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Startup Garage

Startup Garage

By Startup Garage

This series of podcast is about starting up. The ups, the downs, the burns, the chills, everything. Unplugged.
Hosted by Vaibhav Gogia.
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#32 VC For Everyone Ft. Jesse Randall, Founder, Sweater

Startup GarageFeb 11, 2021

00:00
48:15
#54 Luxury On The Hour Ft. Khaled El Sayed & Ismail Al Ghussein

#54 Luxury On The Hour Ft. Khaled El Sayed & Ismail Al Ghussein

In this episode of Startup Garage, dive into the opulent world of luxury watches as we bring you an hour of wit, wisdom, and wrist candy magic with Khaled, the visionary founder of Timepiece360, and Ismail, a passionate luxury watch enthusiast and a friend of the brand.

Episode Highlights:

  • Origins of Timepiece360: Discover the captivating tale of how Khaled turned the ticking dreams of luxury watches into reality, all with a touch of humor and entrepreneurial flair.

  • Luxury Market Laughs: Uncover the quirks, challenges, and sheer joy associated with buying and owning luxury timepieces. Spoiler alert: It involves more than just telling time!

  • Wristful Thinking: Ismail shares his personal journey into the world of luxury watches, spills the beans on his favorite pieces, and regales us with anecdotes of being a Timepiece360 aficionado.

  • Time Traveling Trends: Get a front-row seat to the latest trends in the luxury watch market, the quartz crisis, from moon-phases to the art of balancing tradition and innovation.

Nov 19, 202301:06:32
#53 Sports, Investing and Impact Ft. Florent de Gantès

#53 Sports, Investing and Impact Ft. Florent de Gantès

In this episode of Startup Garage, we dive into the world of venture capital and startup success with our guest Florent, a General Partner at Teampact Ventures. With 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, product management, and executive leadership, Florent brings a unique perspective to the world of investing in startups that are tackling critical challenges in climate and health.

At Teampact, they're not just your typical venture capital firm. They're pioneers of a new kind of investing, one that's high-impact, operator-run, and founder-centric. But what sets them apart even more is their use of principles borrowed from elite sports to help their portfolio companies deliver exceptional results.

Florent shares insights into how the team building approach used in sports can be a game-changer for startups. We explore how the competitive spirit, discipline, and collaboration found in the world of sports can be applied to building and scaling successful businesses.

Additionally, Florent leads Tremplin Capital, a pre-seed vehicle that empowers French entrepreneurs from underrepresented and under-networked backgrounds. He also coaches and mentors CEOs and CPOs, helping them excel at product leadership.

Tune in to gain valuable perspectives on impact investing, the sports mindset in business, and the essential ingredients for startup success. If you're an entrepreneur or investor looking to make a real impact, this episode is a must-listen.

Co-hosted by Surabhi Verma

Oct 21, 202356:43
#52 Charging Forward With EVs Ft. Adam Ridgway, Founder, One Moto

#52 Charging Forward With EVs Ft. Adam Ridgway, Founder, One Moto

For the premiere episode of the third season of Startup Garage, we explore how this British expat turned his passion for bikes into a global success story, with One Moto headquartered in Dubai and spreading its influence across 10 countries. From his early career in the UAE's media industry to his bold entrepreneurial pursuits, Adam's path to autonomy and creativity is a testament to the power of perseverance and innovation. Get ready to be inspired by Adam's incredible journey from branding and publishing to pioneering the electric vehicle industry. #StartupGarage #EVInnovation #OneMoto #Entrepreneurship #EVRevolution #DubaiStartups #AdamRidgway #GlobalSuccess #InnovationStory In less than two years, One Moto is already producing a remarkable ~10,000 fully modular electric bikes and vans every month. Their recent $150 million financing deal is a testament to their potential. Visit One Moto's website (www.one-moto.com) to witness their groundbreaking products and innovations firsthand! Join us on this electrifying journey by watching the full episode, and don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to keep up with the latest stories of success in the startup world! Listen to more than 50 episodes of Startup Garage on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3kpqY1B iTunes: https://apple.co/32IBWcN Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/3igRASy

Oct 12, 202355:58
#51 Design & Thinking Ft. Sarah Toukan, Co-Founder, Ziina

#51 Design & Thinking Ft. Sarah Toukan, Co-Founder, Ziina

Sarah Toukan comes from a family of entrepreneurs in the middle-east. She attended Stanford for her bachelors and masters in mechanical engineering, post which she worked in real estate and food and beverage industry and currently is the co-founder and leads the product at Ziina. As the UAE’s first licensed peer-to-peer payment app, Ziina is on a mission to simplify finance for everyone. She has been named as one of the Top 10 Women In tech by Forbes.
In this episode, we speak with Sarah about design thinking, conducting user-interviews, the beginning of Ziina and among many other things about how fin-tech founders should think about blockchain and the concepts of decentralized finance.
Apr 10, 202246:51
#50 The Mindset Ft. Joy Ajlouny, Co-Founder, Fetchr

#50 The Mindset Ft. Joy Ajlouny, Co-Founder, Fetchr

Businesswoman, serial entrepreneur and advisor, Joy Ajlouny is a powerhouse of the startup ecosystem. Born and raised in California to Palestinian refugees, Ajlouny has built a reputation for her success in startups and ventures worldwide, all the while aggravating the status quo of women in business. In 2015 Joy Ajlouny co-founded Fetchr, the Silicon Valley-backed tech company that was created to tackle the Middle East’s “no address” issue, which has been long been a hindrance to growth in emerging markets. She facilitated $52 million in initial investments in Fetchr, as well as $41 million in a Series B round in 2017. The company now successfully operates in five countries with a 3500-person staff and was dubbed the number one startup in the Middle East by Forbes.
In this episode, Joy talks about the mindset required for being a successful founder, to raise money and the various facets of managing investor expectations.
Mar 01, 202235:12
#49 Shoe Maker Ft. Joe Foster, Founder, Reebok

#49 Shoe Maker Ft. Joe Foster, Founder, Reebok

In 1958, Joe and Jeff left the Foster business to set up a new sports shoe company in an old brewery building in the UK and 30 years later it became the biggest sports brand in the world, Reebok, grossing over $4BN USD in revenues. 

This is a special episode where we had the honor of hosting the legendary, Joseph William Foster, the founder of Reebok (1958). Joe lives and breathes Reebok. His stories, anecdotes, the thrill and the lessons are timeless and wisdom in its purest form. Joe has recently also released his life story as a book, Shoe Maker, and is also doing university tours talking about his life. 

The episode is co-hosted by Pankaj Rai, Chief Data Analytics Officer, Aditya Birla Group who also is an athlete, a marathon runner and loves sports (and sports shoes!). In this episode, Pankaj and Joe talk about Joe's family, childhood, the beginning of Reebok, the scaling to a multi-billion dollar business and about the lessons to bring to the contemporary business. 

Recently, Aditya Birla Group acquired the distribution license for Reebok India and South East Asia and hence Joe is excited to impart history and love to the next generation carrying the legacy forward.  

Jan 28, 202201:06:03
#48 Year In Fin-Tech Ft. Tal Sharon, Managing Partner, Equitech

#48 Year In Fin-Tech Ft. Tal Sharon, Managing Partner, Equitech

This episode features Tal Sharon, Managing Partner, Equitech, a fin-tech consulting organization based in the ME region. Tal has been leading dozens of engagements between fin-tech companies and global financial institutions, consulting regulators and government bodies in fin-tech transformation and market education, and supporting the growth of these companies.
In this episode, we first look at the broad trends of the year 2021 in fin-tech, the year marking a huge funding appetite for startups and investors. The second segment of the podcast takes a quick dip into various sub-segments of fin-tech: digital banking, lending, payments (B2B and B2C) and wealth management.
Equitech's YouTube channel has in-depth sessions on each of these sub-segments and more that you can refer to.
Dec 05, 202143:19
#47 Travel, Food & YouTubing Ft. Harish Bali, Founder, Visa2Explore
Aug 19, 202152:31
#46 Corporate Innovation 101 Ft. Karin Gabriel

#46 Corporate Innovation 101 Ft. Karin Gabriel

Karen Gabriel has had a fantastic career working with high impact teams across the world. She was a part of the team that launched the Windows phone at Microsoft, she lead program design, development and execution at Dubai Future Foundation, ran 7 cohorts with over 150 startups from around the globe with one of the most ambitious governments in the world, the UAE government. 

In this episode, Karin talks about why large organisations are moving towards innovation as the driving agenda for transformation, what should they consider before getting into these waters, how should they think about and work with startups and also talks about designing founder friendly innovation programs. 

Jul 28, 202149:07
#45 Education & Entrepreneurship Ft. Alaa Bakhit, Founder, B12

#45 Education & Entrepreneurship Ft. Alaa Bakhit, Founder, B12

For this episode, we invited Alaa Bakhit, Founder, B12, a comprehensive education solutions company based in Jordan. Alaa spent over over 14 years in the corporate working with giants like Oracle and Microsoft before quitting to start in the education industry, and is changing the face of modern, hybrid education in the middle east.
Alaa is also a professor of practice at the Al Hussein Technical University (HTU) where he teaches programming and mentors young entrepreneurs.
B12 has been a part of the Microsoft For Startups, Middle East ecosystem.
Learn more about Microsoft For Startups, Middle East: GrowthX Accelerator and Highway To 100 Unicorns Series
Jul 10, 202156:18
#44 AI, Consulting & Diversity Ft. Paula Newby, Founder, Predixa
Jul 10, 202154:06
Trailer: Innovators Unplugged, Startup Garage & Microsoft For Startups, Middle East

Trailer: Innovators Unplugged, Startup Garage & Microsoft For Startups, Middle East

The official trailer of Innovators Unplugged by Startup Garage & Microsoft For Startups, Middle East

Jun 20, 202101:07
#43 Buy Now Pay Later Ft. Anuscha Iqbal, Co-Founder, Spotii

#43 Buy Now Pay Later Ft. Anuscha Iqbal, Co-Founder, Spotii

Anuscha Iqbal is the co-founder of Spotii, a Buy Now Pay Later startup based in Dubai, UAE. Anuscha has been working in the investments and private equity space for over a decade with The Abraaj Group.
Spotii has grown tremendously in the past one and a half year and recently has been acquired by Zip, a global BNPL leader from Australia.
In this episode, we speak with Anuscha about moving into fintech from a traditional finance background, about the initial days of setting up Spotii, the BNPL ecosystem and how it's evolving and finally the big news, the acquisition!

Anuscha and Spotii are a part of the Microsoft For Startups Middle East family! 

Jun 13, 202130:54
#42 Turkish SaaS & e-Commerce Ft. Gulsah Gulser

#42 Turkish SaaS & e-Commerce Ft. Gulsah Gulser

In this second episode, we have with us Gülşah Gülser, Founder, Quin AI. Gulsah is a strategy consultant with over 10 years of experience mainly in customer and deal strategy. She has worked in retail, e-commerce and travel & leisure and has engaged with leading local and global companies.

In this episode, we talk to her about e-commerce and the emerging small seller segment in developing economies, about how Quin is solving for them using AI and about the Turkish ecosystem. 

Jun 02, 202134:29
#41 Digital Inclusion & Impact Ft. Jose Rubinger, Founder, Key2Enable

#41 Digital Inclusion & Impact Ft. Jose Rubinger, Founder, Key2Enable

Jose Rubinger worked in the computer-sales industry in Brazil when he identified a global problem: lack of accessible technology for specially-abled children. A few years of research and many MVPs later, he founded Key2Enable, a technology startup that empowers children with disabilities, their parents, caretakers and teachers to accelerate the child's communication, assessment, monitoring, and learning process.
In this first episode of Innovators Unplugged, powered by Microsoft For Startups, Middle East, we talk to Jose about building his impact startup from Brazil to UAE, managing talent, capital and metrics and about the support he has received from various corporate programs.
Jose and Key2Enable are a part of the Microsoft For Startups, Middle East

May 18, 202133:32
#40 Simplifying Deal Discovery Ft. Abhishek Goyal, Founder, Tracxn

#40 Simplifying Deal Discovery Ft. Abhishek Goyal, Founder, Tracxn

Abhishek Goyal has worked at Yahoo and Amazon, joined Accel Partners and led Flipkart's first investment round in 2009. He then became an entrepreneur and started Tracxn in 2013, one of the largest private-market data and deal services platform, globally. Today, Tracxn is used by governments, corporates and VCs across the globe to track innovative companies and access data. 

In this episode, co-hosted by Vaibhav and Gaurav, Abhishek talks about his journey from corporate to VC and then to entrepreneurship. He talks about the famous Flipkart-Accel deal that made history in the country, about Tracxn and about the SaaS play in India. 

May 09, 202138:52
#39 Think & Talk Smart Ft. Peter Hopwood, Speaking Coach

#39 Think & Talk Smart Ft. Peter Hopwood, Speaking Coach

Peter Hopwood is an international speaking coach. He travels the world and coaches TEDx speakers, entrepreneurs and corporates on building smart habits for impactful communication and thinking.
In this episode, he talks about the foundational aspects of communication, insights on how to share powerful stories and build acute speaking and presence and about how charming founders sway deals! 

May 01, 202145:07
#38 The Wellness Conversation Ft. Rohit Shah, Co-Founder, Health Horizons

#38 The Wellness Conversation Ft. Rohit Shah, Co-Founder, Health Horizons

The hemp industry in India is one of the fastest growing industries with more states legalising cultivation of industrial hemp. There are a lot of myths and taboos around hemp, cannabis and marijuana in India. For this episode, we invited Rohit Shah, Co-Founder & CEO of Health Horizons, a vertically integrated hemp startup from India. Rohit came to India after working in US real estate and has pioneered hemp product manufacturing and distribution in India.
In this episode, we talk about this fast growing, highly regulated and misunderstood sector, about the cultivation of the hemp plant, production and benefits of these products. 

Apr 17, 202136:40
#Breakdown8: Inside Saudi's PIF

#Breakdown8: Inside Saudi's PIF

Saudi Arabia's PIF - Public Investment Fund is a $347B sovereign wealth fund. It is headed by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and has been an investor in Softbank's Vision Fund. In this episode, Vidit Khendry talks about PIF and the gray areas around it. 

Apr 16, 202102:38
#37 Middle East, Investing & Crypto Ft. Dr. Marc Nassim, Awad Capital
Apr 11, 202138:13
#Breakdown7: Network Effects & WhatsApp

#Breakdown7: Network Effects & WhatsApp

You'll often hear startup founders talk about network effects. Many businesses use strong network effects as a moat to keep competition at bay. In this breakdown episode, Vishal Mehndiratta aims to explain the basics of network effects and how WhatsApp probably has the strongest of them!
Apr 08, 202102:24
#36 What Winning Looks Like (Part 2) Ft. Robert Hussey

#36 What Winning Looks Like (Part 2) Ft. Robert Hussey

This is the second part of the chat with Robert Hussey (Bob), CEO, Nirvana Water and Founder, POP Radio. Bob started his company in the early 1980s, took it public on NASDAQ, and then faced a hostile takeover bid which he fought. The company got acquired at an above market Cash-Flow Multiple and Bob has since become a private equity investor.
In this episode, we chat with him regarding the hostile takeover attempt and life after the acquisition.
Apr 03, 202145:44
#Breakdown6: Mayhem On Wall Street - Archegos Capital

#Breakdown6: Mayhem On Wall Street - Archegos Capital

Some analysts are calling the Archegos Capital margin-call failure, the 'Lehman Fraud' of this decade, and the impact it has had on the wealth of US corporations and banks is way more than the current estimates. Prime bankers lending to high-rollers with levered bets on a select few stocks might just be the bubble we're awaiting.
Apr 01, 202102:18
#35 Philosophy & Capital Ft. Cathy Guo, Antler India

#35 Philosophy & Capital Ft. Cathy Guo, Antler India

Cathy Guo is a founder-turned VC, currently managing investments at Antler India. She has been a part of First Principles and True Beacon, and has started Dunya Labs, a blockchain startup based out of Bangalore, India. In this episode, we talk to her about how philosophy and entrepreneurship are connected, about her journey in China, US and India and about what she's building at Antler.
Mar 27, 202132:48
#Breakdown5: NFTs Explained
Mar 25, 202103:12
#34 Of VCs & Technology Ft. Dr. Srikanth Sundararajan, General Partner, Ventureast

#34 Of VCs & Technology Ft. Dr. Srikanth Sundararajan, General Partner, Ventureast

Dr. Srikanth is currently a General Partner at Ventureast, one of the oldest venture capital firms in India (started around 1997), and has raised and deployed about $400 Million USD. In the past, he has held the post of CTO for HCL and Cognizant and prior to that he was an entrepreneur. Srikanth also is a visiting professor at Indian School of Business and IIT Bhubaneshwar among a few other universities.

In this episode, we speak to him about the transition from being the CTO of large enterprise-tech businesses to being a venture investor, about the SaaS market in India and a bunch of other things he is passionate about (cricket!).

Mar 19, 202146:29
#Breakdown4: Domino's Pizza Turnaround

#Breakdown4: Domino's Pizza Turnaround

The Domino's Pizza turnaround is a legendary corporate tale of customer centricity. The company's share, after IPOing in 2004, went down to $3/share in 2008 and currently trades levels of $360/share.
In this short episode, let's look at how Patrick Doyle turned the pizza company around.

Mar 15, 202102:36
#33 The Partying Polymath Ft. Shaun Gold

#33 The Partying Polymath Ft. Shaun Gold

Shaun Gold, is a former nightlife ninja, where his business was creating and promoting the some of the most exclusive parties and events in Miami. He is a true polymath, has written 4 books, lectures at universities and currently, is starting up again, this time in the mental health space: The Youtopian Journey.
In this episode, we talk to Shaun about starting a nightclub in the pre-social media era, building relationships with some of the top celebrities and entrepreneurs in the US and about mental health (for entrepreneurs and millennials).
Check out Shaun's books here.

Mar 12, 202154:17
#32 VC For Everyone Ft. Jesse Randall, Founder, Sweater

#32 VC For Everyone Ft. Jesse Randall, Founder, Sweater

The venture capital asset class has gained immense popularity in the past decade. But still, only a select group of people and institutions have access to it. In this episode, we talk to Jesse Randall, Founder and CEO, Sweater about how he is opening up venture capital for the retail investors.
Jesse has started companies in the past and also works with various startups on their fundraising and growth at Deviant Strategy. He is a brilliant marketing mind and hence we try to understand from him, marketing in the venture capital industry.
Feb 11, 202148:15
#31 What Winning Looks Like (Part 1) Ft. Robert Hussey, Co-Founder, POP Radio

#31 What Winning Looks Like (Part 1) Ft. Robert Hussey, Co-Founder, POP Radio

Worked on the Wall Street in the 70s. Started his own company in the 80s. Went public on NASDAQ. Got acquired. The guest for our episode today is a prolific marketing genius and the co-founder of POP Radio, Robert Hussey (Bob). This is the first part of his story, filled with brave decisions and extraordinary achievements. We talk about it all: his early life, career, startup and IPOing!
Feb 05, 202156:30
#30 Ethical Leadership Ft. Roberto Croci, Managing Director, Microsoft For Startups

#30 Ethical Leadership Ft. Roberto Croci, Managing Director, Microsoft For Startups

Roberto Croci is the Managing Director at Microsoft For Startups, MENA region. He has previously served as Regional Head, Google Marketing Platforms - EMEA Emerging Markets (Middle East, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Africa) and has been an advisor to startups since 2008.
Roberto is one of those leaders who has worked at the cusp of startups and corporates for years, and has been driving innovation in the emerging markets. He often talks about ethical leadership, human-centred approach to development and the power of humility, and so in this episode, we explore these topics, along with how these are practiced at Microsoft.
Feb 01, 202133:10
#29 Out-Innovating Ft. Alex Lazarow, VC, Cathay Innovation

#29 Out-Innovating Ft. Alex Lazarow, VC, Cathay Innovation

Alexandre Lazarow is a venture capitalist with Cathay Innovation, a global firm that invests across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America in a range of startups including Chime, Neon, Terminal, FinAccel, Zola, Rensource, Paga among others.
Previously, Alex worked with Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm.  He is also the author of '
Out-Innovate' published by Harvard Business Review Press in April 2020, where he talks about how global entrepreneurs are re-writing the rules of starting up.
In this episode, we dive deeper into Alex's experiences of investing in global startups, we talk about building unicorns vs. camels and some facets of how entrepreneurs can "out-innovate". 

Jan 24, 202128:43
#Breakdown3: The Marshmallow Challenge

#Breakdown3: The Marshmallow Challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge is a team-based design challenge invented by Peter Skillman which has been a phenomenal experiment in behavioural psychology in groups. The challenge reveals a lot about teamwork and curiosity.
Jan 17, 202102:33
#28 Raising Money As VCs Ft. Charlie O'Donnell, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
Jan 15, 202143:51
#Breakdown2: First Mover (Dis)Advantage

#Breakdown2: First Mover (Dis)Advantage

Is being first in the market always an advantage? Or is there something about second movers since they have been wildly successful? In this short episode, we explore the long-debated idea with a short story of Red Bull.
Jan 14, 202102:35
#27 Fund Of Funds Ft. Mohammad Mustafa, Chairman, SIDBI

#27 Fund Of Funds Ft. Mohammad Mustafa, Chairman, SIDBI

For the second episode of season 2, we have invited Mr. Mohammad Mustafa (IAS), Chairman and Managing Director, SIDBI. He has been leading charge of SIDBI's venture capital push in India by acting as a fund of funds to the country's top VCs. His recent book, Demystifying Venture Capital is a fresh take on how the industry is structured, and also has an unbiased viewpoint with chapters like 'ethics in venture capital'. In this episode, we chat with him about his book, about debt vs. equity vs. bootstrapping and about failures in the VC industry.
Jan 09, 202125:13
#Breakdown1: Vanity Metrics & Sanity Metrics

#Breakdown1: Vanity Metrics & Sanity Metrics

In this short, 5-min episode of Breakdown by Startup Garage, Vishal and Vaibhav chat about why metrics are important for founders, what are vanity metrics and how to avoid the trap.
Jan 07, 202105:18
#26 The CEO Factory Ft. Sudhir Sitapati, Executive Director, HUL

#26 The CEO Factory Ft. Sudhir Sitapati, Executive Director, HUL

Did you know: over 400 CEOs in India are ex-HUL?
For the pilot episode of season 2, we have invited over Sudhir Sitapati, Executive Director, Hindustan Unilever.
Sudhir has spent over 20 years at HUL, wearing multiple hats across categories, functions and regions and has recently distilled his knowledge and observations of all these years into 'The CEO Factory', his first book.
In this episode, Ayush and Vaibhav co-host Sudhir and talk about his book, HUL's culture of building CEOs, about decision making and leadership. Tune in to hear the full episode.
Jan 03, 202136:56
#25 Investing in SE Asia Ft. Jeffrey Paine, Partner, Golden Gate Ventures

#25 Investing in SE Asia Ft. Jeffrey Paine, Partner, Golden Gate Ventures

Jeffrey Paine is one of the most active startup ecosystem leaders in Asia. He is the Co-Founder and General Partner of Golden Gate Ventures, one of the earliest and most active VC funds of South-East Asia. He also started the Singapore chapter of Founder Institute. In this episode, we chat with him about raising money from LPs, about what makes south-east Asian markets different and about horizontal vs. vertical expansion in startups.
Nov 19, 202040:35
#24 Connections Count Ft. Heidi Roizen, Partner, Threshold Ventures

#24 Connections Count Ft. Heidi Roizen, Partner, Threshold Ventures

Heidi Roizen is a venture capitalist, a Stanford University lecturer, and an entrepreneur. She co-founded the software company T/Maker, served as VP of Worldwide Developer Relations at Apple, entered the VC industry with Softbank, and currently is a partner at Silicon Valley-based Threshold Ventures.  She is a corporate director for a bunch of public and private companies such as Memphis Meats, Lumity and Polarr. Heidi has been known in the tech industry for her relationships and her principles to building them.
In this episode we talk to her about her journey first as an entrepreneur, then as a VC in the valley. She talks about building meaningful relations not just for a fulfilling career but for a fulfilling life, and about the venture capital industry. 

Nov 07, 202032:54
#23 Recession Proof Leadership Ft. Victor Cheng
Oct 29, 202038:22
#22 Growth Stage Investing Ft. Ashish Kumar, Partner, Fundamentum

#22 Growth Stage Investing Ft. Ashish Kumar, Partner, Fundamentum

Ashish Kumar is a partner at Fundamentum Partnership - a Series B/C focused VC Fund based out of India. Prior to this, he was a serial technology entrepreneur and had started multiple tech companies with successful exits including one to a publicly listed entity.  At Fundamentum, Ashish invests $10M-$25M, alongside Nandan Nilekani (Founder, Infosys) and Sanjeev Aggarwal (Founder, Helion), across sectors.
Some of their portfolio companies: PharmEasy, Spinny, FarEye.
In this episode, we chat with him about his acquisition story, growth stage investing, how things change at a B-round of investment and deal-sourcing. 

Oct 24, 202029:44
#21 Alpha Portfolio Ft. Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder, Marcellus

#21 Alpha Portfolio Ft. Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder, Marcellus

Saurabh Mukherjea is a prolific equity markets investor, an author and an entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Marcellus Investment Managers and the former CEO of Ambit Capital. Prior to Ambit, Saurabh was co-founder of Clear Capital, a London-based small-cap equity research firm that was created in 2003 and sold in 2008. In 2018, he joined SEBI’s Asset Management Advisory Committee. He has written some bestselling books: The Unusual Billionaires and Coffee Can Investing.
In this episode, we talk about retail investing in India, about cutting through financial noise, the concept of coffee-can investing and a lot more.
Oct 15, 202045:46
#20 Pitching 101 Ft. Serap Ipek, RocketX Group

#20 Pitching 101 Ft. Serap Ipek, RocketX Group

Pitching is one thing that startups do throughout their life cycles, it is how people perceive your idea, your passion and information about your company. Today, on our podcast, we have invited Serap Ipek, a professional pitch coach from Amsterdam. Serap was leading the Startupbootcamp Amsterdam, and currently trains founders at Rocket X. In the episode, she talks about the right flow of the pitch, understanding audiences and common mistakes to avoid. She also talks about how charming founders can take the pitch game far too ahead.
Oct 09, 202033:02
In Remembrance - Steve Jobs - Bonus Episode

In Remembrance - Steve Jobs - Bonus Episode

This is a bonus episode where we feature some rare audio clips and celebrate the life and learnings of Steve Jobs, today, on 5th October, 9 years after he passed away. This stitched-together clip has Steve talking about leadership, managing people, recruitment, he talks about the art of product design and about Apple. All the copyrights of these clips are with Apple Incorporated, USA. The image rights are with Doug Menuez. This is a non-commercial usage.
Oct 04, 202009:19
#19 The Business Of Wealth Ft. Varun Sridhar, CEO, PayTM Money

#19 The Business Of Wealth Ft. Varun Sridhar, CEO, PayTM Money

In this episode, we have with us, Varun Sridhar, CEO of PayTM Money, the biggest digital wealth management platform of India. Varun has spent over a decade in financial services, especially in retail banking with Citibank, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas. Now, at the helm of PayTM Money, he has recently lead the launch of their stock broking platform, and manages the largest digital wealth customer base of over 6.6 million retail investors.
Listen to him talk about PayTM's aggressive growth, different emerging investor segments and the evolution of the wealth management industry.
Oct 02, 202039:48
#18 Carrying The Fire Ft. Srinath Ravichandran, Agnikul Cosmos

#18 Carrying The Fire Ft. Srinath Ravichandran, Agnikul Cosmos

How does a guy in financial services, working in New York move to Chennai, to build and launch rockets?
Well, our guest for this episode is Srinath Ravichandran, Former Director at AXA and AIG, US, and now the co-founder of Agnikul Cosmos, an aerospace engineering startup which designs, manufactures and launches orbital vehicles for satellites. In this episode, we chat about his fascinating journey, how he built a team of engineers, scientists and professors, Agnikul's pathbreaking 3D printed engines, and changing regulatory environment in the defense and space sector.
Tune in to learn more. Follow our Instagram page to get updates on new episodes.
Sep 27, 202026:32
#17 Digital Logistics Ft. Gautam Kumar, Co-Founder & COO, FarEye

#17 Digital Logistics Ft. Gautam Kumar, Co-Founder & COO, FarEye

In this episode, we have invited over Gautam Kumar, Co-Founder, FarEye, one of the fastest growing digital logistics startup from India. FarEye serves more than 5 million transactions every day across 20 countries. It is backed by Microsoft, SAIF Partners and Fundamentum (Nandan Nilekani), and is bringing efficiencies to the trillion dollar logistics and supply chain industry. Tune in to hear about his journey starting in 2013 and building FarEye into a global logistics SaaS player.
Sep 25, 202045:09
#16 Of Deals & Diversification Ft. Anurag Ramdasan, 3one4 Capital

#16 Of Deals & Diversification Ft. Anurag Ramdasan, 3one4 Capital

In this episode, we have invited Anurag Ramdasan, Principal, 3one4 Capital. Anurag leads the investments team at 3one4 Capital, managing a corpus fund of over $200 million and has invested in over 50 startups across early stage. We had a chat about sector-focus at a venture capital fund, about picking the right founders and about deal evaluation. Tune in!
Sep 18, 202033:21
#15 Scaling Impact Ft. Prerna Mukharya, Founder, Outline India

#15 Scaling Impact Ft. Prerna Mukharya, Founder, Outline India

Our guest for this episode is Prerna Mukharya, a social entrepreneur, Prerna is the Founder of Outline India and TrackYourMetrics, she has been a Fortune 40 Under 40 awardee and more importantly a transformational force in data collection in developing economies. With Outline India, she has surveyed more than 10,000 villages, and has brought in data touching over 5 million people.
In this episode, we talk to her about her journey spanning 8 years in the development sector, the key challenges in the sector, the changing face of impact-funding and scaling up this impact.
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Sep 11, 202048:13