The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Bipin Shah is the Partner at Titan Capital, an early-stage sector agnostic micro VC fund based in India. The fund has an incredible portfolio of over 250 startups in India and the US across consumer internet, D2C, SaaS, AI, Web3, and other sectors, including investments in Ola, UrbanCompany, Mamaearth, Oziva, Dealshare, Razorpay, Ofbusiness, Yellow Messenger, Beardo, and Giva, among many others.He was a founding team member of Lead Angels Network, a seed-stage investment platform, before joining Titan Capital in 2015. He graduated from IIT Bombay in 2013, where he was a member of the E-Cell team for five years and led it in his final year. Episode Notes:1. Bipin spoke about his "gardening approach" and how it is helping entrepreneurs2. Bipin discussed Titan's investment growth and reaching unicorn status3. How Titan's 40% of portfolios raised Series A in less than two years of investment4. How did Bipin begin his Titan journey with Kunal and Rohit?5. Titan Capital Fundamentals: 3 Key Ingredients for Investments6. Early investment experience and developing the investment philosophy for Titan 7. Short stories on investments in companies such as Beardo, Fynd, Superdaily, Mamaearth, Credgenics & others8. Bipin's Titan journey learnings and methods for assisting founders in improving their unit economics9. The most important piece of advice from Bipin on investing in startups10. Insights into other sectors in which Titan investsSocial Links: Titan Capital on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TitanCapitalVCBipin Shah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bipin_28Podcast 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

Yash Jain is the Founder and General Partner at Sparrow Capital, an early-stage micro VC fund that invests upto $500K in SaaS, B2B, Fintech, and Consumer Internet sectors in India with investments in companies such as Mailmodo, Qoohoo, Bimaplan, GoKwik, Superfone among others. Prior to Sparrow, Yash had two stints with large VC funds in India – Kalaari Capital and Arkam Ventures, and also worked at Flipkart as an analyst. Episode notes: 1. Why venture as a career path? (2:20)2. The difficulties of launching a new fund as a millennial (10:48)3. Nuances and learnings from investing in India (16:07)4. What founders in India can do better (36:00)5. What can Indian VC improve on doing better (44:45)6. Lessons learned from Yash's time in the US and the future plan for Sparrow (54:32)7. Advice for young fund managers (1:02:46). . . Social Links: Sparrow Capital on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparrowcapvcYash Jain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yash_sparrowPodcast 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

Milap Jadeja is the Managing Partner of Openbook VC. He is a senior management and strategy professional with over 20 years of experience in building multiple businesses in sectors such as Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture and Non-ferrous castings. Milap brings with him a proven track record in investment leadership being An established angel investor with over 50+ angel investments in startups including unicorns and soonicorns. He has also led multiple fundraising efforts for startups as a syndicate head. A seasoned investor, he is an LP at multiple funds such as Better Capital, Cloud Capital and Prophetic Ventures. Episode notes: 1. Comparisons of two art forms: photography and investing (3:42)2. A look back at investments and founders (22:50)3. What has Milap learned about investing and specifically that in India? (30:16)4. Takeaways from working with founders (45:10)5. How has Milap evolved as a person? (58:25). . . Social Links: Openbook VC on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpenbookVCPodcast 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

Shalini Chhabra is the Managing Partner at 3i (Impact India Investments) Partners, a Silicon Valley-based Impact Fund with the objective of supporting enterprises looking to solve some of the most pressing challenges faced by India's lower-income millions. She is a seasoned Banker with over two decades of experience in Credit Risk Management. She has managed diverse portfolios including Large Corporate, Inter-bank, SME, Financial Institutions including Mutual Funds and Insurance, Government / PSUs, and Structured Finance including Supply Chain Financing, Factoring, Securitisation, Inter-bank Participation etc. She has also managed Risk Policy and processes, Basel Implementation and Development of Risk models for PD estimation for HDFC Bank. She is huge proponent of gender equality, and currently mentors young students with AFH (“Aspire for Her”), hoping to bring about the change in perspective and reduce, if not eliminate the various self-limiting reasons for success by Women. Prior to becoming a VC, Shalini was also an experienced angel in the impact space, primarily looking at livelihoods creation at the Bottom of the Pyramid.Episode notes:1. Career in banking (3:34)2. Learning from the banking sector that Shalini has carried over to VC (6:25)3. Framework for risk appetite (18:05)4. What has Shalini learned about herself as a result of her work in banking and venture capital? (28:42)5. Shalini discusses what it takes to be a fund manager and success frameworks for operators (44:50)6. Shalini's professional career (58:50)7. Shalini's views on investing in personas (1:05:24). . . Social Links: 3i Partners on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3i-partners-india/Podcast 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

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