Divyanshu Damani has it all - fame, success, a multi-million dollar startup called TagMango (https://www.tagmango.com/​) backed by some of the most respected investors in the startup world including Y-Combinator, Twitch Founder & XRM Media.   

However, there is an element of immense struggle, major heartbreaks & frequent setbacks to this Dosco & Xavier graduate’s story which doesn’t meet the eye. On our podcast, Divyanshu shares his incredible entrepreneurial journey while exploring important themes such as right way to network, hustler’s mindset and the power of execution to find success.  

Divyanshu Damani's profile: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divyanshuda...​

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divyanshu...​ 

Time codes: 0:00​ - Introduction 0:50​ - On TagMango & growth  4:10​ - Idea behind name 7:54​ - Process behind onboarding Micro Influencers 9:37​ - Differentiation from other platforms 12:30​ - Future growth & business model 14:01​ - Incredible journey to becoming an influencer 16:36​ - Divyanshu discovering "INFLUENCE" 19:30​ - Sharing setbacks & creating opportunities 24:34​ - Story behind convincing YC for funding 28:44​ - Top 3 learnings from YC program 33:05​ - Turning point 35:46​ - How to Network 40:12​ - Skill needed to succeed

Have you ever thought what it takes to build a consumer business from scratch?  If no, then you are in here for a treat.  

Aditya Kaji, a Harvard Business School Alum, is redefining healthy snacking experience with his startup - Taali Foods (https://www.taalifoods.com/​), backed by Y-Combinator (https://www.ycombinator.com/companies...​). In the podcast, he shares his incredible journey while emphasizing on pivotal skills he picked up at Booz & Company and Reliance Jio, which are useful to him for running his million dollar venture. Further, Aditya provides a fresh perspective and insights on Harvard Business School & what makes it different from other top B-Schools.  

Aditya Kaji's profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditya-ka...​ 

Time codes: 0:00​​ - Introduction 0:29​​ - Idea behind Taali Foods 1:58​​ - On scaling up the business 4:17​​ - Why name "Taali Foods" 5:25​​ - Understanding FMCG with Booz & Company 6:20​​ - Extraordinary experience at Reliance Jio 9:32​​ - Secret recipe to success in Entreprenuership 11:42​​ - Changing strategy due to Covid-19 13:39​​ - Why Entreprenuership over Job 16:18​​ - What differentiates Harvard MBA  19:42​​ - Who gets admitted to HBS 21:17​​ - HBS for career switchers & explorers? 23:21​​ - Entrepreneurship Pre MBA vs Post MBA

An investor with Onnivation (part of the founding team) by profession and a music artist by passion (https://soundcloud.com/mudit-dugar), Mudit decodes in the podcast what it takes to have a shot at any of the world's top MBA program.  

Listen to Mudit Dugar share interesting insights on Israeli business landscape, learnings from investment Banking while answering questions around preparation for a stellar MBA application.   

Time code 0:00 - Introduction 1:15 - I-Banking 3:04 - Importance of inner circle 4:12 - Exploring beyond banking 6:07 - Starting up & Israel exposure 7:33 - Why is Israel a pioneer in tech? 9:20 - Synergies between India & Israel 12:04 - Foreign B-Schools vs Indian B-Schools 15:55 - MBA for entreprenurship? 18:02 - Rationale for pursuing MBA 19:19 - Tips for starting MBA prep 22:50 - Take on MBA consultants 26:31 - How B-Schools view work exp.? 30:40 - Value of startup experience 33:39 - Corporate experience before startup 36:05 - What the future holds

Rathin Shah is the Co-founder and CEO of Spenny (https://spennyapp.com/), a Y-Combinator backed startup building a one-stop asset management solution for millennials. 

The idea of Spenny is that every time a user make any digital transaction, they round off the amount to the nearest 10 INR and invest it into a diversified portfolio, automatically.  Previously, Rathin founded one of India’s fastest growing clean-tech startups, and won multiple Government of India awards and grants, eventually leading to an exit. Before moving into entrepreneurship he had a brief stints at JP Morgan Chase and KPMG.   

In the interview he touches upon how he made a life changing decision of rejecting an MBA admit from INSEAD to join EF, a startup accelerator where he met his Co-founder Gaurav Arora. That crucial decision ultimately opened doors to Y-Combinator that became a launchpad for Spenny. He also explains two crucial mistakes made at each of his ventures that became huge learning lessons for him. 

Time codes 0:00 - Introduction 1:00 - The genesis of Spenny  3:52 - Vision as a founder 5:48 - Life at BITS Goa and corporate jobs  7:15 - Interesting sabbatical 14:15 - Meeting his Co-founder 16:15 - What if you can't make it to YC 23:10 - Mistakes as a founder

Mudit is the latest addition to Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his groundbreaking and inspiring work in the Indian HealthTech space. He is heading India's leading startup focussed on building life saving health monitoring device - @Dozee Health (https://www.dozee.io/​). 

Before donning his entrepreneurship hat, Mudit (An IIT Bombay graduate) started his professional journey as a race car engineer. He has an understanding of Healthcare industry like no other and his team uses their expertise in Artificial Intelligence with an aim to save millions of lives daily. In 2020, Dozee had 2 seed rounds totalling about $2m from the leading Indian VC firms such as 3one4, Prime Venture and YourNest, which represents the confidence the market places on this innovative and revolutionary product.  

Time codes 0:00​ - Introduction 1:15​ - How does Dozee work 9:15​ - On Healthcare & post Covid-19 world 15:22​ - Dealing with uncertainty & failure 19:41​ - Perspective after major setback 22:13​ - Vision for Dozee & Self 25:53​ - Thoughts on MBA

Co-founder and CEO of Credgenics, Rishabh Goel shares his incredible journey on the podcast. A number crunching enthusiast, he was passionate about entrepreneurship since his early days at IIT Delhi. It was what led him to seek certain experiences and skills in his professional career at  Deutsche Bank and BlackRock.  After years of ideations and iterations, today Rishab is heading a million dollar high growth B2B startup which is set to revolutionize debt recovery and NPA management in India. Credgenics prides in being India's leading recovery and collections platform with the aim of 'Converting Bad Debts into Good Assets'. It is a brilliant amalgamation of litigation, finance and technology to create exceptional value in the financial sector.  Credgenics has recently raised ₹27cr from leading investors such as Accel India, Titan Capital and Kunal Shah of CRED in their pre-Series A round, which sends a strong signal to the market that they are here to stay for the long game. Towards the end, he also addresses the buzz around Credgenics' intention to raise money in the future.   

Time codes 0:00​ - Introduction 0:44​ - Credgenics' genesis & tackling NPA crisis 4:35​ - How Credgenics contains bad debts 10:47​ - Covid19 induced growth for Credgenics 11:52​ - Rishabh's journey to entrepreneurship 16:22​ - On taking calculated risks in life 20:50​ - Imp. of pivoting for product market fit 22:30​ - Co-founders & the chemistry decoded 26:38​ - Buzz around fundraise for Credgenics

Sagar is the Co-founder of goDutch (https://www.godutchpay.in/​), which is changing the way group payments are settled among people. goDutch recently raised $1.7mn from top VC firms such as Matrix Partners and Y Combinator.  An IIT Bombay alumni, Sagar started his professional career with a consulting stint at A.T Kearney and followed it up with an envious investing experience at Eight Roads Ventures.  

Time code: 0:00​ - Introduction 0:48​ - Idea behind goDutch 3:26​ - DIfferentiation from other popular apps (Eg. Splitwise) 5:20​ - Sagar's professional jounrey 7:53​ - Work at Venture Capital 9:31​ - Upskilling for entreprenuership 13:13​ - Venture Capital vs Consulting 16:03​ - Advice for future entrepreneurs

Today, we were in conversation with CA Dhruv Bakshi - Associate at a Global Investment Bank. On the podcast, Dhruv decodes his journey from being a CA with KPMG to making an important pivot to Investment Banking. 

Time codes: 0:00​ - Introduction 1:19​ - What is PE & why it's prestigious 3:28​ - Choosing PE over consulting 5:48​ - How does buyside hiring work 11:10​ - Understanding interview rounds & preparation 17:38​ - Number of new hires annually in a fund  18:52​ - Tips for PE aspirants 20:44​ - Why 2+ years of work ex is not viewed positively 22:37​ - Converting pre-MBA role to track role? 23:35​ - Do PE firms fund MBA