UVC

This episode will answer:

• What does Rajesh mean by “build a company, not a startup”?
• What are Rajesh’s thoughts on GSF India’s 80% portfolio founders being IITians? Is this a result of unequal opportunities?
• What are the three green-flags that investors look for in founders?
• What are the dos and don’ts of making a startup pitch? How can you optimize your pitch by employing both facts and emotions?
• In what ways does GSF India support its portfolio companies apart from monetary investment? How involved should the investors be in a company’s administration?
• Why is creating market disruption an important element for generating profits?
• What are the non-commercial problems that plague startups during the early stages? How to deal with them?
• What’s the right way to build your core team? Why is it preferable for founders to scout employees from their immediate network?
• What is the reason behind Rajesh’s intensive interest in early-stage and Series A investing? 

About

Rajesh Sawhney is one of the leading angel investors in India, with an impressive record of nurturing over 100 startups. He is the founder of GSF, India’s leading tech startup accelerator which provides initial capital, mentorship, and global exposure to entrepreneurs and founders.

His current portfolio consists of successes like Whatfix, Quizizz, Slintel, FlintoClass, Citymall, and more. Rajesh serves on multiple boards, including that of Indiamart (India's target B2B marketplace) and Ixigo. Previously, he was on the boards of Microland and Nielsoft on behalf of Trident Capital, a prominent venture firm based in Palo Alto, California. Rajesh is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School (AMP), and has a fellowship from the London School of Economics.

 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Aloke Bajpai is the Co-Founder & Group CEO of ixigo. A travel industry veteran, he has worked in various product and technology roles at Amadeus, France, prior to launching ixigo in 2007. A big supporter of entrepreneurship, Aloke is a key investor and advisor for several startups and accelerators. Aloke is an IIT Kanpur alumnus and an MBA from INSEAD.

Key Takeaways

• Aloke shares the struggles of getting ixigo off the ground and also the challenges they faced while raising their first round of investment
• How positive customer feedback and growth for their key metrics kept them going even when things were hard
• How startups can deal with a crisis like COVID and come out of it stronger
• ixigo’s work culture, how it was shaped and how startups can build a great company culture
• Aloke shares how his leadership has evolved over time learning from mistakes and key qualities that are quintessential for a startup leader
• An interesting instance where a VC made a big impact for ixigo
• How late stage fundraising is different from Seed and Series A
• How startups should think about going for IPO
• Startups Aloke likes to back and why

 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Vy Le is the Co-founder and General Partner of Do Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on making investments in information technology companies in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The fund is looking for pioneers with a desire to create disruptive products that can bring about outstanding values to society. 

Vy is an innovative serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in operations and keen insights into the Vietnam market. At 13, she founded TmSpeed Network, specialized in web development and hosting service. In 2010, Vy founded Chon.vn and served as CEO, developing the platform into one of the most popular online fashion shopping centers in Vietnam. In 2014, she exited Chon.vn to Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam. She then served as the CEO of Vingroup’s e-commerce subsidiary, Adayroi.com, and successfully scaled the company from scratch to reach a few hundred million USD in revenue. Throughout her career, she is known as an innovative leader with an outstanding ability to inspire employees and facilitate teamwork, creativity, and productivity.

Vy graduated as Valedictorian from Georgetown University (United States). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance.

Key Takeaways

• 2 investment models(B2C & B2B) of Do Ventures
• Qualities of a great startup team and red flags for Vy
• How DO ventures use a data-driven approach in tracking their portfolio companies’ progress and optimise their support
• Vy’s approach to advising startups and helping them overcome setbacks
• Tech trends that Vy is watching both in Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia
• Why she is excited to be part of Vietnam’s transformation into a major tech hub

 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Martin Tang is the Co-Founder and Partner at  Genesis Alternative Ventures. He has worked in venture debt since 2015 as a founding member of DBS’ venture debt business, leveraging his close to 8 years of investment banking and private equity experience in pioneering the asset class in SE Asia. He then began his entrepreneurial journey when he co-founded Genesis Alternative Ventures, SE Asia’s premier venture debt fund with his two other partners in 2018. He enjoys running, mountain biking, cooking and fine wines in his free time.

Key Takeaways

• Why Martin decided to start Genesis Alternate Ventures
• What is Venture Debt and dos and don'ts for startups raising a venture debt round
• How Venture debt is different from revenue based financing like Pipe.com
• What are some of the red flags for Martin when a startup approach him for venture debt financing
• What is a typical tenure for venture debt and why Thrasio like business models raise a large round venture debt round alongside a small equity round

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Hsu Ken is the Founder and General Partner at Iterative, a YC-style accelerator focused exclusively on Southeast Asia. Before that, he was the Chief Product Officer of Workmate, an on-demand blue-collar staffing platform in Southeast Asia. In 2014, he was VP of Product at Weave (YCS14). In 2009, he started Decide.com an early machine learning company that predicted the future price of consumer goods. It was acquired by eBay in 2013. Hsu Ken has a BS in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Washington.

Key Takeaways

• How Hsu Ken got started in startups
• Origin story of Decide.com, a price comparison website co-founded by Hsu Ken and acquired by eBay in 2013
• How and why Decide was able to raise funding pre-product
• Highs and Lows of building Decide
• Why the team decided to sell Decide to eBay and about the acquisition process of Decide
• Challenges of building a product for professional networking and his experience building Weave
• Why he decided to build Iterative, a YC-style accelerator focused exclusively on Southeast Asia
• What he looks for in startups applying for the Iterative program and the importance of quickly validating your hypothesis while building products
• Hsu Ken shares why he is excited for Southeast Asia tech ecosystem and his vision for how Iterative will add value to the tech ecosystem in the region

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Olivier Raussin is the co-founder and Managing Partner at FEBE Ventures. FEBE, which stands for “For Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs” is an early-stage VC fund with a geographic focus on Vietnam and SEA. FEBE's Partners who have created 30+ companies from scratch, back mission-driven founders providing them with entrepreneurial know-how, experience-based advice in MVP, business development, fundraising, talent acquisition etc

Prior to FEBE, Olivier was a General Partner at Project A Ventures, an operational VC in Europe and Latin America with $500M in assets under management, and he held executive roles at Google, Youtube, Microsoft, and Yahoo! before his foray into venture capital.

Key Takeaways

• Why Olivier decided to set up a VC fund focused on Vietnam and Southeast Asia
• Olivier talks about some of the mistakes he has made in his career as an entrepreneur, VC and a tech  operator
• Due Diligence process at FEBE Ventures
• What % of the FEBE’s fund is a typical investment and how they support their portfolio companies
• Some of the technology trends that Olivier is paying attention to and why VC should have a founder first approach

 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Sony is a serial entrepreneur who founded multiple startups in the telecom & fintech space. His first startup MOBME was founded while he was half way into his engineering degree back in 2006. MOBME monetised a bouquet of B2B & B2B2C products in the telecom space, creating employment for hundreds.  

His last startup Chillr, founded in 2013, was funded by Sequoia, Blume & Uniqorn. Chillr was the pioneer in seamless inter-bank mobile payments years before UPI & during this stint, he worked closely with numerous banks including the likes of HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda etc.

In 2018 Chillr was acquired by Swedish HQ Caller ID app Truecaller, post which he has been heading Truecaller's fintech arm. More recently, he took responsibility of building the Enterprise Business vertical for Truecaller from the ground up. It's now an extremely fast growing business unit that's operating like a full fledged SaaS company and is focused on making business communication safe & efficient. The division already boasts of hundreds of active clients across BFSI, Fintech, EdTech, Healthcare, Automotive etc and is becoming an indispensable tool for businesses that rely on telephones as a communication channel.

Key Takeaways

• Sony shares his entrepreneurial journey founding MobME with friends in college and innovations they brought in the telecom and banking industry
• The insightful Chillr story including its founding, Series A fundraising, and strategic reasons behind selling the business to Truecaller
• Some of the biggest lessons from Chillr and how Sony managed the Truecaller acquisition process
• Why growth is the key for a successful fundraise for any startup
• Why you should be prepared to spend a significant amount of your life(7-10 years) when you decide to build a startup
• Major trends in fintech especially credit and why financial data is the key to building inclusive products and services

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Anand is passionate about helping entrepreneurs build high impact enterprises in Fintech, InsureTech, Education, Logistics. With a background in operations at high growth companies, Anand is keen to help start-ups with his experience. He believes in the immense scope that “Bharat” presents for innovative India specific models.

Anand was an entrepreneur and business leader prior to joining Nexus. He was a founding team member of MagicPin, a hyperlocal deal discovery platform. Most recently he was heading New Market P&L and Growth across Asia for BIMA (Milvik) – a global insure tech company. Previously Anand worked with Bain & Co. as a strategy consultant where he advised Technology and Consumer Goods companies in India and Silicon Valley.

Anand holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur.

Key Takeaways

• How a background in consulting has helped Anand in his career as an entrepreneur and a VC
• What is first principle thinking and how you can apply it to solve large problems
• Why ‘being calm is a superpower’ for a founder going through the topsy turvy journey of building a startup
• Why founders should focus on communication as part of their product’s distribution, marketing, customer onboarding, customer support, and how startup teams can develop their communication skills
• 2 startup pitches that stood out out for Anand, the core questions a startup should be answering while pitching to VCs & control rights to keep in mind while working with a VC
• Why lending is a business of collections
• Challenges of a category building business and why your story matters more than anything else while you are building a category building business
• How the Indian tech ecosystem has matured and why now you see startups building products for the global markets
• Why lesser the regulation, the better for the tech ecosystem and why the next 10 years is going to be a golden period for the Indian tech ecosystem 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Prachi Sinha heads Healthcare Investments at Axilor Ventures, where she focuses on sourcing innovation and works closely with portfolio companies. Prachi is most passionate about working with entrepreneurs on business model viability, go to market strategies, corporate partnerships, and clean regulatory pathways. She believes the gap in India's healthcare capabilities and resources can be bridged only through innovation. To that end, she has specific interests in new commerce models and science-backed ideas.

Prachi has a decade of public policy and consulting experience in organizations including Janaagraha and  McKinsey. She is an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB) and an Economics graduate from Fergusson College, Pune.

Key Takeaways

• How Axilor Ventures is different to other early-stage funds in India
• Challenges healthcare startups face in India
• How Prachi and the team at Axilor Ventures support their portfolio companies
• Common mistakes startups make during fundraising and immediately after the fundraise
• Challenges and potential of using medical data for better healthcare
• Major emerging themes in healthcare in India
• How incentives of all stakeholders in healthcare are misaligned and how a business model that is aligned to the patient can be created in healthcare

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

Jeremy Au is a VC at Monk's Hill Ventures who invests in fellow founders who will transform millions of lives. He also spearheads MHV's key initiatives from venture scouts to thought leadership. Jeremy is also the host of the BRAVE podcast who interviews trailblazing founders, investors and rising stars in Southeast Asia tech. His mission is to inspire thousands to build the future, learn from our past and stay human in between. He is an angel investor in multiple startups across the USA and Southeast Asia

Jeremy co-founded CozyKin, an early education marketplace. He led the startup as CEO from 0 to Series A to acquisition by Higher Ground Education. Won Harvard Business School's New Venture Competition and the MassChallenge grand prize. Incubated by Harvard Innovation Lab's VIP Program and MIT Sandbox.

Jeremy co-founded Conjunct Consulting, an impact consulting platform, to deliver over 285 engagements and train thousands of new leaders. He bootstrapped the social enterprise to profitability and handed off to his handpicked successor where it thrives to this day. He also consulted across multiple Southeast Asia markets and China as a Bain management consultant. He also served as an infantry sergeant in Singapore.

Jeremy is a public speaker and panellist on entrepreneurship, leadership and community engagement. He has spoken for thousands across Harvard, Deutsche Bank, Singapore Global Tech Network, Boston SPARK Council, Institute of Policy Studies, Civil Service College and many others. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Prestige 40 Under 40. MBA from Harvard Business School and double honour degrees in Economics & Business Administration from UC Berkeley.

Jeremy enjoys science fiction, improv, hiking, tea and being a dad with his family. He enjoys hearing from authentic founders, receiving podcast guest recommendations and new speaking opportunities.

Key Takeaways

• 3 phases of fundraising - how to prepare your startup for fundraising, organising your fundraising process, and growing your startup with the funds raised
• Why the ability to learn quickly, making good decisions consistently, and emotional self regulation are the must have leadership skills for a startup founder
• Why every founder must have the self awareness to grieve when they exit their startup before deciding on the next challenge
• How you can deal with a startup failure and why it’s like losing a loved one
• How startups can use capital advantage as an economic moat
• How as human beings we learn linearly and startups are expected to grow exponentially, and why this makes building startups really hard
• Ways Jeremy gives back to the startup community

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com