

Founder Thesis
ThePodium.in
Dickens said, it was the best of the times, it was the worst of the times. The words have never been truer. Best because there’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. Worst because the clutter is mind-numbing. Founder Thesis breaks through the noise to bring you stories of success & failure, grit & struggle, bouquets & brickbats from some of the most brilliant entrepreneurs in India.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 5, 2023 • 1h 10min
Gamifying savings for Gen Z | Manish Maryada @ Fello
The one thing 20-year-olds like to do is play games, especially real money games. Fello asks the question - what if you disguised a savings app as a real money gaming app - giving all the thrills of gaming but also giving the long-term benefits of saving money. Manish talks about the unique thesis behind the product and the zero-to-one journey of building a fintech product.For more such interesting founder journeys, subscribe to our newsletter www.founderthesis.comRead more about Fello:-1.Backed by Entrepreneur First, game-based Saving app Fello on a journey to make India financially literate2.Here’s How Y Combinator-Backed Fello Is Making Saving & Investment Fun3.How Fello is gamifying savings and investments for gen z and millennials

Oct 4, 2023 • 1h 15min
Building a fast fashion brand from India | Shivani Poddar @ FabAlley
Immerse yourself in the decade-long journey of building a large D2C fashion business, starting from an era when fundraising was next to impossible and founders literally had to survive each day with nothing but their grit and hustle. Learn about what makes a D2C fashion business scale up from Shivani.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about FabAlley:-1.From western wear to wedding luxe, how Shivani Poddar built a large D2C brand2.VC-Backed FabAlley’s Co-Founder Shivani Poddar On Growth Plan, Offline Biz And More3.FabAlley: Life In The Fab Lane4.Tanvi Malik & Shivani Poddar: Fashionably Forward5.How FabAlley’s expansion plans and strategies are making a mark in the apparel sector

Sep 27, 2023 • 1h 17min
The fintech empowering micro-entrepreneurs | Mohan K @ IppoPay
Do you think digital payments are risky? This episode will change your perspective! IppoPay is a Chennai-based fintech serving the vast underbanked and unbanked sector in India, helping it adopt digital banking swiftly. Mohan talks about his learnings over his long and varied path as an entrepreneur and shares how he created luck for himself multiple times.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about IppoPay:-1.Interview with Mohan K, Entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of IppoPay2.Long struggle behind IppoPay’s quick success3.This Niche Payment Solutions Startup Is Empowering Lakhs Of Businesses In Smaller Towns4.This fisherman’s son launched a fintech startup amidst the pandemic and clocked transactions worth rs 1 cr5.How IppoPay is disrupting the Digital Payments space with its technology for the merchants in Tamil Nadu6.Light Microfinance, IppoPay to offer digital loans to MSMEs

Sep 26, 2023 • 51min
Rethinking the business of business education | Pratham Mittal @ Masters' Union
Masters' Union is a modern business school transforming education by opting for hands-on, real-world problem-solving. Pratham shares his incredible first principles thinking approach that has driven him on his mission to build a global top-tier B-school in India.Read the text version of the episode.Read more about Masters’ Union:-1.We Want To Empower Creators With Practical Education: Pratham Mittal, Master’s Union2.Technology’s role is to enhance work done by leaders: MU's Pratham Mittal3.First Experiential Bachelor’s Degree Programme In Business In India, Taught By Harvard, Oxford, Amazon, And Apple Faculty Members4.Can the experiential learning of Masters' Union be the Indian MBA alternative?5.Top brains commit Rs 300 crore to build Masters’ Union School of Business6.Masters’ Union Launches The World’s First Professional Education Programme For Content Creators

Sep 22, 2023 • 1h 9min
The offline call to action platform | Sharat Potharaju @ Beaconstac
Uniqode (formerly Beaconstac) is revolutionizing e-commerce engagement with its unique, smart QR code platform. Sharat talks about their long journey of making pivots, finding product-market fit and building a truly global SaaS business out of India. This episode is a must-listen for learning how to scale up a SaaS business globally without burning a ton of cash.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about Beaconstac:-1.Facilitating Connections Through QR Codes2.QR codes and the future of marketing3.How Beaconstac’s founders failed for a decade before they clicked4.Beaconstac leads the way to a contactless world5.The Future Of ECommerce Engagement In An Increasingly Phygital World

Sep 19, 2023 • 1h 18min
Making fashion brands agile | Pawan Gupta @ Fashinza
Fashinza is an apparel-tech startup solving to reduce the time it takes to release a purchase order in the apparel and fashion space. Pawan is a serial entrepreneur whose first startup in health- tech was acquired. With Fashinza, he plans to revolutionise the apparel manufacturing industry by leveraging new-age technologies.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about Fashinza:-1.Fashinza: Using technology to empower SME apparel manufacturers2.Powering sustainable fashion and driving efficiencies with technology3.How this apparel manufacturing marketplace is solving the global supply chain challenge through technology and sustainability4.Fashion Embedded5. Fashion supply chain startup fashinza gets $30m from mars growth capital, liquidity group6.Fashinza opens design lab in Gurugram

Sep 13, 2023 • 1h 5min
The drone ride from 3 Idiots to IPO | Ankit Mehta @ ideaForge
Do you remember the drone scene in the movie "3 Idiots"? Well, the drone in that movie was made by a small company called ideaForge. Ankit and his friends bootstrapped ideaForge straight out of college and spent 8 long years before they were able to raise their first funding. Listen on to learn about the amazing journey of ideaForge and the evolution of the drone industry in India.Note: This conversation was recorded some time back and the metrics mentioned may have changed since then.Read the text version of the episode.Read more about ideaForge :-1.A Lot Of Civil Unlocking Is Happening As Rules Have Opened Up: IdeaForge CEO, Ankit Mehta2.Ideaforge reaffirms defence’s central role in its strategy for growth3.Revolutionizing Drones: CUMI & ideaForge Nanomaterial-powered future

Sep 8, 2023 • 1h 12min
Marrying Music with Tech | Ashish Joshi @ Artium
Technology is coming to disrupt the way you learn music, and a company at the forefront of this revolution is Artium. Artium is an ed-tech platform for music learners, they have built a custom technology stack that allows them to train music learners worldwide.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about Artium:-1.Artium Academy aims to hit a high note in online music training2.Online Music Learning Platform Artium Academy Bags Funding From Chiratae Ventures, Others3.Music to Learner's Ears

Sep 5, 2023 • 54min
The antifragile founder | Rajat Tuli @ Ustraa
Business news often talks about companies that become successful overnight, but if you want to learn how to build a business from scratch, you should hunt for tales that are more of a slow-cooked stew than a microwaved success burrito. Rajat talks about his two-decade journey of building up first Happily Unmarried, and then the leading men’s grooming brand Ustraa.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about Ustraa:-1.Happily Unmarried to Ustraa 2.0: Life on razor's edge2.VLCC acquires Ustraa through a strategic merger3.Technological innovation will shape men’s grooming in the years to come

Aug 30, 2023 • 31min
A masterclass on indexes | Sanjay Arya @ Morningstar
Sanjay is an Indian-born American who built the index business of Morningstar. He talks about why indexes are a big business, how they have evolved over the years and what is on the horizon.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about Morningstar:-1.Morningstar Introduces Industry's First Global Unicorn Index Series