The Neon Show

Naren is probably one of the earliest VCs in India’s startup ecosystem. He co-founded Nexus Venture Partners in 2006. He has also been mentoring early-stage entrepreneurs and supporting them since 1990.With investments in over 200+ companies in India and the US, Nexus Venture Partners have some of the most notable startups in their portfolio - Postman, Rapido, and Unacademy among others.In this podcast, Naren shares his experience of investing in early-stage product startups for over three decades.Notes - 01:16 - His journey from moving to the US being an IIT Gold Medalist 02:10 - Lessons from his first venture - Integrated Systems Inc.05:45 - Starting Nexus Venture Partners and deciding upon sectors it won’t invest14:25 - Building a cross border teams18:50 - Uniqueness among entrepreneurs and growth journey of portfolio companies24:52 - Being an early-stage investor and also being consistent through the follow-up rounds29:25 - What are the metrics of success upon which early-stage founders and VCs should focus?35:13 - At what stage do things like - go-to-market, building stronger organization & sales, become a part of board-meeting discussions?Send us a text

From working at PwC, while pursuing his CA to starting a Venture Fund which invests in Early-stage disruptive Tech startups, Vishesh has experienced it all.He started his investing career at VenturEast in 2007. This was where he understood the Ins & Outs of Venture investing. From its Fund-I, Speciale Invest has invested in a total of 10 portfolio companies, some of which are Scapic, Agnikul, and Kawa Space among others.In this podcast, Vishesh shares his experience of investing in seed-stage Hardware & SaaS startups.Notes - 01:10 - His journey from a CA to becoming an Early-Stage Investor07:41 - Starting Speciale Invest aiming to invest in disruptive tech startups09:30 - Developer Tools companies in his portfolio - Scapic, Kawa Space, TotalCloud, and iauro10:44 - Conversation AI startups in his portfolio - True Lark & Wingman 12:35 - Investing in Cynlr with a vision to evolve Visual AI and Industrial Robotic Arms14:47 - Investing in Agnikul - India’s version of SpaceX16:27 - His experience Investing & Exit from Vogo19:48 - Is the Indian startup ecosystem mature enough for early-Exits within 5-6 years of investment?24:31 - What are some of the recent tailwinds for Hardware & SaaS startups in India?28:19 - How are B2B founders different from B2C founders in terms of Go-to-market strategy, customer acquisition, and other parameters?31:18 - His learnings from being a VC-cum-Fund Manager and managing LPsSend us a text

Ashmeet started his career at HP in 1989. He founded Sidana Systems in 1995 (later sold to Doclinx in 1999).He started his stint as a VC at Foundation Capital in 2004. Eventually, he founded Engineering Capital in 2015, which focuses on investing in Tech startups, based on Technical insights. He is one of the few VCs to have been to the base of Mount Everest. In this podcast, he also shares his experience of climbing mountains, one step at a time.Engineering Capital is based in the US and majorly in the San Fransico Bay area, some of its notable portfolio companies are Robust Intelligence, Concentrix, and vFunction among others.In this podcast, Ashmeet shares his thesis of investing in Tech Startups and the approach he follows while evaluating them.Notes - 01:24 - His journey from growing up in Rural India to becoming a VC dedicated to Engineers02:43 - Purpose of starting a fund focussed on engineers04:04 - Difference between Market insight, Technical insight & Consumer insight06:43 - Investing in SignalFx based on its use case - “Enabling cloud-based monitoring and analytics.”08:18 - Investing in Robust Intelligence based on its use case - “Solving the issue of User Data contamination.”10:51 - Investing in vFunction based on its use case - “Allows users to take any legacy applications and break them into micro-services & benefit from the cloud.”12:35 - Is Technical insight alone a sufficient reason for a VC to back a Tech Startup?15:49 - Making an early seed-investment in Azure Power (India) as an Angel Investor20:50 - His perspective and view-point on Postman & potential of Tech Startups in India24:55 - Learnings about Market size with future entrepreneurs in B-schools29:36 - “Even though Venture Capital attracts the brightest and smartest minds all over the world, but still most VCs are not successful.”36:12 - “The magic of making a startup successful is to focus on an incredibly narrow problem, that has a wide application.”Send us a text

Nikhil is one of the most Tech & Product-centric VCs in Asia. This probably comes from his early career with Microsoft, and later with Pie (acquired by Google).He also founded a company called TommyJams, a tech-enabled Artist management platform.He has been with STRIVE Ventures for over 5 years. STRIVE’s portfolio includes HASURA, Classplus, and Saleswhale among others.In this podcast, Nikhil shares his experience of investing in SaaS startups in Asia and helping them achieve Product-Market Fit.Notes - 01:03 - Two major SaaS buckets for STRIVE - (1) Global SaaS (US, European, & Asian markets) and (2) Local SaaS (India SaaS / Indonesian SaaS and similar others.)04:48 - How does STRIVE focus on such segregated SaaS markets?09:28 - Not only monetizing Local SaaS startups through the typical Subscription-Business model (Example - Classplus) but also through transactions17:34 - What was the thought process at STRIVE while coming up with a Non-subscription model for monetizing their portfolio companies in the Indian market?20:27 - Indonesia SaaS market in terms of product adoption, willingness-to-pay & market penetration26:21 - Portfolio of Global SaaS - Healint, HASURA, Saleswhale29:18 - Investing in HASURA with a vision to simplify backend development 33:10 - Investment Thesis - “Founders & Teams who Do More with Less”36:10 -Common early-stage mistakes in SaaS startups40:05 -Crucial changes in GTM strategies for SaaS startups in Pre-COVID vs Post-COVID market48:22 - Emphasizing on portfolio companies to build user engagement and reach an initial $1 million+ ARRSend us a text

Sheel is a Fintech-Entrepreneur turned Fintech-VC investing in Pre-seed & Seed rounds.His first startup was FeeFighters in 2010, which was acquired in 2012 by Groupon.In this podcast, Sheel shares his experience of being an entrepreneur twice and becoming an Angel Investor and later starting his own VC firm. Notes - 01:03 - His journey from a Fintech Entrepreneur to a Fintech VC04:50 - Starting “The Pitch Podcast” (acquired by Gimlet, Gimlet was later acquired by Spotify)07:55 - What does he look for in founders while investing in startups at Seed/Pre-Seed stage?09:57 - Brief about his game-changing fintech portfolio companies13:29 - From hating working at a company that made software for hospitals to investing in a startup which makes software for hospitals14:50 - “Majority of companies in the future will be Fintech companies”22:15 - How did he spot his first Angel Investment?Send us a text

Amit being one of the co-founders of India’s first Unicorn Startup - InMobi, needs no introduction. After driving InMobi’s growth journey for over 10 years, he decided to start Yulu (E-bikes & Mobility solutions) in 2017. In his 2nd entrepreneurial stint, he also convinced Rajiv Bajaj (MD, Bajaj Auto) for investing in Yulu & assembling Yulu bikes in India by Bajaj Auto.As an Angel Investor, Amit has backed over 30+ Early-stage startups, as a gesture of giving back to the community. Some of the popular ones being - HealthifyMe, Applicate & Vahak.In this podcast, Amit shares his experience of building two great companies, along with his core beliefs & principles as a long-time entrepreneur.01:28 - Starting his Entrepreneurial Journey 04:04 - Co-founding InMobi in 2006, based on his intent to disrupt Mobile Advertising in India11:50 - How did he identify the potential in mobile advertising in India, back in 2006, when mobile internet wasn’t mainstream?16:02 - What made him start a new venture after 11 years in InMobi?27:30 - Convincing Rajiv Bajaj for investing in Yulu & assembling Yulu bikes in India by Bajaj Auto30:40 - Future plans & product positioning of Yulu with the current COVID situation in perspective39:23 - How did Yulu negotiate free parking spaces for YuluZones?42:37 - Was raising funds for Yulu easy, being a 2nd-time entrepreneur?59:40 - Startups he’s backing as an Angel InvestorSend us a text

Sajith has been constantly sharing his thoughts & thesis around the Startup ecosystem on social media since 2012.This probably reflects from his background, of being at the Times Group for over two decades and his love for reading and taking copious notes.He joined Blume Ventures in 2018, in his 40s. As he didn’t have a background in VC & Angel investing, he humbly considers himself, “An Accidental VC”.Some of Blume Ventures portfolio companies include - Unacademy, Dunzo, and Cashify among others.In this podcast, Sajith shares his experience of becoming a VC, from a Non-investing background and identifying startups that outshine during Covid-19. Notes - 00:55 - A Day in the life of a VC during Covid-1902:02 - Why does Sajith refer to himself as “An Accidental VC”?07:09 - Building a personal brand & experience to enter the VC Ecosystem09:44 - Emphasis on Note-taking for collating thoughts & ideas12:56 - Secret to being an open-minded VC - “Having Strong Views, weakly held”22:30 - Strongly backing Unacademy’s incredible growth journey25:55 - Markets where vacuums have been created in situations like Covid-1942:10 - What’s his perspective on “Moats” in Early-stage startups vs Bigger players in the market?45:27 - What things did he have to unlearn to succeed as VC?53:45 - What does he consider, as his edge as a VC, coming from a Non-investing background, at the age of 40?Send us a text

Pratik Poddar having his roots back in a Tier-II city, Patna, is probably one of the youngest Principals at a VC firm in India. After having multiple entrepreneurial stints, Pratik joined Nexus Venture Partners, in 2015 as an Investment Associate and has grown tremendously since.Some of Nexus Venture Partners’ portfolio companies include - Zolo, Postman, and Unacademy among others.In this podcast, Pratik shares his experience of identifying potential Edtech Startups in India and adding them to his Portfolio. Notes - 01:29 - Focus on Product-first companies in the Portfolio05:35 - How Edtech startups made themselves resistant from Covid-19?07:46 - Edtech Companies in Portfolio - Unacademy, WhiteHat Jr., and Quizizz among others09:58 - Monetization & Growth Journey of Unacademy with 1200+ Cr. Annual Revenue11:08 - TestPrep Market Scenario & Opportunities in India21:30 - Investing in WhiteHat Jr. a very new concept in Edtech41:25 - Untapped Opportunities in early school for Edtech 49:02 - How big is the potential market for “Pay After Placement model” startups like Newton School?52:45 - 3 Key Qualities VCs look for in Edtech EntrepreneursSend us a text

After completing his MBA from Delhi School of Economics, Ishpreet worked with many banks like - Kotak Mahindra, IFDC, and Citibank among others.For a major part of his career, he worked on Debt funding companies via Banks as Financial Institutions. Eventually, this made him start a Venture Debt Fund of his own, Stride Ventures in December 2018.Some of its portfolio companies include - Stellapps, CredR, and LetsTransport among others.In this podcast, Ishpreet shares his experience of being a part of Debt funding in companies across all domains and building a Venture Debt Fund ecosystem in India. Notes - 01:05 - His early career in Investment & Corporate Banking04:30 - Experience the VC Ecosystem and founding Stride Ventures06:58 - How does Stride Ventures differ from other Venture Debt Funds in the market?09:22 - At which stage does Stride Ventures enter in a Company? 13:55 - With what financials does it makes sense for a company to raise a Debt round?19:50 - How much returns do a Venture Debt fund typically expect?22:27 - Investing in companies like Stellapps & CredR27:53 - Potential sectors in 2020-21 from a Debt Fund’s perspective - SaaS, Logistics, and Gaming among others29:45 - Building an ecosystem of Venture Debt Fund in IndiaSend us a text

While having his family roots back in Odisha (India), Somesh had his upbringing in the US.After completing his graduation from UC Berkeley in 2001, as the US job-market was hit after 9/11 he came to India and joined Sony Entertainment.Later in 2005, he joined Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) back in the US. IVP was founded over 40 years ago and has so far invested in over 400+ companies out of which 111 have gone public.Some of its portfolio companies include - Twitter, Slack, and Soundcloud among others.In this podcast, Somesh shares his experience of investing in growth-stage companies across various sectors. Notes - 02:20 - Building a portfolio with numerous public companies05:52 - Two lessons the Startup Ecosystem can consider during Covid-19 crisis as learnings from similar past events12:51 - Starting his career in India after 9/1123:22 - Investing in companies in their growth-stage - Twitter, Thrive Global, Netflix among others27:30 - Diversity in portfolio companies spread across Cyber Security, Consumer, Analytics & Enterprise Softwares31:27 - Missing out on Salesforce & Zoom39:08 - Second wave of Tailwinds which most people might missout in the startup ecosystem43:50 - “A Startup’s aspirations shouldn’t be to raise the next Unicorn-venture round, it should be to build the next Microsoft or Google.”53:27 - Importance of Mental Health from a VC perspectiveSend us a text