The Hard Truth About VC Funding — Venkat @ Inflexor Ventures

How did Venkat Vallabhaneni turn decades of entrepreneurial grit into building one of India’s leading deep-tech venture funds? In this episode, we decode the journey of Inflexor Ventures and the playbook behind spotting India’s most investable startups.

Venkat Vallabhaneni, Managing Partner at Inflexor Ventures, has lived the full arc—Wall Street technologist, founder with multiple exits, scale leader at Bank of America India, and now VC backing some of India’s most disruptive companies like Atomberg, PlayShifu, Entropik, and Bellatrix Aerospace. In this candid conversation with Akshay Datt on the Founder Thesis Podcast, Venkat shares how his founder scars shaped his VC thesis, why clarity of founder maturity matters more than technology alone, and what really makes a startup “investable.” At a time when India’s venture ecosystem is rebounding, his insights on cap tables, diligence discipline, and scaling through uncertainty are gold for founders, operators, and investors alike.

Key Highlights

• How Venkat scaled Bank of America India tech ops to 6,500+ people before turning investor
• Lessons from building and exiting multiple ventures, from industrial batteries to telemedicine
• The inside story of setting up Parampara Fund and Inflexor Ventures
• What makes a company “fundable”—founder maturity, GTM clarity, and revenue traction
• Portfolio deep-dives: Atomberg’s growth, PlayShifu’s global SaaS play, and Bellatrix’s space-tech bets
• Advice to founders: cap table discipline, competing with global rivals, and not giving up too early

Subscribe to the Founder Thesis Podcast
Follow us on LinkedIn for exclusive content
Visit founderthesis.com for more founder stories

00:00 - Venkat Vallabhaneni’s Journey to Inflexor Ventures
05:15 - From Wall Street to Indian Entrepreneurship
13:40 - Building & Exiting Companies in India
20:30 - Setting Up Bank of America India Tech Ops
27:50 - Why Angel Investing Led to Parampara & Inflexor
34:10 - What Makes a Startup Truly Investable
42:30 - Inside Inflexor’s Portfolio: Atomberg, PlayShifu & More
50:20 - Advice to Founders on Cap Tables & Growth
56:45 - The Future of Deep Tech VC in India

Venkat Vallabhaneni, Inflexor Ventures, Parampara Capital, Atomberg growth story, PlayShifu AR toys, Entropik AI emotion recognition, Bellatrix Aerospace propulsion, India venture capital 2025, deep tech startups India, VC funding India 2025, Akshay Datt podcast, Founder Thesis Podcast, India startup funding rebound, SME IPO India 2025, SEBI AIF regulations, Indian startup ecosystem, venture fund economics, what makes a company fundable, early stage VC India, venture capital advice for founders