"I think the mission basically doesn't matter."

Waseem Daher, CEO of Pilot (and South Park Commons alum), has a contrarian theory about what actually drives startup success—and it's not passion for the problem you're solving. 

Waseem joins General Partner Aditya Agarwal to unpack the real patterns behind building companies: why his "thinking time" after Dropbox was torture, why he believes passion is an output rather than an input, and why the conventional wisdom on hiring and delegation is dangerously wrong. 

1. Waseem Daher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdaher/
2. Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/
3. South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply

Chapters:

00:00:37 - Intro

00:02:57 - Why mission doesn't matter

00:12:36 - Waseem’s miserable time after Dropbox

00:16:10 - Testing vs sitting around brainstorming

00:31:38 - The case for micromanagement

00:34:05 - How LLMs are changing company creation and scaling

00:37:42 - The mindset shift that makes startups energizing

What does it feel like to bet your company on AI when everyone's talking about a bubble?Anurag Goel, CEO of Render and former employee #8 at Stripe, joins SPC Partner Jonathan Brebner to share why he's going all-in on AI infrastructure. The SPC alum breaks down the honest debates happening inside his company, why vulnerability builds more trust than the "always confident" founder persona, and how random events (like his wife's grad school decision) led to his early days at Stripe.1. Anurag Goel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuragoel/2. Jonathan Brebner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-brebner/3. South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply0:00:00 Intro0:00:27 How Anurag joined Stripe0:04:30 Silicon Valley “mythmaking”0:07:15 Can founders be vulnerable?0:09:00 His “Minus One” moment after Stripe0:15:45 Killing “good” ideas0:17:50 How Render unlocks developer productivity0:24:00 The AI bubble

Most things Kunal Shah says, turn into quotes that are shared across a cross-section of worlds — whether that is the startup and tech ecosystem, or simply among people looking to better understand human behaviour. 

First with FreeCharge and now with CRED, he has truly traversed a journey of what it means to build for as diverse and complex a market, as India.

On Minus One, he shares why technology works best when it flows with human insight, why the best builders need to relentlessly keep asking “why?”, and what makes people truly aspire for something.

Connect with us here:

1. Kunal Shah- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kunalshah1/ 

2. Prateek Mehta- https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-mehta-a571972/ 

3. South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

Timestamps:

00:00 Trailer

01:17 Introduction

03:47 Philosophy and Sales Shaping Perspectives

06:48 Human Motivation and Product Success

33:56 Key Traits for Startup Success

41:46 Design and Aesthetics Matter

47:26 Innovative Marketing

55:48 Wealth, Health, and Business Success

This is the story behind all the IPO headlines.

 In this episode of Minus One, Vidit Aatrey talks to Prateek Mehta about the high-conviction journey of building Meesho — from early uncertainty and brutal trade-offs to cracking scale in one of the hardest consumer markets in the world.

We talk about why most startups fail to truly understand India, what Meesho got right (after getting a lot wrong), and the long game required to build something that actually lasts.

This is the builder’s story — about patience, lifelong learning, and designing for realities…not fantasies.

Connect with us here:

1. Prateek Mehta: https://x.com/prateekmehta4

2.South Park Commons – https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons

If there’s one person to listen to truly grasp the scale and intent of technology and where we’re headed, it’s Kevin Scott.

The Microsoft CTO joins Aditya Agarwal to discuss navigating his Minus One days, the partnership with OpenAI, why the most valuable problems to solve are often the ones others ignore, and why building great things has never been easier, cheaper, or faster. Tune in now.

Apply to SPC membership:

https://airtable.com/appxDXHfPCZvb75qk/pagIZspLSFX7QrXcn/form

Connect with us:

1. Kevin Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkevinscott/ 

2. Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

00:00 Trailer

01:34 Navigating Career Transitions and Impact

07:35 Challenges and Insights for Entrepreneurs

14:43 The Evolution and Future of AI

28:42 The Grind of Startup Life

34:11 Open Source vs. Closed Source Models

46:49 Empowering the Next Generation with AI

Having been a key part of building Google and Meta, and helping scale DoorDash and Block, Gokul Rajaram joins Aditya Agarwal to share his principles and patterns for deciding what’s truly worth building.

Together, they draw on real stories from Silicon Valley and reflect on what it will take to unlock India’s deep tech potential. The investor gives crucial insight into the mindset, the team, and the personal qualities required to build meaningfully in the age of AI.

Apply to SPC membership: https://airtable.com/appxDXHfPCZvb75qk/pagIZspLSFX7QrXcn/form

Connect with us:

1. Gokul Rajaram - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gokulrajaram1/

2. Aditya Agarwal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. South Park Commons - https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

00:00 Trailer

01:00 Introduction

03:42 The Importance of Passion in Startups

08:27 The Role of Serendipity in Finding a Mission

12:01 User Storytelling vs. User Research

18:24 The Obsession of Great Founders

28:44 The Evolution of AI and Its Impact on Startups

38:23 The Future of AI in the Physical World

If you want to know what it’s like to be the architect of nations, not just platforms - you ask a man like Nandan Nilekani.

In this episode of Minus One, Nandan breaks down the ideas, effort and intent behind building Aadhaar for 1.4 billion people, his next chapter in using AI to drive social impact across India, and what his vision of the future looks like.

Connect with us here:

1. ​ Nandan Nilekani- https://x.com/NandanNilekani
2. ​ Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/
3. ​ South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

00:00 Trailer

01:36 Introduction

02:12 Curiosity and Conviction: Keys to Success

15:11 AI and India's Future

25:46 The Startup Boom in India

27:03 Challenges and Opportunities in Ease of Business

31:38 AI and Digital Public Infrastructure

40:26 Future of Energy and Final Thoughts

SPC alum Tuhin Srivastava sits down with Aditya Agarwal to break down how a failed four-year startup, plus early chapters in finance and biotech, shaped the way he is scaling Baseten into one of the fastest-growing AI infrastructure companies today.

His approach is simple: kill what doesn’t work, don’t scale before you’re ready, and stop pretending you can see past three months in AI.

Apply to SPC membership -https://airtable.com/appxDXHfPCZvb75qk/pagIZspLSFX7QrXcn/form

Connect with us here:

1. Tuhin Srivastava- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuhin-srivastava/

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

00:00 Trailer

00:56 Introduction

01:28 Insights from Cricket to Startups

03:30 Career Journey: From Finance to Tech

08:16 Navigating the Startup Ecosystem

22:48 Embracing Change and Customer Focus

25:38 Unique Company Philosophies

30:14 Compensation and Team Dynamics

39:29 Cricket Predictions

Rahul Chari is a leader in India’s tech evolution, from building Flipkart’s foundations, to architecting PhonePe’s planet-scale platform. Simply put, there are very few people in a country of over a billion, who have not used what he built.

In this episode of Minus One, he reflects on forming lasting partnerships, building for the future, and building to last.

Connect with us here:

1. Prateek Mehta- https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-mehta-a571972/

2. South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

After years of operating at scale at companies like Facebook and Dropbox, Ruchi Sanghvi, founding partner of South Park Commons, and Aditya Agarwal, General Partner, turn the mic on each other to revisit the early days that grew this community to over 1,000 founders and technologists.

They reflect on what it takes to build something enduring together, and why the best ideas rarely emerge from comfort.

Apply to SPC membership- https://airtable.com/appxDXHfPCZvb75qk/pagIZspLSFX7QrXcn/form

Connect with us here:

1. Ruchi Sanghvi- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsanghvi/

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

(00:00) Trailer

(01:15) The Journey of Founding SPC

(05:33) The Importance of Constructive Conflict

(15:51) Scaling and Leadership Insights

(28:39) Embracing the Learning Journey

(29:43) The Power of Storytelling in Startups

(33:19) Balancing Optimism and Realism

(49:13) Navigating the Complexities of Markets