The Startup Operator

Ramsri Goutham Golla is an AI researcher and product builder. He is currently building NLP SaaS apps Questgen.ai and Supermeme.ai. Questgen is an edtech startup to generate school quizzes like MCQs etc from any text using AI. Supermeme is a meme marketing tool for individuals and brands to generate original memes with AI. In this episode he talks about how he built businesses completely remotely and without working full time.  Catch the full episode on your favorite audio platform. 

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00:00 Sneak Peak
00:52 Introduction
01:51 Ramsri's early life 
05:09 Exploring life as an independent creator
08:06 A Day in the life of Ramsri
14:24 The micro SaaS Business
20:08 Idea to Product to company
29:07 Building Super Translate
33:23 Choosing your stack
37:36 What to keep in mind while choosing your stack
42:21 Process of learning other things
47:30 Building distribution
53:26 Finding Collaborators
57:20 Finding the first few paying users
01:01:57 Top 3 mistakes for beginners to avoid
01:05:13 What have Generative AIs unlocked?
01:10:43 Books and Podcast

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Connect with Ramsri  :
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramsrig/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ramsri_goutham

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Welcome to #103rd episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. The Roundup is our weekly views on the news from the Indian Startup Ecosystem.

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Connect with Us: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator​
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup

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Talk of town tweet: https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1636773743413592065?s=20

Topics:
00:00 Opening Comments

03:10 GIFT City supporting startups affected by SVB collapse

06:26 India's milestones in 75 days of 2023

09:16 PM MITRA to boost textiles

11:08 IT rules to remove bloatware on phones

13:14 Karnataka plans to incentivize startups to go beyond Bengaluru

15:30 IIT Madras - a Haven for deep tech startups

18:43 Other Fundraises

19:34 Talk of town

If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Sajith and Amal, Investors at Blume Ventures released a report on the Indian Startup ecosystem called "The Indus Valley Report." It takes stock of the rise and evolution of this ecosystem, reviews 2021, and finally looks at what to expect in the future. In this episode they dive deep into the report and discusses various aspects of it in their conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Indus Valley Report : https://blume.vc/reports/understanding-india-the-indus-valley-annual-report-2022

Topics:
00:00 Sneak Peak
00:48 Introduction
02:16 The process of making the report
05:30 Understanding & Building for India
08:48 Are Startups gaining in India 2 & 3?
10:15 Current trends impacting startups
14:34 Impact of formalization
18:08 Is this truly India's moment?
22:50 Where does India stand in the global VC Landscape?
25:48 How are Indian founders Unique?
31:53 Aggregated manufacturing space
36:30 Startups' impact on employment
39:18 How can startups build large sustainable businesses?
44:01 Monetizing India 2 & 3 demographic
50:30 Indian SaaS Landscape
58:53 When is VC money moving towards Deep tech?

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:
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Connect with Sajith  :
Linkedin: https://in.linkedin.com/in/sajithpai
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sajithpai?lang=en

Connect with Amal  :
Linkedin: https://in.linkedin.com/in/amal-vats-151360a4
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amal_vats?s=20

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Welcome to #102nd episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. The Roundup is our weekly views on the news from the Indian Startup Ecosystem.

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Connect with Us: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator​
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup

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Topics:
00:00 Opening Comments
01:53 SVB's Collapse
08:50 Startup Layoffs continue
10:51 GoMechanic Sold to CarTrade
12:32 Handicraft + Startups
14:17 Digital India Act 2023
15:36 Koo + ChatGPT 3
17:58 Other Fundraises

If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Shruti is the co-founder of Apnaklub, a startup connecting brands to retailers and powering millions of SMEs. Prior to founding Apnaklub Shruti was an associate at Bain & Company. In this episode she talks about what it's like working with SMEs and how to build trust with them and how to keep teams focused on solving problems and more!

Topics:
00:00 Sneak Peak
01:02 Intro
02:00 Shruti's Startup Journey
10:10 Going from consultant and investor to founder
17:11 Working with SMEs
21:11 Building trust with SMEs
23:17 Will Apnaklub build inventory?
24:51 101 of identifying product categories 
27:51 Keeping teams focused on solving problems
33:02 Counter intuitive insights on consumption in tier 2 & 3 cities
35:26 How is Shruti upskilling?
40:49 Secrets of the trade 
44:26 The next 12-18 months at Apnaklub
46:00 Books and podcast recommendations

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:
https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Shruti :
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutipy/

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Welcome to #101th episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. The Roundup is our weekly views on the news from the Indian Startup Ecosystem.

-------------------------------------

Connect with Us: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator​
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup

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Topics:
00:00 Opening Comments
02:34 SEBI vs FinFluencers
06:17 MeiTY's new Grievance redressal portal
08:18 Blinkit's new foray
09:08 Sequoia Surge 8th cohort
11:05 Nexus Venture Partners' new fund
12:56 Ashneer Grover's CrickPe
14:00 Talk of the Town

Talk of the Town tweet: https://twitter.com/roshanpateI/status/1630254932069695499?s=20

If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Welcome to #100th episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. The Roundup is our weekly views on the news from the Indian Startup Ecosystem.

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Connect with Us: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator​
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup

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Topics:
00:00 The Song of achievement
01:23 Opening Comments
03:51 UPI Goes international
07:41 Crisis at ShareChat
11:38 India's White Gold
13:52 BING chat
15:45 Other FRAs
19:11 Talk of the Town
22:13 Our Experiments

If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Soham is a serial entrepreneur and has started up in different sectors over the years. He is currently building India's largest gaming platform, Gamerji, a platform for gamers to participate in tournaments for various games. In this episode he spoke about his journey, what goes into building a gaming platform and more!

Topics:
00:00 Sneak peak
00:42 Introduction
02:04 Soham's learning from his journey as a founder
04:42 Hardest lessons Soham learnt
06:14 Why Soham picked the gaming sector
08:17 Challenges of running a gaming platform
10:00 Gamerji's growth story
11:54 What goes into hosting tournaments
14:05 Economics of Gamerji
15:17 What changes from 100k to a million users scale
16:28 Customer acquisition channels
17:17 Building a moat
18:34 Tools and technologies built by gamerji
20:03 Working with Game publishers
21:24 Operating in different markets
22:28 Staying close to users
23:50 Soham's take on draft gaming regulations
26:09 Nuances of executing in the gaming space
28:25 Executing during a downturn
29:32 Books and podcast recommendations

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:
https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Soham :
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohamthacker/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sohamthacker

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

CFOs play a critical role in a startup's journey, from ensuring the financial stability and growth to implementing financial strategies, managing the company's budget, and ensuring compliance with financial regulations. They also play a key role in securing funding for the company, whether it be through venture capital, angel investing or other sources. In this episode, Jatin spoke about working with other leaders/departments in a startup and what being a CFO entails and more. 

Topics:
00:00 Sneak Peak
00:53 Introduction
02:31 How did Jatin get into startups? 
03:48 Top Priorities as a CFO
08:15 When is a CFO relevant to a startup?
09:29 A day in the life
11:50 Working with a founder 
14:02 Challenges around compliance 
15:39 How does a CFO's function scale?
18:13 Hiring a CFO for startups
22:35 Learnings from past
24:17 Reflecting the best value of the company
27:18 How does execution change in a downturn
30:17 Dealing with Regulation
31:36 Why should founders hire CFOs?
34:00 Book and podcast recommendations

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:
https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Jatin :
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jatin-mazalcar-8583026/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JatinMazalcar

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Saravana is an entrepreneur, investor and technical enthusiast. He is the founder and CEO of Kovai where he has builting and scaled multiple B2B products that solve the pain point of enterprise customers. In this episode he spoke about balancing customer satisfaction and product vision, building a moat and managing multiple products and more.

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This episode is brought to you by Park Avenue, shop for their wrinkle free shirts here: https://www.myraymond.com/

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates: https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Saravana :
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/saravanamv
Twitter: https://twitter.com/saravanamv

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Topics: 
00:00 Sneak Peak
01:02 Introduction
02:28 Evolution of the startup ecosystem
06:42 Bootstrapping v/s VC funding
10:55 Nuances of selling to enterprises
12:49 How Saravana went from and Idea to Product
17:21 Balancing customer satisfaction and product vision
19:49 Building a Moat
22:23 Advice for founders on thought leadership
24:11 Park Avenue Wrinkle free shirts
24:35 Key insights from Customer success
28:44 Building partnerships
31:26 Nuances of selling to global customers from day 1
35:47 Hiring for sales/customer success
38:32 What are funded startups doing wrong? 
41:11 Managing multiple products
43:33 Operating during a slowdown
46:04 Saravana's contribution to the startup ecosystem in Coimbatore
48:35 Books and Podcast recommendations

If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!