The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Rohit Sood is the Partner at Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), an investment firm that invests in companies in the digital, education, media, and services sectors. The firm also focuses on early-stage, as well as growth-stage investments. Rohit was the founding team member and has been part of Bertelsmann from Day 0 having seen the growth of the fund over the last decade as well played an instrumental part in shaping India’s startup ecosystem. Prior to Bertelsmann, he spent some time at Deutche Bank and holds an MBA from IIM-Kohzikode with a Bachelors from IIT Delhi. . . . Episode Notes: Intro (1:50) Why did Rohit pick a career in venture (3:42) Trading vs venture capital (7:30) Indian growth story: 2010-present (10:37) Learnings from backing companies that haven’t scaled as per expectations (16:10) How does Berterslman conduct its post mortem on startups (20:40) How does one build a great working relationship with their portfolio founders and guide them (28:06) How and what do investors mean when they talk about market? (32:42) Can the market be manipulated (35:42) Thoughts on investing in the ‘Valley of death’ (41:15) Exits for VCs (50:10) Insights from investing in winners (54:50) What can we expect from India in the coming years (1:03:01) How has Rohit evolved as an investor over the years (1:07:30) . . . Social Links: BII on Twitter: https://twitter.com/biifund Rohit on Twitter: https://twitter.com/doostihor Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash 

Saurabh Saxena is a serial edtech entrepreneur who has co-founded Lakshya, Vedantu and Power Club (previously known as Uable). He has been an educator and Edtech entrepreneur for 15 years now. After graduating from IIT Roorkee in 2005 he started Lakshya, a chain of offline learning centres. After a successful exit, Saurabh then co-founded Vedantu in 2012 which then went on to become one of the leading online test prep companies. Shortly after becoming a parent himself, Saurabh realised that our current education system does not prepare our children with real-world life skills required to lead a happy and successful life. That led him to found his third edtech venture, Power Club, aimed at preserving and nurturing our children’s creative intelligence and preparing them for an uncertain future. Links to topics discussed: Poistive Intelligence and Letter to younger self by Salman Khan (Khan Academy) . . . Episode Notes: Intro (1:43) Why entrepreneurship? (2:32) Why is Saurabh passionate about education (6:32) Takeways from building three companies in edtech (9:35) Aha-moments while building Vedantu and Lakshya (22:00) How should founders think about scale (27:50) How has Saurabh matured and evolved as a founder (31:50) How to build mission-driven businesses (39:50) Frameworks for decision-making and navigating tough days as a founder (43:35) How does Saurabh leverage his success to motivate him further (51:52) Advice to his younger self (55:55) . . . Social Links: Powerclub on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/join.power.club/ Saurabh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/saurabh_learn Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Nandini Mansinghka is the CEO of Mumbai Angels, an investment firm that now operates under the 360 One umbrella. She came on board as the third Co-Founder, operating partner, and CEO in 2017. She has vast years of experience across the Investment Banking, Media, and Education industries and worked for 5+ years with J.P. Morgan in India in leadership positions in the Investment Banking research group. Before J.P. Morgan, she has worked for over 5 years with the Times of India Group. She also holds a professional degree as a Chartered Financial Analyst. Episode Notes: Intro (2:11) Career trajectory (3:40) The role of families in career progression (17:11) Nandini's stint as an entrepreneur (23:49) Growth of the average Indian angel investor in the last 5-10 years (34:15) Mumbai Angels' deal flow management in the context of macro trends explained (49:53) The role of Mumbai Angels in the next chapter of India's growth (57:00)

Dr. Pankaj Jethwani is the Executive Vice President at W Health Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build the future of healthcare delivery in the US and India. Over the last ten years, Dr. Jethwani has been involved in improving care delivery in several care settings in the US and India as a physician leader, operator, management consultant, and investor.Dr. Jethwani started his career as a Primary Care Physician in Mumbai, India. Through this experience, he witnessed first-hand the gaps in health care delivery in both the public and private sectors. Motivated to bring about reform in this system, he joined The Boston Consulting Group in India where he helped shape BCG’s work with Government agencies to improve delivery of healthcare at scale. He later co-founded The Breakfast Revolution (TBR), a social enterprise fighting the malnutrition epidemic in India. TBR has served 220,000+ children over 20 million fortified meals.More recently, Pankaj worked at Iora Health, a Boston-based innovative primary care company that serves seniors on Medicare. This experience helped shape his perspective on building and scaling a technology-enabled value-based care organization, taking global risk, and creating a delightful model of care for patients and providers. At W Health Ventures, Dr. Jethwani leads investments in disruptive technology-enabled healthcare services companies in the US and India. Pankaj holds an MBBS (MD-equivalent) degree from MUHS (India) and received an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Episode Notes: Introduction (2:30) How did Pankaj venture into the world of VC following his career as a doctor? (3:05) Which is more challenging: transitioning into VC or practicing medicine? (6:12) Insights gained from Pankaj's experience as an operator (8:44) The healthcare industry in India: an in-depth analysis (17:48) The transformative impact of VC in healthcare: an exploration (31:11) Valuable lessons derived from high-performing portfolios (36:47) W Health Ventures' investment strategy and approach (44:53) The pivotal role of capital in shaping India's healthcare landscape (51:20) Unlocking growth and fortifying the Indian healthcare industry (55:40) Words of wisdom Pankaj would impart to his younger self (58:25)

Saurabh Pandey, co-founder and CEO of EloElo. EloElo is an app that enables live-social experiences through games and entertainment. It is currently among the top 10 Apps on the Google Play Store in India with over 10M downloads. It accommodates 34,000 creators and offers a staggering 400 million minutes of live content. The company has raised $15M from Kalaari Capital, KB Investment, Lumikai, WaterBridge Ventures and Better Capital. Before Eloelo, he accumulated a decade of experience in various domains such as marketing, product and growth at Flipkart and P&G. Episode notes: Introduction (2:05) Rationale behind entrepreneurship: Saurabh's motivation for founding EloElo (2:59) Resilience and conviction: Saurabh's renewed pursuit of entrepreneurship following a prior setback (10:25) Early Validation of EloElo (18:03) Standing out in a competitive landscape: EloElo's approach to capturing attention in the content and entertainment industry (26:16) Building alongside ICPs (34:14) The significance of timing in the company's growth trajectory (41:12) Insights gained as a CEO: Key lessons learned by Saurabh (49:18) Saurabh's framework for decision making (59:42) Non-negotiable principles: Saurabh's core values and beliefs (1:10:26) Saurabh's reflections – advice to the younger self (1:16:55) . . . Social Links: EloElo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eloeloapp Saurabh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Saurabh65616912 Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Karan Desai is the Founder and Managing Partner at Interface Ventures, an early-stage venture fund based out of Mumbai, India. He’s an operator turned investor who brings a diverse skill set that encompasses extensive experience in operations, investment banking, and financial consulting. Prior to Interface, he was the Joint Managing Director at Trucap Finance Ltd., a rapidly expanding NBFC listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange which specializes in providing finance to MSME businesses in India. In addition to this, Karan founded exerFIT, a globally recognized lifestyle nutrition and supplementation brand endorsed by top athletes and Bollywood stars. Throughout his career, Karan has held key roles at distinguished brands such as Bank of America, PwC, Centrum Capital, and the HEAL Institute. His academic credentials include a Masters from the University of Westminster, London, and a Bachelors from Narsee Monjee College, Mumbai, where he graduated with distinction. Episode Notes: Intro (2:28) Journey into venture capital (3:53) How is Interface Ventures structured? (11:20) Looking back at Karan's founder stint: ExerFit (17:55) How to keep things lean and bootstrap (25:06) How does Karan invest, knowing what he knows today as a former founder? (29:25) How has venture impacted Karan as a person? (36:11) Learning from founders that Karan has invested in and worked with (40:56) Advice to a younger self (45:49) . . . Social links: Interface Ventures on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/interfaceven/ Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Yohei Nakajima is the General Partner at Untapped Capital, a pre-seed and seed-stage focused fund investing in under-represented founders in the US. At Untapped Capital, the sweet spot is investing $100k-$250k checks into startups based raising at $3-7m in valuation. Yohei has been supporting early-stage startups for 15 years, originally starting on the community side organizing events and educational courses for founders out of coworking spaces. He has spent the last 7 on the investing side, initially at Techstars where he helped spin up the Disney Accelerator alongside The Walt Disney Company, followed by his role as Director of Pipeline, supporting all 30+ Techstars accelerator programs in recruiting the best startups worldwide. Prior to Untapped, he was at Scrum Ventures, where he led the development of Scrum Studio, designing, leading, and overseeing our partner programs with Nintendo, Dentsu, Panasonic. . . . Episode Notes: Intro (2:38) Why venture? (3:52) Thesis origin and resonance with founders (8:04) Yohei's builder persona and its influence on his investor persona (16:03) Sourcing through outbound (23:40) Non-negotiables as an investor (28:40) Knowledge sharing as a fund manager (33:34) Future of Untapped Capital (35:15) LP's learnings from Yohei (36:26) Advice for emerging fund managers (39:26) Fundraising surprises as a fund manager (42:05) Learnings from portfolio founders in early stages (44:52) Yohei's decision-making process and framework (48:48) Advice for his younger self (50:30) . . . Social Links: Untapped Capital on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UntappedVC Yohei on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yoheinakajima Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Prateek Agarwal is the Investment lead at First Cheque, a micro VC fund based out of Bangalore that invests $100K in pre-seed startups in India. Prior to this role, Prateek worked with the India Business Head at Dr. Reddy's where he was responsible for tracking business metrics, identifying areas of improvement, and leading strategic projects. His background as both a consultant and operator at firms like Dr. Reddy's and EY has allowed him to develop skills in strategic planning, project management, and data analysis across multiple industries. Prateek's ability to shift between the big picture and details has also been strengthened through his diverse experiences. First Cheque was originally conceived by India Quotient but is now an independent firm with its own brand. During its first fund, First Cheque worked with more than 20 venture partners and added over 100 startups to its portfolio, which includes well-known ventures such as Fashinza, Giva, Rocketlane, Fleetx, Wint Wealth, Plaza/Rigi, Global Fair, Drink Prime, and Bellatrix Aerospace.

Nitin Jain is a well-known name in the Indian startup ecosystem as the co-founder and Chief Business Officer of OfBusiness, a tech-enabled platform that provides raw material procurement and credit solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. With a strong background in structured solutions trading, Nitin has played a key role in OfBusiness' success, helping the company raise over $875M from top investors like Tiger Global, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Matrix Partners, among others. Today, OfBusiness is valued at around $5B and has become a leading player in the Indian SME ecosystem. Nitin Jain is an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and has had a successful career prior to his entrepreneurial journey. Episode Notes: Nitin Jain discusses his journey into entrepreneurship (2:10) Discovering Co-Founders and Creating the OfBusiness Idea (3:55) Nitin Jain shares his perspective on what's more critical: the team or the idea (6:30) The Early Days of OfBusiness: A Look Back at the "Aha Moment" (9:15) Coping with the Struggles and Insecurities of Being a Founder (12:30) Understanding the Composition of Winning Founding Teams (16:30) Nitin Jain's Unique Leadership Style and Approach (23:10) Fostering a People-First Culture at OfBusiness (27:10) Developing a Strong Company Culture as Companies Grow (29:18) How to Maximize the Benefits of Your Investors (32:22) Overcoming the Toughest Days as a Founder (39:20) Nitin Jain's Biggest Lesson as an Entrepreneur (41:57) Advice to His Younger Self: What Nitin Jain Would Have Done Differently (46:03) . . . Social Links: OfBusiness on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ofbusiness_com Abhishek Goyal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/njain351 Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Beerud Sheth, co-founder and CEO of Gupshup, shares his entrepreneurial journey from Elance to leading a cloud messaging powerhouse. He reflects on the characteristics that define exceptional founders and the pressures faced by CEOs. Beerud offers invaluable advice for first-time entrepreneurs on navigating challenges and understanding team dynamics. He emphasizes the importance of adaptability in business pivots and the role of humility and continuous learning in sustained success. His insights are both inspiring and practical for aspiring leaders.