The Startup Operator

Farid is a co-founder and COO of one of India's largest homegrown social media apps, ShareChat & it's sister app Moj. In this episode he spoke about what it's like to building for the bharat user, what the bharat user is like, what it means to be socially responsible and how they're empowering creators from the farthest corners of India. 

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:41 Building for the Bharat user in 2014

12:49 The "Aha" moment

18:03 Importance of having a support network

22:20 Going from 0-100mn users

34:34 Building a growth team

39:21 What is the bharat user like?

42:25 Being socially responsible

46:48 Principles for monetization

50:32 Empowering content creators across India

53:32 How do you think about competition

56:31 High level challenges Farid is solving

58:37 Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Farid :

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/frdahsan

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Connect with Us: 

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

​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Varun is a serial entrepreneur and is the Co-founder of FanAnywhere, a platform for utility based NFTs & Fan Tokens for celebrities and their fans. In this episode he spoke about what the Metaverse is, what NFTs are, how they will empower artist and how FanAnywhere is enabling all this in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:16 The nuances of Metaverse 

03:08 Building for the Metaverse

05:56 Evolution of the Metaverse

08:47 What are NFTs?

10:30 Adding Utility to NFTs

13:05 How does Fan Anywhere work?

14:06 How does Fan Anywhere empower creators?

15:46 Working with Artisits

18:01 How does Fan Acquisition work?

19:57 Building Trust in the ecosystem

20:57 Competition in this space

22:12 Building a Product Roadmap in a Nascent space

23:22 Advice for entrepreneurs in this space

25:13 Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Varun :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varun-vc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Varun_vc23

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Connect with Us: 

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

​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Arjun is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder of Great Learning. He started and bootstrapped Great Learning to a $600M acquisition by Byju's last year. In this episode he spoke about what the journey has been like since he started nearly a decade ago, what one has to trade for profitability and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:39 Early challenges in Online learning space 

10:06 Balancing content between employability & learning

16:59 Advice for founders in a new category 

26:27 Trade offs for profitability

29:14 Advantages of Fundraising

34:20 What changes post acquisition 

38:51 Thoughts on Consolidation

46:48 Books and podcasts recommendations

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Connect with Arjun :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjun-nair/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NairArj

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Connect with Us: 

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

​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Ezhil is the founder and CEO of String Bio a core science startup that is enabling sustainable solutions in several sectors. In this episode she spoke about the nuances of building a core science startup, going from the lab to market and more in her conversation with Roshan Cariappa. 

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:32 Nuances of building a core science startup

05:53 How does cost of failure affect String

08:28 Going from Lab to market

14:34 String's Go To Market strategy

18:07 Changing people's mindset about sustainability

21:58 Evangelising Deep tech 

26:56 Working with policymakers and regulators

31:23 High level challenges Ezhil is solving

34:23 Advice for new entrepreneurs building in deep tech

36:01 Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Ezhil :

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/subbiane

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

1. Public markets turns bearish for recent IPOs

2. Delhivery likely to delay IPO

3. Swiggy turns decacorn

4. Ola Electric valued at $5 Billion

5. Unicorns of the week : Dealshare, Darwinbox

6. Acquisitions and fundings

and more!

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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

Aman is the co-founder of Cogno AI, an AI powered cloud communication platform. Aman started Cogno right out college and recently got acquired by Exotel. In this episode he spoke about Weighing the opportunity cost of starting up, the nuances of selling to large enterprises, dealing with funded competitors and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:

01:15 Founding story of Cogno AI

03:28 Weighing the opportunity cost of starting up

05:47 Transitioning from services to products

08:30 Shift in mindset from services to product

10:13 Nuances of selling to large enterprises

14:13 Cogno's Distribution strategy 

18:45 Aligning stakeholder's priorities

21:10 Building with the enterprise v/s innovating

23:35 Advantages of Bootstrapping  

26:45 Dealing with funded competitors

29:48 Choice of verticalizing

32:13 Cogno's acquisition by Exotel

38:37 The journey ahead 

41:04 Persisting through problems

43:53 The most difficult thing to learn in this journey

46:19 Common mistakes founders should avoid

48:53 Books and Podcasts Recommendations

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Connect with Aman :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goel-aman/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amangoeliitb

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Connect with Us: 

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

​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Anirudh Singla is the founder and CEO of Pepper, a managed marketplace for various types of content. In this episode he spoke about the nuances of scaling managed marketplaces, solving classical problems in the space and along with other interesting topics in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:05 Founding story of Pepper content

05:14 Productizing your delivery

09:41 Solving classical marketplace problems

14:39 Nuances of scaling a managed marketplace

17:55 Thinking beyond operational constraints 

23:23 Balancing various aspects of a business

28:28 Pepper's NorthStar metric 

29:21 Building trust with stakeholders

30:50 Working with Creators

34:08 Thinking ahead

35:40 GTM for different countries

37:29 Preparing for the next leap

41:01 Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Anirudh :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudh-singla-3a1844137/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SinglaAnirudh

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

1. Are private markets overvalued?

2. Tata enters digital payments business with the creation of Tata Payments Ltd.

3. Microsoft becomes third-largest gaming company in the world with Activision acquisition

4. Exotel's meteoric rise as a silent ecosystem enabler

5. IPO bound companies: Delhivery, boAT

6. Acquisitions and fundings

and more!

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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

Vishesh is the co-founder of Shiprocket. Prior to this he co-founded Kartrocket and Kraftly and later pivoted to Shiprocket. In this episode he spoke about going through the pivot, what it take to fulfil an order post purchase and how he is preparing for the next leap in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa. 

Topics:

00:00 Introduction

01:48 Deciding on the target market

04:18 Pivoting from Kartrocket to Shiprocket

10:19 The nuances of fulfilling an order post purchase

14:07 Streamlining processes through technology 

17:53 Building a partner ecosystem

20:06 Aligning consumer, carrier, and merchant interests

23:49 Impact of the pandemic on Shiprocket

28:12 What's next for ShipRocket

29:56 Zomato's investment in Shiprocket

32:08 Advice to new entrepreneurs

34:07 How is Vishesh preparing for the next leap

35:57 Books and Podcasts Recommendations 

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Connect with Vishesh :

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vysheshk

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Connect with Us: 

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

​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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Rashid Khan is the co-founder and chief product officer at yellow.ai, a conversational platform that sits on top of existing systems. In this episode he spoke about how he built the country's fastest growing SaaS startup, the nuances of delivering an omnichannel customer experience and more with Roshan Cariappa. 

Topics: 

00:00 Introduction

01:25 Going from Idea to product to company with Yellow.ai

09:26 Pivoting from B2C to B2B

12:11 Yellow AI's North Star metric

16:57 Nuances of delivering an omnichannel customer experience 

23:31 Building with customers v/s innovating

31:32 What's next for Yellow AI?

35:26 Advice for people starting in this space

40:42 Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Rashid :

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/xhckr

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

Connect with Us: 

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

​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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

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!