The Neon Show

In this episode, we chat with Bhaskar Majumdar, Founder of Unicorn India Ventures; an early-stage fund with portfolio companies such as - Inc42, OPEN Bank, and VLCC’s VanityCube among others. Bhaskar spent his early career in various Media companies like - Zee Network & Times Group. He also had an entrepreneurial stint with Recreate Solutions in 2001, which he later sold to US systems integrator. He has since been an investor in several early-stage technology startups over the years, in India and the UK.For anyone looking to start up in unconventional sectors, this conversation can add a great value. From identifying the problem statement to creating digital solutions, by leveraging trends & technology, this podcast will guide you through it all.Notes - 02:04 - Early career in Media domain and founding Unicorn India Ventures04:25 - Traditional mistake - “Finding a Co-founder whose skillset is exactly complementary to your own”.06:26 - Identifying portfolio companies in uncommon sectors08:04 - Thesis behind investments: Digitization of old, rugged & broken systems11:07 - Investing in Neo Banks based upon the trend shift in large banks abroad16:59 - Enabling Indian portfolio companies to go globalSend us a text

In this episode, we chat with Geetha Manjunath, Founder of NIRAMAI; one of India’s most awarded health tech startups using AI to solve the detection of early-stage breast cancer. Prior to NIRAMAI, Geetha has made her mark at CDAC, HP & Xerox, with her 25+ years of research and innovation background.Set up in 2016, NIRAMAI is India’s only startup among CB Insights’ 100 most promising AI startups. For anyone exploring health tech, this conversation would be of great value. From identifying the problem statement to creating affordable solutions for the end-user, by leveraging AI & technology, this podcast will guide you through it all.Notes - 01:33 - Her belief in “Karma Yoga”05:11 - Family background and upbringing06:20 - Getting into IISc, learned - “Enjoying the newness of something”07:36 - Joining CDAC -  Member of the team that developed the First Indian Supercomputer10:23 - NIRAMAI’s cause - Enabling early-stage detection of Breast Cancer15:16 - Identifying problem statements and creating solutions20:11 - Partnering with hospitals and health startups21:54 - Mammography vs NIRAMAI screening (in terms of OpEx & CapEx)29:06 - Challenges while fundraising as a Healthcare startup34:33 - Opportunities for Healthcare startups in India36:10 - Challenges Healthcare startups should brace up for42:53 - Future plans at NIRAMAISend us a text

In this episode, we chat with Viraj Sheth, Co-founder, Monk Entertainment and the man behind one of the fastest-growing Influencer marketing agencies in India. At the age of 24, Viraj started his entrepreneurial journey with his college senior Ranveer Allahbadia who is better known as BeerBiceps on social media. In this episode, catch Viraj talking about starting Monk Entertainment, getting their first few clients, achieving their current scale, working with companies like Nykaa Men, MamaEarth and much more. For anyone looking to explore influencer marketing, this conversation would be of great value. From building an audience by sharing about your niche, to having a long term vision when working with a brand, this podcast will guide you through it all.Notes - 01:14 - Starting Monk Entertainment with Ranveer Allahbadia06:33 - Working part-time on acquiring clients and Quitting a stable job08:07 - Growing the startup at the age of 2510:11 - Current scale at Monk-E15:35 - Building monetization & business model with creators19:39 - What differentiates them from other Influencer Marketing Agencies?22:16 - Setting the right practices for influencers while interacting with brands23:40 - How is India’s influencer market space evolving?26:27 - Segmenting creators 30:51 - Two rules to grow the audience on Twitter35:22 - Structuring and organizing the workflow at Monk-E39:50 - Learnings from Ranveer AllahbadiaSend us a text

On our 102nd episode, we chat with Jon Sakoda, Founder, Decibel Partners, a Cisco-backed venture fund. Jon founded Decibel to push through the conventional boundaries of early-stage investing in SaaS startups. After being an entrepreneur for a few years and working as a General Partner at New Enterprise Associates, Jon decided to set up Decibel Partners. With Decibel, Jon’s vision was probably an industry-first approach to provide a way for entrepreneurs to get access to unparalleled resources at a time and stage when they need it most.In this episode, catch Jon talking about pivoting as an entrepreneur, finding the right coach to guide you through your startup journey, and much more. Notes - 01:39 - “I’m a recovering entrepreneur.”06:29 - Pivoting and finding product-market fit09:11 - Partnership with Cisco13:20 - Leveraging strongholds of industry dominant LPs in the VC firm17:20 - “What makes you great in getting you from 0 to 1, may not be great in getting you from 1 to 10 or 10 to 100.”23:10 - Coaching for early-stage founders; for Performance and Efficiency29:27 - Having an Advisor v/s having a Coach as an early-stage founder32:30 - “You should be more conscious about who you want to work with, rather than, where you want to work.”Send us a text

The guest for our 101st episode of 100xEntrepreneur is Abhishek Asthana, Founder, Ginger Monkey, and the man behind one of the most followed accounts on Twitter, @GabbbarSingh with 1.3 Million followers. He is amongst the few who have transitioned from an engineer to a successful marketer. He has been the brains behind some of the marketing campaigns at AirAsia, Bounce, Durex, and Urban Company among others.It was in 2019 when he decided to help companies with their branding and marketing strategies by founding Ginger Monkey. In this episode, catch Abhishek talking about starting GingerMonkey, working with AirAsia, Durex India, Urban Company, and much more. For anyone looking to explore digital marketing, this conversation would be of great value. From building an audience by tapping your creative side, to building a brand for a D2C company to reach your customers, this podcast will guide you through it all.Notes - 01:39 - Abhishek’s journey as an engineer03:28 - Corrupted by Twitter04:21 - Getting featured in Outlook while doing his MBA06:37 - Founding GingerMonkey as a first-gen Entrepreneur08:02 - Taking calculated risk while setting up the business09:17 - Key milestones of GingerMonkey’s journey11:12 - “We don’t have a BD team, our clients are our BD team. It’s a complete word of mouth.”16:39 - Viral campaigns for Schindler - Getting Ankur Warikoo & Ranveer Allahbadia19:17 - Creating and going viral with @GabbbarSingh on Twitter21:43 - “If you’re not able to monetize your hobby, it will die.”32:02 - Indian D2C brands leveraging digital marketing38:18 - Branding without burning money on advertising44:12 - Reaching out to early adopters being a new D2C brandSend us a text

Our guest for the 100th episode of 100x Entrepreneur Kunal Bahl is best known as the co-founder of Snapdeal & Titan Capital.He co-founded Snapdeal back in 2007 along with his high school friend Rohit Bansal. It initially started as a daily deals platform but soon expanded to become one of the largest online marketplaces in India. Over the years, Kunal has mentored and invested in several early-stage entrepreneurs. In 2011, he decided to formalize it by setting up Titan Capital. Titan Capital has invested in the likes of Ola, Urban Company, Mamaearth, and Bira among others.In this episode, catch Kunal talking about starting Snapdeal, guiding and investing in early-stage founders, having the drive to keep going as an entrepreneur, and much more. For anyone looking to explore entrepreneurship, this conversation is worth its weight in gold. From learning from your own mistakes & failures to keep going even when you want to give up your entrepreneurial dream, this podcast will guide you through it all.Notes - 01:43 - Launching Snapdeal after getting H1-B Visa rejected03:59 - Pivoting from coupons marketplace to a marketplace for physical products05:17 - “Identifying the type of businesses Rohit and I like to build”12:01 - Why not fearing being wrong/failing is important13:29 - “Our greatest powers will come from our greatest wounds”15:04 - What drives Kunal even after 13 years as an entrepreneur18:29 - Tectonic shifts in the Startup ecosystem over the last decade26:42 - Investing in D2C companies; Beardo, Mamaearth, & OZiva, etc39:02 - Investing in Urban Company based on their customer-first approach43:32 - Investing in companies prior to Product-Market Fit 51:48 - Starting up as an Angel Investor and eventually setting up Titan Capital56:59 - What has changed for Kunal after becoming a parentSend us a text

Kunal Kapoor is someone who dons many hats - an actor, director, and entrepreneur. Some of the well-known movies he has been a part of - Rang De Basanti, Don 2, and Dear Zindagi among others.In 2012, he joined hands with Varun Sheth & Zaheer Adenwala with a mission to create a change in society and connect people to access healthcare and share happiness and co-founded Ketto. Over the years, Ketto has emerged as Asia's most trusted crowdfunding platform with a network of over 55 lakh donors who have funded around 2 lakh, online fundraisers. So Ketto as a platform has successfully raised over ₹1100 crore in online donations since its debut in 2012.In this episode, catch Kunal talking about becoming an entrepreneur, what’s it like running an online crowd-funding platform, gaining the trust of investors in the vision, and much more. To anyone looking to get into the crowdfunding space, this conversation is a great place to start. From making the right use of technology to building a sustainable business model for investors, this podcast will guide you through all.Notes - 01:30 - Intro of Kunal Kapoor & Ketto02:16 - Becoming an Entrepreneur & Co-founding Ketto03:27 - Democratization of Capital04:12 - Initial challenges with Ketto05:17 - Building an online presence for NGOs09:41 - Future plans at Ketto around medical & health services12:15 - Ketto’s impact during the pandemic14:20 - Business model at Ketto (As a Profit venture)16:46 - “Building a tech company is like bodybuilding, but building a tech company with a celebrity is like bodybuilding on steroids.”18:47 - Growth & Scaling-up plans at Ketto23:24 - Essential mental models for Kunal as an entrepreneur25:31 - “Whether it’s acting or entrepreneurship, it’s not as glamorous as it looks.”Send us a text

In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we chat with Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, CropIn Technology- a leading "Full-Stack AgTech"​ organization that provides SaaS-based solutions to agribusinesses globally. CropIn serves 220+ agribusinesses and numerous governments and non-government organizations present in over 52 countries. CropIn has digitized over 5 million acres of farmland, enriched the lives of nearly 2.1 million farmers, and gathered data on 265 crops and 3,500 crop varieties. In this episode, Krishna shares his journey of being the change-maker and being one of the first entrepreneurs to step into Agritech in India.Listen to this podcast to learn about:01:57 - Intro of Krishna & his journey04:08 - Interacting with farmers and key-stakeholders within the Agri-Ecosystem05:10 - Identifying the problem statement06:43 - Building the team at CropIn10:30 - First project with Safal- a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board15:12 - Pooling initial $10k from his friends19:50 - Scaling up from first few clients to going global in 52 countries28:56 - Enabling banking ecosystem for lending & insurance for farmers34:55 - Tech Products & offerings from CropIn for farmers42:49 - Leveraging AI to transforming agriculture at scale45:15 - Potential for upcoming Agritech startups in India47:18 - Adoption of Agritech offerings by EnterprisesSend us a text

In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we chat with Shailesh Ghorpade, Managing Partner and CIO, Exfinity Venture PartnersThroughout the podcast, Shailesh shares his deep understanding of the SaaS startups building for Enterprises from his close to two decades of experience working at Infosys, Suzlon & Azure Capital, and others.02:31 - Intro of Shailesh03:25 - Background in the VC ecosystem06:07 - Major milestones at Exfinity Venture Partners08:36 - Fund growth over-time & thesis change09:50 - Investing early-on in AI startups like Mad Street Den13:29 - Identifying Mega-trends while looking out for potential portfolio companies17:33 - Differentiating factor between top portfolio companies vs other portfolio companies funded around the same time19:59 - Essential fundamentals to get from 0 to $1Mn ARR early-on22:52 - Standing out amongst thousands of SaaS businesses in India25:47 - Approaching Enterprises to validate problem statements as a SaaS founder35:23 - Challenges restricting founders in between $1Mn to $10Mn ARR39:50 - India market not completely ready for SaaS offerings48:39 - Hiring the right people for Enterprise SaaS startups59:55 - Book Recommendation - Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard BachSend us a text

In this episode of 100xEntrepreneur Podcast, we take you through the journey of Pranav Pai. He early on in his career implemented learnings from his father’s (Mohandas Pai) in his work and curated new approaches to finding horizontal & uncommon investment ideas. Listen to this podcast to learn about:Notes - 00:11 - Intro of Pranav & 3one4 Capital01:50 - Influence of upbringing and early career choices05:25 - Background and setting up of Aarin Capital by Mohandas Pai08:17 - Learnings & practices at 3one4 Capital, inspired from Aarin Capital17:25 - Balancing the Venture fund performance & relationship with LPs18:33 - Investing early-on in uncommon ideas like - Licious & Yulu22:17 - Investing in horizontal businesses like Darwinbox27:48 - Fund-III - Lookout for New format for Indian digital citizens29:12 - Changes in Fund-III - More variance & verticals35:42 - “Not enough Indian capital is available for Indian funds to raise.” 38:21 - Top 3 advice from his father - T.V. Mohandas PaiSend us a text