Empowering Community Entrepreneurs | Nipun Goyal @ LikeMinds

A Saucy Appetite | Viraj Bahl @ Veeba Food Services Pvt. Ltd.

1 hr 22 min 3 sec

Our next guest on the Founder Thesis podcast is an entrepreneur who took no time to bounce back when his restaurant business failed.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Viraj Bahl, Founder and Managing Director, Veeba Food Services Pvt. Ltd., takes us through his resilient journey, from being a marine engineer to establishing a venture which, at present has its presence across more than 500 cities in India.Today, Veeba is a wellknown brand in the Indian Food Industry, but it has not been an easy journey. Viraj fondly recalls the early days of Veeba and how he managed to purchase its first manufacturing plant. Started in 2013, Viraj had to wait for months to get his first order from Domino’s. And since then, Veeba’s growth has been unstoppable.Currently, Veeba caters to the B2B and the retail segments, with a vision to reach every nook and cranny of the country.Tune in to this episode to hear Viraj speak about how Veeba is disrupting the Indian Food Industry with its lowfat, preservativefree, and fingerlicking sauces and spreads.Key takeaways:Life lessons 101.Wisdom gained from a failed venture.Fundraising journey.The customer is the king.Importance of brand endorsements.

Disrupting Car Ownership | Greg Moran @ ZoomCar

1 hr 10 min 5 sec

For the love of travelling, he would take international trips and immensely enjoy exploring diverse backgrounds. Growing up, he would travel to different destinations with his family, his first foreign trip being that to Italy. Today, he has changed the trend of car ownership with a car subscription model providing tremendous appeal and flexibility to the millennials. We are talking about Greg Moran, the cofounder and CEO of India’s first and largest selfdrive mobility platform, Zoomcar. Zoomcar is present in 45 cities across India.After studying management from USC Marshall School of Business, LA, California, Greg Moran came to India. He disrupted the way India rents a car. Being a foreigner with no roots in India, carving a niche for himself in a new country was no easy job for him. He always wanted to do something big in business but didn’t have a clear idea of what it was. He went to the University of Pennsylvania and studied International Business. He shares some of the enjoyable moments from UPenn and how the four years impacted him and broadened his perspective.Sustainability has always been a major part of his work ethic. He was the founder and president of the energy club at USC. Before going to business school, Greg worked as an investment banker with Fieldstone Private Capital Group. He also held the position in energy policy formulation at the City of New York. He talks about his first impression of India, travelling around cities for research and business intelligence, staying at budget accommodations, and relishing the experience of building a business from scratch. Tune in to this diverse conversation with Greg Moran and get to know his process behind building the first selfdrive business in India. Enjoy the episodeKey takeaways from the episode:Building a successful mobility business in India.Academic Flexibility at an Ivy League school. Why is Urban Sustainability so crucial Scaling up Zoomcar. What it is like to be a foreigner living and working in India.

Democratizing access to finance | Bala Parthasarathy @ MoneyTap

1 hr 27 min 51 sec

Our guest today is an achiever in more ways than one. Born and brought up in Chennai in a humble household, he pursued his studies from the prestigious IIT, Madras campus. Well, he tells us that he wasn’t a risktaker or had an entrepreneurial side to him as a kid but loved to travel and explore new places, people and communities. In this episode of Founder Thesis, we are talking to Bala Parthasarathy, cofounder and CEO of MoneyTap a fintech consumer lending startup. MoneyTap launched India’s first appbased credit line impacting Indian consumers across 50 cities who struggled with access to affordable credit options. Bala’s entrepreneurial foundation was laid when he went for a summer job during his IIT days and got into market research to earn some side cash. After completing his engineering from IIT, he went abroad to complete higher education from the University of California where he along with his batchmates deep dived into the entrepreneurial culture and started a company. Having no prior fintech background, MoneyTap was an uncharted territory for him when he started this in 2015 with two of his friends. He worked day in, day out to reach where he is reached today and continues to hustle. He shares interesting insights from taking a loan to buy the ticket to go abroad for higher education, learning different languages, hitchhiking across the Sahara, his travel voyages to the remarkable lessons from building MoneyTap. Tune in to listen to this exciting conversation with Bala Parthasarathy. Key Insights from the episode: Learning through travel experiences.Being adventures and taking challenges headon. Shaping the Future of Fintech.Lessons on funding from the lens of a venture capitalist.

The People & Process Playbook for Scale | Hari TN @ BigBasket.com

47 min 8 sec

“You cant build a large company and build for scale without laying the foundations” Hari T.NIf you are seeking guidance on problem solving or building an organization for scale Hari is the person you should go to. As a part of the management team at various startups, he’s helped shape four successful exits in different industries Hari started his career at Tata Steel as a part of their management trainee program and worked in myriad engineering and project management roles for 11 years before he pivoted towards working in human capital and resources. Since then Hari has held leadership roles in HR across organisations including IBM Daksh, Virtusa, Amba Research, Taxi For Sure sms now heading HR at BigBasket.com. And no, that’s not all, Hari is a published author, a mentor and advisor for several startups as well as investment firms and educational institutions. In our conversation with Hari we learn about scaling startups and solving problems from a people and process perspective. Here are our key takeaways: Are external consultants crucial for change managementHiring philosophy of BigBasket.com. Navigating the challenges of a blue collar workforce. Adopting innovation for a consistent customer experience. How can early stage founders approach organisational culture. How to make incentive plans work.

The B2B SaaS Pioneer | Ambarish Gupta @ Knowlarity

1 hr 18 min

It is said that failure is the stepping stone to success, and that failures must be embraced. Our conversation with Ambarish Gupta of Knowlarity drives this home. Born into a business family of Kanpur, Ambarish had an early introduction to profit and loss as he helped around in his father’s shop. He was equally immersed in the world of academics and graduated from IIT Kanpur, aspiring to make an impact in the real world. Before taking his first job as a software engineer in Australia and later the USA, Ambarish interned and backpacked through Germany. However Ambrish was passionate about doing more and making an impact and thus left his job in the US to return to Bangalore and start his first venture. However Ambarish’s startup did not take off and despite a year and half worth of effort he had to eventually let go to pursue a different path. Failure did not dampen his spirit. He took lessons. He went on to do his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, followed it up with a solid stint at McKinsey and Company before Ambarish came back to India for the second innings. Achieving his first sale before his company was incorporated, building a product within 72 hours and growing this venture 60X in 6 years, Ambarish wrote the script for the largest Cloud Telephony company in Asia Knowlarity.Ambarish is now the Founder and CEO of Basis Vectors, a private equity investment firm that invests and accelerates growth of lowermid market vertical SaaS companies. Tune into our conversation with Ambrish to know more about: What not to do when starting a new venture Why should you become a Founder What are the things he considers when making an investment

Making India Financially literate | Prateek Singh @ LearnApp

1 hr 12 min 25 sec

Today’s episode of Founder Thesis is a story of finding opportunity in adversities and seeking lessons in all the curve balls that life throws at you. In what has been one of the most spirited conversations on the show join in as we catch up with Prateek Singh Founder of LearnApp.com over tons of infectious laughter and incredible life experiences. Born in Abudhabi and educated in Tanzania, Singapore, Malaysia and India Prateek’s multicultural childhood may come across as a dream come true, but each time having to start life from scratch was not an easy task especially when it had to be done for difficult reasons. But this is when Prateek learnt his people skills. Settling in India after living abroad, the transition was difficult for a young Prateek and he could not pursue schooling any further. This is when the 8th grader turned into a financial trader A job at a call centre selling travel packages is where Prateek learnt what he considers to be one of the most valuable skills to have Sales. Odd jobs and after four failed attempts at entrepreneurship, tons of learning along the way Prateek then founded LearnApp.com Tune in as we speak to Prateek about his early years, how he overcame selfdoubt, and what led to the genesis of LearnApp an Elearning platform for highquality financial education taught by Veterans. His failures building the platform and genie and lamp framework that he used to build a scalable business model. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at www.thepodium.in We are also on Instagram at thepodium.in and have a Whats app community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at www.podm.in/growwithpodium Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in

Simplifying Finance for Businesses | Deepti Sanghi @ Kodo

1 hr 6 min 34 sec

Investment banker, active seed investor, problem solver and now a founder. Our guest today has worn numerous hats, but her greatest adventure yet is the one that’s allowing her to fulfil her entrepreneurial dreams. Always driven by a passion to do something for other businesses, Founder of Kodo, Deepti Sanghi is making finance simple for startups and businesses. Imagine being a founder of a new startup and being able to get a corporate credit card in less than 3 minutes Sounds too good to be true right But that’s exactly what Kodo is all about. Their mission is to empower businesses to scale new heights through their corporate card and integrated expense management tool. In this episode our host Akshay sits down for a candid conversation with Deepti where she shares about her early days as an Investment banker, how she coped with the economic meltdown and finally pivoted towards fintech. Do watch out for the part where Deepti shares her fascinating journey through Japan that inspired the name for the fintech startup. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at http://www.thepodium.in www.thepodium.in. We are also on Instagram at thepodium.in and have a WhatsApp community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at http://www.podm.in/growwithpodium www.podm.in/growwithpodium. Join us to stay updated on the latest from ThePodium.in.

Enabling Social Commerce | Abhinav Jain @ Shop101

1 hr 3 min 10 sec

“Building a product and building an organisation are two different things,” says Abhinav Jain, our guest today. A bunch of people were very excited about technology in school, they created a computer programming club.Somebody who was always up for honing new skills and specialising new crafts beyond engineering, not worried about books. Fundamentally, he always knew that he wanted to set up his venture from scratch. He describes his 5 years at IIT, things he learned and from running different clubs to organising college fests, he shares some beautiful experiences of life at campus. Graduating from IIM Ahmedabad, consulting was something that interested him. He talks about his different projects he explored in the 4 years spent at Bain. From what gave him a nudge to start his entrepreneurial journey at Shop101 and Dash101, the challenges he faced to figuring out innovative solutions in a startup ecosystem, he has some intriguing insights to share. Listen to the entire conversation on building a product from scratch.IG: thepodium.inWeb: thepodium.inKey takeaways:Life skills an entrance exam teaches.Hacks for polishing communication skills, structuring your thoughts and delivery.Building a product and building an organisation. Consulting as a career and making an impact. What does a consultant bring to the table. Building Social Commerce.

Empowering India with Equitable Education | Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah @ Lead School

1 hr 27 min 37 sec

This week on Founder Thesis we are in conversation with a couple that’s on a mission to change the way India is educated. We are in conversation with the Founders of LEAD school Sumeet Mehta who is also the CEO and Smita Deorah who is the COO. Together they are working towards their vision of making education in India improved, accessible and affordable. Tune in as Sumeet and Smita get candid about their journey, right from their first encounter as colleagues in PnG, to quitting their cushy corporate jobs and chasing their passion for education and building something purposeful. Listen in as they talk about their learnings from running schools to the genesis of LEAD School and their plans for the future. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at www.thepodium.in We are also on Instagram at thepodium.in and have a Whats app community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at www.podm.in/growwithpodium Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in

Reshaping India's Infrastructure | Hemant Kanoria @ SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited

58 min 15 sec

This week on Founder Thesis podcast host Akshay Datt is in conversation with Hemant Kanoria Chairman at SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited.A pioneer in the field of infrastructure finance, Hemant started SREI in 1989 and in the last two and half decades has scaled it to be Indias largest integrated infrastructure institutions with an asset base of around USD 5.5 billion. But that’s not all, Hemant Kanoria, is also known for his role in creating a wave of rural entrepreneurs through the ITenabled Sahaj service centre initiative that has created over 50000 villagelevel entrepreneurs. Tune in as this pioneer and thought leader shares his growth story, enjoying the roller coaster journey of managing businesses and about having a solutionoriented mindset. Our key takeaways from this episode are: How to build an institution with an engaged and loyal workforce. Decisionmaking framework for investing and disinvesting. How to deal with large scale external setbacks, such as, the Covid19 pandemic. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at www.thepodium.in We are also on Instagram at thepodium.in and have a WhatsApp community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at www.podm.in/growwithpodium Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in

Making India Vokal | Aprameya Radhakrishna @ Koo/Vokal

58 min 9 sec

We all have that one habit which we’ve developed as kids and that’s still stuck with us even as adults. Aprameya Radhakrishna, our guest today, recalls that his childhood habit that stayed with him is observing things around him. A habit which helps him a lot today as an entrepreneur to understand things like consumer behaviour and much more. A habit we think made him take notice of the nationwide ban on all Chinese apps and a trend towards building desi apps that truly embrace the made in India motto. Having worked for over 5 years in the corporate scene before moving on to being a serial entrepreneur and investor Aprameya is now the Cofounder and CEO of Koo a microblogging platform for vernacular speakers of India. He is making sure that everyone in India is able to make their voice heard. Talk about going Vocal for Local Tune in as we take you through Aprameya’s exciting journey and listen to him as he shares pearls of wisdom on starting and scaling businesses. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at www.thepodium.in We are also on Instagram at thepodium.in and have a Whats app community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at www.podm.in/growwithpodium Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in

The Unicorn Factory | Sanjeev Bikhchandani @ Info Edge

1 hr 4 min 42 sec

It is rare that you come across a high school graduate who has chosen entrepreneurship as his career path. But our guest this week, is someone who was determined to be an entrepreneur and had made this choice on completing of his 12th Boards How When and Where Those pieces of the puzzle he was yet to figure out. But when you set your mind to it, there’s no stopping you. And this was true for Sanjeev Bikhchandani as well. CoFounder of InfoEdge India’s premier online classifieds company in recruitment, matrimony, real estate, education and related services. Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com. 99acres.com and Shiksha.com are just a few of the big names in his portfolio. Tune in as we get into a candid chat with Sanjeev, to know all about his journey right from his days as a junior account executive to his time at IIM Ahmedabad where he found the idea for his product. In this episode hear Sanjeev talks about the very beginning of his journey to intensely working, learning and finally achieving his entrepreneurial dream. Key takeaways from this episode: Things to look for in jobs What businesses succeed How to take investment decisions

Unlocking Human Potential | Shobhit Banga @ Josh Talks

1 hr 1 min 10 sec

My loyalty is not to Josh but to unlocking human potential Shobhit Banga A school drop out, a state level Tennis player, India’s youngest qualifier of the elite “Paris Brest Paris” International cycling event, founder of two NGO’s Sach and Half Glass Full, a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur and the CoFounder of Josh Talks Shobhit Banga can be described in many ways. But what defines him best is his quest for unlocking human potential. In this episode of Founder Thesis we sit down for a chat with Shobhit to learn about his fascinating off beat journey right from his small town life of Kullu, to pursuing sports as a career goal cycling 600kms non stop, his experience at the Harvard Summer School, starting Josh Talks, losing focus and finally reconnecting with his mission of inspiring young minds. An incredible journey with lots to learn from. Here are key takeaways from our conversation with Shobhit: How growing up in a small town is advantageous to entrepreneurship. How quitting is harder than it seems. Starting and running an NGO.How Josh Talks was monetized.Chasing your purpose or mission through your startup.

The Fearless Explorer | Bijai Jayarajan @ Houm

52 min 28 sec

“I was never governed by fear” Bijai Jayarajan From being a young small town boy in South India to building a Multi Million Dollar company, Bijai Jayarajan is truly a fearless entrepreneur. Bijai founded Loyalty Rewardz in 2008. In his 10 year stint he raised venture capital investment to the tune of USD 26 Million and in 2017 Loyalty Rewardz was acquired for a whopping USD 100 Million By the time Bijai exited the company Loyalty Rewardz was managing loyalty programs for 73 of all debit cards issued in India and was processing over 200 Million transactions a month. On a new adventure with Houm, an innovative digital product that will empower internet users to create a digital safe space A digital home on the internet that will in a true sense ensure the privacy of our data, Bijai is once again on another fearless mission. On this episode of Founder Thesis, catch us in a candid conversation with Bijai to know more about his inspiring journey of entrepreneurial adventures. Our biggest takeaway from our chat with Bijai was that we must chase our passions fearlessly.

The Serial Founder | Hitesh Dhingra @ The Man Company

44 min 14 sec

“It pays to stay authentic and talk to millennials in the language they understand” Hitesh Dhingra.Hitesh Dhingra is the founder of The Man Company an exclusive men’s only grooming brand. He is a 4x Entrepreneur who has been a pioneer across various industries. Right from starting an eCommerce site, a dating site and now The Man Company, Hitesh has a proven track record of identifying unmet consumer needs and capturing the early adopters market. In this episode of Founder Thesis, our hosts Akshay and Saurabh are in conversation with Hitesh to learn more about what it takes to capture the millennial market. Key takeaways from the show: How to bootstrap and save resources. Generating VF Funding. How to connect with the Millenial consumers.

SuperFoods Made by SuperMoms | Shauravi Malik @ Slurrp Farm

1 hr 25 min 36 sec

We often think or are made to believe that we will have to compromise on those taste buds in order to be fit and look good. But is there a way out for our food to be healthy and yummy at the same time With their Organic Food startup, Slurrp Farm, the two mothers Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan are showing us that the ‘healthy plus yummy’ combination is no longer a farfetched dream. The duo identified the gap of highquality packaged food options in the children’s food market in India and deepdived into making a difference by launching Slurrp Farm in 2016. Today on Founder Thesis, we have Shauravi Malik, the cofounder of Slurrp Farm talking about her journey in the FMCG space, and landing on the idea of building a brand that is creating a positive impact in the lives of children by introducing them to healthy eating choices. She is a consciouseater herself. Shauravi comes from an elite educational background, holding a Master’s degree in Economics from Cambridge University and a BA in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. She is fun and pragmatic. With no background in food manufacturing, and no one to guide her to the shortcuts of success, here she is, with a food brand of her own. In this episode, she shares exciting anecdotes from her work life, personal stories, taking risks, exploring uncharted territories, and finding her passion to bring about change in the eating habits of an Indian consumer. She tells us that the ultimate hack is none other than the ‘Grandma’s Kitchen.’Listen to the full episode to enrich your understanding of wholesome nutrition for children, to explore the evolution of food and eating habits, and how your business idea makes a larger impact in the lives of your consumers. Key highlights from the episode: ‘Children food’ as a category in a developing country like India. Why is Market Research so importantRealizing what food is pure, and what is poison. Challenges of Scaling Up Understanding your consumers. Feedback is the hero. Embracing Digital Platforms.

Grooming his way to success | Shantanu Deshpande @ Bombay Shaving Company

1 hr 13 min 35 sec

The male grooming industry has come a long way in the past few years. Gone are the days when looking good was something exclusive to women.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Shantanu Deshpande, Founder, and CEO, Bombay Shaving Company, shares his inspirational journey. He is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow and has worked for McKinsey across various global and domestic projects before setting off his entrepreneurial journey.Shantanu fondly recalls his early days and how a casual conversation with his friend about men’s grooming led to realizing that this large and underserved market needed a brand disruptor. This was his eureka moment which led to the birth of Bombay Shaving Company in 2015.And today, this D2C brand is worth INR 100 crores, with FMCG behemoths like Reckitt Benckiser and Colgate Palmolive as its strategic investors.Tune in to this episode to hear Shantanu speak about how Bombay Shaving Company is challenging the traditional men’s grooming industry with its impeccable product expansion and brandbuilding strategies.What you must not miss• Fundraising journey.• Secrets to scaling a venture.• Building a product portfolio.• Growth during the pandemic.

Powering Digitization of Offline Merchants | Shailaz Nag @ DotPe

1 hr 18 min 8 sec

All of you must be familiar with the phrase silver lining. Where the pandemic forced us to maintain social distancing, it has also enabled entrepreneurs to come up with innovative and disruptive business ideas.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Shailaz Nag, Cofounder and CEO, DotPe, takes us through his amazing journey of working in top corporates to building ventures like PayU and DotPe.Shailaz fondly remembers his father’s principles and how this has guided him throughout his life and work. He cofounded PayU India in 2011, which at present, is one of the leading payment gateways in the country. He quit PayU in 2019 and started DotPe in the subsequent year with a vision to provide digital transformation and commerce solutions to brickandmortar stores. And within a year of launch, this offlinetoonline commerce platform has raised USD 27.5 million in Series A funding from prominent investors like InfoEdge Ventures, Google, and PayU.Tune in to this episode to hear Shailaz speak about how DotPe is disrupting and transforming the offline to online segment with its impeccable product experience and innovation.What you must not missThree most important life lessons.Significance of going digital.O2O business model.

Saying No To Brokers | Amit Kumar Agarwal @ NoBroker.com

1 hr 26 min 46 sec

‘The biggest risk is not taking any risk.’ – Mark Zuckerberg.In this edition of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks Amit Kumar Agarwal, Founder and CEO, NoBroker.com, the country’s first unicorn in the proptech space.Drawing inspiration from Mark Zuckerberg and his bitter experience of househunting, Amit quit his lucrative corporate job and conceptualized the idea of building a platform that connects landlords with prospective renters without the interference of brokers. This led to the birth of NoBroker.com in 2014 which today, claims to have around 75 lakh properties registered on its portal and more than 1.6 crore people using its services.Tune in to this episode to hear Amit speak about how NoBroker is disrupting the traditional real estate sector by becoming a onestopshop for customers for their real estate needs.What you must not missFreemium business modelHow the word of mouth marketing works for NoBrokerDiversification into other cities and services

Fast Fashion Meets Beauty | Anurag Kedia @ Pilgrim

1 hr 32 min 2 sec

In the past two years, there has been a drastic shift in consumer behaviour, courtesy of COVID Users are now aware of what they are consuming and there is an increased inclination towards personal wellbeing and care.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Anurag Kedia, Cofounder, Pilgrim, who is on a journey to transform the global beauty market.Anurag, an alumnus of IITB and IIMA, is a veteran in the beauty and wellness industry. He started his entrepreneurial journey in 2007 with a day spa chain. Banking on the learnings and his 15 years of experience, he started Pilgrim in 2020. It’s an allnatural D2C beauty brand that aims to bring global beauty trends to India.Tune in to this episode to hear Anurag speak about how Pilgrim is decoding the world’s exotic beauty secrets and making them accessible to Indian consumers.Key takeawaysPlay on your unfair advantage.Coping during the COVID crisis.Plans to establish an omnichannel presence.

Automating CX | Raghu Ravinutala @ Yellow.AI

31 min 46 sec

Pivoting is not the end of the disruption process but the beginning of the next leg of your journey. This is exactly the essence of the journey of our next guest on Founder Thesis.In this episode, Akshay Datt speaks with Raghu Ravinutala, Cofounder and CEO, Yellow.ai, a hardcore techie who has worked with Texas Instruments and Broadcom before charting his entrepreneurial path.In 2014, he met his now cofounder, Jaya Kishore Reddy, who was then, working on a product that aimed to bridge the gap between customers and enterprises, as a weekend project. They soon quit their corporate jobs and took up this parttime project to a fulltime daily mission, founding Yellow Messenger in 2015. Today as Yellow.ai, it is one of the World’s Leading Conversational CX Automation platforms, which is trusted by more than 700 global enterprises.Tune in to this episode to hear Raghu speak about how Yellow.ai aims to democratize artificial intelligence by offering chat and voice bots to automate customer experience for large enterprises.What you must not missThe transition from B2C to B2B.Developing a multilingual platform.Experience of working as a part of the Microsoft Accelerator program.Fundraising journey.Plans for global expansion.

Amazon for Farmers | Shashank Kumar @ DeHaat

56 min 56 sec

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for more than half of India’s population. And with more than 3/5th of land under cultivation, the scope of incorporating technology becomes even more evident.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Shashank Kumar, Cofounder and CEO, DeHaat. He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and has previously worked in the management consulting domain before kicking off his entrepreneurial journey. Hailing from a farming background, he had a firsthand understanding of the issues faced by farmers on a daytoday basis. During his corporate stint, he further observed the gap between institutional buyers and farmers that led to the birth of DeHaat in 2012. And today this ‘DirecttoFarmer’ company does not only support farmers by providing lastmile delivery of 360degree Agri services but also helps them with insurance and loans.Tune in to this episode to hear Shashank speak about how DeHaat is transforming the supply chain and production efficiency in the Indian farm sector through AIenabled technology.What you must not missBuilding and scaling an online marketplace for farmers.Incorporating machine learning to set up an advisory for farmersThe role technology is playing in bringing behavioural change in the agriculture sector.Fundraising journey.

Empowering Rural India with FinTech | Dilip Modi @ Spice Money

1 hr 15 min 34 sec

While numerous FinTech startups have started working towards empowering rural India, Spice Money is one such startup that is working categorically towards the financial inclusion of rural India.Founder Thesis brings you the inspirational journey of Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice Money, where he tells Akshay Datt about his experiences, from setting up a business in the thennascent Telecom Industry to running a rural FinTech company.Dilip embarked on his entrepreneurial journey at the young age of 21. He started a telecom provider business in collaboration with numerous international giants, which eventually got acquired by Idea Cellular in 2008.Playing on the valuable experience and the distributor network provided by the Telecom Industry, Dilip started Spice Money in 2015 to provide financial services to lowertier cities, rural areas, and underserved communities while enabling a source of employment for them.Tune in to this episode to hear Dilip speak about how Spice Money is creating financial awareness in rural India.What you must not missNever take a big leap while setting up a business.Experience in scaling up a telecom venture.Survival tip: Keep pivotingThe idea behind Spice Money.

Simplifying Banking | Vinay Bagri @ Niyo Solutions Inc.

55 min 8 sec

Neobanks are one such disruptor that one day will completely eclipse the traditional banking system.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Vinay Bagri, Cofounder and CEO, Niyo Solutions Inc, which is one of India’s fastest growing neobanks.After spending more than a decade in banking companies like Standard Chartered, ING and Kotak, Vinay took a leap of faith and started Niyo in 2015, with a vision to introduce better cash flows to the salaried segment. And today, Niyo products have touched over more than 1.5 million customers.Tune in to this episode to hear Vinay speak about how Niyo is revolutionising banking with continual digital innovation.Key takeawaysThe story behind acquiring Goalwise.Prerequisites to device an impeccable product roadmap.Fundraising journey.

Democratizing Lending | Bhavin Patel @ LenDenClub

1 hr 0 min 11 sec

Getting access to loans, that too timely is a painful process in India. There are numerous parameters for approval and one’s request might be denied for reasons which are nowhere related to a borrower’s credibility.In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks with Bhavin Patel, Cofounder and CEO, LenDenClub, which is one of India’s pioneer PeertoPeer P2P lending platforms.Bhavin has extensive experience working with NBFCs, both as a consultant and an employee. He has closely witnessed the struggles NBFCs face with respect to lending loans and raising capital. This acted as an idea that gave birth to LenDenClub in 2015, which has dispersed more than 500 crores worth of loans in FY21.Tune in to this episode to hear Bhavin talk about how LenDenClub is empowering both lenders and borrowers and disrupting the traditional NBFC segment with its exemplary execution and automation.Key takeawaysIdentifying what customers want.Automation is the key to success.Learning from experimentation.Vision 2030.

India's Pioneering FinTech Company | Kunal Varma @ Freo (Part 2)

1 hr 23 min 26 sec

Innovation and disruption are the hallmarks of the technology world. Amidst the fintech revolution and the subsequent rise of digital banks in India, going to a bank branch is no longer in vogue.And with neobanking, this metamorphosis has reached a new level with stateoftheart technologies and providing customers with easy, quick, and efficient financial services.The Founder Thesis podcast presents to you a twopart series where Akshay Datt speaks with Kunal Varma, CoFounder, Freo. He is a serial entrepreneur who started his entrepreneurial journey back in 2008, while pursuing his MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.Kunal, a selfproclaimed dreamer, fondly recalls his earlier days and shares how he always wanted to start his venture. After successfully building two ventures, he collaborated with Bala Parthasarthy and Anuj Kackar and started MoneyTap, which in five years has become an RBI registered NBFC and is now transitioning to credit led neobank, Freo, which is the first of its kind in the country.Tune in to this episode to hear Kunal speak about how Freo is disrupting the traditional banking system with its innovative digital banking experience.What you must not missIf you like something in your academics, youre not going to do it for the rest of your life.How interacting with people from different walks of life can help in developing your vision as an entrepreneur.The transition from HR and EdTech to FinTechThe concept of neobankingRelation between consumer research and building a productFundraising journey

The EV Game Changer | Akash Gupta @ Zypp Electric

34 min 40 sec

The country’s transportation sector is on the verge of a phenomenal change. Courtesy of EVtechIn this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Akash Gupta, Cofounder and CEO, Zypp Electric, India’s leading B2B Delivery and shared mobility app.After an extensive experience in the corporate sector, Akash started his entrepreneurial journey in 2017 with Mobycy, an electric rental mobility company for commuters. But thanks to the rapid growth in lastmile delivery, Mobycy soon transitioned into an EV logistics company. With Zypp Electric, he aims to make lastmile delivery more affordable, timesaving and gentle on the environment.Tune in to this episode to hear Akash speak about how Zypp Electric is tirelessly working towards creating an EV ecosystem in India.If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Democratizing Access To Wealth Management | Sandeep Jethwani @ Dezerv.in

1 hr 0 min 43 sec

In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Sandeep Jethwani, Cofounder, Dezerv.in. He is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and has an extensive experience in the wealth management domain.Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, Sandeep worked with IIFL Wealth for more than a decade. In a bid to democratize access to investment expertise, he started Dezerv.in in 2021. This wealth tech platform integrates domain expertise and technology and creates highperforming longterm portfolios and provides exclusive investment opportunities for its members.Tune in to this episode to hear Sandeep speak about how Deserv.in is tirelessly working towards making wealth management a reality for all.What you must not missWhy is crucial to hire the correct teamWhat is Integrated Portfolio ApproachDezerv’s user onboarding journeyWhy hypercommunication is importantIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Mobility Pioneer | Rajiv Vij @ Carzonrent India Pvt. Ltd.

1 hr 7 min 57 sec

In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Rajiv Vij, a person who became the Czar of rented cars in India. Rajiv is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of Carzonrent.An alumnus of FMS Delhi, Rajiv started his career at Hindustan Motors which gave him exposure to the taxi business at that time and at ITC’s International Travel House allowed him to interact with the best and the biggest carrental brands in the world.Building on this experience, he started Carzonrent in 2000, with a seed capital of 29 lakh. And today, through numerous pivots, it is one of the leading personal ground transportation service providers with a network present in more than 75 cities in India and has recently ventured into sustainable mobility solutions with Plug Mobility.Tune in to this episode to hear Rajiv speak about his inspirational journey and how with Carzonrent he attempts to streamline the largely unorganized personal ground transportation industry in India.What you must not missWhy assetlight model proved to be the best way to scale upEVs – The Future and the gamechangerLaunching Plug as mobilityasaserviceIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building A Network For B2B Service Providers | Naman Sarawagi @ Refrens.com

1 hr 12 min 10 sec

You all must have heard – It is not the destination but the journey that matters. This is the same with entrepreneurship.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Naman Sarawagi, Cofounder, Refrens.com, a Bengalurubased venture that offers free invoicing, payments and expense management system.Naman started his journey as a product manager at Freecharge and then went on to work with multiple startups. In 2018, he started Refrens.com which is a SaaS product helping freelancers and small and medium businesses in managing leads, invoices and payments from a single dashboard.Tune in to this episode to hear Naman speak about his journey of selfdiscovery and his vision behind scaling Refrens.com.What you must not missNaman’s Freecharge journeyRefrens’ monetisation strategyFundraising journey

Building The Gen-Z Coffee Brand | Arman Sood @ Sleepy Owl Coffee

49 min 53 sec

There is nothing like a great cup of coffee in the morning that charges you up for the day, and this eternal love for coffee led three friends to start a coldbrew coffee company that today is one of the leading D2C coffee brands in India.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Arman Sood, Cofounder, Sleepy Owl Coffee, a company that is at the forefront of coffee innovation in the country.In a bid to bring the whole coldbrew coffee experience to India and with the mission to provide easy access to the best quality coffee, Arman founded Sleepy Owl in 2016 with Ashwajeet Singh and Ajai Thandi. Today, it has expanded its presence in more than 1700 cities and has recently closed a Series A round of USD 6.5 million.Tune in to this episode to hear Arman speak about how Sleepy Owl is disrupting the country’s athome coffee industry with its unique products that are redefining your cup of coffeeWhat you must not missThe Chikmagalur chapter of the Sleepy Owl story.Pivots made during the pandemicSleepy Owl’s unique customer acquisition strategyFundraise and subsequent product expansion journey

Building The Pipes For FinTech | Aditya Kumar @ Niro

50 min 7 sec

“At the core of largescale transformations lies a single innovation. We believe that embedded finance is one such innovation.” – Aditya Kumar.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Aditya Kumar, Cofounder and CEO, Niro, a secondtime founder, who is on a mission to transform consumer internet platforms into fintech.Before Niro, Aditya headed Qbera, a digital fullstack lending platform that was acquired by InCred in 2020. In his second innings as an entrepreneur, he is leading Niro, which aims to leverage the power of embedded finance and unlock the untapped potential for every customerfacing digital platform to become a consumer lending fintech.Tune in to this episode to hear Aditya speak about how Niro is disrupting the consumer lending ecosystem by providing hasslefree embedded credit products.What you must not missThe learnings from collaborating with various lending partnersThe acquisition story of QberaThe concept of embedded finance

Building NextGen Marketeers | Varun Satia @ Kraftshala

1 hr 26 min 8 sec

MBA is the goto postgraduate degree in India. But there are two major issues students face. On one hand, where a minor chunk gets selected to the top institutes, the irrelevant curriculum fails to prepare students for what lies ahead in corporate life.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Varun Satia, Founder and CEO of Kraftshala, Indias largest online learning platform for marketing and sales.Varun is an alumnus of FMS, Delhi and has worked at Nestle before starting his entrepreneurial journey. He started Kraftshala as a project in 2016 to help students understand what realworld sales and marketing look like. And today Kraftshala has collaborated with numerous sales and marketing professionals and students from top BSchools in the country and has helped them to build careers in this field.Tune in to this episode to hear Varun speak about how Kraftshala is challenging the traditional higher education ecosystem in India.What you must not missVarun’s experience of working as a brand managerThe Kraftshala model of learningThe road for the future

Building The Pipes For BNPL | Ramanathan RV @ Hyperface

1 hr 30 min 51 sec

In the last five years, digital payments have picked up pace in India and our economy is witnessing a shift towards credit products.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ramanathan RV, Cofounder, Hyperface, a Bengalurubased bankingasaservice startup that is helping companies in launching their credit cards.Ram is a serial entrepreneur and launched his first venture Juspay in 2012. Many wouldn’t know that he was the mind behind BHIM UPI app.While serving as an advisor for various neobanks, Ram knew that it takes around 23 years for banks to launch creditrelated products. To bridge this gap, he founded Hyperface in 2021. It is a Credit CardasaService platform that aims to help businesses integrate financial products into their mobile apps.Tune in to this episode to hear Ram speak about how Hyperface is reinventing, simplifying and improving access to credit cards in the country.What you must not missExperience in developing BHIM UPI appWhy BNPL is a hot propertyThe thesis behind HyperfaceFundraising journey

Building A D2C For Baby Gear | Kunal Popat @ R For Rabbit

43 min

The most successful businesses are the ones that are built around solving a problem for others.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Kunal Popat, Founder, R For Rabbit. Inspiration knocked at his door when he became a father and couldn’t find any certified and safe baby gear in India. He realized the massive potential this segment had and started R For Rabbit in 2014, along with his wife Kinjal. And today, R For Rabbit is one of India’s most loved and prominent baby products brands, with a strong base of 1.5 million loyal customers and has recently raised USD 5 million from private equity firm Xponentia Capital Partners.Tune in to this episode to hear Kunal speak about how R For Rabbit is ready to capture the baby gear segment in India with its robust and innovative products.What you must not missBuilding a D2C brand from scratchCustomising products as per Indian taste and demandFundraising journey and plans for subsequent product expansion

Making Fleet Management Smarter | Vidit Jain and Shridhar Gupta @ LocoNav

52 min 18 sec

When it comes to innovation, India has come a long way. But there is still a lot to be achievedIn this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Vidit Jain and Shridhar Gupta, Founders, LocoNav. They have worked together at ClearTax before starting with their entrepreneurial journey.Intrigued by the complex nature of the fleet management business and to make the life of fleet owners easy, Vidit and Shridhar founded LocoNav in 2016, with a mission to democratise access to cuttingedge technology for commercial fleet management. And today LocoNav is operational in 25 countries and is backed by global tech leaders like Anand Chandrasekaran and Ajay Agarwal.Tune in to this episode to hear Vidit and Shridhar speak about how LocoNav is streamlining the fleet management industry by providing AI and IoTled innovative offerings.What you must not missThe pivot from freight marketplace to a transport tech ventureScalingup and fundraising journeyThe unique product portfolio

Strengthening The Digital-First Economy | Anurakt Jain @ Klub

59 min 29 sec

With a huge market opportunity to grab, it’s a golden age for digitalfirst businesses. And with plans to accelerate growth for the digitalfirst economy is Klub.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Anurakt Jain, Cofounder and CEO, Klub, a Bengalurubased startup that is pioneering revenuebased financing in India.Anurakt, a graduate of IIT Delhi and The Wharton School, has extensive professional experience as a venture capitalist. In his previous stint, he worked with InMobi, as a part of the founding team that established Glance and TruFactor. He founded Klub in 2020, whose unique and flexible revenuebased finance approach matches entrepreneurs with the right capital partners, thereby allowing them to focus on driving business growth.Tune in to this episode to hear Anurakt speak about how Klub is challenging the traditional modes of equity and debt capital and revolutionizing growth capital for digitalfirst businesses.What you must not missLearnings from his experience as an intrapreneurCultural tenets of KlubHow to build a team of superachievers

Adding Intelligence To Location | Devashish Fuloria @ GeoIQ

50 min 26 sec

In a datarich world, companies that can leverage data for better decisionmaking are at the top of the value chain. GeoIQ helps businesses make smarter customer decisions by using location data. Devashish talks about how he built an API business that leverages big data and machine learning to help consumer internet companies make smarter decisions.Know about: India is a datapoor country Locational information on latitude and longitude Monetization strategy Paid satellite imageryClick to read the text version of the episode. https://thepodium.substack.com/p/transcriptaddingintelligencetosdpf

Powering Hyperlocal Service Discovery | Satya Prabhakar @ Sulekha

50 min 24 sec

Satya Prabhakar founded Sulekha.com in the US in 2002 as a community and classifieds platform for Indians. After securing phenomenal funding, he relocated to India to start up Sulekha, a platform for finding reliable local service providers. Today, Sulekha is one of the largest service platforms in India.Know about: Pay per lead model Playbook for expanding business in new cities Transforming into a qualified matchmaking platform Key to profitability in listing businessesRead the text version of the episode here https://thepodium.substack.com/p/transcriptpoweringhyperlocalservicesdpf

Debt Funding Without Drama | Abhiroop Medhekar @ Velocity

55 min 29 sec

In todays world, a startup is no longer dependent on investors to acquire funding. One can fund their startup through revenuebased financing. This is like a business loan, except the repayment of the loan is not via a fixed EMI but rather as a percentage of the revenue for a fixed period of time. Abhiroop shares his insights from his experience as a serial entrepreneur and VC.Know about: 1. Timing fundraisers without requirements 2. Core product offering 3. Equity is not a good use if deployed for inventory and marketing 4. Future roadmapNote: This podcast was recorded a while back and the metrics shared have significantly improved since then.

The global wearable leader from India | Gaurav Khatri @ Noise

56 min 56 sec

Consumer electronics brand and one of the top 5 global smartwatch sellers, Noise is a homegrown, purely bootstrapped startup. Gaurav talks about the journey of starting Noise by selling smartphone covers on ecommerce websites, and the many ups and downs in their journey before reaching a stage where they are doing almost 2000 crore of annual revenue today.Insights shared: Bootstrapping to scale Competing with metoo products in your category Scaling D2C Sales channelsNote: This episode was recorded a while back and the metrics shared have improved since then.For bonus content related to the episode, head over to thepodium.substack.com https://thepodium.substack.com/

Tackling Waste With Tech | Abhay Deshpande @ Recykal

1 hr 20 min 1 sec

Abhay started Indias first pure play ecommerce website called malamall.com way back in 1998, at a time when the internet ecosystem in India was nonexistent and not even 1 of Indias population was online. This episode is a candid and honest story of the struggles of entrepreneurship and proves how grit can make you successful, even if it takes decades.Know about: Building malamall.com, Indias first ecommerce site Experiences of building Martjack How do consumers look at waste Deposit return system

The Trailblazer Venture Capitalist | Sanjay Swamy @ Prime Venture Partners

1 hr 10 min 31 sec

Sanjay Swamy is the doyen of the startup ecosystem. He envisioned mobiles disrupting the Indian economy in 2003 when the first reliance CDMA mobile phone had launched. Hes the man behind Prime Venture Partners one of the biggest homegrown VCs in India having funded dozens of iconic startups. He talks about his incredible multidecade journey in the startup ecosystem and learning some valuable lessons on starting up, getting funded, scaling up, and how to think about exits.Know about: Insights from building ZipDial Experiences of raising funds from LPs Things an investor looks for in a company Tips for young entrepreneurs

The $3 Bn Stock Trading Startup | Raghu Kumar @ Upstox

55 min 57 sec

Raghu Kumar is one of the unique founders we have featured. He and his brother grew up in the US and converted a ten thousand dollar investment into 2 million dollars through algorithmic trading in just 2 years. Upstox became a unicorn in 2021. In 2020, Raghu stepped down from the operational team of Upstox but remains the largest shareholder of Upstox to start his next venture. Raghu talks about his journey of making phenomenal wealth through trading and building Upstox in a highly competitive market.Know about: Running the News Trading Strategy Making money in Forex trading Employing direct market access Competitive differentiation

Building The On-demand Edtech Platform | Imbesat Ahmad @Filo

54 min 47 sec

Filo makes it possible for students to connect with teachers within 60 seconds for a live oneonone learning session. Imbesat is a serial entrepreneur in the education space. He talks about building products that deliver real outcomes for students and how to scale missiondriven educational ventures.Know about: Helping students in Kashmir 2 parts of learning data transfer and data processing Reviews to install ratio Pricing strategy

The Serial Mobility-Tech Founder | Brijraj Bhuptani @ Spry

1 hr 32 min 3 sec

Brijraj has explored the mobility space from multiple perspectives. His first venture Ridlr was an app to help people navigate public transport. He started Spry which is a fullstack digital health platform for physiotherapists to help their patients lead painfree lives. Spry is a great example of a madeinIndia product and Brijraj is targeting the US market as its primary revenue stream.Know about: Solving for Indian traffic building Ridlr Introducing mobile ticketing for unreserved category Competitive differentiation: using software Customer acquisition strategy

The Social Content and Gaming Pioneer | Anirudh Pandita @ Loco

1 hr 5 min 24 sec

Anirudh is an investment banker who returned to India to build a business around Bollywood content. He built Pocket Aces which makes viral video content for young India. In the quest to not be reliant on social platforms for distribution, he ended up creating Loco. Loco is Indias leading livestreaming platform for gamers and has raised more than 50 mn dollars to date.Know about: Changing trends in the content landscape Launching Dice Media Hypercasual games becoming shortform experience Fundraising journey

Building The Collections Stack | Anshuman Panwar @ Creditas Solutions

54 min 19 sec

When it comes to innovation, debt collection is a space that has lagged behind. Spotting this gap, Anshuman decided to build a SaaS product to radically disrupt traditional collection methods. By using data analytics, Creditas Solutions helps people recover debt seamlessly on their own terms. Listen on as he talks about how AI and ML are reshaping the debt collection processKnow about: Challenges of traditional lending practices Ethera, worlds first SaaSbased Neo Collections platform Why AIdriven collection system is useful to banks Roadmap for 2025

Slumboy Millionaire | Amit Mishra @ iMocha

51 min 34 sec

Not every day do we come across entrepreneurs whove battled against all odds, challenged the status quo, and carved a space for themselves. Amit Mishra grew up lowest in the economic pyramid in India. From no shoes to wear till graduation to leading a global SaaS company that is on track to hit 10 mn ARR – his story will leave you spellbound.Know about: First job and learnings Origin story of iMocha Features of iMocha Staying relevant in the skill economy

Building The Bloomberg For Private Equity | Neha Singh and Abhishek Goyal @ Tracxn

59 min 22 sec

The global company Bloomberg mines market data to help businesses make prudent decisions. In a similar vein, Tracxn helps private market investors in their decisionmaking by providing curated profiles of startups and companies. Tune in to hear the story of two analysts building one of the worlds largest data intelligence platformsKnow about: The private market landscape Scaling up insider understanding of a sector The revenue journey Gotomarket strategy

Fighting Disinformation With AI | Lyric Jain @ Logically

55 min 40 sec

In the hyperconnected world of today, fake news is everywhere. Tackling harmful and problematic online content is Logically. The startup started as a consumer news app but soon pivoted to fighting fake news with a focus on elections. If you hate reading fake news and want to know how to reduce its spread, then you must listenKnow about: Founding thesis Launching the app during Lok Sabha elections Opensource intelligence teams New vectors of misinformationRead the text version of the episode below https://thepodium.substack.com/p/transcriptfightingdisinformation

Electrifying Mobility Through Tech | Saurav Kumar @ Euler Motors

48 min 29 sec

To tackle the serious challenge of pollution in Indian cities, Saurav founded Euler Motors in 2018 and named it after the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler. He is a serial founder whose last company was acquired by Paytm. He talks about his decadelong journey as a founder, his take on the commercial EV space, and Eulers plans to dominate the sector.Know about: Starting Cube26 and selling it to PayTm Insights for starting a commercial EV business Process of manufacturing EVs Market share of EVsRead the text version of the episode here. https://open.substack.com/pub/thepodium/p/transcriptofeulerr1jfszhutmcampaignpostutmmediumweb

Building The People Mobility Stack | Nikhil Aggarwal @ Chalo

21 min 33 sec

Chalo is on the road to becoming one of the first unicorns in the public transportation space. The startup makes lives easier for millions who use buses for intercity commuting. Nikhil eventually exited Chalo and founded Grip Invest. This is part one of a twopart conversation where he talks about building Chalo.Know about: Starting off as a multimodal journey planner for public transportation Moving from realtime discovery to commerce Finding the right incentive structure Introducing smart ticketing devices for conductors📌 Read the founders thesis here https://thepodium.in/episodes/buildingthepeoplemobilitystacknikhilaggarwalchalo/

A Techie's Tale Of Spirituality | Prashant Sachan @ AppsForBharat

1 hr 8 min 18 sec

Bhakti and Bharat are inseparable. Finding its root in Sanskrit, Bhakti meansspirituality and encompasses community, mental wellbeing, and philanthropy.Being a uniquely Indian concept, the market for this space remains hugelyuntapped.Prashant is an Internet entrepreneur who created a spiritualtech app to servethe emerging devotional needs of Indians. He tells Akshay Datt about his journeyof building this engagement lead consumer platform.Know about: 1. Finding cofounders for the first venture 2. Genesis and evolution of Trell 3. Model of AppsForBharat and the flywheel of growth 4. Community features and virtual darshanIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Serving Notifications To A Billion Eyeballs | Neel Kothari @ iZooto

1 hr 13 min 27 sec

There are 2 ways to build a startup one is through cash burn and the other isby bootstrapping it the harder but sustainable way. This episode is amasterclass in building a startup the harder way.Akshay Datt speaks with Neel Kothari who built iZooto, a push notificationplatform that touches the lives of billions consuming news on the InternetKnow about: Concept of owned audience marketing Customer retention future engagement personalizing messaging at scale Making it contextual to the content RSS feed integration developing own content recommendation engineIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Reimagining The Humble Bread | Aditi Handa and Sneh Jain @ The Baker's Dozen

1 hr 1 min 11 sec

This edition is a delectable one where Akshay Datt chats with a couple elevatingIndias experience of bread consumption. Aditi Handa and Sneh Jain are thefounders of The Bakers Dozen, Indias first artisan bakery brand serving anexquisite variety of authentic European breads and bakery products. Aditi is a trained baker from the renowned International Culinary Institute inNew York and Sneh is an IIMA alumnus and an exMcKinsey consultant. Togetherthey started up the venture, with Aditi passionately steering the product, andSneh building the business with an eye on the numbers.Know about: Aditis learnings at International Culinary Institute, New York Sneh Jains epiphany at McKinsey using lego blocks to create a world Scaling up the supply chain Evolution of sales channel: the omnichannel approachIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Overnight Success That Took Decades | Karan Bajaj @ WhiteHat Jr

1 hr 34 min 54 sec

What happens when a guy who wears many hats finally builds his personal thesison ownership He creates WhiteHat Jr, the coding platform empowering the nextgeneration to be creators versus consumers of technology.An engineer, an MBA graduate, a brand manager, a successful novelist, a yogainstructor, a backpacker, and an entrepreneur hes done it all. From quittingBoston Consulting Group owing to the feeling of being too much of an owner toenjoy consulting to building a business that became one of the biggest cashdeals in the startup world Karan Bajaj recounts his fascinating journey in acandid conversation with Akshay Datt.Dont miss: The Four Percent Rule Magnitude X Impact 3 essential elements to scale a business WhiteHat Jrs acquisition by ByjusIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building The Employee Health Stack | Saransh Garg @ Nova Benefits

55 min 6 sec

Saransh Gargs journey represents the quintessential Silicon Valley founderstory that began with his first venture being launched straight out of college.An alumnus of IITBombay, Saransh has had a glorious career trajectory workingwith Boston Consulting Group, a prestigious global consulting firm and Accel, aleading VC fund.After a successful first inning as entrepreneur, he launched Nova Benefits in2020. Nova Benefits is a B2B techfirst employee wellness platform helpingcompanies improve their employee wellbeing through better quality healthinsurance, daily fitness, mental health counselling and wellness programs.Akshay Datt speaks with Saransh Garg about his journey, learnings and future ofinsurtech.Dont miss: Learnings from Zero to One Stint at Accel and fundraising strategy Takeaways as first time founder alignment and overcommunication Customer acquisition roadmap of Nova BenefitsIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Redefining Critical Care Delivery | Dhruv Joshi @ Cloudphysician

1 hr 11 min 29 sec

The Internet of Medical Things IoMT is an infrastructure that links thetraditional healthcare system with digital medical devices and softwareapplications to synthesise various healthcare services. It has truly beentransformative for the healthcare industry. Telemedicine especially proved to bea boon during the pandemic as it restrained vast patient displacement tohealthcare facilities.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Dhruv Joshi, Founderand CEO of Cloudphysician, the startup transforming critical care deliverythrough SmartICU technology .Dr. Joshi has served as the Pulmonary and Critical Care Specialist at theprestigious Cleveland clinic in USA. Having that niche kind of clinicalexpertise helped him explore the existing barriers impeding quality criticalcare delivery. Cloudphysician is his attempt to improve the critical careecosystem by focusing towards meeting the needs of both patients and medicalprofessionals.Listen to this conversation to hear Dhruv speak about his journey of buildingCloudphysicianDont miss: Genesis of Cloudphysician Expertise On Call, a plugandplay solution Challenges in implementing Electronic Health Record EHR Roadmap for 2025 virtual hospitalIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Helping Companies Win The Talent War | Abhishek Poddar @ Plum

1 hr 3 min 27 sec

In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Abhishek Poddar,Founder and CEO of Plum, the startup helping companies provide unique affordable employee health insurance plans.An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and Stanford University, Abhishek has had a gloriouscareer working with global giants like McKinsey Company Google. Spotting aclear opportunity to reform the broken insurance system for businesses, hestarted Plum in 2019. Today, this Tiger Global Sequoia backed company is helping more than hundredsof businesses deliver quality comprehensive health benefits. Tune in to this episode to hear Abhisheks journey of building and scaling upPlum.What you must not miss: 3part thesis for running Plum Customer acquisition strategies Networking and Carpet Bombing Role of tech data in underwriting insurance plansIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building a D2C Growth Platform | Swagat Sarangi @ Smytten

54 min 17 sec

In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Swagat Sarangi,Founder of Smytten, one of Indias leading product discovery and trial platformthat is revolutionising the way consumers interact with brands.An alumnus of Indian School of Business, Swagat worked with Google as the Headof Business Marketing before starting his entrepreneurial journey. His extensive17 years of experience in varied industries helped him understand the painpoints between brandconsumer interactions. Founded in 2015, Smytten facilitatesand shapes the way new brands discern their consumer landscape.Tune in to this episode to hear Swagat speak about Smyttens interestingtechenabled business model that is disrupting the online product discoveryspaceWhat you must not miss ROPO model Use of AI for customer acquisition Powerful B2B flywheel of the business modelIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building SaaS For Small Businesses | Sumit Agarwal @ Vyapar

1 hr 9 min 44 sec

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises MSMEs safeguarded the Indian economyduring the COVID19 pandemic. However, this segments financial health used tosuffer owing to the lack of a robust framework for logging data.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Sumit Agarwal,Founder of Vyapar which is an easytouse software for business owners thatprovides billing, inventory, and accounting services.A software engineer by profession, Sumit worked at Intuit India for 8 years. Hestarted his entrepreneurial journey in 2016 with an aim to solve the criticalfinancial pain points of the MSME segment. Today, Vyapar has bolstered thisindustrys growth by offering a holistic technological bill book.Tune in to this episode to hear Sumit speak about his journey of building Vyaparand how its transforming the lives of MSMEsWhat you must not miss: Key tenets for running appbased businesses Fundraising journey The unique product portfolio Critical skills for building a companyIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Pioneering Healthcare @ Home | Vaibhav Tewari @ Portea Medical

32 min 20 sec

With one of the worlds largest ageing populations, the eldercare market inIndia is estimated to be worth 5 billion. But still, a substantial chunk ofthis sector remains disintegrated and unorganised. In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Vaibhav Tewari,Cofounder and CEO of Portea Medical. He is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta with morethan two decades of experience in building new businesses across differentindustries. In India, many corporate hospitals provide topclass health care services butpostdischarge care for patients was left an untrodden path. To address thisgap, Portea Medical was started in 2013. It is a firstofitskind in providingaffordable inhome medical services for patients, with a presence in over 30cities across the country. Tune in to this episode to hear Vaibhav speak about how Portea is leading thehome healthcare segment with its unique bouquet of services. What you must not miss Portea Medicals gotomarket strategy. Customer acquisition strategy. Virtual engagement with patients. Challenges faced by Portea. If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Payments' Business Masterclass | Akash Sinha @ Cashfree Payments

1 hr 33 min 9 sec

A few years ago, businesses were struggling to accept card payments, and thisdemanded a solution that could enable the smooth running of businesses acrossthe country. In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Akash Sinha,Cofounder and CEO, Cashfree Payments, a Bengalurubased FinTech startup whichfacilitates businesses in India to collect payments online and make payouts. Akash is an alumnus of IIIT Hyderabad and has an experience of two and halfyears in programming with Amazon. In 2015 he started Cashfree in a bid todigitize CashonDelivery payments. However, this PayPal and Y Combinatorincubated venture soon pivoted to a tech platform that simplifies inwardremittances and outward bulk payments for merchants. Today, Cashfree has many reputed brands as clients in its kitty and supportsmore than 1,00,000 businesses with its product offerings. Tune in to this episode to hear Akash explain everything about the paymentsbusiness and how Cashfree is building the pipes for seamless digitaltransactions. What you must not miss Challenges faced by Cashfree. Addressing the customer queries. Competition between payment gateway companies. Importance of Neo banking. If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Taking E-Pharmacy To The Masses | Vivek Jaiswal @ Saveo

1 hr 0 min 54 sec

Growing up in a small town, Vivek personally experienced the lack of adequate access to healthcare services, which motivated him to build a pharmacy ecommerce business that tackles the same. Saveo enables local pharmacies to serve customers better by providing them with easy access to a wide range of medicines as well as educating them with knowledge and best practices. If you want to build a sustainable startup, then this is a conversation you must not miss.Know about: The problem of prescription bounce Fundraising and scaling up Converting pharmacy to modern community centre Future expansion plans

The Gen Z Way Of Buying Two-Wheelers | Sumit Chhazed @ OTO Capital

1 hr 13 min 35 sec

Think of having the flexibility of eCommerce, home trial, home delivery of a bike, and being able to pay a monthly subscription rather than an outright purchase this is what OTO Capital is enabling. Sumit is a serial entrepreneur who had previously scaled the used 2wheeler platform CredR to its peak. Listen on for tips on identifying opportunities and expanding businesses.Know about: Ideation phase Zero to One journey Solving the capital supply problem and scaling up Customer acquisition strategy

Pioneering India's Craft Beer Revolution | Prabhtej Singh Bhatia @ Simba

20 min 9 sec

Those of you who came of age in the 90s and early 2000s would recall drinking beer meant choosing between a regular strength beer or an extra strong beer. There was no such thing as choosing a beer for its taste and flavor. But the Craft Beer Revolution changed that and made beer more of a lifestyle choice. Dive deep into the Indian beerscape and learn how Prabhtej scaled up Indias coolest craft beer brand with no external funding. Listen on but remember to get yourself a cold glass of beer firstKnow about: Brewery is good for local community Learning the trade Coining the name Simba Indias beer distribution system

Reimagining Call Centres | Murthy Chintalapati @ Ozonetel

44 min 34 sec

With AI disrupting the cloud telephony industry, the need of the hour is to provide businesses with simple, scalable customer interaction channels. Ozonetel is a CCaaS Contact/Call Centre as a Service player that launched the first cloudbased customer experience platform in the Indian marketplace. Started in 2007 to address needs in the enterprise communications space, the cloudbased contact center solution has been especially helpful during the pandemic, when most firms were forced to switch to the workfromhome model. Murthy is a serial entrepreneur with a successful exit in the US under his belt, and in this conversation with Akshay Datt, he talks about his multipledecade journey as a founder and disruptor.Know about: Identifying the gap in the market Customer experience is key Roadmap to 100 Mn ARR Fundraising plans

The Martech Masterclass | Srikrishna Swaminathan @ Factors.AI

1 hr 26 min 23 sec

Martech refers to startups disrupting traditional marketing tools and channels with technology. Srikrishna has had a frontview seat in the Martech revolution. Prior to starting up, he was part of the global leadership at Indias first unicorn, InMobi. With Factors.AI, he plans to help B2B marketers make easier, wiser datadriven decisions.Know about: Experience at InMobi Product Features The products wow factor Privacy concerns and regulatory trends

Building A Medical Safety Net For India | Aniruddha Sen @ Kenko Health

48 min 56 sec

In an individuals lifetime, the majority of medical expenses are incurred on diagnosis, doctor consultation, medicines, etc. Kenko Health is aiming to build the countrys first Health Management Organisation HMO a health insurance plan that focuses on overall patient wellness and preventive healthcare while keeping plan costs low. Listen on to know how Aniruddha, an ISB alumnus and insurance industry veteran, built this health checkup platform with almost no external fundingKnow about: Convincing investors the biggest challenge Financing healthcare expenses, not insuring Identifying target market Future roadmap

Banker To Small Businesses | Anubhav Jain @ Rupifi

1 hr 7 min 43 sec

There are millions of small SMEs in India that are starved of credit. These businesses are too small to be viable for a bank or NBFC to go out and acquire. This is the unserved market that became the opportunity to build Rupifi. After stints as a founder of an EdTech company and a consumer lending company, Anubhav started Rupifi as a techenabled SME lender. Listen on to know more about this young, techcentric and innovative SME lender on a mission to level the playing field for small businesses in India.Know about: Journey from AMEX to becoming a founder Acquisition journey of Qbera Ideation of Rupifi Repayment system Challenges of solving for SMEs

The Serial Unicorn Founder | Sandeep Aggarwal @ ShopClues and Droom

1 hr 2 min 45 sec

When one talks about the pioneers of building unicorns in India, there would be only one man who has done this not once, but twice. Sandeep Aggarwal has had a fascinating journey from quitting Wall Street to starting ShopClues to now building Droom thats soon headed for an IPO. In this episode, the trailblazer walks us through his journey of starting up and starting again. Listen onKnow about: Figuring out the white space opportunity of ecommerce Starting ShopClues, one of Indias first ecommerce unicorns The business model of Droom Impact of COVID19 on the business

Scaling B2C Lending | Madhusudan Ekambaram @ KreditBee

1 hr 8 min 35 sec

Unsecured personal loans are nothing new but most of them come with lots of hassles. This episode is a masterclass in understanding unsecured lending to consumers. Madhusudan talks to Akshay Datt about starting up, building a strong product, building both demand and supply, and the importance of risk management in the lending business. Listen on to get educated about all things lending.Know about: Genesis of Kreditbee Finding the first 100 customers through student community Launching credit card product Strategy to acquire newtocredit customers

Personal Loans At Scale | Ashish Goyal @ EarlySalary

1 hr 3 min 10 sec

The availability of formal shortterm credit boosts financial wellbeing by helping people make ends meet when facing a temporary financial crisis. Ashish is an investment banker and CA by profession. His decadelong extensive experience in Portfolio Management combined with a deep understanding of growth and strategy led him to build one of Indias leading consumer lending fintechs. EarlySalary is unique among its peers as it has its own inhouse NBFC. Find out more about he scaled EarlySalaryKnow about: Identifying the product Tracking customer retention Fundraising journey Customised underwriting

Making Manufacturing Smart | Vipin Raghavan @ Haber

1 hr 5 min 14 sec

Even though India has been slow when it comes to modernizing machines, Haber might change that. With pathbreaking AI solutions, the RobotasaService startup is set to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. Listen on as Vipin Raghavan speaks about the compelling value proposition of HaberKnow about: Product understanding and features Fuzzy algorithm Variable frequency drive Future plans solving for sensors

Building Dashboards For The Body | Vatsal Singhal and Mohit Kumar @ Ultrahuman

42 min 57 sec

Secondtime entrepreneurs, Vatsal and Mohit, speak about building Ultrahuman,one of the worlds most advanced fitness and metabolism tracking platforms.Listen on as they share their journey of starting up again, getting into thefitness space, and coming up with Indias first metabolism tracker wearable.Know about: Trends in wearables Figuring out your healthy Launching Ultrahuman M1 Customer acquisition strategy

Helping companies monetize content | Sunny Sen @ ConScent

55 min 13 sec

News and journalism are shifting their strategy from being free for consumption to going behind paywalls. ConScent is building a fullstack revenue solution for publishers, and in this episode, Sunny talks about the publishing landscape and the various ways to monetize content through smart user journeys and better intelligence.Insights shared: The business case of subscriptions How to customize paywalls Pricing strategy How will the publishing industry evolveAdditional links: 1. SaaS startup ConScent aims to be a onestop solution for media houses, OTT players https://yourstory.com/2022/09/newdelhisaasstartupconscentpayperarticlesubscribeottplayers 2. Micropayments can help publications gain more revenue than advertising: ConsCents Sunny Sen https://www.afaqs.com/news/media/micropaymentscanhelppublicationsgainmorerevenuethanadvertisingconscentssunnysen 3. ConsCent.ai unveils its Intelligent EReader Solution for Publishers https://www.medianews4u.com/conscentaiunveilsitsintelligentereadersolutionforpublishers/

India's internet gaming pioneer | Vishal Gondal @ Indiagames

42 min 48 sec

If we were to write a history of tech startups in India, then surely there would be a pretty big chapter dedicated to Vishal Gondal. From becoming a tech entrepreneur while still in college to selling Indiagames to Disney for almost a hundred mn dollars Vishal recounts his fascinating story.Insights shared: Early days of Indian internet gaming How to engage customers with adware gaming Using branding to scale and acquisition strategies

Never back down | Tanay Pratap @ Invact

1 hr 34 min 24 sec

Tanay talks about his amazing journey of overcoming odds multiple times be it in getting a job with Microsoft and building the Microsoft Teams product or in the way Invact is disrupting how we are preparing the next generation for meaningful employment. Invact is a truly original edtech platform that aims to help millions of young Indians who live in tier 2,3 and 4 towns and have almost no access to affordable quality education.Additional links:1. In conversation with Tanay Pratap, Founder and CEO, Invact Metaversity https://www.midday.com/brandmedia/article/inconversationwithtanaypratapfounderandceoinvactmetaversity232422562.Im a teacher at heart and will always be one: Invact Metaversitys Pratap https://www.livemint.com/companies/startups/imateacheratheartandwillalwaysbeoneinvactmetaversityspratap11654631173659.html3.Exclusive: Metaverse is not our soul. Thats where the disagreements started: Tanay Pratap https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/exclusivemetaverseisnotoursoulthatswherethedisagreementsstartedtanaypratap8653881.html

Building India's answer to Ogilvy | Pratik Gupta @ Zoo Media

51 min 9 sec

If you search the top 10 advertising agencies in India, youll find that theyre all subsidiaries of international companies. There isnt a single agency on the list that is entirely owned by Indians. Zoo Media is on a mission to change that narrative. Pratik shares his decade and half long journey of building a marketing agency from scratch and how they are now on track to build a global ad agency network from India.Additional links:1.Digital Marketing Mavericks: Zoo Medias big bet on hyperspecialisation https://www.forbesindia.com/article/storyboard18/digitalmarketingmaverickszoomediasbigbetonhyperspecialisation/81879/12.Zoo Media partners with independent agency collective Dawn to launch global office in New York https://bestmediainfo.com/2022/11/zoomediapartnerswithindependentagencycollectivedawntolaunchglobalofficeinnewyork3.The Zoo Media Network bags creative and branded content mandate for Kingfisher Premium and Ultra https://www.financialexpress.com/business/brandwagonthezoomedianetworkbagscreativeandbrandedcontentmandateforkingfisherpremiumandultra2606614/

Breaking the paywall of high-skilled jobs | Prateek Shukla @ Masai School

1 hr 3 min 9 sec

Inspired by the teachings of the Masai tribe in Kenya, Prateek started Masai School to help Indian students bridge the skill gap. Hes been through a rollercoaster ride as a founder and he shares his journey of building Masai School, a journey that began soon after he graduated from IIT Kanpur.Additional links:1. OutcomeBased Education Know How This Platform Prepares IndustryReady Tech Talents Through SkillBased Learning https://thelogicalindian.com/education/masaischoolpreparingindustryreadytechtalentsamidhiringslowdowninitsector393592.This IIT Kanpur alumnus built a coding school in Bangalore that enrols students for free https://www.indiatoday.in/educationtoday/news/story/thisiitkanpuralumnibuiltacodingschoolinbangalorewhichenrolsstudentsforfree1560516201907033.How Masai school is helping launch careers and accelerate growth for tech companies by bridging the skill gap https://yourstory.com/2022/07/masaischoolhelpinglaunchcareersacceleratingtechcompaniesgrowth

Building the smart assistant for corporate employees | Adit Jain @ Leena AI

1 hr 6 min 40 sec

Adit Jain shares his story of building Leena AI straight out of college, including insights on finding product market fit and focusing like a pro. With 40 million dollars in funding, Leena AI proves that B2B products can be made in India and used worldwideAdditional links:1. Can AI improve the workplace https://www.techcircle.in/2022/12/27/canaiimprovetheworkplace2. J.A.R.V.I.S for enterprises: how leena ai is making hr management smarter https://yourstory.com/ysgulf/jarvisforenterprisesleenaaihrmanagement3.How Leena AI is Helping Companies Build Brands through Exemployees https://analyticsindiamag.com/howleenaaiishelpingcompaniesbuildbrandsthroughexemployees/4.With tech, Leena AI tries to test the limits of human resource management https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/smallbiz/entrepreneurship/withtechleenaaitriestotestthelimitsofhumanresourcemanagement/articleshow/94672764.cms

The employability edtech for Bharat | Anil Nagar @ Adda247

53 min 9 sec

The pandemic has impacted the edtech industry worldwide, and Indias edtech giants have been no exception. Adda247 has emerged as a unique player in this space, catering to the bottom of the pyramid with affordable online courses. Anil talks about his missiondriven approach and how it has helped build a successful business.Additional links:1.Bullish on Bharat: heres how adda247 is helping Indian youth land their dream sarkari jobs https://yourstory.com/2022/09/adda247helpingindianyouthlanddreamsarkarijobs2.A pivot that helped adda247 reach tier ii cities and beyond https://yourstory.com/2022/10/pivothelpedadda247reachtieriicities3.Edtech platform adda247 raises 35m led by Westbridge capital https://yourstory.com/2022/10/fundingedtechplatformadda24735millionwestbridgecapital

Making health insurance frictionless | Mayank Kale @ Loop

58 min 55 sec

Mayank wanted to make healthcare as easy as pie by offering health insurance solutions to companies for their employees. But finding productmarket fit became tough. Not one to give up easily, Mayanks hard work paid off and Loop became the most wellfunded startup in the space. He shares his journey of building Loop.Additional links:1. Mayank Kale and Amrit Singhs Loop is filling the gaps in health insurance https://www.forbesindia.com/article/30under302023/mayankkaleandamritsinghsloopisfillingthegapsinhealthinsurance/83177/12.How Loop Healths group insurance plans go beyond securing lives to improve healthcare delivery https://yourstory.com/2021/06/loophealthinsuranceplansimprovehealthcare3.How Loop Health is transforming care delivery in India with a focus on preventive care https://yourstory.com/2021/05/loophealthtransformingcaredeliveryfocuspreventivecare

Building the D2C success stack | Sonakshi Nathani @ Bik

59 min 8 sec

Bik helps companies increase the sales of their online stores through AIpowered customer engagement and communication tools. Sonakshi shares the journey of first building up Bikayi as a WhatsApp commerce tool for small businesses before making the pivot to Bik which offers solutions to large global enterprise clients.Additional links:1.Strengthening Conversational Commerce Bikayi Plans To Scale Bik.ai https://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/StrengtheningConversationalCommerceBikayiPlansToScaleBikai/18102022451010/2.Bikayi partners with WhatsApp to launch BIK.ai, which aims to revolutionize ecommerce marketing globally https://www.expresscomputer.in/news/bikayipartnerswithwhatsapptolaunchbikaiwhichaimstorevolutionizeecommercemarketingglobally/88255/3.We enable brands to drive up to 66x ROI – Ms. Sonakshi Nathani, Cofounder and CEO of BIK Interview https://www.how2shout.com/interview/interviewmssonakshinathanicofounderandceoofbik.html4.Rebranding of the company and how it stands out in the ecommerce segment : Sonakshi Nathani, Cofounder and CEO of BIK https://www.cxotoday.com/interviews/rebrandingofthecompanyandhowitstandsoutintheecommercesegmentsonakshinathanicofounderandceoofbik/

The debt funding masterclass | Bhavik Vasa @ GetVantage

18 min 47 sec

In the highstakes world of Shark Tank India, startup founders take centre stage to pitch their ideas to a panel of sharks. An intriguing statistic reveals that every third deal offered by the sharks is not an equity investment, but rather a debt deal. This episode decodes all things debt funding.Additional links:1.GetVantage offers revenuebased financing to Indias founders https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/29/getvantageoffersrevenuebasedfinancingtoindiasfounders/2.How a Mumbaibased startup is making life easy for other startups https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/howamumbaibasedstartupismakinglifeeasyforotherstartups350928202210273.How GetVantage is democratising access to working capital for underserved businesses https://www.forbesindia.com/article/takeonebigstoryoftheday/howgetvantageisdemocratisingaccesstoworkingcapitalforunderservedbusinesses/84249/14.GetVantage becomes first RBF startup to get NBFC licence https://www.businesstoday.in/entrepreneurship/news/story/getvantagebecomesfirstrbfstartuptogetnbfclicence38004920230504

Decoding alternative investing | Saurav Ghosh and Vineet Agrawal @ Jiraaf

52 min 59 sec

Jiraaf is helping the common man tap into the exclusive investment deals previously reserved for the elite few. Saurav and Vineet talk about how Jiraaf lets you put your money to work directly in corporate debt instruments, bypassing the banks.Additional links:1.How Fintech Startup Jiraaf Is Helping Indians Diversify Their Fixed Income Investments https://inc42.com/startups/howfintechstartupjiraafishelpingindiansdiversifytheirfixedinvestments/2.Debt mutual funds tweak helps alternate investment platform Jiraaf https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/debtmutualfundstweakhelpsalternateinvestmentplatformjiraaf/cid/19350563.Bengaluru startup Jiraaf enables retail investors earn highyield returns https://yourstory.com/2022/07/bengalurustartupjiraafenablesretailinvestorsearnhighyieldreturns

The first principle path to employability | Ashish Munjal @ Sunstone

51 min 15 sec

Sunstone—an educational disruptor thats solving Indias unemployability problem with first principle thinking. Ashish is a serial founder and he shares his lessons of finding product market fit, building pricing power, and growth hacking to reach scale.Additional links:1.This edtech startup is focusing on employability to help students in tier II, III cities https://yourstory.com/2022/09/edtechstartupsunstoneemployabilityplacementcareeradvice2.Sunstone partners with NSDC to provide upskilling courses https://www.financialexpress.com/education2/sunstonepartnerswithnsdctoprovideupskillingcourses/2752119/3.Sunstone adopts a corporatefirst approach gets students job ready with Applied Certification courses https://www.financialexpress.com/education2/sunstoneadoptsacorporatefirstapproachgetsstudentsjobreadywithappliedcertificationcourses/3037259/4.Invest in the right partnerships to hire futureready professionals: Sunstones Piyush Nangru and Ashish Munjal https://www.peoplematters.in/article/recruitment/investintherightpartnershipstohirefuturereadyprofessionalssunstonespiyushnangruandashishmunjal34167

The accidental mompreneur | Harini Sivakumar @ Earth Rhythm

1 hr 20 min 2 sec

Not fancy pedigrees but grit and determination Harinis journey is a powerful example of scaling up through these two. It resembles a captivating Hollywood movie, beginning with a homemaker turned accidental entrepreneur, and culminating in the creation of a 100crore business.Additional links:1.How Harini Sivakumar built D2C brand Earth Rhythm to help her speciallyabled child https://yourstory.com/herstory/2021/10/100emergingwomenleadersharinisivakumard2cstartupearthrhythm2.How Earth Rhythm is Using Technology to Offer NonToxic, Sustainable and Biodegradable Products https://www.indianretailer.com/interview/retailpeople/startup/howearthrhythmisusingtechnologytooffernontoxicsustainableandbiodegradableproducts.i19563.I was a Homemaker for 7 Years. Heres How I Built a Brand Worth Rs 200 Crore https://www.thebetterindia.com/281724/earthrhythmskincarebrandfounderharinisivakumarentrepreneurcrores/

Challenging the Ola-Uber duopoly | Anmol Jaggi @ BluSmart

57 min 49 sec

BluSmart is an innovative ridehailing company that acquires vehicles instead of relying on drivers to buy them. Anmol, an accomplished entrepreneur, shares his insights on building sustainable businesses in India. He started his first business in college and took it to a public listing. Tune in to learn from Anmols valuable lessons in his decadeplus entrepreneurial journey.Additional links:1.ETtech Indepth: How BluSmart plans to fight the Uber, Ola onslaught in buzzy EV cab business https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/blusmartchalksanewrouteonwindingroadtoemobility/articleshow/98434151.cmsfrommdr2.BluSmart plans EV route to take over Uber and Ola https://www.livemint.com/autonews/blusmartplansevroutetotakeonuberandola11681879071498.html3.Anmol Jaggi says commonsensical stuff helped BluSmart crack the ridehailing business https://yourstory.com/2023/01/anmoljaggisayscommonsensicalstuffhelpedblusmartev

Building the B2C communication stack | Shivakumar Ganesan @ Exotel

1 hr 15 min 28 sec

A small idea that grew into giant success Shivkumar Ganesan shares his story of building one of Indias pioneering SaaS companies and the rollercoaster ride of building it into the giant that it is today. Listen on for some amazing nuggets about market sizing, finding product market fit, fundraising and lots more.Additional links:1.AI is changing the way businesses interact with customers: Exotel CEO Shivakumar Ganesan https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/aiischangingthewaybusinessesinteractwithcustomersexotelceoshivakumarganesan/articleshow/99051087.cmsutmsourcecontentofinterestutmmediumtextutmcampaigncppst2. Catalyzing the Future of Customer Conversations: How Exotel is Changing The Way Businesses and Customers Connect. https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/features/catalyzingthefutureofcustomerconversationshowexotelischangingthewaybusinessesandcustomersconnect10526241.html3. My mantra was to ensure people dont go through same kind of mess I did, says Shivakumar Ganesan of Exotel. https://yourstory.com/2022/04/100xentrepreneurpodcastshivakumarganesanexotel

Building the e-commerce platform for factories | Siddharth Vij @ Bijnis

1 hr 34 min 42 sec

Siddharth spills the beans on starting up Bijnis while still in college. He talks about finding product market fit, raising funds without having an IIT or IIM pedigree, and how they continue to scale Bijnis profitably despite facing competition from extremely wellfunded competitors like Udaan and Ajio B2B.Additional links:1.Indias Bijnis lands 30 million to help manufacturers build digital identity and sell to retailers https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/27/bijnislands30milliontohelpmanufacturersindiabuilddigitalidentityandselltoretailers/2.Matrix moments: building a B2B platform that helps digitise manufacturing in India https://yourstory.com/2021/12/matrixmomentsb2bplatformmanufacturingfactories

The algebra of infinite patience | Ankit Oberoi @ AdPushup

1 hr 8 min 16 sec

Ankit struggled for years to build AdPushup, pivoting multiple times and struggling to attract investors. The company had only raised 2.5 mn before its recent phenomenal acquisition of 70 mn dollars. In this conversation, Ankit shares the ups and downs of building a global martech SaaS company and the lessons he learned along the way.Additional links:1.The AdPushup Story: From Fighting To Survive To A 70 Mn Acquisition https://inc42.com/features/adpushupstoryankitoberoisurvivalgenieeacquisitionturnaround/2.Well Continue To Provide Latest Tech While Expanding In The Market: Ankit Oberoi, AdPushup https://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/WellContinueToProvideLatestTechWhileExpandingInTheMarketAnkitOberoiAdPushup/25012022418692/

Taking the NPA challenge head on | Rishabh Goel @ Credgenics

1 hr 3 min 53 sec

India is on the cusp of a new fintech revolution. Post demonetization, where the sector has witnessed a surge in digital payments and lending, there have been very few fintech companies that focus on resolving the debt recovery opportunity.In a candid conversation with the host Akshay Datt, Rishabh Goel, Cofounder and CEO, Credgenics, takes us through his inspiring journey. He is an alumnus of the prestigious IIT Delhi and has worked with companies like Deutsche Bank and BlackRock before taking the entrepreneurial plunge.Rishabh harks back to his days at BlackRock which gave him a better understanding of the lending process, specifically from the collections perspective. This inspired him to dig deeper into the subject leading to the birth of Credgenics in 2019, which is already valued at USD 110 million.Tune in to this episode to hear Rishabh talk about how Credgenics is resolving India’s 200 billion bad debt problem by delivering customized strategies and legal routes to improve the collections of financial institutions.What you must not missEffect of COVID and RBI moratorium on collections.Funding and subsequent expansion of Credgenics.Scope of global expansion for the business.

Taking the road less travelled | Dr. Ritesh Mallik @ Innova8

52 min 1 sec

“There are always two roads which will emerge for an entrepreneur, and you have to take the one less travelled.” – Dr Ritesh MalikOur guest today is a person who has donned many hats – an entrepreneur, an investor, a public speaker, and a doctor.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Dr Ritesh Malik, Founder, Innov8 Coworking, takes us through his amazing journey. Hailing from a family of doctors, his career was predecided. He studied medicine and started practising as a surgeon at Sir Gangaram Hospital in Delhi.It was in 2012, he decided to quit his medical profession and took the less travelled entrepreneurial route and ventured into an augmented reality startup AdStuck as its cofounder, an experience that made him learn the art of entrepreneurship in a hard way.He also founded Guerrilla Ventures, an angel fund, in 2013, with an aim to create a selfsustaining ecosystem of entrepreneurs and has backed 70 startups to date.Irked by the office conditions in India, Ritesh came up with an idea of coworking spaces and started Innov8 Coworking in January 2016. Soon after the launch, Innov8 was selected by Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator, where he was guided to expand to larger campuses. This attracted investors and since then Innov8 has expanded to 42 campuses across 8 major cities in India.Tune in to this episode to hear this medicine professional turned entrepreneur and angel investor speak about how Innov8 Coworking is transforming the office going experience in India.What you must not missA great product is everything.Treat consumers like God. The power of community.Acquisition by OYO Rooms.What he looks for in a venture as an investor.

The Merchant Payments Pioneer | Ashneer Grover @ BharatPe

1 hr 13 min 49 sec

In November 2016, demonetisation was announced by the Indian government and the market witnessed an immediate surge in digital payments. And this was further propelled by the United Payments Interface UPI.While fintech giants like Paytm and PhonePe were the flagbearers of this movement, BharatPe has been looking to change the way SMEs view payments in India.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Ashneer Grover, Cofounder and CEO, BharatPe, takes us through his amazing journey. Ashneer is an alumnus of prestigious IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad. Post that, he has worked for eminent companies like Kotak Investment Banking and American Express. He moved on to serve as the CFO of Grofers and this is when the desire to set up his venture started to set in.With an elaborate experience in the finance domain, he started BharatPe in 2018 along with Shashvat Nakrani with the vision to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants, which at present has reached more than 4 million merchants with its interoperable UPI QR code and processes around 60 million transactions a month.Tune in to this episode to hear Ashneer talk about how this soontobe unicorn is on its way to building a robust and easy to use fintech platform that empowers the SMEs in India.Key takeaways:Feet on street business model vs digital acquisition.Importance of branding for a fintech venture.Take on regulatory guidelines by RBI.

Making Commerce Social | Pulkit Agarwal @ Trell

1 hr 1 min 11 sec

What you seek is seeking you. This is what describes the story of our guest in this episode.For Pulkit Agrawal, Cofounder and CEO, Trell, a visual blogging app, this search started around six years ago, with a desire to visit local pandals during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, little knowing that this would turn into a business idea which is at present has surpassed international social media giants like Twitter and Pinterest with more than 45 million monthly active users.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Pulkit tells us that how visiting these local pandals helped him realize the gap of sharing local knowledge, even for people who are not into blogging and founded Trell in 2016 while he was finishing off with his engineering at IIT Bombay.Taking a trip down memory lane, Pulkit talks about how as a fresh graduate and a firsttime entrepreneur, he learnt everything from the scratch about starting his venture and attracting investors to believe and guide him on this journey. He further explains the insights which helped him to develop a simple, nofrills platform for storytellers to post their content in the language they are comfortable with.Tune in to this episode to hear Pulkit speak about his exciting journey and how Trell is challenging international social media giants by providing Bharat with a local, Made in India visual blogging platform.What you must not miss• The experience of getting funded.• Challenges of scaling up a social media platform to a marketplace.• Impact of the ban on Chinese apps.• Business growth in times of COVID.

Unboxing supply chain excellence | Amitava Saha @ Xpressbees

53 min 8 sec

Achievement is selfcentric, but contribution is all about creating impact and building up values for a larger goal. Such is the outlook of our guest on the latest episode of Founder Thesis. Belonging to a humble background, Amitava Saha, Cofounder and CEO, Xpressbees, is a firstgeneration entrepreneur and has completed his engineering from the prestigious IITBHU campus and MBA from IIM, Lucknow. In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, he tells us about how his well rewarding corporate job was no match to his hunger for contributing more to a smaller organization. In this pursuit, he teamed up with Supam Maheshwari of Brainvisa Technologies, one of the largest elearning ventures in India. But one thing led to another. Amitava recalls buying things for his infant daughter from the countries he visited for business trips. This made him aware of the huge opportunity for an online platform that would give Indian parents access to the best baby care brands. This is how the seeds for FirstCry were sown. He further talks about how the commitment to providing an excellent delivery experience to young mothers led to the birth of Xpressbees in 2015, which at present, is delivering in more than 2600 cities across India. Tune in to this episode to hear Amitava speak about how Xpressbess is disrupting the Indian supply chain ecosystem with fast and reliable delivery and outstanding customer service. Key takeaways:Operational excellence is everything.Prompt customer service Happy customerHow technology brings efficiency

Evangelising Crypto in India | Nischal Shetty @ WazirX

1 hr 11 min 10 sec

Every problem has a solution. You just have to be creative enough to find it. Our guest in thisepisode is a problem solver at heart, who has used the art of coding to solve reallife problems.Brace for the resilient journey of Nischal Shetty, Founder and CEO, WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Nischal talks about his fascination for computers and his coding journey. It was in the second year of engineering when he was bitten by the coding bug and since then there’s been no looking back. From building the Knightloader App for a college project the App helped in downloading reading material from the Internet at night to transforming his weekend passion project to Crowdfire which helped users to unfollow people on Twitter, Nischal has found logical solutions to problems via coding.He further talks about how a major setback with Crowdfire inspired him to build something that no one else can control. He found his calling in cryptocurrency and this is where the journey of WazirX began.Tune in to this episode to hear Nischal speak about how cryptocurrency has the power to disrupt the wellestablished and archaic BFSI sector, with WazirX being the torchbearer of this change.Key takeaways:● Cryptocurrency 101● India’s response to cryptocurrency● The association between WazirX and Binance the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange.● Cryptocurrency as a means to diversify investments

Tapping the Billions in B2B ECommerce | Rahul Garg @ Moglix

1 hr 5 min 27 sec

“The important thing about creating an enterprise is creating the size of the impact.”Rahul Garg, Founder, MoglixHe is a curious learner. When in college all he wanted was to be the best in his field i.e. become the best engineer. Fuelled by his curiosity to learn, he tapped great opportunities on the way. Our guest on this episode is an IIT Kanpur and ISB, Hyderabad alumnus. Rahul Garg founded Moglix in 2015 and today it is one of the biggest players in the B2B ecommerce space, growing continuously at a commendable pace. Moglix specialises in B2B procurement of industrial products. Ratan Tata is one of the prominent investors of Moglix. Before entering the entrepreneurial space, he served as the head of AdX at Google, designing products globally. Garg loves dabbling with algorithms and analytics. He has always been passionate about solving large problems in the world that are complex to solve. Tune in to the episode to hear Rahul Garg speak on Scaling a B2B venture, Fundraising, Supply Ecosystem, Creating Marketplaces, Building Catalogues, Sales Hacks, and More.Key Takeaways:Scaling a B2B ecommerce platform sustainably.The experience of getting funded by Ratan Tata. Impact of GST on business growth.How to position your brand effectively. Driving consumer demand.

The Lifelong Slasher | Roshan Abbas @ Kommune India

1 hr 24 min 30 sec

He is a performing artist by heart, someone who hit the stage when he was merely 4 years old and guess what, he never got off A creator, writer, director and entrepreneur, he gets immense joy from words, phrases, and playing with them creatively. When kids his age would play cricket after school, he would be found doing theatre. He tells us that his mother always aspired for him to study at the best school and be equipped with a wholesome education and thus, he ended up completing his schooling at La Martiniere, Lucknow. As a kid, he thrived on extracurricular and would never miss a chance to perform. He talks about the contribution of his teachers from La Martiniere who helped him groom at a very early and crucial stage of his life. His foundation was firmly set in childhood and from thereon he never stopped dreaming.Well, serendipity happened, and with finite resources and infinite passion, Roshan Abbas moved to Delhi and pursued his Masters in Mass Communication from Jamia Milia Islamia. Always fascinated by arts and theatre, Roshan joined a professional theatre group in his college. After college, he kickstarted his career as a radio jockey and TV host. A storyteller for life, and a multifaceted personality, he founded his venture Kommune India in 2015, a Performance Arts Collective bringing art, brands and talent together. Tune in to the episode for intimate, personal, unique, and honest stories from Roshan’s childhood, career, his first Radio show, and life as a creative entrepreneur. Key insights from the episode: Influencing people with the power of words.Are creative people good at running companies Growing a creative agency.Lessons on ‘Brand building’.Writing plays, conducting theatre workshops, and making films.

Hustling, Hosteling & Gaming | Dharamveer Singh Chouhan @ Zostel

1 hr 1 min 50 sec

In what has been one of the most fun conversations we’ve had on Founder Thesis we sit down for a chat with Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, CoFounder and CEO of Zostel the largest chain of backpacker hostels and experiential homes in Asia. An explorer and nonconformist at heart, Dharamveer’s journey into entrepreneurship is an exciting story. Through his early career days he has singlemindedly chased his passions and interests. Case in point, his tryst with Poker, and making gamesHowever, unlike most other game developers, Dharamveer did not study computers But when your dreams are larger than life, and you are driven by passion, nothing is impossible. And Dharamveer went on to prove this by starting his own gaming studio and also working as a game designer at Zynga. Dharamveer eventually pivoted and went on to IIM Calcutta to chase the shiny MBA. And inspired by his backpacking trip in Europe, Dharamveer spotted an opportunity to build a hospitality product that is true to India’s cultural diversity Zostel. 7 years down the road, and Dharamveer is onto another dream In this episode we talk to Dharamveer to know more about, well, everything. Right from growing up in Rajasthan to his experiences at IIT and IIM, playing poker, the genesis and growth of Zostel, and his new venture or should we say adventure Listen on

Taking Ayurveda Global | Rishabh Chopra @ The Ayurveda Experience

57 min 6 sec

“I believe little in luck and more in working hard and getting something done” Rishabh ChopraIn this episode of Founder Thesis we talk Rishabh Chopra, the founder of The Ayurveda Experience Transformative Learning Solutions. An alum of the prestigious student run global organisation AIESEC, Rishabh started his career here beginning as a volunteer and moving on to be elected to run the local chapter in Delhi, the national chapter from Mumbai and finally as an integral part of their Global offices as the Global VP of external relations. Having always aspired to be an entrepreneur, Rishabh returned to India to start a venture of his own. After several failed attempts and a few small wins in the edtech sector Rishabh’s hardwork led him to Ayurveda. Through Transformative Learning Solutions, Rishabh took the knowledge and benefits of Ayurveda across borders to the West and has since grown the business through diversification into ecommerce, recording a 70 Crore turnover in the last year. Tune into Rishabh’s story of taking Ayurveda to the West and operating a successful global business out of India. Here are our key takeaways from this episode: Rishabh’s experience at AIESEC and the impact it had in shaping him as an entrepreneur and leader. Choosing the US as a target market for Ayurveda. How to raise funding and manage the capital raised. How to retain the best human capital and knowledge in an organisation.

Upskilling India | Hari Krishnan Nair @ Great Learning

54 min 33 sec

“For education to be meaningful it cannot be superficial Hari Krishnan Nair. Cofounder of Great Learning, India’s largest online learning platform Hari Krishnan Nair is the entrepreneur who made professional education easily accessible to Indians so that they could equip themselves with career critical competencies. A trailblazer in the edtech segment Great Learning has delivered over 9 Million learning hours and boasts of 15,000 alumni with a turnover of approx. 300 Crores Catch us in conversation with Hari Krishnan where he shares his entrepreneurial story of triumphs, loses and what led to the genesis of Great Learning. Here are our key takeaways from this episode: Perseverance is the key to success. How to market premium service products. Focusing on quality over growth in the inception phase. Nurturing and engaging audiences through content.

Resilience & Taking Risks | Tonmoy Shingal @ Mettl

1 hr 0 min 33 sec

“You can’t change what the market wants, you can only serve what the market wants” Tonmoy Shingal. For this weeks Founder Thesis episode, we sat down for a conversation with Tonmoy Shingal the cofounder of HFtech SAAS platform, Mettl. A tech solution that changed the way organisations hire talent. We talk to Tonmoy about the genesis of Mettl to its stupendous growth to finally being acquired by Mercer and everything else in between. This has been one of the most exciting entrepreneurial journeys we’ve heard so far on this show and how could it not be Mettl’s stakeholders got a 7x on their investments as they exitedHere are the key takeaways from our discussion: An 80/20 approach towards enriched learning. How to find your life’s calling. Raising funds for the startup and the two types of VC investors. Adapting your product as you grow to achieve the right productmarket fit. Scaling by being frugal on marketing spends.

Never Settle | Vikas Bagaria @ Pee Safe

58 min 51 sec

“The credit goes to my team always. You can not build a brand singlehandedly.” Vikas Bagaria. Vikas Bagaria is the founder of Pee Safe India’s leading personal hygiene brand on a mission to empower women with good health and easy hygiene solutions. With several accolades already under its belt, Pee Safe was recently also awarded as The Best SMB Brand of the Year by Amazon India. A serial entrepreneur with over 23 years of business acumen, Vikas believes in leading from the front and never settling or giving up on his goals. In this episode of Founder Thesis, Vikas talks about his entrepreneurial journey and the events that shaped him as a business leader. Here are a few key takeaways from the show: Being persistent in chasing your dreams and never settling for a “No” Taking failures in stride and treating them as a stepping stone to success. Not letting your pedigree, race or economic situation define your ability or future. Leading your team from the front. How building a B2C brand is a continuous learning process.

Making India Dine Out | Ankit Mehrotra @ DineOut

1 hr 8 min 32 sec

“In India, dining out is an event, smallest of things can ruin it, and smallest of things can make it better”– Ankit MehrotraAnkit’s tryst with entrepreneurship got ignited when he overcame his fear of failing an exam. The boy who grew in the bylanes South Delhi went to the University of Essex to pursue his engineering, chased his love for finance to got a CFA charter and did odd jobs to survive, before he became a successful investment banker. And then he quit it all and came back to India to start Dine Out with two of his childhood best friends. Today, Dine Out is one of India’s largest Dining and Restaurant Tech platforms that processes more than 100M diners and 800mn worth of transactions across its network of 50,000 partner restaurants in 20 cities.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Ankit talks about being a young professional during the 2008 recession, conceptualising Dine Out, starting out, his acquisitions and creating an ecosystem for the food industry in India The key takeaways are…How do you take an idea from concept to businessWhat common mistakes that startups typically makeHow you to keep yourself focused on the vision with which you startedWhat does it take to understand the niche that you operate in How do you create new avenues within your industry

The Lifelong Hustler | Nakul Kumar @ Cashify

1 hr 9 min 46 sec

“I do not limit myself from thinking insane things, and trying to figure a logic on if you can do it” Nakul Kumar Nakul Kumar is the Cofounder of Cashify, a recommerce leader in India with a focus on smartphones. Nakul is an MDI Gurgaon graduate and a serial entrepreneur. His first business was in the waste management domain where Nakul successfully started and managed the operations of a waste management plant and made gold from garbage. Today Cashify is the official buyback partner for top brands in smartphones such as Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to name a few. Apart from buyback they also sell refurbished smartphones, smartphone accessories and smartphone repairs. Originated in 2013 Cashify now has over 15 Lakh customers and over 1 Million App Downloads. In this episode on Founder Thesis podcast, Nakul talks about starting a business as a freshly graduated student without a clear business plan or any funding options. Nakul’s powerpacked story is guaranteed to inspire many to set upon their own entrepreneurial journey. Key takeaways from the show: How to start a business without a concrete business plan or funding. How to build credibility as a domain expert when you are just a fresh graduate. How to raise VC Funding through networking events. Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on coming up with new business ideas.

The King of Tough Times | Girish Batra @ Netambit

33 min 50 sec

“Organisation has to be larger than yourself” Girish BatraGirish Batra is the founder of NetAmbit a 19yearold organisation that has been powering startups in India to scale their businesses through a unique sustainable sales growth model. The model was so successful that it was featured in Forbes India magazine. A tenacious entrepreneur, Girsh has built NetAmbit from the ground up not once but twice, braving setbacks and rising above challenges stronger than ever. Today NetAmbit is a well known managed sales service provider with a team of over 15000 employees. Girish is a graduate from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He’s always aspired to be an entrepreneur, right from his early childhood days and is amongst the few who’ve had the courage to chase their dreams. In this week’s episode on Founder Thesis podcast hosts, Akshay and Saurabh are in conversation with Girish, where he talks about his entrepreneurial journey and the lessons he picked up along the way. Key takeaways from the show: How to scale businesses successfully. Mistakes to avoid when scaling your startup. Overcoming challenges with a positive mindset. Importance of ethics and culture in scaling the business. Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on investors and how much capital to raise.

The Phoenix of Digital Content | Vinay Singhal @ WittyFeed

1 hr 21 min 21 sec

Coming from a small village to building one of the fastestgrowing viral content websites, WittyFeed, Vinay Singhal has had an intriguing journey. He was the first person in his family to get educated, and hence he was completely clueless about the outside world. This did not dent his determination to arrive at the grand goal that he had set for himself. What goalTo become the richest person in the world Vinay saw someone use a computer once and to him, it was like magic. He says it was love at first sight He decided that he wanted to be an engineer. Oh, by the way, when he discovered the world of the Internet, guess what was the first thing he searched on Google Name of the richest person in the world This led him to start keeping a notepad where he would jot down ideas about how to make a better operating system than what Bill Gates’ company had made He started his entrepreneurial journey with Badlega Bharat. In April 2012 he started a FB page that reached a 1 million follower mark in 6 months. He moved onto http://stupidstation.com/ stupidstation.com and started raking in a fortune via Google Adsense. Till one day the business was taken down in a moment What followed next Well, tune in to discover how he restarted his journey and eventually created WittyFeed Key takeaways from the show: •How to formulate business strategies •Mistakes to avoid •Insights into starting up a business

Challenging Traditions & Simplifying Languages | Anuradha Agarwal @ Multibhashi

1 hr 20 min 2 sec

Being a modern person in a hidebound culture isn’t easy. Especially when you are a woman because then, your resume is crafted for getting a placement in a ‘good family’. Your qualifications, work experience, education and description all count But, the less the better Just like many other women, this is a part of Anuradha Agarwal’s story as well. However Anuradha chose to author the latter half of her story herself and after a lot of hotchpotch, she finally built Multibhashi, a language learning platform that makes the process of learning fun and engaging. It is one of the best ways to learn English speaking courses through 10 different local languages or vice versa Born out of Anuradha’s sincere determination of helping people learn English, Multibhashi had over 1,00,000 installs by July 2017 Today it has over 1.5 Million learners and over a million downloads on Playstore. In today’s episode host, Akshay is in conversation with Anuradha, about her journey of building Multibhashi, about having hopes, being strong and growing through adversities. Tune in listen to the inspiring story of this “sheboss” and for some great insights and ideas on starting up.

Making India Travel | Aloke Bajpai @ Ixigo

1 hr 3 min 4 sec

Our guest today is someone who was moved by the movie ‘Swades’ to an extent that he decided to leave foreign land in order to leverage his skill set in his own desh India. It was his love for his own country that moved him to pursue his bigger calling. He is none other than Aloke Bajpai, the CEO and Cofounder of Ixigo, building the future of mobile travel. He himself is an avid traveller. Aloke candidly shares his fond memories from his colourful childhood days in Kenya where he had a cosmopolitan experience that hugely groomed his personality. Beaches, wildlife or computers, he discovered everything during his days in Africa. He later happened to come to Kanpur where he spent his growing up years. His father would often take him for a walk to the IIT, Kanpur campus. Interestingly enough, he landed at the very institute and pursued his engineering from every other Indian engineer’s dream place the IIT. Aloke had the golden opportunity to work at a global tech company before he started pursuing his entrepreneurial journey. Aloke has always been experimental. He never loses an opportunity to explore. In this conversation, he reminisces about his MBA days from the Wharton School that he thoroughly enjoyed. We can sense the joy as he tells us more about it and how he got inclined towards building his own company in 2006 and eventually renting a house in Gurgaon. Hear from the curious, multitalented Aloke Bajpai about his diverse journey so far. KEY INSIGHTS FROM OUR CONVERSATION Building a travel technology company from scratch. Hacks for surviving in intensely competitive environments.How do you attract the right investors Monetizing your product efficiently. Leveraging social media platforms.

Incubating Dreams | Dr. Aniruddha Malpani @ Malpani Ventures

1 hr 18 min 12 sec

A human who is capable of multitasking at his best. We call our today’s guest on the episode, a Superhuman. He is an extremely passionate man, he is unabashed, and is hungry for achieving the goals he sets his mind to. An IVF Specialist by the day, he is also an Angel Investor. He is grateful every day for what he does and finds immense pride in helping women get pregnant. He is an active businessman at heart and is a supercharged human being whose happy and energetic vibes are truly contagious. Our guest today is Aniruddha Malpani. Tune in as he shares his knowledge, experience and initiatives with us in this episode.He is the founder of Malpani Fertility Clinic and the Mumbaibased Malpani Ventures, which invests in earlystage startups. Brought up in a family of doctors, choosing medicine as a career came naturally to him. A gold medalist, he completed his MBBS from Seth G S Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai. He further went to California for pursuing his higher studies.He launched HELP Health Education Library for People, India’s first online patient education library with its sole motto to empower patients. It has now become the worlds largest consumer health library. He is also the benevolent author of books like https://www.google.co.in/searchsxsrfALeKk016SQMtGIJBTAzfFr6IICTlwu2zpw:1601594549147andqGettingPregnant:aGuidefortheInfertileCoupleAniruddhaMalpaniandstickH4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgELRT9c3NDQuLjYoLrdQAvOMkgoLS7KrKrWkspOt9JPy87P1E0tLMvKLrEDsYoX8vJzKRawu7qklJZl56QoBRanpeYl5JVYKiQrupZkpqQppUUKJRmpCp55aalFJZk5qQrOaUFQMoxL7OoNCUlI1HBNzGnIDEvcwcrIwC7SKoPhAAAAAandsaXandved2ahUKEwjS9rPRxJTsAhWn7XMBHRcAOUQmxMoATAUegQIDBAD Getting Pregnant: a Guide for the Infertile Couple and https://www.google.co.in/searchsxsrfALeKk016SQMtGIJBTAzfFr6IICTlwu2zpw:1601594549147andqHowToFindTheBestDoctorAniruddhaMalpaniandstickH4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgELRT9c3NDQuLjYoLrdQAvOMkvIqLY0LLbSkspOt9JPy87P1E0tLMvKLrEDsYoX8vJzKRay6HvnlCiH5Cm6ZeSkKIRmpCk6pxSUKLvnJJflFCo55mUWlKSkZiQqiTkFiXmZO1gZAbOhHrltAAAAandsaXandved2ahUKEwjS9rPRxJTsAhWn7XMBHRcAOUQmxMoAjAUegQIDBAE How To Find The Best Doctor. He speaks about important topics that are otherwise sidelined and ignored. Aniruddha Malpani, in this honest conversation, reveals about his life from childhood days, upbringing, education to Indian patients, IVF, sperm bank, angel investments and the sweet and sour moments of his life. Our keynotes from the conversation: The emotional income of a doctor. When you set your heart on something, the whole world is open for you. Making successful investments in a systemic fashion. An open, transparent relationship between an investor and the entrepreneur. Healthcare Ecosystem and patient education. How to make a good angel investor.

Empowering Offline Retailers | Anshoo Sharma @ Magicpin

1 hr 8 min 29 sec

“Dream Big. Work hard. Make it happen.” Such is the story of our guest today Anshoo Sharma. The founder and CEO of Magicpin, the largest discovery platform for offline retail in India. Anshoo shares with us his entrepreneurial journey in the most honest way possible. He is a risktaker and an extremely talented man. He holds a computer science degree from Delhi University and has worked in the engineering domain before he decided to write CAT in order to further explore bigger avenues in life. As a result of which he went on to pursue an MBA at the premier Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Being the passionate and inquisitive man that he is, he won many awards as he tried his hands at as many competitions that were being held every now and then during his 2year MBA program. Eventually, he got the offer from the global management consultancy, Bains and Co. where he worked for almost 4 years as a consultant advising corporates across Telecom, FMCG and Healthcare.He also shares his experience of being a venture partner with Lightspeed India for 10 long years. He provides extraordinary insights into the world of investing, marketing, raising funds, successfully scaling up a business, and improvising. In this episode, he shares with us the inside details of his journey so far and how with sheer determination of making it BIG, he started Magicpin. A relentless man who never shied away from following his heart. Whether it was moving to a new city altogether or getting married to the long time love of his life. He has always pushed his boundaries and taken the leap of faith in all his life’s decisions. Anshoo continues to thrive and currently all his focus is on Magicpin and providing a seamless experience to its users. Amidst the Covid circumstances, he chooses to remain optimistic and firmly believes that there are larger opportunities on the way. Here are our Key Takeaways from the episode:Building a platform to successfully impact the offline retail space Lessons you need to know when venturing into a VC firm and how the venture model runs Is the consultancy background worth it How to ask the right questions when making the decision to switch How to invest prudently and build a longterm network

Building a unicorn without really trying to | Dhiraj Rajaram @ Mu Sigma

1 hr 25 min 34 sec

“The rate of increase of data is very high, but the rate of increase of noise is much higher” Dhiraj Rajaram. In a world of knockoff ideas it is refreshing to come across originality and ideas that are truly authentic. Our conversation with Dhiraj Rajaram, the Founder of Mu Sigma was one such refreshing moment, punctuated with a lot of laughter over curious analogies. We spoke of Dhiraj’s childhood and genesis of Mu Sigma a Big Data Analytics and Decision Sciences Company that is powered by Dhiraj’s vision of transformative interaction based problem solving perspective. With a unicorn status in the USA and over 140 Fortune 500 companies as their clients, Mu Sigma is an amalgamation of design, research and data. As a child Dhiraj was an ardent movie buff and a die hard cricket enthusiast. However he had an ever wandering mind and a childhood that was challenging and different to most kids. But, as Dhiraj says, “Pain is a gift. It does sculpt you” And it did. Shaped by the early lessons he learnt in life, Dhiraj had a successful corporate career working for PwC and then Booz Allen Hamilton. However, the drive to do more and to do things differently took precedence, and Dhiraj took the bold step of investing his life savings into his own startup Mu Sigma. Onboarded Microsoft as his first client and the rest is history Tune in to our enriching chat with this pioneering thought leader to know more about his thoughts on innovation, learning and embracing uncertainties. Of the many things we learnt, here are our key takeaways from this episode:The ecosystem required to nurture innovation. Interaction based problem solving. How to make high value B2B sales.

India's Original Ed-Tech Founder | Satya Narayanan R @ CL Educate

57 min 58 sec

I am not the guy who makes the choice happen to him, I must make the choice Satya Narayanan R. In this episode we talk to Satya Narayanan R, the Founder and Chairman of what you could say is India’s original edtech venture CL Educate, better known as Career Launcher. Satya is not just an entrepreneur but also a teacher something that he believes runs in his DNASatya candidly shares his incredible journey that began in the summer of 1985 in Meerut with Satya as a shy young boy with aspirations of becoming a cricketer to starting CL with a handful of students in 1994 at the age of 24 and to raising capital via an IPO. With humorous anecdotes from his early life, to his views on the quality of education at top bschools, his take on entrepreneurship today and answering tough questions about size and scale v/s sustainability, tune in to get inspired by Satya and his stories of the choices he made in life. Our key takeaways from this conversation are...Making acquisitions in early years of venture. Practicing situational leadership to get the best out of every employee. Chasing sustainability over size and scale. Importance of an IPO. Production Credits: Host: Akshay Datt Show Editors: Nandini Kamat Kunde and Vanya Shruti Additional Vocals: Vanya Shruti

Giving a voice to Bharat | Mayank Bidawatka @ Koo & Vokal

1 hr 25 min 20 sec

We have all been lost at some point in our lives, uncertain of things and trying to figure it all out at the same time. Growing up in Mumbai and coming from a business family, today’s guest on Founder Thesis is someone who has a passion for creating stuff and building products. Someone fascinated by the possibilities of the Internet, Mayank Bidawatka, always thought of new things and ideas that can be shaped into reality through the digital medium. He joined a residential MBA program at Asina Institute of Management based in the Philippines. Curious and experimental by nature, Mayank has always worked upon breaking out of his comfort zone. He speaks about his diversified, lifechanging experience of living and studying abroad. However, he always wanted to come back to his own country, pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions and establish work in India. Being the cofounder of Koo India, he is giving voice to a billion Indians via the microblogging platform. On the other hand, Mayank is providing solutions through the QandA based knowledgesharing platform Vokal India, catering to the Indian language user. In this episode, he talks about his early working experiences, media and advertising days, redBus, lessons and takeaways, dreaming big, scaling up, and building tremendous value. Tune in to the full conversation. Key takeaways from the episode: Working in the Startup Culture.Making it easy for businesses to interact with users.Breaking the language barrier and creating multilingual solutions via Vokal. Creating tools that bridge the language gap for the Indian Content Creator.The three main things to focus on as an Angel Investor. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at www.thepodium.in We are also on Instagram at thepodium.in and have a Whats app community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at www.podm.in/growwithpodium Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in

Fynding the path for online and offline sales | Harsh Shah @ Fynd

1 hr 32 min 30 sec

As an IIT Bombay graduate in metallurgical engineering and materials science, trying to figure out his way through life, he was not really sure what he wanted to choose as his field of work per se. A problemsolver, Harsh Shah is always thriving and striving to make an impact. In this episode, he shares with us personal and professional experiences he encountered during his quest. Starting Fynd and building it through thick and thin, he takes us back to the process of it, sharing profound insights on how he garnered his way to a successful ecommerce business. He is committed to building a seamless consumer experience and revolutionising retailtech. Let’s hear him speak about anything and everything from taking the business live to building strong collaborations, a hyper local presence, building a quality catalog, scaling up, and much more on how the ecommerce model works. Key Insights: Creating customer engagement Analysing consumer behaviour Creating seamless shopping experienceRaising funds for a retailtech business

Launching into the Cosmos | Srinath Ravichandran @ Agnikul Cosmos

2 hr 2 min 35 sec

Ever since the Government of India opened the space sector to private players, it has been on a growth trajectory. Leading this pack is Agnikul Cosmos.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Srinath Ravichandran, Cofounder and CEO, Agnikul Cosmos, takes us through his amazing journey. Before zooming into space tech, he has worked for leading BFSI companies in the US.Srinath recalls his earlier days and how his passion for science and space carved his way to venture into the space tech field. With the support of industry stalwarts like Anand Mahindra, Naval Ravikant and Nithin Kamath, he founded Agnikul in 2016 with Moin SPM. The vision was simple To become an Uber for putting smaller satellites in orbit.Tune in to this episode to hear Srinath speak about how Agnikul Cosmos is democratizing access to space with its disruptive technology.Key takeawaysExperience of working in the US.Teething issues of starting up a venture.The benefit of tying up with an academic institution.Impact of space travel on the future.

Never Quit | Ankit Prasad @ Bobble.ai

1 hr 7 min 20 sec

Ever heard of the Japanese proverb, “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” That’s exactly the premise of the story of our guest on this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Ankit Prasad, Founder, and CEO, Bobble AI, has shared interesting anecdotes about his early days and the journey of Bobble.As he says, “Entrepreneurship ka keeda bachpan se he tha”, Ankit started his first venture when he was in Standard 10th. He soon realized that the mobile space is growing exponentially and in 2015 he founded Bobble AI, an app that enabled users to turn their selfies into caricature stickers. Today, it has transitioned into a comprehensive camera, content, and keyboard app that not only lets users personalize their communication in 22 Indian languages but can also predict their actions with the help of AI.Tune in to this episode to hear Ankit speak about how Bobble AI challenged the wellestablished keyboard apps by Google and Microsoft with technologyled innovations.Key takeawaysResilience is the key to success.Behavioral shift to nontext and personalized communication.How to scale up a B2B2C businessPlans for global expansion.

Laddering up via mistakes | Rajiv Srivatsa @ Antler India and Urban Ladder

1 hr 40 min 55 sec

“Failure is not the opposite of success it’s a part of success.” – Arianna HuffingtonThis is a brief sketch of the inspirational journey of our next guest.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Rajiv Srivatsa, Partner, Antler India, shares his life experiences. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Bangalore and has worked for companies like Infosys, Cognizant, and Yahoo before starting his entrepreneurial journey.Rajiv harks back to his early years and how every setback he faced has proved to be a steppingstone to something bigger and successful. It was in 2012, while he was renting a home in Bangalore, he identified that there was no standardized furniture buying experience. He founded Urban Ladder that same year with Ashish Goel and served in an operational leadership role until late 2019.In his second innings, he is a Partner at Antler, a global VC and startup generator aiming to enable entrepreneurs to build and scale global businesses.Tune in to this episode to hear Rajiv provide valuable insights on scaling up a business, customer obsession, his theory of happiness, and much more.What you must not missWhy is it necessary to make mistakesFormula to become a beloved brand.The Antler model.

The Community Monetization Playbook | Tamanna Dhamija @ Convosight

48 min 10 sec

As joyful as it sounds, motherhood can also be a painful journey. The extent of decisions taken by new mothers is bound to make them nervous and apprehensive.In this episode of the Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Tamanna Dhamija, Cofounder, Convosight. She is an alumnus of MDI, Gurgaon and has previously worked in the Investment Banking domain. But like many entrepreneurs, she realised that there was more she could do.Stemming from her own experiences as a new mum, she started Baby Destination in 2016, with the mission to assist the discovery journey of firsttime mothers and in doing so, organically built India’s largest parenting community.It was in 2018 when Baby Destination was selected for Facebook Community Leadership Program FCLP, the idea behind Convosight was born. Her goal to combine content with community, lead her to realise community marketing as a business opportunity, and this became the foundation on which Convosight stands today.Tune into this week’s episode to hear how Convosight empowers businesses to gain insights from their online communities while using technologies like data analytics and machine learning to help brands leverage communities.What you must not missBuilding India’s first organically grown online parenting community.Building and scaling an analytics SaaS platform business.Leveraging online Community Marketing to advise high profile brands.

Ayurveda's Modern Makeover | Ameve Sharma @ Kapiva

45 min 50 sec

As busy as it can get, health, in these times, has taken a back seat. We often fail to consume a proper diet which leads to numerous deficiencies.Founder Thesis brings you the journey of one such founder who has made it his mission to make Ayurveda an integral part of the daytoday life of the modern consumer.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Ameve Sharma, Cofounder, Kapiva, has taken us through his journey. Ameve has previously worked with McKinsey across various projects before setting off his entrepreneurial journey.A thirdgeneration entrepreneur of the 104yearold Baidyanath, Ameve started Kapiva in 2016 with Shrey Badhani, intending to bring the wisdom of India’s ancient food traditions to its modernday consumers. And today, Kapiva has scaled into a 100cr brand in the D2C segment.Tune in to this episode to hear Ameve speak about how Kapiva is disrupting the health and wellness industry by presenting the benefits of Ayurveda in contemporary and convenient formats.What you must not missThe learnings from consulting and how can they be applied in a startup.Why is it important to understand the consumersWhy must founders create a data infrastructure How can this help in taking decisionsWhy is it paramount to build a fantastic customer service team

Lights, Camera, FinTech | Priti Rathi Gupta @ LXME

1 hr 5 min 53 sec

Financial independence is an essential life skill, and it has been a concept dominated by men.But not anymoreIn this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder, LXME, who is spearheading the mission to bridge the gap between women and finance.A selfproclaimed financial feminist, Priti has been heading Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers Ltd. It was through her experiences she firmly believes that managing one’s money empowers women to fulfil their dreams and aspirations. And with her brainchild LXME, she aims to educate women about financial products, while building a community where they can engage in conversations that makes them more confident and in control of their finances.Tune in to this episode to hear Priti talk about how LXME is disrupting the maledominated financial sector by providing freedom to women to take their own decisions.What you must not missRunning a conventional business vs starting your venture.Learnings from film production.Financial planning: A life skillPlans for fundraising.

India's Pioneering FinTech Company | Kunal Varma @ Freo (Part 1)

34 min 4 sec

Innovation and disruption are the hallmarks of the technology world. Amidst the fintech revolution and the subsequent rise of digital banks in India, going to a bank branch is no longer in vogue.And with neobanking, this metamorphosis has reached a new level with stateoftheart technologies and providing customers with easy, quick, and efficient financial services.The Founder Thesis podcast presents to you a twopart series where Akshay Datt speaks with Kunal Varma, CoFounder, Freo. He is a serial entrepreneur who started his entrepreneurial journey back in 2008, while pursuing his MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.Kunal, a selfproclaimed dreamer, fondly recalls his earlier days and shares how he always wanted to start his venture. After successfully building two ventures, he collaborated with Bala Parthasarthy and Anuj Kackar and started MoneyTap, which in five years has become an RBI registered NBFC and is now transitioning to credit led neobank, Freo, which is the first of its kind in the country.Tune in to this episode to hear Kunal speak about how Freo is disrupting the traditional banking system with its innovative digital banking experience.What you must not missIf you like something in your academics, youre not going to do it for the rest of your life.How interacting with people from different walks of life can help in developing your vision as an entrepreneur.The transition from HR and EdTech to FinTechThe concept of neobankingRelation between consumer research and building a productFundraising journey

Building The Tinder For Hiring | Raj Das @ Hirect

45 min 38 sec

Recruiting talent has always been a tough nut to crack. And the pandemic proved to be one such trigger that has spiked unemployment rates globally.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Raj Das, Cofounder and CEO, Hirect India, the country’s first chatbased hiring app. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and has worked as a product manager before starting his entrepreneurial journey.As the pandemic has started to phase off, the hiring has peaked, especially in the highgrowth startup. In an attempt to create a Tinderlike platform for job search and recruitment, Raj started Hirect in March 2020, which enables candidates to directly connect with founders and HR managers. And within two years, Hirect has over 60k verified recruiters and 5 million app downloads and has expanded its operations to U.S. and Singapore.Tune in to this episode to hear Raj speak about how Hirect is working towards simplifying both search and hiring processes through its AIbased platform.What you must not miss Hirect: A COVID success story Why focus more on value proposition Hirect’s revenue model.If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Story Of Resilience And Recovery | Sumit Suneja @ Merlin Brands

57 min 29 sec

Ever heard of the Japanese proverb, “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” That is exactly the premise of the story of our guest on this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast.In this episode, Akshay Datt speaks with Sumit Suneja, CEO, Merlin Brands, a company that houses Rabitat a parenting brand and Headway stainless steel drinkware brand under its roof.Sumit is a serial entrepreneur who embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in 2010 with Reado, which was India’s first audiobook platform. While on one of the trips abroad, he realised that he has always been searching for baby products requested from friends and family. To fill this void, he, along with his brother, started Merlin Brands in 2017, intending to resell renowned international baby product brands in India.In a bid to provide homegrown, safe, and premium quality products in this category, Sumit launched Rabitat in 2019. And since then, it has been growing from strength to strength and has more than 20 product lines today.Tune in to this episode to hear the resilient journey of Sumit Suneja and his vision behind building and scaling Merlin Brands.What you must not missSurvival tip: Keep pivotingThe power of 4 AMMerlin’s revenue generation model

Building The Next-Gen POS Financing | Tushar Srivastava @ Skeps

1 hr 23 min 27 sec

One of the biggest impediments of the Fintech industry has been the way consumer loans are handled by large institutions. In the process of getting a consumer loan approved, an application flows from one lender to another and faces rejections. This hugely affects the credit score, and the consumer might end up with subpar offers.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Tushar Srivastava, Cofounder and CEO, Skeps. He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and has extensive experience in the Banking and Financial Services sector.Founded in 2018, Skeps aims to solve the problem of credit accessibility by using blockchain technology. It offers a cloudbased modular platform for both merchants and lenders to identify credit solutions with the highest chance of a conversion.Tune in to this episode to hear Tushar speak about how Skeps is disrupting the traditional lending industry with newage technologies.What you must not missDifference between API and blockchain integrationHow to integrate lenders on the blockchainFundraising journeyMerging BNPL with blockchain

Enabling Inclusive Innovation | Gireendra Kasmalkar @ Ideas To Impacts

46 min 6 sec

In the past two decades, India has grown to be one of the top countries contributing to the global IT industry. The youth who migrated to these large IT hubs have been a vital driver of this growth.But this, for the longest time, has been the most uneven form of growth.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Gireendra Kasmalkar, Founder and CMD, Ideas To Impacts Innovations Pvt. Ltd., who is on a mission to ‘Distribute The Future Evenly’. He is also the Lead Investor and Managing Partner at Pentathlon Ventures, a Punebased VC fund.Much before COVID struck and companies realized that employees could work from smaller cities and remote locations, Gireendra started Ideas to Impacts I2I in 2015 to offer cuttingedge tech services from smaller towns in India. And today, this ‘smalltown’ model is proving to be the next step in Indian offshoring.On the VC front, with Pentathlon Ventures, Gireendra has funded and supported numerous earlystage B2B Tech startups.Tune in to this episode to hear Gireendra speak about how I2I is empowering smalltown talent to participate and contribute to the global tech economy.What you must not missThe ‘Work from Hometown’ modelThe cost benefits and social impact of operating from smaller citiesGireendra’s Investment ThesisIf you wish to contact Gireendra, please feel free to drop an email at giripentathlon.vc and Gireendra.Kasmalkarideastoimpacts.com.

The Crypto Masterclass | Arjun Vijay and Vikram Subburaj @ Giottus

1 hr 36 min 28 sec

India has a pretty strange relationship with cryptocurrency. Amidst bans, pandemics and whatnot, crypto companies continue to be bullish on the Indian market.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Arjun Vijay and Vikram Subburaj, Founders, Giottus, the country’s leading crypto assets trading platform. Arjun and Vikram are alumni of IIM Calcutta and have worked in Vodafone and Amazon, respectively, before starting off with this venture.Working for customercentric companies made Arjun and Vikram realise that the true success of the crypto industry depends on mass adoption for which an ecosystem needs to be built on the pillars of customer support, security, and trust. Based on these three tenets, they founded Giottus in 2017, with the aim of making cryptocurrency trading simple and trustworthy.Tune in to this episode where Arjun and Vikram explain everything about cryptocurrencies and how Giottus is driving digital currency adoption in India.What you must not missCustomer service is paramountHow do various crypto exchanges workWays in which customers are allowed to trade on Giottus

Making Indian Exporters Win | Sanjay Bhatia @ Freightwalla

56 min 10 sec

The international logistics industry is a critical enabler of global trade and commerce. In India, it is around 13 of GDP. However, in this era of technology and digitization, most of the activities of this industry are handled in traditional ways, which are not only time consuming but also prone to errors.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Sanjay Bhatia, Cofounder and CEO, Freightwalla, a fullstack digital platform where businesses can plan, book and manage their international freight shipments online.Sanjay has previously worked with PWC as a strategy consultant. Here, he closely observed the issues faced by the logistics industry. While working for Solera Partners and Everstone Capital, he came across various technologies that could potentially solve numerous problems businesses face in this industry. He started Freightwalla in 2016 with a mission to bring transparency and simplicity to the importexport process.Tune in to this episode to hear Sanjay speak about how Freightwalla, with its unique digital solutions, is transforming international maritime logistics.What you must not missDigitising the entire logistics processHow to work towards achieving the best customer serviceThe roadmap to the future

Eko-ing Mass Financial Inclusion | Abhinav Sinha @ Eko India

44 min 35 sec

Is first mover really an advantageIn this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Abhinav Sinha, Cofounder, Eko India Financial Services, a company that envisioned the innovations FinTech brought in recent years, more than a decade ago.Eko started operations in 2007 with an aim to bring banking to consumers 24X7 through a network of business correspondents. After numerous pivots and adapting to the everevolving market, today Eko has a vast chain of merchant outlets to provide banking services, especially to the economically weaker sections of the society.Tune in to this episode to hear Abhinav speak about how Eko is working towards making financial inclusion a reality in India.What you must not missThe pilot that got funded by Gates Foundation.The journey from USSD to an appbased platform.Survival tip: Keep pivoting

Creating Paw-sitive Impact | Rashi Narang @ Heads Up For Tails

1 hr 21 min 38 sec

Passion, patience, and perseverance are the ingredients to be a successful entrepreneur.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Rashi Narang, Founder and Creative Director, Heads Up For Tails HUFT, whose entrepreneurial journey is nothing but perseverance and grit.Rashi, an ardent animal lover, found her calling when she realized that the Indian market has nothing to offer when it came to pet care. She started Heads Up For Tails in 2008 and after numerous rejections from various retailers, today HUFT is the largest D2C brand in the pet care segment backed by Verlinvest and Sequoia Capital.Tune in to this episode to hear Rashi speak about how Heads Up For Tails is leading the pet care space in India and making pet parenting a delightful experience.What you must not missDiversification during COVIDDrivers for online expansionWorking around changing the mindset towards animals.

Building The Fintech Backbone | Prabhu Rangarajan @ M2P Fintech

1 hr 43 min 16 sec

In a gold rush, the ones who sell the shovels are the ones who make the mostmoney. In the fintech gold rush that we are seeing today, its a company likeM2P Fintech that is selling the shovels connecting banks, fintechs, andbusinesses with custom APIs for financial services. This episode is a mustlisten for anyone who wants to understand the fintechecosystem in IndiaKnow about: Conceptualizing use cases Coining the term payments infrastructure Building a neo banking platform The BNPL schemeIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Lord Of The Logistics | Abhishek Bansal @ Shadowfax

1 hr 25 min 58 sec

An IIT Delhi alumnus who, inspired by the Chinese startup scene, built Indiaslargest hyperlocal techbacked gig marketplace Abhisheks story is truly likethat of Frodo Baggins. In an insightpacked conversation, Abhishek tells Akshay about the journey ofbuilding Shadowfax.Know about: Aggregating supply and demand Pivoting towards enterprises Creating static hotspots Datafeedback loop of the enterprise productIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Disrupting Biology With Algorithms | Dr. Manoj Gopalkrishnan @ Algorithmic Biologics

1 hr 29 min 14 sec

This episode is a crash course in molecular biology, a 62 billion industry, andits several realworld applications.Akshay Datt speaks with Dr. Manoj Gopalkrishnan, Founder and CEO of AlgorithmicBiologics, a deeptech startup providing the highest quality molecular testingat a fraction of the market cost. Their first product, Tapestry, is anawardwinning software delivering affordable largescale Covid19 testing.Dr. Manoj is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur who, after completing his doctorate inthe US, came back to India and became an associate professor at IIT Bombay,before starting Algorithmic Biologics.Know about: Contributions during Ph.D. and RSA algorithm RTPCR test and Tapestry Challenges of the medical diagnostics market How molecular computing leads to better molecular testingIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Accelerating Growth For SaaS Startups | Srikrishnan Ganesan @ Rocketlane

1 hr 3 min 23 sec

One of the most impressive journeys youll ever find of a founder, this episodeis a masterclass in building and scaling up a SaaS business.Srikrishnan Ganesan is the Founder and CEO of Rocketlane, a purposebuiltcustomer onboarding platform that offers a collaborative, transparent andconsistent framework to companies. In recent times, this VCbacked startup hasgained traction in the multibillion dollar US SaaS market.An IIMB alumnus, Sri has previously worked in product management roles atVerizon and Rediff. He attributes the birth of Rocketlane to his stint atFreshworks, where he gained clarity regarding the issues of customer onboarding.Akshay Datt speaks to Sri about his journey of building Rocketlane.Dont miss: Learnings as Product Manager at Verizon A rising tide lifts all boats genesis of Freshchat Drawbacks of typical customer onboarding Rocketlane PostSales SaaS productIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Powering A Global Renewable Energy Platform | Sanjeev Aggarwal @ Amplus Solar

58 min 39 sec

In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Sanjeev Aggarwal,Founder and CEO of Amplus Solar, Asias leading distributed company, supplyingclean energy solutions to Commercial Institutional customers.An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, Sanjeev has spent more than a decade in the powersector. As part of his career, he has served various roles and responsibilities,including project financing and development. Prior to Amplus Solar, Sanjeevserved as the Managing Director of the AES Corporation, where he had set upAESs national business development office. Post that in 2010, he founded AmplusSolar, and through guarded optimism and sharp rationality, he has managed toscale Amplus Solar to become an entity worth 2700 crores.Today, Amplus Solar is one of the leaders in distributed solar with a portfolioof 1GW solar assets across India, Malaysia, and the Middle East. It wasacquired by PETRONAS Group, a top Fortune Global 500 corporation in 2019.Please tune in to this episode to hear Sanjeev speak about his journey and learnhow he strategically built Amplus SolarWhat you must not miss Detecting gaps in existing solutions: learnings as a professional Customer acquisition strategy IoT devices for scaling business Expansion plans into the energy transition sectorIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Weaving Technology Into Indian Fabric | Mayank Tiwari @ ReshaMandi

1 hr 17 min 45 sec

The Indian fabric industry is the second largest employment generator, with thenatural fibre market estimated to have a potential of 100 million. However, itshighly fragmented nature technology obsolescence makes it very challenging.ReshaMandi, Indias first and largest farmtoretail digital ecosystem fornatural fibre, has stepped in to solve these drawbacks.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Mayank Tiwari,Founder and CEO of ReshaMandi. A NIFT gold medalist having over a decade ofcrossdomain experience in the retail, supply chain, and handloom sector, heembarked on this journey with a simple urge to create better interventions inthe sericulture industry.Tune in to this episode to hear Mayank talk about the fascinating way in whichReshaMandi was materialized into existence and how its innovative IoTbasedquality grading service transformed the silk supply chainWhat you must not miss Obstacles in the sericulture trade The core idea behind ReshaMandi ReshaMandis business modelIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Combating The Silent Pandemic | Dr. Anand Anandkumar @ Bugworks Research Inc.

1 hr 21 min 57 sec

In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Dr. Anand Anandkumar,CEO and MD of Bugworks Research Inc., a remarkable drug discovery companyfocused on developing novel broadspectrum antibiotics and immunotherapies thatstand to transform the healthcare ecosystem worldwide.A veteran in the semiconductor industry with almost two decades of experience,Dr. Anandkumar wears many hats. To mention a few, he is the Vice President ofthe India Biotech Association one of the founding members of the IndiaElectronics and Semiconductor Association IESA.In 2005, he founded Cellworks which has significantly increased the success rateof cancer treatments by customizing therapy choices. An offshoot of Cellworks,Bugworks originated from the deep resolve to eradicate secondary bacterialinfections, a major public health threat in terms of mortality.Tune in to this episode to hear Dr. Anandkumar speak about how Bugworks hastaken a unique path in drug discovery as it attempts to fight the war againstrising antibacterial resistance.What you must not miss Current drug development challenges Monetizing drug combination therapies AMR and superbugsIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Empowering India's SMBs | Rahul Raj @ FloBiz [Pt. 2]

1 hr 9 min 36 sec

India is the secondlargest internet market in the world with more than 70million small and mediumsized businesses SMBs. But only a fraction of them isutilizing the advantages of digitization.The Founder Thesis podcast presents to you a twopart series, where Akshay Dattspeaks with Rahul Raj, Founder and CEO of FloBiz.Rahul started his entrepreneurial journey in 2017, a year after graduating fromIIT Kharagpur with Koinex, which was Indias fastest crypto exchange. Later in 2019, he started FloBiz, a Bangalore based neobank startup that helpssmall and mediumsized businesses SMBs across India. Their flagship programme,myBillBook, is a complete GST building and accounting solution designed toassist SMBs by digitizing their billing and accounting operations. Tune in to this episode to hear Rahul speak about his entrepreneurial journeyand how FloBiz is speeding up tech adoption in the SMB segment.What you must not miss Working Model of Koinex. The core idea of FloBiz. Customer acquisition strategies. Plans for valueadded services.If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Revolutionizing Sustainable Mobility | Vikash Mishra @ MoEVing

1 hr 25 min 10 sec

The Indian auto industry is going through a gradual but essential change whichwill continue for the next 10 to 15 years. If the trends are to be believed, theIndian EV industry is estimated to reach USD17 billion in the next five years.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Vikash Mishra,Founder and CEO, MoEVing, an electric mobilityfocused tech platform workingtowards accelerating EV adoption in India.With more than 15 years of experience in the energy and mobility industry,Vikash started MoEVing in 2021. The core idea was to build a drivercentrictechnology platform that provides EV ecosystem solutions, thus contributing toreducing carbon emissions.Tune in to this episode of Founder Thesis to hear Vikash speak about how MoEVingis transforming sustainable mobility in India.What you must not miss Challenges faced by MoEVing. EV ecosystem solutions. How MoEVing help the driverpartners MoEVings revenue model.If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting.Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building The Amazon For Lending | Gaurav Chopra @ IndiaLends

52 min 30 sec

IndiaLends brings efficiencies in the lending process by aggregating multiple lenders on one platform so that every customer can find a lender that meets their needs. Gaurav is a lending industry veteran, having worked with global lending companies. He talks about the 7 yearlong journey of building IndiaLends, surviving the pandemic, and the Saas opportunities they are chasing in the lending space.Know about: Business model Building a plugandplay technology for lenders Fundraising journey Future roadmap

The SaaS Biz Powering Logistics Startups | Soham Chokshi @ Shipsy

47 min 43 sec

Shipsy is like the operating system of logistics helping companies run logistics operations efficiently, with minimal paperwork and information loss. Soham is an investment banker inspired by Bloomberg to build a platform business and has had a fascinating journey of discovering productmarket fit and building Shipsy into a global Saas business.Know about: Starting off as aggregators for last minute Pitch to investors Tackling local nuances in building a global product Generating inbound leads

The Indian EV Pioneer | Amitabh Saran @ Altigreen Propulsion Labs

1 hr 19 min 42 sec

Altigreen is an EV startup focused on the category of commercial threewheeler vehicles, and it has raised almost 50 million dollars to date, with the Reliance group as one of its principal backers. Amitabh has had an almost 2decade long journey as a serial entrepreneur. He shares his process of finding startup ideas and scaling them up. He also talks about the importance of building products in India that meet Indian needs instead of blindly copying the west.Know about: Building TriVium Vision of Altigreen carbonfree transportation neEv Altigreens electric cargo 3wheeler Scaling rapidly

Building India's 911 | Prabhdeep Singh @ StanPlus

1 hr 2 min 33 sec

Thousands of lives are lost every day due to delays in accessing ambulances on time. India can save over 20 of patients suffering cardiac arrest every year if ambulances/ first aid care facilities reach them in a timely manner. StanPlus is a medical emergency response platform that is solving the problem of access to ambulances. Prabhdeep talks about the unique challenges of building in the healthcare space in India, some of the smart decisions he took around following an assetlight approach and how he scaled up StanPlus.Know about: Triaging and the related issues Integrating with hospitals Taking the transaction layer out of ambulance service Ambulances as dark stores

Making Mobility Accessible | Srinivas Kantheti @ Bike Bazaar

1 hr 26 min 38 sec

In tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, buying a used bike is a hassle. The problem of financing exists. Bike Bazaar is chasing this opportunity by building a full stack solution that not just focuses on financing but builds solutions around retail and quality. This conversation is a mustlisten for anyone wanting to understand the evolution of the Indian twowheeler market and to know the upcoming opportunities in this space.Know about: Learnings at Bajaj Auto 3 reasons for selecting the twowheeler category Penetrating the rural markets Need for a good distribution network

The Commercial Real Estate Masterclass | Aryaman Vir @ Myre Capital

53 min 56 sec

Commercial real estate means office space and investing in commercial real estate is a missed opportunity for Indians. Aryaman speaks to Akshay Datt about why its a missed opportunity, the emerging trends, and how Myre Capital, Indias first neorealty investment platform, is disrupting this space and creating a very unique asset for average Indians. Invest in this episode to find outKnow about: Identifying gaps in Indias real estate market Zero to One Journey Monetization strategy Role of technology in business processes

Made In India For Global Pharma | Manish Gupta @ Indegene

1 hr 10 min 34 sec

Indegene was founded in an era when VC money was not flowing. Manish talks about Indegenes journey of sustainable scaling, starting with helping pharma companies with content and training to eventually becoming the fullstack behemoth that it is today with a few acquisitions along the way. This episode is a masterclass in sustainably scaling a global businessKnow about: Medical representative as a service Difference between CSO and a VSO Past acquisitions Trends in pharma postpandemicClick to read the text version of the episode https://thepodium.in/episodes/madeinindiaforglobalpharmamanishguptaindegene/

Going Hyperlocal Through Vending Machines | Prerna Kalra @ Daalchini

1 hr 3 min 8 sec

The RetailasaService platform, Daalchini helps microentrepreneurs set up smart vending machines and begin earning revenue within months. They are also a strong distribution network for cloud kitchens and directtoconsumer food and beverage brands. Prerna shares how she found the right business strategy and their method of growing over 1000 vending machines now.Know about: Birth of the idea and naming Daalchini Intelligent retail and smart vending machines Revenue strategy Creating a phygital distribution networkClick to read the text version of the episode https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QXrJDxQppjvNLwcPXYI4gRa8myntGbUXciFkJBNPI/edituspsharing

The Tech Toy Story | Vivek Goyal @ PlayShifu

1 hr 6 min 5 sec

PlayShifu creates immersive learning experiences for children through games that merge digital technology with physical objects. Vivek talks about discovering productmarket fit and taking a modular approach to product development by building platforms instead of standalone games. He shares crucial insights about how they scaled their sales and marketing at a global level and the path to hitting 100 mn in revenue.Know about: Building the first product Balancing tactile and digital Pricing plans Marketing and branding strategies Click to read the text version of the episode https://docs.google.com/document/d/10CRuSQzGYoRgOIUXLcsnNRt91AZOONKdOegxjg2E/edituspsharing

Disintermediating Banks | Nikhil Aggarwal @ Grip Invest

40 min 9 sec

Nikhils second venture is Grip Invest its making structured debt available to end consumers directly, removing the middlemen from the process like banks and NBFCs. Grip Invest allows consumers to directly lend to corporates and earn a much higher rate of interest than saving via fixed deposits and other such instruments.Know about: Focusing on fixedincome products Gotomarket strategy Evolutions in the investment space Things done differently the second time📌 Read the founders thesis here https://thepodium.in/episodes/disintermediatingbanksnikhilaggarwalgripinvest/

Building The Full Stack For Higher Education | Ruchir Arora @ CollegeDekho

1 hr 5 min 50 sec

Higher education represents more than half of the Indian education industry, which has been estimated at the US 135 billion in FY20. India has more than 50,000 colleges and students often find themselves in utter confusion while choosing the right course and college. Ruchir Arora was working in the education division of Hindustan Times where he hit upon the idea of building a digitalfirst, contentled platform that would make it easier for students to research, shortlist and apply to the right course and college for them. This idea grew into a fullstack business that today has an admissions division, a learning division, and a study abroad division.Know about: Classifieds in education Buying the domain name Acquiring Scholarship Facilitation Services Revenue model

Disrupting The Trillion Dollar Business Travel Market | Mayank Kukreja @ Itilite

54 min 56 sec

As a McKinsey consultant, Mayank saw firsthand the inefficiencies in corporate travel. This led him to build Itilite, a Tiger Globalbacked SaaS enterprise that offers travel and expense management solutions to companies to ensure seamless travel. Mayank speaks about bringing the ease of personal travel experience to business travel.Know about: Incentivize people to save money Defining the problem statement differently You are not as unique learnings at McKinsey Strategy to enter the US market

Pioneering Hyperlocal Logistics | Vatsal Singhal and Mohit Kumar @ Runnr

47 min 14 sec

Cockpit of innovation, scale, and form, Vatsal and Mohit built one of the mostwellknown hyperlocal logistics startups that helped food tech giant Zomatosuccessfully pivot from a food discovery app to a food delivery app. With aprinciple of Click, Pick and Delivered, Runnr has grown the revenue ofcompanies like Mcdonalds, KFC, Myntra and Snapdeal. Listen to this episodewhere the duo talks about their journey of building this B2B platform fromscratch.Know about: All things last mile Olas playbook and targeting hypergrowth TPH and the muchhyped acquisition by Zomato

Solving For Credit | Prashanth Ranganathan @ PaySense

1 hr 13 min 7 sec

A Stanford graduate who returned to India to solve the big credit need in themarket culminated in building one of Indias leading lending platforms thatsthe story of Prashanth. Tune in to this episode to hear about how his testingperiod of life paid him rich lesson dividends.Know about: Building SayNow Corp, acquired by Google Stint at PayPal Bet on the jockey, not the horse Journey of acquisition

Financial inclusion for the bottom of the pyramid | Rahul Gupta @ Avanti Finance

47 min 5 sec

It is of no doubt that technology is a crucial driver of financial inclusion. Avanti Finance is building an ecosystem around tech to empower Indias unbanked sector. Backed by stalwarts Ratan Tata and Nandan Nilekani, this startup sees the promise of making India povertyfree. Rahul shares his learnings from his long experience inside GE and the fundamental principles of scaling up a lending business focussed on the unbanked and the underbanked.Insights shared: Why microfinance institutions are unable to fix the credit gap Why the partnership model works better than building distribution The GTM strategy Benefits of colendingAdditional links:1. Ratan Tata and Nandan Nilekanis Avanti Finance wants to help 150 mn households get rid of poverty. https://yourstory.com/2020/12/ratantatanandannilekaniavantifinanceindiapovertystartup2. Financial inclusion is a necessary pathway to enable the sustainable growth of any country https://thelogicalindian.com/responsiblebusiness/knowhowthisfintechstartupavantiaimstobuildsustainablelivelihoods378073. Know How This BengaluruBased Fintech Startup Aims To Build Sustainable Livelihoods https://bfsi.eletsonline.com/financialinclusionisanecessarypathwaytoenablethesustainablegrowthofanycountry/

The BNPL Masterclass | Gaurav Hinduja @ axio

58 min 27 sec

Market leader and one of the most wellfunded startups Axio is creating ripples across the lending ecosystem. But the journey of reaching the top has been full of highs and lows, and Gaurav candidly shares his lessons from a decade of building and scaling Indias pioneering lending fintech.Additional links:1.Decoding Fintech Startup axios Growth Playbook For Serving 6 Mn Users And Beyond https://inc42.com/features/decodingfintechunicornaxiosgrowthplaybookforserving6mnusersandbeyond/2.Meet Axio, The Fintech Now Helping 6 Million Indians To Access Credit https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2022/10/19/meetaxiothefintechnowhelping6millionindianstoaccesscredit/sh25d44fd14b1d3.Sashank Rishyasringa and Gaurav Hinduja at axio on the credit fintech opportunity ahead https://www.forbesindia.com/audio/forbesindiadailytechconversation/sashankrishyasringaandgauravhindujaataxioonthecreditfintechopportunityahead/81719

Leveraging data for smart manufacturing | Jagadish Gattu @ UptimeAI

43 min 26 sec

UptimeAI is a plugandplay solution helping manufacturers solve glitches before they manifest by ingesting data generated from the production process. Jagadish talks about how he identified problems in traditional manufacturing and built the venture thats powering smart manufacturing across the world.Additional links:1. UptimeAI: AIbased virtual expert to bring enhance efficiency and predictability in plant operations https://yourstory.com/2023/03/uptimeaibasedvirtualexpertbringefficience2.UptimeAI Raises 3.5M in Funding https://www.finsmes.com/2022/12/uptimeairaises35minfunding.html

Helping marketers peek inside consumer minds | Ranjan Kumar @ Entropik

1 hr 15 min 29 sec

Entropik is solving a truly hard problem of how to read the mind of a consumer. They have built an AIpowered platform that helps companies decode the emotional state of consumers by using neuroscience and machine learning. This conversation is a masterclass in building deeptech products and scaling them globally.Additional links:1.StartUp Central: Can AI gauge what you feel Emotion AI provider Entropik says this https://www.timesnownews.com/businesseconomy/companies/startupcentralcanaigaugewhatyoufeelemotionaiproviderentropiksaysthisarticle977389142.How Entropik is solving for the attention economy by humanising experiences with AI https://yourstory.com/2021/12/entropikattentioneconomyhumanisingexperiencesaipoweredintelstartupprogram3.A Young Bengaluru Startup Has Built Worlds 1st AI That Can Detect Understand Your Emotions https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/ayoungbengalurustartuphasbuiltworlds1staithatcandetectunderstandyouremotions350396.html

Aggregating supply and demand of logistics | Gaurav Mangla @ Pickrr

1 hr 9 min 45 sec

Pickrr has built an assetlight logistics platform that aggregates logistics service providers and companies seeking logistics services. Gaurav is a serial entrepreneur whose first venture was in the B2B Saas space. He talks about the lessons from his decadelong journey as an entrepreneur and about selling Pickrr to the logistics unicorn Shiprocket for a cool 200 mn.Insights shared: Building Asset Light business models The business case for aggregation platforms GTM and scaleup of an enterprise product How to think about acquisition offersFor bonus content related to the episode, head over to ThePodium.substack.com

Democratizing Satellite Technology | Sanjay Nekkanti and Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy @ Dhruva Space

1 hr 4 min 6 sec

Dhruva Space is in the business of making space accessible to businesses. Sanjay and Chaitanya talk about low earth orbit satellites, why satellites are a big business, and how they are building the full stack for enterprises to take advantage of satellite technology.Additional links: 1. Dhruva Space launches nanosatellites onboard ISROs PSLV C54 https://yourstory.com/2022/11/dhruvaspacelaunchesnanosatellitesonboardsisropslv 2. Dhruva Space was launched to establish India as a global satellite hub https://yourstory.com/2022/08/dhruvaspacelaunchedestablishindiasatellitemakingcapitalworld 3. Innovative minds behind Hyderabadbased Dhruva Spaces success https://www.siasat.com/innovativemindsbehindhyderabadbaseddhruvaspacessuccess2466309/

Building on a formidable legacy | Akshay Munjal @ Hero Vired

50 min 36 sec

Akshay Munjal shares his firsthand experience of watching the Hero Group founder Brijmohan Lall Munjal build up Hero into a truly remarkable business. He shares his personal journey of first running the corporate training venture Hero Mindmine, then setting up the BML Munjal University, and finally creating Hero Vired as an edtech platform to train the youth on nextgeneration skills at scale.Additional links:1.Hero Vired: Hero Group partners with MIT, Cambridge for edtech company https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/heroviredherogrouppartnerswithmitcambridgeforedtechcompany6762231.html2.Hero Vired betting on upskilling wave in the postpandemic https://yourstory.com/2022/04/heroviredbettingupskillingwavepostpandemic3.How Hero Vired Is Humanising The Work Experience https://bwpeople.businessworld.in/article/HowHeroViredIsHumanisingTheWorkExperience/31032023471194/4.Sculpting, to be patient accept the course of life https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/pulse/sculptingtobepatientacceptthecourseoflife/article66337592.ece

Building a Payments Led Lending Business | Vaibhav Lodha @ ftcash

1 hr 11 min 25 sec

In the shadows of large payments companies exists a startup that is building with the reverse philosophy ftcash first acquires customers for loans and then gives them payment processing services. Vaibhav talks about how his unique background helped him build ftCash using first principles thinking.Insights shared: Managing risks in the payments business The merchant lending ecosystem Keeping yourself on top of the game as a founderAdditional links:1.Ftcash: No Cash, Please https://www.businessworld.in/article/FtcashNoCashPlease/25102016107356/2.Indian Fintech Startup ftcash Wins MITs Inclusive Innovation Challenge https://analyticsindiamag.com/indianfintechstartupftcashwinsmitsinclusiveinnovationchallenge/3. Bridging The Payments Gap https://www.businessworld.in/article/BridgingThePaymentsGap/18012018137711/4. Vaibhav Lodha talks about Indias thriving fintech scene https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/vaibhavlodhatalksaboutindiasthrivingfintechscene5. Faster Than Cash: An Interview with ftcashs Vaibhav Lodha https://asiafoundation.org/2018/09/26/fasterthancashaninterviewwithftcashsvaibhavlodha/

Empowering the blue-collar workforce | Pravin Agarwala @ Betterplace

59 min 37 sec

BetterPlace is one of the most successful HR Tech companies in India. The startup has built a platform of products for companies with a large bluecollar workforce. They help companies manage their employees better and help them get access to financial products previously unavailable to them.Read the text version of the episode here. https://open.substack.com/pub/thepodium/p/empoweringthebluecollarworkforcer1jfszhutmcampaignpostutmmediumwebRead more about BetterPlace:1.BetterPlace to offer loans to frontline workers on its platform https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/msmefinbetterplacetoofferloanstofrontlineworkersonitsplatform/3099145/2.BetterPlace acquires fintech lending startup Bueno Finance https://www.livemint.com/news/india/betterplaceacquiresfintechlendingstartupbuenofinance11683484263682.html3.Workforce management software provider Betterplace enters Malaysia with Troopers acquisition https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/workforcesoftwareproviderbetterplaceacquiresmalaysiasjobsearchplatformtroopers/articleshow/99549923.cmsfrommdr

Building platforms to empower jobseekers | Tarun Matta @ IIMJobs and Juno School of Business

56 min 32 sec

As an IIM alumnus, Taruns passion for empowering his fellow batchmates with job opportunities drove him to create IIMJobs.His dedication paid off when Infoedge acquired his venture for a staggering 12mn in 2019. Now, Tarun is taking on his next challenge with Juno School of Business, a gamechanging endeavour focused on closing the skill gap in sales and transforming employability.Additional links:1.Engage with new employees at the earliest: Tarun Matta, Founder, iimjobs.com https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/engagewithnewemployeesattheearliesttarunmattafounderiimjobscom/articleshow/49498767.cms2.Naukri.com acquires recruitment portals iimjobs.com and hirist.com https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/naukricomacquiresrecruitmentportalsiimjobscomandhiristcom1559019337562.html

The OG EdTech Founder | Rajendra Pawar @ NIIT Limited

1 hr 29 min 56 sec

For those who missed the top engineering college bus in the 90s but still craved an IT career, NIIT was an allpowerful educator. Rajendra Pawars journey of building NIIT is a masterclass in EdTech entrepreneurship, spanning decades and continents. With a public listing and a global reach, NIIT has become the gold standard for training platforms. This conversation with him is a treasure trove of insights that could save founders years of trial and errorAdditional links:1.NIIT Chairman and Founder Rajendra Singh Pawar honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by FICCI https://www.aninews.in/news/business/business/niitchairmanandfounderrajendrasinghpawarhonouredwithlifetimeachievementawardbyficci20221122143131/2. NIIT University deliberates on the importance of selfrealization https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/younghans/niituniversitydeliberatesontheimportanceofselfrealization7710833.NIIT: Stepping up on the learning curve https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/corporatefile/niitsteppinguponthelearningcurve/article65388004.ece

The Bharat way of insurance distribution | Balachander Sekhar @ RenewBuy

59 min 7 sec

Insurance is an industry where people used to rely on agents to buy policies. But then came PolicyBazaar, which went the Silicon Valley way and got rid of agents. Enter RenewBuy, which took the Made for Bharat approach and respected the agents spirit of entrepreneurship by empowering them. In this conversation, Balachander talks about his decadeslong journey in the insurance industry and the unique choices they made while building RenewBuy.Additional links:1.The Insurance Trailblazer https://www.entrepreneur.com/enin/newsandtrends/theinsurancetrailblazer/4504842.RenewBuy: Tech makes it simple to buy insurance https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/renewbuytechmakesitsimpletobuyinsurance/2925985/3.Balachander Sekhar, CoFounder, RenewBuy https://www.indiainfoline.com/article/newsleaderspeak/balachandersekharcofounderrenewbuy1220922002061.html

Empowering founders with debt | Eklavya Gupta @ Recur Club

43 min 13 sec

Recur Club is solving the problem of access to funds for startups with predictable revenue streams. Their secret sauce lies in the deep tech integration that they are able to do with the borrowers.Additional links:1. Recur Club allocates 15 million in financing to Indian startup founders affected by SVB crisis https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/moneyandbanking/recurcluballocates15millioninfinancingtoindianstartupfoundersaffectedbysvbcrisis/article66610581.ece2.Most Companies Die Because They Dont Get Capital At Right Point: Recur Club Founder https://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/MostCompaniesDieBecauseTheyDontGetCapitalAtRightPointRecurClubFounder/07102022449646/

Building the health tech super app | Prasad Kompalli @ Mfine

54 min 15 sec

Prasad Kompalli embodies the playbook for entrepreneurial success. With a strong technological background and 8 patents under his belt, Prasad had a rewarding tenure at SAP, the German tech giant that honed his skills and expertise. He recounts the challenges faced by Mfine, navigating through a neardeath experience that ultimately forged a stronger and more resilient company.Additional links:1.How BengaluruBased Startup Mfine Is Bringing Doctors, Clinics To Patients Through AI https://analyticsindiamag.com/howbengalurubasedstartupmfineisbringingdoctorsclinicstopatientsthroughai/2.Mfine cofounder Prasad Kompalli on covid19 impact on healthcare, shift in consumer trends, and growth https://yourstory.com/2021/08/mfinecofounderprasadkompallicovid19impacthealthcare3.How healthtech startup Mfine is using ai to make virtual consults easier https://yourstory.com/2020/08/productroadmaphealthtechstartupmfineai4.Mobile phone now an examination tool in the hands of doctors: Mfine CEO https://yourstory.com/2020/10/mobilephoneexaminationtooldoctorstelemedicinestartupmfine

A Banker Walks Into A Gold Bar | Gaurav Mathur @ SafeGold

1 hr 5 min 38 sec

Gaurav has a fascinating thesis on the past and future of money, and Safegold is his expression of that thesis. In this freewheeling conversation Gaurav talks about the Wild West days of PE investing in India, his learnings as an investor, and the ambitious journey he is undertaking at SafeGold.Know about: Investing in Manappuram Finance Custodian, trustee and vault Gold retailers earn through the buysell spread Zerotoone journeyClick here to read the text version of the episode https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EfSyCHCVqgEeGlfpYHVKHHDp3ZRGSN7HIug8OGd6c/edituspsharing

Digitally Empowering Car Buyers | Anurag Jain @ GirnarSoft

1 hr 19 min 3 sec

Ever thought of starting a venture from a tier 2 city I’m sure the majority of you haven’t. It was the love for his family that brought our guest back to his hometown Jaipur and started a venture which is soon going to be a unicorn.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Anurag Jain, COO and CoFounder, GirnarSoft, takes us through his amazing journey. He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and has worked with eminent software companies both in the US and India, before starting his entrepreneurial journey.Anurag reminisces about his early days and how a lifealtering moment led him to quit his lucrative software job, come back to Jaipur and start a venture with a vision to establish in the consumer internet space. He started GirnarSoft in 2007 with his brother Amit as an IT outsourcing company.After experimenting for a year or so, the duo visited an international AutoExpo which sparked the idea of an auto portal and CarDekho came into existence. Since then, CarDekho has expanded into the SouthEast Asian markets and is currently valued at around USD 800 million.Tune in to this episode to listen to the fascinating story of how these strongwilled entrepreneurs from Jaipur succeeded in building a venture based on sheer hard work and determination.What you must not missFundraising journey.Acquisitions and subsequent global expansion.Significance of customer experience.Secrets of managing people.

Building An Ecosystem For Car Owners | Amit Lakhotia @ Park+

59 min 46 sec

Scaling startups is not new to Amit Lakhotia. So, the choice of starting his venture came naturally to him.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Amit Lakhotia, Founder, Park, takes us through his amazing journey. This IIMA alumnus has worked with various startups before charting his path towards entrepreneurship.An independent decisionmaker at heart, Amit chose the companies where he can take decisions without any interventions, and the results are evident in the growth stories of MakeMyTrip, Paytm, and Tokopedia.Stemming from his experience of not being able to find a parking slot at the Paytm office, Amit started Park in 2019 with a vision to solve the parkingrelated woes for daily commuters and B2B establishments. Tune in to this episode to hear Amit talk about Park is working towards solving this hyperlocal problem by providing digital solutions, leading to a hasslefree customer experience.Key takeaways:What a BSchool teaches usExperience of working in a startupJourney as an investor

An out of the box HR solution | Rohit Chennamaneni @ Darwinbox

1 hr 34 min 20 sec

People are the biggest assets of any organization. While there is a core HR department in every organization, not many have been able to effectively use technology to solve the needs and requirements of their employees.This is where Darwinbox came to the rescue.In a candid chat with Akshay Datt, Rohit Chennamaneni, CoFounder, Darwinbox, takes us through his inspiring journey. He is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow and has worked for giants like Google and McKinsey before setting off his entrepreneurial journey.Rohit fondly recalls his days at McKinsey. While working for clients, he realised that they did not have the best HR systems. He identified this gap and founded Darwinbox in 2015 with Jayant Paleti and Chaitanya Peddi. Jayant and Chaitanya have worked with Ernst and Young and faced similar situations with their clients.Today, Darwinbox operates in the same space as Oracle and SAP and serves more than a million employees across 500 global enterprises in more than 60 countries, and is backed by prominent investors like Salesforce, Sequoia and 3one4 Capital.Tune in to this episode to hear Rohit speak about how Darwinbox is helping enterprises streamline the HR function through its hiretoretire Human Capital Management platform.What you must not missPlayer’s mindset and entrepreneurship.Experience in working with Google and McKinsey.Fundraising journey.Secrets to scaling a venture.

The Clever Martech Pioneer | Anand Jain @ CleverTap

2 hr 5 min 59 sec

In 2013, when Anand Jain left Network18, he knew one thing for sure: Communication in the digital world needs to be timely and quick. This led to the birth of CleverTap, a SaaSbased mobile analytics and mobile marketing company.Today, Anand is the Chief Strategy Officer and CoFounder of CleverTap, working on larger strategic goals of helping brands leverage user data, automation, and personalization techniques on CleverTap. But his rendezvous with technology began when he was in his early teens.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Anand harks back to his early years, when a lifealtering moment made him take up parttime jobs to support his family. During these testing times, one thing he passionately held on to was tinkering with electronic appliances and this curiosity led him to learn numerous computer languages, despite being from a nonengineering background.He further recalls how a meeting with a successful Bay Area entrepreneur paved a way for him to land a job in the States and then in China. But he moved back to India in 2005 to start Burrp, which was later acquired by Network18. At Network18, he met his future cofounders Suresh and Sunil and in 2013, the trio quit to start CleverTap.Tune in to this episode to hear Anand speak about how CleverTap is making the lives of numerous brands easy by providing them with meaningful data, which helps create successful strategies concerning their user bases.Key takeaways:• Perseverance is the key to success.• Significance of customer insights.• Customer targeting is important, so is doing it in a timely and quick fashion.• How did CleverTap get their first client which led to several opportunities.

My Experiments with Chai | Nitin Saluja @ Chaayos

55 min 27 sec

Necessity is the mother of invention. This is exactly the premise that Chaayos was built on. In this episode of Founder Thesis, Nitin Saluja, Founder, Chaayos, recalls how a desire of having chai after breakfast led to a birth of an idea which is now a 90store operation across India.In a candid conversation with Akshay Dutt, Nitin shares his experience of working with Opera Solutions in the US and how working with a consulting firm provided him with an exposure which helped him in starting his own venture.Nitin takes us through his journey and fondly recollects the brilliant response Chaayos received on its very first day. He emphasizes on how getting his hands dirty and learning on the fly helped him in market research, consumer insights and product testing, thus building a strong foundation for the business.From getting funded by Tiger Global to taking orders at his first store in Gurugram, Nitin further talks about the support Chaayos received from the alumni network of his alma mater, IIT, Bombay.Tune in to this episode to hear Nitin Saluja speak about how Chaayos shook a wellestablished market where coffee giants like CCD and Barista and others were already deeply entrenched.What must you not miss from the episode● Importance of customer insights and product customization.● Issues in scaling up and growth.● Taking up chaipaani challenges head on and solving with automation.● Strategy adopted during COVID.

NYC to India. Hokey-Pokey to Epigamia | Rohan Mirchandani @ Drums Food International

1 hr 9 min 37 sec

Things that you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling. This is true in the case of Rohan Mirchandani, CoFounder and CEO, Drums Food International.In the latest episode of Founder Thesis Podcast, Rohan shares his journey and how an NRI alumnus of The Wharton School ended up selling Greek yogurt in India.In a candid conversation with the host, Akshay Dutt, he talks about how his trip to India in 2009 ended up in meeting Chef Ganesh Krishnamoorthy one of the cofounders at Drums Food International and investing in his hobby ice cream business. A foodie at heart, Rohan describes this move as a shot in the dark and passiondriven.It was when he came back to India in 2011 for a weeklong course on how to market to Indian consumers where he met Mr. Shripad Nadkarni, the then CMO of Coca Cola, he realized his calling to become a food entrepreneur in India, something he excitedly describes as his ‘ghanti baj gayi’ moment. He recalls how he used to personally interact with consumers to gain insights which helped him in recognizing the shift in preferences from ice cream to healthier options, thus bringing Epigamia Greek yogurt product line to life.Tune in to this episode to hear Rohan Mirchandani speak on disrupting the traditional dairy industry in India, scaling an FMCG venture, fundraising, taking the coldchain challenge headon, and more.Key takeaways from this episode:Starting an FMCG brand from scratch and scaling it up.Experience of working with Shripad Nadkarni.Collaboration with Danone ventures and becoming a part of the global ecosystem.Plans of expanding in India and in the global market.

From by-lanes of Delhi to an IPO at Dalal Street | Dinesh Agarwal @ IndiaMART

1 hr 48 min 56 sec

In today’s episode of Founder Thesis, host Akshay Datt is in conversation with Dinesh Agarwal, the founder, and CEO of IndiaMART. IndiaMART is India’s largest B2B marketplace for small and medium enterprises SMEs, large enterprises, and individuals.Before starting IndiaMART, Dinesh worked at HCL technologies in Silicon Valley as a software engineer and gained early exposure to the internet and the power of technology. In this candid conversation, he talks about overcoming loneliness and other challenges of living in a foreign country. However, the two things close to his heart that kept him going were India and computers. The urge to come back to India and start his business kept growing stronger with each passing day. He was so fascinated by the Internet that he made his mind leverage its potential and create something massive out of it. Rest, as they say, is history. Well, what started in the early internet era as an idea, is now a platform that has more than 10 crores registered users on it. And of course, it continues to grow even though its been almost 25 years since it started. He recalls IndiaMART’s early years when his wife would answer queries from buyers outside India and he would use a simple hack of going to trade fares to build his dataset and generate leads. Tune in to this exclusive chat with Dinesh Agarwal and listen to him talk about everything Internet and ECommerce.What you must not miss from the episode Cultural challenges of living in a foreign economy. The ups and downs of establishing an internet company in India.The dotcom boom from someone who saw it happen How did IndiaMART get their first client paid order and how did they generate leads.

The Foodtech Pioneer who is still fresh | Rashmi Daga @ FreshMenu

1 hr 2 min 44 sec

Well, it would be unjust to say that today’s world is a maledominated one. Women of today are changing the way we see the world and are redefining the socalled “conventional”. Women who inspire with their commendable leadership and conviction. Today, we are in conversation with one such groundbreaking personality who quit her corporate career to build her startup from scratch and went all out to establish a name for herself.She is as motivated as she is excited to be building India’s leading fresh food brand, FreshMenu. Rashmi Daga, the founder of FreshMenu, is passionate about consumer brands and enjoys the thrill that startups expose her to. She graduated from Delhi College of Engineering as an electrical engineer and later, went on to pursue management from Indian Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad. She shares anecdotes from her early life as a salesperson, working on the field and experiencing Real India on the road. FreshMenu was born in 2014, that’s when she decided to launch her food company. She talks about the plan of action she relied upon, her business model decisions, breaking the monotony, getting her hands dirty with all the research, hiring the first chef, among other intriguing sneakpeek into her entrepreneurial journey. Tune in to listen to the full conversation where Rashmi Daga talks about her Eureka moment, her larger mission and shares some beautiful insights into building India’s top consumer food brand. Key takeaways from the episode: The founder of FreshMenu tells us how a realtime job experience helps. Brand building and setting milestones. Incorporating international cuisine and building a diverse food menu. Tracking unit economics in your startup. Sampling, Packaging, and Customer Acquisition. Dealing with the funding process as a solo woman entrepreneur. Indian Food Habits postCOVID. Join us on IG: thepodium.inFor more founder stories, check out our website: thepodium.in

Making India Shop Smarter | Swati Bhargava @ CashKaro

1 hr 10 min 27 sec

From Ambala to Singapore to London and then back to India Here is the story of Swati Bhargava, the CoFounder of CashKaro.com India’s largest and fastest growing cashback and coupons site.Remember your class topper in school Well, Swati was the scholar of her batch scoring a 100/100 in maths in her 10th standard board exams. A young Ambala girl aspiring to study at the prestigious St. Stephens College in Delhi, but as the saying goes “Life is what happens to you while youre busy making other plans” Life had alternate plans for Swati and she flew to Singapore instead to complete her further schooling after winning a scholarship from the Singaporean government. Earning another scholarship Swati flew next to London to study at the revered London School of Economics. Here in London Swati began her career as a part of the Investment Banking team at Goldman Sachs. It was also here that she met her husband and cofounder. While booking her honeymoon trip she came across the concept of cashback and an idea was born which eventually led to her first startup Pouring Pounds and then to CashKaro. Today CashKaro is the only VC backed cashback site and has raised 4 million in Series A funding led by Kalaari Capital and has also raised investment from Ratan Tata Do not miss out on this anecdote where Swati pitched CashKaro to Ratan Data Swati is a recipient of India’s first Digital Women Award for the Best Service Offering Company in the Ecommerce Industry and has also been featured in Fortune 40 Under 40 List in 2019. She has also been a keynote speaker at several prestigious events. Here are our key takeaways from our conversation with Swati: Raising angel funding in 48 hoursCustomer acquisition strategyPitching to Ratan Tata. Growing an engaged social media followership

Building Women's Internet | Sairee Chahal @ Sheroes

55 min 23 sec

“We will see in our lifetime a generation of products being built online only for women” Sairee Chahal. Founder of Sheroes a social networking site exclusively for women, Sairee is a pioneer in building up women at work and futureofwork conversations in India. She has several accolades under her belt, such as Devi Award, Femina Achievers Award, Cartier Award, Editor’s choice for L’Oreal Femina Women’s Award, Business Today and others. She is a techentrepreneur who is passionate about women’s internet and has championed the cause of levelling gender disparity in India. In this episode, we spoke to Sairee about her journey from her days of being a Russian Literature Major to the inception, growth and future of Sheroes. Here are our key takeaways from this episode: How to build a social networking platform and community. How to monetize a social network. Using a helpline feature as a means to build consumer trust. The truths about networking. How to manage and hire for remote working teams.

Empowering India's SMEs | Akash Gehani @ Instamojo

45 min 51 sec

‘Jo bhi karunga, usme khush rahunga, kidhar bhi mein kaam karu, I want to be happy’ – Akash GehaniHere is a story of an intelligent boy who grew up in the suburbs of Mumbai with one mantra ‘never take yourself seriously’But when it came to starting a business, Akash was very serious about helping small and microbusinesses to grow and help them trust the internet. Instamojo started with Payment Links – a simple URL that one can copy and paste anywhere on the internet and receive payments online via any payment mode. Today Instamojo has 3 Million payment links, 50,000online stores and a 5 million monthly reachAkshay Dutt talks to Akash Gehani about his early days and how the idea for Instamojo was hatched.Some key takeaways from this show are: How to stick to your vision when faced with fast upscaling options. Networking the right way to help your business grow. Being persistent with ideas in spite of initial failures and How to keep constantly learning from your environment

A Marketing Masterclass with Aditya Save

57 min 19 sec

“It is possible to disproportionately colour consumers’ opinion about yourself” Aditya Save. A marketing mega mind Aditya has previously worked with big brands such as Shaadi.com, Marico and GSK where he’s held senior leadership positions. Having made his mark in the corporate world Aditya is now the cofounder of Agilio Labs a startup studio that works with experts to launch innovative and successful startups. He calls himself a student of human behavior and has a keen interest in how technology is helping scale brilliant ideas faster. Aditya Save is also an angel investor and has invested in and incubated ideas for about 8 years now.This episode of the Founder Thesis show is a marketing masterclass with Aditya. Here are a few key takeaways:An open and autonomous work culture encourages employees to take risks and achieve higher performance. The difference between risk and uncertainty.How to create a distinctive brand image, in a market with several competitive and similar products. How to tap into consumers as a source of learning.

The Saas (Sports as a Service!) Pioneer | Saumil Majmudar @ Sportz Village

1 hr 6 min 20 sec

It may sound weird for a sports enthusiast to be in IIT. Right Well, Saumil Majmudar, our guest today, says that its possible, and that its an excuse kids make, there are a lot of people who balance academics and sports. They can coexistSports have always been a part of his life and its something he assumes should be in life always. Saumil Majmudar is the Cofounder, CEO and Managing Director of Sportz Village, which aims to get 100 million children to play. Prior to starting Sportz Village, Saumil was the FounderCEO of QSupport one of Indias first remote tech support businesses and worked with Wipro Global RandD in the International marketing team.Saumil holds a BTech degree and is a Distinguished Service Alumnus from IITBombay, a PGDM from IIMBangalore, a Basic Mountaineering Degree from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering Uttarkashi and a Black belt in Karate.Doesnt it sound incredible Well that has not been the case from the beginning. Tune in to find out how this sports lover had an academic bent to have a science background and finally become an entrepreneur. Key takeaways from the show:How can Sports and academics coexist.Tips to prepare a business model.How to do customer acquisition. What mistakes one must avoid. For more such inspiring and intriguing leadership stories visit our website at http://www.podium.in www.thepodium.in We are also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thepodium.in/hlen thepodium.in and have a Whats app community of fellow entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts at http://www.podm.in/growwithpodium www.podm.in/growwithpodium Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in

Empowering Retailers | Tanutejas Saraswat @ ShopKirana

1 hr 43 min 23 sec

“Designing a website doesn’t create a business, creating a business creates a business.” He went on to be an entrepreneur empowering millions of retailers. He has revolutionised the retail industry with the help of two key factors: technology and supply chain innovation. Undaunted and determined, Tanutejas, our guest today at Founder Thesis, has always taken a step ahead of his comfort zone. Before starting his breakthrough journey at the B2B ecommerce company, ShopKirana, he had also ventured into two other companies which he identified were not scalable in the long run. Nevertheless, after his fouryear stint in Napster Era a new age media agency connecting brands with customers, ShopKirana happened which changed the game. The Indorebased startup has 12,000 plus retailers on its platform and is consistently expanding.In this conversation, Tanutejas shares insights from the startup world, talking about a range of topics from retail, venture capital, funding, scaling up to disrupting the momandpop stores and building an impactful business story. Tune in to the full episode to know how he converted the unorganised structure of Kirana stores to a revolutionary success story. We are on IG at thepodium.in and on the web at https://thepodium.in/ thepodium.in Takeaways from our conversation: How does the Online Retail Business Model workDisrupting logistics and supply chain in the retail marketplaceLessons from a Datadriven world Connecting Kirana Stores with brands Understanding retailer behaviour

The Accidental Entrepreneur | Jitendra Chouksey @ Fittr

1 hr 19 min 17 sec

“Success isn’t about greatness, it’s about consistency” And those who are consistent are bound for greatness Well if we had to sum up an intro for our guest this week, that would be perfectly befittingThe hunk we know today Jitendra Chouksey Founder of Fittr, was bullied as a child for being overweight. That’s what prompted him to strive for the fittest version of himself. His success at fitness and his genuine selfless desire to help out friends on their path to fitness eventually led to his accidental entry into entrepreneurship Much like the adage goes, “life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans” JC’s accidental journey started when we decided to compile a booklet to answer his friend’s queries about fitness, one thing led to another and JC found himself becoming an entrepreneur of a venture that made INR10Lakhs in its first month The rest is history. JC had not only transformed himself, but he became a fitness entrepreneur with two very successful businesses Driven by his aspiration to be a positive changemaker JC is determined to shatter myths and redefine the obscured meaning of fitness and set the right example for generations to come.Tune in to this episode of Founder Thesis as host Akshay Datt unwraps the tales of Jitendra’s ventures and of one of the worlds largest online fitness and nutrition communities. We are building a community of our own A network of entrepreneurs who are looking to learn and grow together. Join our WhatsApp group to be a part of this community where we share knowledge and inspiration through some great content. Here’s the link: https://podm.in/growwithpodium https://podm.in/growwithpodium

Reinventing online commerce | Sachin Bhatia @ Bulbul.tv

1 hr 20 min 39 sec

This week on Founder Thesis Akshay Datt is in conversation with serial entrepreneur and investor Sachin Bhatia. You may know him best for his stint as the CoFounder and CMO at Make My Trip. However Sachin is also the CoFounder of online dating site TrulyMadly.com and, his latest venture, Bulbul.tv Bulbul is a revolutionary video commerce platform that is redefining online shopping by making it fun, engaging and social. At Bulbul, their network of ‘‘experts’, showcase and explain various products and the features in different Indian languages In this episode, Sachin shares his journey from his first job as a sales executive selling water to being a serial founder. Tune in to get inspired and learn from one of the best brains in marketing.

The path from Pashmina to Pixels | Raj Kundra @ JLStream

38 min 58 sec

Online content creation saw a drastic boom when the pandemic struck. This made content creators spend more hours with their gadgets.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Raj Kundra, Founder and CEO, JL Stream, shares his journey.Born and brought up in London, Raj started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 18. After running multiple businesses, he became an entrepreneur in India. In 2020, he launched JL Stream with a mission to enable social media users to grow their outreach, broadcast their talents, and monetize their content. And within four months it has garnered more than half a million downloads and 150,000 monthly users.Tune in to this episode to hear Raj speak about how JL Stream is revolutionizing the online content market in India.Key takeaways:How to become an operator founderMonetization strategy.Importance of networking.

Flying in the future | Prof. Satya Chakravarthy @ The ePlane Company

1 hr 46 min 17 sec

The end of the 2000s saw the rise in radio taxi services. In the next decade, the urban mobility market in India was captured by Ola and Uber. You might wonder what’s in store for commuters in this decadeIn a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Cofounder, and CTO, The ePlane Co, takes us through his amazing journey. A veteran in the Indian aerospace arena, he is heading NCCRD, which is one of the world’s largest combustion research centers and is a member of the advisory board of various startups incubated at IIT Madras.Prof. Satya, along with Pranjal Mehta started The ePlane Co in 2016 and took the aerial route in a bid to solve the evergrowing issues with road infrastructure in urban cities. And that’s not all This air taxi company is ready to test its product in a year or two.Tune in to this episode to hear Prof. Satya speak about how The ePlane Co is planning to disrupt the urban mobility industry with its cuttingedge and costeffective technology.What you must not missExperience of running NCCRD.Future of electric airplanes.The technology behind air taxis.Fundraising journey.

Building Modern Tools For Sales | Abhijeet Vijayvergiya @ Nektar.ai

37 min 25 sec

Any technology aims to make it easier for its users and bring the best out of them. But in the case of sales professionals, it’s the other way round.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Abhijeet Vijayvergiya, Cofounder and CEO, Nektar.ai. He is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and a seasoned SaaS leader with more than a decade of experience in this field.It is wellknown that organizing information about prospects is a challenging task for sales teams across the globe. These professionals painstakingly work towards maintaining CRM databases which in turn hampers their productivity. Tending to this gap, Abhijeet founded Nektar.ai in 2020, with Aravind RS. Nektar.ai is a firstofitskind AIdriven sales productivity solution that helps sales teams by reducing the amount of time they spend on CRM database management and providing analytics that can increase their revenue.Tune in to this episode to hear Abhijeet speak about how Nektar.ai is taking sales into the era of intelligent systems and empowering them to deliver superior outcomes.What you must not missHow does Nektar.ai manage information across channelsSales strategies for B2B companiesFundraise journey

Heralding The Evolution Of Banking-Tech | Mandar Agashe @ Sarvatra Technologies

1 hr 19 min 1 sec

Unified Payments Interface or UPI enables instant and hasslefree fund transfer between accounts and has been one of the biggest disruptors of the Indian FinTech industry.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Mandar Agashe, Founder and Vicechairman, Sarvatra Technologies, a Punebased company, which through its platform, has become the true enabler of India’s digital payments.Mandar started Sarvatra back in 2000 to bring the best banking services to the underbanked people in semiurban and rural cities by providing tech support to the cooperative banks. And thanks to the digital boom and quick smartphone adoption, Sarvatra launched ‘Sarvatra EFT Switch’, a PaaS platformasaservice solution which enables banks to allow UPI and IMPS transactions.Tune in to this episode to hear Mandar speak about how Sarvatra is promoting financial inclusion for the country’s underbanked population through its unique solutions.What you must not missThe concept of PaaS platformasaserviceThe challenges in setting up tech support for coop banks.The impact of demonetization of the business

Scaling Last-Mile Banking | Ajeet Kumar Singh @ Save Solutions

1 hr 7 min

Financial inclusivity is the only way to improve economic growth and reduce poverty. While with the evolution of FinTech and newer technologies, things have certainly improved, still a lot needs to be done at the rural level.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ajeet Kumar Singh, Managing Director and CEO, Save Solutions Pvt Ltd.Founded in 2009, this Biharbased venture is making strides in the Indian financial sector by building a network of business correspondents. Leveraging on this network, Save Solutions focuses on providing access to financial products and services through kiosk banking and customer service points to rural and semiurban unbanked customers.Tune in to this episode to hear Ajeet speak about how Save Solutions is delivering the best financial services by providing lastmile banking services to rural and unbanked communities.What you must not missExperience in setting up CSPs in Naxal areasCollaboration with State Bank of India to scale lending opsExpanding to PAN India presenceVision 2025

Building a $100 billion EdTech Company | Anshuman Singh @ Scaler Academy

1 hr 52 min 17 sec

When we speak about digital, content is indeed the king. But without engagement, the content remains futile.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Anshuman Singh, Cofounder, Scaler Academy, who is on the mission to create the Online Stanford.Anshuman, after his graduation, started working with Facebook as a tech team lead. While recruiting for tech roles in Facebook, he soon realized that the tech education ecosystem in India is broken and fails to equip engineers on what lies ahead. So to prepare techies for job interviews, Anshuman, along with his cofounder Abhimanyu Saxena, started InterviewBit in 2014.It gave rise to another realization that the issue is not with the availability of jobs but with the shortage an industry faces in terms of capable and talented candidates. With this problem in hand, in 2019, Anshuman started Scaler Academy, an upskilling platform that aims to offer highquality technical education and deliver excellent outcomes for its students.Tune in to this episode to hear Anshuman speak about how Scaler Academy is transforming tech education in India and beyond.What you must not missExperience of working with FacebookContent is hygiene, but it doesn’t make you win the education gamePeer learning is THE way to acquire knowledge

Building The Used 2 Wheeler Stack | Sasidhar Nandigam @ CredR

1 hr 0 min 15 sec

‘Karna hai, toh karna hai’ – This is one mantra that our guest today lives byIn this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Sasidhar Nandigam, Cofounder and CEO, CredR, an omnichannel platform for buying and selling used twowheelers.With more than a decade of experience with various venture capitalist funds, his eureka moment came when he had an unpleasant experience in buying a secondhand bike. He, along with his cofounder, Nikhil Jain, started CredR in 2015, with a mission to make personal mobility reasonable and costeffective, which today is the country’s most trusted marketplace for used twowheelers with a presence across seven cities in India.Tune in to this episode to hear Sasidhar speak about how CredR is formalising the fragmented used twowheeler market and changing the way customers buy, sell and trade used twowheelers.What you must not missNothing replaces hard work and commitmentConsumer insights are the foundation of any businessHow does owning the entire value chain improve customer experience

Storytelling for Bharat | Ranjeet Pratap Singh @ Pratilipi

1 hr 16 min 10 sec

The universe is made up of stories, where everyone is a storyteller.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Cofounder and CEO, Pratilipi. He is an alumnus of FMS, Delhi and has worked with Vodafone before starting off with his entrepreneurial journey.Belonging to a modest background, Ranjeet has always been a voracious reader and preferred reading content in Hindi. However, he found it extremely difficult to get the books of his choice online, since most of the websites had English content.To bridge this gap, Ranjeet launched Pratilipi in 2015, as a storytelling platform, primarily focussing on Indian languages, thereby allowing people to share the stories in the language of their choice. And today, Pratilipi is India’s largest vernacular storytelling platform with over 350,000 writers and 28 million monthly active readers in 12 languages.Tune in to this episode to hear Ranjeet speak about how Pratilipi is opening the gateway to vernacular literature and making it easily available for the readers.What you must not missThe power of User Generated ContentMonetization strategyGrowth hack: Simplify your productPlans for expanding into different geographies

Healthcare Meets FinTech | Chris George @ Qube Health

1 hr 15 min 32 sec

It’s 2022 By now, everyone knows that FinTech has taken India by storm and fascinating things will happen when such disruptive technology finds its applications in other sectors.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Chris George, Cofounder and CEO, Qube Health.A serial entrepreneur and an alumnus of NYU’s Stern School of Business, Chris started his entrepreneurial journey at the young age of sixteen. He briefly worked in the USA and came back to India to start his venture, something which he describes as his ‘Swades moment’. Through his personal experiences, Chris identified the gap between healthcare expenses and what all insurance pays for He started Qube Health in 2019, which aims to aggregate FinTech and Healthcare to streamline employee healthcare management by providing primary care, health screening and other noninsurance healthcare services through a single platform.Tune in to this episode to hear Chris talk about how Qube Health is simplifying and changing the way people pay for their healthcare in India.What you must not missChris’ entrepreneurial journeyHis experience of working in the USAQube Health’s fundraising journey and subsequent plans for expansion.

Empowering Community Entrepreneurs | Nipun Goyal @ LikeMinds

59 min 17 sec

Thanks to COVID, Creators’ economy has boomed in the past two years. Worldwide, there are more than fifty million creators. But most of them do not get paid.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Nipun Goyal, Founder and CEO, LikeMinds. He is a serial entrepreneur who has worked in corporate before venturing on this journey.An alumnus of IIT Delhi, Nipun launched his first venture while in college. In 2014, he started Curofy, a networking app that enables the communication between doctors. Post its acquisition, he started working with community entrepreneurs and founded LikeMinds in 2020, with a mission to assist creators in managing and monetizing their communities.Tune in to this episode to hear Nipun talk about how LikeMinds is fuelling India’s Creator Economy to the next level with its simple and easytouse SaaS platform.What you must not missExperience of being a secondtime founder.Why online communities are importantMission 2025 for LikeMinds

Making Robots Human | Nikhil Ramaswamy and Gokul NA @ CynLR

59 min 31 sec

In this era of startups in India, invention, innovation, and disruption have become a reality.Founder Thesis presents you the journey of one such duo of techies who are on a mission to enable robots with humanlike vision, which could unlock endless possibilities.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Nikhil Ramaswamy and Gokul NA, Founders, CynLR, have taken us through their journeys. Nikhil was an urban boy inspired by tech revolutions while Gokul saw automation challenges at a farm and studied the impact of code on real life. After gaining experience at National Instruments, they started CynLR in 2019 and has solved 70 industrial machine vision problems with a 100 success rate, putting it on an exponential growth trajectory.Tune in to this episode to hear Nikhil and Gokul explain cybernetics, what the future will be with robots and how it will alter the business landscape.What you must not missThe challenges to improving Machine Vision.The Paradigm Shift in Robot systems Design.Scalability and Expansion of the CynLR Platform.

Coining the Switch to Crypto | Ashish Singhal @ CoinSwitch Kuber

1 hr 7 min 17 sec

‘To crypto or not to crypto’ remains a burning topic for the regulators in the country, but for startups and investors, it is definitely a hot currency.Founder Thesis brings you the journey of one such founder, who is riding high on this crypto wave. In this edition, Akshay Datt speaks with Ashish Singhal, Founder and CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and the second venture to attain unicorn status in the cryptocurrency sector.A techie at heart, Ashish tried his hands at different innovations and participated and won various hackathons with his now cofounders Govind and Vimal. The idea of building an aggregator of crypto exchanges came from one such hackathon and it came when the RBI imposed a twoyear ban on cryptocurrency. But this did not stop Ashish and he took this product to the global market as a B2B product.However, to educate and make cryptocurrency accessible to Indian users, CoinSwitch Kuber was started in 2020 and is currently valued at USD 1.9 billion and has over 11 million registered users.Tune in to this episode to hear Ashish speak about how CoinSwitch Kuber is making cryptocurrency investing as effortless as ordering food online.What you must not missWhat is a crypto aggregatorBenefits of participating in hackathons organized by VC firms.Building a userfriendly buying experience.Future bets.Optimise for success, be ready for failure.

The Ten Year Itch | Amit Gupta @ Yulu

1 hr 2 min 32 sec

‘Grind in your 20s… Hustle in your 30s… Retire in your 40s.’ Sounds like a perfect plan, rightFounder Thesis brings you the journey of Amit Gupta, the mind behind India’s first unicorn InMobi, who in his current avatar is heading Yulu, the country’s leading shared micromobility service provider.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Amit harks back to his earlier days, when he aspired to start his venture at 30 and retire by 40. However, by the time he started approaching 40, he wanted to give back to society. In 2017 he founded Yulu, an IoTbased bicyclesharing platform that rents out ebikes for firstmile, lastmile, and short distance commutes. The mission was to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in urban cities.Tune in to this episode to hear Amit speak about how Yulu is revolutionizing the way people commute by providing smart, shared, and sustainable mobility solutions.What you must not missEfforts to indigenize and reduce external dependencies.Strategic partnership with Bajaj Auto.Finetuning the business as per the Indian market.How has COVID impacted the businesshttps://thepodium.in/episodes/thetenyearitchamitguptayulu/ Click here to access the transcript.

The Prop-tech Pioneer | Dhruv Agarwala @ Housing.com and PropTiger

1 hr 1 min 21 sec

From being embroiled in controversies to becoming one of the leading companies in the real estate sector, this is the story of a remarkable turnaroundIn this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Dhruv Agarwala, CEO, REA India Pte. Ltd., a company that has Housing.com, Proptiger.com and Makaan.com under its umbrella.An alumnus of Harvard University, Dhruv started his entrepreneurial journey way back in 2006 with iTrust Financial Advisors which laid the foundation for his subsequent venture. In 2011, he started PropTiger.com, a onestop real estate platform for homebuyers to search, shortlist and buy properties.Since then, PropTiger has gone on to become a behemoth in the real estate sector by acquiring Housing.com, which today is the leading realestate portal in India.Tune in to this episode to hear Dhruv speak about his journey of simplifying the home buying experience in India.What you must not missProptiger’s initial marketing plans.How REA’s integration workedConfronting REA’s market uncertainties.The acquisition story of Housing.comIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building The Blue-Collar Hiring Ecosystem | Nimish Sharma @ WorkEx

50 min 49 sec

‘Innovation happens when you work on a problem, but adoption happens only during a crisis.’ – Nimish Sharma WorkExThe pandemic tested us in unimaginable ways. Many around us lost jobs, and as the economy slowed down, unemployment became a serious issue.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Nimish Sharma, Cofounder and CEO, WorkEx, takes us through his journey. He started his entrepreneurial journey way back in 2007 after graduating from IIT Kanpur.Nimish fondly recalls his earlier days, when his passion for aerospace made him quit his job to start Aurora Integrated Systems in 2006, which was one of the earliest drone manufacturing companies in India.In his second innings, he started WorkEx in 2017 to reduce the time taken between candidate discovery and hiring, especially for the blue and grey collar workforce.Tune in to this episode to hear Nimish talk about how WorkEx is democratizing access to the job market through its disruptive AI/ML technology.What you must not missIf you are passionate about something, nothing else matters.WorkEx’s revenue generation model.Fundraising journey.How has COVID impacted the adoption of the WorkEx platform among jobseekers and employers

Going Vegan and Beyond | Abhishek Sinha @ GoodDot

41 min 47 sec

Most of us love animals. But is it easy to live in balance with other living beings without harming themFounder Thesis brings you the journey of a bureaucrat who has taken his love for animals to the next level.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Abhishek Sinha, Cofounder and CEO, Good Dot, takes us through his journey. He has served the Indian Revenue Service before exploring the entrepreneurial route.Since his earlier days, Abhishek has always faced an existential crisis and has tried to discover his purpose in life. This led to him quitting his cushy government job and starting GoodDot in 2016, with a primary goal of developing ethical, sustainable, and crueltyfree substitutes for animal meat.Tune in to this episode to hear Abhishek speak about how GoodDot is aggressively working towards making Veganism a reality in India.What you must not missYour passion is your true calling.Veganism: An ancient tradition.How to scale a business from a Tier 3 cityWhat is GoodDO

FinTech for Gen-Z | Sambhav Jain @ FamPay

1 hr 8 min 46 sec

Catch them young, watch them growGreat thought But when it comes to managing money, it’s always the elders who have taken decisions. And that is the sole reason that as adults, people still struggle with savings, taxes and investments and why financial literacy in India is a tough nut to crack.In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks with Sambhav Jain, Founder, FamPay, who is on a mission to provide financial freedom to teenagers.Sambhav is a graduate of IIT Roorkee and always aspired to start his venture. He collaborated with Kush Taneja, his fellow batchmate, to start FamPay, which was selected by Y Combinator in 2019. And within two years it has more than 2 million registered users and recently raised a whopping USD 38 million, making it the largest Series A fundraise in India by firsttime entrepreneurs.Tune in to this episode to hear Sambhav talk about how FamPay is empowering GenZ towards financial literacy with its high tech but an easytouse platform.What you must not missInternships: A way of understanding how young startups operate.Experience of getting mentored by Y Combinator.How can one use a numberless cardFundraising journey.

Rising from the ashes | Rahul Pagidipati @ Zebpay

1 hr 17 min 34 sec

In India, Cryptocurrency is one of those tech innovations that has hit more headlines than any other From influencers promoting it on social media to companies sponsoring major sporting events, the popularity of these virtual digital currencies has risen in India.In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks with Rahul Pagidipati, CEO, ZebPay, India’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. He is a secondgeneration Indian American and has been a part of the global startup ecosystem for the past 20 years.Rahul fondly recalls his earlier days when he started numerous ventures in India and the US and fell in love with investing. This is when he came across Bitcoin and Blockchain and decided to invest in ZebPay. Little did he know that the company will face uncertainty due to RBI’s ban on cryptocurrency. However, in 2020, after a twoyear hiatus, ZebPay was relaunched, with Rahul taking over as CEO.Tune in to this episode to hear Rahul speak about how ZebPay is disrupting the way people transact and invest with its groundbreaking financial innovations.Key takeaways:Experience of running a venture in India in the late 90s.India’s response to cryptocurrency.The ZebPay’s survival story.

Taking BNPL To The Masses | Vikas Garg @ Paytail

1 hr 21 min 31 sec

BNPL is a wideopen market with rooted players and startups securing the pole position. But a large chunk of retailers is still not covered by any of them.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Vikas Garg, Cofounder, Paytail. He is an alumnus of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, New Delhi, and had a decade long experience in the BFSI sector before stepping into entrepreneurship. In a bid to provide a level field for offline buyers and sellers with large online retailers, Vikas started Paytail in December 2020. Paytail focuses on building a network of significant financial institutions to cater to the preapproved loan offers for consumers. And within two years, it has a network of more than 20,000 merchants and over 100,000 consumers.Tune in to this episode to hear Vikas speak about how Paytail capitalizes on Tier 2 and Tier 3 retailers to offer BNPL through a techdriven approach.What you must not missThe core idea behind Paytail.Journey to find the creditors.Association with other MNCs.Challenges faced by Paytail.

Ushering In White Revolution 2.0 | Ranjith Mukundan @ Stellapps Technologies

1 hr 38 min 48 sec

‘Milk is the largest crop on this planet and there is a strong need for technological interventions.’ Convinced by this, a group of exWipro employees perceived digitizing the AgriDairy supply chain as an opportunity.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ranjith Mukundan, Cofounder and CEO, Stellapps Technologies Private Limited an IITMadras incubated startup which provides endtoend dairy technology solutions.Ranjith is an alumnus of Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago and has worked with Wipro for more than a decade. In 2011, he along with a group of IIT graduates started Stellapps to address the major problems in the milk production process and help dairy farmers and cooperatives to maximize profits with minimum effort.Tune in to this episode to hear Ranjith speak about how Stellapps is leveraging AI/ML to revolutionize the dairy supply chain in India.What you must not missRanjith’s interest in M2M space.The business model of Stellapps.Finding productmarket fit.Tech ensures supply chain integrity.

Bridging Strategy And Execution | Abhinav Chugh @ Peoplebox

1 hr 30 min 21 sec

Tech giant Google uses an approach called OKR to manage its employees which hastaken the startup world by storm. Abhinavs venture is a platform that helpsfastgrowing companies adopt the OKR methodology. This episode is a masterclassin both OKRs and building a vertical SaaS business.Know about: First startup and learnings Ideation of Peoplebox Concept and benefits of 1on1 Features of OKRIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting.Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Startup That Started With An IPO | Shachindra Nath @ U GRO Capital

1 hr 20 min 10 sec

Unlike most founders who first have an idea, then build a prototype and thenraise funds, Shachindra started big by directly acquiring a publicly listedfinancial institution that he transformed into U GRO Capital.In this episode, youll hear about some unique innovations of this fintechplatform that is at the forefront of the digitization of SMEs.If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Chaos. Code. Clear. | Srivatsan Chari @ Clear

1 hr 11 min 41 sec

A trailblazer in the Fintech SaaS space, Srivatsan started Clear in an era whenno one seriously considered giving up stable jobs to become founders. It wasamong the first Indiafocused startups to get into the Y Combinator program,Silicon Valleys foremost startup accelerator in 2014.Srivatsan narrates his journey of building the startup that is demystifyingpersonal finances for Indians.Know about: 1. Building the first version of Clear 2. Coding tax laws 3. Pitch to Y Combinator 4. Figuring out the pricing strategyIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Mom Who Built A New-Age Brand | Malika Sadani & Mohit Sadani @ The Moms Co.

1 hr 3 min 56 sec

The Moms Company was born out of a Moms desire to equip the Indian community ofmothers with safe, natural, toxinfree products for their babies. A personalcrisis led Malika Sadani to build the D2C brand that is today a leader in theMom and Baby Care segment.A passionate mother at heart, Malika Sadani is a banker turned entrepreneur andMohit Sadani is a McKinsey Consultant turned entrepreneur. Over a short span oftime, the couple has built a sharp brand that in Malikas own words is notanother FMCG brand but a brand for the mother.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, the founder duo speaks about theirjourney, the genesis of The Moms Co, and the fundamentals of building a new agebrand.Dont miss: Defining the brand book Combining ecommerce social media Marketing strategy shopinshop model inside hospitals Shift to retailIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Dreaming With Resilience | Ankit Garg @ Wakefit

1 hr 26 min 32 sec

In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ankit Garg, Founderof Wakefit, one of the largest home solutions companies in India today.From failing miserably in his first venture to building a healthy, sustainablebusiness that is set to clock in a revenue of 1000 crores, this is a story thatchronicles how to optimise failureAn alumnus of IIT Roorkee, Ankits first inning as an entrepreneur fell flatwhen a big MNC acquired his customer base. However, Ankit was not one to giveup. By using his learnings coupled with careful experimentation, he created theD2C brand that is today disrupting traditional industry giants in the sleepsegment.Tune in to this episode to hear Ankits phenomenal journey of building aresilient customerobsessed business.What you must not miss: Early phase as an entrepreneur Turning point in life Inefficiency of market Ankits strategy playbookIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Making India Healthier | Madan Somasundaram @ Sugar.Fit

1 hr 3 min 22 sec

In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Madan Somasundaram,Founder of Sugar.Fit. Sugar.Fit is a healthtech startup that aims to reversediabetes through a consumercentric datadriven digital health experience.An alumnus of The Wharton School and Harvard Business School, Madan has acommendable career working with J.P Morgan as an investment banker. He startedSugar.Fit with the objective of finding a stellar fullstack solution to asingular problem that creates massive impact for millions of people.Around 80 million Indians are said to suffer from diabetes. Type 2 diabetes isthe most common form which requires lifelong monitoring of sugar levels as nocure has been identified yet. Sugar Fits ecosystem combines medical expertisewith deep technology to reverse this type of diabetes.Tune in to this episode to hear Madan explain how Sugar Fit is blending datascience and health science to enhance metabolic health.What you must not miss Continuous Glucose Monitoring Technology CGM Why getting right domain expertise matters Learnings from Atomic Habits

The Taboo-Busting D2C Brand | Deep Bajaj @ Sirona Hygiene

1 hr 5 min 44 sec

In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Deep Bajaj, Founderof Sirona Hygiene. Sirona Hygiene is Indias leading feminine hygiene brandwhose flagship product PeeBuddy is the countrys first female urination device,finding a mention in the Limca Book of Records.Unafraid of taking risks, Deep forayed into the entrepreneurial world at a veryyoung age. After trying his hand at various ventures, he found his calling on aroad trip with friends in 2013. Sirona was launched to address the problemsfaced by women due to lack of access to clean, public toilets.Today, this D2C brand, with its categorydefining products, is disrupting thespace of feminine hygiene. It has recently expanded into the female safetysegment too.Tune in to this episode to hear the resilient journey of Deep Bajaj and hisvision behind building and scaling Sirona.What you must not miss The 1000 day principle Evolution of Sirona Customer acquisition strategyIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Streamlining Trade Finance | Ramaswamy Iyer @ Vayana Network

1 hr 33 min 29 sec

Digital Lending is having a substantial growth in India, with several startupsavailing loans to small and microenterprises that often get denied by banks andNBFCs.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ramaswamy Iyer,Founder and CEO, Vayana Network – an electronic network that provides easy,digital access to lowcost financing to every enterprise, from largecorporations to MSMEs.Ram is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and had an experience of over 20 years ofentrepreneurship before starting Vayana Network. His vision was to create anecosystem where financing is embedded in a transaction where it becomesautomatic, convenient and almost invisible in any B2B trade.Founded in 2017, Vayana is now Indias largest 3rd party platform for TradeFinance and has a network of over 50,000 clients and 2 million processedtransactions in over 600 cities in India.Tune in to this episode to hear Ram speak about his vision behind providingfinancial services to both large and small corporates. What you must not miss Behind the name Vayana Rams journey before Vayana Vayanas tieup with distributorsIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting.Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Building The SaaS layer On Payments | Byas Nambisan @ Ezetap

52 min 17 sec

Ezetap was created by some of the biggest names in the startup industry today, including Sanjay Swamy, who manages Prime Venture Partners, and Abhijit Bose, who was formerly the India Head of Whatsapp. Byas shares his experience of steering the company through turbulent times and his own learnings from the journey. Ezetap was recently acquired by Razorpay.Know about: Winning a contract with SBI Becoming device agnostic Transition from CFO to CEO way of thinking Tactics for a successful acquisitionRead the text version of the episode here https://thepodium.in/episodes/buildingthesaaslayeronpaymentsbyasnambisanezetap/

Enterprising Bots For Enterprises | Bhavin Shah @ Moveworks

43 min 22 sec

Bhavin has had an amazing journey growing up in the Bay area, living and breathing the startup culture of Silicon Valley. His first venture was in the Edtech space, his second venture was acquired by LinkedIn. His present venture, Moveworks is worth 2.1 billion dollars and is operating in the massive enterprise productivity space.Know about: Experiences at LeapFrog Building Refresh and getting acquired by LinkedIn Product journey Switching from B2C to B2BClick here to read the text version of the episode https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fwz6XVi8Ypq4sqSLkLkQLdK5t7Dx4WJV4LSFmUa7g/edituspsharing

Powering The Data Stacks Of Fintechs | Nageen Kommu @ Digitap

42 min 17 sec

Digitap helps startups in gathering data on customers across many variables, allowing them to make better risk management and customer engagement decisions. Nageen recounts the experience of his first business, which failed, and finally discovering product market fit in his second venture. He discusses the importance of consumer data and the various ways in which they help their clients with data.Know about: Experience of building first startup NACH mandate Building a credit engine Customer acquisition tactics📌 Read the text version of the episode here https://thepodium.in/episodes/poweringthedatastacksoffintechsnageenkommudigitap/

Pioneering The Asset-light Broadband Network | Vivek Raina @ Excitel

40 min 27 sec

Excitel is the David facing Goliaths like Reliance Jio and Airtel in the battle for getting internet to our homes. And despite such large competitors, Excitel has continued to scale up rapidly. Vivek talks about the nuts and bolts of bringing the internet to our homes, and how he found a niche in a competitive market and managed to thrive in a highly capitalefficient manner.Know about: Fair use policy Uberization of broadband Marketing strategy hyperlocal effort Flywheel of growth

Using Bits and Bytes To Move People | Kapil Raizada @ IntrCity

1 hr 10 min 52 sec

This episode is a fascinating story of the classic startup journey you start with an idea, which works to an extent, and then you pivot and discover the much bigger idea. Disruptive mobility startup founder, Kapil shares insights about finding product market fit, building with a datadriven mindset, and scaling with capital efficiency.Know about: Building a product for train travelers Problems of the bus industry Branding buses and improving customer experience Scaling up supply

A Healthtech's Journey Of Finding Product-Market Fit | Kiran Kalakuntla @ Ekincare

1 hr 10 min 8 sec

Imagine a world where a standard health checkup was more sophisticated than what your doctor can do for you today. Kirans venture, Ekincare is doing just that. Kiran talks about the challenges of finding the right business model, of raising funds, and the insights he got along the way about how to solve healthcare challenges for India. This episode is really a masterclass in finding productmarket fit.Know about: The relativity model of healthcare Competitive differentiation datafirst approach Target market Strategy for blitzscaling

Fantasy Gaming for Trading & Investing | Raghu Kumar @ Rain Platforms

44 min 33 sec

Did you know that only 4 of Indians have a Demat account Compared to that, 40 of Americans have a Demat account. This is the massive opportunity that Raghu Kumar is chasing with his second venture Rain Platforms. The goal is to make the intimidating world of trading more comfortable. Raghu talks about some of the innovative platforms that Rain is building to help more Indians become active investors, including a platform for copy investing and a real money gaming platform for mock trading.Know about: Hedge funds Social investing platform, Trading Rooms Guaranteed price pool Capital raising strategy

Democratizing Concierge Wealth Management | Ujjwal Jain @ WealthDesk

1 hr 5 min 59 sec

Most headlines celebrate unicorn valuations of startups, but what we really need to celebrate is when a startup generates a healthy return on investment for its investors and founders. This episode is a celebration of a founder who raised less than 5 mn dollars while building his startup which eventually got acquired for 75 mn dollars.Know about: Treasury and its importance after 2009 financial crisis Choosing a wealth basket for greater diversity Platform strategy and customer journey Acquisition by PhonePe

Account Aggregation: the next UPI | Kumar Srivatsan @ Fego

1 hr 9 min 1 sec

Account aggregation is a process that enables one to gather all their financial data from multiple sources into a single location. This technology is set to change our relationship with finance fundamentally. Fego is an OpenFinance platform that is building products on the account aggregator framework.Know about: 2 types of lending models History of account aggregator framework Reasons for multiple account aggregator operators Finance is no longer a separate vertical but an embedded feature

Fixing the employability gap | Santanu Paul @ TalentSprint

1 hr 8 min 9 sec

TalentSprint is the market leader in highend deeptech boot camps for young working professionals, helping them acquire newage tech skills. Santanu talks about the journey of building up TalentSprint with very little external capital, pivoting from an offline business to an online business, being acquired by NSE, and the road ahead.Know about: We collect before we deliver building a capitalefficient business The phase of shutting down the business Fateturning moment launching the first AI machinery program Fintech for Edtech

The Intimate Brand For Millennials | Neha Kant and Pankaj Vermani @ Clovia

1 hr 16 min 9 sec

Innerwear is no longer andar ki baat, its comfort ki baat. Helping modern women feel confident and complete in their skin is Clovia, one of Indias premier D2C lifestyle and personal care brands. Pankaj and Neha started Clovia more than a decade back, in an era when none of the enabling ecosystems around startups existed. Yet they built a successful business in a very capitalefficient way, using technology to scale fast. This episode is a masterclass on how to build an established brand in a sector that could be considered taboo by many.Know about: Figuring out the whitespace Building the supply chain Outcomes of the planning function Trial sales ratio

The Asset-light Manufacturing Unicorn | Amrit Acharya @ Zetwerk

1 hr 2 min 27 sec

India never had a strong manufacturing base. But thats changing today, thanks to the improved infrastructure. Zetwerk is a managed marketplace for contract manufacturing. The company partners with industrial and consumer businesses to create their goods through a global network of small manufacturers. Tune in to know about the evolution of manufacturing and Amrits journey of building what he describes as a company running thousands of factories through softwareKnow about: Idea of Zetwerk Pivoting to a managed marketplace Future roadmap Upcoming trends in the manufacturing sector

The OG Tech Disruptor | Bhavin Turakhia @ Zeta

1 hr 13 min 26 sec

This episode traces almost a threedecade evolution of Indias startup landscape. Bhavin Turakhia is a serial entrepreneur who has been honored as a 2011 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has been ranked as the 95th richest person in India in 2016, according to Forbes. His largest venture is Zeta, a unicorn in the banking tech which is a nextgen credit card processing platform.Know about: Select the right problem from the right space Ideation of Zeta Partnering with HDFC Organization building

Building The Lending Stack For Bharat | Anil K Pinapala @ Vivifi

56 min 39 sec

After a successful entrepreneurial stint in the US, Anil headed to India when he realized the bigger opportunity in digital lending lay here. Vivifi is built with the mission of offering formal credit to the millions of Indians outside the umbrella of institutionalized banking. He talks about his learnings, differences between Indian and American regulations. This conversation is a masterclass on building a lending business with a regulatory framework, something very few companies have managed to pull off.Know about: Rocking the American dream Synthetic fraud Building the flagship product Future expansion plans

Disrupting The B2B Manufacturing Market | Sachin Agarwal @ Bizongo

1 hr 9 min 20 sec

Traditionally businesses that would need to buy custommade products would need to go through a lengthy process of finding vendors, sharing an RFP, finalizing a vendor, sharing a purchase order, etc. This is the market that Bizongo is disrupting. Bizongo helps companies buy custommanufactured products through an online platform with complete visibility and dependability. This episode is a masterclass on solving problems in the manufacturing space, shifting consumer behavior, and building with first principles approach.Know about: Attracting top investors Being a trade enablement platform Combination of SaaS and Ecommerce The framework of WhyWhatHow

Building The Pipes For Fintech | Prabhtej Singh Bhatia @ Falcon

52 min 9 sec

Every company is going to be a Fintech company Prabhtej talks about the Fintech revolution that India is experiencing and how Falcon is selling shovels in the gold rush. Falcon facilitates fintechs, startups, and BFSI firms in introducing new financial solutions. Tune in to know how this embedded finance startup is disrupting the way of building modern fintechsKnow about: Figuring out the whitespace Shifting focus from B2B to B2C Concept of payment processing Revenue model

Gamifying Edtech For Kids | Prerna Jhunjhunwala @ Creative Galileo

43 min 37 sec

Prerna was just in her twenties when she decided to start a playschool. Over the next five years, that playschool dominated its category in Singapore, and was eventually acquired for almost 35 mn dollars Prerna did all of this with almost no external funding. She is now running her second startup through which she aims to impact the lives of millions of children in India and Southeast Asia.Know about: Starting a preschool in Singapore Launching the app Gaining traction through performance marketing Future roadmap

Building The SME Credit Platform For Bharat | Manish Kumar @ KredX

1 hr 24 min 18 sec

Cashflow is the lifeblood of business. Lack of it means one has to choose between paying salaries, stocking up on raw materials, and meeting customers demands. KredX helps businesses get paid on their invoices within a few days instead of months. This practice is called invoice discounting, and KredX has made the procedure frictionless with the help of technology. From working in HSBC and Capital One to building KredX, Manish speaks about his journey with Akshay Datt.Know about: Stint at HSBC KredX score Fundraising Journey Becoming an operating system for supply chain finance

Building A Global EdTech For Kids | Ravi Bhushan @ BrightChamps

55 min 43 sec

Indias EdTech industry is expected to grow to 30 billion in the next decade. Ravi built BrightChamps with a very first principle view of solving educational outcomes for children and equipping them with 21stcentury skills. He is an IITian who spent a decade and a half in various startups building their technology and product. Listen on for some fascinating insights into the future of learningKnow about: Finding his calling and zeroing down on kids vertical Product roadmap Importance of LTV/CAC ratio Acquisition strategy

Making Hemp A Household Product | Avnish Pandya @ Bombay Hemp Company

1 hr 33 min 43 sec

Cannabis is a controversial ingredient to base your buisness on, given the manystereotypes around it. However, that didnt deter Avnish from going the extramile to build an ethically and scientifically driven company that has beenawarded The Social Innovation Leadership Award. Listen on to this masterclass onall things hemp.Know about: Indigenous uses of Cannabis The incident of wearing Cannabis Process of launching Ayurvedic products Acquiring customers differently

Managing $3 Billion Of Wealth | Mukesh Kalra @ ET Money

1 hr 16 min 14 sec

Mukesh Kalra speaks about how to scale up using a productled growth approachand how his venture is challenging the status quo of the entire financialservice industry.Know about: Stint at InMobi, Indias first tech unicorn Factors for running a successful Fintech business Mutual fund as customer acquisition tool Personalising investing strategiesIf you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also thegenerous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasterstaking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting.Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up:https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Making India Wealthier | Atul Shinghal @ Scripbox

47 min 7 sec

One of the pioneering fintechs in the wealth management space, Scripbox started over a decade ago. Atul talks about his journey of building two highly impactful startups in the last decade. He built up Scripbox as the leading HNI wealth management fintech in India, and Probe Information as a leading B2B SaaS tool used by most banks and NBFCs in India.Know about: Report writing on private companies Wealth manager with a digital DNA Pricing strategy Marketing playbook

Making Students Atmanirbhar | Prashant Bhonsle @ Kuhoo

1 hr 13 min 12 sec

Kuhoo is a student loan fintech NBFC platform that aims to democratize education for all. Prashant is a veteran of the lending industry, having a track record of building up HDFCs student lending business with some enviable numbers. This conversation covers the evolution of lending in India through Prashants own multidecade experience and offers fascinating insights about using first principles to disrupt the traditional way of doing business.Know about: Education loan is a bleeding portfolio Insights into financial literacy of young India Zero to One journey Getting leads and reducing CACClick here to read the text version of the episode https://thepodium.substack.com/p/transcriptmakingstudentsatmanirbharsdpf

Creating a crypto ecosystem for the masses | Ramkumar Subramaniam @ GuardianLink

1 hr 5 min 49 sec

The world of cryptocurrency is currently going through the transition from being something for hardcore enthusiasts to being a mass market technology, and one of the companies aiding that transition is GuardianLink. Ramkumar has been an early participant in the cryptocurrency revolution, having entered this space 7 years ago, and in this fascinating conversation, we learn about how the space has evolved to reach where it is today.Insights shared: How the technology behind crypto works Smart Contracts and understanding the merge in ethereum Real world applications of Crypto Monetizing NFTs through gamingFor bonus content related to the episode, head over to Thepodium.substack.com

Battery Technology For Bharat | Akshay Singhal @ Log9 Materials

1 hr 4 min 12 sec

One of the hardest problems in the electric vehicle space is the battery tech. The battery can account for as much as 50 of the cost of an EV. Dr. Singhals background in fundamental research on material sciences makes him uniquely suited to crack this problem. He talks about building and scaling Log9 Materials.Know about: UV disinfection Battery technology Partnership with Omega Seiki Challenges in personal mobilityClick here to read the text version of the episode https://thepodium.substack.com/p/transcriptbatterytechnologyforsdpf

Content, Community and Commerce For Pet Parents | Varun Sadana @ Supertails

1 hr 0 min 19 sec

Supertails is a trailblazer in the pet care category, taking the approach of building a fullstack platform. Varun traces his journey from ideation to gotomarket and talks about the macroeconomic trends that he is betting on and the amazing metrics of a petcare ecommerce business.Know about: Insights gained during the pandemic Product offering Building the pet relationship manager team Funding journeyClick here to read the text version of the episode https://open.substack.com/pub/thepodium/p/transcriptcontentcommunityandr1jfszhutmcampaignpostutmmediumweb

Enabling better health outcomes at scale | Vishal Gondal @ GOQii

35 min 23 sec

GoQii is a leader in the healthtech space, having raised more than 100 mn dollars till date from top VCs. Vishal leveraged his understanding of gaming to make gamification the heart of Goqii. He recollects his journey of building GoQii as a secondtime founder.Insights shared: GTM and pricing of health tech products and services How healthcare management differs from insurance Metrics of a health tech business Dont find structure advice for aspiring foundersAdditional links: 1. Vishal Gondal: The game is afoot https://www.forbesindia.com/article/workinprogress/vishalgondaltheideasmanisontoanewtrend/38519/1 2. I love chaos, and it is where I thrive, says Vishal Gondal https://www.livemint.com/Companies/XMBYrLYliNxLC1VvXgA3aL/IlovechaosanditiswhereIthrivesaysVishalGondal.html 3. Hardware is not the business at GOQii, healthcare is: Vishal Gondal https://tech.hindustantimes.com/wearables/news/hardwareisnotthebusinessatgoqiihealthcareisvishalgondal71626955512875.html 4. Why healthtech wearable startup GOQii is betting on preventive healthcare https://yourstory.com/2022/02/preventivehealthtechwearablestartupgoqiismartfitnessproducts

The fintech funding playbook | Sandeep Patil @ QED Investors

1 hr 4 min 26 sec

Conversations with VCs are fascinating a VC is able to analyze a startup dispassionately by using his understanding of the market, and his knowledge of what kind of business models scale. This conversation is a masterclass on how to build a startup that attracts global investors.Additional links:1.Companies that can better connect banks and card players look investible https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/somefintechswillfailsoonwellinvestafterthatqed/articleshow/98593253.cmsfrommdr2.The Indian Fintech Sector Looks More Lucrative With Regulations: QED Investors Sandeep Patil https://inc42.com/features/regulatingfintechsectorwillmakeitattractivesandeeppatilqedinvestors/3.How venture firm QED Investors is embracing ESG to strengthen its fintech portfolio https://impactalpha.com/howventurefirmqedinvestorsisembracingesgtostrengthenitsfintechportfolio/4.QED Investors Named to Inc.s 2022 List of FounderFriendly Investors https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221006005645/en/QEDInvestorsNamedtoInc.E28099s2022ListofFounderFriendlyInvestors

The IITian who started a trucking company | Karan Shaha @ Vahak

48 min 35 sec

Vahak aggregates the 3 key stakeholders in the transportation transaction the intermediaries, the truck owners and the companies buying the service. Karan talks about discovering the opportunity and finding the productmarket fit to make Vahak a category leader.Read the text version of the episode. https://www.founderthesis.com/p/theiitianwhostartedatruckingsdpfAdditional links:1.VAHAK: Tapping tech to bring order in logistics space https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/vahaktappingtechtobringorderinlogisticsspace/3030292/2.Vahak aims to transform the Indian road logistics sector https://www.manufacturingtodayindia.com/sectors/vahakaimstotransformtheindianroadlogisticssector3.Bengalurubased Vahak aims to transform road logistics sector using digitisation https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bengalurubasedvahakaimstransformroadlogisticssectorusingdigitisation1748704.How Vahak Plans To Drive A Brighter Future For Indias Lorry Owners https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2022/06/22/howvahakplanstodriveabrighterfutureforindiaslorryowners/sh3790b9293ac8

The One Saas To Rule Them All | Ritish Reddy @ Zluri

1 hr 0 min 53 sec

With the deluge of saas tools available today, and the decentralized nature of work, managing these saas subscriptions becomes an administrative nightmare. This is where a company like Zluri comes in. And while this may sound like a trivial problem, by the end of this episode, you will be convinced that this is a massive opportunity.Additional links: 1. How Zluri is revolutionising SaaS app management https://yourstory.com/2023/03/zlurirevolutionisingsaasappmanagement 2. Zluri Introduces Intelligent Lifecycle Management Platform Designed to Automate User Provisioning for Modern IT Teams https://www.prweb.com/releases/zluriintroducesintelligentlifecyclemanagementplatformdesignedtoautomateuserprovisioningformodernitteams/prweb19135699.htm 3. Employees no longer need to wait for SaaS apps and license approvals as Zluri launches the employee app store https://www.aninews.in/news/business/business/employeesnolongerneedtowaitforsaasappsandlicenseapprovalsaszlurilaunchestheemployeeappstore20220721124829/