The Indian Startup Show

Make your startup investment ready! Today my guest is Priyanka Madnani, Founder & CEO of Easy to Pitch. Easy to Pitch is one of the fastest-growing one-stop pitching solutions for start-up founders &  entrepreneurs looking to raise capital for their unique ideas. Since starting she now helps over 500 startups and reviewed over 5000 decks. 

So in this episode she talks about how she spotted a gap in the market for pitching solutions. Talks about helping founders and what investors are looking for. She talks about what founders should include in the pitch deck & getting your first 3 slides right. 

She talks about whether you should demo the product and thoughts on Shark Tank pitches. She talks about what founders struggle with when pitching. She talks about the reality of funding and  a 10 second pitch which helped her get a client. She goes on to  talk about branding, building relationships, winning awards  and leadership. and much more!

In this conversation we talk about:

• What inspired her to do this?
• Why her first ever pitch deck flopped and how she turned it all around
• Not everyone gets funding
• Advice on starting your own brand.
• Having no role models or mentors at the start.
• Starting a Facebook group and using Youtube, Instagram, Linkedin.
• Being a top entrepreneur in india
• Getting funded.
• Don't forget the financials!
• Being a solo player and turning into a team player.
• Advice on finding a co-founder
• Make sure you practice and be patient

And much more

links

https://easytopitch.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Your 24x7 singing buddy! Today my guest is Gopal Krishna Koduri  CEO & co-founder of Riyaz.   A  music learning app that  offers an easy and convenient way for aspiring singers to practise their music lessons anywhere, anytime make music learning accessible and affordable. 

He talks about his love of classical indian music which  inspired him to build this app.  How the app works. He talks about building a venture-funded, steadily growing music learning app that is used around the world (2million downloads, 4k paid users) Talks about UI & UX design challenges, talks about how they deal with feature requests. 

Talks about pricing and subscription models. Talks technology stacks , how they use data to improve the product. How they get users to download the app.   Dealing with positive and negative feedback. 

Talks about the EdTech scene in india. Building an MVP in 2017. Thoughts on building an edtech and finally he talks about his fav singers, pays tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, one of India's most beloved singers, who passed recently and he gives you some singing tips for the next time your in the shower! & much more!

In this conversation we also talk about:

• organic growth
• What problem they are solving?
• 4,000 paid users
• 18-35 category not being served.
• Killing features
• Keeping track of OKRs
• Being a hands on founder
• how long does it take to be a great singer?

And much more

links

https://riyazapp.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Make Memes Earn Money!  Today my guest is Kyle Fernandes CEO & Co-founder of MemeChat. Founded in 2019, it is a platform that allows users to create viral memes and get rewarded for them. So in this episode he talks about how he came up with the idea. Talks about being a hyper growth startup (25 million memes , 6 million downloads, 1.3 monthly active users). Talks about how he designed & developed the app from scratch. Talks about getting funding from 500 Startups. Next he talks about a new NFT marketplace he is creating called  - MemeClub, so anyone can buy and sell memes globally. He talks about  scaling, the business model, Meme marketing,  viral content, being confident and key metrics -( Daily active users) He talks about giving users a solid reason why they should download the app. Creating an acquisition and distribution channel. And finally he talks about his favourite memes and how to get your meme to go viral   and much much MORE!

In this conversation we also talk about:

• Fundraising advice - be patient!
• Reaching millions of people on a daily basis
• Thoughts on Shark Tank
• Being a entrepreneur at the age of 15
• Getting 50x rejections from VC and then turning down 50 x VC's!
• Getting approached by major brands to do meme marketing
• Setting up 600+ pages on Facebook
• No other company was doing this!
• Bringing technology and memes together.
• Creating value for creators
• Why memes
• Creating a memechat keyboard

and much more

Links

https://memechat.app/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Adding fun to a ‘White’ industry. Today I speak to Sulay Lavsi, the founder of Bummer, whose mission is to disrupt the millennial-focused underwear market. 

In this episode he talks about his amazing journey from not being taken seriously in the early days to his dramatic appearance on  Shark Tank India. He shares brand building strategies and talks about marketing to GenZ &  millennials. He talks about pricing philosophies  -are you playing the brand game or the price game? & spotting a gap in the market . He talks about The mild negative reaction to Shark Tank india on social media

He talks about the business model and building partnerships. Why they use micro-influencers rather then the big social media influencers. Why he used paid marketing at the start to establish the brand. Talks about Falling in love with the business and brand. Hiring challenges in Tier 2 cities.  He talks about spending 2 years on R&D and finally he talks about his life changing trip to America. and much more so please enjoy the show.

In this conversation we also talk about 

• Why underwear?
• Assumptions made in the early days
• Design challenges
• Going on Shark Tank & pitching in front of millions watching.
• Studying entrepreneurship  in California.
• His primary role as a founder.
• Pitching advice
• Whats special about bummer underwear?
• The manufacturing process

and much more!

Links

https://bummer.in/

P,S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfCbGXHPfStMMtghzjqfe?si=f79e5abeed7c480e

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hello everyone, Thank you for downloading the last episode 2021. After 5 years of interviewing amazing Indian Entrepreneurs I am thinking about investing in a few Indian startups in 2022! if you are building something exciting and need some seed funding  to get your startup off the ground please contact me. 

Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to over the past 12 months. You will hear from Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri  (2.39m) on building an alternative news model & paying to keep the news free! Next up is Siddharth Manvati (Ph.D) Co-Founder of ClearMeat.  (35.06) He talks about building India’s first cell based meat company. 

Next is ​​Vivek Bajaj co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets (59.40) he talks about building the Bloomberg ecosystem for retail Investors in India. And last not least Minakshi Singh Co-founder & CEO of Sidecar & Speakeasy  (1hr34m)  She talks about building India’s best bar & being featured in the coveted Asia 50 best bars in 2020. So sit back  & enjoy some of the best moments of The Indian Startup show and I wish you all the very best for 2022!  

Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri on building an alternative news model & paying to keep the news free!(2.39m)

Indians don't pay for news! Well they do and today my guest is Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry, a news, current affairs & media analysis organisation. They are building an alternative news model , so in this episode he talks about building this high risk venture. Old media & new media business models. 

Not being dependent on eyeballs. Find out which newspaper is worth reading. Dealing with Twitter trolls. Govt interference in the news. Thoughts on PM Modi, Arnab Goswami and what kept him going in the early days. And why the 'self made man' is a myth. Finally we talk about his experience of directing/producing Highway On My plate , the award winning travel and food program.

Where are they now? Dr Siddharth Manvati (Ph.D) Co-Founder of ClearMeat. On building India’s first cell based meat company. Chicken 2.0

I catch up with Dr Siddharth Manvati, co-founder of Clear Meat. He came on the podcast last year (EP125) And a lot has changed since we last spoke. He finally talks about the magical moment he finally tasted the first product. He talks about the science behind evaluating taste and smell. 

The economics of making lab based chicken. Talks about raising finance. Talks about proof of concepts, having 14 sleepless nights , why they are moving from the Indian market to the global markets. When will this be available to the general public? And how they plan to scale the company.

Vivek Bajaj co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets on building the Bloomberg ecosystem for retail Investors in India

Vivek Bajaj is back on the show! He is co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets.com. He appeared back in August 2016 (EP39) and since then his app has gone from 50K downloads to 1.5million downloads. And has gone from employing 25 staff to over 140 staff. So in this episode he talks about how they have scaled the operation. Talks about finding great business partners. Thoughts on the current stock market. 

Common mistakes first time investors make. Shares formulas for investing including the ‘10 10 10’ rule. Talks about his best investments and worst. Why Reliance stock is a ‘buy’. Why he doesn't invest in Bitcoin. Talks about raising finance. Gives great advice for entrepreneurs And finally the most important lesson about money he has learned so far!

Minakshi Singh Co-founder & CEO of Sidecar & Speakeasy on building India’s best bar & being featured in the coveted Asia 50 best bars in 2020

Minakshi started with an Excel spreadsheet back in 2006. And this year has recently been awarded the best bar in India , and in Asia’s 50 best bars list of 2020. Amazing achievement considering women working in bars is extremely uncommon. it's a bit of a taboo subject. So she talks about how she overcame those challenges.

 She talks about finding her passion, Working 14-15 hours a day. She reveals how she got people in India to drink an Old Fashioned & Whisky Sour’s! What she learned about herself during lockdown. We talk about india’s complicated relationship with alcohol. And finally she shares her secrets to making a great cocktail. It's truly an amazing story and one that will inspire you as well.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE PODCAST & SEE YOU IN 2022!

P,S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfCbGXHPfStMMtghzjqfe?si=f79e5abeed7c480e

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to  over the past 12 months. You will hear from  Raghav Gupta, the co-founder of Nymble labs. (2.57)  His team has built a personal cooking assistant called Julia, so we talk about his appearance on TV. He talks about how they have developed the robot since we last spoke, talks about raising finance ,setting up offices in China and California. 

Next we have Nitesh Salvi Founder & CEO of Pocket52 (39.11)  on building India’s largest poker platform .He talks about how he went from playing poker in the late nights in his student dorm with friends to building India’s largest poker platform.

 And last but not least we have Yash Pariani  (1h.08m) co-founder of The Indian Gaming League (IGL) . On building India’s most popular e-sports league & the booming indian e-sport scene.

Catching up with Raghav Gupta, the co-founder of Nymble labs.(2.57) 

 He came on the show back in November 2017 and he is back again with an update. His team has built a personal cooking assistant called Julia. We talk about his appearance on TV. How they have developed the robot since we last spoke, talks about raising finance ,setting up offices in China and California. Talks about why they are changing market focus from India to US. Gives great advice on customer development and how they qualify customers. Talks about becoming comfortable with uncertainty. He talks about how they demoed the robot at TechCrunch robotics conference without paying $$$$ for a booth. And finally we got some music at the end of the show.

in this conversation we talk about:-

• Being VC backed & new business model
• How they came up with research goals
• Developing a Customer Development process that helped gather more insights about consumers.
• How they separate feedback from noise
• How they capture the feedback.
• Taking the cooking robot to the houses of people who had signed up in SF, San Diego and LA
• Dealing with the coronavirus
• Thoughts on the b2b and b2c markets
• Dealing with the competition
• Don't fall in love with your product. Fall in live with the problem!

Nitesh Salvi Founder & CEO of Pocket52 (39.11)

You Got to Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them! Today I speak to Nitesh Salvi,  founder and CEO of Pocket52.   He talks about how he went from playing poker in the late nights in his student dorm with friends to building India’s largest poker platform. He talks about how they build trust and loyalty on the platform. Talks about getting rejected over 150 times despite already having a previously successful exit. He talks about creating a white label business as well as a B2C model. Talks about the psychological side of Poker. Dealing with fraud. And we talk about gambling responsibly  and finally he talks about his  biggest wins and losses on the poker table! and much more.

in this conversation we also talk about 

• Growing the user base
• Spending 6/7 researching the market
• Coin dumping
• Building a scalable product
• The importance of using Lava lamps!
• Pitch deck advice
• Creating the right environment for customers
• Advice for first time entrepreneurs
• Playing poker with his family
• Reading people

Yash Pariani  (1h.08m) co-founder of The Indian Gaming League (IGL) 

The Indian e-sport scene is booming. So today I speak to Yash Pariani co-founder of The Indian Gaming League. IGL is India’s most popular competitive gaming and esports league that hosts gaming tournaments online and they are growing fast!  IGL hosts daily online tournaments and battle royales across all your favourite game titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Fortnite, Dota 2, Fifa 20, 8-Ball pool, Clash Royale, Pubg and many more. So in this episode he talks about how he is creating an infrastructure for Indian gamers. Talks about building trust within the community. How demonetisation helped the esports industry in India. Talks about esports as a respectable career.and finally he talks about Steve Jobs, dealing with concerned parents and dealing with cheats!

In this conversation we also talk about:

• Stats so far
• Key learnings as an entrepreneur
• Why Fortnite became a hit game
• What you need to be a top esports player?
• Streaming games
• Esports v traditional sports
• Will it become an Olympic event
• Offline tournaments v online tournaments
• how much can you win?
• Thoughts on starting your own Esports team
• Female E-gamers
• Seeking challenges

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfCbGXHPfStMMtghzjqfe?si=f79e5abeed7c480e

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

India’s fintech adoption is booming. So today my guest is Ankur Joshi  CEO & Co-founder of Nuclei,a bootstrapped software enterprise startup that helps banks improve digital banking services by integrating its API platform to increase customer engagement through merchant marketplace and wealth management services. 

He talks about how he got this off the ground. Mistakes made in the early days. He talks about why they bootstrap and not raise any capital. He explains why the primary product is the team. He then talks about building partnerships, thoughts on B2C and B2B business models.  Talks about sharing equity with staff. 

Talks about why they think globally from day one & the tech hiring challenges in India. Talks about going fully remote and  building culture. And finally he talks about mental toughness and What he looks for in a co-founder.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Having patience
• Being a serial entrepreneur
• Don't worry about the vanity metrics!
• Onboarding new employees. 
• Choosing attitude over skill set.
• Management style - depends on the maturity of the other person. 
• Building an integrated API platform
• Processing 3 million transactions a month.
• Partnering with 18 banks in India and S.E Asia. 

And much more

Links

https://gonuclei.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The wearable devices market in India is expected to reach a sales volume of 16.22 million units by 2024. So today I speak to Anmol Saxena, the CEO & founder of Ashva Weartech. They develop wearable solutions for chronic knee pain & spine. 

So in this episode she talks about her own battles with knee pain that inspired to build a prototype at a hackathon. And since then they not looked back! She talks about how the products work, quitting her job at Ford. Building a MVP. Talks product development. 

She talks about her research in the early days. She went to 50 clinics and spoke to over 110 knee pain patients. She talks about  dealing with feature requests and how they kill products. Getting paying customers and then having to refund them and then getting to pay again! Why they use an Excel spreadsheet when things go wrong. Partnering with one of India's leading physiotherapist.

Talks about an offline marketing campaign that worked really well. Talks about sales forecasts for next year. How they onboard customers. And finally she talks about how the lean business model canvas can help you with your pitch.

In this conversation we also talk about:-

• The wearables market in India
• Having a great team
• Mudra - a motion sensor worn on the upper back. It corrects your spine posture with sensory feedback.
• Sales forecasts for next year
• Creating a reporting system for chronic knee pain
• Getting support from Mum and Dad after quitting Ford.
• Book recommendation - The art of startup fund raising - Alejandro Cremades
• 3 stages of building the first MVP.
• 8/10 patients do not turn up to the clinic after the first session.
• The two business models
• Stress!
• Going through an incubator
• Not having access to high quality physio in the early days

and much more

links 

https://www.ashvaweartech.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Building bionic arms for people with disabilities! Today I speak to Rishi Krishan, the CEO & Co-Founder of Symbionic. Symbionic is an affordable, assistive technology startup that makes smart prosthetic devices. 

It all started due to a freak bus accident which led to him losing his arm.  So in this episode he talks about the huge challenges building a bionic arm. He talks about how he validated the idea by being a human guinea pig. Talks about how they build empathy into the product and the market size. 

Talks technology and the business model. Talks about the key takeaways in building the first prototype  , talks about user experiences and 3D printing. Talks about what makes this bionic arm so special. Why your users should be your first investors. Getting great advice from AssisTech Foundation (ATF). 

Talks about being able to ride a bike again! Predictions for 2022. And finally he talks about advice he would give to his younger self and what first time founders should be focusing on.

In this conversation we also talk about:-

• Using 3D printing customisation and sensors
• Breaking out of the biases.
• Having small breakthroughs 
• 10 million amputees in India. 
• How would he sum up his journey so far?
• Thoughts on recruiting & why you shouldn't always hire the most experienced person. 
• Working with a great team
• Existing solutions did not work
• Building something cooler, functional and cheaper.
• Using it in public and dealing with the reaction.
• Funding
• Creating crowdfunding campaigns
• Working in a niche market
• Feedback loops & dealing with the steep learning curves. 

and much more!

Links 

http://thesymbionic.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck.

 https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@indianstartupshow

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Ganesh Shankar is back! He came on the show in October 2017 (EP68) & he is celebrating 10 years as an entrepreneur! Ganesh is the co-founder & CEO of FluxGen FluxGen is on a mission to help industries become water positive, and aims to help save 1 billion litres of water everyday using his product AquaGen, a smart real-time water flow and level monitoring system. So in this episode he talks about improving the product using design thinking. 

He talks about time spent in the Cisco Launchpad Tech accelerator. Talks about dealing with the water crisis. He gives bootstrapping advice. Talks about digitising water structures and how they reduce water consumption by 30%. He talks about bringing water transparency and data to clients.

‘Who will marry you now’ - his mom's reaction to him quitting General Electric to do this (he got married!) He talks about  India being the largest groundwater extractor in the world, bigger than China & USA. He talks about the original MVP back in 2017. Having big clients onboard. Questions you should ask yourself before quitting your 9-5 job to do a startup. and finally we reminisce about his epic bike journey from Bangalore to Goa and getting a proposal on Valentines Day, but not that type of proposal! and much more!

In this conversation we talk about:

• 10 years as an entrepreneur!
• Looking back would he change anything?
• A commencement speech that still motivates him
• New projects in solar using drones
• Bootstrapping is good if you don't have a scalable plan 
• Getting criticism in the early days 
• The true cost of water
• How does he keep on top of things?
• The ongoing climate crisis
• A question you must ask → What is the primary driver for buying your solution? 
• Transitioning from projects/consulting company to a product company. 
• Not getting too worried about not getting sales in the early days. 
• Start with the customer or start with the idea?
• How they de-risk industries and facilities from the water crisis. 
• Dealing with the pandemic
• Building AI & IoT based end to end water management solutions.
• Being the founder and director of the non-profit The Sustainability Mafia (Susmafia.org). 

And much more!

Links 

https://fluxgen.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel

music by Punch Deck.

 https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

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Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV