Founder Thesis

Neobanks are one such disruptor that one day will completely eclipse the traditional banking system.In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Vinay Bagri, Co-founder and CEO, Niyo Solutions Inc, which is one of India’s fastest growing neobanks.After spending more than a decade in banking companies like Standard Chartered, ING and Kotak, Vinay took a leap of faith and started Niyo in 2015, with a vision to introduce better cash flows to the salaried segment. And today, Niyo products have touched over more than 1.5 million customers.Tune in to this episode to hear Vinay speak about how Niyo is revolutionising banking with continual digital innovation.Key takeaways!The story behind acquiring Goalwise.Pre-requisites to device an impeccable product roadmap.Fundraising journey.

Financial independence is an essential life skill, and it has been a concept dominated by men.But not anymore!In this episode of Founder Thesis, Akshay Datt speaks with Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder, LXME, who is spearheading the mission to bridge the gap between women and finance.A self-proclaimed financial feminist, Priti has been heading Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers Ltd. It was through her experiences; she firmly believes that managing one’s money empowers women to fulfil their dreams and aspirations. And with her brainchild LXME, she aims to educate women about financial products, while building a community where they can engage in conversations that makes them more confident and in control of their finances.Tune in to this episode to hear Priti talk about how LXME is disrupting the male-dominated financial sector by providing freedom to women to take their own decisions.What you must not miss!Running a conventional business vs starting your venture.Learnings from film production.Financial planning: A life skillPlans for fundraising.

Getting access to loans, that too timely is a painful process in India. There are numerous parameters for approval and one’s request might be denied for reasons which are nowhere related to a borrower’s credibility.In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks with Bhavin Patel, Co-founder and CEO, LenDenClub, which is one of India’s pioneer Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platforms.Bhavin has extensive experience working with NBFCs, both as a consultant and an employee. He has closely witnessed the struggles NBFCs face with respect to lending loans and raising capital. This acted as an idea that gave birth to LenDenClub in 2015, which has dispersed more than 500 crores worth of loans in FY21.Tune in to this episode to hear Bhavin talk about how LenDenClub is empowering both lenders and borrowers and disrupting the traditional NBFC segment with its exemplary execution and automation.Key takeaways!Identifying what customers want.Automation is the key to success.Learning from experimentation.Vision 2030.

Catch them young, watch them grow!Great thought! But when it comes to managing money, it’s always the elders who have taken decisions. And that is the sole reason that as adults, people still struggle with savings, taxes and investments and why financial literacy in India is a tough nut to crack.In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks with Sambhav Jain, Founder, FamPay, who is on a mission to provide financial freedom to teenagers.Sambhav is a graduate of IIT Roorkee and always aspired to start his venture. He collaborated with Kush Taneja, his fellow batchmate, to start FamPay, which was selected by Y Combinator in 2019. And within two years it has more than 2 million registered users and recently raised a whopping USD 38 million, making it the largest Series A fundraise in India by first-time entrepreneurs.Tune in to this episode to hear Sambhav talk about how FamPay is empowering Gen-Z towards financial literacy with its high tech but an easy-to-use platform.What you must not miss!Internships: A way of understanding how young start-ups operate.Experience of getting mentored by Y Combinator.How can one use a numberless card?Fundraising journey.

Innovation and disruption are the hallmarks of the technology world. Amidst the fintech revolution and the subsequent rise of digital banks in India, going to a bank branch is no longer in vogue.And with neobanking, this metamorphosis has reached a new level with state-of-the-art technologies and providing customers with easy, quick, and efficient financial services.The Founder Thesis podcast presents to you a two-part series where Akshay Datt speaks with Kunal Varma, Co-Founder, Freo. He is a serial entrepreneur who started his entrepreneurial journey back in 2008, while pursuing his MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.Kunal, a self-proclaimed dreamer, fondly recalls his earlier days and shares how he always wanted to start his venture. After successfully building two ventures, he collaborated with Bala Parthasarthy and Anuj Kackar and started MoneyTap, which in five years has become an RBI registered NBFC and is now transitioning to credit led neobank, Freo, which is the first of its kind in the country.Tune in to this episode to hear Kunal speak about how Freo is disrupting the traditional banking system with its innovative digital banking experience.What you must not miss!If you like something in your academics, you're not going to do it for the rest of your life.How interacting with people from different walks of life can help in developing your vision as an entrepreneur.The transition from HR and EdTech to FinTechThe concept of neobankingRelation between consumer research and building a productFundraising journey

Innovation and disruption are the hallmarks of the technology world. Amidst the fintech revolution and the subsequent rise of digital banks in India, going to a bank branch is no longer in vogue.And with neobanking, this metamorphosis has reached a new level with state-of-the-art technologies and providing customers with easy, quick, and efficient financial services.The Founder Thesis podcast presents to you a two-part series where Akshay Datt speaks with Kunal Varma, Co-Founder, Freo. He is a serial entrepreneur who started his entrepreneurial journey back in 2008, while pursuing his MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.Kunal, a self-proclaimed dreamer, fondly recalls his earlier days and shares how he always wanted to start his venture. After successfully building two ventures, he collaborated with Bala Parthasarthy and Anuj Kackar and started MoneyTap, which in five years has become an RBI registered NBFC and is now transitioning to credit led neobank, Freo, which is the first of its kind in the country.Tune in to this episode to hear Kunal speak about how Freo is disrupting the traditional banking system with its innovative digital banking experience.What you must not miss!If you like something in your academics, you're not going to do it for the rest of your life.How interacting with people from different walks of life can help in developing your vision as an entrepreneur.The transition from HR and EdTech to FinTechThe concept of neobankingRelation between consumer research and building a productFundraising journey

In India, Cryptocurrency is one of those tech innovations that has hit more headlines than any other! From influencers promoting it on social media to companies sponsoring major sporting events, the popularity of these virtual digital currencies has risen in India.In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Akshay Datt speaks with Rahul Pagidipati, CEO, ZebPay, India’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. He is a second-generation Indian American and has been a part of the global start-up ecosystem for the past 20 years.Rahul fondly recalls his earlier days when he started numerous ventures in India and the US and fell in love with investing. This is when he came across Bitcoin and Blockchain and decided to invest in ZebPay. Little did he know that the company will face uncertainty due to RBI’s ban on cryptocurrency. However, in 2020, after a two-year hiatus, ZebPay was relaunched, with Rahul taking over as CEO.Tune in to this episode to hear Rahul speak about how ZebPay is disrupting the way people transact and invest with its ground-breaking financial innovations.Key takeaways:Experience of running a venture in India in the late 90s.India’s response to cryptocurrency.The ZebPay’s survival story.

The end of the 2000s saw the rise in radio taxi services. In the next decade, the urban mobility market in India was captured by Ola and Uber. You might wonder what’s in store for commuters in this decade!In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Co-founder, and CTO, The ePlane Co, takes us through his amazing journey. A veteran in the Indian aerospace arena, he is heading NCCRD, which is one of the world’s largest combustion research centers and is a member of the advisory board of various start-ups incubated at IIT Madras.Prof. Satya, along with Pranjal Mehta started The ePlane Co in 2016 and took the aerial route in a bid to solve the ever-growing issues with road infrastructure in urban cities. And that’s not all! This air taxi company is ready to test its product in a year or two.Tune in to this episode to hear Prof. Satya speak about how The ePlane Co is planning to disrupt the urban mobility industry with its cutting-edge and cost-effective technology.What you must not miss!Experience of running NCCRD.Future of electric airplanes.The technology behind air taxis.Fundraising journey.

"How do a bunch of imperfect people, who are all in some sense imperfect, come together and make a perfect product?" This profound question from Srinath Ravichandran encapsulates the immense challenge and human element behind building something as complex and precise as a rocket. It’s not just about flawless engineering, but about creating systems where imperfect individuals can collectively achieve perfection, a core philosophy at AgniKul Cosmos.Srinath Ravichandran is the Co-founder & CEO of AgniKul Cosmos, a pioneering Indian space-tech company aiming to launch orbital-class rockets like the "Agnibaan," capable of carrying payloads up to 300 kg to a 700 km orbit. He has since led AgniKul to raise over $61 million in funding, develop the world's first patented single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine (Agnilet), build a team of over 200, and establish India's first private launchpad, 'Dhanush'.Key Insights from the Conversation: The "Uber for Satellites" Vision: AgniKul aims to democratize space by making satellite launches on-demand, affordable, customizable, and frequent, encapsulated in their vision "Anywhere, Anytime, Affordably". Revolutionary 3D-Printed Engines: The core innovation, the single-piece 3D-printed Agnilet engine, drastically cuts manufacturing complexity and time (from 10-12 weeks to days for production) and significantly lowers costs. Mobile & Customizable Launch Solutions: The 'Dhanush' mobile launch platform, combined with the configurable Agnibaan rocket (using 4 to 7 engines), offers unique flexibility for small satellite operators. Early Grit & Strategic Incubation: The path involved overcoming significant hurdles, including over 400 pitch meetings to secure initial funding and convincing IIT Madras to incubate AgniKul, which was pivotal for access to R&D and talent. Future Trajectory: AgniKul is targeting its first orbital launch by the end of FY2025, with commercial flights planned to begin in the 2025 calendar year, and is actively researching rocket reusability for long-term sustainability.Chapters:(00:00) Introduction: Srinath Ravichandran & AgniKul's Mission to Democratize Space(01:40) From Childhood Space Fascination to Electrical Engineering(06:46) An Unexpected Detour: Journey into Wall Street Finance (10:18) Navigating the 2008 Financial Crisis & The Birth of "Rules of Thumb"(28:26) The Pivotal Shift: From Finance Back to Aerospace Dreams(34:56) Identifying the Market Gap: The "Aha!" Moment in Los Angeles(41:46) Founding AgniKul: Building the Team & Securing IIT Madras Incubation(53:27) Early Wins: First Funding & 3D Printing Rocket Engine Innovation(01:10:17) Startup Learnings: The Art of Asking Questions & Building Scalable Systems(01:15:51) The Economics of Rocket Launches & AgniKul's "Cab to Space" Model(01:31:09) The Anatomy of a Rocket Launch: From Chennai to Orbit(01:51:16) AgniKul's Grand Vision: Making Space Travel as Common as Air TravelHashtags for YouTube Description:#SrinathRavichandran #AgniKulCosmos #SpaceTechIndia #IndianStartups #MakeInIndia #RocketScience #3DPrintingInSpace #AerospaceEngineering #Entrepreneurship #StartupJourney #DeepTech #FounderThesis #SpaceExploration #SatelliteLaunch #CareerPivot #WallStreetToSpace #MadeInIndiaRockets #SpaceDemocratized #FutureOfSpace #IITMadras #ISRO #TechInnovation #StartupFunding

Ever heard of the Japanese proverb, “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” That’s exactly the premise of the story of our guest on this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast.In a candid conversation with Akshay Datt, Ankit Prasad, Founder, and CEO, Bobble AI, has shared interesting anecdotes about his early days and the journey of Bobble.As he says, “Entrepreneurship ka keeda bachpan se he tha!”, Ankit started his first venture when he was in Standard 10th. He soon realized that the mobile space is growing exponentially and in 2015 he founded Bobble AI, an app that enabled users to turn their selfies into caricature stickers. Today, it has transitioned into a comprehensive camera, content, and keyboard app that not only lets users personalize their communication in 22 Indian languages but can also predict their actions with the help of AI.Tune in to this episode to hear Ankit speak about how Bobble AI challenged the well-established keyboard apps by Google and Microsoft with technology-led innovations.Key takeaways!Resilience is the key to success.Behavioral shift to non-text and personalized communication.How to scale up a B2B2C business?Plans for global expansion.