The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Mohit Gulati is the Managing Partner & CIO at The Investment Trust of India (ITI) Growth Opportunities Fund, one of the largest financial services conglomerate offering a range of products and services from Lending, Equities and Derivatives trading, Equity Research, Commodities Trading, Portfolio Management Services, Distribution of Mutual Funds, IPO & Insurance products and Investment Banking Services.Mohit bring over 10 years of experience in the Investment & Fund Management space, and led first round deals across ECOM Express, Grab.in, LocalBanya, TarusaWorld, WigzoTech, HumourMe and over a dozen early-stage startups. Prior to ITI, he founded Altius Ventures, which invested in sectors like ecommerce, fintech, enterprise software (SaaS), and internet of things (IoT). Episode notes:1. Mohit’s career in a nutshell (4:26)2. Life in Indian venture (26:04)3. Thesis on investing and philosophy for investments (46:35)4. What does Mohit love about venture and his job today? (53:40)5. Advice to younger self (1:05:50). . . Social Links: ITI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ITIFundMohit Gulati on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mohitmgulatiPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Abhishek Nag is a Partner at Lightspeed India where he primarily focuses on investing in consumer internet companies, media & entertainment, the creator economy, and gaming. He brings extensive experience driving strategic partnerships, business development, and corporate development for internet companies in the domains of growth, content and payments, among other areas. Previously he held operator roles at hyper-growth companies including Meta (Facebook), Hike, Uber, and most recently, Netflix.He’s been an active angel investor since 2016, investing in over 45 startups with several first round investments turned unicorns. When he’s not busy working with startups, Abhishek publishes a newsletter in which he writes about building, scaling, and investing in technology businesses in India.Episode notes:  1. State of Indian venture capital in the context of today’s macroeconomic climate (3:52)2. Fundings, valuations and funding winter: When will the market correct itself? (13:50) 3. What can Indian investors learn from the past and how can we become better investors in the future? (20:40)4. What made Abhishek switch to VC? (25:55)5. What has Abhishek learned from his angel investing experience that he now applies as a VC? (34:11)6. Advice for angel investors (39:05)7. A playbook for determining GTM and new market expansion (43:03) 8. Advantages of having feet on street (52:26)9. Building products for different markets (56:15). . . Social Links: Lightspeed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvpAbhishek Nag on Twitter: https://twitter.com/abhisheknagPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Rahul Chowdhri is the Managing Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage tech-focused venture capital firm based in Bangalore with investments in companies such as Mamaearth, MFine, Whatfix, Vogo, among many others. Rahul is an industry veteran, having been in Indian venture for over 15 years. He started his investing career at Helion where he was a Partner and led investments in companies such as BigBasket, Simplilearn and Livspace. At Stellaris, he focuses on B2B & B2C Commerce, Consumer Brands, Content/Social, Agri-Tech, Recruitment and Gaming.Prior to getting into venture, Rahul had stints in product management and consulting roles at Microsoft, MarketRx, i2 Technologies, and BCG. He holds a B. Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from IIM Calcutta.Episode notes:1. Current market sentiment and the state of the industry (3:03)2. What have Stellaris' top-performing companies and founders done really well in the last few years? (7:25)3. How does Rahul view investments, both cash-efficient and capital-intensive? (13:45)4. The evolution of Indian investors' risk appetite (18:30)5. What attracts investors to founders in both bear and bull markets, and what characteristics do they share? 23:26)6. How does Stellaris view market corrections in today's context? (28:26)7. What do the best operators do to take their businesses to the next level? (32:45)8. How far into the future do funds look when developing their investment thesis? (37:15)9. Fund culture, metrics, and metrics (41:07)10. What has Rahul learned about himself as a fund manager over the course of his investing career? (45:48)11. What is Rahul's decision-making framework? (50:10). . . Social Links: Stellaris VP on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stellaris_VPRahul Chowdhari on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rchowdhriPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Chirag Gupta is the Managing Partner at 8X Ventures, a deeptech fund investing in India. Prior to 8X, he has held leadership positions at 500 Global, Careem (MENA's first unicorn acquired by Uber at $3.1bn), McKinsey, PwC/Strategy& and Korn Ferry. During these experiences, he helped 10+ corporations build their unique startup “explore” strategy, helped multiple startups grow to unicorn status, and partnered with governments of 8+ countries to grow their startup ecosystem. Chirag holds an MBA from University of Chicago: Booth and Nanyang Business School, and completed his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University.Episode notes:1. How does Chirag define deep tech (3:50)2. Market being ready vs market being big (17:46)3. Competitive nature of the deeptech landscape in India (26:44)4. Why are Indian deep tech startups valued lower than their European and US counterparts? (33:22)5. Is revenue still the most effective metric for evaluating deeptech startups? (37:50)6. Will foreign investors price Indian investors out of the early and growth stages of deep technology, as has happened in other sectors? (42:25)7. The benefits of down-rounds (46:00)8. Deeptech sectors Chirag is bullish on (51:38)9. Advice to deeptech founders in India (57:51). . . Social links:8X Ventures on Twitter: https://twitter.com/8xVenturesChirag Gupta on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommittedChiragPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Gautam Patel is the Founder and Managing Partner of Z3Partners, a growth-stage fund based in Mumbai. Prior to founding Z3Partners, Gautam has been the co-founder of Zodius Technology Fund and Zodius Technology Opportunities Fund, successful early-growth stage Private Equity funds with a track record of investing in industry leaders such as BigBasket, Pepperfry, OfBusiness, Zivame, Medgenome and Antuit. Prior to Zodius, Gautam was the Managing Director and Head of India for Battery Ventures, a Bay-Area based venture capital and PE-fund. Prior to that he was part of the leadership team at iGATE. Gautam started his career in Investment Banking in the US with Lazard Freres. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin.In this episode, we discuss Gautam’s journey as an investor and everything he’s learned from investing in India and India-focused businesses. Episode notes:1. Lessons learned from investing in India over the last two years (3:30)2. How are investors currently viewing the market? (7:55)3. Conviction building when a fund only invests in 8 startups per year (10:18)4. Why did Guatam transition from operating to venture capital? (15:10)5. Reflecting on Gautam's first investment and its significance in the context of India's growth story (17:40)6. Fundamentals of business management (21:10)7. The privileges and perils of being a venture investor (28:50)8. Key lessons Gautam has learned about company building from his experience operating and investing in the growth stage (41:00)9. How do you turn a business around? (48:01)10. When should investors assist founders in running their businesses? (56:00)11. Collaborating with co-investors (1:06:06)12. To what extent does Gautam's operational experience play to his strengths as an investor? (1:12:11)13. Things about Indian VC that still surprises Gautam (1:16:56). . . Social links:Z3Partners on Twitter: https://twitter.com/z3partnersGautam Patel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gautamapatelPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Gaurav Hinduja is the Co-founder and Managing Director of axio (previously known as Capital Float). It brings together pay later, credit and personal finance management under one seamless brand experience. On a mission to make credit worthy for all, axio leverages technology to deliver innovative financial products to millions of individuals across the country, including vast sections of traditionally under-served consumers. axio is the brand name of CapFloat Financial Services Private Limited, a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India. The company has raised over $200M till date from Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), Sequoia India, Lightrock, Creation Investments Capital Management LLC, Ribbit Capital, and Amazon.Gaurav brings deep operating experience in India with detailed knowledge of complex supply chains. Prior to axio, he ran operations for Gokaldas Exports, India’s largest apparel manufacturer employing 40,000 people with $250 million in revenues. As COO, he had complete P&L responsibility for a major business line and led the implementation of lean manufacturing across company units. In today’s episode, we talk about the journey of the unknown, something many founders go through especially when they start business in domain they’ve had little or no prior experience in.Episode notes: 1. What inspired Gaurav to pursue entrepreneurship? (3:35)2. Do founders really plan ahead when they build businesses? (6:37)3. Why Gaurav and his co-founder, Sashank Rishyasringa decide to start axio? (8:18)4. What inspired Gaurav to pursue an idea in a field in which they had no prior experience? (11:08)5. Impact of Silicon Valley exposure in Gaurav’s entrepreneurial journey (15:52)6. Early days of company formation and customer interactions (18:43)7. When did Gaurav transition from a doer to an enabler in the company-building process? (26:44)8. The significance and impact of early-stage investors (30:37)9. Creating moats as the company expands (33:30)10. How do you gain customers in a competitive market? (37:35)11. How does Gaurav make decisions, and what is his decision-making framework? (44:30)12. What has Gaurav learned about himself during all his years of being in business (50:33). . . Social links:axio on Twitter: https://twitter.com/add_axioGaurav Hinduja on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gdhindujaPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/t

Srikanth Iyer is the Co-founder & CEO of HomeLane, India's largest startup in the home decor space, backed by Sequoia, Accel, Stride Ventures, IIFL Asset Management among others investors. Srikanth is a serial entrepreneur and industry leader, having started his entrepreneurial journey as the co-founder of Edurite Technologies, which eventually was acquired by Pearson India, where he spent the next few years as the CEO and responsible for bringing technology enabled education to millions of schools in India and making Pearson a leading player in Indian education. He is also a Venture partner with Unitus Ventures, an impact fund focused on India.Episode notes: 1. Where does Srikanth find the courage to enter and dominate industries in which he has no or little prior experience? (3:56)2. Framework to excel as a generalist in business (8:33)3. Developing stronger leaders within an organization (14:48)4. How to the best people at various stages of company development (20:50)5. Mantra for building successful businesses (29:00)6. Keeping it simple in business (39:39)7. Values, culture and teams at the early-stage vs later-stage (51:07)8. Srikanth’s advice to younger self (1:05:53). . . Social links:HomeLane on Twitter: https://twitter.com/homelanedecorsSrikanth Iyer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/srikanthiyPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Chanakya Hridaya is the co-founder of BlackBuck. Founded in 2015, BlackBuck has been a pioneer in bringing the offline operations of trucking online, be it matching a shipper with a trucker or reshaping the infrastructure around trucking to facilitate payments, insurance, and financial services. Today, BlackBuck is India’s largest trucking network, and our robust ‘Freight’ and ‘Fleet Management’ technology platforms deliver reliability, efficiency and seamless experience for shippers and truckers. The company has raised $364M till date from Tribe Capital, Trifecta Capital Advisors, B Capital, Sequoia, Accel and Tiger Global. In today’s episode, we will cover: 1. How did the idea for BlackBuck come about? (3:05)2. Disrupting the Indian trucking industry (11:15)3. Early days of product adoption and finding PMF (19:40)4. Learning from the growth story of BlackBuck (28:07)5. Framework for problem solving (34:19)6. The hardships of entrepreneurship (40:10)7. Navigating the challenges of marketplace models (47:55)8. Prioritization as a founder as businesses and ideas grow (59:49)9. What has Chanakya discovered about himself while working on BlackBuck? (1:07:40)Social links:Chanakya Hridaya on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChanakyaHridayaPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Ketan Patel is the Chief Executive Officer of Mswipe. Founded in 2011, Mswipe has gone on to become the leading digital payments and financial solutions company supporting the growing merchant community across India.Ketan joined Mswipe in 2021 after 18 years at Kotak where he oversaw management, business development, operations and the use of emerging technologies to disrupt the finance industry. During his time at Kotak, he has headed key verticals including Private Banking, Composite Business Solutions and E-commerce. In his latter years at Kotak, he became a startup specialist helping build 4 businesses from scratch for the bank, one of which being CASHe, a credit-enabled financial technology platform that offers a wide range of consumer lending products and services, which he helped transition from a startup to a profitable and future-ready business.Ketan is a well-known industry veteran in the world of finance and has been recognized for his work many times over his career, including receiving The Economic Times' Young Entrepreneurs Award in 2020.In this episode, we will cover:1. What inspired Ketan to pursue a career as an entrepreneur? (4:56)2. What has Ketan learned about himself as a result of his entrepreneurial journey? (7:01)3. What is Ketan's perspective on the role of a CEO? (10:03)4. Managing stakeholders as a business grows (12:35)5. Why is self-awareness as a leader critical to success? (17:10)6. Looking back on Mswipe's early days (19:44)7. Scaling organizational culture and principles (23:35)8. Long-term value implementation lessons (29:40)9. Decision-making framework for leaders (36:50)10. Dealing with adversity as a CEO (41:06)11. Words of wisdom for his younger self (46:02)12. What is Ketan's vision for Mswipe? (55:56)13. What would the next chapter of Ketan's life look like? (58:48)Social links:Mswipe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MswipePodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Mukesh Kalra is the CEO of ET Money, one of India's fastest growing investment and wealth management platform with a total of over $3B worth of investments under management. Mukesh has over 15 years of experience in building businesses and products from scratch in the consumer internet and mobile advertising space. Prior to heading ET Money, he was one of the core members at InMobi and helped build it from concept into the world’s largest independent mobile ad network. He then launched his own fintech firm, Moneysights, which was later acquired by Times Internet, and Times Group.  In less than 5 years, ET Money has built a solid customer base of over 10 million users across 1400 cities. The platform has been a pioneer in building industry-first technical solutions like paperless video KYC for MF investments, and the country’s first Aadhar-based SIP payment feature, amongst others.ET Money is simplifying the financial journey of new-age Indians by offering easy investment for different needs like Mutual Funds, National Pension System, and safer avenues like Fixed Deposits. In this episode we will cover:1. India: A macroeconomic outlook (3:38)2. Why has India fared better than any other markets affected by the global financial slowdown? (10:20)3. Lessons learned from black swan events (15:50)4. What did Mukesh excel at during black swan periods? (25:12)5. Thoughts on market manipulation in the context of content creators (42:06)6. Why must a founder constantly evolve their mental models (54:03)7. The vision for Indian fintech in the coming years (1:05:28). . . Social links:Mukesh Kalra on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kalramukeshPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vcAkash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakashPodcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivcAkash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash