Founders Unfiltered

Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin.Join us as we talk to Sanjiva Weerawarana, the founder of WSO2 about their story.Sanjiva earned his bachelor's and master's in Mathematics/CS from Kent State University, Ohio, and later completed a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Purdue University.He worked as a Research Staff Member at IBM and held visiting professorships at Purdue University, the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and the University of Moratuwa.Beyond academia, he served on various committees, including the Arthur C. Clarke Institute, the University of Colombo, the University Grants Commission, The Apache Software Foundation, and several Sri Lankan institutions in technology, finance, and science.He founded multiple organizations, including WSO2 (2005), Thinkcube Systems, Sahana Software Foundation, Lanka Software Foundation, Lanka Data Foundation, and Avinya Foundation.Interestingly, he also served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Sri Lanka Army.🏢 About WSO2:WSO2 enables enterprises, universities, and governments to drive digital transformation, handling 60 trillion transactions and 1 billion identities annually. Its API-first tools for application development and CIAM help organizations securely build and deliver seamless digital experiences across cloud and on-premises environments. WSO2 has 800+ employees with offices in Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Sri Lanka, the UAE, the UK, and the US.

Join us as we talk to Raja Debnath, the Managing Director of Veefin about their story. Raja holds a BE from the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, an MMS in Marketing from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, and an MBA from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Over his career, he has held several prominent roles, including Manager at Whirlpool, Citi and ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Zonal Head at GE Capital, and Country Head at Kotak Mahindra Bank. He also served as Managing Partner at Cogence Labs and contributed to esteemed organizations like EY and IFC in various capacities. Additionally, Raja has acted as an advisor to The London Institute of Banking and Finance and as an investor in ventures such as TREDX and CAYESH. Since 2019, he has been serving as the Managing Director of Veefin. 🏢 About Veefin: Veefin, India and South Asia's leading SCF technology provider, offers a globally recognized end-to-end product stack for digitizing onboarding, underwriting, and SCF loan management. Designed by bankers for bankers, its solutions support retail, SME, and corporate finance for lenders worldwide. In India, Veefin powers the SCF ecosystem via the Public Sector Bank Alliance, connecting banks, NBFCs, SMEs, and fintechs through a unified platform for enhanced efficiency.

Join us as we talk with Aviral Bhatnagar, the Founder and Managing Partner of A Junior VC, as he shares his predictions for the startup ecosystem in 2025. Aviral Bhatnagar is the founder and managing partner at A Junior VC. He has spearheaded investments across SaaS, consumer, and AI sectors while also managing and expanding the student venture program at Venture Highway. Previously, he played a pivotal role in establishing Guild Capital's India investing practice, leading investments and serving on the boards of companies in edtech, D2C, and SaaS. Aviral holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, where he was recognized on the Director's List (top 3% of the class), and a BTech in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay. Notably, he ranked 9th nationally out of over 200,000 applicants in the prestigious Common Admission Test (CAT). 🏢 About A Junior VC: A Junior VC was founded in 2018 with the belief that there was a gap in the conversations by venture capitalists within India’s startup ecosystem. When Aviral started AJVC six years ago, he was a junior with limited knowledge of venture capital. The name "A Junior VC" reflects its core ethos: staying curious, hungry, and driven—remaining young at heart. By 2024, AJVC had grown into AJVC Fund, a pre-seed fund designed to empower India’s entrepreneurs at the earliest stages—a vision first outlined in a 2022 piece about its future.

Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Geetansh Bamania, the Founder of Rentomojo about their story. Geetansh completed his B.Tech from IIT Madras and subsequently gained valuable experience working with renowned companies such as Flipkart, HopeMonkey, Pepperfry, and KPMG. In 2012, he ventured into entrepreneurship by founding Click2Skill.com, a community-driven marketplace for skill exchange. Building on his innovative spirit, he established Rentomojo in 2014. 🏢 About Rentomojo: Rentomojo simplifies relocations with affordable asset leasing and hassle-free packages, embracing "Smart Ownership" to revolutionize home setup.

Join us as we talk to Aviral Bhatnagar, the Founder and Managing Partner of A Junior VC about their story. Aviral Bhatnagar is the founder and managing partner at A Junior VC. He has spearheaded investments across SaaS, consumer, and AI sectors while also managing and expanding the student venture program at Venture Highway. Previously, he played a pivotal role in establishing Guild Capital's India investing practice, leading investments and serving on the boards of companies in edtech, D2C, and SaaS.  Aviral holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, where he was recognized on the Director's List (top 3% of the class), and a BTech in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay. Notably, he ranked 9th nationally out of over 200,000 applicants in the prestigious Common Admission Test (CAT). 🏢 About A Junior VC: A Junior VC was founded in 2018 with the belief that there was a gap in the conversations by venture capitalists within India’s startup ecosystem. When Aviral started AJVC six years ago, he was a junior with limited knowledge of venture capital. The name "A Junior VC" reflects its core ethos: staying curious, hungry, and driven—remaining young at heart. By 2024, AJVC had grown into AJVC Fund, a pre-seed fund designed to empower India’s entrepreneurs at the earliest stages—a vision first outlined in a 2022 piece about its future.

Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Shashi Kumar, the Founder and CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic about their story. Shashi completed his BE and Master's in Telecommunication and Software Engineering in 1995. He began his career as an MTS at CG-Smith Software, progressed to Lead Architect at Wipro Technologies, and ultimately founded Akshayakalpa Organic in 2016. 🏢 About Akshayakalpa Organic: Akshayakalpa is India’s first certified organic dairy enterprise, blending science with traditional dairy farming to produce nutritious, chemical-free, and sustainable products. With a farmer-first approach and free-roaming cows fed organic fodder, it ensures high-quality, sustainable products like milk, curd, ghee, and cheese. 🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Akash Sinha, the Co-founder and CEO of Cashfree Payments about their story. Akash completed his B.Tech in Computer Science from IIIT Hyderabad in 2012 and began his career as a Software Engineer at Amazon. In 2015, he took the entrepreneurial leap and founded Cashfree Payments. 🏢 About Cashfree Payments: Cashfree Payments is a leading payments and banking technology company in India, empowering over 6,00,000 businesses with online payment collections and seamless payouts. Trusted by top brands like Cred, BigBasket, Zomato, and HDFC Ergo, it facilitates solutions for vendor payouts, loan disbursements, e-commerce refunds, and more.

Join us as we talk to Anshuman Das, the Co-Founder & CEO of Careernet, HirePro & Longhouse Consulting about their story. Anshuman completed his B.Tech at IIT Delhi in 1998. He went on to co-found Careernet in 1999, followed by HirePro in 2004, and LONGHOUSE Consulting in 2008. 🏢 About Careernet: Careernet is India’s leading talent solutions provider, committed to helping organizations build effective teams while enabling candidates to pursue their dream careers. Whether catering to global employers entering the Indian market, local startups, or large enterprises scaling their operations, Careernet places talent needs at the forefront of its mission. 🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Join us as we talk to Raja Manickam, the Founder of iVP Semiconductor about their story. Raja completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1982. He has held key leadership roles throughout his career, including Engineering Manager at Texas Instruments, Director at National Semiconductor, Director of Sales and Marketing at STATS ChiPAC, and VP of Business Development at DTS. He served as CEO of Tessolve Semiconductor for nearly 20 years, later became CEO of TATA Electronics, and founded AJK NexSemi. In 2024, he founded iVP Semiconductor. 🏢 About iVP Semiconductor: iVP Semi's mission is to localize semiconductor chip production, empowering Indian companies to enhance product development and achieve technological autonomy. This will strengthen the chip supply chain and encourage semiconductor partners to establish locally, enabling Indian tech solutions to address global challenges.

Aviral Bhatnagar, founder of Ajunia VC and a key player in early-stage startup investing in India, shares captivating insights on navigating the funding landscape. He discusses the contradictions of overcapitalization versus funding gaps, emphasizing strategies for boosting investment. Aviral humorously reflects on dreams of football management and the impact of transformative reads like 'The Innovation Stack.' He also delves into the complexities of SAFE investments and the importance of self-confidence as he recounts overcoming self-doubt through feedback.