Prime Venture Partners Podcast

Sanjeev Bikhchandani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjeev-bikhchandani-501261/) Founder and Vice Chairman of Naukri (https://www.naukri.com/) chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .In this conversation, they discuss raising funds, customer insights, capital efficiency and international competition.Sanjeev Bikhchandani is the Founder and now the Vice Chairman of Info Edge, the owner of Naukri.com India’s largest job portal. It is also known to be the first Internet Company to list on the Indian stock exchanges.Info Edge also owns web sites like Jeevansathi.com, 99acres.com, Brijj.com, Naukrigulf.com, Shiksha.com, Quadrangle and Firstnaukri.com.Listen to the podcast to learn about1:20 - Capital efficiency & building Naurki.com4:45 - How entrepreneurs can increase their odds of not being beaten by money7:00 - Customer insights that led to formation of Naukri & Zomato12:00 - Crowdsourcing customer feedback in real time14:00 - How naukri built a virtuous cycle as a moat16:44 - Customer-led innovation Vs Competition-led Innovation18:30 - Why Indian Businesses need Feet on the street24:20 - Why customer’s money is more important than investor’s moneyRead the complete transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/sanjeev-bikhchandani-founder-infoedge-customer-insights-innovation-investor-money/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Miten is Chief Strategy Officer at Times Internet chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .In this conversation, they explore the opportunities on Future internet landscape.Listen to the podcast to learn about1:15 - Times internet & Times Bridge7:45 - People reading e-papers in the age of apps11:43 - Building a viable ad supported business14:08 - Truecaller & the toothbrush test17:40 - What makes India a unique market when it comes to regional content consumption20:00 -  New business opportunities targeting the change in content consumption22:03 - India first perspective online communities as a large opportunity26:00 - How to think about exitsRead the complete transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/miten-sampat-chief-strategy-officer-times-internet-future-internet-landscape/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Paras Chopra, (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paraschopra/) Founder & Chairman, Wingify (https://wingify.com/) chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .Paras Chopra, Founder & Chairman - Wingify - With a background in machine learning, Paras started Wingify in early 2009 to enable businesses design and deploy great customer experiences for their websites and apps. He's a gold medalist from Delhi College of Engineering and has been featured twice in the Forbes 30 under 30 list - India and Asia.Listen to the podcast to learn about2:30 - When an engineer decided to learn about marketing7:30 - Why passion is required & what’s tricky about it7:45 - Find your idea by discovering what other people are passionate about16:00 -  Why hiring is one of the the most underrated skill that an entrepreneur needs to develop19:15 - ‘Hire to solve specific business problems not to impress people’22:30 - ‘Don’t lower your standards but give people space to make mistakes to grow’26:00 - How writing helps Paras to think clearlyRead the complete transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/paras-chopra-chairman-wingify-inverted-passion-hiring-and-transition-ceo-chairman/)Books recommended by Paras:Zero to One by Peter Thiel (https://amzn.to/2SrR9t5)The Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (https://amzn.to/3daoCA6)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Sanjay Jain (https://www.linkedin.com/in/snjyjn/) , Partner at Bharat Fund chats with Shripati Acharya (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shripatiacharya/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .Sanjay was the Chief Product Officer at UIDAI. Before that, he ran product at Google Map Maker, a crowdsourced mapping product that helped to build Google Maps Data for over 170 countries. He has been among the key people who helped develop India stack, an API based infrastructure that allows technologies to be built around Aadhaar authentication, E-KYC, E-Sign, Digital locker and of course UPI. He's also a core volunteer with iSPIRT, the software product industry Think Tank. And now currently, he's a partner at Bharat Fund (https://bharat.fund/) , which invests in tech to drive inclusionListen to the podcast to learn about:1:35 - Putting the entire developing world onto Google Maps4:00 - How the general public helped build google maps9:00 - What is account aggregator? What is its objective? What is the motivation behind account aggregator? It’s use cases19:10 - Business model & opportunities for account aggregators24:16 - Things account aggregator will change in the future28:10 - What attracted Sanjay to work on Aadhaar and what were his expectations from itRead the complete transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/sanjay-jain-explains-account-aggregator-its-objective-and-opportunities-lie-ahead/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Sangeet Paul Choudary (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangeetpaul/) , Best-selling Author of Platform Scale (https://amzn.to/2VgkDfm) and Platform Revolution (https://amzn.to/34HqgpS) chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .Sangeet Paul Choudary is a C-level executive advisor and an international best-selling author. He has been selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is ranked among the top 30 emerging thinkers globally in 2016 by Thinkers50 Radar, a global ranking of top business thinkers. His work on platforms has been selected by Harvard Business Review as one of the top 10 management ideas globally for the year 2016-17.In this conversation, they explore the idea of Platform thinking, how should startups think about platforms, unique opportunities for businesses post COVID-19 world and more.Listen to the podcast to learn about1:00 - What is the platform business model & how should startups think about platforms8:42 - Opportunities to rethink business models in a post COVID-19 world14:30 - ‘Big shift is not just remote working, or streaming, the big shift is to the cloud’16:00 - How to reimagine businesses that fundamentally needed physical presence21:55 - How will public policy making & government regulations will change22:50 - ‘without the ecosystem, the platform does not survive ‘, Why platforms need to protect the ecosystem28:00 - When should platforms own inventory28:55 - Why resilience will be more important than just the economies of scaleYou can sign up for Sangeet’s weekly newsletter at  http://platforms.substack.com .You can also access Sangeet’s online masterclass at  http://platform.institute . There are separate masterclasses available for startups and enterprises.You can avail the following offer till May 15:57% discount to the Startup course (https://www.platform.institute/p/the-platform-playbook-startup-edition) . Use access code STARTUP2020.22% discount to the  Enterprise course (https://www.platform.institute/p/the-platform-playbook-enterprise-edition)   targeted at managers at large enterprises. Use access code ENTERPRISE2020.Read the full transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/understanding-platform-business-model-sangeet-paul-choudary-founder-platformation-labs/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/ This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Padma Parthasarathy (https://www.linkedin.com/in/padma-parthasarathy-427a04/) ,  SVP and Global Head, Consulting and Digital Services at Tech Mahindra (https://www.techmahindra.com) chats with Sanjay Swamy (https://www.linkedin.com/in/theswamy/) Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .Padma Parthasarathy heads the global consulting team at Tech Mahindra – a team engaged in business consulting, as well as technology and business process advisory & re-engineering services. One of her key focus areas is assisting clients with their digital transformation strategy. She is also responsible for the growth of digital business at Tech Mahindra. She works with global clients on redefining their products and services, business models, and processes to take advantage of digital opportunities.Listen to the podcast to learn about1:10 - Padma's 25+ years long career journey. From IIM-A to now heading global consulting @ Tech Mahindra6:28 - ‘Understanding what your customer needs and wants, rather than what your solution is doing’11:00 - How the digital initiatives have helped India leapfrog14:00 - Advice to youngsters who are building their career17:10 - Why you should stay technical as long as you can20:05 -  ‘You don’t require only technology or only soft skills, you need combination of both.’Read the full transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/padma-parthasarathy-svp-and-global-head-consulting-and-digital-services-tech-mahindra/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/ This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Meeta Malhotra (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetamalhotra) , Founder The Hard Copy (https://thehardcopy.co/) chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .On the podcast, they explore the power of personal brand for founders, how to get started with building a brand narrative, measuring branding success and many other interesting things about startups.   Meeta is a brand strategist and serial entrepreneur. She was one of twopartners at Ray+Keshavan, India’s leading brand and design consultancy,acquired by WPP in 2006. She then co-founded Kinetic Glue, a SaaSenterprise collaboration platform, acquired by Fortune 500 company, BMCSoftware in 2013. In 2015, Meeta became one of three partners at Varana, asustainable luxury fashion brand, with a store in Mayfair, London. She iscurrently focused on her fourth venture, The Hard Copy, an online publicationthat chronicles the design and innovation ecosystem in India.Through her career, Meeta has helped to create industry-leading brands likeAirtel, Kotak, Thoughtworks, Ashoka University and Vistara Airlines. She isalso an angel investor with companies like YourStory and LetsVenture in herportfolio.Listen to the podcast to learn about1:44 - Why ‘Brand’ is a misunderstood word5:00 - ‘If you don’t shape the brand narrative someone else will do it.’9:00 - How founders can start building their brand12:30 - How to measure your efforts towards brand building17:10 - Why B2B startups also need marketing19:00 - Learning to distinguish between good design & bad design22:50 - ‘Don’t be afraid of AI, learn to work with AI.’Read the full transcript here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/building-your-brand-narrative-meeta-malhotra-founder-hard-copy/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Mekin Maheshwari (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mekin) Founder and CEO of Udhyam (https://www.udhyam.org/) chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .They discuss hiring and building a technology team, lesson learned while heading HR at Flipkart, problem Mekin's startup Udhyam is trying to solve and more.An engineer by education, Mekin has had entrepreneurial roles throughout his career. Notably, he joined Flipkart in 2009 to head technology. After having built a strong technology foundation and a great team, he moved on to running two new businesses before finally heading their HR for his last 2 years at Flipkart.Listen to the podcast to learn about0:45 - Mekin’s career journey. Yahoo, Flipkart & now Udhyam3:10 - What made Mekin join Flipkart in it’s early days?8:30 - 'Product market fit is not enough, you also need to find engineering fit'10:55 - Building great teams - Lesson learned, best practices & mistakes16:40 - Mekin’s transition from heading engineering to heading HR at Flipkart20:25 - 'Unlike engineering you can’t undo a decision in HR easily'22:15 - What is Udhyam & what is it trying to accomplish?Book recommendations by Mekin (https://medium.com/@mekin/mgmt-hr-leadership-reading-list-cbfe86ae9fd6)Opportunity (https://twitter.com/EMC_Delhi/status/1196701618810605568) for Delhi entrepreneurs to interact with school students as part of Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum by Udhyam.For transcript of this episode click here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/how-build-effective-technology-team-mekin-maheswari-founder-udhyam/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Shripati Acharya (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shripatiacharya/) and Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing partners at Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) sit together to discuss Shripati's early investment picks, lessons learned from investing in public markets, how founders can prepare themselves to build a successful company and more.Shripati Acharya, throughout his career, be it as a business lead at Cisco or as a co‐founder of Snapfish, the world's largest photo site acquired by HP or at Transarc, which was acquired by IBM, Shripati has combined his passion to build great teams, an extraordinary desire to excel and a keen eye for spotting the tales.Shripati has also worked alongside Mr Nandan Nilekani on the UIDAI project. Having spent substantial parts of working career in the United States and India addressing worldwide markets, Shripati brings a global management perspective. He enjoys the great outdoors and has hitchhiked through Europe and trekked the windswept mountains of the Himalayas and the Andes.Listen to the podcast to learn about0:52: How Shripati started investing in public markets1:55: Early picks & lessons learned from them4:15: Investing in Amazon & HDFC Bank8:15: A company's advantage is not just it’s product. There’s more to it...9:20: Lessons learned from public market investing that helped in private market investing10:30: Why public markets took long to realise the potential of SAAS companies?15:05: Product vs Service. What Scales?16:30: Lessons startup founders can learn from public market companies17:45: Why reading transcripts is a must for startup founders18:30: Amit's experience of MakeMyTrip’s transition from a private company to a public company21:20: How a company changes its strategy when it transitions from a private company to a public company23:00: Role of luck in investingFor transcript of this episode click here (https://primevp.in/content/podcast/lessons-learned-investing-public-markets-shripati-acharya-managing-partner-prime-venture-partners/)Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.Follow Prime Venture Partners:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

Neeraj Aggarwal (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neeraj-aggarwal-b741131/) , Co-Founder and COO xto10x (https://www.xto10x.com/) chats with Amit Somani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/) , Managing Partner Prime Venture Partners (https://primevp.in/) .In this episode, you will learn what company operating system entails, best practices on people, org and culture and Neeraj's stint at Flipkart and Eat.fit.Neeraj has played a key role in scaling two of the most talked-about companies in the Indian start-up ecosystem. At Ekart, his team made several breakthroughs in both service quality and cost, achieving 99%+ perfect delivery and doubling productivity across all facilities almost every year. At Eat.Fit, he built on his experience both as an operating leader and as a people leader - scaling the Eat.Fit business as well as leading the People Operations function at Cure Fit.Listen to the podcast to learn about0:45 - Neeraj’s journey from a corporate job to an early stage startup2:30 - How xto10x helps growth stage startups 6:00 - Working sessions & decision making sessions. How to use them effectively at your company7:35 - L0-L3 metrics. What do they mean?9:53 - ‘People forget that company itself is a product.’12:20 - How a company manifesto makes the founder more accountable14:50 - How to make a really strong operations orgThis podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes. Please share your feedback here: http://primevp.in/podcastfeedback