EP46: {Beerud Sheth, Founder of Elance & Gupshup}

On this episode I speak with Beerud Sheth, who was the co-founder & CEO of the poplar freelancing work platform Elance in 1998, that is now Upwork. Beerud went on to found Gupshup a could messaging platform that has seen its share of twists and turns in the messaging and communications space since 2004 and now processes over 4 billion messages a month. Beerud joined us from his home in California for this chat.

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Elance was co-founded by Beerud who moved to the US after graduating from IIT Bombay, to pursue his Masters at MIT followed by a stint in investment banking on Wall Street. Elance was the poster boy of the freelancer economy. Beerud was the CEO and top executive till 2007 and later a board member until the merger with Odesk in 2014.

Gupshup is among the cloud messaging platforms in the world with revenue upwards of Rs. 600 crore and has over 39,000 businesses including  Ola, Flipkart, Zomato, HDFC, Google, Paytm. Processes over 4.5 billion messages a month and recently expanded their services to South East Asia, Middle East and Europe. 

Hope you enjoy the episode!

Stay tuned & stay Safe!

- V @varunvummidi

Timeline:

00:00 - Introduction

05:08 - Founding Elance

08:00 - Solving for supply

10:33 - Managing challenges building a marketplace

12:45 -  Solving for Remote Work

14:20 - Took 6 months to build the business case for Elance

16:02 - Meeting co-founders & raising money

17:51 - Stock Markets were irrational in the 2000s that helped with fund raising

18:23 - Raising over $ 62M for Elance & the Odesk merger

19:50 - Transitioning out of Elance

23:28 - Reasons Gig Work is gaining popularity & the moment is now

27:23 - Gupshup - messaging & communication

30:21 - Messaging is the original super app

36:01 - iMessage Vs RCS

38:45 - Gupshup IP messaging

40:51 - Resident Message apps on OEMs

45:40 - Next phase of Messaging

48:30 - Mobile SPAM

51:25 - Plans & Hiring

EP45: {Shruti Kapoor, Co-founder & CEO of Wingman}

Wingman offers a virtual assistant that assists sales reps close deals faster, guiding the rep with exact information they need in real-time. Shruti Kapoor, an IIM alumn, chats with me about sales and ofcourse Wingman. 

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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!

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

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Bengaluru HQ'd Wingman was founded by Shruti, Muralidharan and Srikar in 2018. Wingman enables real time assistance to sales folk by telling them what to ask and say to a prospective customer. The tool records, transcribes and analyses calls, and picks out trends on what’s working and what’s not in pitches made by salespersons. Allows managers to set up cue cards to automatically coach the people when they are on the call. A bot will show a cue card if a prospective customer asks a question on how a product is different from a competitor’s.

The company is currently targeting B2B clients who sell to the US market. It has on-boarded a few SaaS companies such as Chargebee, Synup and Capital Number. They have raised $2.2 million in the seed round, led by Venture Highway, Speciale Invest and Y Combinator.

Shruti & team are hiring and can't see a reason for you not to explore the opportunities in a fast growing startup! Checkout their careers page.

Stay Safe & Spread the word!

- V @varunvummidi

Timeline:

EP44: {Vikram Chachra, Co-Founder of 8i Ventures}

We’ve had 4 of Vikram’s portfolio companies on this show already. Madhu of YAP, Ankit of Signzy, Rajan of Slice and Matt of BlueTokai!! Vikram’s in the process of launching his $ 50 million fund and took the time to have a chat with me about his investment philosophy and the journey being a founder.

Vikram is a SRCC, XLRI & NYU grad who started up a mobile shopping startup in early 2000's and later went on to run the mobile division @ Snapfish ( acquired by HP ). He invests in India and across the world.

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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!

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

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He has seeded over 28 seed to early stage startups over the last decade that have created more than a billion dollars of value for their shareholders. These include several category leaders like Carwale.com, HCG Global (NSE: HCG), EzeTap, Blue Tokai, MoneyTap, Online Tyari, Eatigo, Signzy, amongst others. 

Vikram is easy to reach, and if you need someone to hear your consumer or fintech idea, strongly suggest you reach out!

 Stay Safe & Spread the word!

- V @varunvummidi

Timeline:

00:00 - Journey in as an entrepreneur

10:17 - Early check in PayTM 

14:00 - Impact of COVID on the portfolio

15:01 - 8i and investment philosophy

19:00 - Founders becoming investors

22:45 - IPO’s will start happening in challenger brands

27:04 - Getting deal flow

31:09 - Investing in Signzy

33:45 - BlueTokai

35:42 - Carwale

37:21 - Investing in a hot sauce company { Naagin }

39:50 - Making a decision in early stage companies

42:20 - Not all investments do well

46:01 - Cold emailing Vikram

EP43: {Amit Kumar, BusinessHead of OLX CashMyCar}

On this episode I catch up with Amit to discuss the state of the Used Car business in India and its increasing relevance to the audience while organizing an unorganized segment.

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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!

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

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OLX Group is a Naspers company, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world! Take a look at CashMyCar, who offers one of the many services in India that uses a structured approach to assisting those who want to sell their cars.

Would love to hear from you on how you liked the episode! So son't forget to write to me!

Stay Safe!

- V {host is on Twitter @varunvummidi }

Timeline:

02:14 - Used car market in India is growing faster than New car business!

05:00 - Ownership is going up but the need for travel will go down

09:40 - Many businesses are giving up workplaces

13:45 - Trends in Car Ownership

19:05 - Why used cars have a good resale value?

22:31 - Frontier Car Group & the revolution in the used car business

26:20 - Importance of having an Omnichannel process

30:29 - Straddling diff business models

34:05 - Building the market place

EP42: {Ankit Ratan, Co-Founder of Signzy}

Regulation is probably one of the key pillars of banking. Sometimes it does become an excuse for being the thing that ails the experience. All that is changing now with the emergence of Reg-Tech. The use of Video KYC, Aadhar authentication layer, digital lockers & the India Stack is enabling a lot of that change. One of those companies that is quietly enabling the BFSI sector is Signzy.

Ankit, a silver medalist from IIT Delhi (2011), had worked in New York deploying fraud analytics solutions at Citi Bank and Metlife. In 2013, started an analytics company that worked with large private banks in detecting fraud, in India before founding Signzy along with Ankur Pandey, and brother Arpit Ratan.

→ Don’t forget to 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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Signzy currently offers a digital on-boarding solution for banks, NBFCs and other financial institutions, enabling them to go digital. Signzy solves for the poor consumer experiences in managing regulatory compliance by handling workflows. Their no-code AI model builder and Fintech API Marketplace of over 200+ APIs have enabled them to verify more than 3M documents per day without compromising on quality & security. Over 90+ FIs globally including the 4 largest banks in India and a Top 3 acquiring Bank in US trust Signzy. 

Signzy has raised funds from Stellaris Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital. Angel investors like Rajan Anandan,  Amrish Rau, Dilip Khandelwal, and Vikram Chachra..

Stay safe & share the episode!

- V (@varunvummidi)

Timeline:

01:00 - Identifying the problem statement

04:45 - Educating and working with Bankers

07:27 - Stopped using the word Blockchain

10:21 - Working with BFSI on problems that they are not building for themselves

12:29 - What is Signzy today?

16:24 - Involvement of the Regulator & supporting clients with legal interpretations

19:03 - Advantages of having a Lawyer as a Sales co-founder in RegTech

23:30 - Change helps RegTech players

26:05 - Understanding when to "build" Product?

30:39 - Being part of Accelerators (K-Start, Google Launchpad & Mastercard StartPath)

41:36 - Selling to Global clients from India

46:05 - Business Model of Signzy

47:23 - On Premise vs Cloud for FIs

51:00 - Growth

EP41: {Rajan Bajaj, Founder of Slice}

On the episode I speak with Rajan Bajaj, the founder of Slice, an IIT grad who spent a few months in Flipkart before wanting start out on his own. He went on to start a business that morphed into what is today Slice - a credit line that caters to first time job seekers. 

Slice is targeting 5 million first time credit seekers every year who have little access to credit products designed specifically for them.  We chat about how India’s first payment card startup focussed on the millennials is doing and what young Indian’s are spending on.

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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!

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

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Slice (formerly known as SlicePay) on announced in June 2020 that it has raised Rs 46 crore in a Pre-Series B round led by Japan-based investor Gunosy.  The round also saw participation from US-based EMVC, Kunal Shah of CRED, Better Capital, and existing investor Das Capital. Read more

Book recommendation from Rajan: The CEO Within - Matt Mochary - Full book available here for a free read

Stay Safe and do spread the word!

- V(@varunvummidi)

Timelines:

01:10 - Introduction & impact of moratorium

05:24 - Where young people are spending

06:31 - Starting up right after graduating

10:01 - Going through the diff avatars

11:45 - Sharing economy

14:04 - Trends in spends

17:50 - What is Slice?

21:15 - Business model of Slice

27:40 - KYC & Collections

28:44 - Going through pivots,

35:14 - Diversifying

40:54 - Getting support & advice

41:59 - Using Twitter properly

43:45 - Book Recommendation

EP40: {Shwetank Verma, General Partner of Leo Capital}

Shwetank Verma is a General Partner and co-Founder of Leo Capital, an early-stage venture investor operating in India and SouthEast Asia. Leo Capital focuses on Digital Health, InsurTech and FinTech. Shwetank, prior to founding Leo Capital he headed open innovation at MetLife Asia, where he created and led (Collab), and was entrepreneur who created a healthcare and education ventures in India.

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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!

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

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Shwetank opens up about investing, few of his investments & trends he has seen in the Insurance space. 

Timeline:

01:55 - Introduction

05:55 - Metlife Collab - the post accelerator

08:10 - Corporate innovation is learned helplessness

11:05 - Seeing patterns in industries across the world

14:40 - Timing the market

17:45 - Regulators enabling insurance

20:45 - Insuretech Association of India

22:50 - Having billions in Gross Underwritten Premiums

31:00 - Leo Capital Investments

31:44 - Cover Genius - APIs for insurance

36:10 - Functioning of the fund

37:10 - Beato App - Diabetes Management

46:08 - WayForward - Mental Health

49:24 - Meeting portfolio companies - choosing an investment

EP39: {Dhruv Suyamprakasam, Co-founder & CEO of iCliniq}

I speak with a founder who moved his company from Bangalore to his hometown Coimbatore to start health care venture iCliniq. We talk about Telemedicine, starting up in Coimbatore, the struggles of to signing up the first doctor in India and convincing thousands of doctors from across the world to embrace their platform. More recently, COVID has helped with a massive upsurge with over 5x growth post lockdown. 

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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!

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

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iCliniq is a part of the Digital Health Providers Association (DHPA) that includes the likes of Lybrate, Meddo, Visit, DocOnline, mFine, and DocsApp who have come forward to support the Telemedicine bill floated by the government. 

About iCliniq:

iCliniq offers a high quality online consultation, where the quality assurance team ensures right diagnosis happens and doctors are supported at the right time for better health outcomes. They aim to be the go-to second opinion platform for the world.

Timeline:

01:00 - Starting up from Coimbatore & hiring tech talent from across the country

04:11 - Choosing to startup in Healthcare

11:10 - Acquiring first set of doctors onto the platform

15:36 - First version of iCliniq

19:25 - Getting patients on the platform

22:28 - Most revenue is international, 101 countries, 3800 doctors from around the world

24:30 - Medical Second opinions

28:00 - 70% of all queries can be solved online without having to meet the patient

30:52 - Telemedicine guidelines from the government

32:08 - JIO partnership & the TM Forum

36:35 - Monetization for online consultations

38:45 - Impact of COVID - 5x growth in queries

41:00 - Vision for iCliniq

43:00 - 2,500 consultations per day

46:15 - Selling Value Added Services

48:30 - Hiring! We’ll grow 3x by 2021

EP38: {Bharath Devanathan, SVP of Bounce}

On this episode, EP38 of the podcast we chat with Bharath about Electric Vehicles and how India is on the path to start seeing a lot more action in the EV space as governments have now stepped in to accelerating the switch from ICE to EVs. We also chat a little about Bharath’s time at Yahoo! On the email team as well as as playing Ultimate frisbee.

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→ Subscribe to the Newsletter via stars.substack.com to receive new episodes delivered directly to your inbox!

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

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Bharath is an accomplished professional who built Groupon India, and managed business and operations for Groupon APAC Emerging markets. Spent a little time in Management and Strategy Consulting, and had a long career at Yahoo! Now at Bounce with the goal to make mobility green and clean (electric vehicles). 

#NewThingLearntToday Well to Wheel Ratio - cost of production to operating a vehicle for an EV is much lower; over the lifetime as compared to an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle.

Hope you guys enjoy the episode! Do spread the word.

- V (@varunvummidi)

Timeline:

02:45 - COVID has created the tail winds for shared mobility

07:23 - EV Adoption in India is imminent

10:26 - Sustainability for Incentives for EV adoption

14:01 - Should India be doing more on policy?

19:42 - Cost of going Electric

27:00 - Conversion of fleets to EV in India

30:50 - Consumer preference for EV

32:35 - Time at Yahoo! & 6MB mailboxes

37:31 - Email of choice today ->  Hey.com

41:39 - Playing Ultimate Frisbee with the co-founders of Whatsapp

48:45 - Quick thoughts on deal sites

EP37: {Arjun Majumdar & Sandhya Chandrasekharayya, Founders of IndiaHikes}

On this episode, I’m changing it up a little as I catch up with  the founders of India Hikes. India’s premier hiking company that started way back in 2008. With the hope of making hiking accessible to more Indians so that they can enjoy the nature that India has in abundance, right from the western ghats to the mighty Himalayas. Yes, this is not much of a tech conversation but a story that I wanted to share. Hope you enjoy it.

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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!

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

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Timeline:

They're hiring! Do check them out.

About:

Indiahikes in 2008 brought trekking to a new generation of Indians, with deep knowledge and by opening up new parts of country to hikers of any age and ability.  The Indiahikes' website is a treasure of trekking information in India. Including a wonderful set of content displayed via various channels.