Thinking about getting into early-stage investing? In Part 2 of Episode 2 of Beyond the Grind, we dive into when to start, what skills you need, and how to spot exceptional founders—straight from one of India’s most prolific angel investors, Utsav Somani.

Utsav goes beyond angel investing to share what it takes to build a powerful network, raise micro VC funds with backers like Naval Ravikant and Tim Ferriss, and create a private club for India’s top 1% founders.

If you’re a founder, investor, or just someone looking to break into the space, this episode is packed with practical insights, real stories, and inspiration. As Utsav puts it:

“Be curious, send out cold emails, deliver value—what’s there to lose?”

Utsav’s Reading list

1. Dune by Frank Herbert - https://www.amazon.in/Dune-Frank-Herbert/dp/0441172717
2. No Book by Tim Ferris - https://tim.blog/2025/01/13/the-no-book/
3. The Money Trap by Alok Sama - https://www.amazon.in/Money-Trap-Alok-Sama/dp/9361134337 

Book Recommendations for learning about Venture Capital 

1. Secrets of Sand Hill Road by Scott Kupor - https://a16z.com/books/secrets-of-sand-hill-road/
2. Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson - https://www.amazon.in/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1119594820

About Beyond the Grind

Beyond the Grind” is a podcast series where we host chats with professionals from product, investing, marketing, and beyond—diving into their journeys, challenges, and wins. Hear from ex-CEOs, academics, and entrepreneurs as they open up about their journeys, mistakes, and experiences, offering real stories, challenges, and tactical takeaways. It’s all about learning how these leaders grow, adapt, and thrive—beyond just the daily hustle.

Audio credit: Young Buck by Blue Dot Sessions 

What does it take to become one of India’s most successful angel investors?

In Episode 2, Part 1 of Beyond the Grind, Utsav Somani—the man who brought AngelList to India and has backed 200+ startups—joins our alumna Arushi Maheshwari from PGP Class of 2025 to break down the world of early-stage investing. From discovering deals like CoinDCX, to working alongside Naval Ravikant, Utsav shares the mindset, systems, and tactics that have shaped his journey.

Whether you're curious about entering angel investing, want to understand how top investors evaluate startups, or are simply fascinated by how a person becomes a key player in India’s startup ecosystem—this episode is for you.

Tune in to hear how Utsav built his deal pipeline, why having a thesis matters (or doesn’t), and the story behind one of his biggest investments.

About Beyond the Grind

Arushi has always been fascinated by people’s career journeys—the experiences that shape them and who they become along the way. That’s how Beyond the Grind was born—a podcast where she sits down with professionals from product, investing, marketing, and beyond to learn from their journeys, tactically.

Coming up soon: Conversations with the ex-CEO of Airtel Digital, Deputy Dean & Professor at ISB, Founder of Climate Party, PM at Google, and more.

Audio credit: Young Buck by Blue Dot Sessions

Great product teams don’t just build—they master the art of finding the right problem, crafting the right solution, and unlocking growth. In Part 2 of Episode 1, Aakash Gupta shares his framework for identifying the right problem and growth equation—insights every product leader needs.

 But that’s not all. We also dive into a hot topic: Was a Wharton MBA worth it for Aakash? How did it shape his career, and should aspiring Product Managers consider an MBA? His take might surprise you.

 👉 Listen to Episode 1 Part 2 of Beyond the Grind, where Arushi Maheshwari (Host) sits down with Aakash Gupta—the Product Growth Newsletter guy—to unpack these questions. With 240K+ LinkedIn followers, Aakash has led product teams at Apollo, Affirm, and Epic Games, completed a Wharton MBA, and written 180+ deep dives on product growth. Now, he’s helping the community navigate Product Management in the AI era.

🔗 YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRBOyBst_yM

 About Beyond the Grind

I’ve always been fascinated by people’s career journeys—the experiences that shape them and who they become along the way. That’s how Beyond the Grind was born—a podcast where I sit down with professionals from product, investing, marketing, and beyond to learn from their journeys, tactically. 

 I’m learning through these conversations, and I’d love for you to be a part of this journey. 

 Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming in the next few weeks—stay tuned (ex-CEO of Airtel Digital, ex-Angellist Head, Deputy Dean and Professor at ISB, Founder - Climate Party, PM at Google).

Aakash’s Newsletter & Podcast: https://www.news.aakashg.com/s/product-growth-podcast 

Audio credit: Young Buck by Blue Dot Sessions

References - 

1. Lenny’s Podcast with Archie Abrams (VP of Product & Growth at Shopify) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3vUiSBKPrvPRAqSEc6T0Mq?si=b795695423b3491b
2. Archie Abrams (VP of Product & Growth at Shopify) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/archie-abrams-b6aa8b6/
3. Product Compass by Pawel Huryn - https://www.productcompass.pm/
4. David Pereira, Untrapping Product Teams - https://www.d-pereira.com/untrapping-product-teams
5. Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely - https://www.pragmaticengineer.com/
6. Diary of a CEO Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiaryOfACEO
7. Modern Wisdom podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/0XrOqvxlqQI6bmdYHuIVnr

Want to transition into an AI Product Management role? How do you keep yourself updated on what’s happening in the AI community? What differentiates the top 5% and top 1% of PMs?

Listen to Episode 1 of Beyond the Grind, where Arushi Maheshwari (Host) sat down with Aakash Gupta—the Product Growth Newsletter guy—to find these answers. Aakash is one of the Top Linkedin voices (240k+ followers), and has led multiple product teams, from Apollo to Affirm to Epic Games, and is a Wharton MBA. He has also written over 180 product deep dives and nuanced product growth lessons, and he’s now helping the community learn about Product Management in AI. 

 About Beyond the Grind

I’ve always been fascinated by people’s career journeys—the experiences that shape them and who they become along the way. That’s how Beyond the Grind was born—a podcast where I sit down with professionals from product, investing, marketing, and beyond to learn from their journeys, tactically. 

 I’m learning through these conversations, and I’d love for you to be a part of this journey. 

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming in the next few weeks—stay tuned (ex-CEO of Airtel Digital, ex-Angellist Head, Deputy Dean and Professor at ISB, Founder - Climate Party, PM at Google).

Aakash’s Newsletter & Podcast: https://www.news.aakashg.com/s/product-growth-podcast

Audio credit: Young Buck by Blue Dot Sessions

References - 

1. Rowan Cheung Twitter - https://x.com/rowancheung/with_replies
2. Min Choi Twitter - https://x.com/minchoi/
3. Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAi) - https://x.com/sama/ 
4. Aravind Srinivas (CEO of Perplexity) - http://x.com/AravSrinivas?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
5. Greg Brockman (President of OpenAI) twitter - http://x.com/gdb?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
6. Dario Amodei, CEO, Anthropic - https://x.com/darioamodei?lang=en
7. Ruben Hassid - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruben-hassid/
8. Easygen - https://www.easygen.io/
9. Grok for Image generation - https://x.ai/
10. Midjourney - https://www.midjourney.com/home
11. Claude - https://claude.ai/login?returnTo=%2F%3F
12. Perplexity - https://www.perplexity.ai/
13. Chatgpt - https://chatgpt.com/
14. Scale AI -  https://scale.com/
15. Nvidia, CUDA - https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-toolkit
16. Groq - AI chips - https://groq.com/
17. Amazon - https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/amazon-nova-artificial-intelligence-bedrock-aws
18. Google AI chips (GPUs) - https://cloud.google.com/tpu
19. Marily Nika - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwBzlZnlkGeqKqa3Pd0YSC