An Operator's Blog - with Soumitra Sharma

Most investors try to “slot” startups in their heads, whereas extraordinary venture outcomes lie in the “slot violations”.

Source post - https://operator.blog/2025/02/13/insight-arbitrage/

*Audio Overviews generated via NotebookLM.

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

This episode goes in-depth into building a US-India marketing tech startup. We cover everything from finding & engaging with 0-to-1 design partners, building MVPs, using Indian customers as a springboard to global markets, US GTM best practices & case studies, how to differentiate against global competition including the value of product craftsmanship, org. design, pricing, and finally, learnings from VC fundraising.

Joining me for this discussion is Srikrishna Swaminathan, Co-founder and CEO of Factors.ai, a go-to-market intelligence & automation platform backed by Elevation, Stellaris, and Emergent. Before this, Sri was Vice President at InMobi, an IIM Calcutta alumnus, and, overall, has more than a decade of experience in monetization.

TIME STAMPS:

(01:17) The "InMobi" startup mafia

(04:23) Finding 0-to-1 design partners 

(07:43) Nailing down your ICP 

(11:36) The importance of product craftsmanship

(15:24) Using Indian customers to springboard into global markets

(23:32) Acquiring early US customers

(26:00) [CASE STUDY] How is Chennai-based RevenueHero competing with Chili Piper?

(29:15) GTM motions for US-India martech

(32:41) Importance of RevOps in converting demand into actual pipeline

(35:11) [CASE STUDY] How Everstage leverages intent-based outbound and RevOps

(41:59) Org. design for US-India startups

(50:31) Pricing approaches for US-India martech

(58:11) Learnings from VC fundraising

Connect with Srikrishna - https://www.linkedin.com/in/srifactorsai/ and follow him on X - @swamikrish2001

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

Eliminating weak links that introduce the possibility of Ruin is key to thriving in the real world.

Source post - https://operator.blog/2025/01/15/avoiding-risk-of-ruin/

*Audio Overviews generated via NotebookLM.

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

This episode goes in-depth into the current state of the AI Agent landscape and how US-India SaaS founders should manage this AI transition. 

In the 1st half, we cover key facets of the agentic market, including horizontal and vertical use cases, how customers are adopting them, challenges in going from zero to demo to production, and what startups can do to stay relevant in this fast-evolving opportunity. 

In the 2nd half, we discuss how US-India SaaS startups can pivot and survive in the post-AI world, including thinking long-term while formulating AI strategy, leaning into trust with existing customers, leveraging data moats from existing product stack, iterating on AI-first business models, and finally, tips and advice for US GTM.

Joining me for this discussion is Karthik Suresh, Co-founder of DoubleO.ai. Karthik's diverse experience spans building products for consumer and enterprise markets, working with early-stage startups like Craft, and established firms like Facebook. His career journey has taken him from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, and he has had the privilege of working and living across multiple continents.

TIME STAMPS:

(00:52) Karthik’s founder backstory - Ignition & DoubleO.ai

(04:49) SaaS vs AI Agents 

(08:14) Agent use cases that are working well

(12:23) Challenges in getting AI from zero to demo to production

(15:00) Considerations for an India-based founder starting up in AI

(19:15) Does being physically present in Silicon Valley help in AI?

(24:59) MVPs in the age of AI

(28:46) Are AI tools going to replace technical co-founders?

(31:30) [CASE STUDY #1] SaaS to AI pivot: Early traction startups ($100k-$1Mn ARR)

(34:57) [CASE STUDY #2] SaaS to AI pivot: Growth stage startups ($10-50Mn ARR)

(38:43) AI-first business models

(42:37) US-India GTM playbooks

Connect with Karthik Suresh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthiksureshlbs/ and follow him on X - @karthiksuresh

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

Presenting a compilation of my best ideas & observations from 2024.

Source post - https://operator.blog/2024/12/26/my-best-ideas-of-2024-a-compilation/

*Audio Overviews generated via NotebookLM.

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

From my vantage point as a US-India venture investor, sharing what I observed in 2024 and my expectations from 2025.

Source post - https://operator.blog/2025/01/02/us-india-india-to-the-world-2024-recap-2025-expectations/

*Audio Overviews generated via NotebookLM.

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

This episode explores the playbook, mindset, and tips to fundraise as an immigrant founder in Silicon Valley. We cover everything from dealing with cultural baggage, getting warm intros and building trust, prepping your startup to be venture-fundable, storytelling to stand out amongst the crowd, leaning on peer founders and mentors, going from leads to warm conversations to money in the bank, the “right” mindset and attitude to have when pitching VCs and finally, a 5-step framework for fundraising.

Joining me for this discussion is Vijay Rajendran, an executive coach based in Silicon Valley. Over a 20-year career as an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor, Vijay has supported hundreds of founders and helped them on their journey to becoming CEOs. Previously, Vijay led portfolio value at 500 Global and also built a venture studio for a global bank.

TIME STAMPS:

(00:57) Cultural baggage that immigrant founders carry

(04:35) Building trust in Silicon Valley as an outsider

(05:19) How warm intros work in Silicon Valley

(06:39) What founders new to the Valley should demonstrate to get investor traction

(09:06) Preparing your startup to be venture-fundable

(14:16) Generating social proof

(15:36) Showcasing your personal story to stand out

(21:20) Learning story-telling skills 

(24:53) Leaning on other founders and mentors 

(31:27) Tips to forge meaningful relationships with new customers and investors

(38:00) The “right” mindset and attitude for pitching VCs

(39:36) Vijay’s 5-step framework for fundraising in Silicon Valley

Connect with Vijay - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijayarajendran/ and check out his website - https://www.mystartupsystem.com/

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

This episode goes in-depth into building a US-India robotics startup. We cover everything from how to build robotics MVPs, acquire early US design partners, structure and manage a global supply chain, US GTM approaches, hire deep tech talent, and finally, tips and playbooks for fundraising in Silicon Valley as an Indian robotics startup.

Joining me for this discussion is Abhinav Das, co-founder and CEO of Orangewood Labs, a YC-backed, US-India robotics startup that builds affordable robots that are easy to deploy and can be programmed with natural language prompts.

TIME STAMPS:

(01:20) Backstory of Orangewood Labs

(07:27) Acquiring US design partners

(16:31) The value of doing social media

(20:01) Building a Robotics MVP

(30:09) Structuring the supply chain

(37:10) US GTM approaches

(41:18) Leveraging content as a deep tech startup

(45:10) Hiring and org design

(48:25) Is YC relevant for US-India deeptech startups?

(50:07) Tips and playbooks for Indian deeptech founders to fundraise in the Bay Area

Connect with Abhinav Das - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinavdas1985/ and follow him on X - @Abhindas1

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

This episode explores GTM strategies and learnings for US-India B2B SaaS startups. We cover everything from finding design partners in the US, scoping MVPs, figuring out what ICP to focus on, navigating the unique challenges of early PMF, GTM hiring in the US, and finally, working towards creating M&A exit options.

Joining me for this discussion is Satya Ganni, an experienced SaaS founder and operator who has successfully built and sold five companies and led two acquisitions as a buyer. He is currently serving as CEO of Beamer and Userflow. Beamer is developing a cutting-edge product-led growth toolkit tailored to product leaders at SaaS and digital-first companies. They recently acquired Userflow to augment the business.

TIME STAMPS:

(01:15) Satya’s journey as a repeat US-India SaaS founder and operator

(04:38) [Case Study: 0-to-1] Finding US design partners

(11:09) Scoping B2B SaaS MVPs

(15:42) [Case Study: $10k-100k ARR] Identifying which ICP to focus on - SMB vs mid-market vs enterprise

(22:23) [Case Study: $100k-$1Mn ARR] Navigating the unique challenges of early PMF

(27:18) [Case Study: $1-5Mn ARR] Building a US leadership team post-PMF

(34:33) [Case Study: $5-20Mn ARR] Working towards creating M&A exit options

(38:46) Learning to become a proactive relationship builder

Connect with Satya - https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyaganni/ and follow him on X - @gannisk

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).

This episode goes in-depth into various aspects of community-building as a US-India startup. We cover everything from should 0-to-1 founders spend time on community-building, what type of community-building initiatives to focus on, best practices from Airbase’s ‘Off the Ledger’ community of CFOs, how to drive tangible business outcomes from community events, and finally, some learnings on relationship-building in Silicon Valley as a US-India founder.

Joining me for this discussion is Anand Krishna, Founder and CEO of Inkle. Inkle is an accounting and tax automation startup that serves hundreds of US companies. Before this, Anand founded LotusPay (backed by YC, acquired by Juspay) and Index (acquired by Niyo Global). Anand is one of the earliest India-based founders to be backed by YC and has been a huge connector in the Indian YC ecosystem.

TIME STAMPS:

(1:10) Anand and Inkle's backstory

(3:47) Building the 1st-ever YC community in India

(9:13) Stumbling into community-building as Inkle's GTM differentiation

(11:17) Should 0-to-1 founders spend time on community-building?

(13:55) [Case Study 1] 'Off the Ledger' - Airbase's community of CFOs

(19:32) How should US-India founders choose which type of community-building initiative to focus on?

(23:30) [Case Study 2] How Inkle's partnership with Brex resulted from community events

(27:24) The remote hustle of India-based founders to drive US GTM

(33:52) Importance of sustaining momentum in community-building to get compounding benefits

(37:30) The secret sauce of relationship-building in Silicon Valley as a US-India founder

Connect with Anand - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anand-krishna-9b61a4/ 

*****

Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).