Founder Thesis

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) safeguarded the Indian economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this segment's financial health used to suffer owing to the lack of a robust framework for logging data.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Sumit Agarwal, Founder of Vyapar which is an easy-to-use software for business owners that provides billing, inventory, and accounting services.A software engineer by profession, Sumit worked at Intuit India for 8 years. He started his entrepreneurial journey in 2016 with an aim to solve the critical financial pain points of the MSME segment. Today, Vyapar has bolstered this industry’s growth by offering a holistic technological bill book.Tune in to this episode to hear Sumit speak about his journey of building Vyapar and how it's transforming the lives of MSMEs!What you must not miss:-Key tenets for running app-based businessesFundraising journeyThe unique product portfolioCritical skills for building a company-----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

This episode is a time capsule. We had the chance to sit down with Reshamandi's founder, Mayank Tiwari, at the peak of his company's hyper-growth. Listening to his vision now, after the company's widely-reported collapse, offers a unique and powerful lesson for every founder. It's a chance to understand the brilliance of a startup's dream, the conviction that drives it, and the hard realities that can cause even the most ambitious ventures to fail.Mayank Tiwari is the founder of Reshamandi, a startup that rose to incredible heights before its dramatic collapse. A gold medallist from NIFT, Mayank leveraged his deep industry expertise to build a company that, at its peak, raised over $70 million in equity and debt, achieved a $186 million valuation, and impacted the livelihoods of over 60,000 farmers. This conversation captures his ambitious vision just before the company unraveled, providing a crucial lesson on the pressures of blitzscaling and the pitfalls that can follow.A Cautionary Tale: Key Insights from the Conversation The Seductive Vision: Mayank eloquently details a full-stack model to solve every problem in the silk supply chain. In hindsight, this ambition to be everything to everyone stretched the company's resources thin, a key factor in its downfall. The "Growth at All Costs" Mindset: The episode showcases a founder laser-focused on growth, scaling, and raising large rounds. This mindset, while celebrated during the funding boom, led to a reported lack of focus on unit economics and sustainable cash flow. Belief vs. Reality: The founder's conviction is palpable when he says, "I want to raise thirty. I will raise thirty." This conversation reveals the power of founder belief, but the company's fate underscores the danger when that belief isn't grounded in financial and operational reality. The Seeds of Collapse: Listening closely, you can hear the strategic choices—heavy reliance on debt for working capital, rapid expansion into multiple verticals—that, while framed as strengths, contained the seeds of the company's eventual financial distress.chapters:(00:00) - The Grand Vision Before the Fall(01:01) - Identifying the Market Gaps: The Startup's Mission(03:24) - The "Jackpot" Moment: The Genesis of a Bold Idea(08:09) - The Ambitious "Managed Marketplace" Model Explained(11:24) - The First Transaction: How the Hyper-Growth Journey Began(18:03) - The Tech Strategy That Attracted Millions in Funding(21:07) - The $30M Series A That Fueled a Risky Expansion(27:30) - A Founder's Philosophy on Blitzscaling(32:00) - The High-Stakes Strategy of Using Debt vs. Equity(34:20) - The Dream of an Embedded Fintech Arm(42:34) - The $100 Billion Market Opportunity They Chased(59:26) - Final Words on Ambition and RiskHashtags for YouTube:#FounderThesis #Reshamandi #MayankTiwari #StartupFailure #CautionaryTale #VentureCapital #AgriTech #CorporateGovernance #StartupIndia #FounderStories #Blitzscaling #BusinessPodcast #WhatWentWrong #IndianStartups

In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Dr. Anand Anandkumar, CEO and MD of Bugworks Research Inc., a remarkable drug discovery company focused on developing novel broad-spectrum antibiotics and immunotherapies that stand to transform the healthcare ecosystem worldwide.A veteran in the semiconductor industry with almost two decades of experience, Dr. Anandkumar wears many hats. To mention a few, he is the Vice President of the India Biotech Association & one of the founding members of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).In 2005, he founded Cellworks which has significantly increased the success rate of cancer treatments by customizing therapy choices. An offshoot of Cellworks, Bugworks originated from the deep resolve to eradicate secondary bacterial infections, a major public health threat in terms of mortality.Tune in to this episode to hear Dr. Anandkumar speak about how Bugworks has taken a unique path in drug discovery as it attempts to fight the war against rising antibacterial resistance.What you must not miss!Current drug development challengesMonetizing drug combination therapiesAMR and superbugs-----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

India is the second-largest internet market in the world with more than 70 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). But only a fraction of them is utilizing the advantages of digitization.The Founder Thesis podcast presents to you a two-part series, where Akshay Datt speaks with Rahul Raj, Founder and CEO of FloBiz.Rahul started his entrepreneurial journey in 2017, a year after graduating from IIT Kharagpur with Koinex, which was India’s fastest crypto exchange. Later in 2019, he started FloBiz, a Bangalore based neobank start-up that helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across India. Their flagship programme, myBillBook, is a complete GST building and accounting solution designed to assist SMBs by digitizing their billing and accounting operations.  Tune in to this episode to hear Rahul speak about his entrepreneurial journey and how FloBiz is speeding up tech adoption in the SMB segment.What you must not miss!Working Model of Koinex.The core idea of FloBiz.Customer acquisition strategies.Plans for value-added services.-----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

With one of the world's largest ageing populations, the eldercare market in India is estimated to be worth $5 billion. But still, a substantial chunk of this sector remains disintegrated and unorganised.  In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Vaibhav Tewari, Co-founder and CEO of Portea Medical. He is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta with more than two decades of experience in building new businesses across different industries.  In India, many corporate hospitals provide top-class health care services but post-discharge care for patients was left an untrodden path. To address this gap, Portea Medical was started in 2013. It is a first-of-its-kind in providing affordable in-home medical services for patients, with a presence in over 30 cities across the country.  Tune in to this episode to hear Vaibhav speak about how Portea is leading the home healthcare segment with its unique bouquet of services. What you must not miss! Portea Medical’s go-to-market strategy.  Customer acquisition strategy. Virtual engagement with patients. Challenges faced by Portea. -----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

A few years ago, businesses were struggling to accept card payments, and this demanded a solution that could enable the smooth running of businesses across the country.  In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Akash Sinha, Co-founder and CEO, Cashfree Payments, a Bengaluru-based FinTech start-up which facilitates businesses in India to collect payments online and make pay-outs.   Akash is an alumnus of IIIT Hyderabad and has an experience of two and half years in programming with Amazon. In 2015 he started Cashfree in a bid to digitize Cash-on-Delivery payments. However, this PayPal and Y Combinator incubated venture soon pivoted to a tech platform that simplifies inward remittances and outward bulk payments for merchants.   Today, Cashfree has many reputed brands as clients in its kitty and supports more than 1,00,000 businesses with its product offerings.   Tune in to this episode to hear Akash explain everything about the payments business and how Cashfree is building the pipes for seamless digital transactions. What you must not miss! Challenges faced by Cashfree. Addressing the customer queries.  Competition between payment gateway companies. Importance of Neo banking. -----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

The Indian auto industry is going through a gradual but essential change which will continue for the next 10 to 15 years. If the trends are to be believed, the Indian EV industry is estimated to reach USD17 billion in the next five years.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Vikash Mishra, Founder and CEO, MoEVing, an electric mobility-focused tech platform working towards accelerating EV adoption in India.With more than 15 years of experience in the energy and mobility industry, Vikash started MoEVing in 2021. The core idea was to build a driver-centric technology platform that provides EV ecosystem solutions, thus contributing to reducing carbon emissions.Tune in to this episode of Founder Thesis to hear Vikash speak about how MoEVing is transforming sustainable mobility in India.What you must not miss!Challenges faced by MoEVing.EV ecosystem solutions.How MoEVing help the driver-partners?MoEVing’s revenue model.-----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

Digital Lending is having a substantial growth in India, with several start-ups availing loans to small and micro-enterprises that often get denied by banks and NBFCs.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ramaswamy Iyer, Founder and CEO, Vayana Network – an electronic network that provides easy, digital access to low-cost financing to every enterprise, from large corporations to MSMEs.Ram is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and had an experience of over 20 years of entrepreneurship before starting Vayana Network. His vision was to create an ecosystem where financing is embedded in a transaction - where it becomes automatic, convenient and almost invisible in any B2B trade. Founded in 2017, Vayana is now India's largest 3rd party platform for Trade Finance and has a network of over 50,000 clients and 2 million processed transactions in over 600 cities in India.Tune in to this episode to hear Ram speak about his vision behind providing financial services to both large and small corporates.  What you must not miss!Behind the name “Vayana”Ram's journey before VayanaVayana’s tie-up with distributors-----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis

BNPL is a wide-open market with rooted players and start-ups securing the pole position. But a large chunk of retailers is still not covered by any of them.In this edition of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt talks with Vikas Garg, Co-founder, Paytail. He is an alumnus of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, New Delhi, and had a decade long experience in the BFSI sector before stepping into entrepreneurship. In a bid to provide a level field for offline buyers and sellers with large online retailers, Vikas started Paytail in December 2020. Paytail focuses on building a network of significant financial institutions to cater to the pre-approved loan offers for consumers. And within two years, it has a network of more than 20,000 merchants and over 100,000 consumers.Tune in to this episode to hear Vikas speak about how Paytail capitalizes on Tier 2 and Tier 3 retailers to offer BNPL through a tech-driven approach.What you must not miss!The core idea behind Paytail.Journey to find the creditors.Association with other MNCs.Challenges faced by Paytail.

‘Milk is the largest crop on this planet and there is a strong need for technological interventions.’ Convinced by this, a group of ex-Wipro employees perceived digitizing the Agri-Dairy supply chain as an opportunity.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Ranjith Mukundan, Co-founder and CEO, Stellapps Technologies Private Limited - an IIT-Madras incubated start-up which provides end-to-end dairy technology solutions.Ranjith is an alumnus of Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago and has worked with Wipro for more than a decade. In 2011, he along with a group of IIT graduates started Stellapps to address the major problems in the milk production process and help dairy farmers and cooperatives to maximize profits with minimum effort.Tune in to this episode to hear Ranjith speak about how Stellapps is leveraging AI/ML to revolutionize the dairy supply chain in India.What you must not miss!Ranjith’s interest in M2M space.The business model of Stellapps.Finding product-market fit.Tech ensures supply chain integrity.-----If you want to be a podcaster, then check out Zencastr.com which is also the generous sponsor for this episode. Zencastr is like a Shopify for podcasters taking care of all your needs from recording to editing to hosting. Show your love for this show by using this link to sign up: https://zen.ai/founderthesis