118: Missed Swiggy, Backed Mamaearth – Rahul Chowdhri of Stellaris on India’s Next Big Startup | 1947 Rise

Rahul Chowdhri is the co-founder of Stellaris Venture Partners, one of India's leading venture capital firms. Stellaris has backed some of the country's most successful startups, including Mamaearth and Whatfix.00:00 - Top Moments 01:29 - Introduction. 02:51 - Rahul's major influences during early years. 06:11 - Early days and founding story of Stellaris Venture Partners. 08:33 - Rahul meeting Ritesh and Alok. 09:37 - First believer who supported the fund’s launch. 11:44 - Founders who backed the fund and critical inflection point. 13:04 - Evolution of the fund since 2017, investment thesis, check size, and founder profile. 16:16 - Notable investment examples. 18:58 - Future trends in startups and venture capital. 22:30 - Scaling Indian companies from $50 billion to $100 billion+. 24:31 - Rahul's key lessons from 15+ years of investing. 25:15 - Rahul's biggest investment misses and lessons learned. 26:29 - Unique superpower of Ritesh and Alok. 27:32 - Rahul's current investment thesis. 27:55 - Rahul's desired changes in the startup ecosystem. 31:18 - Role of the Indian diaspora in scaling businesses from $10 billion to $200 billion+. 33:58 - Rahul's advice for Indians abroad considering opportunities in India. 36:16 - Changes over the last 20 years since moving to India. 38:34 - Steps to succeed in venture capital. 41:20 - Biggest challenges in building a fund. 42:37 - Rahul's personal obsessions outside of work. 43:44 - Rahul's essential life hack. 44:19 - Common misconceptions about Rahul. 45:30 - Rahul's work interests if money and attention were irrelevant. 46:27 - Three ideal dinner guests and reasons for the choice. 🔗 CONNECT WITH Rahul Chowdhri👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulchowdhri/🐦 Twitter- https://x.com/rchowdhri🔗 CONNECT WITH SHIVA💌 Sign up to my weekly email newsletter - https://1947tech.substack.com/🎥 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfiQ...🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/shivassangwan🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/1947Rise👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-sin...🎙 ABOUT THE PODCASTOur purpose is to help startups go mainstream in 🇮🇳!1947 Rise Podcast is helping in accelerating the speed of reverse brain drainand 1947 Operators Podcast is helping in increasing the number of operator-angels in the startup ecosystem.🎧 LISTEN FOR FREE Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3KI3bZiSpotify - https://spoti.fi/3AEO5z5🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW.