Management style and hiring approach

In this episode, Utham Gowda, Founder and Group CEO of Captain Fresh, reveals one of the most dramatic startup transformations in Indian agritech. After raising $90 million and hitting $100 million in revenue, Utham did the unthinkable - he admitted to investors that Captain Fresh wasn't worth its $500 million valuation and shut down the entire domestic business. What followed was a masterclass in radical honesty, strategic M&A, and global expansion.   

He shares the journey in this candid conversation with host Akshay Datt, unpacking how Captain Fresh went from domestic marketplace to global seafood conglomerate, achieving profitability with 3,421 crore revenue in FY25 while competitors like eFishery collapsed in fraud scandals. From wiring $49 million on a flight to acquiring 10 companies with zero debt, from living on 50,000 rupees monthly to building a $2 million revenue-per-employee machine, this is the playbook for building anti-fragile B2B platforms in the age of supply chain nationalism and capital scarcity.  

What You'll Learn:  

👉How Utham Gowda built Captain Fresh into a $600M+ seafood platform and survived India's funding winter with radical business model honesty 

👉The equity swap M&A strategy that acquired $120M+ in companies with zero debt and zero management changes, tripling EBITDA in acquired businesses 

👉Why Captain Fresh exited India's $100M domestic market and how the global pivot to US and Europe unlocked 145% revenue growth and profitability 

👉How Trump's tariffs accidentally validated Captain Fresh's origin-agnostic supply chain, enabling a 45-day flip from 66% Asia to 66% LatAm sourcing 

👉The "Lion vs Cow" founder philosophy behind achieving $2 million revenue per employee and targeting 27-28% ROCE by FY27 

👉Inside the collapse of eFishery's $1.4B valuation fraud and why boring tech beats fake tech in B2B physical goods businesses

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