Welcome to #53 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. First week of 2022 produces 2 unicorns: Mamaearth & Fractal 2. Government ministries working together to introduce Edtech regulations 3. Ninjacart rolls out ESOP buyback plan 4. Acquisitions and fundings and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

The Startup Operator

Roundup #53: First week of 2022 produces 2 unicorns, Edtech regulation bill, Acquisitions & more!

Welcome to #52 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. Was 2021 the best year for Indian Startups yet?  2. OfBusiness plans to acquire 20 companies in 2022 3. Byju's $48Bn SPAC valuation 4. Acquisitions and fundings and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Roundup #52: 2021 : Best year for Indian Startups?, Byju's $48Bn SPAC valuation & more!

Sreejith is the co-founder and COO of True Elements, a clean label food brand that makes a select range of Snacks and Supplements. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of building a farm to folk product, the process of reverse engineering, identifying and validating you niche and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 Evolution of D2C  07:59 Founding Story of True Elements 11:52 Identifying and Validating your niche 16:06 Process of reverse engineering 17:28 Evolution of consumer preferences 20:56 Nuances of building a Farm to fork product 24:39 Differentiating True Elements as a brand 30:02 Scaling a D2C brand 34:01 Advice on building a sustainable business 36:43 Fundamental changes due to covid  39:21 Books and Podcasts recommendation ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Sreejith : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreejithmoolayil/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sreejithmoolayl ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 146 : Building a Clean Label Food Brand - Sreejith Moolayil (Co-founder & COO - True Elements) | D2C - Direct to Consumer Business

Pankaj is the Co-founder of Power Global, a startup delivering EV solutions for two and three-wheeled vehicles, all supported by Power Global's smart battery swapping network. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of building a battery, the impact of EV on the auto industry and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 01:28 Auto industry evolution over the past 3 decades 04:01 Impact of EV on the Auto industry 04:42 Developing the EV ecosystem in India 14:15 Going from Idea to Product to Company with Power Global 25:50 The nuances of building a battery 28:46 Power Global's products and customers 31:30 Building the distribution network 33:20 Expanding to newer markets 35:15 Impact of Regulatory tailwinds in the EV space 38:10 Advice to entrepreneurs building in EV ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Power Global: Website: https://www.power.global/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerglobal/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerGlobalCo ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 145 : Building in the EV Space - Pankaj Dubey (Co-founder, Power Global) | New Markets | Deep Tech | Zero to One

Avlesh Singh is the co-founder and CEO of WebEngage, a decade old SaaS platform that powers user retention. In this episode Avlesh spoke about the multiple pivots the company had to go through, what starting a SaaS company is like and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 01:33 Founding journey of WebEngage 16:04 Picking the right problem & market 22:12 Starting a SaaS company: 2010 v/s today 25:28 Building in India for the world 31:47 Building a decadal business 36:10 WebEngage Startup Program 43:02 Startups that have scaled  45:35 What's coming up at WebEngage  46:32 Advice to new entrepreneurs ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Avlesh Singh : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avlesh/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/avlesh ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 143 : Building a SaaS Business - Avlesh Singh (Co-founder & CEO, WebEngage)

Suumit is a serial entrepreneur and has founded several startups. He is the founder and CEO of Dukaan, a platform that democratizes e-commerce. In this episode he spoke about pivoting from services to products, picking a problem to solve, building for the the bharat user and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Pivoting from services to products 03:44 What are merchants looking for 07:39 Going from Idea to product to company 11:42 Picking a problem 14:31 Working on Discoverability 16:05 SaaS adoption among SMBs 18:27 Building a successful Freemium model 21:17 Principles of building for the bharat user 22:51 Challenges Suumit is solving 24:16 Advice to young entrepreneurs 25:16 Scaling v/s proving business model 26:45 Impact of capital on the ecosystem ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Suumit: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suumitshah/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/suumitshah ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 144 : Sell Anything Online - Suumit Shah (Founder & CEO - Dukaan) | Ecommerce | Build for Bharat

Welcome to #51 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. India's 1st dedicated blockchain fund 2. India's growing EV industry 3. Mumbai's metaverse of India 4. Acquisitions and fundings and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Roundup #51: India's 1st dedicated blockchain fund, Growing EV industry, Acquisitions & more!

Alok is finance professional turned investor and is a partner at Stellaris Venture Partners. He mostly invests in SaaS startups in the Indian ecosystem and has witnessed the evolution of both the SaaS space and the VC space for the past decade. In this episode Alok spoke about how the VC and SaaS spaces have evolved, how the people in these industries have changed, what new entrepreneurs should keep in mind while raising funds in 2021 and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. Topics: 00:00 Introduction 00:45 Alok's thoughts on record fundraising this year 04:40 Raising capital in 2021 as a new entrepreneur 05:57 Raising cash in a remote era 09:25 Evolution of the Venture Capital over the past decade 13:49 Building differentiators as a VC firm 18:02 Industries Alok is looking at 22:52 Evolution of SaaS startups 27:40 Metric/benchmark driven mechanism of SaaS 30:41 What's different with people in SaaS today  32:38 How have exit sizes affected startup valuations? 34:33 Surprises Alok had along the way 36:57 Advice for entrepreneurs 39:21 Books and podcasts ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Alok : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alok-goyal-536557/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/alokgoyal1971 ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 142 : Investing in India SaaS - Alok Goyal (Partner, Stellaris Venture Partners) | Early Stage Investing | Fundraising | Startup Building

Raghunandan is a serial entrepreneur and has founded several startups like TaxiForSure and Serendipity Infolabs and more. He is currently the founder of Zolve, a fintech startup solving problems with cross border finance and more. In this episode he spoke about the nuance of the same, building a consumer product for the world and more with Roshan Cariappa.  Key Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:13 What is Raghu doing differently with Zolve? 03:46 Raghu's thoughts on raising funds and access to capital 08:18 Downsides of access to capital 12:26 The nuances of solving for cross border finance 15:59 Idea to Product to Company  18:49 Executing on this problem 21:16 Building a sustainable moat 25:19 Advice on building partnerships with incumbents 26:42 Building a consumer product for the world from India 30:10 What's coming up at Zolve 30:53 Being an investor and a founder 33:05 Books and podcast recommendations ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Raghunandan : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graghunandan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/raghugnandan ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 141 : Enabling Cross-border Finance - Raghunandan G (Founder, Zolve) | Fintech | Neo Bank | Building a Global Brand

Welcome to #50 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. Record Startup Funding in 2021 2. FAME II Revisions 3. Acquisitions in the ecosystem 4. Karnataka's Fintech Taskforce and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Roundup #50: Record Startup Funding in 2021, FAME II Revisions, Acquisitions & more!

Ujjwal is a serial entrepreneur and has founded startups like WealthPack, Privy and Tickertape. He spoke about what he is doing differently this time, what the new age investor is like and building for them and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.  Key Highlights:  00:00 Introduction 01:00 Learnings from being a serial entrepreneur 02:17 Ujjwal's thoughts on the market 05:12 Competition and collaboration with incumbents 11:36 Building for the new age investor 15:05 Building trust in the community 17:28 Aligning different operations to a single mission 19:34 Customer acquisition  20:55 Building partnerships in the ecosystem 22:08 Dealing with Compliance and regulation 24:08 What's next for TickerTape 26:47 Working with Smallcase team 27:38 How is Ujjwal preparing for the next level 28:48 Books and podcast recommendations ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Ujjwal : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uankur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ujjwal_ankur_ ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 140 : Building for the new age investor - Ujjwal Ankur (CEO, Tickertape) | Fintech | Partnerships | Compliance

Shikha is the founder and CEO of AltMat a company that converts agricultural waste into sustainable natural textiles. In this interview she spoke about its use cases, the value proposition for its supply chains and what it takes to make sustainable material mainstream and more with Roshan Cariappa. Key Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:23 Founding journey of AltMat 09:37 What is AltMat and what are it's use cases 13:04 Prioritising use cases 14:12 Managing supply chains and manufacturing 17:33 Working with farmers and paying fair price  20:04 Value proposition to supply chains 24:04 Do enough consumers care about sustainability? 27:30 Making sustainability mainstream 30:02 Working with government 32:31 The nuances of operating in the sustainability space 35:09 What's next for AltMat 37:43 High level challenges Shikha is solving 39:10 Going from idea to product to company 42:03 Books and Podcast recommendation ------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Gyst here: https://the-gyst.com/ ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Shikha Shah : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shikha-shah/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shikhashah1234 ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 139 : Marrying Profits with Purpose - Shikha Shah (Founder, AltMat) | Managing Manufacturing & Supply Chains | Pioneering Sustainability

Welcome to #49 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. Nykaa and PayTM's mega IPOs 2. Zomato goes from startup to startup investor with its own fund 3. Acquisitions in the ecosystem 4. Good Glamm turns unicorn 5. Bharatpe launches MSP program so merchants can own company stake  and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Roundup #49: Blockbuster IPOs: Nykaa, PayTM, Zomato: Startup to investor, Acquisitions & more!

Vivekananda is a Chartered Accountant turned entrepreneur with Bounce, a smart last mile mobility company. He spoke about the nuances of solving the this problem, building in the EV space and more in his interview with Roshan Cariappa. Key Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:18 CA to entrepreneur 03:40 Principles to pivot  06:09 Advice for building from first principles 07:47 Nuances of solving for last mile mobility in India 08:54 Choosing between build v/s buy v/s ignore 10:15 How has Bounce become more efficient 12:51 Dealing with theft/damage 14:55 Building the logistics ecosystem 16:12 How did Covid affect Bounce 18:51 EV landscape in India 21:03 Competition in the EV space 23:35 Regulatory tailwinds in EV  25:26 The next 2-4 years for Bounce 27:13 Next level challenges Vivek is solving 27:53 Giving back to the community 29:42 Books and Podcast recommendations 30:54 Why should someone join Bounce 32:23 Closing remarks ------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Gyst here: https://the-gyst.com/ ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 ------------------------------------- Connect with Vivekananda  : Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekananda-hallekere-0483bb19/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vivekanandahr ------------------------------------- Connect with Us:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

EP 138 : Solving Last Mile Mobility - Vivekananda Hallekere (CEO & Co-founder, Bounce) | Scaling & Optimizing Logistics | Building Electric Vehicles

Welcome to #48 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing -  1. UPI crosses $100Bn transaction value in october 2. Competition between incumbents and startups in EV space 3. Acquisitions in the ecosystem 4. CAIT celebrates record high festive sales this season 5. New policies for better map innovation  and more! Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1 Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends!  Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms. #startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/startup-operator/message

Roundup #48 : UPI sets yet another record, EV competition heats up, Record high festive sales & more!

The best-curated wisdom from founders, operators, & investors on executing at startups | Hosted by Roshan Cariappa | Head down, execute hard. ?

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The Startup Operator

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