The Startup Operator

Asheesh Chanda is a fund and portfolio manager turned tech entrepreneur with Kristal.AI, a Digital-First Private Wealth platform that provides both Retail and Accredited Investors access to curated portfolios that are managed by the world’s top portfolio managers. In this episode he spoke about making the mental switch from finance to tech, the nuances of driving personalization at scale, educating and acquiring customers and more in his interview with Roshan Cariappa.

Key Highlights: 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:09) Making the mental switch from finance to tech

(04:26) Thinking as a Fund Manager vs Tech Entrepreneur 

(05:34) Aspirations of the new age investor

(07:25) Understanding Kristal.AI's business model

(09:34) Building a product portfolio

(10:53) Being a distributor or becoming a bank?

(12:45) Dealing with compliance

(16:47) Kristal.AI's monetization 

(18:16) Nuances of driving personalization at scale

(20:09) Standing out in the robo advisory space

(21:41) Humans as the differentiators

(23:56) Educating and Acquiring customers

(27:17) Operating in different markets

(31:31) High level challenges Asheesh is solving

(33:41) Things to keep in mind while building in this space

(35:51) Books and podcast recommendations

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https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Asheesh  : 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asheesh-chanda-171a51/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/asheeshchanda

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Connect with Us: 

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

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Sonal Singh is a co-founder of Fittr, a healthcare and fitness community startup. In this episode she spoke about turning a community into a company, translating trust into revenue and building a partner ecosystem and more in her interview with Roshan Cariappa.

Key episode highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:10) Founding journey of Fittr

(03:25) Turning a community into a company

(04:30) Fittr's methodology for Fitness

(05:39) Operating in a crowded space

(07:37) Nuances of running a community

(10:14) Empowering the community

(12:11) Translating trust into revenue

(13:52) Marketing at Fittr 

(15:52) Building a partner ecosystem

(17:54) Founder challenges Sonal is solving

(19:11) How has COVID changed Fitness

(21:31) What's coming up at Fittr

(22:28) Sonal's Fitness mantra

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:

https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Sonal:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonal-singh-661a583/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonalsofficial

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

1. Freshworks IPO

2. Fittr Series A fundraise

3. 450M fundraise by Cars24

4. Wow Momos Series C

5. Coding for kids - CuriousJr

and more!

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

Vipul is the co-founder and CEO of Aarav Unmanned Systems, a Drone design and manufacturing company. In this episode Vipul spoke about developing IP in house, nuances of manufacturing hardware, fundraising for frontier tech and more with Roshan Cariappa. 

Key Highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:15) Idea to product to company

(07:47) Thinking about the Market as an Engineer

(09:26) Trade offs and making difficult decisions

(12:23) Balancing Idealism & Pragmatism

(14:55) Best practices in manufacturing and shipping hardware

(19:08) Customer acquisition

(25:48) Nuances of building an industry software stack

(32:20) Developing a product in a nascent space

(35:52) Choosing your Partners

(37:23) Getting VCs onboard a brand new idea 

(42:14) The nuances of Drone Rules Policy 2021 

(51:17) How Vipul is preparing for the next leap forward

(56:38) Dealing with failures

(01:01:31) Vipul's Books and Podcast recommendations

(01:03:12) Closing Remarks

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Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:

https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1

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Connect with Vipul:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vipul-singh-aa38992a/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vipul_sing

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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!

Vasant Sridhar is a Co-founder and Chief Sales Officer at OfBusiness, an SME financing platform. Prior to co-founding OfBusiness, Vasant was the founder of Bloodline labs and later held several positions at ITC. In this episode he spoke about B2B commerce in India, rediscovering finance through first principles, building to last and much more in his interview with Roshan Cariappa. 

Key Highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:13) Vasant's learnings from ITC

(04:10) Excited for B2B Commerce

(07:21) Streamlining Demand and Supply

(10:36) Team Structure at OfBusiness

(15:49) Nuances of Matching Supply and Demand

(19:25) Rediscovering Financing through first principles

(22:53) Tech business vs tech-enabled business

(25:44) Setting up a Sales Org @ OfBusiness

(28:34) Attracting quality talent

(32:07) How 'building to last' translates to everyday decisions

(34:51) OfBusiness' future plans

(36:38) Is IPO on the horizon for OfBusiness?

(37:31) How does Vasanth see Indian Manufacturing space evolving in the future?

(40:06) Vasant's 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 Vasant:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vasant-sridhar-44b9202b

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VasantSridhar

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

1. MPL turns unicorn with 150Mn funding

2. Apna becomes youngest unicorn

3. Skyroot signs MoU with ISRO 

4. Tiger invests in Mensa

5. Byju's acquires Tynker

and more!

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

Gayatri Yadav is a marketing veteran with nearly 3 decades of experience in brand management and marketing at companies like Procter & Gamble, Star TV network and is currently the CMO at Sequoia Capital. She spoke about the 101 of brand building, the common marketing mistakes most startups make and more in her interview with Roshan Cariappa.

Key Highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:13) Lessons from working with P&G, Pillsbury, & Star 

(13:07) What can Tech Startups learn from Retail and Media Businesses

(17:25) Solving a problem from a customer's perspective

(21:47) Founders owning Brand and Culture 

(25:53) Building a brand in Software

(31:11) 101 of Brand building

(36:10) Most common marketing problems in startups

(38:55) Building a marketing team, metrics to optimize for

(43:29) Hacks/Principles for working with an early stage founder

(48:15) Principles of marketing for startups

(51:06) Gayathri's Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Gayatri:

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GayatriPYadav

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Connect with Us: 

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

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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 #41 episode of The Startup Operator Roundup. Today we have Sarthak Ahuja joining Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha to discuss - 

1. Amagi $100M fundraise

2. Byju's new Acquisition

3. Notion's acquisition of Automate.IO

4. Delhivery's new investor

5. Dukaan's fundraise

and more!

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

Nitin is a serial entrepreneur and an Angel Investor. He has founded multiple startups like Khojguru Infotech, PayU India and now Uni. In this episode he spoke about the evolution of fintech in India, it's future with banking, personalizing financial services user experience and more in his interview with Roshan Cariappa.

Key Highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:15) Starting at Lehman Brothers in 2008

(04:54) India Fintech over the last ten years 

(10:01) Nitin's learnings from founding PayU

(16:02) Going from Idea to Product to Company with Uni

(21:23) Product roadmap for Uni's customers 

(23:26) Personalizing financial services user experience 

(25:30) Customer segmentation within Financial Services

(29:11) Cross Selling to users

(30:28) Building an ecosystem through partnerships

(32:05) Future of Banking and Fintech 

(36:11) Advantages of being an Investor AND a founder

(38:05) Optimism for the future

(40:34) Nitin's Books and Podcasts recommendations 

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Connect with Nitin:

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nitinwhatever

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Connect with Us: 

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

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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!

Jen Abel is a B2B entrepreneur and is the co-founder of JJELLYFISH. She has been featured as a Cohost and speaker engaged by brands including Conde Nast's Glamour, General Assembly etc. In this episode she spoke about Selling to the Enterprise, Expanding to the US, Nuances of the 0-1 journey and more with Roshan Cariappa.

Key Highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:32) Jen's background 

(04:30) Nuances of doing the 0-1 journey

(08:33) Narrowing down on ICPs

(12:17) Moving beyond 'Nice to have' to 'Need to have'

(14:55) The Nuances of Selling to Enterprises

(17:59) Mistakes people make while selling to the Enterprise

(25:50) Competing against larger incumbents

(26:16) Principles of Founder-led Sales 

(28:51) 3 Essentials for a good cold email

(32:01) Scaling sales beyond the founder

(33:50) Hiring the first sales person

(36:11) Nuances of expanding to the US 

(37:54) Working with Indian Founders

(42:04) What should Indian Founders develop

(43:55) Jen's Books/Podcasts recommendations

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Connect with Jen:

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jjen_abel

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Connect with Us: 

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

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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!