In the latest dispatch of Mint Startup Diaries, Shrija Agrawal converses with Ashish Sharma of Innoven Capital, Anand Prasanna of Iron Pillar and Parag Dhol of Inventus Capital to understand what happens when the rubber hits the road. Tune in to the episode to know more.

Mint Startup Diaries

How capital 'foie gras' is killing venture capital

In the latest dispatch of the "Mint- Startup Diaries", we talk about a subject which has become a hot talking point - 'the decentralization of finance (de-fi)' - driven by the public’s growing disillusionment with the centralised financial sector and its shortcomings. Increasingly. individuals are calling for control of their personal data, ownership, and money and decentralisation is being marked as a possible solution. Sample this, the highly anticipated market debut of Coinbase, which ended the day with worth $86 billion was a blockbuster IPO, sparking another rally in cryptocurrency prices worldwide. In this episode, we speak with Sumit Gupta, Co-founder & CEO- CoinDCX- a homegrown crypto exchange, Nitin Sharma, Partner at early-stage VC firm Antler and Sanjay Khan Nagra, Khaitan & Co. We unravel what the Coinbase IPO means for India, the deepening of de-fi in India, regulatory scrutiny, the future of cryptos, and so on.

The Crypto Wave; Will India open the floodgates | Part 2

The Crypto Wave; Will India open the floodgates | Part 1

While a lot of ground has been covered over the past 50 years by women in business, much more remains to be done. In the Start-up community, the challenge is stiffer. According to one report, only 17% of Indian startups have at least one female co-founder. The problem is complicated by limited role models for women and a smaller talent pool in tech/engineering fields. In this dispatch of the Mint Startup Diaries, we chat with Divya Gokulnath, Co-Founder and Director of edtech decacorn Byju’s, who, as she says, is “Founder First” and “Woman Later”.

Byju’s Divya Gokulnath: Why Women Entrepreneurs are missing from India’s Start-Up Story

In the latest dispatch of Mint Startup Diaries, we speak with Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India, and Radhika Sridharan - Partner - Bain & Company, who has recently co-authored a report "unlocking the future of commerce in India". According to the experts, e-commerce—powered by cheap data, supply-side innovations and digitally savvy customers—has become a $30 billion industry in India in fiscal year 2020. More than 100 million of India’s estimated 572 million Internet users purchase products online. And the next frontier is social, they posit. Listen to the full episode to know more.

20: How self-commodification is becoming the future of e-commerce | Part-2

19: How self-commodification is becoming the future of e-commerce | Part-1

The COVID-19 pandemic has utterly decimated a number of industries over the past several months, but the gaming industry continues to benefit as people continue to be stuck at home. The pandemic is contributing to the normalisation and adoption of e-gaming and gaming companies are increasingly seeing a surge in their user base. There are various favourable macro factors at play too:  young tech-savvy population (with 75% aged under 45), increased internet penetration, improved affordability of high-spec smartphones, and rising disposable income. According to experts, the digital gaming business model has also transitioned from a model dependent on download volumes and advertisements to something with diversified revenue streams built on consumer engagement and elevated experience levels. In the latest dispatch of startup diaries, we get to know how the pandemic is turbocharging the future of gaming in India.

18: Pandemic will prove to be the tipping point for gaming industry | Part-2

17: Pandemic will prove to be the tipping point for gaming industry | Part-1

The backbone of the Indian Economy, the Agricultural sector, a sector which has not necessarily got so much investors love in the past, seems to be catching up fast due to its unprecedented growth amid the COVID-19 crisis. Innovative Indian Agri-tech start-ups are joining the game and providing balance to the agricultural ecosystem by maximizing productivity, increasing supply chain efficiency and, and improving market linkage. Initiatives like ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’, digital access to farmers, overarching reforms, and government support has empowered the farmer by giving him access to information, inputs, and financial support. Estimates for June quarter reported a contraction of 23.9 per cent in national GDP, but agriculture was the only sector to have reported positive growth. In this dispatch of Mint startup diaries, we do a deep decode on opportunities, challenges and new frontiers emerging in the Agri space. Listen to this episode for more.

16: It's a perfect storm for agri-tech startups, say experts

In the latest dispatch of Mint Startup Diaries, we speak with Dev Khare, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners to decode the impact of Covid-19 on startups. According to Khare, it's almost been akin to ' a tale of two cities' where some startups have thrived, even accelerated, while others now face secular declines, . But overall, the net effect has been to accelerate the disruptive role of technology across industries.  

15: 'It's been a tale of two cities': Dev Khare on Covid's impact on startups (Part 2)

In the latest dispatch of Mint Startup Diaries, we speak with Dev Khare, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners to decode the impact of Covid-19 on startups. According to Khare, it's almost been akin to ' a tale of two cities' where some startups have thrived, even accelerated, while others now face secular declines. But overall, the net effect has been to accelerate the disruptive role of technology across industries.

15: 'It's been a tale of two cities': Dev Khare on Covid's impact on startups (Part 1)

Education may be forever changed after the coronavirus. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. Education has changed dramatically, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. In terms of positive, experts posit that it will see more tutoring, adaptive methods of learning but there are also negatives such as pandemic is exaggerating the socio-economic divide. There has been an equal amount of excitement from investors too. Just last week, homegrown interactive online tutoring platform Vedantu raised $100 million, as part of its Series D round, also doubling its valuation to $600 million.  Backed by Tiger Global, Accel, GGV Capital, and others, Vedantu’s core strength is conducting live tutoring. In this latest dispatch of Mint startup diaries, we speak with not only the co-founder Vamsi Krishna from Vedantu but also one with one of their early backers- Hans Tung, Managing Partner at GGV Capital. Tung ranks high in the 2020 Midas List; his unicorn stable includes Slack, Peloton, shopping app Wish, online marketplace StockX, fintech company Affirm, scooter company Lime, and a host of others from Airbnb to OfferUp. Tune in to the interview to know more.

14: Hans Tung of GGV Capital on choosing Vedantu over Byju's- Part 3

14: Hans Tung of GGV Capital on choosing Vedantu over Byju's- Part 2

In this latest dispatch of Mint startup diaries, we speak with not only the co-founder Vamsi Krishna from Vedantu but also one with one of their early backers- Hans Tung, Managing Partner at GGV Capital. Tune in to the interview to know more about investing in online education.

14: Hans Tung of GGV Capital on choosing Vedantu over Byju's- Part 1

In the largest sweep against the Chinese technology companies, India recently banned 59 Chinese apps, including the popular short video platform TikTok. The unprecedented ban is clearly one of the biggest stories in the startup ecosystem- one which will have a significant impact. Overall, the move is being seen as a positive one with Indian startups being net beneficiaries as it opens up huge opportunities. On the other hand, there is also increasing commentary on whether this marks the beginning of an Indian firewall and that competition should be built on fairgrounds. We decode such dynamics and deep-dive more with Dr Saurabh Shrivastava, Chairman Emeritus TiE Delhi- NCR and Blaise Fernandes, Director, Gateway House. Listen to the interview to know more.

13: "Fair grounds" business has never been fair in the startup ecosystem | Part-2

In this podcast, listen to a start-up founder's entrepreneurial journey and plans ahead. This is a Mint production, brought to you by HT Smartcast.

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