Founder Thesis What VCs Really Fund: Rajiv Srivatsa (Antler India) on PMF, GTM & AI Disruption
How did Rajiv Srivatsa go from building one of India’s most beloved furniture brands, Urban Ladder, to backing the next wave of founders at Antler India? In this episode of the Founder Thesis Podcast, we explore his journey through IIT, Infosys, Yahoo, Urban Ladder, and finally into venture capital, while uncovering timeless lessons for entrepreneurs navigating India’s startup ecosystem.
Rajiv Srivatsa’s story is one of resilience, customer obsession, and reinvention. As the co-founder of Urban Ladder, he pioneered India’s online furniture revolution before steering the company through a brutal funding winter. Today, as Founding Partner of Antler India, Rajiv is betting early on founders building across AI, consumer, fintech, and deeptech. In this candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Rajiv reflects on his early failures, the product insights he carried from Yahoo, the hard pivots at Urban Ladder, and why India’s next unicorns will come from capital-efficient, contrarian founders. For anyone building, operating, or investing in India, this episode offers a masterclass in founder mindset and startup survival.
Key Highlights:
- How Rajiv built Urban Ladder into India’s top omni-channel furniture brand
- Lessons from steering a startup through India’s funding winter
- Why Antler India is betting big on AI and pre-seed founders
- Insights on product management, culture, and customer obsession
- The future of India’s startup ecosystem and Rajiv’s contrarian takes
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00:00 – Rajiv Srivatsa’s startup journey begins
05:15 – Lessons from IIT, Infosys & IIM Bangalore
12:40 – Yahoo years and the decline of a giant
19:10 – Founding Urban Ladder and scaling furniture e-commerce
27:45 – Surviving India’s funding winter & tough pivots
36:20 – Urban Ladder’s exit to Reliance Retail
43:05 – Launching Antler India and early bets on AI
51:50 – Future of Indian startups & Rajiv’s advice