India's manufacturing sector, which contributes 18% of the country’s GDP, is on the cusp of change. This highly labor intensive sector, which is plagued with logistical and technical issues, is undergoing a transformation as workers upskill and companies start to digitize their processes to improve efficiency. In 2018, Amrit Acharya, Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Vishal Chaudhary, and Rahul Sharma launched Zetwerk, a B2B manufacturing network that offers companies manufacturing solutions across a wide variety of products. On this episode of Moonshot, we speak with Amrit Acharya, Co-Founder and CEO of Zetwerk and Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director at Sequoia India, about how the startup is taking a bold bet to bring a centuries-old industry into the digital age.

Show Notes: 

• Fall in love with unsolved problems (5:40)
• “We built exactly what you wanted.”: The challenges of selling software in India (9:40)
• The answer to how you pivot your startup lies in user behavior (11:15)
• Taking on a centuries-old industry (16:28)
• Finding opportunity in adversity (20:24)
• Taking a software approach to building hardware (among other things) (23:39)
• Running an international business without an overseas footprint (27:30)
• “Done is better than perfect.” (29:30)
• Showcasing India’s manufacturing potential (33:28)
• Paying it forward with Zetwerk Build (34:34)