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)
