The Desi VC with Akash Bhat E124: Sumeet Mehta (Co-founder & CEO, LEAD)
Sumeet Mehta is the co-founder and CEO of LEAD, an edtech company helping digitize and transform affordable private schools to better serve students from middle and low-income groups of families. Before co-founding LEAD, Sumeet was Chief Executive Officer at Zee Learn (2007-2012). He transformed the institution from a pre-school franchise company to an education company with a presence in pre-schools and K-10 schools, and science activity and animation classes. Prior to that, Sumeet spent eight years at Procter & Gamble Singapore, where he was involved in in brand management, leading businesses in Australia, Southeast Asia, and India. Sumeet is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and PEC Chandigarh.
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Episode Notes:
- Introduction (1:40)
- How and why did Sumeet co-found LEAD? (3:08)
- How do you 'figure out' your mission as a founder? (8:18)
- Do founders take time to introspect about their personal growth? If they do, how frequently do they engage in this practice, and what methods do they employ? (14:23)
- How can a founder effectively address and manage their insecurities while continually learning and growing in their role? (19:20)
- What has Sumeet learned about himself over the course of his entrepreneurial journey (24:00)
- The toughest part of building a company (28:36)
- Working with your significant other as a co-founder (32:08)
- Non-negotiables as a founder (34:50)
- Advice Sumeet would offer his younger self (41:11)
Fostering a culture of long-term thinking among employees (39:02)
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Social links:
- Follow Sumeet on Twitter
- Follow LEAD on LinkedIn
- Follow The Desi VC Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Akash Bhat on Twitter
- Follow Akash Bhat on Instagram