Ganesh Shankar is back! He came on the show in October 2017 (EP68) & he is celebrating 10 years as an entrepreneur! Ganesh is the co-founder & CEO of FluxGen FluxGen is on a mission to help industries become water positive, and aims to help save 1 billion litres of water everyday using his product AquaGen, a smart real-time water flow and level monitoring system. So in this episode he talks about improving the product using design thinking. He talks about time spent in the Cisco Launchpad Tech accelerator. Talks about dealing with the water crisis. He gives bootstrapping advice. Talks about digitising water structures and how they reduce water consumption by 30%. He talks about bringing water transparency and data to clients.‘Who will marry you now’ - his mom's reaction to him quitting General Electric to do this (he got married!) He talks about  India being the largest groundwater extractor in the world, bigger than China & USA. He talks about the original MVP back in 2017. Having big clients onboard. Questions you should ask yourself before quitting your 9-5 job to do a startup. and finally we reminisce about his epic bike journey from Bangalore to Goa and getting a proposal on Valentines Day, but not that type of proposal! and much more!In this conversation we talk about:10 years as an entrepreneur!Looking back would he change anything?A commencement speech that still motivates himNew projects in solar using dronesBootstrapping is good if you don't have a scalable plan Getting criticism in the early days The true cost of waterHow does he keep on top of things?The ongoing climate crisisA question you must ask → What is the primary driver for buying your solution? Transitioning from projects/consulting company to a product company. Not getting too worried about not getting sales in the early days. Start with the customer or start with the idea?How they de-risk industries and facilities from the water crisis. Dealing with the pandemicBuilding AI & IoT based end to end water management solutions.Being the founder and director of the non-profit The Sustainability Mafia (Susmafia.org). And much more!Links https://fluxgen.com/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

The Indian Startup Show

Ganesh Shankar, CEO & Co-Founder of FluxGen - Still solving India’s Water Shortage Crisis- 'Where Are They Now?

Ganesh Shankar is back! He came on the show in October 2017 (EP68) & he is celebrating 10 years as an entrepreneur! Ganesh is the co-founder & CEO of FluxGen FluxGen is on a mission to help industries become water positive, and aims to help save 1 billion litres of water everyday using his product AquaGen, a smart real-time water flow and level monitoring system. So in this episode he talks about improving the product using design thinking. He talks about time spent in the Cisco Launchpad Tech accelerator. Talks about dealing with the water crisis. He gives bootstrapping advice. Talks about digitising water structures and how they reduce water consumption by 30%. He talks about bringing water transparency and data to clients.‘Who will marry you now’ - his mom's reaction to him quitting General Electric to do this (he got married!) He talks about  India being the largest groundwater extractor in the world, bigger than China & USA. He talks about the original MVP back in 2017. Having big clients onboard. Questions you should ask yourself before quitting your 9-5 job to do a startup. and finally we reminisce about his epic bike journey from Bangalore to Goa and getting a proposal on Valentines Day, but not that type of proposal! and much more!In this conversation we talk about:<ul><li>10 years as an entrepreneur!</li><li>Looking back would he change anything?</li><li>A commencement speech that still motivates him</li><li>New projects in solar using drones</li><li>Bootstrapping is good if you don't have a scalable plan </li><li>Getting criticism in the early days </li><li>The true cost of water</li><li>How does he keep on top of things?</li><li>The ongoing climate crisis</li><li>A question you must ask → What is the primary driver for buying your solution? </li><li>Transitioning from projects/consulting company to a product company. </li><li>Not getting too worried about not getting sales in the early days. </li><li>Start with the customer or start with the idea?</li><li>How they de-risk industries and facilities from the water crisis. </li><li>Dealing with the pandemic</li><li>Building AI & IoT based end to end water management solutions.</li><li>Being the founder and director of the non-profit The Sustainability Mafia (Susmafia.org). </li></ul>And much more!Links https://fluxgen.com/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Nivedha is back on the show!  I spoke to her back in December 2017 (Ep 72). She is the Co-founder of TrashCon. They have created a machine that helps solve India's huge waste management problem by converting mixed waste into Biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable Waste. They started with one tiny machine doing 100kg/day to now doing 200,000 kgs/day!  Last year they did a million dollars revenue and have 3 million dollars in the pipeline this year. She talks about spending 2.5 years working in a dumpsites around India . She talks about working with big corporations and municipalities.  Nivedha then talks about how they launch & test MVP’s and product development. She talks about when to use experts &  when NOT to use experts. Going from 3 to 60 staff & what they look for in hiring, having a great co-founder  and finally she talks about how you shouldn't look for 100% perfection in building a startup..85% is ok! ,  Doing TedX talks  (Failure is when you decide to fail...) Winning awards, and why they have banned the word ‘impossible’ and looking back would she change anything? and much more! In this episode we talk about:Creating wow boardsHaving more downs then upsPatentsHas india's attitude to waste changed?Having no credibility at the start to now working with big corporations & municipalities.Having a co-founder who is a chartered accountant &  engineer helps. How they use the technology to separate the wasteBuilding a culture & not micromanaging everythingHaving a strong vision.Advice for first time founders - Have a clear problem statement.Don't look for perfection! The market is not looking for perfection. Going global.and much more Linkshttps://trashcon.in/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Where Are They Now? Nivedha R.M Co-founder of TrashCon. Still on a mission to solve India’s huge waste management problem

Nivedha is back on the show!  I spoke to her back in December 2017 (Ep 72). She is the Co-founder of TrashCon. They have created a machine that helps solve India's huge waste management problem by converting mixed waste into Biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable Waste. They started with one tiny machine doing 100kg/day to now doing 200,000 kgs/day!  Last year they did a million dollars revenue and have 3 million dollars in the pipeline this year. She talks about spending 2.5 years working in a dumpsites around India . She talks about working with big corporations and municipalities.  Nivedha then talks about how they launch & test MVP’s and product development. She talks about when to use experts &  when NOT to use experts. Going from 3 to 60 staff & what they look for in hiring, having a great co-founder  and finally she talks about how you shouldn't look for 100% perfection in building a startup..85% is ok! ,  Doing TedX talks  (Failure is when you decide to fail...) Winning awards, and why they have banned the word ‘impossible’ and looking back would she change anything? and much more! In this episode we talk about:<ul><li>Creating wow boards</li><li>Having more downs then ups</li><li>Patents</li><li>Has india's attitude to waste changed?</li><li>Having no credibility at the start to now working with big corporations & municipalities.</li><li>Having a co-founder who is a chartered accountant &  engineer helps. </li><li>How they use the technology to separate the waste</li><li>Building a culture & not micromanaging everything</li><li>Having a strong vision.</li><li>Advice for first time founders - Have a clear problem statement.</li><li>Don't look for perfection! The market is not looking for perfection. </li><li>Going global.</li></ul>and much more Linkshttps://trashcon.in/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck.<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV">https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV</a>

Logistics is the hottest industry to be in right now , according to my guest Mudasar Mohamed, Co-Founder & COO of Ezyhaul. Ezyhaul is a logistics tech startup based in India and South East Asia. They are on a mission to transform transportation logistics by building an ecosystem around shippers, truckers, government agencies, and third party service providers. So in this episode he talks about how they validated the MVP by talking to experts & truck drivers. Talks about being very close to going bankrupt but are now growing fast!  300% in 2 years with $180 million in revenue.  Talks about how they digitize the trucking process. Talks about how they use data, dashboards and analytics to improve decision making.  Talks about the two reasons why startups fail. Why three is the magic number in founding a startup. What to look for in a co-founder and the qualities you need to be a COO. Talks about the golden rule in growing a 2 sided market. Why do they employ data scientists? Talks about not getting carried away with valuations & Why is the transport industry still 20 years behind? And finally he talks about whether you!.. YES YOU! should pursue entrepreneurship or stay in your 9-5  job and much more! So please enjoy the show. In this conversation we also talk about:Ecommerce is booming.How they matching supply & demandDealing with resistance to change.Beating the competition by entering Tier 2 cities.First impressions of his co-foundersHe shares what he looks for in hiring (do something entrepreneurial)Books/podcasts recommendationsCreating a blue ocean & staying away from the red oceansWhy the focussed initially on Delhi and BangaloreHow they improve the life of truckers.75K trucks on the platformand much more!Linkshttps://www.ezyhaul.com/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck.https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Mudasar Mohamed COO & co-founder of Ezyhaul - On building a digital road freight platform & using tech to organize the trucking Industry in India & South East Asia.

Logistics is the hottest industry to be in right now , according to my guest Mudasar Mohamed, Co-Founder & COO of Ezyhaul. Ezyhaul is a logistics tech startup based in India and South East Asia. They are on a mission to transform transportation logistics by building an ecosystem around shippers, truckers, government agencies, and third party service providers. So in this episode he talks about how they validated the MVP by talking to experts & truck drivers. Talks about being very close to going bankrupt but are now growing fast!  300% in 2 years with $180 million in revenue.  Talks about how they digitize the trucking process. Talks about how they use data, dashboards and analytics to improve decision making.  Talks about the two reasons why startups fail. Why three is the magic number in founding a startup. What to look for in a co-founder and the qualities you need to be a COO. Talks about the golden rule in growing a 2 sided market. Why do they employ data scientists? Talks about not getting carried away with valuations & Why is the transport industry still 20 years behind? And finally he talks about whether you!.. YES YOU! should pursue entrepreneurship or stay in your 9-5  job and much more! So please enjoy the show. In this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Ecommerce is booming.</li><li>How they matching supply & demand</li><li>Dealing with resistance to change.</li><li>Beating the competition by entering Tier 2 cities.</li><li>First impressions of his co-founders</li><li>He shares what he looks for in hiring (do something entrepreneurial)</li><li>Books/podcasts recommendations</li><li>Creating a blue ocean & staying away from the red oceans</li><li>Why the focussed initially on Delhi and Bangalore</li><li>How they improve the life of truckers.</li><li>75K trucks on the platform</li></ul>and much more!Links<a href="https://www.ezyhaul.com/">https://www.ezyhaul.com/</a>P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck.<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV">https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV</a>

If everything is going digital why not theatre? Today I speak to Shreyas Talpade, actor , director , producer and now he is entering the exciting world of entrepreneurship building India's first ever streaming platform dedicated to Theatre and Performing Arts called Nine Rasa. This platform  gives you access to several hours of plays, skits, story-telling, stand-Ups, chats and more across several languages. In this episode he talks about how the idea got conceptualised during the pandemic. Talks abut how the platform works, developing the ecosystem and being a first time entrepreneur. He talks about the decision making process on what goes on the platform and what doesn't. Shreyas then goes on to talk about his acting career including his big break,  learning the craft, getting recognised for the first time. Talks about dealing with directors & writers and finally he talks about why you should ignore the critics , stop overthinking and just go do it!In this conversation we also talk about:Streaming 100hrs of contentThe rise and fall and now the rise of theatre in india. Millennials liking the conceptWho are they targeting?Everyone's a critic!Could he have made it as a cricketer after staring in Iqbal?Dealing with the emotional side of acting. Getting out of the comfort zone & thinking outside the boxTheatre classics v  new content.Not spending any money on marketingAdvice for first time entrepreneursWhy he is not competing with  Netflix and other streaming services? And much more!Links https://www.ninerasa.com/portal/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Shreyas Talpade actor, director & producer on building Nine Rãsã - India's first ever streaming platform dedicated to theatre & performing arts

If everything is going digital why not theatre? Today I speak to Shreyas Talpade, actor , director , producer and now he is entering the exciting world of entrepreneurship building India's first ever streaming platform dedicated to Theatre and Performing Arts called Nine Rasa. This platform  gives you access to several hours of plays, skits, story-telling, stand-Ups, chats and more across several languages. In this episode he talks about how the idea got conceptualised during the pandemic. Talks abut how the platform works, developing the ecosystem and being a first time entrepreneur. He talks about the decision making process on what goes on the platform and what doesn't. Shreyas then goes on to talk about his acting career including his big break,  learning the craft, getting recognised for the first time. Talks about dealing with directors & writers and finally he talks about why you should ignore the critics , stop overthinking and just go do it!In this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Streaming 100hrs of content</li><li>The rise and fall and now the rise of theatre in india. </li><li>Millennials liking the concept</li><li>Who are they targeting?</li><li>Everyone's a critic!</li><li>Could he have made it as a cricketer after staring in Iqbal?</li><li>Dealing with the emotional side of acting. </li><li>Getting out of the comfort zone & thinking outside the box</li><li>Theatre classics v  new content.</li><li>Not spending any money on marketing</li><li>Advice for first time entrepreneurs</li><li>Why he is not competing with  Netflix and other streaming services? </li></ul>And much more!Links <a href="https://www.ninerasa.com/portal/">https://www.ninerasa.com/portal/</a>P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Making it easier and cheaper for e-rickshaw drivers to earn a livelihood. Today my guest is Varun Goenka, CEO & Co-Founder of ChargeUp. Charge-up offers the simple solution of Battery as a Service (BAAS)  to a growing community of 2.4 million E-Rickshaws. The company enables the e-rickshaw drivers to join the service without any upfront costs. By subscribing to a daily battery rental plan. Charge-up allows the drivers to visit the swapping station as many as 2-3 times a day to swap the discharged batteries with fully charged batteries. In this episode he talks about how he got started by talking to over 500 drivers, finding huge pain points on the way. He will explain what they are. Talks about working backwards to create product market fit , which they did in 12 months. Talks about traction, the business model  and how they use technology and data to grow the business. E.g driver behaviour, patterns, performance analytics and how they leverage the data.   Talks about missing out on the opportunity in solar and what he  learned. Talks about the positive impact they have on drivers earnings and the environment.  Talks about trying influencer marketing, partnerships with dealers. How fast they are growing. Thoughts on oil/fossil  companies. He talks why reading Bhagavad Gita helps and finally he talks about having a growth mindset and why being a backbencher at school helped!In this conversation we talk about:Battery technologyProduct researchHelping drivers overcome range anxiety & increase revenueOvercoming negative feedback from the battery dealers.How they stop the theft of batteriesHow they build trust with drivers and dealersHaving a co-founder with 'no attitude'Pay per use v buying the asset'Imagination is more important than knowledge' - Albert EinsteinLast mile connectivity/shared mobilityThoughts on the indian Government role in the clean tech space.Working on B2B deliveriesThe experience of driving an electric vehicle.Thoughts on bootstrappingand much moreLinkshttps://echargeup.com/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Varun Goenka CEO &Co-Founder of ChargeUp on building India’s largest battery swapping network.

Making it easier and cheaper for e-rickshaw drivers to earn a livelihood. Today my guest is Varun Goenka, CEO & Co-Founder of ChargeUp. Charge-up offers the simple solution of Battery as a Service (BAAS)  to a growing community of 2.4 million E-Rickshaws. The company enables the e-rickshaw drivers to join the service without any upfront costs. By subscribing to a daily battery rental plan. Charge-up allows the drivers to visit the swapping station as many as 2-3 times a day to swap the discharged batteries with fully charged batteries. In this episode he talks about how he got started by talking to over 500 drivers, finding huge pain points on the way. He will explain what they are. Talks about working backwards to create product market fit , which they did in 12 months. Talks about traction, the business model  and how they use technology and data to grow the business. E.g driver behaviour, patterns, performance analytics and how they leverage the data.   Talks about missing out on the opportunity in solar and what he  learned. Talks about the positive impact they have on drivers earnings and the environment.  Talks about trying influencer marketing, partnerships with dealers. How fast they are growing. Thoughts on oil/fossil  companies. He talks why reading Bhagavad Gita helps and finally he talks about having a growth mindset and why being a backbencher at school helped!In this conversation we talk about:<ul><li>Battery technology</li><li>Product research</li><li>Helping drivers overcome range anxiety & increase revenue</li><li>Overcoming negative feedback from the battery dealers.</li><li>How they stop the theft of batteries</li><li>How they build trust with drivers and dealers</li><li>Having a co-founder with 'no attitude'</li><li>Pay per use v buying the asset</li><li>'Imagination is more important than knowledge' - Albert Einstein</li><li>Last mile connectivity/shared mobility</li><li>Thoughts on the indian Government role in the clean tech space.</li><li>Working on B2B deliveries</li><li>The experience of driving an electric vehicle.</li><li>Thoughts on bootstrapping</li></ul>

Every year 300,000 wheelchairs are sold in india. 95% of all wheelchairs are one -size fits all. Imagine wearing shoes and everyone has to wear size 14 shoes! So today my guest is Swostik Dash, CEO & Co-Founder of Neomotion. This Chennai-based startup has developed a personalised wheelchair, and a battery-powered clip-on device that converts the wheelchair into a roadworthy electric vehicle. So they helping people with disabilities to live a more independent life with their products. So in this episode he talks about how the journey started by talking to 200 Wheelchair users in 40 locations around india. Talks about the initial stages product development. You will learn how  he makes decisions around feature requests.Talks about how they balance creating impactful products, social change while making money at the same time. Talks about the main 5 metrics he checks every morning. Why don't they go after fancy features.  Interesting thoughts on what Wheelchairs will look like in 100 years time . Talks about the donation drive business model, major milestones. And finally talks about the huge impact he is making on people's lives.In this conversation we also talk about:Why they don't want VC funding yet.Traction & sales so farCustomisations -No two wheelchairs are the same. Supply chain managementManufacturing / fulfilling orders/ quality controlProof of conceptsAdvice on product development Product iterationsWhat they are working on right now.What went wrong in the early days.Enabling wheelchair users to live life to the fullest. Advice for first time founders.Using a whiteboard to deal with negative and positive feedbackProduct design adviceWhy you shouldn't get stuck on your idea‘Startup is a systematic risk minimisation’ - Warren Buffet. Solving the problem of Indoor and outdoor mobilityand much moreLinkshttps://www.neomotion.in/P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Swostik Dash, CEO & Co-Founder of Neomotion on helping people with disabilities to live a more independent life.

Every year 300,000 wheelchairs are sold in india. 95% of all wheelchairs are one -size fits all. Imagine wearing shoes and everyone has to wear size 14 shoes! So today my guest is Swostik Dash, CEO & Co-Founder of Neomotion. This Chennai-based startup has developed a personalised wheelchair, and a battery-powered clip-on device that converts the wheelchair into a roadworthy electric vehicle. So they helping people with disabilities to live a more independent life with their products. So in this episode he talks about how the journey started by talking to 200 Wheelchair users in 40 locations around india. Talks about the initial stages product development. You will learn how  he makes decisions around feature requests.Talks about how they balance creating impactful products, social change while making money at the same time. Talks about the main 5 metrics he checks every morning. Why don't they go after fancy features.  Interesting thoughts on what Wheelchairs will look like in 100 years time . Talks about the donation drive business model, major milestones. And finally talks about the huge impact he is making on people's lives.In this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Why they don't want VC funding yet.</li><li>Traction & sales so far</li><li>Customisations -No two wheelchairs are the same. </li><li>Supply chain management</li><li>Manufacturing / fulfilling orders/ quality control</li><li>Proof of concepts</li><li>Advice on product development </li><li>Product iterations</li><li>What they are working on right now.</li><li>What went wrong in the early days.</li><li>Enabling wheelchair users to live life to the fullest. </li><li>Advice for first time founders.</li><li>Using a whiteboard to deal with negative and positive feedback</li><li>Product design advice</li><li>Why you shouldn't get stuck on your idea</li><li>‘Startup is a systematic risk minimisation’ - Warren Buffet. </li><li>Solving the problem of Indoor and outdoor mobility</li></ul>and much moreLinks<a href="https://www.neomotion.in/">https://www.neomotion.in/</a>P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Cryptocurrency is a trillion dollar industry & with a billion people in India the potential is huge! So today my guest Edul Patel CEO of Mudrex. A Y-Combinator startup building an algorithmic trading platform for cryptocurrency.  They help crypto traders create, test and deploy their trading rules into automated trading algorithms without writing code. Started back in 2011 reading the original white paper while still in college and now they are growing 40% month on month. They have 2.5k paying customers and $10 million of assets under management. So today you will find out how he got his first 1k customers. Insights into the crypto scene in india. Talks about the hype/greed/fear/excitement/ in crypto. Are crypto trading bots better than human traders? Talks about the best advice he received at YC(19)  & the intense 24 hr demo day. Edul shares his product strategies on how products should be built and should they how they should be killed. The 3 books he gives to all his employees. And finally I talk to Edul about my first week as a crypto trader! So we talk about portfolios & trading advice. Please note I am not a financial advisor. So please seek financial advice and if you're interested in buying crypto please see the link on the show notes.In this conversation we also talk aboutTractionThe Crypto lightbulb momentIndian regulationsWho are they targeting? Talks about why crypto is so volatile (or is it?) Dealing with user experiences issues in the early days..The challenge indian regulations dealing with crypto and what he would change.Happy to let his bots trade while sleeping.After 10 years finally breaking even and making profitDeal making advice (less is more)3 key skills to become a product manager (32.49)Whats can do wrong in cryptoAdvice for first time product managers with no experienceDealing with stress. Originally building a crypto exchange for India.Linkshttps://mudrex.com/P.SEarn $10 USD in bitcoingemini.com/share/qng4qpxceP.P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Edul Patel CEO of Mudrex. A Y-Combinator backed startup, on a mission to democratize investing in cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is a trillion dollar industry & with a billion people in India the potential is huge! So today my guest Edul Patel CEO of Mudrex. A Y-Combinator startup building an algorithmic trading platform for cryptocurrency.  They help crypto traders create, test and deploy their trading rules into automated trading algorithms without writing code. Started back in 2011 reading the original white paper while still in college and now they are growing 40% month on month. They have 2.5k paying customers and $10 million of assets under management. So today you will find out how he got his first 1k customers. Insights into the crypto scene in india. Talks about the hype/greed/fear/excitement/ in crypto. Are crypto trading bots better than human traders? Talks about the best advice he received at YC(19)  & the intense 24 hr demo day. Edul shares his product strategies on how products should be built and should they how they should be killed. The 3 books he gives to all his employees. And finally I talk to Edul about my first week as a crypto trader! So we talk about portfolios & trading advice. Please note I am not a financial advisor. So please seek financial advice and if you're interested in buying crypto please see the link on the show notes.In this conversation we also talk about<ul><li>Traction</li><li>The Crypto lightbulb moment</li><li>Indian regulations</li><li>Who are they targeting? </li><li>Talks about why crypto is so volatile (or is it?) </li><li>Dealing with user experiences issues in the early days..</li><li>The challenge indian regulations dealing with crypto and what he would change.</li><li>Happy to let his bots trade while sleeping.</li><li>After 10 years finally breaking even and making profit</li><li>Deal making advice (less is more)</li><li>3 key skills to become a product manager (32.49)</li><li>Whats can do wrong in crypto</li><li>Advice for first time product managers with no experience</li><li>Dealing with stress. </li><li>Originally building a crypto exchange for India.</li></ul>Linkshttps://mudrex.com/P.SEarn $10 USD in bitcoin<a href="gemini.com/share/qng4qpxce">gemini.com/share/qng4qpxce</a>P.P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatelmusic by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Today you will hear some of the best guests I have spoken to  over the past 5 years. You will hear from Vineet Rajan.  Co-founder of Scout My Trip  - India's premier do-it-yourself platform for road trips .talks about pivoting, new insights on the India travel market , growing 5x , expanding into S.E Asia, using virtual scouts & life changing road trips! Next we have Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith. (45m.46sec)  India’s first tech-driven footwear brand, offering customisation of shoes at an affordable price. Next up Vikas Jha CEO & founder of Alore CRM (1h 19m)   - On building one of India's fastest growing sales platform. And last but not least I speak to The Startup Guy aka Vijay Anand , Founder of the Startup Centre (1h 54m)  he talks about the Indian Startup Ecosystem - what's going right, what needs to be tweaked and where to next? So sit back  & enjoy some of the best moments  Vineet Rajan.  Co-founder of Scout My TripThis is an exciting new feature called Where Are They Now ? I catch up with previous guests who came on the show. I catch up With Vineet Rajan the co-founder of Scout My Trip India’s first subscription-based travel planner powered by local travel experts. He gives us an update on what’s been happening since I last spoke to him over 2 years ago including being recognised as being of the top 50 startups to watch in india. Talks about expanding into SouthEast Asia. He explains why they pivoted and now use virtual scouts, talks about raising $500k, talks about content marketing strategies , talks about hot new destinations in india you should visit , talks about a life changing trip to Ladakh and finally he talks about eating ghost chillies in North East India and his second wife latitia(his bike!)In this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Growing 5x since 2018</li><li>A phenomenal 2019 winning 6+ awards</li><li>Offline marketing strategies</li><li>Business Travel market</li><li>Working with Honda</li><li>Climate change & sustainable travel</li><li>Great story how he met his co-founder on the highway</li><li>Great road trips</li><li>Being a startup guy and his co-founder being a corporate guy</li><li>Consumer mindset in india</li><li>Income Tax Exemption granted under Startup India Programme</li><li>How they use virtual scouts</li><li>Using AI in the future</li><li>Being trapped in the snow for 20hrs!</li></ul>Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith. (45m.46sec)'It was his birthday & I thought of customising a shoe and gifting it to him on his birthday' And so Toesmith was born! and they haven't looked back . I speak to Aayush Jindal Co-founder of Toesmith , India’s first tech-driven footwear brand, offering customisation of shoes . In this episode he talks how the 3d customisation works. Talks about customer research , pitching his parents the prototype , how they target customers via Facebook and Instagram, how many orders that get a day, quitting the corporate life, how they plan to scale the operation and finally he gives advice on building an e-commerce business & brand in India.In this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Pricing strategies that don't pinch!</li><li>Getting great feedback & design from a tattoo artist</li><li>Walking away from nice job at Bain</li><li>How they deal with copyright issues</li><li>Thoughts on the offline / retail market.</li><li>Is it pressure off or pressure on?</li><li>Launching internationally & scaling</li><li>Experiencing failure on his previous start-up</li><li>Getting advice from parents who work in the shoe manufacturing business.</li></ul>Vikas Jha CEO & founder of Alore CRM (1h 19m)  India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for SaaS (software as a service)-based customer relationship management (CRM) firms. So today i speak to Vikas Jha founder & CEO of Alore. Alore offers everything needed to run a sales team at scale - from finding business email addresses to running automated drip campaigns to monitoring the performance of sales teams. So he talks about it all got started , how the product works. How they acquire customers around the world organically without spending money on marketing. Talks about nearly going bankrupt , talks about what makes a great salesperson, being an ex-merchant navy officer turned venture capitalist turned entrepreneur. Gives great book recommendations , talks about burnout , mental health. He talks about bootstrapping strategies what worked and what didn't work and finally he talks about how he transitioned from corporate life to startup life.in this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Sales so far</li><li>Early bootstrap strategies using Facebook groups</li><li>Product design process</li><li>Unique pricing models</li><li>2 business models</li><li>Is email still a good way to sell?</li><li>The 'land & expand' strategy</li><li>Book recommendation - Atomic Habits by James Clear & OKR by John Dorr</li><li>Seeing 800 business plans in a year as a VC and what to put in a pitch deck.</li><li>Great hiring advice and processes.</li><li>How he dealt with mental health & burnout</li><li>Advice on pivoting</li><li>Dealing with rejection</li></ul>The Startup Guy aka Vijay Anand , Founder of the Startup Centre (1h 54m) India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, what’s going right, and what needs to be tweaked? I speak to Vijay Anand, AKA The Startup Guy, founder of The Startup Centre in Chennai. He is an entrepreneur and has been mentoring startups in India for the past 10 years. So In this episode we talk about the state of the Indian startup ecosystem. Talk about finding India's identity - China has processes & innovation, Germany does precision machinery, US and Israel drive innovation, Japan has quality. What is India's story?The involvement of India's government - the good & bad. Talks about If someone wants to start a venture today, what areas should they focus on? talks about the 2 kinds of entrepreneur, overvaluation of startups, ethics, blockchain, dogs!, space travel, super human beings and what does he go for - the person or the idea? And much more , so please enjoy the show.in this conversation we also talk about:<ul><li>Differences in the Indian eco-system v Israel eco-system</li><li>Big observation about indian startups</li><li>Indian domestic market v global market</li><li>Bill gates & Mark Zuckerberg chat</li><li>How do you unlearn</li><li>Looking at a person as asset not a liability</li><li>The 3rd wave of startups</li><li>How to find co-founders</li><li>What gets Vijay out of bed?</li></ul>P.Sif you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.Try Premium free for 2 months and access all my classes!<a href="https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel">https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel</a>music by Punch Deck.<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV"> https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV</a>

The Best of The Indian Startup Show [15]

A Weekly Podcast Show About Indian Startups Entrepreneurs & More ! Hosted by Neil Patel & Friends