The Startup Operator

Chaitanya is the co-founder of Wakefit, a D2C brand that operates in the home solutions space. In this episode he spoke about the lessons he's learnt from his previous startups, the process of influencing buyer behaviour, the levers or growth he used in Wakefit's journey and more with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:
00:00 Introduction
01:36 Lessons from Chaitanya's startup failures
05:18 Looking at the Mattress industry with first principles
09:24 Advice for entrepreneurs looking at conventional domains 
11:48 The process of going from idea to product to company 
15:14 Influencing buyer behavior 
18:34 Dos and Don'ts of scaling a D2C business
20:40 Growth levers in the Wakefit journey
22:51 Advice on zero dollar marketing 
26:49 Thoughts on Competition 
30:24 The next 18 months for Wakefit
31:20 Advice on managing the current slowdown
34:27 How is Chaitanya preparing for the next leap?
37:14 Embedding core culture in DNA while scaling
39:10 Books and Podcast recommendation

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Connect with Chaitanya : LinkedIn | Twitter

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Connect with Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

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Welcome to #72 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing - 

1. Large Cheque fundraise - ShareChat raised nearly $300 million
2. Slice raised $50 million / What is the future of BNPL?
3. Jio-bp, MG Motor and Castrol ink partnership to bolster EV adoption in India
4. Mensa Brands achieves Rs 1,500 cr net revenue in first 12 months of operations
and more!

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#startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news #IPO #Layoffs #funding

Anoj is the co-founder and President of Milaap, India's first crowdfunding platform. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of managing a 2 sided marketplace, dealing with regulation and policies, building trust in a community in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

00:00 Introduction
01:14 Evolution of Crowdsourcing in India
06:26 Founding story of Milaap
14:56 Nuances of managing a 2 sided marketplace
23:28 Dealing with regulation
25:46 Customer/User acquisition
29:58 What keeps donors coming back?
35:21 Building trust in the community 
39:18 What's next for Milaap?
46:01 Books and podcast recommendation

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Connect with Anoj : LinkedIn | Twitter

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Connect with Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

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Welcome to #71 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing - 

1. Country Delight raised the largest venture capital funding round this week
2. Tiger global leading 50mn round in Jar
3. Zoho invests 20cr in Genrobotics
4. BluSmart raised $25 million in an extended Series A
5. EV financing startup Three Wheels United raised $10 million in a Series
and more!

Click HERE to get regular updates on WhatsApp

Talk of the Town

Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends! 

Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms.

#startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news #IPO #Layoffs #funding

Akash is the co-founder and CEO of Cashfree Payments, a payments and banking technology company that enables businesses in India to collect payments online and make payouts. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of building the payments infrastructure, what to do and not do while partnering with financial institutions, being developer friendly and balancing growth and profitability in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:
00:00 Introduction
01:28 Akash's thoughts on Fintech space
03:25 Nuances of building the payment infrastructure
06:47 Founding story of Cashfree 
09:33 Learnings from the Y Combinator experience
10:54 Team structure at Cashfree
12:32 Cashfree's customer acquisition
14:07 Do's and Don'ts of partnering with financial institutions
15:46 Working with the policymakers and regulators
17:28 Being developer friendly
20:21 Balancing growth and profitability
22:31 Working through the downturns

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Connect with Akash:
LinkedIn | Twitter

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Connect with Us: 
LinkedIn | ​Twitter

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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 #70 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing - 

1. Delhivery IPO sliding below IPO in Grey Market
2. More Startups Laying off Thousands 
3. Fashinza and 1K Kirana raise funds
and more!

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Ameet is a serial entrepreneur and is currently the founder and CEO of First Principles, a holding company that starts, acquires, and scales category leading B2B SaaS Companies. In this episode he spoke about the essentials of a good SaaS business, metrics to look out for, how to run a business during a downturn and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. 
 
Topics:
00:00 Introduction
00:56 Essentials of a Good SaaS Business
04:02 Recruiting a subject matter expert
05:33 Ameet's favourite markets/Ideas
06:44 Funding v/s bootstrapping
09:13 SaaS Metrics to look out for 
11:26 Building for the world from India
12:43 Who would Ameet hire for a SaaS business
13:24 Optimizing for growth
15:14 Running a business during a downturn
18:02 Building a good customer success function
19:52 Running multiple businesses
23:29 How do you make acquisitions work?
28:04 Books and podcasts

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Connect with Ameet :
Linkedin | Twitter

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin | ​Twitter

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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 #69 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discussing - 

Topics

1. Ather Energy raises $128 mn

2. GoKwik raises $35 mn deal in Series B

3. Razorpay announces $75 mn ESOP buyback

4. Swiggy to acquire Dineout from Times Internet 

Click here to get regular updates on WhatsApp:

https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

Hit the like button if enjoyed this roundup, and do not forget to share among your operator friends! Listen to our interviews and conversations with investors, operators, and founders on your favourite podcast platforms.

#startups #unicorns  #technology #roundup #podcast #news

Rashi is the founder of Heads Up For Tails, a startup that makes safe and healthy pet care products and offers services like Spas and grooming. In this episode she spoke about the moment she realized this could be a business, what it takes to turn passion into business, what works in the retail industry and more with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:50 Idea to product to company

03:10 If you're early in a category, do this

04:30 Expanding from a niche

05:26 Who were the believers? 

07:12 Turning your passion into a business

08:25 Learning to run a business

09:27 HUFT's hiring Process

11:56 Customer Acquisition Journey

13:49 Advice on succeeding in Retail

15:18 Going from Offline to Online

17:27 Franchises and expanding the business

18:23 Launching new products

20:28 Nurturing your community

22:25 Next 18-24 Months for HUFT

23:38 How is Rashi preparing for the next leap

25:42 Insights from the pet care industry

26:41 Books and podcasts

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Connect with Rashi :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashinarang/

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Connect with Us: 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup

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April is the Author of Obviously Awesome, a book on Positioning a brand or startup. In this episode she spoke about the problem with positioning, how to position your product and how to position products across different geographies in her conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:40 The problem with positioning

10:39 How to position your product

18:13 Articulating your USP 

28:20 Nice to have v/s need to have 

44:24 Getting functional heads to prioritize positioning

48:51 Positioning in different geographies

52:17 Listening to customers

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:

https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with April :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunford

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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!