Indian Startup Stories

Today’s guest:
Vivan Puri, Co-Founder (WorkNetwork)
Website: https://worknetwork.in/ 

You will learn:
01:34Background, varied studies & business exposures at startup
03:04What is WorkNetwork - Platform for professionals & students to start business
06:44Customer adoption & retention - What & how to achieve it gradually
10:41Processing the thoughts to change idea into reality, and bringing out the product
16:16Starting with co-founders & how are the fundings managed? - Is raising capital at early a mistake?
19:40Plan on revenue model - Free; freemium; premium?, and long term thoughts.
24:12Customer success stories and pride moments in “Work Network” journey.
26:33How much time you should give to your startup to start revenue generation?. Is there a formula to follow?
29:26How WorkNetwork is finding the match? How & what AI algorithms plays the crucial role
35:15What kind of data is tracked? And what makes sense? Metrics that are important for customers
40:43Dynamics to adopt being a virtual platform, and challenges travelled through
43:58Mistakes which gave learnings and valuable takeaways to move on quick
48:53What qualities should young entrepreneurs posses to be on the entrepreneurial journey
50:47Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!!
 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Rajesh Badger, CEO & Chengappa Chottera, COO (Zopnote)
Website: https://www.zopnote.com/ 

You will learn:
02:01Background, studies, prior startups, experience abroad and R&D  
04:02What is hyperlocal commerce? And how zopnote is helping local merchants and tapping opportunities
07:27Spark moment and reason behind the Start
09:56Increasing subscribers, formula adopted for customer adoption and retention; and statistics around
13:11Association with Startup Incubation - How they helped & its benefits - Microsoft; Google & more
16:43Sales & marketing - hunting on ground and understanding the problem 
18:17Why networking is important in a business journey. “Let’s do it” attitude.
21:19Transition from earlier company to Zopnote. Common goal is the key for consistency and improvements
23:07Funding managed - Bootstrapped; idea of scaling & investment fund
24:31Moment of relief; initial products for newspaper; general stores and more. Reaching first 50 customers
28:54Customer success stories & pride moments in helping local community vendors
30:54Impacts of COVID, and change in dynamics for business with local vendors
35:18Young talents with great ideas in the market. Students & passion the industry
37:39What could go wrong in an entrepreneurial journey? And things to focus
41:31Staying calm and working with principles matters - Perseverance & clarity are key to business ideas
44:39Instances of mistakes and learnings 
39:22Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!!
 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Sudheesh Narayanan, Founder & CEO (KnowledgeLens)
Website: https://www.knowledgelens.com/ 

You will learn:
02:04Background, studies & experience - interest and focus in green field projects & automation
03:17KnowledgeLens focus & spark moments - G Lens (Environment and sustainability focus in India) & Industry 4.0 (connected industries and employees)
05:44Managing transition from employee to entrepreneur; additional considerations and alternative revenue model
09:33Focus on wide spectrum of Industry 4.0; and the challenges which taught the learning while journey
13:10Team on the ground and bonding towards the goal and creativeness
15:16Funding plan - Initial alternatives and innovative model for consistent fuel internally. Coming out of the Technology role and learning with sales & marketing by adding value to customers. 
18:27Business is all about networking in an entrepreneurial journey and being customer focused.
21:02First moment of relief and success stories. Convincing regulators and customers for deals & milestones
22:29Rolling of national command center for National cleaner program and stable analytics for Indian Government - Proud moment
25:27Moment of opportunities and realization during pandemic
27:37Scaling the business - Plans and roadmaps in pipelines
29:05Instances of young ideas and innovative apps in Agrotech, and potential larger impacts in long term
30:26Learnings from the mistakes during early stages and takeaways
31:48Work life balance
33:23If you are going through failures; learning and opportunities are more - Just learn fast
and keep moving ahead.
34:13If you are starting your business afresh - You need to have these qualities and finding business model using them.
35:14Handling the chaos situation and evolving with maturity
36:06Innovation and launching certified hardware and establishing the brand
37:00Vision on startups focusing on Industry 4.0 & ecosystem playing major role
39:22Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!!
Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/
Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Vasudevan Kidambi, MD, Data Storyteller, Business Transformation Coach  (NavoInc)
Website: https://navoinc.com/ 

You will learn:
01:58Background, studies & work - leadership; middle east focus; Data & AI
05:30AI adoption in business ecosystem & startup mindset
07:22Employee to entrepreneur transition phase & preparation
09:20Sales & Marketing formula worked & leveraging existing network; and importance of saying “YES”
11:05Early day challenges, conflicts, strengths & the journey taken to cross milestones
16:21How the company is bootstrapped and the mindset
17:56Preparation to promote customer’s business and the plan like never done before with customer & audience focus
26:28Learnings from COVID challenges & business health check; moving towards business transformation, data storytelling
32:51A watch on Millennials in the space of exposure & future jobs in global scale
34:53Finding adjacencies - The prime way & recommendation to scale the business
37:35 Things which could go wrong; are you going to be afraid? Or prepared to correct?; Celebrate failures and getting rid of fear 
41:50Secret - Are you going through failure?  The prescription is “Inculcate fearlessness”
47:14One important quality to be an entrepreneur - No Fear; and ability to imagine future
50:15Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!! 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Rithika Baruah, Founder, Brand Strategy Advisor (Freebirds)
Website: https://www.freebirds.co/ 

You will learn:
02:09Background, studies & work - India & global leadership; and pursuit of entrepreneurship
06:05Freebirds - Community of explorers & it’s platform for experiential learning in closed group & schools
12:30It all started in College days; Facebook group & the idea evolution gradually
17:54Global leadership & transitioning to entrepreneurship; leading farming industry; steel industry & more
22:38Startup challenges & how the odds are challenged
27:12Growing Women Entrepreneurship in India & its rich community - Dhriiti, HER & NOW
36:08Moment of Joy - Exploring alone and community acknowledgement in remote areas; and the product reach beyond India
44:09Bootstrapping and funding tips; don’t run after funding very early
47:46Technology and the support for proprietary platform; getting hands dirty & MVP launch
51:12 Leader always sees how the future look like - The mindset to handle & How are the days before revenue generation managed
54:37 Heart warming customer success stories and the cultural immersion touching daily life
62:43Success formula of sales & marketing which worked
66:27Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!! 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Kaushik Mahapatra, Founder, Chairman, Author (Indian Leadership Academy)
Website: https://indianleadershipacademy.com/ 

You will learn:
01:47Personal Background & objective of the academy: individual, corporates & community leadership
07:16Reason for the start - meaning & mindfulness
10:09Formula for accomplishing aggressive growth & the team behind; Strong in addressing “WHY”
14:14East meeting west; Global leadership with Indian knowledge & wisdom
17:55Team & simplicity in the unconventional formation 
20:16Time taken in realising the profits & the journey
24:26Funding considered; first moment of relief; customer success stories
27:30COVID dynamics & changes adopted
28:53Sales & marketing challenges & what worked for conviction
30:40When to consider & pursue entrepreneurship & giving back to society
32:30 Learnings from failure; and constant question to one’s self; staying original
34:56Thoughts & vision on Indian leadership in global forum
36:29Failures - What is it? & how you should handle them
38:06Staying Calm is a must to grow & lead; quality of an entrepreneur
40:47Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!!
Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Monica Kapadia Mehta, EVP, Advisor, Impact Investor (Wadhwani NEN)
Website: https://nen.wfglobal.org/ 

You will learn:
01:55Background - India & abroad; learning & pursuit to give back
03:58Must know information about Wadhwani Foundation - Vision & mission to boost startups
10:36What qualities investors look for, from startup founders
14:22How investors manage time boxing
16:52BYJUs & EdTech space; early days experience with them & qualities of Unicorn 
20:25Tips on funding & managing Venture Capitalists; Types of funding; idea bank & incubation
27:03Wadhwani’s team & strategy in building the same.
27:42When companies go IPO. Conflicts between Entrepreneurs & Investors; Conflict management
36:52Initial challenges & how teaching entrepreneurship was handled
39:23Women entrepreneurs in developing economies; and it’s statistics
42:58 Moment of opportunities in pandemic & dynamics
45:22Learnings from mistakes & importance of failure - It’s a bend & not an end
49:50Managing personal time with loads of responsibility on shoulder
52:56If you are holding back your ideas - don’t afraid to begin & fail
56:55Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!! 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Sasank Chilamkurthy, AI Scientist Founding member (Qure)
Website: https://qure.ai/ 

You will learn:
01:40Background - College, specialization & focus on AI
04:05Qure - Mission to healthcare affordable, AI for radiology, and products for people
09:52Regulations in healthcare, challenges faced in establishing & core founding team
14:15Committed to vision of the company & serving 30 countries & heavy lifting in health diagnosis
16:47Customer success story; exceeding WHO standards; AI helping humans 10X
19:33Customer acceptance; handling COVID & acceleration in telehealth platform
25:49Initial challenges & narrowing down to radiology
31:33Initial funding & incubation - Fractal.ai; Sequoia Capital
35:55Failures & bad examples - AI algorithm learns and shapes better
37:36Vision for India in healthcare space
42:37 Rapid fire round
Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!!

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Nitin Sisodia, Founder & CEO (Sohum Innovation labs)
Website: https://sohumforall.com/ 

You will learn:
01:40Background - Childhood, Academics & career with Innovation focus
04:06Sohum Innovation lab - What it is, the team & focus on solving unmet clinical needs
05:51Ideation & Strength - Stanford India Bio-design, AIIMS, Impact in society with Newborn screening 
07:31Statistics in India - babies born with hearing loss & initial golden moments
16:56Employee to Entrepreneur - Managing the transition with mindset
20:38First moment of relief - Testing and solving challenges
23:20Handling Clinical trials & crossing milestones in Ethics committee 
25:27Geographies covered & growing presence
27:37Influence of COVID & safety challenges overcome to screen newborn babies
30:46Team on the ground & the pillars behind success; global awards & rewards
36:51Funding & Incubation - Grand Channel Canada, Carl Zeiss
44:35Sales & marketing strategies - Products & Services
46:05Failures & learnings from mistakes
48:04Vision - Self reliant India & supporting many other countries
52:54 Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!! 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugw
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Today’s guest:
Aravind S & Rohit Reddy, Founders (Docupilot)
Website: https://docupilot.app/ 

You will learn:
01:16Background - Academics & career days at Zoho
02:00Docupilot - What it is, Ideation, what problem it solves? & evolution
07:05Transition phase - Employees to Entrepreneurs
08:07Learning in finding customers, marketing, SEO tips
09:04Global customer demographics, & core team
15:18Funding - Bootstrapped & growing slow and steady
16:45Moment of relief & Customer success stories
19:51Handling Marketing & promotion; formula which worked
22:07When to start business - Recommendations
25:02Things gone wrong & how it was handled
27:30Customer support automated - Being small & ability to manage globally
33:39Unique Innovations - addressing  specific problems
33:59 Rapid fire round

Stay tuned! Be motivated! Thank you!! 

Social Media handles:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Startup-Stories-105427574797700
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/indian-startup-stories-b4b385202
Twitter:https://twitter.com/IndianStartupS2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC38w7euU6JpLjyRb4Am7ugwI
nstagram:https://www.instagram.com/theindianstartupstories/

Music credit: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com