Founder Thesis

Zaggle is a B2B SaaS Fintech startup helping companies digitise and optimize their payment and expense workflow using AI, ML and is on a mission to revolutionize banking for corporates. In this conversation, Raj shares his multiple journeys of finding market opportunities and how he scaled up each of his ventures.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Zaggle:-1.Tax-free allowances can be availed under new income tax regime too: Avinash Godkhindi, CEO, Zaggle Prepaid2.Zaggle And Hyperface Strengthen Co-Branded Corporate Credit Cards With Multi-Wallet Functions3.From Start To Stock Markets: Zaggle Founder Raj Narayanam On The 11-Year Journey To An IPO4.We have been the cockroaches of the Fintech SaaS space: Zaggle’s Raj Narayanam5.Valuation Is Temporary But Value Is Permanent: Founder, Zaggle6.Raj N: The Odd One Out Setting Unprecedented Milestones in the FinTech Industry

Take a deep dive into digital lending with Fibe, the leading player in the unsecured lending space. In this episode, we unravel the ABCs of the lending business, exploring what drives their customer selection process, how they crafted the winning customer value proposition, their strategic brand positioning and their journey of scaling from 0 to 1.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Fibe:-1.Transforming the credit landscape: Fibe’s co-lending initiatives and technological advancements reshape borrowing experience2.Customise and digitise your HR for impact: Insights into Fibe’s exciting journey with Akrivia HCM3.Lendingtech Startup Fibe’s FY23 Net Profit Soars 9X To INR 36.3 Cr4.Axis Bank, Fibe partner to launch India's first numberless credit card5. Guest Talk: Mr. Akshay Mehrotra, Co-Founder and CEO, EarlySalary

Addverb is breaking barriers by exporting cutting-edge robotic solutions worldwide, revolutionizing factory and warehouse automation. Sangeet’s daring spirit and innovative approach propel Addverb to outshine even established foreign competitors, cementing its position as a leader in the global robotics industry. Discover their inspiring journey from software giants to hardware innovators and their profound impact on the future of technology.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Addverb:-1.Addverb unveils three robots for varied use cases2.Addverb's mega robot-making unit in UP touted to power 3,000 jobs3.India's coolest start-ups: Meet the founders of automated solutions provider Addverb Technologies4.Future of automation! Addverb’s trio of robots pave way for industry automation5.Meet the four founders of Addverb, the company revolutionising warehousing and robotics whose biggest shareholder is Mukesh Ambani6.Addverb's Bot Verse: Exploring The 'World's Largest' Mobile Robot Factory7.Addverb: Automation company making robots in India, for the world

"Don't fall in love with the solution, fall in love with the problem because the problem is the one that's going to make you money."Krish Ramineni shares this powerful advice, emphasizing the importance of deep customer understanding over attachment to a specific product idea. This founder mindset was crucial in navigating Fireflies.ai's journey through various experiments before landing on their core product.About the Guest:Krish Ramineni is the Co-founder & CEO of Fireflies.ai, an AI meeting assistant used by over 200,000 organizations. Recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30, Krish led Fireflies.ai through a $4.9M seed round and a $14M Series A, building a capital-efficient company focused on automating work from meetings. Before founding Fireflies.ai, he was a Product Manager at Microsoft on the Office growth team.Key Insights from the Conversation: Finding Product-Market Fit: The journey to Fireflies.ai involved numerous experiments; the key signal for success was finding a core group of users who "absolutely love your product and can't live without it". Product-Led Growth (PLG): Fireflies.ai achieved significant growth with zero paid marketing initially, relying purely on organic adoption and viral loops built into the product. Leveraging LLMs: Adapting early to Large Language Models (LLMs) like OpenAI's was a pivotal moment, significantly enhancing the quality of notes and summaries and enabling the "magic moment" for users. Fireflies evolved from basic transcription to sophisticated, customizable AI summaries and plans to become a platform with numerous AI apps. Building a Moat: While transcription/summarization tech becomes commoditized, Fireflies builds its moat through its robust SaaS platform, user base, enterprise features (like security and access controls), viral loops, and the vision of becoming a workflow platform and knowledge base for organizations.Chapters: 00:00:00 - Krish Ramineni's Origin Story: From Wanting to be a Doctor to Tech Entrepreneur 01:18:60 - Early Career: Product Management at Microsoft's Office Growth Team 03:07:38 - The Genesis of Fireflies.ai: Solving the Meeting Memory Problem 05:14:80 - The "Desert Walk": Finding the First True Fans 07:18:71 - Early Product Experiments Before Fireflies Meetings 11:42:43 - Building the Meeting Bot: From Twilio to Custom RPA 16:37:00 - Defining and Delivering the "Magic Moment" for Users 18:25:90 - Pivoting to LLMs: The OpenAI Integration Journey 22:17.66 - Building a Moat Beyond Transcription & Summarization 27:26.72 - Fireflies as an Enterprise Knowledge Base 37:20.16 - The Product-Led Growth (PLG) Strategy & Philosophy 47:01.11 - Pricing Strategy & The Introduction of AI Credits 59:20.55 - Funding Journey, Revenue Growth & Capital Efficiency 01:11:22.60 - Advice for Aspiring Founders: Fall in Love with the ProblemHashtags:#FounderThesis #KrishRamineni #Firefliesai #StartupIndia #Entrepreneurship #SaaS #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ProductLedGrowth #PLG #MeetingAssistant #Productivity #TechStartup #SiliconValley #Fundraising #VentureCapital #LLM #OpenAI #FutureOfWork #StartupJourney #Microsoft #IndianFounders

Explore a new way of building startups- unlike traditional methods, Venture Studios doesn't wait for founders to pitch ideas. Instead, they have a clear vision and find founders to bring it to life. Pankaj Jethwani offers valuable insights into this strategy. Leading India's pioneering Venture Studio and spearheading a health-tech startup named W Health Ventures, he possesses extensive expertise in the domain.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about 2070 Health and W Health Ventures:-1.We build ventures in spaces with large unmet needs: 2070 Health2. Healthcare startups must build trust through technology that keeps patients’ health at their fingertips: Namit Chugh, W Health Ventures3.Pankaj Jethwani On W Health Ventures’ India Investment Playbook4.W Health Ventures hosted an industry discussion on: Why time to scale healthcare in India is now5.Ethical considerations in healthcare integration: Patient needs, consent, and safety – Dr Pankaj Jethwani, W Health Ventures6. Healthtech start-ups are using digital touchpoints to enhance customer experience, complete continuum of care

Maneet Gohil, started Lal10 as a side hustle while in college and after a roller coaster journey of multiple pivots, scaled it to a ₹200cr ARR business.Lal10 is an asset light manufacturer. Think of it as an Oyo Rooms model for Indian craft manufacturing. They build the market connection and generate demand, and in the back end, digitize small scale factories to manufacture, thereby helping Indian handcrafted textile suppliers to make their inventory available on global platforms.He talks about: How to scale a side-hustle successfully How the ‘Jugaad’ culture works in the Indian creative manufacturing sector and how to use it to make a profitable ‘dhanda’ How to sell in dollars and spend in rupeesGet  notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at founderthesis.com

Delve into the evolution of cybersecurity in this episode- with firsthand experience, Kiran sheds light on the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats and recounts the journey of BluSapphire, a full-stack threat detection and response platform for enterprises. Tune in to gain insights into the frontline of defence against digital adversaries.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about BluSapphire:-1.Cybersecurity platform BluSapphire in expansion mode, unveils new office in Hyderabad2.Cybersecurity platform Blusapphire raises $9.2m funding in series A round

Discover the secrets powering India's D2C boom with Kannan Sitaram, the mastermind behind Fireside Ventures. With a track record of backing powerhouse brands like Mamaearth and Boat, Kannan draws from his consumer goods expertise to guide D2C founders towards success. Dive into his playbook for achieving the elusive 500 crores revenue milestone in the D2C landscape.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Fireside Ventures:-1.Fireside Ventures aims to birth Indian mega-brands2.Fireside’s Kannan Sitaram on gaming bets, fund status, D2C trends and more3.India’s high-income households fuel new, unique brands: Q&A with VS Kannan Sitaram, Fireside Ventures

"My purpose has been and will always be to build something that delights people."Shankar Prasad shares a powerful perspective: true business success isn't solely about scale, but about creating genuine customer delight. This is a core tenet of Plum Goodness that got built in during their 5 year bootstrapping journey.Shankar Prasad is the founder of Plum Goodness, a rapidly growing Indian direct-to-consumer beauty brand. Starting with a mere 15 SKUs in 2014, and bootstrapping for the first five years, Plum is now on track to achieve a ₹500 crore annual revenue run rate.Shankar, a chemical engineer from IIT Bombay and an MBA from ISB, with experience at Hindustan Unilever, McKinsey, and as a leader at Faces Canada, built Plum with a unique customer-centric and frugality-first approach.Key Insights from the Conversation: Frugality as a Core Value: Shankar's upbringing instilled a deep sense of frugality, influencing Plum's operations from its inception, allowing the company to reach profitability in its early years. Customer Obsession: Plum prioritizes customer delight above all else, reflected in its product development, customer service, and even the founder's personal involvement in addressing customer complaints. Product DNA: A focus on high-quality, "goodness"-driven products is central to Plum's identity, differentiating it in a crowded market. Bootstrapping Benefits: The initial five years of bootstrapping allowed Plum to solidify its brand DNA and values before seeking external funding. Capital as an Input: Shankar views investment capital as a resource to fuel growth and achieve the brand's vision, not as an end in itself. Channel Agnostic: For Plum, the most important aspect is to build a brand, and be present where the customer is. Experiment to grow: Shankar explains the multiple experiments across channels and products, and how that helps Plum, not only expand its offering, but also learn what works, and become better. 00:00:00 - Intro: Accidental Beauty Founder 00:05:14 - Ice Cream to Beauty: Unilever & Faces 00:09:52 - Defining "Goodness": Plum's Purpose 00:24:44 - Bootstrapping & ₹100 Facebook Ads 00:38:21 - Saying "No" to Fairness 00:58:24 - Frugality's Downside 01:09:12 - Online vs. Offline: Plum's Strategy 01:14:38 - No Tech Team?! 01:29:37 - Customer Delight: Only View 01:22:23 - Anti-Unicorn Philosophy 01:48:53 - Future Vision: Billion Lives 01:59:12 - Key TakeawaysHashtags:#PlumGoodness #ShankarPrasad #D2C #BeautyBrand #IndianStartup #Entrepreneurship #FounderJourney #Bootstrapping #CustomerObsession #Frugality #BrandBuilding #Skincare #Makeup #Haircare #IndianBeauty #VentureCapital #StartupIndia #BusinessStrategy #CustomerExperience #Goodness #Podcast #FounderThesis #IIT #ISB #Unilever #FacesCanada

Discover Roshini Sanah Jaiswal's journey from starting Bangalore’s very first premium bar and night club to leading the India franchise of the global Hard Rock Cafe. Learn lessons in leadership and resilience as she recounts navigating countless challenges to turnaround one of India’s oldest liquor companies. Now, she's building Swanrose, a global D2C brand in the beauty and wellness space, her most ambitious project yet.Get notified about the latest releases and bonus content by subscribing to our newsletter at www.founderthesis.comRead more about Swanrose:-1.From launching a preventive healthcare vertical to making a loss-making liquor company profitable amid the pandemic: the story of Roshini Sanah Jaiswal2.The beauty business uses the most petrochemicals linked to numerous health problems: Roshini Sanah Jaiswal3.Justhuman launches in India & the USA ushering in a new generation of clean beauty products, powered by Neurocosmetics4.This Lady is Giving Her Male Counterparts a Run for Their Money5. Swanrose eyes disruption in hygiene and personal care space