The Startup Operator

Jyotsna is founder and CEO of Grow Fit, a health food brand that helps people get fit through their diets. In this episode she spoke about how they navigated through their pivot, the nuances of managing this business, how to build differentiators and more in her conversation with Roshan Cariappa.  00:00 Introduction 01:34 Idea to Product to Company 06:34 Validating your market 12:37 How has being a product person influenced Jo's journey 16:42 The nuances of Supply chain management in the food business 21:07 Building a differentiated brand 23:53 Working with other platforms 28:09 Impact of Covid on the food business 31:10 The next 24 months for Growfit 32:05 Advice for entrepreneurs starting in the food business 34:06 Books and Podcast recommendation ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Jyotsna : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpattabi/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jopattabi ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Welcome to #53 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. First week of 2022 produces 2 unicorns: Mamaearth & Fractal 2. Government ministries working together to introduce Edtech regulations 3. Ninjacart rolls out ESOP buyback plan 4. Acquisitions and fundings and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Welcome to #52 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. Was 2021 the best year for Indian Startups yet?  2. OfBusiness plans to acquire 20 companies in 2022 3. Byju's $48Bn SPAC valuation 4. Acquisitions and fundings and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Sreejith is the co-founder and COO of True Elements, a clean label food brand that makes a select range of Snacks and Supplements. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of building a farm to folk product, the process of reverse engineering, identifying and validating you niche and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 Evolution of D2C  07:59 Founding Story of True Elements 11:52 Identifying and Validating your niche 16:06 Process of reverse engineering 17:28 Evolution of consumer preferences 20:56 Nuances of building a Farm to fork product 24:39 Differentiating True Elements as a brand 30:02 Scaling a D2C brand 34:01 Advice on building a sustainable business 36:43 Fundamental changes due to covid  39:21 Books and Podcasts recommendation ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Sreejith : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreejithmoolayil/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sreejithmoolayl ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Pankaj is the Co-founder of Power Global, a startup delivering EV solutions for two and three-wheeled vehicles, all supported by Power Global's smart battery swapping network. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of building a battery, the impact of EV on the auto industry and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 01:28 Auto industry evolution over the past 3 decades 04:01 Impact of EV on the Auto industry 04:42 Developing the EV ecosystem in India 14:15 Going from Idea to Product to Company with Power Global 25:50 The nuances of building a battery 28:46 Power Global's products and customers 31:30 Building the distribution network 33:20 Expanding to newer markets 35:15 Impact of Regulatory tailwinds in the EV space 38:10 Advice to entrepreneurs building in EV ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Power Global: Website: https://www.power.global/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerglobal/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerGlobalCo ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Avlesh Singh is the co-founder and CEO of WebEngage, a decade old SaaS platform that powers user retention. In this episode Avlesh spoke about the multiple pivots the company had to go through, what starting a SaaS company is like and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 01:33 Founding journey of WebEngage 16:04 Picking the right problem & market 22:12 Starting a SaaS company: 2010 v/s today 25:28 Building in India for the world 31:47 Building a decadal business 36:10 WebEngage Startup Program 43:02 Startups that have scaled  45:35 What's coming up at WebEngage  46:32 Advice to new entrepreneurs ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Avlesh Singh : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avlesh/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/avlesh ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Suumit is a serial entrepreneur and has founded several startups. He is the founder and CEO of Dukaan, a platform that democratizes e-commerce. In this episode he spoke about pivoting from services to products, picking a problem to solve, building for the the bharat user and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Pivoting from services to products 03:44 What are merchants looking for 07:39 Going from Idea to product to company 11:42 Picking a problem 14:31 Working on Discoverability 16:05 SaaS adoption among SMBs 18:27 Building a successful Freemium model 21:17 Principles of building for the bharat user 22:51 Challenges Suumit is solving 24:16 Advice to young entrepreneurs 25:16 Scaling v/s proving business model 26:45 Impact of capital on the ecosystem ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Suumit: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suumitshah/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/suumitshah ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Welcome to #51 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. India's 1st dedicated blockchain fund 2. India's growing EV industry 3. Mumbai's metaverse of India 4. Acquisitions and fundings and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Alok is finance professional turned investor and is a partner at Stellaris Venture Partners. He mostly invests in SaaS startups in the Indian ecosystem and has witnessed the evolution of both the SaaS space and the VC space for the past decade. In this episode Alok spoke about how the VC and SaaS spaces have evolved, how the people in these industries have changed, what new entrepreneurs should keep in mind while raising funds in 2021 and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 00:45 Alok's thoughts on record fundraising this year 04:40 Raising capital in 2021 as a new entrepreneur 05:57 Raising cash in a remote era 09:25 Evolution of the Venture Capital over the past decade 13:49 Building differentiators as a VC firm 18:02 Industries Alok is looking at 22:52 Evolution of SaaS startups 27:40 Metric/benchmark driven mechanism of SaaS 30:41 What's different with people in SaaS today  32:38 How have exit sizes affected startup valuations? 34:33 Surprises Alok had along the way 36:57 Advice for entrepreneurs 39:21 Books and podcasts ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Alok : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alok-goyal-536557/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/alokgoyal1971 ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Raghunandan is a serial entrepreneur and has founded several startups like TaxiForSure and Serendipity Infolabs and more. He is currently the founder of Zolve, a fintech startup solving problems with cross border finance and more. In this episode he spoke about the nuance of the same, building a consumer product for the world and more with Roshan Cariappa.  Key Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:13 What is Raghu doing differently with Zolve? 03:46 Raghu's thoughts on raising funds and access to capital 08:18 Downsides of access to capital 12:26 The nuances of solving for cross border finance 15:59 Idea to Product to Company  18:49 Executing on this problem 21:16 Building a sustainable moat 25:19 Advice on building partnerships with incumbents 26:42 Building a consumer product for the world from India 30:10 What's coming up at Zolve 30:53 Being an investor and a founder 33:05 Books and podcast recommendations ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Raghunandan : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graghunandan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/raghugnandan ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message