Read the full transcript for free here.

Niraj Singh, the co-founder and CEO of Spinny, loves cars.

So much so that when asked what would be the few things he would take with him to a deserted island, he hesitated a bit and then said: “I would take my car!”

He tells us it’s the only real personal space someone has. 

Niraj talks about how buying a car is one of the three or four milestones a person has in their life. And yet, buying a used car is still often a messy affair because trust or guarantees are hard to come by. 

It’s a large problem in our society, and Niraj believes solving a problem like this is the only way to build a product that lasts a lifetime.

So, it wasn’t surprising that Niraj and his co-founders set up Spinny, a used car marketplace. It was last valued at $1.8 billion.

The used car space, though, is extremely overcrowded. And overfunded. 

More and more Indians are comfortable buying used or pre-owned cars today. The demand is there. But on the supply side, there are so many sellers and platforms already.

So we asked Niraj why he would go into a market rife with overcompetition and overfunding?

And that’s when he broke down the used cars marketplace for us. A marketplace that, he says, behaves differently from any other. Where the key to solving for supply actually goes back to demand. And he tells us why this is.

Further, in this episode, Niraj talks about:

1. The courage and tenacity it took to get through eight years of rejection
2. Why there’s no longer a difference between a used car buyer and a new car buyer
3. Identifying the pain points of the industry you’re in
4. What kind of people succeed at Spinny 
5. How to build trust within your company

And, of course, cars!

This is Episode 28 of First Principles—The Ken’s fortnightly leadership podcast.

The Ken is India's first subscriber-only business journalism platform. Check out our deeply reported long-form stories, insightful newsletters, original podcasts and much more here.