Zero to Infinity

60% of Indian unicorns are helmed by first-time founders, 29% by second-time founders, and 6% by those on their third attempt. Why is that? First-time founders bring audacity, fearlessness, and unencumbered first-principles thinking. Experienced founders solve deep problems with domain expertise and strong customer networks. But here’s the big question: Are founders born or made? Join Avnish Bajaj and Chandrasekhar Venugopal as they dive into this age-old debate on the #z47podcast. Gain valuable insights into entrepreneurship, startup journeys, and what it takes to build a unicorn. 💡 Discover the secrets to success in the #FounderPlaybook!

The aerospace, space, and defence sector is pivotal to India's journey toward self-reliance and global leadership. Over the years, this industry has seen a growing startup ecosystem addressing challenges in supply chains, autonomous systems, indigenous manufacturing, and space technology. In this exclusive panel discussion, featuring industry stalwarts like Air Chief Marshal (Retd.) Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Lt Gen PJS Pannu, and Ashish Saraf, CEO, Thales India, we delve into: 1️⃣ Strategic Entry Points for Startups 2️⃣ Why Customer-Focused Innovation Matters 3️⃣ Leveraging Policies and Support Systems From understanding market dynamics to leveraging opportunities like iDEX, Aditi, and the Space Tech Fund, learn how startups can create a lasting impact in this high-stakes sector.

The DMII: Seed to Silicon edition in Bangalore brought together builders in India’s semiconductor story. Z47’s Sudipto Sannigrahi hosted d-Matrix CEO Sid Sheth on the panel about India’s rising semiconductor potential and d-Matrix’s growth. d-Matrix’s commitment to lowering adoption barriers and hyper-interactive video solutions promises to reshape the industry. The riveting chat was a goldmine: Sid’s insights about a vital space for India’s tech-ade are a blueprint for how Indian founders can chart a path to success in semiconductors. 5 Key Takeaways: Breakthroughs Take Time: d-Matrix Took a Year Even though Sid’s background at Intel and Aeluros gave him deep domain expertise, he took a year to explore ideas before launching d-Matrix. This reflects the importance of taking time for reflection and eliminating weak opportunities before venturing forward. Focusing on What’s Overlooked in Chip Design to Disrupt Incumbents By developing a unique chip architecture that integrates compute and memory, d-Matrix carved out a niche in the semiconductor market where larger players couldn’t compete. Energy & Cost Efficiency Drive d-Matrix’s Semiconductor Success d-Matrix’s focus on building energy-efficient, cost-effective chips addresses key pain points for customers, positioning them as a more practical solution for data centers. Betting on India as the Tech Hub is a Competitive Advantage Recognizing the immense talent pool and market potential, d-Matrix set up its largest tech hub in India, positioning the country as a critical player in the future of semiconductors. Building Trust with Proof-of-Concept Chips is the Way to Grow d-Matrix invested heavily in developing proof-of-concept chips in the first few years. This demonstrated real progress and minimized risk for investors and customers, enabling efficient innovation in their chip design.

"If you are an AI founder, buy a .com domain and not .ai domain" says Pranay Desai (MD, Z47) as CIOs often restrict access to most .ai domains within their organisational networks.   In conversation with Ashwin Pandian, Pranay addresses the facets of AI in SaaS, talking about various dimensions of the trade and shares insightful nuggets on the subject: He engages with key topics, including: ▶️ The shift in role of CIOs - from enabling businesses and creativity to protecting them. ▶️ The future being consolidated stacks instead of point solutions, as clients are sceptical about giving away their data. ▶️ The founder’s conundrum: to ship fast, or take time and build a full stack. ▶️ Focus on distribution innovation to win in a mature product market. ▶️ A good AI business could be measured on the basis of product usage, repeat usage, revenue, and talkability.  ▶️ Founders building in large markets need not build their own models, unlike players in smaller markets Globally, we are on the verge of a complete overhaul of the software stack, and India is positioned to capture a significant share of this emerging landscape due to its strong capabilities in data curation and labelling.   Tune into the full podcast if you are a founder interested in AI in SaaS and want to know about the markets to consider.

How do you monetise your app business from 600 million connected smartphone users in India? This is the only question founders in India’s App Economy 3.0 need to ask themselves. Vivek Ramachandran, Chandrasekhar Venugopal and Aakash Kumar from Z47’s consumer team talk about the shifts in India’s app economy over the years and how engagement, retention and monetisation became the key pillars for app-based businesses. They answer questions useful to any and every founder trying to succeed in India’s app economy 3.0: ▶️ What is the core nature of the value exchange in the app economy? ▶️ What effect will AI have on production? ▶️ What are the exciting trendlines? ▶️ Where do founders make mistakes when measuring success? ▶️ What key vectors do founders need to focus on building in 2024? If you’re someone looking to build in or understand India’s app economy, this episode will give you years of insights in less than an hour.

Romita Mazumdar is channelling her love for skincare into a Rs. 1000 Cr Brand. She started with almost 1000 interviews over a course of six months to find a market gap. And now, inspired by the likes of P&G, she has her eyes set on the Rs. 1000 Cr mark for Foxtale. As a former VC, she closely observed consumer brands before shifting her focus to building in skincare, a category where she is a power user. In conversation with Z47’s Rajat Agarwal, Romita recounts her journey from investment banking to founding Foxtale and answers gripping questions that all D2C founders can learn from : ▶ How consumer needs have changed in skincare ▶ How she thinks about channels for her business ▶ Where the 1000 Cr goal comes from ▶ Her thoughts on new ventures and diversification If you’re passionate about entrepreneurship, building in skincare or branding, this episode will provide insights to help you get started on your journey.

If you’re a founder working to solve for an underserved market in unsecured lending, this episode is required listening! Vikram Vaidyanathan and Anish Patil trade trendlines in unsecured credit landscape, and highlight four key insights that underpin the Z47 thesis for this sector. 👥Solving for Under-served Market Potential Borrowers with low, but stable incomes and good credit culture have been under-served by traditional lenders, presenting an opportunity for new lenders.   🗂️Forecasting with Robust Payments Data The evolution of UPI, account aggregators, and GST has streamlined underwriting, enabling precise borrower profiling, and accurate cash flow estimation, all of which allows lenders to tailor financial products. 🤳🏽Why A Phy-gital Approach Is Optimal Digital tools enable fraud prevention, enhanced risk assessment and monitoring, while physical presence helps build trust and strengthen operations. 🌏Financial Inclusion & Strong Credit Demand  Improved infrastructure, steady GDP growth, and better law & order, especially in northern states, have opened new credit markets. Strong credit demand and smoother operations have made previously underserved areas more appealing to lenders.

HOW IS THE INDIAN E-COMMERCE TRANSFORMING?  With the adoption of quick commerce, the launch of the latest GenAI technology, and the increasing purchasing power of GenZ, the Indian e-commerce industry is poised for transformation. In this episode of Matrix Moments, we analyse it further with Chirag Taneja, founder of GoKwik, a rapidly expanding e-commerce enablement startup, our founder Avnish Bajaj, who also launched one of India’s pioneering e-commerce ventures, Bazee, and Rajat Agarwal, MD at Matrix Partners India (aka Z47). 📲Digital penetration of Indian e-commerce stands at just 6% today. It is set to increase drastically as GenZ consumers are on the rise while the digital public infrastructure is thriving.  🛵 Is Quick Commerce a feature, or a standalone company?  Every e-commerce player will have to embrace it or they’ll lose market share. This creates opportunities for infrastructure providers to facilitate this transformation. 🦾 The AI native apps are yet to come. The enablement of consumer AI is expected to be similar to the era when mobile apps were first introduced, leading to the launch of various apps offering innovative solutions, many of which made a notable impact. 🕺🏾 Consumers no longer trust paid influencers. Co-creation is key. The success of Freakins hints towards the opportunity that lies in co-creating with influencers instead of just paying them to promote products.  💥E-commerce disruption is boosting competition for companies that still have a firm foothold due to strong distribution.The original mode key to building consumer brands was distribution and that is getting disrupted.  If you are a founder exploring the e-commerce sector, this episode of Matrix Moments will provide you with insights into the diverse opportunities that are set to thrive in this space.

The Indian Internet Pioneer Starting Up AGAIN in AI  Sharad Sanghi is a pioneer of internet in India: from the early days of VSNL to rapid cloud adoption, when it comes to internet infrastructure, he’s seen it all. He founded among India’s earliest IT infra startups, NetMagic in 1998. In 2012, the IT Services company was acquired by NTT, where Sharad also served as CEO. Sharad Sanghi was an early partner to many Indian startups, and the NetMagic story is required reading in the evolution of the internet in India.  In 2022, Sharad & longtime NTT tech leader Anindya Das started Neysa Networks - spotting the opportunity in AI Cloud infrastructure early. Co-founded by experienced founders with deep domain expertise, Neysa is solving to democratise AI for enterprises, offering a suite of Generative AI platforms and services. Neysa’s AI Cloud products help clients discover, plan, deploy, and manage their Generative AI projects cost-effectively, and secure their AI landscapes in the cloud and at the edge in a consumption-based model. Earlier this year, Matrix Partners AKA G47 led the investment in Neysa Network’s $20mn seed round.  On this special episode of Matrix Moments, AI SaaS investor Pranay Desai is joined by Avnish Bajaj, to talk to the Neysa leadership, Sharad Sanghi, Founder & CEO, and Anindya Das, Co-founder & CTO. From evaluating the hype around artificial intelligence to discussing the future of Indian AI startups, they break down the AI landscape in India.  This one is unmissable, and covers:  🚀Why AI is Different vs. other hyped up tech ✋Why AI Adoption Needs AI Infrastructure  🤝Why Democratizing AI is the Way Forward 📈Why India Will Lead in AI 

“Not just wealth… I think experience is all about compounding”  Says Manisha Raisinghani, founder of SiftHub.  After her stint as the CTPO at LogiNext, Manisha Raisinghani spent some time looking for the right problem to solve before starting up again. In her search, she found a sales enablement problem that could be solved through AI: enterprise sales teams have over 100 touch-points to tap into when collecting the data needed to make an effective sale. This sapped sales team effectiveness, since sales teams spent time doing non-sales tasks. This is the problem Manisha & the team at SiftHub are setting out to solve, with AI.  In this episode of Matrix Moments, she explains how SiftHub stands apart in a crowded space. Ultimately, just because a sector is ‘crowded’, doesn’t mean it has run out of problems to be solved.  📍Identifying the problem: Manisha’s experience and research showed that sales resources spend 70% of their time doing non-selling activities.  👥 Approaching a crowded market: With so many SaaS applications designed for salespeople, it gets confusing to find what information lies where, complicating an already complex sales process.  👩🏻‍💻Building High-Performing Teams:  Manisha’s 3-O framework for SiftHub is unmissable if you want to build high-functioning, high-agency teams.  This episode of Matrix Moments is flush with insights on building in AI. Tune in.