1947 Rise

Sheel is the GP at Better Tomorrow Ventures. Better Tomorrow Ventures is one of the top seed-stage fintech investors. They have backed companies like Unit, Chippercash, Flexport, Mercury, Ramp to name a few. Timeline: 00:00 Top moments. 00:48 Intro to pod with Sheel Mohnot 02:55 What led Sheel to angel investing and the founding story of Better Tomorrow Ventures? 06:15 How did Sheel determine the portfolio construction of his fund, including fund size and check sizes? 07:22 How was he able to source LPs, build relationships with them and close LPs? 11:58 How does Sheel decide when to start investing if he is unsure about reaching the target raise? 13:19 How does Sheel keep LPs updated and engaged during the fundraising process? 14:13 What were the lessons learned from fundraising for the first fund and their impact on subsequent fundraising? 16:13 What advice would Sheel give to an emerging fund manager when fundraising from LPs for their first fund? 19:56 Did Sheel iterate and make changes his your pitch deck based on the feedback he received over time? 22:10 What is his relationship with India, particularly in terms of investments? 26:49 What fascinates him about the Indian tech ecosystem, especially in the FinTech sector? 28:50 Do learning from the Indian tech ecosystem help you evaluate companies based outside of India? 30:36 If not at BTV and if money and attention are not needed any more who would Sheel aspire to be? 34:50 If he could invite three people dead or alive for dinner, who would they be and why? 35:35 Which Indian individual would he love to meet and socialize with over dinner or drinks?

Aditya Virwani is the promotor and COO of Embassy Group. Embassy Group is one of the top 10 largest real estate developers in India. Timeline : 00:00 Top Moments 00:17 Intro to pod with Aditya Virwani 03:23 How was Aditya's environment growing up, and how it shaped him? 07:49 How did Aditya choose Real Estate? 11:53 What has been Aditya's current focus and his future aspirations? 17:08 How does Aditya keep himself updated with technology? 18:46 Evolution of real estate in India, future opportunities, and how is Embassy Group preparing for them?25:28 What is Aditya's day like? 28:47 What is the most crucial lesson that took Aditya the longest to learn? 31:18 What is Aditya's approach to maintaining mental health? 34:10 How is the status of his tennis practice? 34:02 If Aditya could have dinner with any three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why? 36:55 What do Aditya's friends know him for? 39:14 How does Aditya handle his ego and stay humble?

James Beshara is a founder, investor, and encourager. He has started a few startups, sold one (Tilt, acq by Airbnb), and has invested in a few multi-billion dollar companies in his career. He has written angel cheques into gusto, clubhouse, bolt, mercury, openAI, 50+. His portfolio companies have a market cap of $50Bn. Timeline : 00:00 Top Moments 00:38 Intro to pod with James. 02:18 How did James get into angel investing, and what made him do the fund? 05:44 What made James take such a bold and risky bet into Gusto? 08:55 How did James decide the fund size, cheques, and investment stages during the fund's inception? 14:14 What was James' strategy for differentiating from other investors, gaining access to deals, and targeting LPs for his first few funds? 20:39 What is James' deal sourcing process, his big wins and misses, and his learnings from that? 29:42 What is James' relationship with India? 35:27 If money and attention are not needed anymore, what would James work on? 38:08 What do James' friends know him for? 39:33 What is James most obsessed about lately, and what is draining him?

Ryan Hoover, founder of the Weekend Fund and Product Hunt, dives into the world of angel investing and shares his journey of establishing the Weekend Fund. He discusses his evolving portfolio construction methods and the challenges of fundraising. Hoover emphasizes the importance of storytelling when pitching to limited partners and offers insights on relationship-building. He also reflects on the role of luck in success and shares recent personal well-being changes, showcasing his multifaceted approach to investment and life.

Ankit Mehrotra is the Co-founder and CEO of Dineout. He started Dineout in early 2012 and through multiple acquisitions over the last eight years, has grown Dineout’s portfolio to include both B2C & B2B services and has been successful in positioning it as the Largest Dining Out and Restaurant Tech Platform in India. Dineout was acquired by Swiggy, India's Largest On-Demand Delivery platform for $100M, in July 2022. Ankit also recently co-founded a celebrity-led fund called Da One Global Ventures with the star cricketer Shikhar Dhawan Timeline : 00:00 Top Moments 00:32 Intro to pod with Ankit 02:00 How did Ankit's upbringing and environment shape him? 04:00 What valuable experience did he gain from working in the UK? 05:54 What made Ankit move back to India and the founding story of Dineout? 13:14 How did Ankit launch Dineout without Internet, Angels or VC? 18:52 What is Dineout today after selling it for over $100 million to Swiggy? 26:13 What lesson does Ankit share with new entrepreneurs? 27:17 What is the investment thesis of Da One Global Ventures? 31:46 How much of his success would he attribute to luck and why? 33:10 Is it money or power for Ankit? 33:31 What is his relationship with money? 34:14 If money and attention are not needed anymore what would he work on? 35:44 What do Ankit's friends know him for? 36:00 What is Ankit's day like?

Naiyya Saggi is the Co- Founder & Board Member at the Good Glamm Group - India’s fastest-growing and largest content-to-commerce D2C house of brands and she also Founded BabyChakra - India’s most trusted parenting platform. Good Glamm Group is currently valued at $1.2Billion Timestamps : 00:00 Top Moments 00:25 Intro to pod with Naiyya 01:42 How was Naiyya’s early life and her experience in US? 04:49 Is she an intuition-driven person? 05:28 How was her experience at Harvard in consulting? 08:32 Naiyya's framework of moving back to India and the founding story of BabyChakra. 12:31 What is the grand vision for MyGlamm moving forward? 14:47 How quick was the decision of merging BabyChakra with MyGlamm for her after the five-hour meeting? 17:36 What frameworks help her go through up and downs of building a company? 18:57 What is Naiyya’s day like? 20:52 What changes did she make in her food and fitness routine that helped her in a good way? 22:15 What is the most undesirable part of the day for her? 24:09 If money and attention are not needed anymore what would she work on? 24:42 What’s her relationship with money? 25:21 How much of her success does she attribute to luck? 26:26 Which entrepreneur does she admire the most? 27:37 What do Naiyya’s friends know her for?

Nitin Jain is the co-founder of OfBusiness and Oxyzo. OfBusiness is a new-age b2b commerce and fintech startup that provides smart procurement and smart financing solutions to SMEs through its tech-enabled platform. OfBusiness is currently valued at $5B. Timestamps : 00:00 Top moments 00:30 Intro to pod with Nitin Jain 01:49 How was your early life and what made you move back to India? 03:28 What was the founding story of Ofbusiness? 05:17 How did Nitin and his team navigate through the difficult phases? 07:12 What is the grand vision for all three ventures? 08:36 How is Nitin’s day like? 09:46 How does Nitin mentor founders? 11:18 What are Nitin’s strengths in Tennis? 12:33 Other than tennis players who inspires Nitin? 13:57 What framework would Nitin suggest to Indian diaspora looking at Indian Ecosystem in the long run? 15:50 If money and attention were not needed anymore what would he work on? 16:47 How much of his success does Nitin attribute to luck and why? 18:03 How was the feeling like after Zodius invested? 18:58 What is Nitin’s relationship with money? 20:19 Things that Nitin has changed about his health that is helping him. 21:39 Super Powers that Asish and Bhuvan have and they don't know about it. 22:35 What do Nitin’s friends know him for?

Harsh Shah is the co-founder of Fynd.   Fynd is India's largest omnichannel platform helping retail businesses accelerate growth.  Fynd was acquired by Reliance in 2019. Harsh is a prolific angel investor. He has made over 60 investments till date.   Timeline:  00:00 Top Moments  00:13 Intro to pod with Harsh  01:21 What drove Harsh to angel investing and what was his first angel investment?  05:18 How does Harsh source, pick, and win deals?  07:48 What triggers Harsh to invest? 10:21 What were his biggest wins and misses and learning from them?  16:52 His advise to operators looking to start angel investing  18:40 How would he go about constructing a cap table?  22:25 If money and attention are not needed anymore what would he work on?  24:12 How much of his success would he attribute to luck and why?  24:50 What is his relationship with money? 26:12 Who is Harsh outside of work?  27:21 What’s his favorite country?

Ranjan Kant is a co-founder of Arthmate.   Arthmate is enabling entrepreneurs of emerging Bharat.  He also co-founded Ofbusiness. Currently valued at $5B. And Ranjan is also a prolific angel investor.   Timeline:  00:00: Top moments  01:45: What drove Ranjan to angel investment and what was his first angel investment?  03:33: How does Ranjan pick and win deals?  07:24: What cheque sizes does he write and what sectors that Ranjan invests in?  08:52: What are the biggest wins and misses for Ranjan and his learnings from them?  12:26: Something Ranjan knows now he wishes he knew earlier.  16:48 His advice to operator angels looking to start angel investing  21:00 What was the founding story of Arthmate?  25:30 Who was the first believer of Arthmate?  26:14 If money and attention are not needed anymore what would he work on?  27:37 How much of his success would he attribute to luck and why?  29:23 What is his relationship with money?

00:00 Top Moments  00:32 Intro to pod with Abhishek  01:38 What drove Abhishek to angle investing and what was his first angel investment  03:35 How does Abhishek source and win deals?  06:06 How does Abhishek evaluate deals and his trigger to invest?  08:57 Cheque sizes that Abhishek writes and sectors he invests in.  11:00 What's something he knows now he wishes he knew earlier?  12:40 Biggest wins and misses of Abhishek.  16:40 What is the founding story of Tracxn?  19:10 Abhishek's suggestion to someone who is looking to start angel investing 22:00 How would Abhishek go about constructing his cap table if he were to start a new company?  23:34 If money and attention are not needed anymore what would Abhishek work on?  26:00 How much of his success would Abhishek attribute to luck?  27:28 Abhishek's relationship with money.