

The Neon Show
Siddhartha Ahluwalia
Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journey from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born the Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 21, 2025 • 1h 4min
$350M by Building Apps for iphones when IOS was like AI | Ashish Toshniwal, Calcutta -> Silicon Valley
How do you know whether an iOS app you have built has potential to be big? Getting an email from Steve Jobs is probably a strong indicator.Ashish Toshniwal, founder of 10Kr and YML (Y Media Labs), started by trying a bit of everything: classifieds, Groupons, and Facebook apps. That email made him quit his job, but as Ashish says, it took him and YML 14 years to become an overnight success. YML helped businesses go mobile-first long before it became a buzzword, with over 45 Fortune 500 clients including Apple, PayPal, Meta, and Disney. Along the way, Ashish shares the real decisions every founder faces, such as when to take VC money, when to sell, and how to think about repeat business. He also reflects on turning down opportunities like Credit Karma equity (now worth $7billion), showing the tough choices early-stage founders make just to survive and keep their business running.This is a story about timing, focus, and conviction, and what happens when you build something real: from Calcutta to Silicon Valley, one decision at a time.0:00 – Trailer03:24 – How the Co-founders met05:28 – The first 3 ideas: Classifieds, Groupons & Facebook apps06:30 – An email from Steve Jobs made Ashish quit his Job07:59 – Building apps when App Store launched (Apple as a client too)09:20 – YML was famous but not profitable10:07 – Becoming the “app guys” of Silicon Valley11:56 – The pivot: Stick with products or move to services?13:43 – 6 acquisition offers on the table: Sell or not?16:57 – The first exit: 60% acquired at $60M18:38 – “We’d never seen that kind of money”19:26 – IOS engineering was like AI engineering20:13 – “If we don’t have repeat business, we don’t have business”22:09 – Silicon valley is not a zipcode, it’s a mindset23:54 – Clients came for design, stayed for engineering26:11 – Does motivation change when equity shrinks?29:01 – Firing and re-hiring yourself as founder CEO30:50 – Why the final decision to sell YML was made32:55 – The golden window of mobile34:26 – Could YML have been a billion-dollar company?37:34 – Turning down Credit Karma equity: now worth $7B38:39 – Why CEOs are like travel agents41:50 – Why Ashish invested in Neon44:22 – What wealth truly enables47:36 – Investing early in Tesla, Nvidia, and Meta49:07 – Why founder-led companies outperform in public markets50:54 – It’s easy to build products, harder to build real businesses52:44 – If your product isn’t 10x better than ChatGPT, you have no chance53:04 – The future of jobs: 5 roles merging into 2 with agents on top57:25 – ChatGPT will not go after human-in-the-loop59:35 – The first real challenge to Google’s dominance1:01:59 – Building AI agents that do real work is incredibly hard-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informSend us a text

Oct 16, 2025 • 1h 4min
Tesla’s Former CIO’s $4 Billion Startup That Car Giants Can’t Stop Investing In | Jay Vijayan, Tekion
Jay Vijayan, founder of Tekion, and Tesla’s former CIO, has one of the most remarkable careers in technology and automotive.Jay joined as CIO when Tesla had almost no revenue and stayed through its growth to $5 billion ARR and $35 billion market cap. Elon Musk brought him in to build Tesla’s own ERP system at a time when most companies would have chosen ready-made solutions like SAP or Oracle.Today, Jay leads Tekion, a company valued at over $4 billion that has raised more than $640 million and has companies like GM, BMW, Hyundai, and Exor as both customers and investors.Jay talks about how Tekion is rethinking the experience of buying & servicing cars connecting dealers, manufacturers, and partners on one platform. He explains why the company spent four years building its first product, why they acquired real dealerships to understand the business end-to-end, and what it takes to build tech for such a complex industry.This conversation is about building deep, meaningful products, making hard choices early, and maintaining focus when the world is moving too fast.00:00 – Trailer02:42 – What value Tekion brings to the automotive industry?03:56 – Enabling dealers with car buying and servicing05:41 – Helping manufacturers connect all customer touchpoints07:02 – Supporting partners across loans and financing07:34 – What was the industry like before Tekion?09:37 – Why Tekion spend 4 years in stealth mode11:50 – Acquiring dealerships to study the product end-to-end16:38 – Should vertical SaaS companies invest in sector businesses?20:30 – Stay Informed, but don’t get swayed by trends22:57 – Why Subscription model didn't work for cars25:30 – How can founders navigate overhyped trends safely?26:22 – Differentiation in AI: solving valuable, sticky problems28:24 – Every business function should have an AI agent30:31 – How can AI agents improve car servicing?32:56 – When customers turn investors36:58 – Why experts opposed acquiring dealerships?40:08 – Why build an ERP backend as an early stage company?44:21 – Do not outsource core customer functions46:37 – Taking on a failed family business51:38 – Paying off huge debt over 10+ years55:21 – When seed investors get a 400x growth58:06 – What is the right attitude early in your career?-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Oct 13, 2025 • 31min
What India Can Learn from Swiss Startups ft. Founder of 9 & Investor in 40 Co’s |Thomas Dübendorfer
Switzerland has quietly built one of the world’s most stable and trusted startup ecosystems.Thomas Dübendorfer, founder and president of SICTIC, Switzerland’s largest angel investing network with over 500 members and more than 400 startups joins Neon show.Thomas talks about how Switzerland’s startup scene has changed over the past decade from a cautious investor community to one that now has 58 unicorns across sectors like fintech, AI, crypto, and deeptech. He explains what Switzerland is doing in AI and commercial research, why a $900 billion economy still invests only $4 billion in startups, why most exits happen through acquisitions rather than IPOs, how Zurich and Bengaluru can build stronger startup ties and what India can learn from a country that builds quietly. Thomas also shares his own journey: leaving Google, building nine startups (three acquired), and backing over 40 founders as an angel investor. This episode is a rare inside look at how Switzerland, at the intersection of centuries-old wealth and technology, is building a strong innovation ecosystem.00:00 – Trailer01:07 – How has the Swiss startup ecosystem evolved over 12 years? 03:36 – Why a $900B economy draws only $4B in startup funding 04:35 – What is Switzerland known for around the world? 05:12 – The lesser-known Unicorns 07:12 – How can Zurich and Bengaluru build stronger startup ties? 10:39 – Swiss institutions that are built to last 11:24 – Building a strong nation among powerful neighbors 12:32 – Alfred Escher: The founder of ETH Zurich 12:57 – How Gotthard Tunnel shaped Swiss finance and engineering 13:49 – Top companies that define Switzerland today 16:15 – What is Switzerland doing in AI? 18:49 – What are the exit routes for Swiss startups: IPOs or acquisitions? 20:19 – Why Zurich has a high concentrations of family offices 22:44 – Where Switzerland stands in Europe’s startup landscape 24:16 – Why build companies when you can just fund them? 27:26 – How Thomas chose his 40 angel investments 28:57 – What do the Swiss think about the Indian startup ecosystem?-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Oct 10, 2025 • 1h 20min
Ola, Flipkart & Swiggy use This $800 Million Software to Send Notifications | Raviteja, MoEngage
In this engaging discussion, Raviteja Dodda, Founder and CEO of MoEngage, shares his journey of building a leading customer engagement platform from India, now sending 80 billion messages to 2 billion users. He explores the importance of local markets in his company’s initial success and contrasts pricing strategies between Indian brands like Swiggy and US counterparts like DoorDash. Raviteja also discusses the challenges and triumphs of expanding into international markets and the pivotal role of data and regional autonomy in scaling operations.

Oct 6, 2025 • 56min
Is India Making Most of It’s GDP Growth? with Prof. Arun Kumar
This episode with Prof. Arun Kumar is a look at the Indian economy beyond headlines and GDP numbers. We discuss the paradox behind India’s growth story: when GDP rises, does it really reach the people? We explore how poverty in India has officially fallen from 27% to 5.3% in just over a decade, yet real wages have been shrinking, especially for rural workers. If fewer people are poor on paper, but incomes aren’t rising, what’s actually driving this improvement?We talk about how the structure of India’s economy is changing, how wealth is concentrated, and the weakening of the public sector to how the black economy distorts policy outcomes.We discuss why state finances are now becoming a silent crisis, and how India’s macroeconomic stability, while strong, hides inequalities that threaten long-term growth. The episode also explores the solutions, which India needs to fix over the next 20 years to make growth truly inclusive and meaningful for everyone.0:00 – Trailer1:01 – Does GDP growth translate to ground reality?6:46 – Is India truly the 4th largest economy?10:30 – Poverty fell 22% in 12 years, yet wages dropped.14:06 – Does the poverty line reflect reality?18:07 – What % of India is really poor?21:00 – Are middle-class families going into debt for basics?23:26 – How are rich, middle, and poor defined?24:44 – Wealth is shifting26:56 – How stable is India’s macroeconomy?30:48 – Why India cannot open up some sectors34:27 – Why R&D spending remains low in India35:36 – Is the consensus on need for public sector falling?38:18 – Black economy kills public sector41:37 – How healthy are the Indian state economies?44:51 – Is the tax split b/w centre and states working?47:05 – How can India create jobs in Unorganised sectors?53:12 – What are the solutions to fix Indian economy in next 20 years-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Oct 2, 2025 • 31min
The Story of Silicon Valley Legend & Google Founding Stakeholder with Asha Jadeja Motwani
“When I saw Google change the destiny of the planet, I could not imagine doing anything else but working with brilliant entrepreneurs.”-Asha Jadeja Motwani and her husband, Rajeev Motwani, the Silicon Valley legend of technical startups, are together the founding stakeholders of Google.In the late 1990s, they came to the United States as most Indians, as students. From being part of Google’s early days to their journey as investors and now, extending that into an active participation in American politics. She speaks about Rajeev’s pivotal role in mentoring Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-authoring the PageRank paper, and helping shape Google’s DNA. Today, through the Motwani Jadeja Foundation, Asha continues to build on that legacy; funding entrepreneurs, supporting Indian voices in global think tanks, and opening doors at Davos and Washington. Asha also reflects on how the Indian diaspora can play a far greater role in shaping the future of India-US partnership and why entrepreneurs are critical to the future of this relationship.If you’re an entrepreneur building in the India–US corridor, or curious about the opportunities the two nations are creating for startups, then this episode is for you.00:00 – Trailer01:25 – How Rajeev became founding stakeholder of Google03:48 – The early days of Google: first office to first funding07:52 – Investments of Dot Edu Ventures10:03 – Asha’s role in American politics10:45 – How Indians in Silicon Valley can strengthen US–India corridor12:18 – The lack of Indian scholars in think tanks13:14 – Do Indians have enough influence in American politics?13:52 – Is Silicon Valley & the Indian diaspora shifting right?15:00 – The impact of Trump on India–US relations17:36 – Asha’s role in opening doors for India globally21:09 – How the Motwani Foundation selects projects and people24:08 – Entrepreneurs as a critical part of US–India value creation24:54 – What’s missing in US–India value creation?26:33 – Report on “jailed for doing business” in India27:56 – The legacy of Rajeev Motwani-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Sep 29, 2025 • 58min
How to Build a Startup in 2025? With 1/5th Cost, 1/5th Team | Shikhil Sharma, Astra Security
Cybercrime is predicted to drain the world of $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, making it one of the greatest threats to modern business.Shikhil Sharma, co-founder & CEO of Astra Security, is building one of today’s most trusted pentesting platforms. Just last year, Astra uncovered over 2 million vulnerabilities across customer systems, preventing more than $69 million in potential lossesShikhil shares why Astra was built as a product- and marketing-first company, how storytelling helped the brand connect with people by clearly showing its purpose and expertise and how founder–investor relationships are built on conviction and trust. He breaks down why pricing transparency is no longer optional for B2B companies and how trust is emerging as the true currency of go-to-market. We discuss what it takes to build a SaaS company in today’s AI-first world, from raising leaner rounds and running with smaller teams to creating products that customers love from day zero. Beyond the playbooks, this is a conversation about building durable companies and the mindset that drives Shikhil as a founder: success isn’t bought, it’s rented, and the rent is due every day.0:00 — Trailer0:56 — Early college days that led to a startup5:00 — AI could cut startup costs and team size by 80%8:43 — Why seed rounds should be under $500K11:45 — Marketing can beat sales in early-stage SaaS16:07 — Is Google search under threat from consumer AI?20:23 — Why B2B startups must display pricing transparently25:41 — What VCs lend founders beyond capital?28:36 — How 42 CIOs backed Atomicwork30:58 — Replace GTM with COT- currency of trust33:34 — Why 20-year SaaS playbooks no longer works35:37 — How AI is changing cybersecurity41:38 — How the founders first met in college46:33 — Are “hard startups” actually easier to build?51:50 — Neon X Astra Security-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Sep 25, 2025 • 1h 2min
Stories from India’s heartland that tell a different story than GDP headlines | Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree
“Push something a millimetre in the private sector, you make an inch of progress. In the public sector, it’s a mile of progress.”Subroto Bagchi started his career as a clerk in the Odisha government in 1976, leaving postgraduate studies. Today, eight years after serving at the rank of cabinet minister in the same government, he has certainly changed countless lives, not nameless faces. In this conversation, he passionately shares stories of young men and women from Odisha who overcame generational challenges by getting skilled, gaining not just jobs but identity.While this conversation could have focused on his remarkable journey building Mindtree in 1999 with 9 Co-founders and taking it to IPO, it goes beyond entrepreneurship. It’s about stories from hinterland India, seen through the eyes of a founder who spent 16 years in the private sector before serving his home state. Subroto also reflects on India’s big picture: instead of just chasing the trillion-dollar goal, we should also focus on improving quality of life for the 94% in the unorganized sector. This episode shares stories beyond metros, it highlights how building scalable solutions in business can translate into meaningful social impact. 0:00 – Trailer1:47 – 10-6-4-2 Method to evaluate ITIs6:15 – Muni Tigga: Locomotive Pilot story9:12 – Basanti Pradhan: Story of 50% of garment workers in Tiruppur from Orissa15:49 – Sumati Nayak: How skills give us identity19:16 – Joy of building Mindtree vs. joy of working in govt20:35 – The difficult stories of people moving away for Jobs23:32 – How Mr.Subroto accepted the Job?31:13 – The story behind “The Day the Chariot Moved”33:26 – How 8 years in hinterland India changed Mr. Subroto37:14 – India vs. Bharat42:04 – India’s priorities beyond the $5 trillion economy43:43 – Quality of life for a gig worker in India vs. a developed country45:29 – Reality of 94% India that is unorganised47:50 – What India gives its vocationally trained students?49:09 – Stereotypes about govt, that maybe not true anymore52:03 – The highly efficient & incorrupt politicians54:00 – Where the government has succeeded in delivery?-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Find Mr.Subroto Bagchi's latest book here: The day the Chariot MovedSend us a text

Sep 18, 2025 • 51min
How Startups Can Survive GPT7 & Win Against Model Providers | Ashu Garg,Foundation Capital | Investor Databricks,Turing,Cohesity
Ashu Garg has backed companies like Databricks, Turing, Cohesity, Jasper, and Eightfold.ai as General Partner at Foundation Capital. Over the years, he’s seen multiple waves of innovation but in his words, nothing in the last 45 years comes close to the transformation AI is bringing right now.Ashu discusses how the next wave of AI products will be driven by combining reasoning with reinforcement learning, and cautions every startup building on top of foundation models: that their vendors will also be their competitors.He also talks about how agents are moving from simple copilots to autonomous workers, how the internet itself will have to be reinvented for an agentic world, and what happens when your agent can not only draft emails but also buy plane tickets or make payments on your behalf.We also get into the realities of building AI companies today: why your competitor isn’t GPT-5 but GPT-7, where startups can actually outcompete big tech, whether geography still matters, and how relationships and access still shape outcomes in an age that feels completely digital.This is one of the most insightful conversations you’ll hear on what it takes to build durable AI companies in this era and where the next generation of billion-dollar startups will come from.0:00- Trailer0:42 – Foundation models as biggest competitor of AI startups4:19 – Agents are visible; reasoning is underneath6:20 – The leap of AI from autonomous to automation9:27 – Why the internet must be reinvented for AI10:49 – What if agents act (and do payments) on your behalf? 13:06 – Is Ashu using agents for himself?13:54 – No tech shift in 45 years compares to today15:38 – Who is accountable for what your agent does?17:57 – Who has advantage: first-time or repeat founders?19:27 – Does geography matter for founders anymore?21:19 – Whose AI will become the user’s default?25:44 – Where do startups have an edge in AI?28:25 – How can startups outdo their model providers31:21 – Does distribution still matter in the Agentic era?33:29 – Why experience and access will always matter35:36 – Startups today must compete with GPT-7, not GPT-537:09 – Why Dollars on talent poaching in AI makes sense42:20 – Are only 1,000 people at AI’s cutting edge?43:32 – What does Ashu garg look for in a founder?45:15 – How to build more billion-dollar companies?-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Sep 13, 2025 • 1h 25min
If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What’s Left for B2B SaaS? | 25 Years, 4 Startups, 3 Eras of SaaS w/ Sreedhar Peddineni & Kiran Darisi
A full founder’s arc: starting small, building global SaaS companies from Hyderabad, taking one to IPO, another to a billion-dollar exit, and then choosing to begin again (and again).Kiran Darisi began at Zoho, founding team member of Freshworks at 25, and stayed twelve years till the company went public. Today he is building Atomicwork, reinventing service management in the AI era. Sreedhar Peddineni started with Host Analytics back when SaaS was still called application service provider, went on to create the customer success category with Gainsight, and is now on his third venture with GTM Buddy.In this episode, we talk about what it takes to build companies that last for decades. We discuss how startups can find the “Goldilocks zone”,why smaller teams are creating more value than ever, and the mistakes founders often make when moving from SMB to enterprise.Both founders share how AI is reshaping every layer of SaaS, why it’s both eating the pie and expanding it and what’s left for entrepreneurs when the biggest AI companies are chasing every vertical.This conversation looks back at some of India’s iconic SaaS companies, shares lessons from two decades of building, and looks ahead to the future of SaaS from India.0:00 — Atomicwork x GTM Buddy1:17 — Why They Chose to Be Founders Again8:27 — How to generate pipeline predictability at a startup?16:46 — Becoming Freshworks’ Co-Founder at 2519:43 — How Atomicwork Co-Founders Connected & Chose Their Problem23:25 — Building Companies That Last for Decades27:18 — Why Smaller, High-Quality Teams Win30:21 — 1st vs 2nd Founders: What They Get Wrong31:56 — Scaling: SMB → Mid-Market → Enterprise33:36 — Category Creation at Gainsight40:03 — Disrupting vs Expanding Large Categories44:08 — How to Choose the Right Market49:08 — Why Atomicwork Chose This Category53:11 — The 'Goldilocks Zone' for a Startup Category57:11 — Can Salesforce Be Replaced?58:26 — Neon Fund x Atomicwork1:01:27 — Neon Fund x GTM Buddy1:03:44 — If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What’s Left for B2B SaaS?1:07:36 — What to Build in the AI Era?1:10:35 — Is AI Expanding the Pie While Eating It?1:17:03 — How Useful Are Custom GPTs for Companies?1:20:34 — Workflows vs AI Workforce-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text