The Neon Show

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

Dhruv worked with ABN AMRO and McKinsey & Company in Investment Management & Strategy roles in the early days of his career. He stepped into the VC ecosystem in India by eventually joining Helion Ventures in 2008.At Helion Ventures he was part of investing in companies like Ezetap, Azure Power, and MoEngage among others.Later when in 2015, Sistema (Russian conglomerate) decided to set up a Venture Fund in India, Dhruv joined Sistema Asia Capital in order to bring the best practices and 8 years of experience on board with him.Some of Sistema Asia Capital’s current Portfolio includes - Licious, Lendingkart, Netmeds & Faasos among others.In this podcast, Dhruv shares his experience of investing in mid-stage growth startups across various sectors in India’s Startup Ecosystem. Notes - 00:57 - His Journey from working at ABN & McKinsey to joining Venture Capital04:30 - Experience of working with Helion Ventures07:56 - Joining Sistema Asia Capital - Building the foundations of a VC firm10:15 - Sistema’s background & establishment in India14:34 - Executing Exit from Qwikcilver (Acquired by Pine Labs)19:44 - Investing in Faasos - reaching $1 billion valuation25:30 - Impact on fintech portfolio companies during Covid-19 lockdown - Lendingkart & Kissht31:26 - HealthifyMe’s transition from human-centric model to AI-based model33:30 - Netmeds offering a full-stack model & growing scalable margins37:04 - Sectors at which Sistema is bullish in 2020-21 - Edtech, Healthcare, & AgritechSend us a text

Ganesh began his career working in Strategy & Acquisition at Infosys in the San Francisco Bay area. He founded his first startup - Travelguru (later acquired by Travelocity) while he was pursuing his MBA from Harvard Business School.In 2006, he began his journey as a VC with Greylock Partners. In 2014, he Co-Founded Quona Capital, which is a Fintech-focused VC firm, making investments across Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.A few of its successful exits include - IndiaMart (went IPO) & Coins.ph (acquired by Gojek).Some of its current Portfolio includes - ZestMoney, Fisdom, & Neogrowth among others.In this podcast, Ganesh shares his experience of investing in emerging markets and fintech-businesses with robust teams. Notes - 00:54 - His Journey from working at Infosys to Co-founding Quona Capital04:39 - Quona Capital: Countries of operations, Cheque-size & Ideology07:58 - Starting Travelguru while pursuing MBA at Harvard Business School14:07 - Investing in teams who respect & fear lending18:17 - Exit from IndiaMart - Most Successful Digital IPO22:30 - Exit from Coins.ph - Acquired by Gojek28:08 - Managing investments across multiple countries and diverse markets34:02 - Fundamentals driving rapid growth in Indian startups in Quona’s portfolio36:23 - Rise of Neobanks in IndiaSend us a text

With over 14+ years of experience in investing, Sushma has been acknowledged for “40 under 40 - Alternate Investment Professionals” in India.Currently, at Aavishkaar, she majorly looks after Fintech & Microfinance.Aavishkaar is also well-known for being one of the few VC firms in India, well known for its Impact Investing Thesis. Some of its portfolio companies are - Chqbook, Agrostar, and Soulfull among others.In this podcast, Sushma shares her experience of investing in high-growth socially responsible startups. Notes - 01:10 - Her Journey from real estate equity background to joining Aavishkaar03:08 - How does Aavishkaar differentiate itself from other funds in terms of thesis - Impact Investing06:36 - Is impact-investing successful in giving justified returns to LPs?08:55 - Investing in socially responsible businesses - Micro-finance & Agritech13:42 - Investing in Chqbook - Making credit cards & short-term loans accessible19:23 - Diversification in investments between early-stage & growth-stage companies22:25 - Significant evaluation around Exit-thesis at the time of new investments28:33 - What does the Indian startup ecosystem requires to mature similarly to Silicon-valley?30:48 - Gender Diversity in the VC & Startup Ecosystem in IndiaSend us a text

Anand has worked with some top companies in SaaS & Product roles - Yahoo, Airtel, Snapdeal, Freecharge, Facebook & currently at Five9.Since 2014 he has been an Angel Investor in over 50+ companies, some of the popular one’s being - Yulu, Khatabook, and MoEngage among others.In this podcast, Anand shares his experience of building consumer-friendly products & becoming a successful Angel Investor. Notes - 01:10 - Journey of one of the best product thinkers in the country - Entrepreneur in SaaS (2001-2008), Multiple Product Leadership Roles across few of the best companies in the world 2008 - Present (Airtel, Snapdeal, Facebook, Five9) and now an investor in startups 2016-Present (Rupeek, Khatabook and 48 other companies) 03:16 - Joining Five9 after Facebook04:09 - Leading acquisition of Whendu and Virtual Observer06:55 - Five9’s future plans with over $400 million ARR and becoming a Decacorn soon09:42 - Working in India with Airtel, Snapdeal & Freecharge (from 2013-16)13:12 - 50+ portfolio companies as an Angel Investor - Khatabook, MoEngage, Innov8 etc.16:56 - Investing in Rupeek - Building a customer-friendly product in a market with very low NPS19:32 - Investing in Nobroker - Solving rental issues on consumers21:16 - Investing in MoEngage - Solving the user engagement marketing needs with SaaS23:00 - Exits from Fynd & Innov8 - More of a founder & team bet, than a market bet!28:37 - Failures Startups face - Cash burn without Product-market fit & Lack of team chemistry36:50 - Covid-19 crisis - Not just conserving cash but creating solutions to tackle it38:16 - Working & learning with Marissa Mayer (Yahoo), Mark Zuckerberg & Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Gopal Vittal (Bharti Airtel)44:15 - “The tools that people continue to pay for during a crisis are the ones which grow in the long run.”51:02 - His first principle of being an Investor -“You are not the Hero of the story, the founder is!” - Just be founder friendly53:01 - His second principle of being an Investor - ”You make your money with the success, but you make your reputation with the failures.” - Being with founders during their bad times54:30 - His third principle of being an Investor - Not to exit from a company, as soon as it breaks-out56:10 - In India would it make sense for Angel investors to Exit-early at a good valuation?Send us a text

Anup worked with some top of the line consumer brands like - Bata, Yum! Restaurants International (Pizza Hut), Whirpool, and P&G among others for over 20 years of his career.In 2015 he started his own family office through which he mentored and Angel Invested in several startups over the next 2 years.In 2017 he joined Orios Venture Partners, where he currently focuses on retail, fintech, healthTech, edTech and D2C brands.Some popular startups in its portfolio - PharmEasy, Zostel, MoneyOnClick, CountryDelight, Gully Network, BeatO among others.In this podcast, Anup shares his experience of identifying top-quality founders and how their portfolio companies are combating with the lockdown due to Covid-19. Notes - 00:42 - Working at Consumer Brands to joining Orios Venture Partners05:11 - Thesis behind investing in Portfolio companies - Multiple pain points, Founders & Team with quality execution experience08:06 - Investing in BeatO - Personal assistant for managing Diabetes09:10 - Investing in MoneyOnClick - Personal loan for salaried professionals09:52 - Investing in Gully Network Retail11:58 - What are their portfolio companies doing to survive through Covid-19?16:08 - Exploring new investments vs re-investment in existing portfolio companies18:15 - Helping out Portfolio companies with - Extending runway & Optimising operations19:25 - Is it a suitable situation to consider an M&A?21:45 - PharmEasy being the crown-jewel of Orios Venture Partners26:12 - Sectoral outlook for potential tailwinds during Covid-19Send us a text