The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Anshu Bansal is a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He co-founded Hyrecar, a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace that allows anyone to rent their cars to Uber and Lyft drivers safely and reliably.

In today’s episode, learn how a late-night Uber ride in 2014 sparked a groundbreaking business idea that would reshape the ride-sharing industry in the US. Anshu takes us through his incredible entrepreneurial journey—from his programming days at H&R Block and Amazon Prime Music to building the “Airbnb for ride-share cars.” Along the way, he faced direct competition from Uber, financial struggles that nearly led to bankruptcy, and even sold his own car to keep the company afloat. Against all odds, he turned things around and ultimately took the company public in a remarkable comeback story.

Learn how they validated their concept by going undercover at Uber Driver Hubs, built their first MVP using just a spreadsheet that generated $9,000 in month one, and navigated crucial pivots when faced with competition from Uber itself.

⌛ Timestamps:

• Introduction – The late-night Uber ride that sparked a billion-dollar idea (05:03)
• Early Career – From coding at Amazon & H&R Block to building startups (05:31)
• The Birth of Hyrecar – How one conversation turned into a game-changing business (06:31)
• Cracking the Business Model – How Anshu structured Hyrecar for success (08:43)
• Proving the Idea – The key steps that validated Hyrecar’s potential (13:13)
• Ignored by Uber – Why the ride-share giant didn’t see Hyrecar coming (16:25)
• Reinventing Car Ownership – How Hyrecar disrupted the ride-sharing ecosystem (18:36)
• Thriving in the Unknown – Why Anshu builds businesses in industries he knows little about (24:27)
• Lessons from Amazon & Microsoft – What big tech taught Anshu about scaling companies (26:53)
• Hiring in Startups vs. Big Tech – The biggest differences founders must understand (30:43)
• The Real Meaning of Entrepreneurship – What it truly takes to build a successful startup (32:43)
• Personal Struggles & Entrepreneurship – How life’s challenges shape founders (35:43)
• Finding the Right Co-Founder – The make-or-break decision for every startup (41:08)
• From Near Collapse to IPO – The incredible journey of Hyrecar’s turnaround (47:41)
• Building a VC Fund – Why Anshu launched his own investment firm (54:43)
• Jumping into Cybersecurity – What made Anshu bet on an entirely new industry (56:14)
• The Biggest Lessons as an Operator – What years of entrepreneurship have taught him (01:01:13)
• Advice to His Younger Self – The hard-earned wisdom every founder should hear (01:02:03)

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Aquibur Rahman is the Co-founder and CEO of Mailmodo, an interactive email marketing software that helps marketers create app-like experiences in email by adding forms, shopping cart, calendar, NPS and other widgets. It helps companies collect feedback from their users, book meetings with prospects, recover abandon carts, generate leads, all within the the body of the email. The company is backed by Peak XV Partners (prev. known as Sequoia India), Y Combinator, BoldCap, Titan Capital & All In Capital.Aquib has been a marketer his entire career. Prior to founding Mailmodo, he headed marketing at Cleartax, a leading tax & investing platform, where he built and grew the practice from the ground up. And before that he had short but impactful stints at P&G, iProf Learning Solutions (I) Pvt. Ltd., and CarDekho.From a small village in Bihar to Super30, IIT Dhanbad, IIM Ahmedabad, and now the Silicon Valley, Aquib has come a long way and defied the odds at every step. Humble, soft-spoken, and incredibly knowledgeable, he brings deep insights into marketing, growth, and startup success.In today's episode, we dive deep into marketing strategies for founders and startups. Aquib shares actionable insights on why founders should position themselves as the face of their companies and how they can do it effectively, proven strategies for scaling market as a strong source of lead generation and brand building in the early stages, and a step-by-step playbook for executing founder-led marketing effectively.This is a MUST-watch episode for every founder and marketing person at startups

⌛ Timestamps:

1. Trailer (00:00)
2. Introduction (01:16)
3. Episode kick-off (03:33)
4. How did Mailmodo land its first customer? (03:47)
5. Proven strategies to acquire your first paying customer (05:36)
6. How Mailmodo landed Razorpay as a customer (10:33)
7. Why design partnerships & POCs should be paid (11:55)
8. What is "build-in-public"? What's a good playbook for it? (13:56)
9. What is Founder-Led Marketing & why it works (18:38)
10. The key components of a strong Founder-Led Marketing strategy (20:32)
11. Marketing strategies that helped Mailmodo scale (22:33)
12. How to build partnerships with lesser-known brands (25:12)
13. Is all marketing good marketing? (25:50)
14. The dangers of overpromising & underdelivering (27:18)
15. Examples of founders who nailed Founder-Led Marketing (29:53)
16. When should founders start focusing on Founder-Led-Marketing? (32:15)
17. How customer discovery leads to marketing success (34:03)
18. The biggest mistakes founders make in marketing (40:50)
19. Live Marketing Workshop: Aquib breaks down a real-world example (45:01)
20. How AI is changing SEO: What founders need to know (48:33)
21. SEO best practices for 2025 and beyond (55:13)
22. How AI is reshaping email marketing (59:43)
23. How should a brand think about email marketing today? (1:01:59)
24. Why marketing is all about building relationships (1:06:03)
25. If Mailmodo started today, what would Aquib do differently? (1:09:19)
26. With infinite resources, how would Aquib scale marketing? (1:10:13)

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Yousuf Khan is a Partner at Ridge Ventures, a seed and Series A stage venture fund investing in enterprise and B2B startups. With a deep understanding of startup growth and scaling challenges, Yousuf not only drives Ridge’s investment portfolio forward but also provides hands-on support to founders, offering guidance rooted in his extensive experience across leadership roles. He currently serves as a board director for Ridge-backed companies, including Archera, Cerby, Chisel Labs, Lightyear, Rafay, and Rewind.

Before joining Ridge, Yousuf held several pivotal positions in leading technology companies. He was the first CIO of Automation Anywhere ($6.84 billion company), played a dual role as CIO and Vice President of Customer Success at AI-driven cloud platform Moveworks ($2.1 billion company), and served as CIO at two public companies, Pure Storage (PSTG) and Qualys (QLYS). His deep industry expertise also includes advisory roles with companies like Zoom, Productiv, and Material Security.

In this episode, Yousuf shares his journey into venture capital, discussing key insights on building a career in VC, the importance of founder empathy, and the role of self-awareness and diversity in investing.He offers practical advice on how VCs can create information arbitrage, draw value from feedback cycles, and support founders through challenges at scale. The conversation also delves into best practices and strategies for enterprise software founders, covering topics like customer obsession, board meetings, and leadership at scale.

⌛ Timestamps:

• Trailer (0:00)
• Introduction (1:40)
• Episode kick-off (3:44)
• Yousuf shares his experience in venture capital (4:26)
• Is venture capital for everyone? What should one expect? (5:20)
• Knowing your 'WHY' before starting a career in VC (7:13)

• How to become a venture capitalist (9:00)
• How VCs draw inferences from feedback cycles (11:44)
• Creating information arbitrage as a VC (14:41)
• The importance of diversity in a venture team (16:46)
• The role of founder empathy in investing (18:25)
• Authenticity: An underrated trait in founders (19:39)
• Why VCs should have self-awareness (22:07)
• Common problems founders face as they scale (25:07)
• Why very few CIOs become VCs (27:00)
• API to DPI: The journey of an investor (32:34)
• How to build a strong track record in venture (36:40)
• Speaking the talk vs. walking the walk (39:00)
• The importance of obsession in venture capital (41:06)
• Serendipity and opportunity in VC (43:01)
• Immigrant spirit, shared experiences, and gratitude in venture (47:37)
• How Yousuf handles failures or bad investments (59:06)
• Best practices for running board meetings (1:06:07)
• The science of creating a perfect board deck (1:08:10)
• How long it takes founders to master board meetings (1:10:35)
• Tips for founders on running their companies better (1:12:32)
• Why the technology industry is inherently imperfect (1:14:15)
• The importance of operating in "customer mode" (not just founder mode) (1:20:16)
• Advice for enterprise software founders (1:24:54)
• What’s ahead for 2025 (1:26:58)
• Advice Yousuf would give his younger self (1:30:10)

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We had the privilege of hosting Sriram Viswanathan, Founding Managing Partner of Celesta Capital. Based in San Francisco, Celesta Capital is a global, multi-stage venture capital firm managing $1.1 billion in assets. The firm specializes in cross-border investments between India and the United States, with a focus on deep-tech. Since its inception in 2013, Celesta Capital has invested in over 100 companies including those in space-tech, bio-tech, artificial intelligence, drug discovery, semi-conductors, cloud infrastructure, imaging, construction, diagnostics among others.

Sriram Viswanathan has more than 30 years of technology business operations and venture capital experience. Prior to Celesta, Sriram was the founder of IndusAge Partners, a cross-border venture firm investing in companies in India-US corridor. Sriram spent nearly 20 years at Intel Corporation in various senior management roles, including VP of the Intel Architecture Group (IAG) and later as the VP of Intel Capital and General Manager of Intel’s Incubation and Innovation Group.

In this episode, we explore Sriram’s journey, from his time at Intel during its peak, where he first delved into deep tech, to his unique experiences intersecting with Hollywood. We explore building a winning organizational culture, Sriram’s core values, and how Celesta Capital reflects the shared principles of its four partners. Sriram shares insights into Celesta’s investment thesis, rooted in the operational expertise of its team, and offers lessons on what makes a successful venture capitalist, from the importance of relationships and authenticity to navigating leadership changes. We discuss the immense opportunities in deep tech, particularly in India, the impact of geo-politics and regulation on investing, and strategies for attracting LPs to deep tech funds. With advice on choosing the right VC partner, building with an exit mindset, and running efficient board meetings, this conversation is packed with valuable takeaways for founders, investors, and anyone navigating the world of deep tech and venture capital.

🎙️ Fun fact: Sriram also hosts @techsurge-deeptech podcast. Give it a listen!

⌛ Timestamps:

• 1. Episode Trailer | 00:00
• 2. Guest Introduction | 01:23
• 3. Episode Kickoff | 04:12
• 4. The secret behind longevity at Intel | 05:24
• 5. Why Intel bet big on deep tech | 08:51
• 6. How Intel evaluated deep tech in the 90s | 11:13
• 7. Convincing Steven Spielberg to use Intel's InTru3D for Shrek | 13:13
• 8. Building a culture of longevity in organizations | 17:08
• 9. Laying the foundation for a career in venture investing | 19:57
• 10. Traits of a successful venture capitalist | 23:58
• 11. The tough decisions in VC: leadership changes | 30:04
• 12. Why VC is about people and relationships | 32:32
• 13. Choosing the right VC partner over a big-name fund | 36:15
• 14. “Elon doesn’t run SpaceX” | 37:40
• 15. How to run efficient board meetings | 39:08
• 16. Authenticity as a superpower | 40:14
• 17. Celesta Capital’s investment philosophy | 41:40
• 18. The three pillars of a VC fund and founding Celesta Capital | 45:00
• 19. Key investment criteria at Celesta | 50:10
• 20. “Venture capital sucks” | 53:28
• 21. Why deep tech is a major opportunity in India | 58:25
• 22. How geo-politics and regulation shape investing in India | 01:01:21
• 23. Why LPs are excited & going long on deep tech | 01:03:55
• 24. Balancing returns across markets with different maturities (India & the US) | 01:05:40
• 25. Attracting new LPs to deep tech | 01:07:46
• 26. Building deep tech with an exit mindset | 01:11:45
• 27. Lessons learned from venture investing | 01:13:28
• 28. Sriram’s decision-making framework | 01:16:22
• 29. Episode Outro | 01:20:16

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In this episode, we sit down with ⁠Sheel Mohnot⁠, co-founder of ⁠Better Tomorrow Ventures⁠ (BTV), a San Francisco-based $350M AUM fund that leads pre-seed and seed rounds in fintech companies globally, typically writing first checks ranging from $500K to $4M.

BTV also runs The Mint Accelerator, a program providing mentorship, resources, and community support for fintech founders. At its core, BTV invests for a better future, driven by the belief that fintech can genuinely improve people’s lives.

Sheel is an operator-turned-investor. He built and sold FeeFighters, a Stripe-like payment gateway and processor product called Samurai, which was acquired by Groupon pre-launch in 2012, as well as Innovative Auctions. He also co-founded Thistle, a healthy meal delivery company that raised minimal VC funding and now employs over 500 people.

In this episode, we dive deep with Sheel to uncover the lessons he’s learned from building and exiting two businesses, the profound influence of family on his journey as both a founder and now an investor, and why he believes seed-stage investing allows BTV to have the greatest impact.

He shares candid insights about what it means to be the first call for his founders, the perks and challenges of being an operator-turned-investor, and the importance of portfolio diversification.

Sheel also reflects on traits of an ideal investor, finding life’s purpose, and even tells a story about the time he smoked a cigarette just to close a deal as a founder.

Whether you’re an aspiring investor, an entrepreneur, or just someone looking to grow as an individual, this episode is packed with stories, lessons, and actionable insights. It’s the perfect way to kick off the year—leaving you inspired and introspective!

⌛ Timestamps:

1. Episode trailer | 00:00
2. Family's influence on Sheel | 02:15
3. First encounter with Fintech | 04:44
4. Lessons from working in India | 05:43
5. Impression of India while growing up | 09:05
6. Correlation between family, values and investing | 11:57
7. Why VCs seek billion-dollar outcomes | 15:28
8. Importance of discipline in venture investing | 17:53
9. How does Sheel view himself? | 20:40
10. Value of approachability | 22:21
11. Importance of putting oneself ‘out there’ | 27:30
12. Hard problems, emerging markets & power of writing | 28:57
13. Dealing with imposter syndrome | 30:35
14. The hidden role of a VC | 34:10
15. Benefits of portfolio diversification | 38:09
16. Advantages Operator-turned-VCs hold over pure investors | 39:06
17. Traits of the ideal investor | 40:15
18. Finding life’s purpose | 45:17
19. Advice for indecisive founders | 47:12
20. Angel investing as a precursor to VC | 52:38
21. Key Learnings as a second time founder | 53:43
22. Story of smoking a cigarette to make a sale | 54:52
23. Insights from successful leaders & why startups fail | 57:09
24. Sheel’s fashion & style | 59:07

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After 150 audio-only episodes on Spotify & Apple Podcasts, The Desi VC is finally stepping into the world of video! The first video episode drops on January 1st. Join host Akash Bhat every fortnight as he interviews:

Get ready for:

🎥 Subscribe now to see unfiltered, unscripted conversations that will inspire, educate, and entertain!

Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl is the Founder & Managing Partner at Eternal Capital, a 120-crore fund investing in transformative startups across technology, healthcare, and consumer sectors in India. He is the former COO of BharatPe, and a leader with extensive experience in scaling businesses and driving operational excellence across Airtel, PayTM, and Fortis Hospitals, where he spearheaded growth and strategy initiatives.

This is the first of a two-part series, with the second part coming out next week. Stay tuned!

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Dhirendra Mahyavanshi is the Co-Founder of Turtlemint, an online insurance platform backed by Nexus Venture Partners, Peak XV, Jungle Ventures, GGV Capital, Blume Ventures among others. The company is on a mission to makes it easy to understand and buy insurance.

Before founding this company he held leadership positions at Quikr and ICICI Lombard. He holds an MBA degree from The IIM Calcutta.

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Archana Jahagirdar is the founder and managing partner of Rukam Capital, to find out. Set up in 2019, the Delhi-based venture capital firm invests in early-stage consumer products and services companies with significant growth potential. The VC has funded as many as 20+ startups, including noted brands such as Go DESi, Sleepy Owl Coffee, Burger Singh, BECO, The Indus Valley, Curefoods and more.

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Anshuman Singh is the Co-founder of ⁠Scaler⁠, an edtech company designed to upskill college graduates and young software engineers in advanced computer science topics. The company has raised $55M from Lightrock, Peak XV Partners and Tiger Global Management, at a valuation of $700M.

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