First Principles

Alok Mittal, former VC and angel investor, discusses the founder-worshipping mindset in startups and the importance of transitioning leadership for long-term success. He also highlights the significance of education in shaping entrepreneurial skills and advocates for a more integrated approach to technological innovation in India.

“As I said, I am from a middle-class family. I was earning $10,000/month, which is a large sum in those days. And sitting in Singapore, Bangkok, travelling around the world. So my the larger question in my mind is that how do I take the decision?” says Manav Garg.Manav Garg, founder and former CEO of Eka Software, a SaaS company that operates in the global commodities trading space. "Former CEO" because Manav started Eka in 2004 and just sold it earlier this year. Since Manav was earning $10K a month back in the early 2000s, we talked about golden handcuffs. You know, when people earn so much that they become risk averse? A lot of people are attracted to the lure of startups but not necessarily the grind that comes with them. Including much, much lower pay. “So, my competition was TriplePoint, Openlink, SAP. Large companies, at that time. $100 million plus companies. So, I started calling them. Cold calling. And few of them didn't pick up my phone.One person luckily picked up my phone saying, ‘Please don't call me again and again. It's not nice. I'm never going to work for Indian company.’ I said, ‘Fine. Since I have you on phone, can I meet you?’He said, ‘No.’He said, ‘No. What will you do by meeting me?’ I said, ‘Let's have coffee. What I will do is, tell me your travel schedule.’ He said, ‘I am flying to London tomorrow, so I am going to be very busy.’ I said, ‘Okay, let me do one thing. I will travel to London next day and I will meet you at Heathrow. Just have a coffee. You anyway will take a shower.’ Most of the people from New York travel to London that red-eye flight, take a shower in the arrival launch. I knew that. I said, ‘I will meet in the arrival launch. Half an hour coffee and then you are free to go.’He said, ‘Fine.’Luckily, he said, ‘Fine.’” It takes a LOT of courage to fly to London to meet someone who said he doesn’t want to work for an Indian company. And a LOT of vision to convince that person to join you. That’s what happened at the end of that 30-minute meeting that stretched to 2 hours.  Today, after 20 years as founder, Manav has jumped right back into the ring as the co-founder of venture capital firm TogetherFund, along with Girish Mathrubootham of Freshworks and others. When I asked him about something most potential founders overlooked, his answer was easy: Co-founder selection. “See, in India also, still we have in that cultural mix, where you start up with your college friends because you spend time in dorms together, in college, you went through life's ups and downs together, right? So, therefore, you're very attuned to start up with your friends from college, most likely, that's the most likely case, or from your workplace. You work with somebody in Amazon, Flipkart, Freshworks, Eka, Zoho, so therefore you end up starting up.I personally think that there is also a way to manufacture your co-founders.” Manav advises founders to set aside at least 6 months to “manufacture” their co-founders by just meeting a LOT of people. My conversation with Manav uncovers a lot of insight on how young founders should think about building for the long haul. He did it for 20 years. There’s a lot of very counterintuitive builder wisdom to unpack in today’s conversation.Welcome to First Principles–The weekly leadership podcast from The Ken.Let’s get started.-------------------------Daybreak is now a daily podcast.Listen to the first special episode we released on 17th May: “Why aren’t we scared of chemicals in our skincare anymore?”-------------------------If you love listening to First Principles, we’re sure you will enjoy reading our Sunday newsletter, aptly titled First Principles as well. Sign up here, it’s free.Also, write to us fp@the-ken.com with your feedback, suggestions and guests you would want to see on First Principles.(P.S. A lot of you have written to us over the last few weeks with thoughtful suggestions and excellent feedback. We’ll be sure to take all of it into consideration when putting these episodes together for you.)-------------------------Also, have you checked out The Ken’s new app? It’s packed with a lot of new features. Read all about it here. If you haven’t downloaded it already, here are the links to both iOS and Android.

Kapil Chopra of Postcard Hotels aims to revolutionize luxury travel by offering transformational experiences. He discusses the levels of hotel experiences, listing top luxury brands, and his plans for expanding Postcard Hotels rapidly. Chopra also shares insights on empowering employees through equity ownership and the innovative strategies in luxury hospitality.

Jaydeep Barman, CEO of Rebel Foods, shares insights on building an internet restaurant empire through experimentation and partnership. Topics include navigating regulatory challenges, innovative business strategies, operating system philosophy, personal growth, and fitness metrics and recommendations.

Alok Mittal, experienced founder and VC, discusses the importance of mid-management in org building. He shares insights on failures, risk assessment as VC & founder, and lending to SMEs. Alok's journey from VC to entrepreneur, strategic decision-making, and fostering company culture are also explored.

Jaydeep Barman, Co-founder and CEO of Rebel Foods, discusses the challenges of scaling a food business, transitioning from physical stores to cloud kitchens, and the importance of controlling food production. He also shares insights on strategic market analysis, recruiting passionate talent, and leadership evolution at Rebel Foods.

When Chetan Maini – co-founder and chairman of SUN Mobility – stepped down as Mahindra Reva CEO in 2015, he wasn’t thinking what was the next venture to start. In fact even though he stepped down he was still involved in the space.His time was still spent in understanding the possibilities electric mobility could unlock for the world and how these possibilities were being explored around the world. He was still involved in setting up and innovating the Formula E division at Mahindra, he still helped Anand Mahindra every now and then on strategic matters in Mahindra’s electric division, he was working with the government, he also helped the BMTC take a part of its fleet electric and the list goes on.One could say he stepped down to get a better view of the possibilities in electric mobility. He was not looking for opportunities actively during this period, he was merely synthesising what possibilities were feasible.He did travel across the world during this break but even during that time he was looking at the electric mobility solutions and innovations that were present in the places he visited.He realised the possibilities in battery swapping as an alternative to charging and filed patents long before he became part of what is SUN Mobility today.In the first part of our conversation with Chetan we discussed broadly how the sector has evolved, what SUN Mobility has set out to achieve, how their BaaS or Battery as a Service model is an alternative to charging your vehicle and a whole lot more.In this episode we discuss how Chetan figured out what was next for him, the mental models he applies at SUN Mobility, how he’s built a team that speaks its mind and a lot more.Welcome to First Principles – The weekly leadership podcast from The Ken.Let’s get started.

Radhika Gupta from Edelweiss and other founders share insights on succeeding in competitive markets and prioritizing customer delight. Topics include company missions, target consumers, evolution of financial services, customer journey in tier two cities, challenges in the hospitality industry, supply chain efficiency in food tech, and forecasting demand in supply chain management.

Harsh Mariwala, at 72, shares his diverse weekly routine involving Pilates, strength training, aqua therapy, meditation, intermittent fasting, and golfing. He emphasizes continuous learning, personal growth, and the importance of fitness for stress relief. The podcast also delves into Marico's acquisition triumph, enhancing meeting effectiveness, seeking innovation feedback, and integrating industry insights into business education.

Chetan Maini, the co-founder and Chairman of Sun Mobility has done a whole lot in his life. He’s been forever a tinkerer as you’re bound to find out if you read his father Dr.S.K.Maini’s book REVA: India’s Green Gift to the World.Chetan’s raced solar cars, built his own car company REVA and is now building a pay-as-you-go energy infrastructure for a greener future with Sun Mobility. You’ll see in this a proper evolution of owning the chain of control as well.Well, it has to be said this is not fully intentional. Because in a world where REVAs are speeding down the road left and right you’re not gonna see Chetan going out and building a BaaS, battery as a service business. But it was 2001, and India, and most of the world, was not ready for electric cars.Chetan, however, persevered even under the shadow of the Mahindra Group and made strides in their electric mobility aspirations before leaving in 2015.He took a break of two years, observed the EV market across the globe and when he saw the opportunity back home, came back with his expertise and took charge to create what we know today as Sun Mobility. The vision is bigger this time around and time is on his side as well. The only thing left to see out: Execution.And they are not pulling any punches on that front either.Additional reading: this edition of Green Margins published way back in late 2022 to understand how, here.Welcome to Season 2, episode 44 of First Principles - A weekly leadership podcast from The Ken.