The Indian Startup Show

Minakshi started with an Excel spreadsheet back in 2006. And this year has recently been awarded the best bar in  India , and in Asia’s  50 best bars list of 2020. Amazing achievement considering women working in bars is extremely uncommon. it's a bit  of a  taboo subject. So she talks about how she overcame those challenges. She talks about finding her passion, Working 14-15 hours a day. She  reveals how she got  people in India to drink an Old Fashioned & Whisky Sour’s! What she learned about herself during  lockdown. We talk about  indian’s complicated relationship with alcohol.  And finally she shares her secrets to making a great cocktail. It's truly an amazing story and one that will inspire you as well.in this conversation we also talk about:How she came up with concepts and themesBuilding a bar from scratch or buying an established business.Non alcoholic v alcoholic cocktailsFavorite cocktails.Dealing with the lockdown.Getting an adrenaline rush from bartending Why being a bartender is similar to

Vivek Bajaj is back on the show! He is co-founder of StockEdge & Elearnmarkets.com. He appeared back in August 2016 (EP39) and since then his app has gone from 50K downloads to 1.5million downloads. And has gone from employing 25 staff to over 140 staff. So in this episode he talks about how they have scaled the operation.  Talks about finding great business partners. Thoughts on the current stock market, Common mistakes first time investors make. Shares formulas for investing including the ‘10 10 10’ rule. Talks about his best investments and worst. Why Reliance stock is a ‘buy’. Why he doesn't invest in Bitcoin. Talks about raising finance. Gives great advice for entrepreneurs And finally the most important lesson about money he has learned so far! in this conversation we talk about:Revenue stats so farWhat problem are they solvingWhich product makes most revenue?Are they still a startup?Dealing with the big lossesNever comprising on sleepWhy you shouldn't just look at the price of a stockUsing you gut/

If sex sells, why is it so difficult to make money? Well today we are going to find out! I speak to Shakun Sethi  founder of Tickle.life - The world's first community based discovery platform for sexual wellbeing and sexuality.She talks about her desire to build this. She goes in depth about building not one but two MVP and spending a year visiting over 100 sex toy shops for research. She talks about getting user feedback, using the sprint model. What metrics they use and the design issues faced. She talks about what really matters when building a community from scratch. She talks about the Indian market. And finally she talks about how to improve your EQ.In this episode we talk about:What are the users needsgetting 5k people to download the app with marketing.Indian customers being ready but still having reservationsWhat she learned from her first startupHaving a therapistwhy she gets DM's but no RT's! Failure is ok!Building a discovery platform not a social networkHer leadership styleIdea V ExecutionWhat sh

I catch up with Dr Siddharth Manvati, co-founder of Clear Meat. He came on the podcast last year (EP125)  And a lot has changed since we last spoke. He finally talks about the magical moment he finally tasted the first product. He talks about the science behind evaluating taste and  smell. The economics of making lab based chicken. Talks about raising finance. Talks about proof of concepts,  having 14 sleepless nights , why they are moving from the Indian market to the global markets.  When will this be available to the general public? And how they plan to scale the company.In this conversation we talk about:-shifting from the lab to industry.Plant based v  cell based thoughtsWhat does it taste like?Why they not ready to start branding yetHow they hire scientistsNot being a salespersonThoughts on the China marketChicken nuggets chat. What does the law say?An update on what we will be eating  & drinking in 100 years time! and much Morelinkshttps://www.clearmeat.com/P.Sif you need something to do during the

Indians don't pay for news! Well they do and today my guest is Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry,  a news, current affairs & media analysis organisation. They are building an alternative news model , so in  this episode he talks about building this high risk venture. Old media & new media business models. Not being dependent on eyeballs. Find out which newspaper is worth reading. Dealing with Twitter trolls. Govt interference in the news. Thoughts on  PM Modi, Arnab Goswami and what kept him going in the early days. And why the  'self made man' is a  myth. Finally we talk about his experience of directing/producing  Highway On My plate , the award winning travel and food program. In this conversation we also talk about:Subscription statsHow he got startedMistakes madeThe culture of paying for newsAdvice on building your own media companyWhat questions would he ask PM ModiWorking on a piece about the Delhi riotsGreat food experiences & not so great food experiences.Podcast recommendation

The Indian e-sport scene is booming. So today I speak to Yash Pariani co-founder of The Indian Gaming League. IGL is India’s most popular competitive gaming and esports league that hosts gaming tournaments online and they are growing fast!  IGL hosts daily online tournaments and battle royales across all your favourite game titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Fortnite, Dota 2, Fifa 20, 8-Ball pool, Clash Royale, Pubg and many more. So in this episode he talks about how he is creating an infrastructure for Indian gamers. Talks about building trust within the community. How demonetisation helped the esports industry in India. Talks about esports as a respectable career.and finally he talks about Steve Jobs, dealing with concerned parents and dealing with cheats!In this conversation we also talk about:Stats so farKey learnings as an entrepreneurWhy Fortnite became a hit gameWhat you need to be a top esports player?Streaming gamesEsports v traditional sportsWill it become an Olympic eventOffline tournaments v online

W.V. Raman’s vast experience as a player and coach at the top level will provide wonderful learnings on how to achieve one’s potential in all walks of life.  - Sachin Tendulkar.   Today  I speak with Mr W V  Raman - Former test match cricketer ,  and coach of the indian women's team. We talk about his book The Winning Sixer , leadership lessons to master. He talks about how anyone can be a leader. He talks about building credibility. Biggest mistakes leaders make. He talks about  life changing advice from a non-cricketer which led him to break all records in 88-89 season and  scoring one of the best knocks overseas by an indian batsman. Talks about dealing with the pressure of playing for India. Nasser Hussain's perceptions on the Indian touring sides in the 1990's and how S.Ganguly changed it. Thoughts on the winner takes all 'mentality' and finally we talk about his current coaching career .In this conversation we also talk about:Dealing with SledgingGetting bowled out for 66 in DurbanDo you have to be self

You Got to Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them! Today I speak to Nitesh Salvi,  founder and CEO of Pocket52.   He talks about how he went from playing poker in the late nights in his student dorm with friends to building India’s largest poker platform. He talks about how they build trust and loyalty on the platform. Talks about getting rejected over 150 times despite already having a previously successful exit. He talks about creating a white label business as well as a B2C model. Talks about the psychological side of Poker. Dealing with fraud. And we talk about gambling responsibly  and finally he talks about his  biggest wins and losses on the poker table! and much more.in this conversation we also talk about Growing the user baseSpending 6/7 researching the marketCoin dumpingBuilding a scalable productThe importance of using Lava lamps!Pitch deck adviceCreating the right environment for customersAdvice for first time entrepreneursPlaying poker with his familyReading peopleand much more linkshttp

Having been stuck inside coronavirus lockdown since late March.   I decided to listen back through the archives and put together some of the best interviews. Today you will here from 'The Recycle Man of India' Dr Binish Desai Forbes 30 under 30 Asia social entrepreneur & founder of Eco-Eclectic.  We talk about:-Being inspired by Captain Planet!Building houses, toilets, lamps & other products out of waste - What's next?First brick looking like a rotiWorking in slumsDealing with negativity & proving people wrong.Why he takes 2 bricks with him everywhere he goes!Creating a micro social enterprise to help women3D printing houses in the futureDreaming of getting on the Forbes list & getting on the list.Being cheated by a partner & what kept him going Next up is Krishnan Nair -CEO of Geektrust he talks about on creating an online platform that connects talented developers with great opportunities. We talk about :Taking the plungeStats so farBeing a first generation entrepreneurBeing In it for th

Futurepreneur Grand Challenge winner Radhika Timbadia Owner of Champaca , Campaca is a unique cafe venture around books, food, curation and a strong community. She talks about how it got started. Talks about spotting the gap in the market . Thoughts on building a community. Talks about not being taken seriously by vendors and also challenges of retaining employees. She talks about dealing with Covid19. Advice for first time entrepreneurs. Great book recommendations, why she loves books, Bangalore traffic! Spotting snow leopards and online pub quizzes.In this conversation we also talk about:Creating online voucher system during the shutdown.Getting help from fellow cafe owners360 degree personality changeWas it a difficult concept to sell in the early daysWhat will the cafe shop look after Covid19?Book recommendations Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities by Harini Nagendra, Seema Mundoli and Exhalation - Ted ChangMaking tough decisionsExploring different niches.Bangalore weather.Motivating herself in th

Catching up with Raghav Gupta, the co-founder of Nymble labs. He came on the show in November 2017 his team has built a personal cooking assistant called Julia. We talk about his appearance on TV. How they have developed the robot since we last spoke, talks about raising finance ,setting up offices in China and California. Talks about why they are changing market focus from India to US. Gives great advice on customer development and how they qualify customers. Talks about becoming comfortable with uncertainty. He talks about how they demoed the robot at TechCrunch robotics conference without paying $$$$ for a booth. And finally we got some music at the end of the show. in this conversation we talk about:- Being VC backed & new business model How they came up with research goals Developing a Customer Development process that helped gather more insights about consumers. How they separate feedback from noise How they capture the feedback. Taking the cooking robot to the houses of people who had signed u

The Indian Startup Show Trailer - A weekly podcast Show about Indian startups, entrepreneurs & more ! Hosted by Neil Patel & friends.

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: Differences in the Indian eco-system v Israel eco-system Big observa

'There was no alternative to buying expensive furniture for temporary needs' and so City Furnish was created. Today I speak to Neerav Jain, the co-founder of City Furnish a rental subscription service for furniture & appliances. So in this episode he talks about how he got this off the ground by talking to 200 people , going through Y-Combinator last year , and how they validated the market ,raising $5million and talks customer retention strategies , the 2 macro changes contributing to the rise in the renting economy in India. What did the first MVP look like. Learn how to talk to your potential customers. Why his parents thought it was a bad idea and why they want more competition not less! In this conversation we also talk about: Growing fast Playbook for launching new cities How they scale & deal with logistics Meeting Paul Graham Expanding to the Middle East Why they got rejected 400x For every assumption you need validation Book recommendation - The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Stra

Trapped indoors by the Storm Ciara & Storm Dennis. I decided to listen back through the archives and put together some of the best bits. So today you will hear from Govinda Upadhyay- Cofounder LEDsafari, Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur - On bringing solar-powered light to students in India., we talk about:- Going from one village to the next with a suitcase A great example of entrepreneurship in Uganda The one child one lamp initiative. Grandma & Grandpa thoughts! Dealing with the knockbacks Interesting story where the name comes from Growing up in an army family & changing friends every 3 years. Don't build product build solution - Former President of India - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Next up is Venkat Iyer - the author of Moong Over Microchips - Adventures of a techie turned farmer! We talk about: Unable to sleep Dealing with the silence and the darkness Depression Russels Viper Snake Not knowing anything about farming Getting ripped off the first time The 4 C’s and 2 P’s of success Ho

'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: Pricing strategies that don't pinch! Getting great feedback & design from a tattoo artist Walking away from nice job at Bain How they deal with copyright issues Thoughts on the offline / retail market. Is it pressure off or pressure on? Launching internationally & scaling Experiencing failure on his previous start-up Getting

This 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: Growing 5x since 2018 A phenomenal 2019 winning 6+ awards Offline marketing strategies Business Travel market Working with Honda Climate change & sustainable travel Gr

Part 2 of my interview with Sanil Sacher co-founder of huddle a startup incubator based in Delhi. So in this episode he talks his entrepreneurial life. Talks about his moment of epiphany. Gives great advice on beating the Monday morning blues talks about how to scale consumer goods companies, some Richard Branson chat , key takeaway from working at Star Sports , and mental health chat. Finally a first for the indian startup show, Sanil reads out some of his wonderful some poetry. Links http://huddle.work/ P.S 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/neilpatel P.P.S You're going to love CreativeLive! Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Availabl

Providing 360-degree support to multiple startups. Today I speak to Sanil Sachar co-founder of Huddle a startup incubator based in Delhi. He is also an entrepreneur, national best-selling author, angel investor, columnist, co-owner of global sports brand, Trusox, motivational speaker and leadership coach. I decided to split this into two parts . So in this episode we talk about the startup incubator he co-founded , what inspired him to do this, what they look for when it comes to investing, raising funds in india, exits, advice for first time investors ,he talks about what startups you should be investing in and what he likes & dislikes in the Indian startup ecosystem. In this conversation we also talk about: Mentoring startups The application process Being open to single founders & non technical founders How much do they invest & how much equity do they take. Investing in data over sound technology, blockchain & keto markets Startup scene in Delhi , compared to Mumbai & Bangalore. Mot

‘One piece of advice I will give is this - listen to the consumer , listen to the consumer, listen to the consumer , everything flows from that, if that’s not part of you equation then your starting at the wrong place - Shankar Prasad. Today I speak to Shankar Prasad, Founder, Pureplay Skin Sciences.One of indian fastest growing vegan & grooming brands. He has over 20 years of creating and building consumer goods india. So in this podcast we talk about his iterative design process, his research , his pricing strategy , using social media influencers, the Skin care for men market, taking calculated risks, advice on building your own consumer goods brand and learn how to improve your communication skills. And finally some warren Buffett chat as well so please enjoy the show. In this conversation we also talk about: Starting out as a chemical engineer. Leaving corporate life and going it alone. Why vegan? Bring inspired by the goodness of nature, and & doing good Online & offline selling strate