Founder Thesis

PumPumPum is revolutionizing the car leasing industry in India. They have reimagined the traditional leasing model, making crucial tweaks to find a product-market fit at scale. Tarun and Sameer talk about the importance of perfect timing and utilizing technology as an enabler in an operation-heavy business.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about PumPumPum:-1.How PumPumPum is making used-car rentals hassle-free for users2.Pumpumpum bets big on leased vehicles3.Used-car leasing firm PumPumPum raises $2 mn in equity funding4.PumPumPum: India's first Used Car Leasing platform

Viewlift is like the Shopify of the streaming industry- anyone can launch a streaming service and compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney Hotstar through their SaaS offering. Rick takes us through his 4-decade journey of building iconic American businesses and government institutions. This conversation is a peek into the evolution of the streaming industry from one of the pioneers in the space.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about ViewLift:-1.Saurabh Saxena, ViewLift on what drives piracy in the OTT industry2.ViewLift and Google Open Up the Cloud for OTT: Platform To Offer Multiple Cloud Providers3.We are pioneers in developing native applications across all OTT devices: Manik Bambha, Co-Founder, ViewLift4. Personalisation of content is our core feature: ViewLift’s Manik Bamba

Neha Bagaria is a Wharton alumnus who started her first entrepreneurial venture soon after graduating. The experience of sitting at home after becoming a mother changed her mission in life and she decided to solve the problem of India’s low female workforce participation rates. She talks about her journey of building HerKey.Read the text version of the episode.Read more about HerKey:-1.How HerKey opens windows of opportunities for women2.Overcoming the challenges: What is holding back women’s employment in India3.Gender pay gap is a complex issue with no easy solutions, says JobsForher CEO4.Bengaluru Mom’s Platform Helps 3.5 Million Women Join the Workforce After Career Breaks5.Career engagement platform herkey secures $4m funding from kalaari, 360 one asset

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 earlySubscribe to the Founder Thesis Podcast Follow us on LinkedIn for exclusive content Visit founderthesis.com for more founder stories00:00 - 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 IndiaVenkat 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

Gramcover is the only insure-tech startup focused on expanding its insurance base in rural India. It is making use of some very unique strategies to sell low ticket-size insurance to the bottom of the pyramid. Dhyanesh shares some amazing insights from his two-decade-long journey in the field of insurance.Read the text version of the episode.Read more about GramCover:-1.How a missed opportunity in insuring rural India became the business model for Gramcover2.Delhi-based agri insurance startup gramcover is de-risking rural india with affordable products3.How parametric insurance breaks the mould of traditional insurance?4.This agri-fintech startup is redefining rural commerce by connecting bharat with india ‘phygitally’5.Interview: Dhyanesh Bhatt, co-founder and CEO of GramCover

BetterPlace is one of the most successful HR Tech companies in India. The startup has built a platform of products for companies with a large blue-collar workforce. They help companies manage their employees better and help them get access to financial products previously unavailable to them.Read the text version of the episode here.Read more about BetterPlace:-1.BetterPlace to offer loans to frontline workers on its platform2.BetterPlace acquires fintech lending startup Bueno Finance3.Workforce management software provider Betterplace enters Malaysia with Troopers acquisition

Vahak aggregates the 3 key stakeholders in the transportation transaction - the intermediaries, the truck owners and the companies buying the service. Karan talks about discovering the opportunity and finding the product-market fit to make Vahak a category leader.Read the text version of the episode.Additional links:-1.VAHAK: Tapping tech to bring order in logistics space2.Vahak aims to transform the Indian road logistics sector3.Bengaluru-based Vahak aims to transform road logistics sector using digitisation4.How Vahak Plans To Drive A Brighter Future For India’s Lorry Owners

Jiraaf is helping the common man tap into the exclusive investment deals previously reserved for the elite few. Saurav and Vineet talk about how Jiraaf lets you put your money to work directly in corporate debt instruments, bypassing the banks.Additional links:-1.How Fintech Startup Jiraaf Is Helping Indians Diversify Their Fixed Income Investments2.Debt mutual funds tweak helps alternate investment platform Jiraaf3.Bengaluru startup Jiraaf enables retail investors earn high-yield returns

How do founders scale without giving away equity? In this episode of the Founder Thesis Podcast, Bhavik Vasa, Founder & CEO of GetVantage, reveals how non-dilutive growth capital is changing the game for Indian startups and D2C brands. If you’ve ever wondered whether debt could actually make you richer as a founder, this candid conversation is a must-watch.Bhavik Vasa is a fintech veteran who scaled ItzCash into a $150M exit before launching GetVantage in 2019. Today, GetVantage is one of India’s fastest-growing revenue-based financing platforms, backed by marquee investors like Chiratae and Sony Innovation Fund, with an RBI-licensed NBFC arm. In this conversation with host Akshay Datt, Bhavik shares the inside story of building a founder-friendly capital gateway, lessons from scaling in India’s fintech boom, and why debt may be the most underappreciated growth lever. From Shark Tank India’s debt deals to GetVantage’s proprietary “Trust Score” underwriting, this episode is a masterclass in startup funding. How Bhavik scaled ItzCash to a $150M exit The birth of GetVantage and its founder-friendly funding model Why debt can be smarter than equity for growth Lessons from building through India’s fintech waves and funding winter How data-driven underwriting is reshaping startup financing Future of non-dilutive capital and embedded finance in IndiaSubscribe to the Founder Thesis Podcast for more contrarian founder stories. Follow Akshay Datt on LinkedIn for exclusive content. Visit founderthesis.com for deep dives into India’s startup ecosystem.Chapters 00:00 - Bhavik Vasa’s Journey in Fintech 04:30 - Scaling ItzCash to a $150M Exit 10:20 - Demonetization and the Fintech Boom 16:00 - Why India Needs Non-Dilutive Capital 22:45 - The Zero-to-One Story of GetVantage 29:30 - Building a Tech-First Underwriting Platform 37:00 - Revenue-Based Financing Explained Simply 44:10 - Surviving COVID and India’s Funding Winter 51:20 - Competing in India’s Alternative Lending Market 59:00 - Future of Debt, Equity & Founder FundingTags Bhavik Vasa, GetVantage, GetGrowth Capital, revenue based financing India, non dilutive capital India, startup funding India 2025, D2C startup funding India, SaaS financing India, embedded finance India, RBI digital lending guidelines, venture debt vs equity India, Shark Tank India debt deals, fintech startups India 2025, alternative lending India, non-dilutive startup funding, equity free growth capital, Bhavik Vasa interview, Akshay Datt Founder Thesis, startup fundraising strategies India, future of fintech India

Not fancy pedigrees but grit and determination- Harini's journey is a powerful example of scaling up through these two. It resembles a captivating Hollywood movie, beginning with a homemaker turned accidental entrepreneur, and culminating in the creation of a 100-crore business.Additional links:-1.How Harini Sivakumar built D2C brand Earth Rhythm to help her specially-abled child2.How Earth Rhythm is Using Technology to Offer Non-Toxic, Sustainable and Biodegradable Products3.‘I was a Homemaker for 7 Years. Here’s How I Built a Brand Worth Rs 200 Crore’