The VCpreneur: Startups | Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Fundraising

In this episode, Manish Singhal (Founding Partner @Pi Ventures), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his path to venture capital, thesis for Pi Ventures & key portfolio startups, framework for evaluating disruptive ideas, fund allocation strategy as an early stage VC, learnings from his failed attempts to raise a venture fund, role of LPs in differentiating yourself as a VC fund & the bull case for deeptech in India. Pi Ventures is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in disruptive ideas leveraging machine learning, AI, and IoT. So far the fund has backed 13 startups from its 1st fund, which include marquee names like Locus, Agnikul, SigTuple, Pyxis & Wysa. Before founding Pi Ventures, Manish co-founded Lets Venture, a leading angel investment platform in India and worked for over 2 decades in R&D, product & leadership roles in companies like Motorola & Sling Media. An Alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Manish has also contributed to the standardisation of MPEG-4 standard and holds a couple of video technology patents to his name. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – (01:45) Manish’s path to starting Pi Ventures; What inspired him to become a VC? (08:11) Evolution of the fund’s thesis; Key portfolio startups (12:04) Evaluating framework for disruptive ideas - Demand & Supply Resonance map (17:12) Founders’ approach to bridge the gap between a standalone technology/project & a commercial product (19:19) Fund allocation strategy as a VC; Key metrics that influence the follow-on funding decision (23:28) Challenges of raising a VC fund; Learnings from failed attempts to raise money prior to starting Pi (29:06) Role of LPs to differentiate yourself as a VC fund & supporting portfolio startups (31:45) The Bull case for deeptech innovation in India (33:59) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Shruti Kapoor (Co-founder & CEO @Wingman), joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path to entrepreneurship, building Wingman, winning your first 5 customers at a B2B startup, scaling up as an entrepreneur, the Y-Combinator experience & what founders should optimize for when fundraising for their startup. Wingman is a Y-Combinator backed SaaS startup that empowers sales teams with conversation intelligence, actionable insights on successful playbooks and delivers real-time coaching. The company has also raised funding from notable VCs like Speciale Invest & Venture Highway. Since the start of her career, Shruti has worked across lifesciences research, investment banking, technology investing, commercialization, product development, fin-tech. Prior to Wingman, Shruti was part of Payoneer India's founding team & led the company’s go-to-market strategy. You can connect with her here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:30) Shruti’s path to becoming an entrepreneur 2. (04:10) The ‘Why’ behind starting Wingman - genesis & problem statement 3. (07:00) Unpacking B2B ‘Sales’; Wingman’s role in empowering the Sales function of an org 4. (13:20) Key learnings from the 0 to 1 phase of a startup; The approach to winning your first 5 customers 5. (20:03) Scaling up as an entrepreneur as you scale your business; The Y-combinator experience 6. (24:45) Timing your fundraise while still trying to achieve product-market fit; What to optimize for, when fundraising for your startup? 7. (29:20) Leveraging your investors post the fundraise 8. (30:45) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Abhihshek Goyal, Co-founder @Tracxn & Serial Angel Investor, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his exciting journey as an entrepreneur, VC & an angel investor, learnings from his previous startups & scaling his latest venture – Tracxn, how being a VC & an angel investor influences his operating style as an entrepreneur, Abhishek’s investment in Flipkart, his approach to angel investing & fundraising advice for founders. Abhishek started his career with Yahoo & Amazon and also founded two startups before joining Accel Partners. After working for 3 years at Accel, Abhishek plunged back into entrepreneurship, and launched two more startups — UrbanTouch (which was later acquired by online fashion flash sales retailer FashionAndYou), and his current venture Tracxn, an online startup discovery platform for VC funds. Tracxn is backed by angels like Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani, Sachin Bansal, Girish Mathrubootham & VCs like Sequoia, Accel & Prime VP. Besides being a serial entrepreneur & ex-VC, Abhishek is also a serial angel investor who has invested in 100+ startups through personal & institutional capital. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:51) Abhishek’s journey as an entrepreneur, VC & an angel investor 2. (04:02) Tracxn - Genesis & problem statement; Starting up in US & then scaling the team in India 3. (08:37) Learnings from the previous startups that helped build a strong foundation at Tracxn 4. (09:53) How being a VC & an angel investor influences his operating style as an entrepreneur? 5. (13:13) Investing in Flipkart – The funding backstory 6. (18:23) Approach to angel investing; What motivates Abhishek to back early stage startups? 7. (26:41) Founder perspective – Pitfalls to avoid when raising funds from angels & value-add expectations 8. (30:33) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Anshuman Bapna, Founder @Terra, joins our host Digjay, to talk about the ‘why’ & ‘how’ behind his latest venture - Terra, investor trends & the massive opportunity in clean tech, building a strong culture at a remote first startup, managing pivots & how should a founder think about exits. Terra is an online climate school which is on a mission to activate 100 million highly-skilled, climate-conscious professionals by 2030. The company aims to turn climate focused intentions into real world impactful actions. An alumnus of IIT-Bombay and Stanford Business School, Anshuman is a serial entrepreneur who has founded & exited multiple startups in the past, including traveltech startup mygola, Democracy Connect, and RightHalf.com. Prior to starting Terra, Anshuman was the Chief Product Officer at MakemyTrip. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:24) Anshuman’s background & path leading up to Terra 2. (04:22) The ’Why’ behind starting Terra; Building the talent stack for the climate economy 3. (07:59) The massive clean tech opportunity - Investor trends across India & US 4. (13:14) Terra’s mission & outlook for the next decade 5. (16:20) Building a strong culture at a remote-first startup 6. (22:04) Managing pivots - key principles to help make the decision 7. (26:25) Fundraising approach as a 1st time & 2nd/3rdtime founder 8. (32:56) Thoughts on approaching exits as a fouder; How founders can derive maximum value from an exit opportunity? 9. (37:18) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Sanjay Swamy, Managing Partner @Prime Venture Partners (Prime), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur & now as a VC, the genesis story & investment philosophy at Prime, adding value as an operator VC, finding investor-founder fit, identifying & backing category creating startups and the VC-founder relationship at Prime. Prime VP is an early-stage VC fund focused on backing category-creating tech companies out of India building for the local and global markets. It has a portfolio of 25 startups so far, which includes startups like Recko, MyGate, MoneyTap & Dozee among others. Before starting Prime in 2012, Sanjay took up multiple roles at companies like mCheck & Ezetap. Sanjay also co-founded ZipDial, which was later acquired by Twitter in 2015. Sanjay started his career in the Silicon Valley in 1992, working with companies like Integrated Systems, Xerox, Portal Software before returning to India in 2003. Sanjay is also a volunteer at iSPIRT and played a prominent role on the UIDAI project under the leadership of Nandan Nilekani. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:43) Sanjay’s background & path leading up to Prime 2. (07:57) The opportunities that led him to start Prime along with his co-founders; The investment philosophy at Prime 3. (11:27) Adding value to the portfolio companies as an Operator VC; Finding investor-founder fit 4. (17:38) Evolution of the startup landscape & Prime’s investment approach since starting the first fund in 2012 5. (21:31) Why Prime VP likes to back category creating startups? How to evaluate & identify such startups? 6. (30:23) Advice for young VCs – Building trust & supporting founders 7. (34:23) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Rahul Mathur, Founder & CEO @BimapPe, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his background & path leading upto BimaPe, the current insurtech landscape in India, striking a balance between founder vision & customer feedback, challenges faced as a first time founder, key advantages of ‘building in public’, fundraising at a pre-product stage and benefits of having multi-stage investors on your cap table. BimaPe is a Mumbai based Insurtech startup that is trying to demystify insurance and its management for individuals and families across India. Prior to starting BimaPe, Rahul was the Startup Lead at Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab and a Product Manager at Laka Insurance, an early-stage InsurTech startup based in London. He is also an Ambassador at the Asia InsurTech podcast. Rahul holds a master’s degree in Statistics from the University of Warwick. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:25) Rahul’s background & path leading upto BimaPe 2. (03:06) Current insurtech landscape in India – key wins & challenges 3. (07:46) The problem that BimaPe is trying to solve in the insurance space 4. (12:21) Striking a balance between founder vision & customer feedback 5. (16:30) Challenges faced as a first time founder 6. (22:27) Going from unorganized to organized chaos in the early stages of a startup 7. (27:16) Advantages of ‘building in public’ 8. (31:08) Fundraising at a pre-product stage; Benefits of having multi-stage investors on your cap table 9. (38:50) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Anirudh Damani, Managing Partner @Artha Venture Fund, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his path to VC, investing in startups through his family office before starting his own fund, benefits & mechanics behind managing a micro VC fund, Artha’s investment thesis, fund allocation & deal sourcing strategies, and how founders can keep their cap tables clean in their initial funding rounds. Artha Venture Fund is an early-stage sector agnostic fund that has been investing in start-ups since early 2012. Prior to launching the fund, Anirudh was an active angel investor in many early-stage startups. Anirudh also owns Artha Energy Resources and is the MD and CEO at Artha Group of Companies. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board at Venture Catalysts. Anirudh holds a double major in economics and business administration from Austin College. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:37) Anirudh’s background & path to VC 2. (07:55) Returning to India & investing in startups through his family office 3. (13:59) Difference between running a family office & a VC fund 4. (16:47) Benefits of managing a micro VC fund; Preference of managing multiple micro funds vs a single mega VC fund 5. (20:24) Artha’s investment thesis, fund allocation strategy & key investments 6. (28:02) Deal sourcing - Partnering with accelerators, referrals from portfolio founders & co-investors 7. (30:10) Why is it important for founders to keep their cap table clean? 8. (33:21) Learnings from investing in 85+ startups 9. (35:44) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Vindhya C, Founder @OnThatJob / Product @Pexels, joins our host Digjay, to talk about her experience as a product consultant with early stage startups, the typical lifecycle of a product & how modern no-code creator tools are changing that, building ‘customer-centric’ products, common missteps by founders at the MVP & product-market-fit stage of a startup, identifying and hiring good product managers & Founder-PM dynamics. ‘OnThatJob’ is a cohort-based learning program that helps people understand the scope of a specific job, especially in the early stages of a startup. Vindhya, popular on Product Twitter as Vindytalks, is known for her blogs on Product Management & consulting early stage startups. She also won Hacker Noon’s PM of the year award in 2019. Prior to joining Pexels, Vindhya worked in various product roles at startups like Loco (Pocket Aces) & Directi. You can connect with her here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (03:30) Typical lifecycle of a product; How ‘No-code’ tools have inverted that lifecycle – sharing the end-product first & working backwards to build the product 2. (07:19) Different approaches to build a ‘customer-centric’ product 3. (09:26) Founder missteps at the MVP & PMF stage 4. (12:45) Different roles of a Product Manager; Org structures within startups that can empower product managers 5. (18:57) Strategizing vs actually building the product; When to adopt an experiment & fail fast approach 6. (25:46) When should a founder hire a product manager? Identifying & hiring good product managers 7. (33:10) Founder-PM dynamics; passing over responsibilities 8. (36:53) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Dhimant Parekh, Founder & CEO @The Better India, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his journey building Asia’s largest content platform for impact, his learnings from the 0-1 phase, importance of developing deep customer relationships, leveraging community to build a strong consumer brand & his fundraising experience at The Better India. Dhimant along with his co-founder & wife Anuradha started The Better India in 2008, right after graduating from ISB. What started as a side project then has now scaled up to become Asia’s largest content platform for impact. Later the duo also launched a new vertical called The Better Home which is India’s first sustainability focused subscription product company. Prior to becoming a founder, Dhimant worked in various product roles at Intuit, Hoopos.com & is considered to be one of the top Product Mentors for startups in India. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (01:27) The ‘why’ & ‘how’ behind starting The Better India 2. (06:52) Learnings from & challenges faced in the 0-1 phase 3. (12:50) The shift from content to commerce powered by community 4. (18:55) Importance of developing deep customer relationships; Leveraging community to build a strong consumer brand 5. (22:39) Context switching between long & short-term decision making as a founder 6. (25:08) Fundraising challenges; Picking the right investors to partner with 7. (30:53) Rapid fire and closing remark ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify & Apple iTunes. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Prasanna K, Founding Partner @Upekkha Catalyst, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his path leading upto Upekkha, the fundamentals of a SaaS business, validating the need for your product, acquiring your first 50 customers & retaining them, what is value SaaS  & how Upekkha is helping founders scale their SaaS business & more.  Upekkha is a Value SaaS Accelerator working with B2B SaaS startups to help them scale & achieve profitable growth. Prasanna has >15yrs of experience in tech & product at firms like Amazon & Tejas Networks. Prior to starting Upekkha, Prasanna worked closely with 120+ startups at Microsoft’s India accelerator. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter ---- Show notes – 1. (00:09) Prasanna’s background & path to Upekkha; Fundamentals of a SaaS business (Software as a Service) 2. (08:05) Validating your product; Acquiring your first 50 customers & retaining them 3. (17:20) Characteristics of a successful SaaS founder; Strategic hiring of initial team members 4. (21:48) The inspiration behind starting Upekkha; What is Value SaaS? 5. (24:50) Why most SaaS startups die due to capital indigestion vs capital starvation? 6. (29:47) Upekkha’s operating model & how it helps SaaS startups in scaling up 7. (30:57) SaaS Outlook for India & the world 8. (34:05) Rapid fire and closing remarks ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify, Apple iTunes, Google Podcasts. We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This will help others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay on Linkedin & Twitter