advice on launching startups.
- What should go in your pitch deck
- Being excited & emotional after a successful exit.
- Having an epiphany when trekking
- Great thoughts on when the right time to sell your startup.
- Examples of Fintech startups
- Book recommendation - Calvin and hobbs
- Partnering with VC's
and much more!
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV
Disability is a large problem, 1 Billion people in the world have some or the other kind of disability. 2. 2 Billion people will need at least 1 assistive product by 2030. Today I speak to Prateek Madhav the Co-founder & CEO of the Assistive Technology Accelerator . ATA is india’s first ever assistive technology accelerator. They help startups build tech based solutions for people with disabilities. He talks about how it all got started , examples of tech for good products. He talks about funding, product market fit and the biggest challenges within the disability ecosystem. He talks about the mistakes startups make when pitching to investors , how to scale , thinking globally and after the doom and gloom of India getting knocked out of the World Cup. We talk about an Indian cricket team who are world champions.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- How do they identify startups
- Biggest insights so far
- Technology does not discriminate
- 70% of Indian disabled people live in rural areas.
- When's the best time to launch?
- walking away from corporate life
- Social sector world v corporate world.
- Indian blind cricket team.
- Validating your ideas
- Book recommendation - Zero to one - Peter Thiel
- Running marathons
and much more!
links
www.atalabs.org
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.P.S
You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.
Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more!
https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108
Being a kid obsessed with J.A.R.V.I.S Aarushi a 17 year old student Entrepreneur has created Aaru - an AI-based virtual , personal assistant. Aaru is a one-stop solution to integrate any application to various interfaces and mode of communications. So in this exciting episode she talks about how it all got started. Being inspired by her father. Getting customers, learning to code , what motivates her. She gives us a demo , she talks about balancing school life with startup life, pitching to investors , lessons learned so far, and finally her love of physics.
in this conversation, we also talk about:
- Learning to code
- What her teachers & school friends think.
- Scaling the business
- Pitching in front of successful entrepreneurs
- Book recommendation - Steven Hawking -Brief answers to big questions
- Thoughts on machine learning
- Favourite startups
- The hardest bit about building this startup
- Advice for first time founders
and much more
Linkedin profile
https://in.linkedin.com/in/aarushi-nema-64a006185?trk=d_public_post_follow_view_profile
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
The Indian electric vehicle market is estimated be worth $30 Billion in 6 years. So today i speak with Nishchal Chaudhray founder of BattRE Electric Mobility they have introduced a new electric scooter in India at an affordable price. In this episode we talk about the phenomenal growth in the electric vehicle market due to product innovation and changes in government policies. He talks about building a distribution and after sales service network from scratch. He talks about what first time founders should be focussing on. Dealing with the skeptics . Planning Series A funding next year. Great advice on changing careers and why he doesn't want to be the next Elon Musk.
in this conversation we talk about:
- How many electric scooters have they sold
- Being a sales guy not a tech guy
- Being the chief operator of everything!
- Book Recommendation - The Secret
- Not relying on the Government
- Dealing with success and failure
- Taking it to the masses
- Petrol bikes v Electric bikes
- Feature to price ratios
- Fail fast & fail smart
- Targeting generation Z
links
http://www.battre.in/
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
India has a growing obesity problem! Today I speak with Dr Siddhant Bhargava co-founder and nutritionist at Food Darzee. Food Darzee is a health and nutrition company offering fresh, healthy food delivered daily to your doorstep. So in this episode he talks about his rollercoaster startup journey so far. Overcoming challenges, shares great advice for first time founders. Why obesity is a growing problem in India to dealing with Bollywood celebrities. Helping comedian Tanmay bhatt lose weight. Learn about the practical diet changes for a fit body. Advice on losing weight, nutrition being body positive, and finally his love of butter chicken!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Statistics so far.
- How does this work
- Having sleepless nights.
- Being the Keto expert in India.
- Educating Indian Mothers!
- Protein v carbs
- What keeps him going?
- the next milestones
- Siddhant's idea of food heaven & food hell
- How much protein do you need?
- Digital marketing advice.
- Siddhant's advice on what I am eating!
links
https://fooddarzee.com/
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
"I never expected to an entrepreneur if you asked me when I was graduating from Columbia university what would I be I would say a philosopher! " Today I speak to Cathy Guo. Cathy is the CEO & Co-Founder at Dunya Labs. Dunya Labs is a global blockchain product company and innovation lab based in India. She talks about how she got started , what they are actually building. She talks about why she moved to india. She also talks about the blockchain ecosystem in india. favorite blockchain projects, dealing with the indian rules and regulations and finally her love of dhal and rice!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Targeting developers
- How long is a typical blockchain project.
- Can blockchain be hacked?
- Bitcoin
- Having a philosopher background helps!
- Who owns blockchain?
- Its a lonely job
- What will this company look like in 5 years
- Making herself obsolete
- Living in Bangalore
and much more
links
https://www.dunyalabs.io/
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
What happens when a successful entrepreneur, who built and managed the world's largest independent payphone company when he was still in his early thirties, begins questioning his identity as a value-creator? Today I speak to Ravi Kailas and Cathy Guo authors of an amazing new book called Myth of the entrepreneur. Its an intimate exploration of Ravi’s 30 year entrepreneurial journey. We talk about his life experiences . including having a heart attack . Shares his observations on the misconceptions surrounding entrepreneurship and ideas for the future of value creation.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Being a serial entrepreneur with over three decades of experience
- Wishing he had the heart attack earlier!
- How Vipassana meditation helps
- Risk taking
- The major myth about entrepreneurship
- Working with his father
- Great advice on building a services business. - You have to price competitive
- Mistakes first founders make
- Building one of Indian's largest renewable energy company
- Raising money on the London Stock exchange
- The 5 Trillion Indian infrastructure industry
- Overrated advice!
- Advice on finance
and much more
For more information on this book please go to
https://www.searchfortruevalue.com/
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It talks 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
"I feel like Superman getting ready to fly" Today I speak to Kunal Chandiramani founder and CEO of two startups. A TEDx speaker, an international best-selling author, while still at school. He talks about his love of startups, his love of innovation, waking up at 4.45am! Growing a beard & wearing suits for meetings. And he will tell you how to come up with value propositions, validate ideas, and how to motivate yourself. And finally we have some Jeff Bezos chat.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- A love of innovations and startups
- School system in india
- Choosing between profit or impact
- How does he do all this?
- What do his classmates and teachers think?
- Which is best: Distant future market or near future markets
- Being authentic
- Age is NOT a barrier
- Having the Forbes list on his bedroom wall
- Sending Jeff Bezos a letter and getting a reply
and much more!
links
http://kunalchandiramani.com/
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It talks 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
What do Americans think of Indians? & What do Indian people think of Americans? Well we are going to find out with my guest David C. Sanford. He is the author of a book called Spilling the Beans:A Guide for Indians to Understand and Communicate Successfully with U.S. Americans. David Sanford is an intercultural training specialist with more than 25 years of experience in helping with big organisations. So today you will learn how Americans, and Indians should communicate successfully with each other. You will also learn about the similarities and differences in Indian & American values, motivations, behaviours and expectations.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Passport culture
- When in Rome do as the romans do!- Is this still good advice?
- Hard handshakes v soft handshakes
- How to work across different cultures.
- What makes an American tick.
- Love of Masala Chai
- Working in virtual teams
- American psyche V Indian psyche (freedom v family)
- Mistakes U.S american companies make when dealing with indian employees
and much more!
links
https://whenculturesmix.com/spilling-the-beans
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It talks 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Today i speak to Venk Potula. Venk an award-winning Indian-American filmmaker and actor, producer & creator of the new Indian-American fiction podcast called Masala Jones. A subversive and daring new comedy about one man's journey to become the world's first Indian-American adult actor.
Venk talks about his life in Hollywood as an Indian-American , how he come up with idea. his entrepreneurial spirit. An amazing story of how he got discovered. What fame is really like and what comes with it. His dream role. We go through his IMDB appearing in VEEP and finally a great story about playing a zombie (make sure your not eating anything!)
in this conversation we also talk about
- How much research did he do?
- Working with hall of fame AVN actress Aurora Snow
- Virtual Reality in the theater
- Appearing on Veep was he star struck?
- Time spent at UCLA
- Hollywood parties
- Stay out of L.A!
- Making money in the entertainment business
- Taking acting classes - Running around staring at walls
- Being a hustler
and much more!
links
https://www.venkpotula.com/
P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It talks 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
P.P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to show for the past three years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! So I’m very grateful. So sit back & enjoy some of the best moments.
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It talks 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
So Today you will hear from Parag Agarwal Co-founder of JanaJal. Startup building Building the world’s first water sharing economy. He talks about:
- The water ATM concept
- His top project management tips
- Time spent working in the jungles of Indonesia
- The ONE quality entrepreneurs should have
Next up Rakesh Verma Chairman & MD of MapmyIndia (@MapmyIndia) India’s leader in premium quality digital map data , GPS navigation, tracking, and location apps. He talks about:
- Top leadership advice
- Not having the Monday Morning blues!
- Conviction , passion , happiness
- Are your building a startup or a business? <---Important!
Next is Anaka Narayanan - Founder of Brass Tacks. She shares her journey from studying economics to becoming a fashion designer & entrepreneur! She talks about:
- Quitting her job and taking the plunge into the world of textiles and fashion
- Fashion tips for men & creating a curvy Indian women size chart!
- Understanding customers
- Fashion disasters!
- Sustainability & craftsmanship in India
Next up is Rohit Pateria, Co-founder & CEO of Placio - On disrupting the $50B Indian Student housing market. He talks about:
- How he got started
- What problem are they trying to solve,
- Attracting students to the platform
- What first time founders should be focusing on
And finally, we hear from
Dr. Geetha Manjunath Co-founder & CEO of NIRAMAI - On creating A novel breast cancer screening solution using AI. She talks about:
- Accuracy rates
- Reaction of the health industry & Dealing with sceptical doctors
- Getting your hands dirty!
- Huge potential in making a difference to women in India
- Her background - PHD in computer science & working at Xerox
- How the device works - The 5 step dance process!
links
https://www.indianstartupshow.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
P.P.S
I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It talks 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8
Taking fun seriously! Today I speak to Yashika Shah the co-founder of Nandoo. Nandoo is India's only FUN health & wellness startup. Since launching 5 months ago . They already have 200,000 members. So in this episode she talks about how it all works. You will learn how she manages a full time job working in investment banking, while working on this startup. Being married to the co-founder. She talks about building a community & targeting stressed out Indian millennials and find out how many minutes you need to walk to get an IPhoneX!
In this episode we also talk about:
- 4.30AM starts!
- How they went from 0-200,000 in under 6 months
- Future business models
- Indian marketing strategies - what worked, & what didn't work
- Work life balance
and much more!
links
https://www.nandoo.in/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
'You can't please everyone - Not even chocolate can!' Today I speak to Akshaara Lalwani founder of Communicate India one of the fastest growing Marketing and PR companies in India. She started this business from her bedroom age 23 and now in the 8th year employs over 100 people has clients around the world and won a number of awards. So in this episode she talks about her amazing journey. Some of her favourite PR campaigns - including flying pizzas. You will learn about client relationships and how she measures success , and dealing with crisis management and finally some chat about Margaret Thatcher , sushi , Will Smith, Tequila, insects and eating pizza 14 days in row!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Challenging first year
- Growing 150% in the last year
- Getting a pizza delivered by a drone!
- The dream company she would like to work with.
- Being careful of how you use social influencers
- Establishing a 90:10 gender ratio
- Learning on the job
- What she has learned as a female entrepreneur
- Being called the Margaret Thatcher of the PR industry
- Expecting the worst not the best
and much more
Links
https://www.communicateindia.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
"If you don't lead in your business you will bleed!" - Today I speak to Rajiv Talreja India’s Leading Business Coach and is the author of the International Bestseller called – “Lead or Bleed” So in this episode You will learn how to stand out from the competition. Mistakes entrepreneurs make. Examples of core strategies that you can use in your business. And why the customer is not the king! And much much more . So please enjoy the show. Thank you!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Having a strict father
- Being in debt
- Two failed businesses.
- Anyone who has scaled a business is not the most intelligent person on the team.
- Spirituality.
- Business heroes
- Being a selfish cricketer
- Being a freak of work life balance.
- Living an 'And' life not an 'Or' life
- TedX talk
- Why self employment is a trap.
links
https://www.rajivtalreja.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
As a little girl Pooja Dhingra was obsessed with desserts. Now she is the force behind the immensely popular Patisserie chain, Le 15 Patisserie in Mumbai. We talk about how she learned everything from scratch , the challenges she had to overcome. Building a brand. Her love of chocolate . The reality of being a celebrity chef. And finally find out what is her food heaven and food hell. It's truly an amazing story and one that will inspire you as well. So please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Starting with 3 people and now employing 140+
- Falling in love with Macaroons!
- Bringing a piece of Paris back to Mumbai
- Starting a business being young & female
- Going to events in the early days and getting asked about her husband and father
- Dropping out of law school after 2 weeks.
- Management styles
- Building a brand
- Eating dark chocolate
- Being open to change
- Setting crazy goals.
- Oprah Winfrey chat
- Book recommendation - Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
and much much more!
links
https://le15.com/
Learning to code? check out SuperHi - flexible online courses for creative people, whatever your background. Join our global community learning together. https://www.superhi.com/?r=Neil
Disrupting the education system in India. Today I chat to Divyam Goel CEO of AttainU a new school teaching software with zero upfront fees you only pay after you get a job. He talks about, why he wants to disrupt the Indian education system, how it all works, having a quarter life crisis, his past experiences of working in the Bay area and his biggest challenges so far. so please enjoy the show
In this conversation we also talk about:
- The deferred payment model
- $30 billion industry
- Why 70%-90% of students coming out of education are unemployable.
- Who is this for?
- Dealing with negative feedback.
- What does success look like?
- A love of swimming!
- Have strong convictions - ignore the buzzwords and do your research
- Good book recommendations - Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo,
and much much more!
links
https://www.attainu.com/
P.S
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
One billion underprivileged people have no access to footwear. This inspired my guest Shriyans Bhandari to start Greensole. This social enterprise takes used sneakers which would otherwise end up in a landfill and refurbishes them into sandals that get donated to hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries in India. Shriyans talks about his amazing journey from designing and manufacturing his first shoe to receiving the Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneurship award and receiving a letter from Barak Obama and much much more so please enjoy the show.
- 150,000 pairs of footwear being upcycled
- Retail model
- How it works
- Working with corporate partners - Skechers, Adidas
- Dreaming of being on the cover of Forbes
- Being 20 years old running a factory with no manufacturing experience.
- Being in it for the long term.
- Every day is a new day!
- Meeting his co-founder running
- Favourite pair of shoes!
- Reading spiritual books
- Don't look at the final result.
and much more!
P.S
Learn something new in 2019 - Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
He quit his job at ThoughtWorks 4 years ago. Became an entrepreneur with 0 experience in running a business. But he is still alive & kicking, and is doing very well. He now has a team of 9, close to profitable, and has over 25K+ developers on the platform. So in this podcast, he shares valuable insights from the last 3 years. That you can use in your business. So please enjoy the show. If you like my podcast, please consider buying me a coffee. Buy Me A Coffee Thank you for your support!
- Taking the plunge
- Stats so far
- Being a first generation entrepreneur
- Being In it for the long haul.
- Figuring out your core value
- It's time to move on from the outsourcing industry and build kick-ass products for the world from India!
- Marketing strategies - Writing things from the heart! not clickbait.
- Don't drink your own Kool-Aid!
- Business model
- Being mentally prepared. Startup life is a lonely journey.
- Indian VC's, China VC's, American VC's
- Its time to move away from resume
- Great blog recommendation -> Mark Suster bothsidesofthetable.com
and much much more
links
https://www.geektrust.in/
P.S
If you like my podcast, please consider buying me a coffee. Thank you for your support!
Buy Me A Coffee
P.P.S
Learn something new in 2019 - Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities
Forbes 30 under 30 Asia social entrepreneur Dr Binish Desai is my guest today. He is the founder of Eco-Eclectic. They create eco-friendly solutions for domestic and industrial waste by turning them into assets. Binish first dabbled with the idea when he was just 10 years old, experimenting with paper and chewing gum. Today the company has developed around 150 eco-products and recycled more than 600 tonnes of waste and he made the Forbes 30 under 30 - Social Entrepreneurs list. it's truly an amazing story and one that will inspire you as well!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Being inspired by Captain Planet!
- Building houses, toilets, lamps & other products out of waste - What's next?
- First brick looking like a roti
- Working in slums
- Dealing with negativity & proving people wrong.
- Why he takes 2 bricks with him everywhere he goes!
- Creating a micro social enterprise to help women
- 3D printing houses in the future
- Dreaming of getting on the Forbes list & getting on the list.
- Being cheated by a partner & what kept him going
- A book on his life coming out - is a movie next
- The 3 pillars of success
- Book recommendation - Origin by Dan Brown
- Getting help from his grandfather and school principal
- Following his dreams against all the odds!
and much more!
links
https://www.binishdesai.com/
Learn something new in 2019 - Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!
https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities
Ha Ha Ha, Ho Ho Ho Ho, Hee Hee Hee! Today I speak to the founder laughter yoga club, Dr Madan Kataria aka ' The Guru of Giggling'. He started out in 1995 with 5 people and now has over 16000 laughter clubs worldwide in more than 100 countries. So in this episode, he talks about how it all got started, people, thinking he was crazy. And why laughter really is the best medicine even in the tough times. Also please stay tuned to the end to hear some audio of a laughter yoga expert with exercises you can try at home.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- What laughter does to your body scientifically
- The body not being able to differentiate between fake laughter or real laughter.
- His mother being embarrassed when she found out and how he turned it around.
- Milkshake laughter
- Bring very popular in Japan
- Dealing with shy and inhibited people
- The gibberish workshop!
- Skype laughter club.
- Being a social crusader
- Not having a business brain! but reaching 100 + countries.
- Depression is the No1 sickness in the world
- Acting like a happy person
and much much more!
links
https://laughteryoga.org/
Learn something new in 2019 - Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities
Today I speak to Anirudh Narayan author of an amazing new book called Scale Smart: How To Get Your First 1,000 Customers in India. Scale Smart is an actionable guide to start and scale a startup in India., So in this podcast, we talk about great digital marketing strategies - Facebook, Youtube, Whatsapp, email marketing, etc you can use today to get your startup off the ground. We also talk about his time at Shutterstock with a 250K budget to life as a digital nomad in South America and much more!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Examples of Indian focussed growth stories
- When should you start the growth hacking process?
- Product market fit.
- Focus on consistency, not virality
- It's your responsibility to build a community and not sell
- Get smarter using Facebook
- Life in the US and South America
- Example growth hacks and experiments at Shutterstock.
- Email marketing edge case examples.
- Build relationships offline
- Youtube marketing examples - create primary, secondary, tertiary content
- vidIQ is the tool that helps you learn how to get more views and subscribers
- Social influencers -Still the number one way to push things out
and much more
links
Information for the book: http://bit.ly/book-landing-page
Buy the book on Amazon: http://bit.ly/scale-smart
A video testimonial for the book from Shradha Sharma: http://bit.ly/yourstory-testimonial
learn something new in 2019 - Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities
Happy New Year. Hope you have a great 2019. Today I speak to Rajeev TamHankar the Founder of TBS Planet. TBS Planet is a comics and animation startup. They have developed a range of comic books featuring Indian action superheroes. In this episode, he talks about how this got started. he talks about getting his inspiration from Indian mythology. he talks about attracting readers using Whassup, why his dad is his best & worst critic. Which Bollywood actors/actresses would be ideal to play the roles. He talks about his favourite superheroes and what superpowers he would like to have and finally some chat about the late great Stan Lee!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Subscriber stats
- Whassup sales strategy
- Leaving the corporate life
- Attending Comic-Con
- Developing superheroes including Karma & Mother Nature
- Writing his first novel - Get corporate before you get fired!
- Joining an accelerator
- Handling marketing & distribution operations
- Creating an augmented treasure hunt at Comic-Con
- Dads feedback.
- Getting his first sale
- State of the Indian comic market.
- DC/Aquaman chat.
- Experiment - content development takes time!
and much much more
links https://www.tbsplanet.com/
learn something new in 2019 - Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities
p.p.s
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I speak to Siraj Raval the Director of The School of AI. Youtube personality and best selling author. In this episode he talks about how it all got started, Why AI? Interesting things going on in China, a look back at 2018, and plans for 2019. He talks about speaking at the United Nations, being happy, lifehacks and the one thing you should do after listening to this podcast episode. So please enjoy the show and speak to you in 2019.
- Stats
- Solving problems with AI e.g climate change
- Teaching people.
- Advice on doing your own Youtube channel.
- Don't be afraid of AI - Be afraid of human beings!
- Being open to all feedback.
- Changing his name and changing it back again.
- Book recommendation - AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee
- Putting in the hours.
- Working over the weekends
- Main attribute for a developer
- Rapping
- Reaching out to the Indian government
and much much more!
Links
https://www.theschool.ai/
P.S
Thank you for a great 2018!
P.P.S
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities
Bringing solar-powered light to students in India & Africa. My guest today is Govind Upadhyay the CEO of LEDSafari - LED Safari partners with local schools, NGOs and governments to bring solar-powered light to students in India and Africa. Students receive training to build solar-powered lamps, so they learn about the physics of circuits and solar tech while improving their studying conditions.- it's a great idea. So in this episode, he talks about his amazing journey from going from village to village training students in India to becoming Forbes 30 under 30. social entrepreneur. So please enjoy the show
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats.
- Why solar?
- Climate change.
- Going from one village to the next with a suitcase
- Studying in Europe
- A great example of entrepreneurship in Uganda
- The one child one lamp initiative.
- Reflecting on 2018.
- Grandma & Grandpa thoughts!
- Having 2 business models
- Dealing with the knockbacks
- Interesting story where the name comes from
- Growing up in an army family & changing friends every 3 years.
- Don't build product build solutions.
- Love of Japanese food!
- Why Rwanda is one of his favourite place to visit.
- Former President of India - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
and much more!
http://ledsafari.com/
Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to show for the past three years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! So I’m very grateful. So sit back & enjoy some of the best moments.
Today you will hear from - Deepak Srinivasan: Co-founder of Crofters, he talks about tackling the water crisis in India with IOT based farming! He talks about:
- How it works.
- State of the IOT industry at the moment in India.
- Production plans
- Nice example of senior citizens using the product.
- Partnering with Teach for India.
- His advice on getting early adopters.
- Elon musk chat.
- Movie chat
We hear from Mansi Zaveri - Founder of Kidsstoppress, on creating India's most trusted, award-winning parenting website. She talks about:
- What inspired her to do this.
- Obstacles.
- What she has learned on her roller-coaster journey so far!
- The top 3 priorities in their life - it's very interesting!
- 15 years experience in branding, content
- All things digital marketing
- Life as a solo founder and a full-time mother
- Oprah Winfrey and food chat as well
Next up is Joydeep Sen Sarma, Cofounder & CTO of Qubole he talks about Big data & why it matters! He talks about:
- What inspired him to get started.
- How the platform works
- A deep dive into what is big data
- Life at Facebook
- Advice for first-time founders
- Mark Zuckerberg chat
- With all the new technologies, how does he keep on top of things?
We also hear from Suresh Shanker, Co-founder of Crayon Data on simplifying the worlds choices! He talks about.
- How, he got started,
- How the platform works.
- How big does he want to go with this?
- What’s left to achieve?
- Right brain approach to marketing.
- What has surprised him during his long entrepreneurial journey?
- Climbing mountains
- Life ain't over at 53!
- Having an inner voice.
- Being an "in-between spaces guy!"
- Interesting story about a Chinese bamboo tree! (persistent, vision, progress)
And finally we here from Sudeepta Sanyal, Co-founder of The Blueberry Trails - On India's booming travel industry! she talks about:
- Leaving her corporate job at 26 to commit to her travel bug.
- Favourite holiday destinations.
- Best flight/holiday websites to use.
- New and upcoming destinations in India
- Being from an army family and moving every 3 years.
- The hardest part about building this business
- We talk about female entrepreneurship
- Tips for first-time visitors to India
- Where the name comes from?
- Persistence.
- Favourite travel experiences.
- What will travel look like in the future
- What she is like as a boss.
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Virtual Reality (VR) is here to stay! Today I speak with Tithi Tewari co-founder of a Trezi a virtual reality (VR) solutions startup. This startup builds immersive technology solutions for the building industry that brings together all stakeholders in the design project — from architect/designer to engineering services to owner/tenant — to collaborate on the 3D design in an interactive and immersive environment and make better decisions. So in this exciting episode, she talks about how it all works. Quitting her prestigious career to follow her dreams of building a startup. She talks about raising funding, she talks about building a global product based in India and how they deal with the big US competitors and finally, some gives great leadership advice and much much more!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- How it works
- The lightbulb moment
- Her favourite project - designing/building a school in New Delhi
- Taking a leadership course at INSEAD
- Why she quit the corporate life for a life of uncertainty
- Taking a risk
- Angel round to pre-series A
- It's ok to fail!
- Unlearning and learning
- How do they attract talent?
- Being inspired by E Sreedharan aka 'Metro Man'
- Working with millennials
and much much more!
links
https://trezi.com/
P.S
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Counterfeit goods are estimated to drain more than $1.6 trillion from the global economy, a figure that is slated to climb $4.2 trillion by 2022. So today I speak with Nitin Gupta, the co-founder & CTO of NeuroTags. A start-up that is helping companies to fight the huge counterfeit market. So we talk about how this works, how things are going so far. Talking to big brands in India and USA . the business model, how they plan to scale. he also talks about his previous life working at Yahoo, eBay, PayPal in the mid-2000 ’s. And he also gives great advice for first-time founders.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- Getting good traction
- How they catch the counterfeiters
- Million people being killed due to fake pharmaceutical drugs
- Thoughts on what went wrong at Yahoo (B players hiring C players!)
- Book recommendation - Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey
- Thoughts on finding talent.
- Industries they are specifically targetting.
- Talking to the big VC's
- Creating value
- Trust.
and much much more!
https://www.neurotags.com/
P.S
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Global demand for natural skin care products is expected to reach £13 billion by 2019. So today I speak to the co-founder sisters of SkinYoga. A 100% natural luxury, vegan skincare brand. It is Founded by 3 Indian sisters. Radhika, Jagriti and Deepika Choudhary. So we have Radhika and Jagriti to talk about their amazing entrepreneurial rollercoaster journey from growing up on a farm to exporting to 29 countries around the world to winning a number of awards. They also talk about the (occasional) fights over the dinner table! Thoughts on the Kardashian culture. The lessons they have learned on the way and finally some Rodger Federer & Christiano Ronaldo chat!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- 100% natural not 99%!
- Growing up on a farm
- Growing rapidly in 2/3 years.
- How do they compete with the big players
- 97% of the team are women
- Why Vegan?
- Don't put entrepreneurs on a pedestal.
- Don't expect miracles
- Social media anxiety & superficial looks
- How they use Instagram to promote their products.
and much much more!
links
https://skinyoga.in/
P.S
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Sit back & enjoy some of the best bits of The Indian Startup Show Part 6. But First I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to show for the past two years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! Over 420,000 total downloads so far. so I’m very grateful. Today you will hear from:
Shruti Gandhi, the managing partner at Array Ventures. a VC firm based in the U.S. focus on solving impactful problems using revolutionary technology. In this conversation we talk about:
- Stats
- What she looks for when investing
- Whats Silicon Valley really like?
- Meeting awesome people
- Fear of missing out
- Vitamins V Painkillers!
- What first-time founders should be focusing on?
- Career highlights
- The importance of using your gut instinct
- Machine learning
- Favourite startups
Ashwin Damera Co-Founder of EMERITUS an Edtech start-up. They are making Ivy League education accessible to the world. In this conversation, we also talk about:
- Stats
- Dealing with competition
- Amazing two years spent at Harvard University
- Filling the talent gap
- Size of the market
- Raising Captial - its all about timing!
- The 5-year plan
- Great book recommendation - Founders dilemma
- Leadership and Management
- His Background
- Startup challenges
- The main trait entrepreneurs should have
- Being paranoid is important!
Nitin Sood - Co-founder of Happy Shappy an online platform to make Indian weddings a little bit easier!.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Stats
- What Nitin looks for when hiring staff
- The vision of the company
- Features and benefits of the platform.
- interesting pre-launch strategy
- The hardest part about building this business
- Key takeaways so far in the journey
- Organizing a wedding at an orphanage
- How the startup makes money
- Tips on organizing an Indian wedding
- The importance of the Indian wedding
- Reaction to friends and family to starting this business.
And finally, we hear from Prashanto Das - Co-founder of Ping Network. PING is India’s largest studio multi-channel network creating original engaging video content across genres of food, music, entertainment, lifestyle, gaming.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- 3.8 Billion videos are being consumed in India every month!
- 6 months of applied state of nothingness
- Building UTV & Times Now
- His very own Jerry Maguire moment!
- Life as a hardcore creative
- The most surprising thing he has learned about his crazy roller coaster journey so far.
- being an enabler
- Doing too many things but doing nothing
- being frugal
- Tips on negotiating
- Handling rejection.
- Finding talented creative people
- What do you build first the horse or the cart?
- Advice on dealing with setbacks,
- Favourite TV shows - Dexter
- How you can start your own YouTube channel! - Tell a good story
- Persistence
P.S
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
In many countries, cardiovascular diseases have become the No1 killer and the availability of proper diagnostics is not available. So today I speak to Ashim Roy the founder of Cardiotrack a disruptive healthcare diagnostics company that is making heart healthcare more accessible and efficient. He talks about how the device works, his long entrepreneurial career, the difficulties of building an IoT startup in India. Getting out of the corporate life. the joy of saving lives and finally, he talks about his love of cooking.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- Initial hesitation among Doctors using the technology
- Spotting the gap in the healthcare industry
- The process of raising money in the healthcare industry - it takes time.
- Identifying unmet needs
- The best thing about living in the USA - meritocracy
- Survival of the most adaptive.
- Contributing to society.
- Working with Mexican and Indonesian companies.
- Advice on doing your own IoT startup.
- Did he ever doubt himself?
- Luck & passion.
- Andy Grove - Intel Chairman.
- Running out of funds
- Enjoying making salad dressing!
and much much more!
links
http://cardiotrack.io/
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
Solving real-world problems! Today I speak to Anand Chowdhary. The Founder of Oswald Labs, a Netherlands & Indian based accessibility technology company. They build products for people with disabilities and he also runs an in-house tech accelerator. In this podcast, we talk about how he got started. Dropping out of design college. Moving from India to the Netherlands, how he manages his life as a student, entrepreneur and consultant to startups around the world. He gives great advice on solving real-world problems. He talks about being on the Forbes 30 under 30 lists and also being named as one of the 50 most innovative entrepreneurs and professionals in the Netherlands and he talks about hackathons, having supportive parents. And finally some chat about politics and education in India. It’s a great episode!
in this episode we also talk about :
- Stats
- Getting the idea in the shower.
- Solving real-world problems v ROI
- Advice on how to winning hackathons & startup competitions.
- Making the lives of dyslexic people better.
- Drinking Red Bull
- learning by falling down!
- Building a web accessibility plugin for disabilities
- Studying at the University of Twente - Europe most entrepreneurial university.
- Interesting fact about the culture and society of the Netherlands.
- Running a remote tech accelerator & what he looks for.
- Work life/balance.
- Working for the Government of Delhi
- Luck
- Failing maths, physics, chemistry
- Biking!
- Motivation
- Thoughts on entrepreneurship
- Book recommendation - Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
- Thoughts on mobile payments.
- Fixing home security using facial recognition.
and much much more!
links
https://oswaldlabs.com/
P.S
Try out my new Alexa skill! to get started just say Alexa open bed yoga!
(for customers in the US, IN, UK, CA, AND AUS)
Namastay in Bed Yoga Poses! - Try a few bed yoga moves to ease yourself into the morning or going to bed at night - either way is good. Waking up in your lovely warm bed, why not try some simple yoga moves to get your mind body and soul feel refreshed. Quick & easy to do - only takes 5 mins a day.
Every year 1 million patients get diagnosed with cancer in India. So today I speak to Raghuveer Surupa, the founder of Dignite Cancer Care - India's first online store dedicated to improving day to day lives of cancer patients. He talks about how he came up with the idea. Why he gave up a lucrative career in the pharmaceutical industry to pursue his passion. He reflects on his first year anniversary as an entrepreneur. He talks about how he motivates himself and talks about some of the taboos about cancer. He also talks about his role organizing TedX talks and gives great advice if you want to do a TEDx talk. And finally, we talk about his love for the playing the guitar, which he will play for us at the end of the interview. It’s a cover version of a Johnny Cash song called Hurt used in the last Wolverine film. And it was his last ever song he recorded before he died - its an all-time classic!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- Was it difficult to walk away from a lucrative career
- Examples of day to day cancer care products
- Why has no one done this before?
- Why he waited 3 years to do this
- Will they ever find a cure for cancer?
- The taboo about telling family members they have cancer
- Organising TEDx talks for the last 6/7 years
- Favourite TEDx talk - Ken Robinson
- Excellent advice on doing a TEDx talk
- Advice on doing a tech for good startup
- Freedom
- Favourite musician
- Raghuveer sings!
- Thoughts on reaching out to cancer patients online
- Book recommendations - The Lean Startup
- How do they plan to scale?
and much more
Links
https://dignite.in/
Ken Robinson TEDx talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en#t-42256 Key Takeaway - if you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original!
Follow me on @Skillshare. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.
With 2 billion+ followers around the world. Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. So today my guest is Abhishek Desai the founder of CricHeroes. CricHeroes allows cricketers worldwide to score their matches and tournaments live and broadcast scores ball to ball. It is also a platform to showcase their skills and to get recognition. So in this episode, we talk about how it all got started, how it works, how this app will make you a better cricketer! Cricket Analytics - find the strengths and weaknesses of your rivals!, the business model, how big do they want to go with this?, Being a serial entrepreneur, thoughts on product market fit, why ventures fail? some MS Doni chat! And some great book recommendations! , so please enjoy the show
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- Doing his research
- The old-fashioned method of paper-based scoring
- What should first-time founders be focussed on
- Is he motivated by money?
- Make something people want!
- Organic growth
- Being in control of his destiny
- 3 Book recommendations for you! - Rework, The hard things about hard things, zero to one
- Not doing any paid marketing
- Different Revenue channels
- Cricket Analytics - find the strengths and weaknesses of your rivals!
- Abhishek's batting average
- Used by professional associations
- How will they grow the platform
- How do you they compare with other scoring apps
and much more!
links
https://cricheroes.in/
read my blog post on how to be a great podcast guest
https://medium.com/@NeilP666/how-to-be-a-great-podcast-guest-995b13b3f4fa
The journey from the city to the farm! Today I speak to Venkat Iyer, the author of an amazing new book called Moong Over Microchips. This book is about his extraordinary 14-year journey from quitting his highly paid job at IBM to take up organic farming without any experience. In this podcast we talk about why he quit, the first 6 months dealing with corruption, tough clients and growing his first crop. We also talk about the reality of farming in India, we also talk discovering fresh air, organic food, excel spreadsheets & snakes to getting up at 5.30 AM and finally we talk about this being made into a movie and which famous Bollywood actor would play him - Please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Selling Moung aka mung beans (Green Gram)
- Unable to sleep
- Dealing with the silence and the darkness
- Depression
- Russels Viper Snake
- Excel spreadsheets!
- Not knowing anything about farming
- Getting ripped off the first time
- The 4 C’s and 2 P’s of success
- Living with nature
- Losing entire crops
- How being project manager helped!
- Great book reviews
- Taking risks
- Someone interested in buying the movie rights
- Difficulties of the farmers with smaller holdings
- Realities of living on a rural farm in India (kids not interested!)
link to the book
https://penguin.co.in/book/non-fiction/moong-over-microchips/
P.S
I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past two years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible!
P.P.S
And if you want to create your own podcast. Check out my class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Check out the show notes and Get @Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. http://skl.sh/2kRte3f
Football's coming home! Today I speak to Ajay Menon, the founder Forza Indian Academy a brand new football academy in Mumbai teaching grassroots level football. He talks about being an entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for football and an ambition to take India to the higher echelons of world football. We talk about his passion for Italian football. He talks about the leap of faith from the corporate world into the world of coaching, with the aim to give back all the knowledge to the young children of India and we talk about the recent world cup in Russia.
in this conversation we talk about:
- Stats
- Was it always the plan to quit corporate life?
- the business model
- The highs and lows of being an AS Roma fan & chances of ending Juventus 7 year winning streak!
- Early days
- Video-Assisted Referee (VAR) chat!
- His Aunty watching her first ever world cup game!
- Why not cricket?
- The state of grassroots football in India
- How big is the Indian football market
- Will he ever go back to his cubicle?
- What does he want to get out of this
- Meeting his hero - Francesco Totti
and much much more!
links https://forzaindiaacademy.com/
P.S
I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past two years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible!
A passion for giving back! - Today I speak to Piyush & Khushboo Jain, co-founders of Impact Guru - a tech-for-good platform that provides complete crowdfunding solutions to empower people raising funds for medical emergencies and social causes. We talk about how they got started and overcoming obstacles, Both share great crowdfunding stories. They also talk about the qualities you need to get your startup off the ground, They also give great advice on what to say to investors. they talk about leadership styles & business models. And finally some important marriage advice, so please enjoy the show.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Great Stats
- Educating people about crowdfunding
- When did they think this would be a success
- Trust
- Raising money for a kidney transplant
- Daughter crowdfunding for father
- Being at Harvard and great advice he received
- Persistence, dealing with failure & rejection
- Tips on donation crowdfunding.
- Giving up a comfortable life
- Best piece advice they received
- Starting a "lunch with the CEO" initiative.
- Biggest donation
- A crowdfunding campaign for 2020 Olympics led by Virender Sehwag
- Whats left to achieve - Being a DJ in Ibiza & doing a triathlon
- Begin vegan
- Real Madrid, Micheal Schumacher and Oprah Winfrey chat
- A love of travelling
- exciting plans for the future.
and much more!
links
https://www.impactguru.com/
P.S
I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past two years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible!
P.P.S
And if you want to create your own podcast. Check out my class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Check out the show notes and Get @Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. http://skl.sh/2kRte3f
P.P.P.S
My article on how to be a great podcast guest
http://www.neilpatel.co/how-to-be-a-great-podcast-guest/
Sit back & enjoy some of the best bits of The Indian Startup Show Part 5. Today you will hear from Daniel Becerra Co-Founder & CEO of Buffalo Grid (@BuffaloGrid). BuffaloGrid uses solar energy to provide mobile power and internet services to off-grid communities around the world.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Product development
- How he got started
- The social innovation scene
- Work within rural African & Indian communities.
- Fundraising
- Scaling the business
- Number of communities they have helped
- How you can get one for free! (if you live in India!)
- Examples of how they have changed rural communities.
- Advice on starting your own tech for good startup.
- The hardest part about building this business.
- Interesting story where the name came from!
Chamutal Afek-Eitam, Founder & CEO of 3 Million Club (@3millionclub) The 3 Million Club is the amazon.com for life-saving products for the humanitarian sector.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Where the idea came from
- 17 years working in the humanitarian sector
- The most surprising thing about her entrepreneurial journey
- What she is working on right now
- Advice on working with freelancers
- How the tracking device works.
- Outsourcing advice for nonprofits
- Scaling the business
- How YOU can get involved
- Working with manufacturers in India.
- Advice for developers for getting involved with tech for good startups
- Finding communities
We hear from Vidya Vellala. Founder & CEO of Evayadesk - Evayadesk is a software as a service product providing help desk software solutions for businesses around the world.
in this conversation, we talk about,
- What excites her most about this startup
- How she spends her Sundays
- Digital marketing
- Inspirational mother!
- The vision of the company - empowering small to medium-sized businesses
- Why did she want to start her own business
- Engineering background
- How big is the market
- Her views on entrepreneurship
- The number of businesses signed up
- Five quickfire questions. find out Vidya's food heaven and hell!
- Favourite books
- Viday's advice on learning to code "There is nothing we cannot learn in this world!"
- Where the name Evaya comes from
Deepak Goel, founder of KarmaCircles, (@KarmaCircles) a peer to peer social learning platform.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- We talk about how he got started
- Mentoring over 1,000 people.
- What excites Deepak most about this startup
- Deepak's 3 main Passions
- Amazing experiences from working in Silicon Valley
- The ONE thing Deepak wants you to know about building a startup! (ITS A GREAT ANSWER!)
- 4 questions you need to answer before you raise finance!
- 6 things you need to put in your slide deck
- His favourite startups over the last 10 years.
- Go build something that will outlive you!
- Stats so far.
- How the app works
Vivek Bajaj . Founder of Kredent Academy (@KredentAcademy) Kredent Academy is one of the foremost professional training institutes in India with a focus on finance and capital markets.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- How he got started
- Developing content across multiple languages
- Breakthrough moment in 2014
- Business heroes
- E-learning platforms
- Excellent financial & recruitment advice
- Plans for the future
- How he keeps on top of things
- Career highlights
- Advice on building a startup
- Be careful about money!
and much much more!
P.S
I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past two years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible!
P.P.S
And if you want to create your own podcast. Check out my class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Check out the show notes and Get @Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. http://skl.sh/2kRte3f
Four o’clock hunger pangs can be tricky! So Today I speak to Aniket Karia, the founder of All Heart a health food brand aimed at providing you with innovative, wholesome snacks to munch on. In this podcast, he talks about why he is doing this, creating a brand from scratch. Baking 8-10 hours a day. Creating a lean company, we also talk super seeded crackers, Awesome advice on doing your own food startup. What qualities he looks for when hiring staff. And he talks about his experiences of running nightclubs and bars in Mumbai - Please enjoy the show
In this conversation we also talk about :
- Stats
- Becoming a baking expert
- Early days
- Spotting a gap in the market
- Quality control
- Business model
- Great digital marketing advice - start simple and be organic.
- Thoughts on using PR and social media influencers
- Unhealthy oily Indian snacks!
- Nightclub & bar recommendations in Mumbai
- Favourite foods
- Moving into retail
- Who is this for
- health benefits of eating seeds
and much much more
links
https://allheart.co.in/
Check out my new class: “Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!”. Get Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. https://skl.sh/2kRte3f
Skillshare is a learning platform with online classes taught by the world’s best practitioners. Personalized, on-demand learning in design, web development, photography, and more. Anyone can learn anything, at any age, at an affordable cost, from anywhere in the world.
Latest review
“Great class, I found out loads of information about podcasting (creating a niche, getting people on the show, marketing it and all the tools of the trade). Thanks ever so much Neil for such a comprehensive class! ”
And check out my latest article on medium “Having a conversation with Alexa” https://medium.com/@NeilP666/having-a-conversation-with-alexa-ff276c61c0aa
It's international yoga day! Today I speak to Mathew Browne, the CEO of the Kolkata Yoga Club a startup offering services such as Yoga, Physiotherapy and much more.
So in this podcast we talk about the difficult first 3 months in his startup journey, marketing tactics, pricing strategies, roadmaps, his management style, getting into the corporate wellness space we also discuss laughter yoga, super brain yoga, desk yoga and some Conor McGregor chat as well and much much more so please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- Delivering yoga to your home
- How they got started
- Painting walls to attract customers
- No pushy sales!
- Who are they targeting?
- Popular classes
- Thoughts on online yoga apps
- Why Yoga?
- Dealing with Corporate companies
- How big do they want to go with this?
and much much more!
links
https://kolkatayoga.club/
Separating the hype & reality of Cryptocurrency, blockchain & bitcoin! Today I speak to Ryan & Rohith, the co-founders of an exciting new startup called Crypto University, it's a global university to help people understand the power of blockchain technologies and its application across different industries. So we talk about a wide range of subjects including how they got started, creating a successful Indiegogo campaign. They also give smart advice on investing. Thoughts on the Indian startup scene. What they have learned about their startup journey together. and finally some cricket chat as well!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats
- Why you should care about blockchain
- Who is this for?
- Meeting at school
- Thoughts on Bitcoin mining & investing
- Public Blockchains v Private Blockchain
- Smart Contracts
- Mentorship
- Listening to your customers
- Current investment trends - mutual funds, gold etc.
- Educating yourself
- Learning from each other
- Having different backgrounds
- Startup advice - Ship as quickly as possible, get one customer who isn't your friend or family
- Cricket chat
and much much more!
Links
https://thecryptouniversity.io/
Check out my new class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Get Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. https://skl.sh/2kRte3f
Skillshare is a learning platform with online classes taught by the world's best practitioners. Personalized, on-demand learning in design, web development, photography, and more. Anyone can learn anything, at any age, at an affordable cost, from anywhere in the world.
Latest review
“Great class, I found out loads of information about podcasting (creating a niche, getting people on the show, marketing it and all the tools of the trade). Thanks ever so much Neil for such a comprehensive class! ”
my latest article on medium “Having a conversation with Alexa” https://medium.com/@NeilP666/having-a-conversation-with-alexa-ff276c61c0aa
Sit back & enjoy some of the best bits of The Indian Startup Show. Today you will hear from Vamsi Krishna, co-founder & CEO of Vedantu. Based in Bangalore, Vedantu is a Live Online Tutoring platform that aims to ‘personalize’ and ‘democratize’ learning in India.
- The online tutoring marketplace in India
- Mentorship
- Advice for students entering higher education
- Stats so far
- Don't apply your MBA brain!
- The hiring process
- Starting his career teaching kids, whose parents worked at a sulphuric processing plant. in Barnala, Punjab
- Advice for startups
- Vamsi has several years teaching experience, so he gave us his revision tips :)
- The 3 main things VCs look for when investing in startups (v.important!)
Neha Motwani - The founder & CEO of Fitternity. Fitternity is a discovery platform for workout classes and other fitness services based in Mumbai. The platform allows users to book free trials with exercise classes, personal trainers, and nutritionists.
- What’s it like being a CEO?
- What most excites her most at Fitternity
- The fitness market in India.
- Core team
- SEO
- Sitters, seekers & hunters!
- Building an MVP
- Just Ship it!
- Overcoming obstacles in the early days.
- Neha's top pitching tips for startups looking to raise money.
Vishal Shah - Founder & CEO of Haute Chef. Haute Chef is a unique "meal kit" concept, They send a box of pre-measured, labelled ingredients along with easy to follow step-by-step instructions on putting together a truly gourmet dish in your home kitchen.
- What Vishal looks for when hiring staff
- Working in finance
- The Indian food Market
- Attention to detail
- Getting his first customers!
- Getting out of the comfort zone
- Dealing with multiple deadlines
- Plans for expansion for the next 3 years
- The startup scene in Mumbai
- His Favourite food!
- What Wall Street is really like!
- The most surprising thing about his entrepreneurial journey so far
- Mistakes first time founders make - (don’t get too attached to your product)
- Bootstrapped v funded startups in India
- Food tips for first-time visitors to India!
Anirban Poddar - Founder & CEO of ShopHop. ShopHop is an e-commerce platform which serves as a curated marketplace for natural, artisanal, home-grown foods and wellness products.
- The vision of the company
- Bacon flavoured Ice-cream!
- Company stats
- Flavours
- Raising money
- Advice on pitching - be prepared!
- What are they working on right now
- Indian e-commerce
- Expanding into the major cities
- Core audience?
- Subscription box
- Winning Pitch 2 Start competition
- What excites him most about this startup
- Business heroes
- Growing Shop Hop's user base
- The hardest part about building this business.
Thank you for supporting the podcast. If you have any feedback on the show Or want to come on please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect
Best of The Indian Startup Show Part 3. Today you will hear from
Raveesh Bhalla, an expert on UX (user experience),
- Starting his own design agency.
- His own UX processes
- Current challenges.
- The next big trend in the UX design industry
- What is UX?
- Interesting projects he has worked on
- favourite UX tools, websites & apps.
Swaathi Kakarla. Co-Founder of Skcript,
- Starting the company in a car to launching products at Gitex in Dubai.
- Favourite web tools
- Hobbies and interests
- Working on a video streaming product
- Tech heroes
- The startup scene in Chennai
Varun Sheth. Co-Founder of Ketto
- Building online crowdfunding website for individuals, NGOs & businesses to raise money for their favourite causes and creative projects.
- How he met his co-founder Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor.
- The crowdfunding scene in India.
- The vision of the company.
- Current opportunities & challenges.
- Tips on crowdfunding campaigns.
Shilpi Kapoor. Founder of BarrierBreak -
- Providing accessibility and assistive technology solutions for people with disabilities.
- Section 508
- Global Elevate - The first virtual award in the accessibility space.
- Advice on how to get started in the Tech for Good space
- Inspirational stories of people Shilpi has helped
- Favourite books
- Examples of how technology can be used give people with disabilities an opportunity
Faheem Gill. Founder of Dashroad .
- Being based in the UAE.
- Bringing out the data from cars to help build a platform for connected car applications.
- Time spent working for Honda, Toyota and Silicon Valley,
- The startup scene in the UAE. In this conversation we also talk about:
- The experience of going through the Flat 6 labs tech accelerator.
- How to do a design sprint for a mobile app in under 60secs!
- Driver behaviour analytics
- Awesome Opportunities in auto industry
- Tesla
- Advice for startups
- Driving in UAE ;-)
and much much more! Thank you for your support!
Check out my new class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Get Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. https://skl.sh/2kRte3f
Skillshare is a learning platform with online classes taught by the world's best practitioners. Personalized, on-demand learning in design, web development, photography, and more. Anyone can learn anything, at any age, at an affordable cost, from anywhere in the world.
Latest review
“Great class, I found out loads of information about podcasting (creating a niche, getting people on the show, marketing it and all the tools of the trade). Thanks ever so much Neil for such a comprehensive class! ”
Also, check out my latest article on medium “Having a conversation with Alexa” https://medium.com/@NeilP666/having-a-conversation-with-alexa-ff276c61c0aa
When Vineet was 5 years old, his dad shoved him into a car and took him on his first ever road trip! Now he is the co-founder of Scout My Trip, a platform & planner for road trips anywhere in India, they are doing really well. Its a big market 90% of all travel today is by road. 60% of all vacations today are road trips. We talk about how he got 5,000 signups before launching, being part of a tech accelerator, mistakes he has made on the way, to being profitable. We also talk about amazing road trips you can try, His passion for riding his Royal Enfield bike around India and much more.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Stats for far
- Meeting his co-founder on the highway
- What he calls his Royal Enfield bike!
- A key takeaway from being in an accelerator
- Trying to be the Uber for travel agents.
- Getting people to the website
- Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
- Iconic road trips in India
- Road trips do's and don'ts
- What keeps him up a night?
- Having a supportive dad
- Taking risks
- Lessons learned
- The dream trip
- Bill Gates chat
and much more!
links
https://scoutmytrip.com/
Check out my new class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Get Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. https://skl.sh/2kRte3f
Skillshare is a learning platform with online classes taught by the world's best practitioners. Personalized, on-demand learning in design, web development, photography, and more. Anyone can learn anything, at any age, at an affordable cost, from anywhere in the world.
Latest review
“Great class, I found out loads of information about podcasting (creating a niche, getting people on the show, marketing it and all the tools of the trade). Thanks ever so much Neil for such a comprehensive class! ”
my latest article on medium “Having a conversation with Alexa” https://medium.com/@NeilP666/having-a-conversation-with-alexa-ff276c61c0aa
Best of The Indian Startup Show Part 2. So Today you will hear from Kavita Kapoor, an Entrepreneur, COO of the Microbit foundation, Technologist & Author. Ryan Chadha, entrepreneur & Co-Founder of Jigyasa School. Naveen Jain - Billionaire, Founder & CEO of Moon Express. Neetal Parekh - Founder & CEO of Innov8social Dev Arora, Founder of 8 Minutes.And finally Charanjeev Salva, Founder of SinghStyled.com So sit back & enjoy some of the best moments
Kavita Kapoor, Entrepreneur, COO of the Microbit Foundation, Technologist & Author.
- Sharing her first-hand experience of work/life across India.
- Book recommendations
- Sports in India.
- Advice on writing your own book.
- Do your research
- Differences working in UK & India. (hierarchy & tea!)
- Writing a book helps young professionals answer their questions and navigate the dynamic ever-changing workspace.
- We talk about a wide range of subjects from her experiences of leadership and mentorships
- What makes a good boss, what happens if your boss is not very good
- Side projects, blogging, entrepreneurship, to women in tech.
Ryan Chadha, Entrepreneur & co-founder of Jigyasa school.
- Building a state-of-the-art preschool which offers a mixed age environment which encourages children to work and play collaboratively
- The early days
- The highlights
- What was Ryan like at school?
- Not spending money on advertising
- Tips on starting your own business (don't put a time limit on when you want success to happen)
- Being an accomplished sportsperson, having represented the UAE at all age group levels for first-class cricket.
- Scoring hundreds & Playing against Monty Panesar, Paul Collingwood Liam Plunkett.
- Dealing with screaming kids
- The 1000 days rule!
Naveen Jain, billionaire, and founder of World Innovation Institute, Intelius, Moon Express and Infospace. also a trustee of the board at the X Prize Foundation,
- Moon Express which plans to send a rocket to the moon as a business venture to collect minerals and resources and bring them back to earth.
- Project Blue Dot and his time at the XPRIZE Foundation
- What makes a good leader?
- Starting with very humble beginnings
- How does he keep on top of things?
- One thing founders should be focusing
- Dream so big that people think your CRAZY! & never be afraid to fail
- Best advise he received from his mum ( always spend less than what you earn!)
- Is there life on Mars?
- Creating your own Moonshot!
- Cure ageing
- Innovation
- Scaling
- Changing society
- Creating a sustainable profitable business.
Neetal Parekh, Founder & CEO of Innov8social.com
- Building an online platform to make it easier for people to engage in the social impact space.
- Having over a decade of experience in corporate, education, nonprofit, government, and social enterprise.
- How she got started.
- How YOU can get started with social enterprise,
- Volunteering work in India with her mother.
- Inspiring social entrepreneurs at the Startup Tech For Good Week in San Francisco
Dev Arora, founder of 8Minutes
- On a mission to revolutionize the solar energy sector by helping homeowners and businesses make the transition to solar energy.
- What is clean technology
- How he got the idea
- The current state of the Indian clean technology scene in 2016 (it's like the 1980’s!)
- How big the market is in India
- Great marketing advice if you don’t have a budget!
- Advice on anyone wanting to start a cleantech company
Charanjeev Salva, Founder of SinghStyled
- Building the world's first style store created exclusively for the Sikh community.
- handpicking and curates a special subscription box every month with Turbans, styling, grooming and lifestyle products.
- How he got the idea
- Highlights so far
- Plans for the future
- What is my identity?
- The company is my son!
- The importance of the Turban
- How he & team go about curating products, to plans for the future.
Since launching they are doing really well
-interesting fact 68% of purchases are actually made by non-Sikhs. So listen in to find out why!
if you want to create your own podcast. Check out my class: Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!. and Get @Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. http://skl.sh/2kRte3f
latest review
“Great - accessible delivery from Neil. Simple and easy to follow with a colloquial style. Great Introduction to the Podcast world”
How to be a great podcast guest - https://medium.com/@NeilP666/how-to-be-a-great-podcast-guest-995b13b3f4fa
Trapped indoors by the Beast of the East & Storm Emma. I decided to listen back to the first ten episodes of the Indian Startup Show and put together the best bits.
First, I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to show for the past two years.Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! Over 300,000 listens so I’m very grateful. So sit back & enjoy some of the best moments from the first ten episodes. So today you will hear from
Harshdeep Singh - Harshdeep, a young entrepreneur from Pune, India.
- Spending the last 3 years building an iPhone App, called Wrap it up while studying.
- Being 6ft 8
- We talk about why he prefers to be anti-social.
- Why he read Steve Jobs autobiography 10 times!
- 15-day coding streak.
- The hardest bit about building the app
- Keeping motivated
- Getting 5-star ratings
- Who are the users
- A funny story where the name comes from
- Sleep
- Make it big once
- Starting young
Deepak Abbot - who spent time working at the head of mobile growth at Times internet
- Decision-making methods, techniques, and processes including retention and referral strategies.
- A recent trip to Google HQ in mountain view.
- Useful ideas for anyone looking at promoting an app in India
- Why mobile app uninstall rates are so high in India?
- Having 11 food apps on his phone!
- Good app ideas.
Stuart Noakes - Co-Founder of Tech Hub Bangalore & Boston
- Launching in June 2014 with an empty room, no chairs with the words IF NOT NOW THEN WHEN! painted on the walls.
- Being one of the top co-working spaces in India.
- Shares his inspiration and experiences of being the co-founder of TechHubs in Bangalore & Boston along with some of the challenges & opportunities of working in Bangalore
- Visiting India for the first time
- Bangalore ecosystem - 80,000 IT Graduates, $2.7 Billion in funding. 37% IT spent in India goes through Bangalore.
- Meeting awesome people every time he visits India
- Adding value to people
- Best moment so far at TechHub Bangalore
- What entrepreneurs need
Reema Sathe - CEO Happy Roots
- 50% of people in India still depend on agriculture for their earnings.
- Starting out as a chemical engineer for a big corporation and then quit to follow her dreams of helping farmers in her region.
- How she got started - an accident that just happened!
- Creating her first commercial pilot scheme and producing over 1000 organic eggs, which she supply's to high-end restaurants in Pune
- Getting feedback from farmers
- Hustling!
- Love of writing
- Favourite blogs and books
Krishna Yogi - Founder Maptags
- Addresses in India are so confusing!
- Coming up with a simple, innovative solutions
- How it works
- Attracting users and making money
- Do your homework!
- interviewing Krishna, while on holiday!
- Advice on launching your own startup
- Getting paid for the first time!
- Coming up with ideas
Devin Millar - Lead developer at Nextdrop
- Quitting university and coming over to India.
- How it got started
- Big issues
- Key metrics
- Understanding the rules of cricket!
- Tackling India’s water issues.
- Challenges
- Life in Bangalore
- Personal highlights
- How it works,
- Building a non- typical web 2.0 product
- How do they market this product
- How they attract customers,
- Building products for people who have never used the internet
- First impressions of India
- Favourite books and blogs
- Plans for the future.
Pushkar Gaikwad - founder of Aeroleads
- “SOFTWARE" is eating the world,
- Bootstrapping his SaaS (software as a service) company
- Generating revenue.
- Building startups and multiple products
- How to generate sales for your business.
- Using marketing channels like Linkedin to generate leads.
- Growth hacking
- Sales lifecycle
- List item
Check out my new class: "Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground!". Get @Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. http://skl.sh/2kRte3f
latest review
“Great - accessible delivery from Neil. Simple and easy to follow with a colloquial style. Great Introduction to the Podcast world”
How to be a great podcast guest - https://medium.com/@NeilP666/how-to-be-a-great-podcast-guest-995b13b3f4fa
Blockchain & Bitcoin are here to stay! I chat with Syed Jafar - The Co-founder & CEO at Karachain. They are building a new blockchain that is specifically focussed for developers So we talk all things blockchain, cryptocurrency, and smart contracts and they work. Syed talks about the cool products they made. And as we recorded this on Valentines Day we have some chat about love & romance! And now you can listen on Spotify. Just search for the Indian startup show.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- What are smart contracts
- Love Block - Lock Your Love on the Blockchain, forever!
- Can it be hacked?
- Working with 40+devs
- Decentralisation
- Launching products
- Mentoring
- Growing fast
- Expectations
- Coming up with the name
- Starting KaraChain university
- Vision
- How big do they want to go with this?
- ICO's
- Writing a cryptographic program to his girlfriend!
and much much more!
links
https://karachain.io/
1 in 10 kids going to school has speech difficulties. So today I chat with Pratiksha Gupta - the founder of 1SpecialPlace - India’s first online speech therapy platform. We talk about he she got started, how the platform works, she also talks about the key ingredients entrepreneurs should have, how she manages a remote team, having a supportive family, she also talks about moving 8 times in 10 years, looking for seed funding, taboos around speech difficulties, what excites her most about 2018! & some Shark Tank chat as well! and much more
"1SpecialPlace was launched in 2014 by a team of co-founders including myself ( CEO ) and great talent from the IT industry - bearing the Fame of IIT and DCE(India) and experienced MBAs. I think without my Wonderful team we wouldn't have come so far at all. I am thankful to the co-founders of my team, the CTO ( who has selflessly toiled for hours altogether), the CFO ( whose Knowledge and expertise is unmatched) and the Strategist ( whose presence makes everything easy)" - Pratiksha Gupta, founder
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Huge demand and supply gaps
- Launching mobile apps
- Having customers around the world.
- Have a diary!
- How big is the problem they trying to solve?
- Vision of the company
- Husband being in the airforce
- Being a peoples person
- Digital marketing tactics using Facebook
- Revenue model
and much more
Links
http://1specialplace.com/
also, read my new post on medium on how to be a great podcast guest!!
https://medium.com/@NeilP666/how-to-be-a-great-podcast-guest-995b13b3f4fa
While in an Indian hospital, CEO Dinesh Seemakurty witnessed a loved one pass away due to a lack of sufficient monitoring. He saw firsthand how the lack of medical technology impacts healthcare. Dinesh is now the co-founder & CEO of Stasis Labs - A health tech startup that has created a unique remote patient monitoring system. Already in 20 hospitals in India and has saved many lives - so they are doing really well.
We talk about how he got started, how the product works. Raising $5 million in funding. Dinesh also talks about what should first founders be focusing and a great book recommendation and much much more so please enjoy the show.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Building a culture
- Traction
- Starting the business in college
- B2B sales
- Is it fun?
- Building an international startup
- Having a strong leadership mentality
- Goals for the next 2 years
- What should first-time founders be focussing on
- You don't know what you don't know!
- Great book recommendation - Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It (A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home.
and much much more!
links
https://www.stasislabs.com
interested in creating your own podcast in 2018?
Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 600 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
- Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
So check out the link to the show notes and you can do your own podcast!
I chat with Jinal Patel the co-founder of WSquare. A women-only co-working space in Chennai. Which is a first for India. We talk about how she got started, why she is doing this. Plans for the future which includes starting an incubator and creating a marketplace where home-based entrepreneurs can showcase their products & much much so please enjoy the show. And next week I will do a best of the Indian startup show featuring all the best moments from the past year, it’s not to be missed!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Building an ecosystem for women
- Drinking lots of coffee
- Stats - how many people are using the space
- Being the first in India
- The person she most admires - mum!
- Reflections on the past year
- Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
- its ok to get help!
- Plans for expansion
- Early days
- Having to explain the concept of co-working spaces in Chennai
- Dealing with the critics
- Digital marketing
Links
http://wsquare.work/
interested in creating your own podcast in 2018?.
Then Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
So check out the link on the show notes and you can do your own podcast!
India has 40 million blind people & only 10% are literate & 70% are unemployed because they don't have access to educational information.
So today, I chat to Shyam Shah, the co-founder & CEO of Braille Me. it's a really impressive piece of hardware that plugs into mobile phones & computers to help the visually impaired access the internet and other digital content. in this episode we talk about how he got started, how it works, plans for the future, thoughts on what makes a great team. What motivates him & the difficulties of doing a hardware startup and finally some Elon Musk & Narendra Modi chat as well so please enjoy the show. Fact - I recorded the podcast interview on 4th Jan - The date the Louis Braille - the inventor of Braille was born! What an amazing coincidence!!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Great feedback on the device - "The principal was so happy she arranged a show for us, the students danced & sang songs"
- Developing for global market
- Advice on doing your hardware startup
- Being part of tech incubator
- Getting good advice
- Challenges building a prototype
- First principal thinking
First principles thinking, which is sometimes called reasoning from first principles, is one of the most effective strategies you can employ for breaking down complicated problems and generating original solutions. It also might be the single best approach to learn how to think for yourself.
The first principles approach has been used by many great thinkers including inventor Johannes Gutenberg, military strategist John Boyd, and the ancient philosopher Aristotle, but no one embodies the philosophy of first principles thinking more effectively than entrepreneur Elon Musk.
- source https://jamesclear.com/first-principles
and much more!
links
http://innovisiontech.co/
interested in creating your own podcast in 2018?
Then Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
So check out the link so you can do your own podcast!
Today, more and more women are migrating to India’s cities in search of work, which has led to increased concern over the last few years about their safety in urban areas. Today I speak to Dr Kalpana Viswanath is the co-founder and CEO of Safetipin, which is a social enterprise using data and technology to support cities in their endeavour to become safer, more inclusive and smarter.
Since its inception in 2013, Safetipin has worked with more than 30 cities in India and other developing countries. Safetipin collects public space data from multiple sources including the MySafetipin app, and works with governments, to use this data for better planning and maintenance of cities.
So in this episode, we talk about how the app works, plans for the future, working with the government on urban safety, she gives advice on doing your own social enterprise and being a city girl! So please enjoy the show!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- The state of Social Entrepreneurship in India
- Advice on Crowdsourcing - it's difficult
- Working on urban safety
- Reclaiming public space
- Favorites examples of social entrepreneurship in India - Meet 2 Sleep! (interesting idea)
- Favorites cities
- Thoughts on Delhi & Mumbai
- Why its called Safetipin - interesting story!
- What would this look like in 10yrs time?
- Winning a number of awards
and much much more!
links
http://safetipin.com/
If anyone is interested in creating their own podcast. Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
Advantages of doing your own podcast
You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
You have 100% creative control
You can do whatever you want
And it's a lot of fun!
India faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation, Believe it or not, India produces 42 millions tonnes of waste every day most of it is left in the landfills at the city outskirts, leaving a stinking smell & vultures hovering over heaps of hazardous material. So Today I am talking with Nivedha, Founder & CEO of Trashcon. They have created a machine helps solve this problem by converting mixed waste into Bio-Degradable and Non-Biodegradable Waste.
So In this conversation, she talks about her exciting rollercoaster journey since graduating 3 months ago. How the machine works. Overcoming roadblocks, the business model, being the youngest mentor at the Founders Institute. Having belief in her product. Wanting to change the entire industry. Being told by the experts - this is not possible. Winning a number of awards, working weekends & missing birthday parties and much more. so please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Being a mentor to people 3 times her age
- Not giving up easily!
- Age, qualification , status - does not matter
- Seeing huge mountains of landfill
- Bringing about a change in society.
- Hitting the right pain point at the right time
- How she got the idea - great story!
- What happens after the waste gets separate - very interesting case studies!
- What can go wrong?
- Getting help from her mother
and much much more!
Links
https://trashcon.in/
If anyone is interested in creating their own podcast. Check out my class on www.skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 550 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link in the show notes to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
- Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- And it's a lot of fun!
So check out the above link and you can do your own podcast!
"Its no secret Indians love curry - but have no time to cook it!."
Today I am talking with Raghav Gupta, co-founder of Nymble labs. They are a startup creating a curry cooking robot that may help reduce time spent in the kitchen. So In this conversation, he talks about why he is doing this, how it’s going so far, being part of the Bosch tech accelerator in Bangalore, his emotions being featured in Bloomberg, taking part in CNBC India startup competition. he also shares very interesting insights on a trip to China and taking risks. He also talks about how YOU can be part of the beta testing and get 25% off when it’s out and much more.
In this conversation Raghav talks about:
- Is life getting easier or harder?
- Meet Julia your curry cooking robot!
- Best advice received from the Bosch Tech accelerator
- His favourite & least favourite foods
- Join the Beta Testing group & 25% off when it launches (see notes at the bottom)
- Being covered by Bloomberg
- How much will it cost?
- 600 people applied for the Bosch accelerator - Why did they get in?
- What would this business look in 10 years time
- Favorite products - Dyson
and much more
links
http://www.nymble.in/
Join the Beta Testing group & 25% off when it launches
email: raghav@nymble.in
subject line: Pre BOOK ISS
If anyone is interested in creating their own podcast. Check out my class on www.skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link in the show notes to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
- Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
So check out the link and you can do your own podcast!
In Bangalore, if people had ideas, they did not have a space that
would nurture it, with tools, machinery and mentors the 3
fundamentals for someone to practice making and building stuff
Today I speak with Anupama Gowda the co-founder of Workbench projects - the very first maker's space in Bangalore . its a facility for makers, tinkerers, artists, engineers & anyone with an inspired spirit to tap into their imaginations and make something that’s amazing
In this conversation, she talks about getting started in her dads' garage. Anu also talks about her favourite projects. Being involved in the Hyperloop India project. Exciting details of a maker fair event in November which you can go to. Advice on how to get your ideas to the prototype stage. What keeps Anu awake at night & much much more so please enjoy the show
in this conversation, we also talk about:
- A project using tidal wave energy for domestic use
- Stats
- Thoughts on Hyperloop is it hype? or for real?
- Details of maker fair and how you can go (see links)
- Building amazing things with wood!
- A project using the first electronic stethoscope
- Her dad supporting her madness
- Arts background
- Working with Colonel Vinod - ex-Paratrooper & international hockey player!
- Favourite pieces of Art
- Working with Tamil children to produce digital fabricated puppet show
links
https://workbenchprojects.com/
https://bengaluru.makerfaire.com/
If anyone is interested in creating their own podcast. Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link to get started http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
As a planet, we spend 30 Billion hours each week playing games so In this week’s episode, I chat to husband & wife team Arijit & Kamalika the co-founders of QuoDeck. They are a building really cool game based learning product for businesses in India and the rest of the world. So in this conversation, we talk about how it got started. How the products work, what games based learning is & how this is better than traditional based learning.
Both share great insights on life as an entrepreneur. The setbacks, the fun, building a team. Getting out of the comfort zone. Management styles, Quitting corporate life after 15 years and how they first met! So please enjoy the show. Stayed tuned at the end if you want to do your own podcast.
In this conversation we also talk about :
- Stats
- Early days
- Aims & objectives for the next 2 years
- Expanding globally
- Why they like hiring sportspeople & ex-entrepreneurs
- Comparing corporate & startup management styles
- Madness & lunacy!
- Working together as husband & wife (the wifes the boss!)
- Safe Zones
- The hardest part about building this business.
- Future of Edtech in India.
And much much more
Links
https://www.quodeck.com/en
Thanks to Arijit & Kamalika for coming on the show today. That’s the end of the show and if you liked it please leave a rating and review of the show. Just search for the Indian startup show on iTunes, Stitcher & Overcast. Pocket Casts, Downcast, Instacast, Podkicker and Apple TV.
If you are building something exciting please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
So If anyone is interested in creating their own podcast. Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link in the show notes to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
- Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
"WHO WILL MARRY YOU!" - Ganesh's mother's reaction to him quitting General Electric & starting his own company! This week I chat to Ganesh Shanker. The Co-Founder of FluxGen. A start-up company based in Bangalore they has developed a low-cost and local Internet of Things (IoT) solution for energy and water management (EWM). So in this podcast we talk about - How he got the idea, how it works, the ups and downs of entrepreneurial life to bootstrapping the company.
We also talk about management styles & why the 14th February is an important date! Nothing to do with Valentine's day! Future of Indian Startups. Stats. The cultural advantages of Indian startups. He also talks about an inspirational cycling adventure from Bangalore to Goa. So please enjoy the show, Thank you!
in this podcast we also talk about:
- Examples of troubles & challenges
- Stats so far
- Starting the business without a business plan
- Can anyone be an Entrepreneur?
- What problem are they solving?
- Aims and objectives in the next 2 years
- How does he keep on top of things
- His management styles "You focus on your work, I will focus on your career!"
- Life at General Electric
- Comparing management styles between Fluxgen & General Electric
- Cycling chat!
and much much more!
links
www.fluxgen.com
contact@fluxgentech.com subject line: #indianstartupshowpodcast
Quick announcement If anyone is interested in creating their own podcast. Check out my class on skillshare.com called Getting your podcast off the ground. I have been teaching this for over 15 months now & have over 500 students! And it’s had great testimonials.
So check out the link to get started! http://skl.sh/2kRmClL
Advantages of doing your own podcast
- You get to build something amazing that you own 100%
- You have 100% creative control
- You can do whatever you want
- And it's a lot of fun!
So check out the link on the show notes and you can do your own podcast!
Breast cancer is the largest killer for women today. So today I speak to Dr. Geetha Manjunath , co-founder & CEO of NIRAMAI a startup developing a novel breast cancer screening solution. Geetha has over 25 years in Global Research labs and has created many innovative prototypes, patents, publications and new products. Till end of 2016, she was a Lab Director and head of Xerox Data Analytics Research in India.
Before that, she was a Principal Research Scientist and Research Manager at Hewlett Packard Labs India for 17 years.
So in this episode we talk about what inspired her to do this, how it works, the business model , aims & objectives , accuracy rates. Reaction of the health industry. Geetha shares thoughts on what first time founders should be focusing on & dealing with sceptical doctors! and so much more so please enjoy the show!!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- What excites her most about this startup
- How are they trying to attract customers
- Her background - PHD in computer science & working at Xerox
- How the device works - The 5 step dance process!
- What would health care look like in 50 years time?
- How did she learn all this!
- Huge potential in making a difference to women in India
- Great advice for first time founders
- Getting your hands dirty!
- Life as a CEO
- How to get into machine learning (Go back to school and learn maths - but its not hard!)
Links
http://www.niramai.com/
Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast since launching we have had over 200,000 Total Downloads
"Everyday I have some adventure, everyday there is something we can
make something from cow dung and cow urine and Cowpathy gives me a
platform to come out with my creativity and come out with products" - Umesh Soni Founder of Cowpathy
Today i speak to Umesh Soni the founder of Cowpathy. It is a Mumbai-based company that makes consumer products said to have high medicinal value and completely based on the cow—it uses ingredients such as dung, urine, clarified butter or ghee, and others.
So in this podcast we talk about how he got started. What products they sell. Umesh talks about scaling the business and what will this business look like in 10 years time and much much more so please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Removing the smell
- What excites him most about Cowpathy
- Early days
- Qualities entrepreneur should have
- Working on new products
- Biggest challenges facing Umesh
- Cultural significant of cows in India
and much much more
links
www.cowpathycare.com
Out of 34 million students in higher education in India, 26.6 million migrate to cities creating demand for accommodation . So Today i speak to Rohit Pateria (@rohitpateria) Co-founder & CEO Placio , Based In Delhi. Placio is a simple and easy to use digital platform for students looking for accommodation and they are doing really well!
We talk about how he got started, what problem are they trying to solve, attracting students to the platform, aims and objectives for the next 2 years ,how the business models works, how they plan to scale, and what first time founders should be focusing on and much much more so please enjoy the show!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Rohit's background
- Where the name comes from?
- Why is he doing this?
- $50 Billion opportunity
- Business Model
- Stats for so far!
- Business heroes
- How they plan to scale
- Execution
- Being consistent
- Franklin & Stephen Covey
- Looking forward
and much much more
Links
http://www.placio.in/
Today I speak to Anaka Narayanan an economic analyst-turned- designer & founder of Brass Tacks, a women's fashion label that uses natural and hand-crafted textiles. In this podcast we talk about how she got started. Quitting her job and taking the plunge into the world of textiles and fashion. She talks about where she gets her inspiration from. Attracting customers using social media, how she balances the management and creative side of the business. She talks about branding, & her management style, and what will fashion look like in 80 years time!
In this conversation she also talks about:
- Being a self taught designer
- Thoughts on fashion and tech
- Sustainability & craftsmanship in India
- The company's vision
- her mother co-founded a textile and garment business,
- Life as an entrepreneur
- Fashion tips for men & creating a curvy Indian women size chart!
- Understanding customers
- Fashion disasters!
and much much more!
links
https://www.brasstacks.co.in/
Thanks to Anaka for coming on the show. Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast since launching we have had over 200,000 Total Downloads
I speak to Mr Rakesh Verma, Chairman & MD of MapmyIndia (@MapmyIndia) India’s leader in premium quality digital map data , GPS navigation, tracking, and location apps. We talk about his inspiring entrepreneurial story. Thoughts on the startup scene in India. He shares top leadership advice, he also talks about conviction , passion , happiness and not having the Monday Morning blues!
In this conversation , we also talk about:
- Getting Coca-Cola as the first customer
- How it works
- is he having fun?
- Business Models
- Plans for the future
- Dealing with the ups & downs
- Working with his wife
- Are your building a startup or a business? <---Important!
and much much more!
links
http://www.mapmyindia.com/
This week I chat to Hitashi Garg. Co-founder of Mr Needs (@MrNeedsApp) MrNeeds, is a micro-delivery app-based subscription service that delivers milk, bread, eggs and other groceries on a daily basis to its customers. And in just eight months of its launch, they deliver approximately 1500 orders every day to 9000 customers. Which is great! So in this podcast we talk about . How he got the idea, how it works, what makes them different to the other food startups in India , his background and how they plan to scale!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Being called crazy! by his friends & family for quitting his 9-5 job at Adobe
- Highlights so far
- Plans for the future
- interesting thoughts on raising finance
- Statistics so far
- Previous startups
- Unique business model
- Who are they targeting?
and so much more!
links
http://mrneeds.com
Building the worlds first water sharing economy ! . This week I chat to Parag Agarwal Co-founder of JanaJal (@JanaJalIndia) JanaJal’s aim is to leverage technology and bring safe drinking water by innovating and promoting smart drinking water solutions.Founded 4 years ago they are doing really well.
So in this podcast , we talk about how they deliver safe drinking water in India. The water ATM concept, receiving a significant amount of funding. What its like working with the Indian government? . Parag talks about his 3 decades of entrepreneurial life. The massive potential of JanJal. He shares top project management tips & we also talk about his time working in the jungles of Indonesia to selling email connections door to door in the 1990’s and so much more. So please enjoy the show!
In this conversation we talk about:
- Building a sustainable model
- How YOU can get started in social entrepreneurship
- The ONE quality entrepreneurs should have
- Looking back would he change anything?
- Working with the Indian railways
- What does this startup really mean to Parag?
- How big do they want to go with this
- Parag's management style
- How to deliver projects on time and on budget
links
http://www.janajal.com/
Today I speak to Nihal Kashinath , founder & CEO of Applied Singularity. Applied Singularity is a platform for Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). They provide consultations to developers, students, startups, industry, investors and policy makers on the subjects of IoT and AI . Started 4 years ago It is now the the largest IoT-focused Meetup platform in the world!
So in this podcast we talk about how it’s going so far, the IoT scene in India, favorite IoT projects, connected cars , teleportation , cloning , robots in the kitchen and automatic Roti & Dosa making machines ...WOW and so much more. So please enjoy the show
in this podcast we also talk about:
- How you can get started in IoT
- Insulin pens
- Automating the curry making process!
- Uploading and downloading your mind!
- Having the largest IoT meetup in the world.
- Software controlled farming
- Will people be losing their jobs
- Benefits of automation
- Apple, Amazon, Google who's leading the way?
and much much more!
Links
www.appliedsingularity.com
@A6Singularity
Summer is just around the corner! which means that it’s time to start making plans for your epic summer vacation. So today I speak to Sudeepta Sanyal the co-founder of The Blueberry Trails. The Blueberry Trails specializes in personalized holidays to locations within India and around the world. She left her day job at 26 to commit to her travel bug and cater to group travelers to exotic destinations.
So in this podcast we talk about how the platform works, favorite holiday destinations, the booming Indian travel industry , best flight/holiday websites to use. We talk about female entrepreneurship and what she is like as a boss and much much more so please enjoy the show!!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- How she got started
- Hardest part about building this business
- New and upcoming destinations in India
- Traveling solo
- India's billion dollar travel industry
- Tips for first time visitors to India
- Business heroes
- Plans for the future
- Advice for first time founders
- What will travel look like in the future
- Hobbies and interests
- Where does the name come from?
links
https://www.theblueberrytrails.com/
Today I chat to Suresh Shanker, co-founder of Crayon Data (@CrayonBigData). Crayon Data enables consumers to make more satisfying choices and helps traditional enterprises engage their customers. Currently, the three year old company’s clients span sectors such as hospitality, retail, banking, telecommunication and media and advertising sectors in the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
In this podcast - We talk about how he got started, How the platform works. The roller coaster ride as a entrepreneur, how big do they want to go with this. What’s left for Suresh to achieve? What has surprised him during his long entrepreneurial journey? We also talk about climbing mountains, writing a book and an interesting story about a Chinese bamboo tree!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Plans for the future
- Latest stats
- Suresh's core skill set
- Being an "in-between spaces guy!"
- Suresh's background
- How the choice engine works
- Life as a second time founder
- Finding time to help startups
- What he is working on right now
- What he learned for his first startup
- Hobbies and interests
- Business heroes
- What should first time founders should be focusing on?
and much much more!
Links
http://crayondata.com/
90% of all data we have ever created has been generated in the last 2 years! So what do we do with it? Today my guest is Joydeep Sen Sarma, Cofounder, CTO of Qubole. Qubole is a $50 million Series C funded company helping enterprises take full advantage of the cloud to make processing more accessible in an enterprise setting while reducing complexity and cost. Joydeep is ex-Facebook data scientist and led the data infrastructure project at Facebook. So he is the right person to talk to on big data!
In this podcast - we talk about what inspired him to get started. , How the platform works, a deep dive into what big data is , life at Facebook , advice for first time founders and how you can get into the big data industry and some Mark Zuckerberg chat as well and much much more
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Early days
- What they are working right now
- With all the new technologies , how does Joydeep keep on top of things?
- What would Facebook look like in future?
and much much more!
Links
https://www.qubole.com/
If you are building something exciting please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect. Thanks.
I chat to Yuvraj Krishan Sharma. Co-founder of KOMPANIONS (@your_kompanions) KOMPANIONS is an ed-tech company. creating innovative educational products using augmented reality & virtual reality, exciting stuff. So in this episode we talk about how he got started. How it’s going so far, how it works. Why they are doing this. targets for next year , how to get into the VR space. He also shares a great story about taking 800 students on a VR trip into space. and finally some Rahul Dravid chat as well.
in this conversation we also talk about,
- What Yuvraj looks for when hiring staff
- Plans for expansion
- Building an educational game box for kids
- Vision of the company
- What first time founder should be focusing on
- What’s like being a founder - (everyone's problem is your problem!)
- Hobbies and interests - Google walking!
- Making a movie
- How to get into VR, AR industry
- Feedback from kids
- Yuvraj 's Background
Links
https://kompanions.com/
We are talking about bots with My guest Carlos Fernandes. founder & CEO of Blaze. Blaze is an exciting chat bot that delivers trending information through your cellphone. In this podcast Carlos talks how he came up with the idea, we discuss Why bots? , Who its for, how big do they want to go and qualities an entrepreneur must have if they are going to succeed. Some chat about Singapore , and finally very useful information on product market fit.
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Watch time v search time (v.interesting)
- Plans for the future
- How millennial's get their news from - interesting stuff
- Hobbies and interests
- How to get started in the bots industry
- What problem are they solving?
- How do they make money
- Tech scene in Singapore
- the evolution of apps to bots
- Why are they focussed on bots
- What takes up most of his time
and much more!
links
https://blaze.im/
My guest today is Ravi Trivedi. founder of Push Engage & CouponRani. He is also a successful angel investor. Push Engage is a push notification platform for browsers . And CouponRani is one of india’s top Coupon Site. So in this podcast Ravi talks about he got started , advice on how you can grow your user base. , pricing strategies, We also talk about his angel investing. What he looks for when investing in companies, Favorite startups in India. What he likes and dislikes about startups. And Playing the piano and his ideal dinner guests.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Time spent working and studying in America
- The future of coupons in India
- What is the best selling coupon at the moment?
- State of the startup scene in India.
- What first time founders should be focusing on
- Everest base camp!
- MBA.
- Whats left for Ravi to achieve!
- Hobbies / interests
and much much more!
Links
https://www.pushengage.com/
http://www.couponrani.com/
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So let’s say you’re building a side project, startup, or a curious geek and want 4 articles a week on bootstrapping your business including sales, design, marketing, copy, psychology, UI/UX, or any of the other topics that can help your business be even more successful. then Sign up today www.neilpatel.co/newsletter
My guest is Rahul Chovva. The CEO of LetzChange.org LetzChange is an online giving website helping you leverage your social network to raise funds for the causes you believe in. Since launching they are doing really well partnering with 200 nonprofits across India. In this episode we talk about how the platform works, examples of really interesting crowdfunding campaigns in rural India. How much Money they have raised. The State of the crowdfunding industry in India. An exciting initiative called Giving Premier League
He talks about plans for the future . The hardest part about building this business. And Rahul share his tips on creating your own crowdfunding campaign. And we have some Meryl Streep, painting & food chat as well!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Teaching rural India the power of digital media
- Highlight so far at Letzchange (great story!)
- The effects of Demonetisation affecting non profits
- How big they want to go with this.
- Fav charities.
- Growing the user base.
- Advice on getting into the crowdfunding scene
- Fund raising challenge called the Premier league! (India's Biggest Fundraising Festival)
go support your state -> https://givingpremierleague.com/
here’s presenting the teams for this year!!
Bengaluru Bravehearts
Telugu Titans
Chennai Changemakers
Empathetic East
Northern Knights
Heartland Heroes
Magnanimous Maharashtra
links
https://letzchange.org/
Today I chat to Mansi Zaveri founder of Kidsstoppress. Kidsstoppress is India’s leading parenting website this is an amazing site that has its pulse on everything today’s parents want to know. We talk about what inspired her to do this, the early days. Mansi reflects on what she has learned on her roller-coaster journey so far! And discusses the top 3 priorities in their life - its very interesting!
Mansi shares her 15 experience in branding , content and all things digital marketing she talks about her life as a solo founder and a full time mother , and some Oprah Winfrey and food chat as well
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Advice for mothers wanting to start a business
- Quitting her job
- Branding tips
- Hobbies and interests
- The moment she thought it would work
- Favorite food and least favorite food.
- Favorite Indian startups
- Recommended Books and blogs
- Tips on building a branding for startups
- Content strategy advice
- Advice on digital marketing
- Business heroes.
- What excites her most about the startup
and much much more!
links
Twitter @Kidsstoppress
http://www.kidsstoppress.com/
In this week’s episode I chat to Satanik Roy. Co-founder and Chief product officer at Yibeal , Yibeal stands for Yes its’ a big deal and they are an Online-2-Offline marketplace to buy/sell pre-owned smartphones with warranty and insurance based in Calcutta. Since launching The have gone through a tech accelerator and have a won a number of awards. So they are doing really well!
We talk about what inspired him to start this journey, How it works, plans for the future, and his day to day role , what he learned from his first startup ,plans for the next 2 years. We also talk about his interest in poetry and some Steve jobs chat … please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about:
- Revenue model
- Trying to get buyers and sellers.
- Cashless society.
- Startup scene in Calcutta
- Awards
- Hobbies and interests
- Books and blogs
- The Classic Retreat of Anarchy!
- Advice on building a startup.
links
http://www.yibeal.com/
Today we talking about IOT (Internet of things) based farming with my guest Deepak Srinivasan.(@thisis_ads) the co-founder of Crofters. Crofters's have created a flagship ecosystem which is an integrated aqua gardening system which helps you with fresh food farmed in the convenience of your very living room. Amazing stuff.
So in this episode we talk about how he and his co-fcunder got started. how it works. State of the IOT industry at the moment in Indian . Production plans , nice example of senior citizens using the product ,Partnering with Teach for India. And Deepak shares his advice on getting early adopters. And some Elon musk chat.
In this conversation we also talk about:
And much more more
- Vision of the company.
- Plans for the next 12-24 months
- How big do they want to go?
- Who is this for?
- What type of food can you grow.
- Hardest part about building this business.
Links
www.crofters.in
50th Episode!! Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast.and i shall be back next week. Want to come om the show or you have a question you would like to ask our guests. Please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
India has the 2nd largest road network in the world. The Indian trucking industry is currently valued at $130 Bn and there are approximately 5.6 Mn on road vehicles transporting 80% of the country’s freight. So Today i speak to Ishu Bansal co-founder of TruckSuvidha . TruckSuvidha is a online Portal for transportation & trucking Industry. Through this portal one can find the real-time availability of trucks and loads. So in this episode we talk about how he got started, the early days, plans for the future. His inspirational dad, coding for Ice cream & candy! and convincing transporters to use the system. And some cooking and travel chat!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Life at Infosys
- What he learned from his first startup
- How it makes revenue
- What excites him most about the business
- Digital marketing
And much more!
Links
http://trucksuvidha.com/
https://twitter.com/trucksuvidha
https://www.facebook.com/trucksuvidha
Announcement
Capgemini the multinational information technology consulting are turning 50, so they are creating a new competition called InnovatorsRace50 - a global contest that seeks to reward promising early-stage start-ups.
If you have a startup in the following categories
- GovTech & Social Enterprises
- Data & Security
- Digital Processes & Transformation
- Consumers & Well-being
- FinTech & Mobility
Then please apply . 50 start-ups will be shortlisted and there will be 5 winners. A total of $250,000 worth equity-free funding is available.
InnovatorsRace50 is your chance to put your early-stage business on the global map.
Deadline is 28th Feb . For more details please go to innovatorsrace50.com and if you get shortlisted then please come on the show an talk about it :)
3.8 Billion videos are being consumed in India every month! So my guest today is Prashanto Das (@prashantodas) - Co-founder of Ping Networks. PING is India’s largest studio multi channel network creating original engaging video content across genres of food, music, entertainment, lifestyle, gaming.
In this episode we talk about how he got started , talk about his very own Jerry Maguire moment, life as a hard core creative . What first time founders should be focusing on , the most surprising thing he has learned about his crazy roller coaster journey so far. Work life balance & challenges.
Prashanto talks about his leadership style, tips on negotiation. Advice on dealing with setbacks , Favorite TV shows. And how you can start your own YouTube channel! And much more..Please enjoy the show
In this conversation we also talk about:
- 6 months of applied state of nothingness
- How he met the his co-founder
- Early days of Ping.
- Raising finance
- Hardest part about building the business.
- Personal highlights
- What he looks for when hiring staff
- What should first time founders be focussing on
- Steve Jobs
and much more!
Links
Ping Networks http://www.pingnetwork.in/
Are you planning your Big Fat Indian Wedding this year! Well In this week’s episode I chat to Nitin Sood. Co-founder of Happy Shappy. Based in Delhi, Happy Shappy is a one stop shop for all things for Indian weddings. Since launching last year they are doing really well. As a first time founder Nitin shares his rollercoaster journey so far
We talk about what inspired him to start this journey, his previous life in Washington D.C. The vision of the company, plans for the future, and he also shares his top tips on how you can plan your wedding! Very important stuff and much more … please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about,
- What Nitin looks for when hiring staff
- The vision of the company
- interesting pre-launch strategy
- The hardest part about building this business
- Key takeaways so far in the journey
- How the startup makes money
- Reaction to friends and family to starting this business.
- Moving back to India!
- Start up scene in Delhi.
- The importance of the Indian wedding!
And much much more...!
Links
Website: https://happyshappy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyShappyOfficial
A majority of the Indian population find it difficult to get credit! So today I speak with Kumar Srivatsan, who is on a mission to change this, he is the co-founder of OptaCredit an AI powered data driven online lender providing credit to people across India. Since demonetization they have seen an 300% increase in application and were mention in Forbes. So they are doing really well!
So in this podcast we talk about how he got started, What is A.I? , demonetization in India , how it actually works, why formal credit is hard to get in India. The vision of the company , Kumar also tells me what first time founders should be focussing on.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- His role withing the company
- Leadership and management style
- Startup challenges
- Reaction of friends , family , to starting the business
- Why demonetization is bad for contract killers!
- Is it Fun???
An much much more!
Links
https://www.optacredit.com/
@optacredit
Today I speak with Divya Nambiar Founder of Unniyarcha a revolutionary fashion jewelry label based in Bangalore , the brand offers a range of fusion jewelry, which is a unique mix of traditional and contemporary designs.
So in this podcast we talk about what inspired her to do this, how it’s going so far, what keeps her awake at night , social responsibility. Her management style, time spent at Columbia university, long term goals, she also shares her advice on how to build a brand and much much more . Please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about
- Persistence
- Bootstrapping
- Long term goals
- The meaning of Unniyarcha, - An immensely beautiful and legendary warrior of 17th century Malabar India
- Partnering with the Prajwala Foundation, which works towards the psychological and economic rehabilitation of rape survivors in India.
- Heroes
- How she gets inspired!
- And the return of the quick fire round!
Links
Website http://unniyarcha.com/
Twitter @UnniyarchaJewel
Today I speak with Ashwin Damera Co-Founder and Member of the Academic Board of EMERITUS an edtech start-up. They have developed an executive education model based on the leadership and management training needs of mid-management employees. They work with top tier business schools and bring their programs to markets like India, Middle East & Singapore.
So in this podcast we talk what inspired him to do this. , life as a startup founder. , online education, we also talk about his previous startup Travelguru a company that was later acquired by Travelocity in 2009. And his amazing two years spent at Harvard University and much much so please enjoy the show.
In this conversation we also talk about
- Dealing with competition
- Size of the market
- Sign ups so far & Stats
- The 5 year plan
- Leadership and Management
- His background
- Startup challenges
- The main trait an entrepreneurs should have (its a a great answer!)
- The early days of TravelGuru
- Life as a startup founder
- Examples of great business leaders.
- Favorite books
- What should first time founder's be focussed on.
Links
http://emeritus.org/
Thanks to Ashwin for coming on the show today and if you want more information go to http://emeritus.org/
Thanks for listening and subscribing. Since launching we have had 130,000 listeners in total so thank you very much If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast.and i shall be back next week. If you have any feedback on the show Or want to come on please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect. Thanks & Goodbye!
Competition Time !
MetLife Foundation is running MetLife Inclusion Plus Competition, an innovation competition which offers a unique opportunity to startups in the financial inclusion/ financial technology space. The idea of Inclusion Plus is to Identify, recognize and support promising social entrepreneurs and enterprises who can potentially make a positive impact on financial inclusion.
The competition will be targeting entrepreneurs who are leading innovation in the financial services industry aimed at low-to-moderate income households. The applicants will compete for a share of $150,000 USD in awards.
Competitors will submit a product, service, program or innovative solution to improve financial health and well-being for low- and moderate-income people in India. The innovation should demonstrate that it will improve people’s access to and/or adoption and usage of financial products and services.
Deadline for entries: 23rd November 2016
For further details kindly visit http://india.inclusionplus.com/
This week I chat to Sanchit Malik (@maliksanchit) co-founder of Townscript. Townscript is India's leading self serve event registration and ticketing platform. launched in late 2013 they have served more than 9500+ events majorly in India and other countries like US, Singapore, Australia. We talk about how he got started. startup culture, what he has learned from being an entrepreneur to what excites him most about this startup.
We also talk about
- Stats so far
- Mistakes first founders make
- What it's like being a co-founder
- Favorite books
- Growing the company
- Plans for the future
- The return of the quick fire round!
- Hobbies & Interests
And much more . Please enjoy the show!
Links
Website: http://www.townscript.com/
Twitter:@townscript
Thanks to Sanchit for coming on the show and if you want more information go to http://www.townscript.com/ Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast.and i shall be back next week. Want to come om the show send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
Today I chat to Shruti Gandhi, (@atShruti) . Shruti is the managing partner at Array Ventures. Array Ventures is a VC firm based in the U.S. which focuses on solving impactful problems using revolutionary technology. We talk about her operational & investment experience, life in Silicon Valley , machine learning, what she looks for when investing in startups & what first time founders should be focusing on.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Companies she has invested in
- Favorite startups
- The one thing she wants you to understand about building a startup
- Dealing with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
- Career highlights
- The importance of using your gut instinct
And much much more....
Links
Website : http://www.array.vc
Twitter : @atShruti
Based in the beautiful city of Udaipur. Wooden Street is a startup that creates e-commerce custom built online furniture and they growing really fast 150% month on month According to Lokendra 90% of the furniture market is still unorganized and the market is potentially worth $20 billion
So in this podcast We talk about how he got started, how they deal with with the offline competition , obstacles and challenges and his favorite piece of furniture a dining table that turns into a pool table , amazing stuff. . please enjoy show! .
in this podcast we also talk about:
- Statistics - website hits and sales.
- Obstacles and current challenges
- Going global.
- Best moments
- How he keeps on top of things.
- Hobbies & interests.
- Hiring Process
- Standing Computer desks
If you want to know more about Wooden Street. Please go to woodenstreet.com if you like the show please leave a rating and review of the show. Just search of the Indian Startup Show on ITunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Downcast, Instacast, Podkicker, And Apple TV . If you want to come on the show, don’t be shy.
Please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co . Any feedback go to neilpatel.co/podcast and fill in the google form takes 30 secs or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
Today I talk to Deepak Goel, founder of KarmaCircles, (@KarmaCircles) a peer to peer social learning platform. They have developed a really cool mobile-first platform in which you can send a request for a meeting, schedule, interact and thank other professionals for helping you through a KarmaNote
We talk about how he got started , how the app works and why he is REALLY passionate about KarmaCircles .We also talk about his amazing experiences from working in Silicon valley to mentoring over a thousand entrepreneurs around the world over the last six years. Special Offer If you want schedule some time with Deepak go to KarmaCircles.com download the app & mention The Indian Startup Show and Deepak will help you!. Please enjoy the show!
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Mentoring over 1,000 people.
- What excites Deepak most about this startup
- Deepak's 3 main Passions
- The ONE thing Deepak wants you to know about building a startup! (ITS A GREAT ANSWER!)
- 4 questions you need to answer before you raise finance!
- 6 things you need to put in your slide deck
- His favorite startups over the last 10 years.
- Stats so far.
- How the app works
and much more!
Links
Website : http://www.karmacircles.com
Twitter : @karmacircles
Thanks to Deepak for coming on the show today *Special Offer If you want schedule some time with Deepak then go to KarmaCircles.com download the app. Mention *The Indian Startup Show and Deepak will help you!
Thanks for listening and subscribing. Thank you for supporting the podcast.and i shall be back next week. If you have any feedback on the show Or want to come on please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect. Thanks & Goodbye!
The need for strong financial literacy and financial analytics is very important for complete engagement of citizen of any country ! And In this week’s episode I chat to Vivek Bajaj . Founder of Kredent Academy (@KredentAcademy) and StockEdge (@stockedge) . Kredent Academy is one of the foremost professional training institutes in India with focus on finance and capital markets. Anyone can become a financial market expert through practical oriented learning and strong hold on analytics.
We talk about how he got started. developing content across multiple languages , plans for expansion in South East Asia , vision of the company. Vivek has created an amazing analytics platform for the Indian stock market (stockedge) which already has 25,000 downloads in 2.5 months. With a background in accountancy and building a number of business over the years he gives us excellent financial & recruitment advice if you're thinking about starting your own business.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- Breakthrough moment in 2014
- Business heroes
- E-learning platforms
- Plans for the future
- How he keeps on top of things
and much more!
Links
Website: http://www.kredentacademy.com/ & http://www.stockedge.com
Twitter:@KredentAcademy , @mystockedge
Thanks to Vivek for coming on the show and if you want more information go to http://www.kredentacademy.com/ Thanks for listening and subscribing.
Since launching we have had 100,000 listeners in total so thank you very much
If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast.and i shall be back next week. If you have any feedback on the show Or want to come on please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
In this week’s episode I chat to Prashant Surana the Founder & CEO of Snapper Technologies (@snappertechnol1) These guys are building a cool platform that allows you to try goods before you buy ranging from apparel to electronic gadgets. There ultimate aim is to revolutionize the retails sector in India , very ambitious! Prashant talks about how the platform works. Plans for expansion . Prashant also shares great insights on life as an entrepreneur.
In this conversation , We also talk about.
- Company Stats
- Gorilla marketing techniques
- Retail opportunities in India
- Startup tech conference in Hong Kong.
- Hardest part about building the business
- Advice on growing a startup
- Startup scene in Hyderabad
- Favorite books & blogs
- Prashant's Heroes
- 4 Quick fire questions
Links
Website: http://www.snappertech.com/
Twitter:@snappertechnol1
Thanks to Prashant for coming on the show and if you want more information
go to www.snappertech.com
Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show. Please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast. If you
Are building someone interesting send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
Thanks & Goodbye!
Today we are talking about how to integrate technology into the humanitarian sector with my special guest Chamutal Afek-Eitam, Founder & CEO of 3 Million Club (@3millionclub) The 3 Million Club is the amazon.com for life saving products for the humanitarian sector. Since launching they have saved over 2,500 children.
Chamutal has over 17 years working in the humanitarian sector and we talk about ,
where the idea came from , how the product works, working in India , plans for the future & how you can get involved.
in this conversation we also talk about,
- Where the idea came from
- The most surprising thing about her entrepreneurial journey
- Product development
- What she is working on right now
- How the tracking device works.
- Outsourcing advice for nonprofits
- How you can get involved
- Scaling the business
- Working with manufacturers in India.
- Advice for developers for getting involved with tech for good startups
- Finding communities
and much more..
Links
https://3millionclub.com/
@3MillionClub
info@3millionclub.com
In this week’s episode I chat to Neha Gupta. Founder of Lipikaar (@lipikaar) Lipikaar is a simple and intuitive typing tool for all Indian languages. So this tool works on common text editors like MS Office, website and browser plugins, as well as keyboard app for Android phones as well. in this conversation we also talk about, how she got started , time spent working at Amazon, launching the Lipikaar app this year, the app already has 100,000 downloads. Neha also gives great advice on B2B sales, networking (be persistent!) and creating a product from scratch
In this conversation we also talk about
- The hardest part about building the business
- Critical milestones for the next year
- Building the mobile app.
- Digital marketing
- What excites her most about her startup.
- favorite books & blogs
- Business heroes
- 5 quick fire questions!
Links
Website: http://www.lipikaar.com/
Twitter: @lipikaar
if you want more information please go to lipikaar.com. if you like the show please leave a rating and review of the show. Just search of the indian startup show on ITunes. We are a also on Stitcher Overcast .Pocket Casts, Downcast , Instacast, Podkicker and Apple TV. If you have any feedback on the show please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect. Thanks & Goodbye!
Now Get the newsletter!
http://www.neilpatel.co/newsletter/
let’s say you’re building a side project, startup, or a curious geek and you’re surfing the Internet for articles on bootstrapping your business, sales, design, marketing, copy, psychology, UI/UX, or any of the other topics that can help your business be even more successful.
Well, if that’s the case then you’ve probably noticed there is a literal ton of information out there. Actually if you printed out the Internet it would be over 600,000 tons, and that’s just way too much. Most of it is pretty bad information, boring articles, or pictures of cats. That’s cute, but overwhelming, so what’s the solution? Let us sort it out for you!
There are lots of great services out there for rounding up the best of the best on the Internet, but who wants to subscribe to all these sites and flood your inbox? Now you don’t have to! We’ll subscribe to them for you and deliver a newsletter with the best of the best lovingly placed in your inbox every week for you to read. And we’ll even send you a few of those cat pictures too, if you want!
http://www.neilpatel.co/newsletter/
In this week’s episode I chat to Vidya Vellala . Founder & CEO of Evayadesk (@EvayaDesk)
Evayadesk is a software as a service product providing help desk software solutions for businesses around the world. Vidya built the software herself and now she has a team of 4. We talk about how she got started. Her engineering background. The number of businesses signed up. vision of the company , plans for the future to her inspirational mother and more!
Viday's advice on learning to code "There is nothing we cannot learn in this world!"
in this conversation we also talk about,
- What excites her most about this startup
- How she spends her Sundays
- Digital marketing
- Her views entrepreneurship
- Five quick fire questions. find out Vidya's food heaven and hell!
- Favorite books
- Where the name Evaya comes from
Links
Website: http://www.evayadesk.com
Twitter: @EvayaDesk
Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITUNES. Thank you for supporting the podcast.and i shall be back next week. If you have any feedback on the show Or want to come on please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
This week I speak to Shuchi Pandya. Founder and CEO of Pipa + Bella, an online jewellery e-commerce platform offering fashion jewellery to women across India. Started 2 years ago they are growing really fast & have raised funding So in this conversation we talk about how she got started, What’s it like being a founder , information on how to raise funding! , what to put in you slide deck and collaborating with social influencers & celebrities.
in this conversation we also talk about,
- Advice on growing & marketing your startup.
- Collaborating with social influencers & celebrities.
- Hardest part about building the business.
- Plans for the future
- Sales
- Dealing with VC's
- Latest trends in Indian jewellery
- A summer spent travelling around S.America!
- 4 Quick fire questions!
And more!
Links
Website: http://www.pipabella.com/
Twitter: @pipabella
Today I chat to Daniel Becerra Co-Founder & CEO of Buffalo Grid (@BuffaloGrid). BuffaloGrid uses solar energy to provide mobile power and internet services to off-grid communities around the world. Their aim is to provide customers with increased connectivity so they are better informed and connected.
We talk about how he got started. How it actually works. The social innovation scene, fund raising and their work within rural African & Indian communities.
in this conversation we also talk about,
- Product development
- Scaling the business
- Number of communities they have helped
- How you can get one for free! (if you live in india!)
- Examples of how they have changed rural communities.
- Advice on starting your own tech for good startup.
- Hardest part about building this business.
- Interesting story where the name came from!
and much more...
Links
Website: http://www.buffalogrid.com
Twitter: @Buffalogrid
Thanks for listening & subscribing. If you like the show please leave a review in ITunes.
If you want to contact me or even let me know what you are building, send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow and I will read them out Thanks & Goodbye!
In this week’s episode I chat to Anirban Poddar. Founder & CEO of ShopHop (@ShophopIndia)
ShopHop is an e-commerce platform which serves as a curated marketplace for natural, artisanal ,home-grown foods and wellness products. Since launching in January they are growing 100% month on month!
We talk about how he got started. How many orders they get. Advice on how to pitch to investors because they won Pitch 2 Start competition. We talk about what first time founders should be focussing on , plans for the future. We also discuss Bacon ice cream & what he does on a Sunday!
in this conversation we also talk about,
- The most surprising thing about his entrepreneurial journey so far
- The vision of the company
- Company stats
- What excites him most about this startup
- Business heroes
- Growing Shop Hop's user base
- The hardest part about building this business.
And more!
Links
Website: http://www.shophop.co.in/
Twitter: @ShophopIndia
Thanks for listening and subscribing. If you like the show please leaving a comment in ITunes. We had a great last week. The Indian Startup Show had the top podcast episode and the was top podcast in ITunes tech category. Thank you for supporting the podcast.. If you have any feedback on the show Or want to come on please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect
In this week’s episode I chat to Vishal Shah. Founder & CEO of Haute Chef (@HauteChefIndia)
Haute Chef is a unique "meal kit" concept, They send a box of pre-measured, labeled ingredients along with easy to follow step-by-step instructions on putting together a truly gourmet dish in your home kitchen. And they are doing a couple of thousand orders month.
Prior to founding Haute Chef, Vishal was an investment banker based in New York and London working with a multinational bank for over a decade.
We talk about what inspired him to start this journey, his life on Wall Street. The vision of the company, to mistakes he sees first time founders make & plans for the future and much more … please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about,
- What Vishal looks for when hiring staff
- Plans for expansion for the next 3 years
- The startup scene in Mumbai
- What Wall street is really like!
- Most surprising thing about his entrepreneurial journey so far
- What excites him most about this startup
- Mistakes first time founders make - (don’t get too attached to your product)
- Bootstrapped v funded startups in India
- Food tips for first time visitors to India!
- New section → 4 Quick fire questions!
And more!
Links
Website: http://hautechef.in/
Twitter: @HauteChefIndia
So that’s Vishal and if you are pressed for time & hungry then go to his website www.hautechef.in . That’s the end of the show and if you liked it please leave a rating and review of the show. Just search of the indian startup show on ITunes, Stitcher & Overcast . Pocket Casts, Downcast , Instacast, Podkicker and Apple TV.
If you have any feedback on the show please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect. Thanks & Goodbye! www.neilpatel.co
Today I chat to Anu Acharya (@anuacharya) , The founder & CEO of Mapmygenome.in (@mapmygenome). Based in Hyderabad - Mapmygenome, is a startup engaged in developing genomics solutions for predictive diagnosis and prognosis, using DNA testing. The company raised $1.1 million in a pre-Series A funding round earlier this year. So we talk about how she got started , the state of the genome industry & what excites her most about Mapmygenome
in this conversation we also talk about
- What actually is a genome?
- What should first time founder's be focussing on
- Thoughts on the hiring process
- Plans for the future
- Top advice on pitching - Be authentic!
- The best advice she has received
- Vision of the company
- Statistics
- Hobbies & interests
And much more!
Links
Website: http://mapmygenome.in/
Twitter: @mapmygenome
if you like this episode leave a rating and review. Just search for The Indian Startup Show on ITunes, Stitcher & Overcast . Pocket Casts, Downcast , Instacast, Podkicker and Apple TV. If you have any feedback on the show please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
Today I chat to Sarthak Jain , The Co-Founder & CEO of Cubeit (@cubeitdotio). Based in Bangalore - Cubeit is a mobile application which lets you collect content from any source in one place and makes it easy to organise and share. The team raised seed funding from Accel Partners & Helion Venture Partners with a product demo and not an actual product. So we talk about how he got started , launching & marketing apps to useful advice on dealing with those negative app store reviews!
in this conversation we also talk about
- What excites him most about this startup
- Statistics / Metrics / Downloads so far
- App store optimisation.
- Issues that keep him up at night
- Plans on monetisation
- Critical big milestones for the next year
- Business heroes
And much more!
Links
Website: http://www.cubeit.io
Twitter: @cubeitdotio
Download the app today: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gridants.cubedroidbeta
if you like this episode leave a rating and review. Just search for The Indian Startup Show on ITunes, Stitcher & Overcast . Pocket Casts, Downcast , Instacast, Podkicker and Apple TV. If you have any feedback on the show please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
The future of banking in India is changing! and in this week’s episode I chat to Vinay Mathews , Co-founder & COO of Faircent (@faircent1) - India's Largest Peer To Peer Lending Marketplace. This is a virtual marketplace that allows you to borrow and lend money directly, without having to go through the traditional financial intermediaries like banks, and with the estimated 50% of Indian population without bank accounts it's a credit starved market so it's no surprise they are doing really well!
We talk about what inspired him to do this , overcoming obstacles and current challenges . the current state of the lending marketplace in India to what the banks think of the concept. Vinay has over 20 years experience building online marketplaces, so shares his top tips on what first time founders should be focussing on and much more ..please enjoy the show!
in this conversation we also talk about
- The rules and regulations of the lending market
- What excites him most about this startup
- Overall vision of the company.
- Hiring & firing tips (Don’t get emotional!)
- Business heroes. He named his son after one of his heroes!
- His leadership style
- Critical milestones for the company.
And more!
Links
Website: http://www.faircent.com/
Twitter: @faircent1
If you like the show please leave a rating and review of the show. Just search of the Indian Startup Show on ITunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Downcast , Instacast, Podkicker and Apple TV. If you have any feedback on the show please email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect. Thanks & Goodbye!
Today I chat to Neha Motwani , the founder & CEO of Fitternity. Fitternity, is a discovery platform for workout classes and other fitness services based in Mumbai. The platform allows users to book free trials with exercise classes, personal trainers, and nutritionists.
We talk about a number of topics including how she got started to raising $1Million in VC funding . Neha also talks about the vision of the company & Fitternity’s interesting hiring process!.
In this conversation we also talk about:
- What’s it like being a CEO?
- What most excites her most at Fitternity
- The fitness market in India.
- SEO
- Sitters ,seekers & hunters!
- Overcoming obstacles in the early days.
- Neha's top pitching tips for startups looking to raise money.
and much much more...
Links
Website: https://www.fitternity.com/
Twitter: @FitternityIndia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitternity/
if you like the show please leave a rating and review of the show. Just search of the indian startup show on ITunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Downcast, Instacast, Podkicker, And Apple TV . If you want to come on the show, don’t be shy. Please send me an email hello@neilpatel.co . Any feedback go to neilpatel.co/podcast and fill in the google form takes 30 secs or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
Today I talk to Vamsi Krishna, co-founder & CEO of Vedantu (@vedantu_learn)
Based in Bangalore, Vedantu are a Live Online Tutoring platform that aims to ‘personalize’ and ‘democratize’ learning in India. Vedantu is one of the pioneers of LIVE online personalized tutoring in India and operates on the
‘marketplace of teachers’ model. And they are doing an amazing job so far!
Vamsi started his career teaching kids, whose parents worked at a sulphuric processing plant. in Barnala, Punjab
We talk about a number of topics including how he got started to raising $5m dollars in funding .The vision of the company , what excites him most about Vedantu. We also talk about the fundraising process. What VCs are looking for. And core challenges the company is facing
In this conversation we also talk about:
- The online tutoring marketplace in India
- Mentorship
- Advice for students entering higher education
- Stats so far
- The hiring process
- Advice for startups
- Vamsi has several years teaching experience, so he gave us his revision tips :)
- The 3 main things VCs look for when investing in startups (v.important!)
And much much more.... Please enjoy the show!
Links
Website : http://www.vedantu.com
Twitter : @vedantu_learn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VedantuInnovations
if you like the show, please leave a rating and review of the. Just search for the Indian startup show on ITunes, Stitcher & Overcast. Any feedback, please email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
Today I talk to Faheem Gill the founder of Dashroad. (@dashroad)
Based in UAE, Dashroad focuses on bringing out the data from cars to help build a platform of connected car applications. This is done with a plug-and-play dashroad dongle that captures trip data and turns into valuable insights for the car owner.
We talk about how he got started, his time spent working for Honda, Toyota and Silicon Valley, The startup scene in the UAE. In this conversation we also talk about:
- The experience of going through the Flat 6 labs tech accelerator.
- How to do a design sprint for a mobile app in under 60secs!
- Driver behavior analytics
- Awesome Opportunities in auto industry
- Tesla
- Advice for startups
- Driving in UAE ;-)
And much much more.... Please enjoy the show!
Links
Website : http://www.dashroad.com
Twitter : @dashroad
P.S
if you like the show, leave a rating and review. To subscribe just search of the Indian startup show on ITunes, Stitcher & Overcast. Any feedback on the show, send me an email hello@neilpatel.co or tweet @indianstartupsh or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow would love to connect.
We talk tech for people with disabilities, with our guest Shilpi Kapoor, founder of Barrierbreak. Barrierbreak provides accessibility and assistive technology solutions for people with disabilities.
We talk about how she got started , her brand new app called newzhook
NewzHook is the first mobile news app that is accessible to blind & visually impaired users, deaf users and senior citizens.
We also talk about wearables, recent innovations ,her frustrations and her upcoming conference Techshare a national-level conference that focuses on creating a digitally-inclusive society In this conversation, we talk about:
- The early days
- Section 508
- Global Elevate - The first virtual award in the accessibility space.
- Advice on how to get started in the Tech for Good space
- Inspirational stories of people Shilpi has helped
- Favorite books
- Examples of how technology can be used give people with disabilities an opportunity
Her tech heroes and much more…
Links
Website: http://barrierbreak.com/
Twitter: @Barrierbreak / @Shilpi_Kapoor
Mobile app - Newzhook - http://www.newzhook.com
Status of disability in India.
According to Census 2011, approximately 2.21 per cent or 26.8 million people in India are disabled. Of these, 5.4 million are physically disabled, while there are 5.07 million people with hearing disabilities, and vision issues are faced by 5.05 million people. At the bottom are speech disability, affecting around two million, and mental illness, which also affects another two million.
If you have any feedback on the show please email me hello@neilpatel.co, tweet @indianstartupsh. Fill in the survey neilpatel.co/podcast or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow. Would love to connect!
Today we are going to talk about crowdfunding with my guest Varun Sheth, the co-founder of Ketto (@ketto). Ketto is an online crowdfunding website for individuals, NGOs & businesses to raise money for their favorite causes and creative projects. In this conversation, we talk about:
- How he met his co-founder Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor.
- The crowdfunding scene in India.
- The vision of the company.
- Current opportunities & challenges.
- Tips on crowdfunding campaigns.
His tech heroes and much more…
Links
Website: www.ketto.org
Twitter: @ketto
If you have any feedback on the show please email me hello@neilpatel.co
tweet @indianstartupsh. Fill in the survey neilpatel.co/podcast or go to facebook.com/indianstartupshow. Would love to connect!
Swaathi Kakarla (@imswaathik) is the Co-founder of Skcript , a company based in Chennai. Skcript develops a product called Shrink which uses machine learning and compression algorithms to minimize files to the smallest possible size for enterprise customers around the world.
Swaathi talks about her roller coaster journey from running the company in a car to launching the product at Gitex in Dubai. She also talks about working on a video streaming product that can handle 8K video resolution, with real time compression.
In this conversation, we also talk about:
- How she got started
- Favorite web tools
- Her tech heroes
- The startup scene in Chennai
- Hobbies and interests
and much more…
If you have subscribed to The Indian Startup Show. I would love your opinions & feedback so far. Go to neilpatel.co/podcast . Fill in the google form,it only takes 60 secs. Please be honest.
Links
Website: https://www.skcript.com
Contact: @imswaathik
Shrink product page: https://www.skcript.com/shrink/
Indian Startup Survey
http://www.neilpatel.co/podcast/
Today we are going to talk about UX (User experience) with my guest Raveesh Bhalla (@raveeshbhalla) Raveesh is the founder partner of AppsCulture (@Appsculture). Which is a brand new design consultancy.
In this conversation, we talk about:
- What is UX?
- His own process
- Current challenges
- The next big trend in the UX design industry
- Interesting projects he has worked on
His favorite UX tools, websites & apps and much more…
If you have subscribed to The Indian Startup Show. I would love your opinions & feedback so far. Go to neilpatel.co/podcast . Fill in the google form,it only takes 60 secs. Please be honest.
Links
Blog https://medium.com/@raveeshbhalla
Contact: @raveeshbhalla
Indian Startup Survey
http://www.neilpatel.co/podcast/
Today we are going to talk about Clean Technology with my guest Dev Arora who is the founder of 8Minutes (@8MinutesSolar)
8Minutes is on a mission to revolutionize the solar energy sector by helping homeowners and businesses make the transition to solar energy.
We cover a lot of ground, including:
- What is clean technology
- How he got the idea
- The current state of the Indian clean technology scene in 2016 (its like the 1980’s!)
- How big the market is in India
- Great marketing advice if you don’t have a budget!
- Advice on anyone wanting to start a clean tech company
And much more…
Links
Twitter - @8MinutesSolar
Website - http://www.eightmins.com
Contact - switch@eightmins.com
Dev's favorite book - The FountainHead by Ayn Rand
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0141188626
Today I speak with Neetal Parekh (@neetal_parekh) Founder & CEO of Innov8social.com an online platform to make it easier for people to engage in the social impact space. Neetal has over a decade of experience in corporate, education, nonprofit, government, and social enterprise.
A passionate advocate for social entrepreneurship and impact innovation, Neetal believes that this field empowers us to creatively re-imagine how businesses and individuals can create meaningful impact and lasting value.
She is the host of the Innov8social Podcast, featuring interviews with thinkers and doers in the social impact space. She is also an adviser to social enterprise startups and as a mentor at the Sustainability Innovations Lab at GSVlabs. She has been selected as a Starting Bloc Fellow for 2016.
We talk about how she got started. how YOU can get started with social enterprise, to her volunteering work in India with her mother.
She also talks about her time as a mentor inspiring social entrepreneurs during the Startup Tech For Good Week in San Francisco last year
links
Website: innov8social.com
Book - 51 Questions on Social Entrepreneurship: http://www.innov8social.com/book
Podcast: http://www.innov8social.com/podcast
Today I speak to Charanjeev Salva, (@theflyingsikh) Founder of SinghStyled. The world's first style store created exclusively for the Sikh community. The team handpicks and curates a special subscription box every month with Turbans, styling, grooming and lifestyle products.
We talk about how he got the idea, The importance of the Turban , how he & team goes about curating products, to plans for the future. They launched around 3 months ago and are doing really well. Its an interesting fact 68% of purchases are actually made by non-Sikhs. So listen in to find out why!
links
Website http://www.singhstyled.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/singhstyled
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/singhstyled
Naveen Jain (@Naveen_Jain_CEO), is a billionaire, and founder of World Innovation Institute, Intelius, Moon Express, inome and Infospace. He is also a trustee of the board at the X Prize Foundation, where he focuses on finding entrepreneurial solutions to challenges in education, poverty, agriculture, health and clean water.
We talk about Moon Express which plans to send a rocket tho the moon as a business venture to collect minerals and resources and bring them back to earth. We also talk about his new project Blue Dot and his time at the XPRIZE Foundation
Naveen pushes big dreams into action, spurring massive cultural and technological change. We also talk about what makes a good leader, the one thing founders should be focusing on, the best advice he ever received, to whether there is life on Mars.
Great episode!
Awards
Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year, Silicon India's "Most Admired Serial Entrepreneur," and the receiver of "Albert Einstein Technology Medal" for his pioneers in technology, he has been repeatedly honored for his entrepreneurial successes. Red Herring also recognized him as one of the "Top 20 Serial Entrepreneurs" and with the "Lifetime Achievement Award."
Websites
http://www.naveenjain.com/
http://www.xprize.org/
Today we have Ryan Chadha (@RyanChadha) the co-founder of an international pre-school called Jigyasa in Bangalore, India. Jigyasa is a state-of-the-art preschool which offers a mixed age environment which encourages children to work and play collaboratively,
Ryan Started the school with his mother over 2 years ago with 5 kids an not much money! But they now have over 30 kids and doing really well. They are now looking at developing their own educational apps in the future.
Ryan is also an accomplished sportsperson, having represented the UAE at all age group levels for first class cricket. So we talk about scoring hundreds, to dealing with screaming kids.
Enjoy the show!
Links
Website: http://www.jigyasatheschool.com/
Facebook: Facebook.com/jigyasatheschool
Ferdinand Kayulff, is the founder & CEO of CodersTrust. Coderstrust provides micro-finance for underprivileged talents to upgrade their coding skills, so they can earn more money on freelance portals. They have trained many developers in Bangladesh, India & Kenya.
Ferdinand was also a Captain of the Danish army he served as recovery officer in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussain . He pioneered a recovery project with the allied forces, bringing internet and e-learning to the citizens of the region in which he was stationed. The project was a massive success and inspired him to eventually create CodersTrust!
Links
www.coderstrust.com
Super Heroes vs Master Hackers
The financial services industry is changing, and it’s time someone comes in to save the day. The old ways aren’t working.
Enter Super Heroes vs Master Hackers, the Mumbai edition!
(http://www.heroesvshackers.com)
So this an amazing 36-hour hackathon that will superhero punch some awesomeness into Fintech!
Calling all Mumbai and Pune’s best developers, designers and entrepreneurs get yourself down to the world famous Bombay Stock Exchange on 28-29th November 2015.
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create the future of banking, now!
3 Tracks: Mobile Money, Merchant Payments and Customer Onboarding
Winners will receive 3 months co-working space and a fast track interview for the Barclays Accelerator powered by Techstars.
Prizes also include: Up to 6 lakhs in cash prizes, Apple TV, YU Yuphoria phone, Sony MDR XB-540 Headphones and more.
Partners: Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Salesforce, Foursquare, CitrusPay, PayUMoney, Zone Startups India, AceHacker and many more.
Join the battle at: http://www.heroesvshackers.com #heroesvshackers or call +91-988-011-2117
So if you have an idea , sign up TODAY join a super cool team , build something amazing, get investment , change the world , come on the show and talk about it!
Barbara Maim is the Co-founder and CEO of Minsh, a community messaging system, a private social network with your own customised brand. In 2008, she co-founded Minsh, and a few years later, in June 2011, she moved from Lausanne to Bangalore with her husband and Co-founder, Jon. We talk about her time in India, working with her husband ,and plans for the future. Enjoy the Show.
links
https://minsh.com/
Today I speak with Amar Vyas (@amarauthor). He is an author, a soon to be podcaster, and is a self-described nomad, who has lived in fifteen cities over the past twenty years in two continents. Somewhere in this timespan life he went to graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and business school at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Amar's debut novel NRI:Now, Returned to India was published in August 2014. NRI is the first in a four part series featuring the protagonist Amol Dixit and it is a humorous tale of woes experienced by Amol when he returns to India in haste.
We talk about the book , his life in America and India., The fiction scene in India, his new podcast and his plans for the future. Enjoy the show!
links
Website: http://www.amarvyas.in
Podcast: http://www.mykitaab.in
With the ongoing refugees crisis in Europe i chat to Anne Riechart co-founder of Refugees on Rails. A coding school for refugees based in Berlin, Germany . Their aim is to help refugees to build and expand their qualification as software developers and provide them the opportunity to work with startups and tech companies.
They only started 6 weeks ago and they have over 200 volunteers. Germany has been particularly welcoming and innovative when it comes to refugees.
We talk about how this got started , aims and objectives, her time spent in Japan and plans for the future.
key takeaway
No matter how bad life gets there are people like Anne who will will help you!
links
Website: http://refugeesonrails.org/
twitter: @RefugeesOnRails
P.S Refugees on Rails are looking for old laptops , so if you want to donate go to their website http://refugeesonrails.org/
Today I am joined by Kavita Kapoor (@kavitakapoor) who is the author of a new book called Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Kaam.
The book is based on her first hand experience across India. The book helps young professionals answer their questions and navigate the dynamic ever changing work space. So if you are struggling with what to do next in your life , then please listen.
We talk about a wide range of subjects from her experiences of leadership and mentorships , what makes a good boss, what happens if your boss is not very good , her side projects , blogging, entrepreneurship to women in tech.
Enjoy the show.
Links
kavitakapoor.org
In this episode I talk with Devin Miller , the lead engineer at NextDrop a startup based in Bangalore. Nextdrop is a for-profit enterprise with a social mission, they want to rid the world of its water problems.
Devin is originally from America studying computer science but decided to quit to try and come over to to India and to tackle India’s water issues. We talk about how it works, how they attract customers, his first impressions of India and plans for the future.
links
Website: www.nextdrop.org
twitter: @nextdrop
“SOFTWARE is eating the world,” proclaimed Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. So this week I speak to Pushkar Gaikwad the founder of AeroLeads, a prospect and lead generation software tool.
Pushkar has bootstrapped his SaaS (software as a service) startup company for the last 7 months & now has over 1500 B2B customers around the world and a decent amount of turnover. In last 4 years, he has built 3 startups and multiple products. Which he regularly blogs about
We discuss how to generate sales for your business. Using marketing channels like Linkedin to generate leads. He is a firm believer that startups require lot of hard work and if you are not having fun and doing what you find it exciting, you will soon lose motivation.
website: https://aeroleads.com/
Pushkar's blog: http://gaikwad.in/
Reema Sathe is the founder of Happy Roots. An initiative helping farmers build high value alternate income sources. Did you know more than 50% of people in India still depend on agriculture for their earnings. She started out as a chemical engineer for a big corporation and then quit to follow her dreams of helping farmers in her region. Since launching she has created her first commercial pilot scheme and produced over 1000 organic eggs, which she supply's to high end restaurants in Pune. It's a great episode!
Links
Blog: www.storiesisee.com
Twitter : @reema_sathe
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/happyroots1
Addresses in India are so confusing!
So, In this podcast I speak to Krishna Yogi the founder of Maptags. who has come up with a simple, innovate solution to this problem!
Maptags is a web application that shortens your address to your favourite word & makes sharing address as easy as sharing a word. All you need is a smartphone and a GPS signal.
http://mapta.gs/
Krishna started this entrepreneurial journey 5 months ago. He and his team have attracted 4,000 users from across the globe. Reached $1500 in revenue. Over 20,000 map tags have already been taken.
I interviewed Krishna , while on holiday! We talk about his journey so far, the best moments. The huge potential of Maptags around the world. Maptags have also created a marketplace so you buy and sell tags. Krishna also shares his advice on launching your own startup
Links
Map tags home page - http://mapta.gs/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Maptagss
Joining me today is Stewart Noakes, Co-founder of TechHubs in Bangalore & Boston. TechHub creates spaces around the world for tech entrepreneurs to meet, work, learn and collaborate, and runs a load of great events, advice sessions and more.
Stewart is a successful entrepreneur and wanted to start a give back project to the people of Bangalore. So Stewart brought TechHub to India. At the time it was the first step for them outside of Europe.
Launched in June 2014 with an empty room, no chairs with the words IF NOT NOW THEN WHEN! painted on the walls. . They have grown to over 400 members+ and is now one of the top co-working spaces in India.
Stewart shares his inspiration and experiences of being the co-founder of TechHubs in Bangalore & Boston along with some of the challenges & opportunities of working in Bangalore where:
-- 80,000 IT graduates come out of Bangalore alone.
-- startups Received $2.7 Billion in funding last year
-- 37% of all IT spend of India goes through Bangalore.
We also talk about his own entrepreneur journey & his most memorable moments so far.
Links
https://bangalore.techhub.com/
Arik Marmorstein is the founder of Refresh Box. Refresh box enables people to subscribe or create 5-link-collection newsletters.
Think of it like a platform for newsletters. So anyone can subscribe or create different newsletters.
It’s currently a side project with two friends and its getting great traction. Since launching Refresh box has 2500 users , 530 curators and more than 7,000 subscriptions. All without spending any money on marketing!
It recently got featured on TechCrunch.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/13/refreshbox-lets-anyone-create-newsletters-featuring-the-weeks-best-reads/
We talk about product market fit, raising funding. time spent working on a startup at Dreamit’s accelerator in New York & Paul Grahams essay’s.
How he juggles 3 jobs and at the same time looking after a new born baby!
Quote “If you are working too much on design maybe you are covering something up” - Arik Marmorstein
Links
www.refreshbox.co
Paul Graham - Do things that don’t scale http://paulgraham.com/ds.html ==> STARTUP GOLD!!! if there's one thing your get out of this podcast then read this!
In today’s podcast I interviewed Bilal Budhani entrepreneur & now developer at CrowdFire. We discuss his break in the startup world to how he become young entrepreneur of the year in 2013.
Bilal talks about his experience of running his own startups. How he taught himself web development in the cyber cafes in Mumbai to working at CrowdFire. A tool for social analytics & social publishing. Which has over 11 million users and a series A funding.
Twitter: @BilalBudhani
Website: http://bilalbudhani.me/
Quora post on Crowdfire’s culture.
http://www.quora.com/Which-startups-in-India-have-the-best-workplace-cultures/answer/Priyanka-Sharma-121?srid=3gh2&share=1
i talked with Sahil Arora - Entrepreneur & Founder of Vuzelaa. Sahil is a 17 year old entrepreneur who raised $40,000 while still at school!. Vuzelaa is an iPhone app which uses retina recognition for logging into social media and other cool stuff. I talk about the highs & lows of being an entrepreneur.
We discuss the future of social networking. How he manages a team of 14 staff & pitching a VC during at school break. It’s full of practical advice , useful ideas for anyone building an app with no design or coding knowledge.
Enjoy!
Neil
www.neilpatel.co
Links
The Vuzelaa home page : www.vuzelaa.com
Twitter: @TheSahilsays
i talked with Deepak Abbot - head of mobile growth at Times Internet part of the Times of India corporation. One of the largest media houses in the world. Learn how he and his team mange the growth and analytics of 14 + mobile apps & 50+ million users
Deepak talks about his decision-making methods, techniques, and processes including retention and referral strategies. A recent trip to Google HQ in mountain view. It’s full of practical advice , useful ideas for anyone looking at promoting an app in India
Enjoy!
Neil
neilpatel.co
Links
The Times of India App Link: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-times-of-india/id427589329?mt=8
Twitter: @deepakabbot
Blog: medium.com/@deepakabbot.
Its an App World: A publication all about Growth Hacking, Mobile Marketing & Data Analytics: https://medium.com/its-an-app-world
In this episode we talk to Harshdeep, a young entrepreneur from India, he has spent the last 3 years
building an iPhone App , called Wrap it up. And at 6ft 8 the tallest person i have interviewed.
We talk about why he is anti-social! What kept him going. Why he read Steve Jobs autobiography 15-20 times! And a 15 day coding streak.
Links
App Link: https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/wrapitup-text-summariser/id1017676504?mt=8
Website: http://harshdeephura.com/wrapitup/
Twitter: @theharshdeep
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlWtXzkBfxc
Product Hunt: http://www.producthunt.com/tech/wrapitup