The Neon Show

#100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Ashu Garg, Partner, Foundation CapitalAfter graduating from IIT Delhi, and later completing his masters from IIM Bangalore, Ashu worked at various companies such as - Unilever India, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft and a few others.In 2008 he joined Foundation Capital and since then he’s been primarily investing in B2B & SaaS Companies for the past 11 years.Foundation Capital invested early in Netflix.His Portfolio Companies include - Localytics, QuanticMind, Opas.ai, ZeroStack and FundsIndia among others.In this podcast, Ashu shares his deep insights of the B2B & SaaS space in US & the opportunities coming ahead.Notes - 00:56 - His Professional Journey - A series of Serendipitous Events.05:03 - What caught his interest in the B2B & SaaS market space?07:23 - What are the key skills, he looks for in B2B founder?10:05 - How to sell B2B or SaaS products?12:01 - Why is having clarity on ICP (Initial Customer Profile) crucial for a business?14:40 - How long does it take for him from - “First email from a founder to Cutting a Cheque”?16:40 - Success & Struggles in Foundation Capital’s Portfolio Companies25:10 - What’s his advice for founders who struggle to scale up in the SaaS market?27:55 - When does he plans to invest more in Indian Companies?31:23 - Themes he’s been on a look out for - Task Automation, Tools to make Development easy, Cybersecurity27:15 - Will Startups in Credit Lending Space be able to make money?38:00 - How can B2B entrepreneurs crack the next big thing?Send us a text

#100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Amrish Rau, Co-founder at Citrus Pay, Head of Investments & Partnerships at PayU“Life is Game, Treat it as a Sport, Enjoy your time in the Field, & It will be Fantastic!” - Amrish RauAfter starting his career as a Sales Manager at Siemens Nixdorf in 1996, he later worked extensively with Teradata & First Data. He later started Citrus Payments in 2014, which was acquired by PayU for $130Mn in 2016, one of the biggest FinTech deals in India.As an Angel Investor, his Portfolio Companies are - CRED, Khatabook, Signzy, and OPEN Bank among others.In this podcast, Amrish shares his deep insights of the FinTech space in India & opportunities coming ahead.Notes - 00:56 - How did he grow from a Sales Manager at Siemens to one of the renowned names in Indian Fintech Space?05:20 - How does he treat his work life?06:36 - His experience of Investing in CRED, Mobile Premiere League, Khatabook, Dunzo & Bira 13:28 - Formation of Citrus Pay14:42 - Seeds of Entrepreneurship17:55 - First few years of Citrus Pay - Testing the Market19:26 - His thoughts on Business Capital requirement & Funding21:45 - “You should not tie your dreams to - How much funding I can raise?; Instead, think of - What problem statement can I solve?”23:11 - Pivots v/s Experimentation & Improvisation24:32 - Core Unsolved problems in FinTech for B2C & B2B27:15 - Will Startups in Credit Lending Space be able to make money?28:24 - Credit Lending opportunities in SMEs30:23 - Cost of money is extremely high through NBFCs31:37 - Other Markets he’s interested in - Transactions & eKYC32:52 - “The number of Quality founders, I meet every day, I’m soon going to end up broke being an Angel Investor.”35:26 - Preparation for the Big War in FinTech 37:33 - Advice to listeners - “Spend time in understanding the complexity of FinTech”44:45 - No.1 Golden Rule for a Cofounder is to put the Company FirstSend us a text

#100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Sasha Mirchandani, Founder, Kae CapitalIn early 2000 Sasha was approached by two guys from IIM Ahmedabad with a Startup idea, to invest in. Later he went on to understand the entire Angel Investing & Seed Captial from his fellow Venture Capitalists. After being a solo Angel Investor for over 5-6 years he started Kae Capital in 2012.Some of the Portfolio companies include - Healthkart, LoanTap, Nua and 1mg among others.In this podcast, Sasha shares his deep insights of the Indian Startup Ecosystem from his 18 years of Investing Career.Notes - 00:36 - Mission of Kae Capital01:56 - His 18 Year Journey as an Investor06:53 - Looking at “How well the Founders deal with when the tough times come.” 08:52 - “There’s a Time & a Place for a Market to Take-off”10:55 - Failures while trying to Time the Market11:44 - Recent Investment & Thesis - Nua, Loan Tap, Zetwerk14:37 - Quality of Founders in 2019 vs Quality of Founders 10 Years back16:20 - Markets he prefers - Healthcare, AI, B2B Commerce & SaaS17:10 - Experience investing in Analytics & Home Services ?22:27 - The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz25:24 - Common Patterns in 100x Growth Startups27:29 - Advice to Entrepreneurs “Start, Pivot, Stop, Repeat”Send us a text

#100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Alok Goyal, Partner, Stellaris Venture Partners“It’s essential that you find the perfect balance between passion and money” - Alok Goyal.After heading SAP India as COO for 3 years, he decided to become a Venture Capitalist and joined Helion Ventures in 2013 to understand and experience the Indian Startup Ecosystem. In 2016 he Co-Founded Stellaris Venture Partners, where he looks after the following markets - SaaS, Logistics, Recruiting.Some of the Portfolio companies of the firm include - Mamaearth, Whatfix, mfine and Shop101 among others.In this podcast, Alok shares, about Electric-vehicle & SaaS space in India and more.Notes - 00:35 - Journey - COO at SAP India to a Venture Capitalist05:38 - How he got introduced and joined Helion07:02 - Led investments in Software & Services markets at Helion 09:15 - How are Investment decisions taken at Stellaris?11:20 - Deals led by him - Whatfix, Signzy, noticeboard, LOADSHARE 15:05 - Reasons behind rapid growth in Whatfix and LOADSHARE18:05 - Does he needs validation on his investment decisions from a senior investor?19:05 - “If you are a reasonably sized fund, it’s not possible to build Theme sized funds?” 21:39 - Why is he so bullish in the Electric-vehicle space in India?24:53 - Two-wheeler & Three-wheeler vehicles would be first adopters of EVs in India26:36 - “EVs Market would be bigger than Ola & Uber combined due to Economies of Scale”27:42 - SaaS Startups Growth in India vs US32:20 - Evaluation of Founders - “Great Founders don’t fit into any pattern, they define new patterns”35:05 - Key Strategies in SaaS - “Ability to sell your solutions, Scale what works & Kill what doesn’t”44:22 - Role of Markets in Growth - “Great Entrepreneur + Average Market = Average Outcome” & “Average Entrepreneur + Great Markets = Decent Outcomes”Send us a text

#100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Sandeep Sinha, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Lumis Partners“The belief of the Entrepreneur & the team that you are building & serving for a larger potential market is one of the differential factors in startups which grow 100x.” - Sandeep Sinha.After completing his Post-Grads from London School of Economics, he worked at GE and 3Com Corporation during his early career. In Sept 2006 he started Lumis Partners an Operating Private Equity Fund, with some focus areas which include: Education & Skilling, Recruitment, Assessment, Human Resources and Career Community Solutions.Some of the Portfolio companies include - SHEROES, Wheebox, Altizon Systems among others.In this podcast, Sandeep shares, about role play as an Investor, building relationship with founders and more.Notes - 00:32 - From working at GE in his early career to starting Lumis Partners in 200601:30 - Working closely with Entrepreneurs gives you the opportunity to learn & experience a lot02:25 - Prioritizing select markets can be done by regular experimentation & persuasion 04:44 - Identifying Recession-Proof markets with opportunities of big wins07:32 - Can startups with great teams persuade an Investor to make an Investment?10:24 - The Kind of Entrepreneurs he as a VC would love to work with again & again12:45 - Some of his exists from Healthcare, Human Resource & Fintech14:55 - Being a Hands-on Investor & Methodology of Engaging with Portfolio Companies 16:43 - Pros of being an Open-Ended Equity Firm in case of having to deal with LPs17:56 - Identifying Founders with Deep domain Industry Experience & Understanding20:19 - Engaging with Companies from the start by testing Pre-revenue Models20:56 - Anti-Portfolio Companies - MakeMyTrip, OYO, ShareChat26:30 - Enabling Founders to discuss Challenges & Problems with Investors by building a strong relationship27:57 - Ideal Co-Investors - Clarity in terms of Role Play as a Co-Investor 32:27 - “At the end of the day deliver Great Financial Results, Make an Impact & Enjoy the ride of being a VC”Send us a text

#100xEntrepreneur #Podcast with Karan Mohla, Executive Director at Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India)“As a VC to add value, keep asking yourself, What are the one or two things which if the company does, based on your experience, they’ll thrive. And then Discuss & Communicate that with the Founders.” - Karan Mohla.After graduating from the University of Michigan, Karan joined Jefferies & Company in Silicon Valley, where he first experienced Capital raising, Strategic Company Analysis & Investment Banking.He was also the Youngest person admitted in the INSEAD Executive MBA program history. In 2010, after his Masters, he joined Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India) as a Senior Associate. Since then during his 9 years journey over there, he moved up the ladder to become Executive Director and Head of Consumer Tech & Media SectorCurrently, Karan is a Board of Member in Bounce, HealthifyMe, LittleBlackBook, POPxo, Tripoto and several other big names in the Indian Startup Ecosystem.In this podcast, Karan shares, about the Opportunities in Consumer Tech & Digital Media, Challenges faced by a Venture Capitalist and more.Notes - 00:50 - From being an Intern at E&Y to becoming Executive Director at Chiratae Ventures07:16 - “There are ways in life through which you can create an Impact, Entrepreneurship is one of them”09:40 - Challenges while Fund-raising as a Venture Capitalist & Being a Venturepreneur14:30 - His first Thesis based investment in FirstCry17:30 - What are the scenarios where Top-down or Bottom-up Strategy are suitable for?19:50 - Which markets & business models have been a big win in the past decade?21:37 - Why most Advertising & Ed-Tech Startups don’t work out in India?23:46 - Three Signs of a Bad Investment Opportunity 26:08 - Potential business models to look out in Consumer-Tech30:43 - Thesis for Digital Media Companies32:50 - Creating a Full Stack Business Model = Content Community + Commerce (not being a force fit)37:10 - Recipe to Scale Fast - Surround yourself with good people early on as an Entrepreneur39:55 - Proper Execution is more valuable than just having a Vision50:45 - Not having personal biases to your role as an Investor51:04 - “While making an Investment Decision, something or the other would always go wrong, it’s better to plan much in advance.”52:33 - Dealing with Uncertainties in the form of delayed results being a VCSend us a text

Shalini started as a Venture Partner in the Venture Capital Ecosystem with 500 Startups in 2015.Post which later she started her own Rewards & Loyalty based product Epic.one in early 2019.In this podcast, Shalini shares, the investment philosophy & thought process practised by her at 500 Startups.Notes - 00:20 - Unusual for a VC to become an Entrepreneur01:30 - How did your life shape up your background?02:30 - How did 500 Startups happen?03:20 - Purpose in life as a VC & Now as an Entrepreneur04:17 - Epic.one (Solving the fragmented rewards space)05:15 - Profiling a Customer07:16 - Building an Ecosystem of Players09:38 - Teaming up with Cofounder - Amit10:25 - Key learnings at GSF as an Investor12:20 - Wave of Financial Startups13:40 - Investment Strategy at 500 Startups17:24 - “In early stages folding of Companies is very common, 40-50% close in first 2-3 years”19:50 - “Sometimes your hypothesis is wrong & sometimes it’s not well executed”23:01 - Four things I learnt from the mistakes of Startups we invested in!P.S.I would like to give shoutout to my friend Swayam Prabha, who is the founder of Divine Rejuvenation.I signed up for Divine Rejuvenation wellness class online. It was 30 min session where the instructor uses state of the art bio-energetic tool for your physical, emotional and mindful well being.I had one of the most deep sleep that day and next day my meditation session was wonderful.For 100x Entrepreneur listeners they have launched a special one time 30 min session at 100% discount. Use the code “100X” while signing up on https://divinerejuvenations.com/appointments/Send us a text

Podcast with Vishal Gupta, Managing Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners.“When you create a Network effect, your moats become stronger and your growth is also disproportionate.” - Vishal GuptaVishal did his MBA from IIM Calcutta, in 2002. Post which he initially worked with HCL and later joined Reliance Capital Private Equity in 2003.Finally, he joined Bessemer Venture Partners in 2006.Some of the portfolio companies at Bessemer Venture Partners India include - Bigbasket, Swiggy, Pharmeasy, Urbanclap and DocsApp among others.In this podcast, Vishal shares, about startups with Strong Distributions Channels, opportunities in Healthcare and more.Some Questions answered by Vishal in this Podcast -1. What’s his take on Operational heavy businesses like Bigbasket & Swiggy ?2. What does he think Distributions & Supply Channels in Startups?3. Why does he believe in Data-driven board meetings?4. What is his thesis for opportunities in Healthcare in India?5. What markets didn’t worked out for him?P.S. I would like to give a big shoutout to Qtrove.comQtrove.com is a content and community driven curated marketplace that exhibits and sells natural, organic and non-mass produced products made by small and local sellers driven by passion and purpose. Qtrove.com wants its consumers to 'MakeTheSwitch' to a sustainable lifestyle for a better tomorrow. Qtrove.com wants to change how you consume products IN your body (that is food), ON your body (that is personal care) and AROUND your body (Household Care). They are the G-Commerce (G stands for Good) guys. Use the code 100x to get exclusive 20% discount till 31st oct 2019. I have myself made lifestyle switch into more organic and sustainable products. For eg. the honey and sugar which I consume, the soaps which I use at my home are all made by these local sellers made by hand. Not only you are using something which is good for your body, you are also providing livelihood to so many people.Send us a text

Ash started his career in Banking and joined Silicon Valley Bank and has been since associated with them.He is credited with bringing the major VC & Investment houses of Silicon Valley & San Francisco Bay Area to India in 2003 (also known as the birth of Venture Capitalism in India).He later started Saama Capital in India with the vision of being an Active Co-Investor.Saama Capital is also well known for being an early investor in Paytm. Some of the other investments of Saama Capital include – Raw Pressery, Sula Vineyards, Shaadi.com, and Games2Win among others.In this podcast, Ash shares his journey and experience of bringing the VC culture in India, setting it up and investing in several well-known Consumers Brands & Fintech companies.Some Questions answered by Ash in this Podcast –1. How did the birth of Venture Capital happen in India back in 2003?2. How was his experience during his first meeting with Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm) during his investment pitch?3. How does he see a Startup doing pivots and what was some of the successful Pivots in his investments?4. What has been his philosophy during all of his investments?5. Where did his market thesis didn’t work out?6. What are some of his big companies & exits in Consumer brands?7. What habits does he attribute to his successes?8. How is 2019-20 for founders?9. What are some of his advice for new VCs?A big shoutout for my friends at Sleepy Owl Coffee. Sleepy Owl makes super smooth Cold Brew Coffee and Hot Brew Coffee that requires no equipment to brew. Their Brew Packs are made from the best Indian Coffee beans, carefully roasted and packed immediately to seal in the flavour. Ready to brew, anywhere. Just add water & let it brew overnight. Apart from cold brews, Sleepy Owl recently announced their entry into the hot coffee segment with the launch of an entirely new category- 100% biodegradable, Equipment-free 5 min Dip-N-Sip Brew Bags. . Real coffee that’s made at home. Available at www.sleepyowl.co – use the code 100x at checkout to get 15% off your first order.Send us a text

“What kind of products can I build for consumers who are already on the Internet, rather than bringing offline consumers online.” - Miten SampatMiten started his career in US after completing his Masters in Computer Science, in 2007. It was in 2012 that he began as an Angel Investor and Advisor for Startups.Around the same time, he took the call to move back into India and explore & leverage the Startup ecosystem here.In 2013, he joined the TimesCity and later shifted to managing investments decisions at Times Internet. Some of the portfolio companies at Times Internet include - MX Player, ET-Money, Dineout, Haptik, Shuttl and Cricbuzz among others.In this podcast, Miten shares, the investment philosophy & thought process practised by him at Times Internet.Some Questions answered by Miten in this Podcast -1. What made him come back to India & join Times Internet?2. What does he think about Times Internet investing as a Minority Share Holder?3. What markets or investment thesis didn’t work out for them ?4. Why did Times Internet Shutdown TLABS (Accelerator for Startups like - Inshorts & Pratilipi)? 5. What habits does he attribute to his success as an investor ?6. How does Times Internet chooses build Vs buy ?Send us a text