{Karthik Venkateswaran, Co-founder & CEO of Jumbotail}

Karthik served with the Indian army in hard combat and had successful stints with marketplaces such as eBay in the US and Flipkart in India before launching Jumbotail along with his Stanford University batchmate Ashish Jhina.

On this episode I chat with why Karthik & Ashish united behind this problem, and we deep dive into the business & the inspiration for Karthik to leave the military service and pursue entrepreneurship.

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

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Jumbotail was founded with the objective of enabling the Kiranas or corner stores by envisioning a full stack experience; creating a wholesale marketplace and new retail platform to help retailers with inventory management, a digital PoS, working capital and retail as a service to make them modern convenience stores.

Jumbotail’s endeavour to build products, platforms, and services for the next billion people of India has landed them in over $55 million in funding from Venture Capital funds such as Nexus VP, Kalaari Capital & Heron Rick fund.

Enjoy another classic episode! Jumbotail is hiring massively across verticals, reach out to Karthik & the team via [email protected]

Stay safe!

— V {i’m on Twitter @varunvummidi }

Timeline:

00:00 - Introduction to Jumbotail

03:45 - Moving to Entrepreneurship from Military service

06:38 - Challenges building Jumbotail

10:20 - Battling competition in the food & grocery market

15:46 - Distribution is king?

20:28 - Differentiating in a supply rich market

26:45 - Post pandemic user behaviour

31:24 - Managing many business under the umbrella

37:22 - Hiring

39:10 - Learning from combat applied to business

{Jitendra Chouksey, Co-Founder of FITTR}

The latest episode is with Jitendra Chouksey, aka JC, Founder & CEO of FITTR. FITTR has a highly engaged 2 million strong community focused on getting healthy and transforming themselves with the help of FITTR coaches, using the resources available. On this episode we chat about the journey from a small WhatsApp group that was created to assist a few friends and colleagues to becoming the platform it is today.

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

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Founded in 2016,  JC a software engineer transformed himself while working a 12-hour a day IT job. He created and shared a training methodology through his free book “Get Shredded” to prove that anyone can get fit with the knowledge of Quantified Nutrition. Now that has spawned into a fitness company that has a vision of making millions of people across the world fit and to create meaningful career opportunities in the fitness industry.

We discuss:

Please do share the episode, and do spread the word!

Hope you and the family are well.

- V { Twitter @varunvummidi }

Timeline:

01:15 - Introduction to FITTR

05:10 - Journey to getting FITTR

08:39 - Transitioning from a Hobby project to a business

12:10 - Transitioning Groups to the mobile application

15:25 - Managing FB groups

17:00 - Engaging users

27:45 - 60% of coaches were clients of FITTR

33:25 - Joining an accelerator program having positive cashflows

EP54: {Ashish Singhal, Co-Founder of CoinSwitch}

Hi Stars!

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

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Founded by 3 friends Govind, Vimal & Ashish, friends from NSIT in 2017, CoinSwitch is now backed by bluechip fin-tech investors like Ribbit Capital, Paradigm and Sequoia India, raising $15 million in their Series A round. In April 2021, they raised another $25 million ( ₹181 crore) from Tiger Global - valuing Coinswitch at more than $500 million.

Buoyed by the massive interest amongst Indians for cryptocurrencies, the platform has witnessed 350% growth in its user base since January this year. The most actively transacting age group on the platform is between 25-35 and the platform is witnessing a huge demand from Tier 2 and 3 cities. Investors from Tier 2 and 3 towns account for as much as 54% of Coinswitch’s user base.

Do spread the word!

- V { Twitter @varunvummidi }

EP53: Pivots and the story to selling a majority stake to Reliance {Harsh Shah, Co-Founder of Fynd}

Are you enjoying the new episodes of S&S? Do write to me! Also, do recommend amazing founders & stories that are worth spreading from the Startup scene in India.

On the episode, I speak with someone I have known a while from the early days of ecommerce. I chat with Harsh Shah, an alumnus of the IIT, Bombay, and a co-founder of FYND. Harsh is also an angel investor with over 19 investments.

In this conversation I chat about the many pivots FYND made to find their mojo, the business models in retail commerce for Indian retailers and what brought FYND to Reliance.

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

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FYND offers a technology solutions to retail merchants that helps them manage their inventory and sales across various demand channels. Founded by Farooq Adam, Harsh, and Sreeraman MG, Fynd had raised more than $7 million from investors including Google, Kae Capital, IIFL, Singularity Ventures, and GrowX, among others.

FYND has pivoted and made major changes since its launch in 2012. Initially, it was called Shopsense, which provided brands with different products to improve customer experience. Some of its clients included Lee, Satya Paul, Anita Dongre, Flying Machine, and Being Human (along with other 330 brands, these are still FYND’s clients). 

In 2019 Reliance acquired a majority stake in the company buying out all investors. 

Spread the word!

- @varunvummidi 

Timeline:

01:00 - Intro to FYND and Harsh

06:01 - Shopsense, the solution

12:30 - Why did retailers adopt Shopsense, what were they buying?

19:19 - The second pivot

23:01 - Choosing to go down a specific path vs supporting retailers with technology

30:30 - Evolution of FYND into pure tech Ominchannel stack

35:02 - Choosing the type of client to go after

38:15 - Supporting Reliance brand stores & the future with Reliance

46:20 - Explosion & democratisation of e-commerce

50:10 - Angel investor

EP52: 600k users & creating a Brand for Generations {Ankit Garg, Co-Founder of Wakefit}

Ever wondered what the deal was with foam mattresses? Is it better that coir? Listen in.

Ankit Garg of Wakefit is on the show this week, Wakefit is a mattress brand that has been offering Indian customers the ability to buy a mattress online and have it home delivered at a very affordable price. Bringing down the cost while making it convenient to upgrade old mattresses.

In the conversation we chat about the size of the mattress market, building a brand for  generations & a lot more about mattresses!

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

→ Avail a Wakefit.co discount using code: WFSTARS27 for a 27% discount on MRP and applicable to online orders on their website website only [terms: discount applicable 3rd March to 31st March only on orders above INR 1000]

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Wakefit identifies itself as a sleep and home solutions company, and has raised ₹185 crores as a part of its Series B funding in 2020 with investments from European investment firm Verlinvest & existing investor Sequoia Capital India.

The company has been profitable since inception with its revenue growing from ₹80 crore in 2018-19 fiscal to ₹199 crore in 2019-20 fiscal, as per audited financial statements. With almost 35% of the demand from tier 2 and tier 3 markets. Wakefit is playing in the furniture segment in India that is currently worth $17 billion and is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15-17%.

Do spread the word!

- V { Twitter @varunvummidi }

Timeline:

02:07 - Reviews on Amazon

05:36 - Iteration process

10:54 - How does customer interactions translate into products?

16:54 - When does one diversify?

19:40 - Selling a touch-and-feel product via the Internet

24:00 - What’s special about foam tech?

29:40 - Is foam mattress better than coir mattresses?

39:01 - Do mattresses need to be replaced?

40:24 - Raising funds for Wakefit

45:02 - Does depending on Amazon carries a platform risk?

Yes, been a while but we're back with a packed episode!

On this episode, episode 51, I speak with Rajiv Srivatsa a co-founder of a well loved consumer brand in the digital age, UrbanLadder. 

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→ Don’t forget to subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Youtube links: https://anchor.fm/stars-and-startups

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Super fun chat with Rajiv on building a consumer brand in India. UrbanLadder was likely the big daddy of the Direct 2 Consumer trend in India. No retail stores, creating a brand, selling only private labels with only UL branded products. We discuss how using NPS in different areas of the business can help retain customers, the UL journey & solid advice for brands starting up now.  

Rajiv has recently joined the Singapore-based early-stage venture capital and private equity firm Antler as head of India and local partner. Do reach out via Linkedin, he's extremely helpful!

Do share the episode, would be awesome if you did!

— Varun

{host is on Twitter @varunvummidi }

Timeline: 

00:15 - Intro to Rajiv & UL 

07:17 - Early days of building a customer centric brand 

09:02 - Using new channels for creating low cost marketing  

12:40 - Scarcity & authenticity to drive user demand 

13:30 - Genesis for Urban Ladder 

15:40 - Keeping NPS as the North Star for Urban Ladder 

21:48 - Tracking & setting up NPS 

24:22 - Aligning & setting Brand values 

26:43 - Learnings from the downswing of UL 

32:00 - Is India ready to buy furniture online* 

37:00 - Reflecting on experiences and getting into the habit of writing & being vulnerable 

40:24 - Real Reasons to Startup 

43:46 - Intro to Antler   

47:40 - Closing thoughts

Urban Ladder had raised Rs 770 Cr since 2012 and was acquired by Reliance for Rs 182 Cr in November 2020.  Urban Ladder had raised capital from likes of Steadview, Sequoia Capital, SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital. The company had been struggling for the last two years of existence to find new backers whereas existing investors had not backed the company in follow on rounds. Urban Ladder and Pepperfry promised to disrupt the unorganised furniture and home decor market during the 2012-13 period. However some believe that Urban Ladder struggled for several reasons including challenges in supply chain management and believe that Ikea’s entry had dried up the investors’ confidence in the segment. With the acquisition of Urban Ladder, Pepperfry is the only independent large player in the online furniture segment, recently raising a $40 million round led by Pidilite at a valuation over $460 million.

EP49: {Rohan Bhargava, Co-Founder of CashKaro}

I speak with Rohan on building a business offering cashbacks that works with over 1500+ e-commerce websites. Famously, Cashkaro is a Ratan Tata backed startup.  Rohan shares why he & his wife Swati gave up lucrative jobs in finance, moved back to India from London in the early days of starting up, how affiliate businesses operate and a lot more on this extremely intriguing conversation!

→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

→ Checkout Beandeck.com to discover a range of curated Indian coffees & brewing equipment, use code STAR to get a discount on your order!

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As a category leader, CashKaro has made cashbacks an attractive way to save money for online shoppers, while offering marketers a high ROI acquisition and retention channel. Other Cashkaro properties includes Pouring Pounds, one of largest player in the UK, and Earnkaro which enables its users become entrepreneurs to make some additional cash by sharing deals.

CashKaro is India’s largest Cashback & Coupons site. The only venture capital backed Cashback site, funded by Kalaari Capital and Mr. Ratan Tata. More recently received $10 M in a Series B funding round led by Korea Investment Partners (KIP). 

Hope you enjoy another S&S special. Have a listen, share feedback and share the episode!

Stay Safe!

- V ( @varunvummidi )

Timeline:

1:00 - Introduction to Cashkaro & starting up

09:07 - The Cashkaro journey

12:45 - Convincing the wife to join the journey

15:40 - Starting off as a B2B service

19:21 - Transitioning Cashkaro to the Indian audience in 2014

23:15 - Raising money for Cashkaro & moving to India from London

26:24 - How has affiliate marketing budgets have changed since 2015

31:15 - Choosing Affiliate marketing vs Performance marketing

34:43 - Does affiliate marketing cannibalise an existing user?

36:00 - Can you build a moat in with cashbacks

41:40 - Launching Earnkaro - enticing entrepreneurs

47:03 - Biggest challenge of building CK

49:20 - What’s the future for deals platforms?

EP48: {Sudarshan Lodha, Co-Founder of StrataProp}

On the episode I have Sudarshan to chat about Strata. The startup is bringing a new innovative approach to investing in real estate, one that is data-driven and allows the investor to own a fraction of a highly desirable asset and also a way to make it the most accessible real estate investment you could have. 

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

→ Checkout Beandeck.com to discover a range of curated Indian coffees & brewing equipment, use code STAR to get a discount on your order!

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Strata is based out of Bengaluru and has raised $1.5 million funding led by SAIF Partners and Mayfield India, including a strategic investment from a real estate data analytics platform, PropStack.  150 investors participated in the first investment opportunity on the platform.

The transparent and a data-driven approach to investment in real estate was so well received that their first investment opportunity was sold out within 7 days of going up on the platform, for a total of INR 26 crore from 74 investors.  What sets this apart is the exclusive CRE intelligence and analytics from PropStack and the ability for investor to commit small sums of money, which is a huge deal for real estate investments.

Have a listen, share feedback and share the episode!

Stay Safe!

- V ( @varunvummidi )

Timeline:

00:00 - Introduction to Strata

02:55 - Affordability of property in India

06:22 - Why 2nd home owners make best clients for Strata

09:19 - Commercial Real Estate vs other asset classes

13:00 - Fractional ownership of assets

18:35 - Data in Real Estate

20:45 - HavingPropStack as a Strategic

23:32 - Small CRE owners should rather invest in Strataprop

26:15 - Building a business in a segment that is not regulated

30:36 - Operationalizing Strata

33:54 - Getting Venture Investors into a business

EP47: {Nishith Rastogi, Co-Founder of Locus}

Nishith is a BITS Grad and was an engineer at Amazon where he met his co-founder Geet, an IIT grad. They set out to launch a chat network that morphed into what is today Locus.

Locus is a tool that plugs into the supply chain of an enterprise and starts automating all human decisions in the process; they automate route planning, traffic management, address correction, network planning, etc.. Locus is backed by some stellar investors and also service some of the top CPG companies in the world. Locus has become so integral to the operations of their clients that they had been offered hard cash by those who wanted to ensure Locus survived when COVID19 struck. Hope you enjoy my super intriguing session with Nishith.

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→ Go Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com so that you can receive future podcast releases delivered to your inbox!

→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

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About Locus:

The Locus platform uses deep machine learning and proprietary algorithms to offer smart logistics solutions like route optimization, real-time tracking, insights and analytics, beat optimization, efficient warehouse management, vehicle allocation and utilization. Locus also helps companies optimize their end-to-end supply chain network with its strategic consulting offering. Locus works with top clients across Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, and India, with offices in the USA, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The company has so far raised $29 million from Tier-1 investors including Tiger Global, Falcon Edge, Blume Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners & GrowX ventures.

Stay Safe & do share the episode!

- V { @varunvummidi }

Timelines:

00:00 - Introduction

05:45 - Finding the path to Locus

11:28 - Creating decision making systems for Big Basket

13:45 - Learning from Partners while building for them

18:02 - Complexity between geography & business types

24:21 - Pricing based on Total Cost of Ownership

27:55 - Building & Selling Enterprise SaaS

32:45 - Build vs Buy decision

35:06 - Challenges building logistics SaaS

38:15 - Having Falcon & Tiger as part of the journey

41:50 - BITS vs IIT & hiring

45:50 - 100M ARR