The Indian Startup Show

'There was no alternative to buying expensive furniture for temporary needs' and so City Furnish was created. Today I speak to Neerav Jain, the co-founder of City Furnish a rental subscription service for furniture & appliances. So in this episode he talks about how he got this off the ground by talking to 200 people , going through Y-Combinator last year , and how they validated the market ,raising $5million and talks customer retention strategies , the 2 macro changes contributing to the rise in the renting economy in India. What did the first MVP look like. Learn how to talk to your potential customers. Why his parents thought it was a bad idea and why they want more competition not less! In this conversation we also talk about: Growing fast Playbook for launching new cities How they scale & deal with logistics Meeting Paul Graham Expanding to the Middle East Why they got rejected 400x For every assumption you need validation Book recommendation - The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win - Steve Blank Furniture rental market v furniture buying market Why has there not been a furniture rental unicorn yet? Hiring for culture fit rather than skill and much more Links https://cityfurnish.com/ P.S I am starting a production company creating Indian based dramas documentaries & animation shows package them up for multicultural audiences around the world. So if you are writer ,scriptwriter, producer animators or know someone who is or has an original and interesting story tell or want to pitch me your concepts Then get in touch and we can turn this into the next big Netflix / Amazon Prime show. P.P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Trapped indoors by the Storm Ciara & Storm Dennis. I decided to listen back through the archives and put together some of the best bits. So today you will hear from Govinda Upadhyay- Cofounder LEDsafari, Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur - On bringing solar-powered light to students in India., we talk about:- Going from one village to the next with a suitcase A great example of entrepreneurship in Uganda The one child one lamp initiative. Grandma & Grandpa thoughts! Dealing with the knockbacks Interesting story where the name comes from Growing up in an army family & changing friends every 3 years. Don't build product build solution - Former President of India - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Next up is Venkat Iyer - the author of Moong Over Microchips - Adventures of a techie turned farmer! We talk about: Unable to sleep Dealing with the silence and the darkness Depression Russels Viper Snake Not knowing anything about farming Getting ripped off the first time The 4 C’s and 2 P’s of success How being project manager helped! Taking risks Someone interested in buying the movie rights Realities of living on a rural farm in India (kids not interested!) Next the 'The Guru of Giggling' Dr Madan Kataria - Founder of Laughter Yoga Clubs- On why laughter really is the best medicine! Including exercises you can try at home helped me a trapped nerve in my shoulder! We talk about: The body not being able to differentiate between fake laughter or real laughter. His mother being embarrassed when she found out and how he turned it around. Milkshake laughter Dealing with shy and inhibited people The gibberish workshop! Skype laughter club. Being a social crusader Not having a business brain! but reaching 100 + countries. Depression is the No1 sickness in the world Acting like a happy person Last but by no means least - Rajeev Tamhankar founder of TBS Planet a comic & animation startup. He is building the next Indian Superhero Universe!. We talk about: Leaving the corporate life Attending Comic-Con Developing superheroes including Karma & Mother Nature Writing his first novel - Get corporate before you get fired! Joining an accelerator Creating an augmented treasure hunt at Comic-Con Dads feedback. Getting his first sale State of the Indian comic market. DC/Aquaman chat. Experiment - content development takes time! I would like to pay tribute to everyone listening and subscribing to the show for the past four years. Without you, this podcast would not have been possible! So I’m very grateful. Links : http://www.indianstartupshow.com/ P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

'It was his birthday & I thought of customising a shoe and gifting it to him on his birthday' And so Toesmith was born! and they haven't looked back . I speak to Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith , India’s first tech-driven footwear brand, offering customisation of shoes . In this episode he talks how the 3d customisation works. Talks about customer research , pitching his parents the prototype , how they target customers via Facebook and Instagram, how many orders that get a day, quitting the corporate life, how they plan to scale the operation and finally he gives advice on building an e-commerce business & brand in India. In this conversation we also talk about: Pricing strategies that don't pinch! Getting great feedback & design from a tattoo artist Walking away from nice job at Bain How they deal with copyright issues Thoughts on the offline / retail market. Is it pressure off or pressure on? Launching internationally & scaling Experiencing failure on his previous start-up Getting advice from parents who work in the shoe manufacturing business. and much much more Links https://www.toesmith.com/ P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

This is an exciting new feature called Where Are They Now ? I catch up with previous guests who came on the show. I catch up With Vineet Rajan the co-founder of Scout My Trip India’s first subscription-based travel planner powered by local travel experts. He gives us an update on what’s been happening since I last spoke to him over 2 years ago including being recognised as being of the top 50 startups to watch in india. Talks about expanding into SouthEast Asia. He explains why they pivoted and now use virtual scouts, talks about raising $500k, talks about content marketing strategies , talks about hot new destinations in india you should visit , talks about a life changing trip to Ladakh and finally he talks about eating ghost chillies in North East India and his second wife latitia(his bike!) In this conversation we also talk about: Growing 5x since 2018 A phenomenal 2019 winning 6+ awards Offline marketing strategies Business Travel market Working with Honda Climate change & sustainable travel Great story how he met his co-founder on the highway Great road trips Being a startup guy and his co-founder being a corporate guy Consumer mindset in india Income Tax Exemption granted under Startup India Programme How they use virtual scouts Using AI in the future Being trapped in the snow for 20hrs! and much much more! https://scoutmytrip.com/ P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Part 2 of my interview with Sanil Sacher co-founder of huddle a startup incubator based in Delhi. So in this episode he talks his entrepreneurial life. Talks about his moment of epiphany. Gives great advice on beating the Monday morning blues talks about how to scale consumer goods companies, some Richard Branson chat , key takeaway from working at Star Sports , and mental health chat. Finally a first for the indian startup show, Sanil reads out some of his wonderful some poetry. Links http://huddle.work/ P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Providing 360-degree support to multiple startups. Today I speak to Sanil Sachar co-founder of Huddle a startup incubator based in Delhi. He is also an entrepreneur, national best-selling author, angel investor, columnist, co-owner of global sports brand, Trusox, motivational speaker and leadership coach. I decided to split this into two parts . So in this episode we talk about the startup incubator he co-founded , what inspired him to do this, what they look for when it comes to investing, raising funds in india, exits, advice for first time investors ,he talks about what startups you should be investing in and what he likes & dislikes in the Indian startup ecosystem. In this conversation we also talk about: Mentoring startups The application process Being open to single founders & non technical founders How much do they invest & how much equity do they take. Investing in data over sound technology, blockchain & keto markets Startup scene in Delhi , compared to Mumbai & Bangalore. Motivations How much should you invest? and much more P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

‘One piece of advice I will give is this - listen to the consumer , listen to the consumer, listen to the consumer , everything flows from that, if that’s not part of you equation then your starting at the wrong place - Shankar Prasad. Today I speak to Shankar Prasad, Founder, Pureplay Skin Sciences.One of indian fastest growing vegan & grooming brands. He has over 20 years of creating and building consumer goods india. So in this podcast we talk about his iterative design process, his research , his pricing strategy , using social media influencers, the Skin care for men market, taking calculated risks, advice on building your own consumer goods brand and learn how to improve your communication skills. And finally some warren Buffett chat as well so please enjoy the show. In this conversation we also talk about: Starting out as a chemical engineer. Leaving corporate life and going it alone. Why vegan? Bring inspired by the goodness of nature, and & doing good Online & offline selling strategies Understanding want goes on in the west ,will likely happen in India Social media advice - Earn your place at the table. Launching skin care products for men & size of market. Favourite brands and why. Thoughts & experiences on using Youtube video for marketing & advertising. and much more P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for SaaS (software as a service)-based customer relationship management (CRM) firms. So today i speak to Vikas Jha founder & CEO of Alore. Alore offers everything needed to run a sales team at scale - from finding business email addresses to running automated drip campaigns to monitoring the performance of sales teams. So he talks about it all got started , how the product works. How they acquire customers around the world organically without spending money on marketing. Talks about nearly going bankrupt , talks about what makes a great salesperson, being an ex-merchant navy officer turned venture capitalist turned entrepreneur. Gives great book recommendations , talks about burnout , mental health. He talks about bootstrapping strategies what worked and what didn't work and finally he talks about how he transitioned from corporate life to startup life. in this conversation we also talk about: Sales so far Early bootstrap strategies using Facebook groups Product design process Unique pricing models 2 business models Is email still a good way to sell? The 'land & expand' strategy Book recommendation - Atomic Habits by James Clear & OKR by John Dorr Seeing 800 business plans in a year as a VC and what to put in a pitch deck. Great hiring advice and processes. How he dealt with mental health & burnout Advice on pivoting Dealing with rejection and much more links https://alore.io/ P..S I am looking for feedback on the show. So If you could fill out the audience survey. It takes 2mins https://forms.gle/iNkXMauT7azY81sK8 P.P.S Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes! https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel P.P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7. Use my link to take $15 off your first CreativeLive class of $25 or more! https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Neil108 music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Student living 2.0! Today I speak with Annu Talreja and Priyanka Gera they have co-founded OxfordCaps. OxfordCaps is Asia's first branded and tech-enabled student housing company they started in Singapore and now growing rapidly in India so in this episode they talk about how they went from quitting their corporate jobs to raising $10 million dollars in funding. They talk about how they are enhancing the student experience, female entrepreneurship , the hardest part about doing business in India , they talk about pitching to investors and knowing each other since childhood. And finally some Steve jobs, Jack Ma chat. In this conversation we also talk about: Going from 200 beds to 15000 beds Are they growing too fast? First impressions of each other How they divided the different roles & responsibilities at the start. Appreciating each other Getting customers Having supportive investors Lion mom culture & stress Technology and much more! links https://oxfordcaps.com/ Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2 Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Share this episode with your friends. Listen and Subscribe to More Episodeshttps://www.indianstartupshow.com/ Music by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Guest Naina Hiranandani talks about revolutionizing dating for global Indians with Sirf Coffee, an offline bespoke dating service. She discusses their unique approach, why they don't do marketing or take investments, and shares dating advice. They touch on topics like setting up dates, leaving a career for entrepreneurship, building prototypes, word-of-mouth marketing, and the future of dating. Also, they explore gender dynamics on dating apps, dating tips for relationships, entrepreneurship journey, and insights from literature.