Founder Thesis

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I tell you that in this episode, we are featuring a Patel who built a business in the US? The stereotype says that he would be running a motel or a convenience store - but this Patel has built a b2b SaaS company that is almost a unicorn. Nishant Patel moved to the US when he was just 14, and then went on to become a techie in the San Francisco Bay area at the peak of the dot com bubble in the year 2000. He was there when the term cloud was coined, and he was so fascinated by the promise of the cloud that he quit his job and started Raw Engineering - which was helping companies adopt cloud technologies. He then achieved the rare feat of building not one but three product businesses within that services business, and the biggest of them is Contentstack. Contentstack is a fascinating business - it’s a pioneer in the space of the headless CMS, and this episode is a deep dive that will help you understand the content space and how it has evolved over the last decade, and what is the secret sauce behind Contentstack because of which it has raised almost 180 million dollars and is near a unicorn valuation.Subscribe to the Founder Thesis podcast for more such deep dives with tech leaders.

Amit Koshal’s entrepreneurial journey began while working on a groundbreaking product at Intuit. Now, at TWID, he’s disrupting payment networks by turning reward points into a currency for transactions—an idea refined over five years of experimentation and failures, eventually leading to the product-market fit. This conversation delves into his path as a founder and his vision for a "happily ever after."Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Twid:-1.Twid Unveils Industry-First 'Reward Mandates' to Revolutionise Subscription Payment Setups, Anticipates 15 per cent-20 per cent Reduction in Payment Failures2.From Points To Payments: Transforming Loyalty Programs For The Digital Age3.How rewards-based payment app Twid lets you use loyalty points to shop, eat out, and travel

After a career in U.S. investment banking, Nikhil returned to India to build Imarticus, offering offline-focused boot camps to upskill fresh graduates. Unlike many in the space, Nikhil views Imarticus as an education business rather than an edtech company, with a fundamental focus on delivering real learning outcomes. This approach has helped the company grow and reach an annual revenue of 300 crores with very little outside funding. In this episode, Nikhil talks about how he built a successful education business and discusses the future of offline learning in today’s digital world.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Imarticus Learning:-1.Success Stories: How Data Science and Data Analytics Courses Have Transformed Careers?2.Winning Stroke: Interview With Nikhil Barshikar, MD, Imarticus Learning3.MY STARTUP IDEA: Imarticus Learning founder on his Eureka moment4.Bridging the industry-academia gap: Minimizing wrong career choices5.Celebrating a decade of excellence in professional education: Imarticus Learning completes 10 years6.Imarticus Learning the first and only approved provider for world's top 4 accounting certifications

Every year millions of young people migrate for jobs or education, creating a big market for hostels and paying guest accommodations. However, succeeding in this business depends on managing the operational complexities and getting the small details right. Zolo, one of India’s largest co-living companies, has mastered this challenge, currently managing living spaces for 60,000 people. In this episode, Nikhil shares the management mantra that helps him lead Zolo’s 2,500 employees and explains how he made operational excellence the company’s core strength.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Zolo Stays:-1.Zolo Stays redefines living experience for students and singles2.How Zolostays is using customer experience to create its niche in the crowded co- living market3.We provide 60-70% more value to the stay compared to local PGs: Dr. Nikhil Sikri, Co-founder and CEO of Zolo Stays4.Handling large teams across multiple verticals, we need to ensure that they are involved and know they are part of the team: Nikhil Sikri, Zolo Stays5.A fresh take on urban living

Neeraj Khandelwal is a passionate Indian who aspired to serve his country as a civil servant. When his initial plan fell through, he channelled his determination into exploring new ways to fulfil this objective. He saw the transformative potential of cryptocurrency and invested in building India's crypto infrastructure, leading to the creation of CoinDCX. In this episode, he decodes how crypto will change the world and how CoinDCX is paving the way for this future.Read more about CoinDCX:-1.Blockchain critical for India: 40u40 2024 Neeraj Khandelwal, CoinDCX2.Revolutionising Web3 integration: CoinDCX’s Neeraj Khandelwal reveals Okto Web3 SDK's game-changing role in India's Web3 mass adoption3.CoinDCX’s money minters4.Revolutionising Finance- AMA with Neeraj Khadelwal5.Regulation, conducive environment among top factors to fuel crypto trading among Indian investors: Sumit Gupta of CoinDCX6.Celebrating 6 years of building the future of Internet in India.7.4 observations on India’s booming crypto sector from CoinDCX co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal

Anand Mahurkar is an IT veteran and founder of Findability Sciences, dedicated to improving data retrieval in enterprises. He discusses how AI is revolutionizing large companies, enabling better decision-making and operational efficiency. Anand reveals the struggles organizations face with data integration and the limitations of traditional search engines. He also highlights the importance of specialized AI solutions for managing structured and unstructured data, showcasing advancements in large language models and their applications in various industries.

Deepak Sahni shares his remarkable journey of building one of the largest diagnostics companies in the preventive space. Starting his entrepreneurial journey as a teenager, Deepak has consistently dared to dream bigger with each venture over the last two decades. In this episode, he reveals the secrets behind scaling Healthians to a revenue run rate of over 500 crores and raising 80 million dollars. This conversation is nothing short of a masterclass in entrepreneurship—perfect for anyone looking to take their big leap.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Healthians:-1.How a College Dropout Fought Back, Completed His Degree, and Built a Rs 240 Crore Turnover Health Lab Chain2.How One Man’s Dream is Making India Healthier3.Once A College Dropout, Now The CEO Of India's Leading Diagnostics Firm, Healthians, Meet Health-Tech Veteran, Deepak Sahni4.COVID 19 – How a Crisis is Nudging us to Reinvent

Small businesses in India often face delays in payments from large corporations due to complex bureaucratic processes and stringent payment terms. The TReDS system, developed by the RBI, aims to resolve this. With TReDS, businesses can receive immediate payment by selling their invoices to a financier, who then collects the payment from large corporations. In this episode, Sundeep shares his experiences as a serial entrepreneur and provides insights into how TReDS is transforming B2B payments. Listen to learn more about this exciting development and its potential to reshape the business landscape.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about M1xchange :-1.TReDS is financial lifeline for MSMEs, remedy for problem of late payments: Sundeep Mohindru, M1xchange2.M1xchange Surpasses INR 1,00,000 Crore in Invoice Discounting Throughput3.In conversation with Mr. Sundeep Mohindru- CEO , M1xchange4.With 28 banks and NBFCs on board, how TReDS platform M1xchange financed Rs 3,000 Cr worth MSME invoices in 2 years5.M1xchange offers cross-border bill discounting from GIFT city, says TReDS will boom

"We were not building a short term new age brand, we were building a very disruptive new age product. But we wanted to build a legacy brand."Priyanka Salot shares a powerful insight: The Sleep Company isn't just chasing trends; they're building a lasting brand with a revolutionary product, focusing on long-term impact and customer loyalty over quick wins.Priyanka Salot is the Founder of The Sleep Company, India's leading comfort-tech company revolutionizing sleep and sitting experiences. Before founding the sleep company, Priyanka has worked with P&G, handling legacy brands like Ariel, Tide and Pampers. A marketing expert, Priyanka did her engineering and MBA, post which she spent almost a decade in consumer marketing. With their patented Smart Grid technology, The Sleep Company has grown to a ₹450 Cr+ ARR business, opening experience stores across India, and securing patents globally. Priyanka's vision is to make India, and eventually the world, sleep and sit better.Key Insights from the Conversation: Product-Market Fit: Prioritizing a truly differentiated product (Smart Grid) over a quick launch, spending 2 years in R&D. Customer-Centricity: Deeply listening to customers through multiple channels (reviews, surveys, direct conversations) and using feedback to pivot (e.g., launching Ergo Smart chairs). Omnichannel Excellence: Combining online discovery with offline experience centers for a seamless customer journey. Brand Building as a Science: A disciplined approach to branding, emphasizing consistent assets and a clear brand persona (science-backed). Sustainable Growth: Focusing on profitability and efficient marketing spend to build a long-term, financially healthy business. Controlling the Supply chain: In-house manufacturing, enabling quality control, customisation, and faster delivery. Chapters: (00:01:10) Origin Story: From Sleepless Nights to Startup Idea (00:04:52) Two Years of R&D: Why Product Superiority Matters (00:07:52) SmartGRID Technology Explained: The Science of Sleep (00:17:17) Brand Building as a Science: Consistency is Key (00:24:39) Listening to the Customer: From Feedback to Flywheels (00:36:44) Strategic Funding & Growth: Finding the Right Partners (00:51:17) Marketing in the Digital Age: Finding Your Customer (00:59:51) Omnichannel Strategy: Bridging the Online-Offline Gap (01:05:13) Vertical Integration: Controlling the Customer Experience (01:09:33) The Future: Global Ambitions & Customer ObsessionHashtags:#TheSleepCompany #PriyankaSalot #FounderThesis #StartupIndia #Entrepreneurship #MattressIndustry #ComfortTech #SmartGrid #DirectToConsumer #D2C #Omnichannel #BrandBuilding #MarketingStrategy #CustomerExperience #Innovation #MadeInIndia #BusinessGrowth #VentureCapital #StartupJourney #FounderStories #ErgoSmart #SleepBetter #SitBetter #BusinessPodcast #IndianStartups #PriyankaSalotInterview

As solar panels become more affordable and government subsidies make them attractive, homeowners can now switch to solar energy for the same cost as their current electricity bills. In this episode, Shreya Mishra provides practical advice and insights from her entrepreneurial journey- she talks about her first venture, Flyrobe, and how she joined SolarSquare to build its retail side. She also sheds light on its go-to-market strategy, the challenges of scaling up quality and talks about India's target to equip 1 crore households with solar panels in the next 3 years.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about SolarSquare:-1.Startup by IIT Grads Helps Indian Homes Run on Zero Electricity, Earns Rs 200 Crore in Revenues2.How SolarSquare Is Helping Indians Harvest Solar Power With Its Full-Stack Solutions3.‘Simplification, policy push has turbocharged residential rooftop solar’: SolarSquare co-founder4.This Startup Earns Rs 200 Crore By Enabling Zero Electricity Cost For Households