Founder Thesis

In the high-stakes world of Shark Tank India, startup founders take centre stage to pitch their ideas to a panel of sharks. An intriguing statistic reveals that every third deal offered by the sharks is not an equity investment, but rather a debt deal. This episode decodes all things debt funding.Additional links:-1.GetVantage offers revenue-based financing to India’s founders2.How a Mumbai-based startup is making life easy for other startups3.How GetVantage is democratising access to working capital for underserved businesses4.GetVantage becomes first RBF start-up to get NBFC licence

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’

Inspired by the teachings of the Masai tribe in Kenya, Prateek started Masai School to help Indian students bridge the skill gap. He’s been through a rollercoaster ride as a founder and he shares his journey of building Masai School, a journey that began soon after he graduated from IIT Kanpur.Additional links:-1. Outcome-Based Education! Know How This Platform Prepares Industry-Ready Tech Talents Through Skill-Based Learning2.This IIT Kanpur alumnus built a coding school in Bangalore that enrols students for free3.How Masai school is helping launch careers and accelerate growth for tech companies by bridging the skill gap

Bik helps companies increase the sales of their online stores through AI-powered customer engagement and communication tools. Sonakshi shares the journey of first building up Bikayi as a WhatsApp commerce tool for small businesses before making the pivot to Bik which offers solutions to large global enterprise clients.Additional links:-1.Strengthening Conversational Commerce Bikayi Plans To Scale Bik.ai2.Bikayi partners with WhatsApp to launch BIK.ai, which aims to revolutionize e-commerce marketing globally3.“We enable brands to drive up to 66x ROI” – Ms. Sonakshi Nathani, Co-founder and CEO of BIK (Interview)4.Rebranding of the company and how it stands out in the e-commerce segment : Sonakshi Nathani, Co-founder and CEO of BIK

Recur Club is solving the problem of access to funds for startups with predictable revenue streams. Their secret sauce lies in the deep tech integration that they are able to do with the borrowers.Additional links:-1. Recur Club allocates $15 million in financing to Indian start-up founders affected by SVB crisis2.Most Companies Die Because They Don’t Get Capital At Right Point: Recur Club Founder

Prasad Kompalli embodies the playbook for entrepreneurial success. With a strong technological background and 8 patents under his belt, Prasad had a rewarding tenure at SAP, the German tech giant that honed his skills and expertise. He recounts the challenges faced by Mfine, navigating through a near-death experience that ultimately forged a stronger and more resilient company.Additional links:-1.How Bengaluru-Based Startup Mfine Is Bringing Doctors, Clinics To Patients Through AI2.Mfine co-founder Prasad Kompalli on covid-19 impact on healthcare, shift in consumer trends, and growth3.How healthtech startup Mfine is using ai to make virtual consults easier4.Mobile phone now an examination tool in the hands of doctors: Mfine CEO

As an IIM alumnus, Tarun's passion for empowering his fellow batchmates with job opportunities drove him to create IIMJobs.His dedication paid off when Infoedge acquired his venture for a staggering $12mn in 2019. Now, Tarun is taking on his next challenge with Juno School of Business, a game-changing endeavour focused on closing the skill gap in sales and transforming employability.Additional links:-1.Engage with new employees at the earliest: Tarun Matta, Founder, iimjobs.com2.Naukri.com acquires recruitment portals iimjobs.com and hirist.com

BluSmart is an innovative ride-hailing company that acquires vehicles instead of relying on drivers to buy them. Anmol, an accomplished entrepreneur, shares his insights on building sustainable businesses in India. He started his first business in college and took it to a public listing. Tune in to learn from Anmol's valuable lessons in his decade-plus entrepreneurial journey.Additional links:-1.ETtech In-depth: How BluSmart plans to fight the Uber, Ola onslaught in buzzy EV cab business2.BluSmart plans EV route to take over Uber and Ola3.Anmol Jaggi says ‘common-sensical stuff’ helped BluSmart crack the ride-hailing business

Sunstone—an educational disruptor that’s solving India’s unemployability problem with first principle thinking. Ashish is a serial founder and he shares his lessons of finding product market fit, building pricing power, and growth hacking to reach scale.Additional links:-1.This edtech startup is focusing on employability to help students in tier II, III cities2.Sunstone partners with NSDC to provide upskilling courses3.Sunstone adopts a corporate-first approach; gets students job ready with ‘Applied Certification’ courses4.Invest in the right partnerships to hire future-ready professionals: Sunstone’s Piyush Nangru and Ashish Munjal

A small idea that grew into giant success- Shivkumar Ganesan shares his story of building one of India’s pioneering SaaS companies and the rollercoaster ride of building it into the giant that it is today. Listen on for some amazing nuggets about market sizing, finding product market fit, fundraising and lots more.Additional links:-1.AI is changing the way businesses interact with customers: Exotel CEO Shivakumar Ganesan2. Catalyzing the Future of Customer Conversations: How Exotel is Changing The Way Businesses and Customers Connect.3. My mantra was to ensure people don’t go through same kind of mess I did, says Shivakumar Ganesan of Exotel.