Episoder
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, chatting with Ayushi Gudwani, founder and CEO of FS Life. FS Life, (previously @FableStreet ) is a house of brands running three brands: FableStreet - a premium western-wear clothing brand for women, Pink Fort (@PinkfortByFableStreet ) - a modern Indian wear brand reimagining traditional clothing for women, and March - a sterling silver and semi-precious jewellery brand.
Ayushi ventured into entrepreneurship when experienced the difficulty of finding well-fitted and comfortable western workwear for herself in the Indian market. She started as a digitally native, vertically integrated brand. Today, FS Life has evolved into a multiple category western wear brand, having served 100K+ customers, including prominent CEOs/CXOs and celebrities.
Prior to starting up, Ayushi spent 7 years at McKinsey, where she consulted various organizations on strategy, growth and scale. Ayushi is an engineer from NSIT, Delhi and an MBA (silver medalist) from IIM Calcutta. She has been recognised at BW 40 under 40 (2022), Fortune India 40 under 40 (2021), titled the ‘Queen of Workwear’ by India Today group (2022), and awarded the ‘Incredible Women Achiever’ by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (2022).
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Abhinav Adlakha, part of the investment team at WaterBridge, chatting with Neeraj Menta, co-founder of SuperK.
SuperK is a franchised grocery retail chain for small towns with a population between twenty thousand and five lakhs. It empowers unorganised kirana stores to offer modern retail experiences to small-town shoppers and allows entrepreneurs to easily own and operate supermarkets using its data-driven, tech-enabled operating model. SuperK started as a single store in Anantapur. Today, it has expanded to 130+ supermarket stores across 80 Tier 3,4,5 towns in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with an ARR of ₹100 Cr.
The co-founders of SuperK, Anil and Neeraj, began their adventure in college at BITS Pilani. After graduating, Neeraj worked with Future Bazaar, Flipkart and Zeta, before starting SuperK. Neeraj's co-founder, Anil, was very bullish on franchising. He tried to scale the multiple growing franchises such as FirstCry, McDonald's, ZoomCar and DriveEasy. Both Neeraj and Anil took inspiration from this concept and set their hearts on solving for the modern and general trade industry.Key Moments in the episode:
(00:00): Welcoming Neeraj Menta, co-founder of SuperK to S03 E08 of That One Idea podcast
(00:18): Finding a shared passion for building a business in his co-founder, Anil Thontepu
(04:44): Identifying aspirational Bharat's consumer behaviour that kiranas need to fulfil
(08:40): Kirana stores today are the same as they were 30 years ago
(11:22): Iterating on multiple ideas before arriving at a full-stack solution
(14:39): Scaling from a single store to 130 stores across 80+ Tier 3,4,5 towns
(17:13): Raising external capital, from seed to Series A
(21:49): Neeraj's expectations from his investors
(27:31): Building sustainably and frugally, while optimising for the long term
(33:36): The road planned for SuperK
(35:57): Advice for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital
Relevant Links:
WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.waterbridge.vc/
SuperK: https://www.superk.in/
Linkedin Profiles:
Neeraj Menta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neerajmenta/
Abhinav Adlakha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinav-adlakha/
WaterBridge Ventures: www.linkedin.com/company/waterbridgeventures
You can also listen to this podcast on
Youtube: https://youtu.be/26EL9nuZgmg
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7BeLAja3kTWXWaF6SN3eQD?si=mGvX7ZC4SZeZ1-Su4y0ppg
Apple Podcast: https://rb.gy/iqwoftDisclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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Manglende episoder?
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, chatting with Akash Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Zypp Electric.
Zypp Electric is India’s leading tech-enabled EV-as-a-service platform, making last-mile delivery and logistics in India sustainable and emission-free. The company currently counts leading consumer internet companies such as Amazon, BigBasket, Zepto, among its clientele. Today, Zypp has deployed 20K+ EVs and Pilots (delivery executives), saving 31K tonnes of CO2 and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees. Zypp has also grabbed the #1 position amongst high growth companies in APAC, ranked by Financial Times and Statista.
An alumnus of IMT Ghaziabad, Akash founded Zypp in 2018. Prior to that, Akash was a vice President at MobiKwik, and led acquisitions and alliances at Snapdeal. Before Snapdeal, Akash led the 4G launch and nationwide acquisitions for 4G at Airtel. He is a Business World 40 under 40, an angel investor and a TEDx speaker.
Key Moments in the episode:
(00:00): Welcoming Akash Gupta, co-founder & CEO of Zypp Electric to S03 E07 of That One Idea podcast
(00:27): Writing down a 100 things that Akash wanted from life
(02:01): Finding a co-founder in his wife, Rashi
(06:43): Winning over inexperience in EVs through ambition and hard work
(09:38): Condensing learnings from Airtel, Snapdeal and MobiKwik into T.R.I.B.E.
(14:13): Emerging out of Covid with a fleet of 18,000 EVs
(17:08): Powering last-mile delivery for Swiggy, Zepto & more with 20,000 gig-economy workers
(23:27): Navigating investor expectations from seed to Series B
(27:34): Hiring playbook of Zypp
(32:30): Public policy driving EV adoption
(34:38): Staying asset-light in a Capex heavy industry
(36:10): Emphasis on safety of the drivers
(38:35): India's push for a 100% green last mile delivery
(40:10): Marching towards a $150M ARR and 60,000 fleet size
Relevant Links:
WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.waterbridge.vc/
Zypp Electric: https://zypp.app/
Linkedin Profiles:
Akash Gupta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akashg/
Anjali Sosale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkamma/
WaterBridge Ventures: www.linkedin.com/company/waterbridgeventures
You can also listen to this podcast on
Youtube: https://youtu.be/DfoipQMvKgs
Spotify: https://rb.gy/mivm8w
Apple Podcast: https://rb.gy/s61pt4Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge, chatting with Saurabh Pandey, co-founder and CEO of EloElo.
Eloelo is a live social entertainment platform, offering live video chat, live streaming, and live games, where users can interact with hosts through comments, gifts, emojis, audio and video. EloElo’s vision is to become the most trusted space for content creators on the internet and redefine live, interactive, and on-demand entertainment for a mobile-native generation.
An alumnus of St. Xaviers and JBIMS, Saurabh has more than a decade of experience across Product, P&L, Marketing, & BD, and has thrived in diverse roles from Category Lead at Flipkart to Sales & Trade Marketing at P&G.
Key Moments in the episode:
(00:00): Welcoming Saurabh Pandey, founder & CEO of Eloelo to S03 E06 of That One Idea podcast
(02:51): Finding traction with the vernacular Bharat audience
(07:03): From GenZ to shop-owners - catering to a diverse archetype of users
(10:44): Ayushmann Khurrana's Dream Girl 2 triggering the creation of audio rooms
(14:41): Being topical and relatable ingrained in DNA
(16:39): Building for trust to improve retention and engagement
(19:49): Enabling creators to become stars and micro-influencers
(23:14): Power-users spend more than 75 minutes/day on the platform
(28:05): Building connected micro-communities, digitally
(30:33): Technological guardrails ensuring platform safety
(35:44): Recruitment and team-building playbook
(39:27): Dhakka laga laga laga. Hu ha, hu ha!
(43:49): Kunwar Diwas, Bigg Boss 17 Winner - what's next?Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, chatting with Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, co-founder of Wakefit.
Chaitanya graduated from the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore in 2002 and did his MBA from ISB Hyderabad in 2005. Wakefit is an innovation-driven sleep and home solutions company, aiming to revolutionize the quality of sleep among Indians. After building a successful line of sleep products, Wakefit has launched a line of home products, ergonomically designed for the modern Indian household. Till date, Wakefit has serviced over 800K customers, sold over 1800K products and spent 1500+ hours in R&D.
We dive into Chaitanya's childhood, his tryst with failures in two startups, how his indomitable spirit to be an entrepreneur got him to give Wakefit a shot, his team and customer love that kept him going despite rejections from the initial 42 investors, how Ankit and his middle-class upbringing made the company focussed on building from first principles and his learnings from managing the diverse Wakefit board.
Key Moments during this podcast -
(00:00): Introduction of Chaitanya, co-founder of Wakefit
(00:18): CR’s nomadic childhood across 16 schools
(2:15): Finding the courage to start again after two failed startups
(06:55): Customer love convincing CR to go all-in on Wakefit
(11:03): Building Wakefit from first principles - sustainability, profitability and consumer focus
(15:02): Relationship with Ankit, CR's co-founder
(17:04): Finally convincing the 43rd investor on an “irrational” idea
(20:10): Wakefit is a consumer-led product company
(24:08): Why go offline, when online can give a non-linear scale?
(26:59): Kumbhakaran’s LinkedIn, sleep internships and other marketing campaigns
(30:24): Character traits that fit into the Wakefit hood
(34:13): To listen, or not to listen, that is the question
(36:27): Founder-to-founder ties form strong support systems
(40:47): The real board meeting happens before the board meeting
(43:23): What's in store for Wakefit in 2024?Relevant Links:
WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.waterbridge.vc/
Wakefit: https://www.wakefit.co/Linkedin Profiles:
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitanyar/
Anjali Sosale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkamma/
WaterBridge Ventures: www.linkedin.com/company/waterbridgeventuresYou can also listen to this podcast on
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q8_szqrtilk
Apple Podcast:Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge, chatting with Vimal Sharma, founder of SMOOR.
SMOOR opens up a world of True Couverture Chocolates made with authentic and high-quality ingredients concocted by master chocolatiers from around the world. Vimal’s passion for crafting SMOOR’s premium range of products stems from his extensive travels across the globe and exposure to best-in-class international products & experiences. Today SMOOR has world-class chocolate lounges and stores across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurgaon, and the brand is available in 50-plus cities in India.
We dive deep into Vimal's childhood in Fiji Australia and Tasmania, his journey building and scaling SMOOR as an EBO-led premium chocolate brand adapted to suit India, his advice to founders, his support system and his plans for a SMOOR 2.0 in 2024.
Key Moments -
(2:08): Childhood and early days of Vimal in Fiji, Australia and Tasmania
(3:45): How building a chocolate brand in India became That One Idea
(6:09): Why Vimal chose to position SMOOR as a premium chocolate brand
(8:11): Tailwinds for Smoor in the initial days
(10:05): Assembling the early team, at a time when India lacked skilled chocolate artisans
(14:24): Phenomenal growth story since 2013
(16:50): How offline first, EBO-led business model elevated Smoor to a luxury brand
(19:10): Smoor’s resilience in the face of challenges posed by Covid
(24:07): Footprint of Smoor, two years after the pandemic
(25:53): How consumption patterns have evolved over the years
(28:21): Adapting the chocolate business to suit India
(32:16): Vimal’s robust support system
(35:37): Vimal on the dream team that built SMOOR
(37:17): Vimal’s advice to founders
(43:33): SMOOR 2.0 in the works for 2024Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge, chatting with Akshay Singhal, founder and CEO of Log9 Materials.
Log9, founded in 2015, is India's leading battery technology company, the only one to have ground-up developed Lithium-ion cell (both LFP and LTO) technologies for gigafactory production. Log9 is pioneering the development of specialised battery technology from cell to pack level with an advanced digital stack for applications in the tropical belt and is poised to be a battery leader across India, South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and LatAm. Log9 has India’s largest battery R&D team of 125+ members, and has a 250 Mega-Watt-hour Battery pack production capacity, which is equivalent to batteries for 40,000 3-wheelers.
Akshay is a 2019 Forbes "30 Under 30 Asia" Awardee - with a mission to solve the pressing global issue of climate change with the power of nanotechnology and innovation. He has spearheaded Log9 to make it a significant player in the EV battery space.
Akshay graduated with honors in Materials Engineering from IIT Roorkee in 2015 and completed his Ph.D. in Nanotechnology at IIT Roorkee in 2021. He has research experience from University of Alberta, Canada and has published more than 6 scientific articles and filed 50+ patent applications. As an active supporter of progressive action on Climate Change, Akshay has begun angel investing in startups that positively impact the planet, through Climate9ers Capital. Incidentally, he is also a seed investor in Loopworm - a WaterBridge Ventures portfolio company.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, chatting with Rajiv Kumaar, CEO of Adster, and Ketan Chandak, CPO of Adster.
Adster focuses on helping mobile app & web publishers monetize better through hyperscaling their revenue from Ads. With over 2 decades of experience in building Ad Tech platforms, the Adster founding team has a unique understanding of challenges faced by publishers.
Rajiv has previously worked in product management roles across Vizury, Truecaller, DailyHunt, and Melorra, and had served as the product and tech head for ads at Truecaller. Ketan gained extensive experience across data engineering during his stint at Truecaller, in addition to software and ML experience at Twitter in the Search and Home Timeline engineering teams.
We dive deep into Rajiv's journey that led him to meet his co-founders Ketan, Girish and Ranga, his learnings from Vizury, the work that he and Ketan did at Truecaller, Ketan's days at Twitter, the problem statement of Adster, and their grand plans for 2024.
Key moments in this episode:
(2:05): Childhood days and inspirations of Rajiv and Ketan
(5:21): Pioneering the practice of re-targeting ads, at Vizury
(7:11): Ketan’s learnings about scalable, productised Ads business at Truecaller
(9:17): How Rajiv pulled together the founding team of Adster
(11:04): Adster in a tweet
(16:10): Adster building solutions for programmatic as well as direct ads
(19:40): Top problem statements faced by publishers today
(23:02): What would publishers need today to set up a direct ads business
(25:52): Typical revenue split between programmatic and direct ads
(28:49): Adster products that are helping publishers and advertisers
(31:36): How Adster turbocharges revenue for advertisers and publishers
(35:50): Adster ICP
(41:33): Sneak peek into the Adster product pipeline
(43:16): Building the Adster org culture
(46:12): Goals for 2024Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge chatting with Varun Sadana, co-founder of Supertails. Supertails.com’s full-stack platform offers pet supplies, online vet consultations, and online behavioural training. Varun, who is a pet parent himself, has always felt that the industry has not paid enough attention to the pet parenting journey and that there is a lack of an organised and easily accessible ecosystem for pet care needs. With Supertails.com, Varun is building a holistic pet care platform for India's growing pet care industry.
We dive deep into Varun's childhood, his learnings from Licious, Snapdeal and Unilever, his relationship with his co-founders, the journey to PMF at Supertails and the culture of friendship that he has built at Supertails.
(1:53): Childhood, early days and student life of Varun
(6:17): Varun's first tryst at starting up
(13:04): Varun's relationship with his co-founders Vineet and Aman
(16:40): How Nifty, Varun's cat, made Varun think about Supertails as That One Idea
(18:36): The problem statement of Supertails
(25:13): Co-founder relationships are akin to professional Hammams
(29:44): Raising capital in 2021
(31:28): What changed from the Seed round to the Series A round?
(35:38): Continuous experimentation in search of PMF at Supertails
(39:48): Retention is the only north-star metric
(41:09): Expectations from the board and investors
(46:14): The culture of friendship and camaraderie at Supertails
(51:07): What does it take to be a pet parent?
(57:06): Varun's plans for 2024
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode of Founder Foreward, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Shruti Kapoor, Founder and CEO of Wingman. Having been a VC for most of her career, Shruti took the plunge into the arena from the sidelines when she decided to found Wingman. Her passion and enthusiasm resonated strongly with Murali and Srikar as they quit their fancy jobs in Silicon Valley and moved halfway across the world to align forces. Hearing Shruti's journey and experiences was truly a delight. She speaks about her unconventional journey of gathering a founding team and inculcating a high-trust and candid culture at Wingman. Being first-time founders, she speaks about the numerous learnings, trials, and tribulations they encountered on their path. Although their impressive backgrounds led them to procure funding even prior to incorporating their company, the path to product perfection was arduous, convoluted and long-winding. Shruti's learnings from various stakeholders such as VC's and even her own product Wingman are truly enriching. Shruti's path from multiple product iterations to achieving PMF to the point of less than 24 hour sales cycles is a testament to her and team Wingman's resilience and grit. Godspeed to Shruti and team Wingman as they continue to crush it and empower sales reps. Thank you for sharing your journey so candidly as we are in the middle of our FastForward seed program. Your insights, learnings and wisdom will enable early-stage founders to make more informed decisions as they power through from one day to day one.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode of Founder Foreward, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Girish Redekar, Co-Founder of Sprinto As they embarked on a new beginning in the same market, Girish and his classmate cum co-founder Raghuveer consciously decided that this time they wanted to be on the revenue side of the equation for clients v/s the cost side. It was a pleasure speaking with Girish on his journey building out Sprinto. With the pandemic hitting just a few weeks after their seed raise, he speaks about building a remote company ground up and inculcating a culture of transparency and ownership. He elaborates on his unconventional initial approach of being auditor-obsessed as opposed to customer-obsessed given their critical role in the compliance value chain. He speaks about his focus on product and productising user journeys to make them as seamless and low-touch as possible. Being a second-time founder, his experience in entrepreneurship is reflected in his calm and determined demeanour.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode of Founder Foreward, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Nisarg Shah, Founder and CEO of Affable.ai. Affable is a data-driven influencer marketing platform. He co-founded the company with Swayam Narain in 2007 as a part of Entrepreneur First Singapore. The platform leverages advanced machine learning and big data analytics to help brands find influencers, manage campaigns and measure campaign performance. The company claims to track more than 3 million influencers across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. Last May, it raised $ 2 million from Prime Venture Partners, Decacorn Capital, and SGInnovate, a follow on to the previous $750K in seed funding in 2018.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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As a part of the fourth edition of Fast Forward, we are thrilled to launch Founder Foreword, a captivating series of conversations that takes you on a remarkable journey through the minds of industry leaders who have transformed their seed-stage ventures into scalable businesses. Founder Foreward offers an exclusive peek into the stories, experiences, and invaluable insights of these trailblazing entrepreneurs.
In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner, WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Pankaj Vermani, Founder and CEO, CloviaClovia is a premier a premier fashion, lingerie and personal care brand in India that successfully exited to the Reliance Group. Beyond Clovia, Pankaj actively advises startups in the internet, mobile and ecommerce spaces and regularly writes for technology blogs on team building, scale and business strategy. His actively practices meditation and is a theatre buff performing in the professional theatre circle.
Key segments within the podcast:0:50: The story of 5 founders starting a fashionable lingerie brand
4:35: Raising the first round
7:00: First 100 days post funding
9:12: Taking unconventional bets
11:43: Expanding the industry width
13:44: From internet to storefront
16:40: Lessons in Marketing
18:05: Moving beyond seed
21:27: Building the culture at Clovia
25:50: Work-life balance
28:47:Investor-market fit and his exit to Reliance
31:32: Game-changing decisions
37:55: About WaterBridge Ventures
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Rahul and Nikhil Boggaram of Yellow Metal.
Yellow Metal is an asset-backed credit company that disburses gold loans in less than 30 minutes in the privacy of your home. Focused on rural India, Yellow Metal seeks to provide low-cost loans to small farmers and business owners who are otherwise not part of the formal credit eco-system.
We dive deep into their zero-to-one journey in building Yellow Metal.Key Segments:
(1:18): The last 15 months building Yellow Metal
(3:19): Trust factor in the rural markets
(4:33): Building for the Bharat markets
(6:50): Understanding the users
(9:26): Leveraging tech to serve the users
(10:51): Designing the application
(14:30): An omnichannel model of distribution
(17:34): $4 Million AUM from $500k in funding
(19:11): The gold loan market
(21:42): The Yellow Metal playbook
(27:07): From brothers to co-founders
(29:44): Nikhi's favourite annual report
(30:31): $3 Million round
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Ashish Jain, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Sankalp Jain, Mohit Mittal and Nitin Agrawal, Founding team at Paavan.
As young IIT Delhi graduates, the team at Paavan is leaning upon 1000 years of well-researched Indian knowledge systems to extract valuable lessons. The company's vision is to solve our day-to-day problems using these lessons and help us lead better lives.Key Segments:
(1:22): From college friends to co-founders
(4:36): Working with friends
(6:23): Why this space?
(10:33): Ancient text and spirituality
(14:03): Building a business around this space
(19:05): Unbundling of Youtube
(21:01): The target audience
(26:34): Long-term roadmap
(29:42): Defining scale
(32:07): Getting expert advice on the platform
(34:38): The marketing efforts
(38:16): Building the product
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Ashish Jain, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Ankit Bagaria, Co-Founder, Loopworm. Loopworm specializes in extracting proteins from insects. Yes, you heard it right, protein from insects. The team wants to solve a sustainable, traceable, and scalable supply of protein alternatives. The team wants to solve a sustainable, traceable, and scalable supply of protein alternatives. Let's hear from Ankit on what it takes build, when both the space and venture is at an early nascent stage.
Key Segments:
(2:20): Ankit and Abhi as a team
(7:15): Research behind the business
(12:54): Raising money for an unconventional business
(18:55): Understanding the alternate protein space
(23:40): Environmental benefits associated with insect protein
(29:50): Challenges associated with being category creator
(43:50): Defining scale
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Ashish Jain in conversation with Mukund and Vineet, co-founders of Muvin. Muvin has identified a lack of financial awareness and access to financial products amongst Indian teens and young adults as a key problem statement. The Muvin team is building a digital first neo bank to fill this white space and provide their TG a full stack financial solution.
We dive deep into their journey and the series of experiences and events that led to him building Muvin.
Key Segments:
(1:20): Early days at Mindtree
(4:37): Second-time founders
(8:54): Origin of the name 'muvin'
(12:31): The problem statement and the TG
(18:24): Late entrant in the neo-banking space
(22:40): Building a full-stack solution
(28:07): Rebranding exercise
(34:09): Getting Hardik Pandya on board
(37:04): Vision 2030
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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In this episode, we have Gautam Sinha, Founder & CEO of CBREX talking to Anjali Sosale Partner at WaterBridge Ventures. CBREX is a HR-Tech company that enables enterprises to source and deploy talent at scale anywhere in the world. CBREX is set up as a B2B platform with over 4,000 recruiting agencies using the platform to view job openings and upload CV’s. The CBREX platform is well positioned to address these pain points and make the hiring process for global enterprise companies simple, on-demand and cost-effective.
We dive deep into Gautam’s journey and the series of experiences and events that led to him building CBREX.
Key Segments:
(1:59): Early days and decision to join XLRI
(3:52): Recruitment at Wipro
(8:07): The Aha moment to start TVA
(11:08): Getting the first customer
(11:57): Scaling up the business at TVA
(14:34): Meeting Sanjeev and his role
(16:00): Allegis's acquisition of TVA
(19:51): The ideation of CBREX
(22:14): Global recruitment landscape
(25:13): Sourcing talent globally
(27:59): Stickiness of the suppliers
(30:12): Job boards and recruitment agencies
(33:44): Pivot to American markets
(36:37): Driving product innovation
(38:28): The team at CBREX
(40:55): Raising money for the business
(43:11): Why the time is right for CBREX?Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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Anjali Sosale of Waterbridge Ventures chats with Tejas Jain of BimaKavach. BimaKavach is disrupting the Indian general insurance industry with an MGA-like model, which would enable them to customize and co-create policies with general insurers. BimaKavach can underwrite, price and distribute insurance exclusively to small Indian businesses.
We dive deep into Tejas’s journey and the series of experiences and events that led to him building BimaKavach.
Key Segments:
(1:50): Early childhood and breakfast and dinner table board meets
(3:28): Learnings from father and grandfather
(5:43): Decision to start an e-commerce startup
(7:50): Importance of founder market fit
(9:09): Journey from Indore to Bangalore
(11:03): Decision to go back to insurance
(13:27): Selling insurance to small businesses
(18:40): Initial days building BimaKavach
(25:16): New risks that threaten businesses today
(31:49): Regulatory landscape around general insurance
(35:50): Underwriting general insurance
(45:48): Rising demand from the MSME sector beyond metro cities
(50:05): The hardest thing to crack in the insurance business
(52:42): Future of general insurance
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the content.
Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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Anjali Sosale of Waterbridge Ventures chats with Rahul Boggaram and Nikhil Boggaram of Yellow Metal. Yellow Metal is an asset-backed credit company that disburses gold loans in less than 30 minutes in the privacy of your home. Focused on rural India, Yellow Metal seeks to provide low-cost loans to small farmers and business owners who are otherwise not part of the formal credit eco-system.
We dive deep into Rahul and Nikhils's journeys and the series of experiences and events that led to them to building Yellow Metal.
(1:09) Upbringing and early years
(3:14) Why gold loans for rural india?
(5:04) Rahul's journey after leaving home at 16
(7:10) 0 to 1 at Flipkart, Treebo, Groww and Myntra
(9:51) How has consumer app design changed in the last 10 years?
(11:36) UPI as the game-changer for rural India
(12:41) How did Rahul and Nikhil's paths converge during the pandemic in 2020?
(15:41) Early challenges in transitioning from a corporate job to a startup?
(17:15) The role of empathy in the goal loan business
(18:44) The story behind the name "Yellow Metal"
(20:22) Yellow Metal's customer service ethos since day zero
(22:43) Company culture at Yellow Metal
(24:37) How to hire people when solving for rural India?
(26:07) Parents' view on starting up
(27:43) A day in the life of an early-stage startup founder
(28:32) Transparency in gold loans pricing
(30:46) Building a tech platform for rural India
(33:12) 2022 and beyondDisclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.
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