StartupTalky

Tag: Gautam Srinivasan

  • Crafting Bharat’s Season Finale: How AWS is Accelerating Growth of the Indian Startup Ecosystem

    India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem and is on track to become the third-largest economy globally. India offers abundant opportunities, and great potential, and is home to disruptive innovators with transformative ideas. Furthermore, it has the second-largest developer base in the world, reinforcing its position as a leading technology and innovation powerhouse.

    The ‘Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series’ is powered by AWS and is an initiative by NewsReach in association with VCCircle. The podcast aims to uncover the secrets behind successful entrepreneurs’ journeys, providing valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts. The series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, a well-known personality with a diverse range of TV and digital programs. He currently serves as a consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.

    In a podcast discussion with Kumara Raghavan, Head of Startup Sales at AWS India, we explored how Amazon Web Services (AWS) supports Indian startups through various programs and initiatives, enabling them to enter new and global markets. The conversation highlighted the growth of India’s startup industry and how entrepreneurs leverage technology to solve widespread problems. For instance, MoEngage, a customer engagement platform, expanded into the ASEAN market with AWS’s assistance. They gained networking opportunities to connect with over 200 CMOs across six ASEAN countries, leading to high-quality business prospects. AWS’s support and networking capabilities, along with the advantages of an Activate program, opens up new possibilities and help lower the cost of curiosity for startups.

    Crafting Bharat Episode 12 With Kumara Raghavan, Head of Startup Sales at AWS India

    We are seeing Bharat in terms of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and towns emerge as a fertile ground with over 50% of DPIIT recognized startups coming from these areas today. What’s your sense of the transformative effect of these Bharatiya startups in making India Atmanirbhar?

    As of December 2023, there were over 117,000 startups listed with DPIIT. That’s quite a phenomenal achievement, and as you say, a lot of this is coming not just from Tier 1 cities, but also from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. If you look at jobs, for example, over 12.4 lakh jobs have been created, which is quite something. Today’s startups are emerging from every state and union territory, spanning 80% of the districts. This truly shows India’s potential and the untapped power of innovation that we are all eagerly looking forward to.

    In running a startup there’s always a balance needed between innovation and costs, especially in their starting phase since building a minimum viable product involves constant experimentation and being curious about upcoming consumer habits, trends, and pain points. How is AWS helping startups build products without worrying about costs?

    I think you have touched upon an important point. Often, people see it as two diametrically opposite ends: either being innovative or being very cost-conscious. However, I think they are really two sides of the same coin and, counterintuitively, both go hand in hand. Typically, when depicting the journey of a startup, particularly those in their initial stages, they conceive a brilliant concept, develop their MVP, and endeavor to attain product-market fit. At this phase, extensive experimentation is essential to substantially enhance the customer experience, not just marginally. This is where AWS’s flagship ‘Activate Program’, in operation since 2013, comes into play. Startups in the early stages can benefit greatly from AWS credits, which offer access to a range of services, including computing, storage, networking, databases, and advanced solutions like AI/ML. This access allows them to experiment and innovate with minimal risk, as they can “fail fast” with little to no penalty.

    For example, when it comes to technological innovation, AWS’s custom Graviton processors offer a significant advantage. Compared to traditional x86 compute options, Graviton provides a 40% improvement in price-to-performance ratio. This leads to a substantial increase in ROI, as businesses benefit from enhanced performance while also reducing costs. This innovation not only boosts performance but also delivers significant cost savings.

    Take us through some conversations that you’ve had with startups on challenges that they face around building capabilities and mastering new technologies to future-proof their business since the narrative has shifted from pure growth to profitability for this ecosystem?

    Currently, our conversations tend to be around how to use Generative AI, which is one of the most transformational technologies of our times. What they’re looking to do is improve the efficiency and creativity of their own employees while also enhancing the customer’s journey. When they try out new technologies, they want to do it right. That’s where our philosophy comes in: although there is a new technology, there are some foundational principles that are best adhered to if you want to get it right.

    A great example is DeHaat, which operates with a “farmer-first” philosophy. They currently serve about 1.8 million farmers across 11 states in India through 11,000 DeHaat centers. DeHaat assists farmers by addressing various challenges, such as crop classification, disease prediction and remediation, and yield forecasting, to optimize the supply chain.

    By utilizing tools like Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Redshift, DeHaat has achieved impressive results. They have helped farmers reduce costs by up to 15%, improved yield predictability by 90%, and increased the accuracy of disease prediction and remediation by 80%. This highlights how integrating advanced technology with a strong foundational philosophy can drive significant improvements and create lasting value for both businesses and their customers.

    For startups with game-changing ambitions for Generative AI, how does AWS Accelerator enable them to be up and running within weeks?

    Last year, we launched AWS ML Elevate, an accelerator program for generative AI startups. We have had a number of generative AI startups participate in that program; to name a few, we had Blend and Dubverse.ai. To elaborate on Blend, they’re making commercial-grade photography accessible to SMBs. Blend can help you with removing backgrounds and polishing images in a matter of seconds, making them readily available to be displayed on 16 different e-commerce sites and 8 different social media platforms. They are essentially reducing the dependence of SMBs on professional photographers for making their products highly visible.

    The startup ecosystem in India has witnessed significant growth over the last decade, driven by increasing technology adoption and urbanization. With various AWS services, they are making the startup journey more efficient for disruptive founders.

  • Eleventh Episode of Crafting Bharat Podcast Series Featuring Krishnan Vishwanathan, Founder & Executive Director of RING and Kissht, Delves Deep into the Indian Startup Ecosystem

    Krishnan Vishwanathan, Founder & ED of Kissht discusses his entrepreneurial journey, building s solution-oriented business and trends in the FinTech Industry with host Gautam Srinivasan.

    Entrepreneurship is in the air! India has witnessed a surge in the number of startups over the last decade with an increasing tech-savvy population. The pandemic changed the way people consume services with the growth of digitization making everything accessible. 

    The “Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series” powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.

    India’s rapid adoption to digitization is opening new avenues for budding entrepreneurs, and intrigued and determined entrepreneur Krishnan Vishwanathan, Founder & ED of Kissht, is on a mission to make the borrowing experience of individuals seamless. In the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, Vishwanathan talks about his entrepreneurial journey, building s solution-oriented business, and trends in the FinTech Industry.

    Explore the tales of Indian startup founders’ transformation from dreams to reality, navigating challenges to seize opportunities through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series.

    Crafting Bharat, Episode 11 With Krishnan Vishwanathan, Founder & ED of Kissht

    Segment 1: The Incubator

    While you try to solve for A particular customer, you seem to have ended up solving for customers of many other segments. What does this blurring of lines indicate for how you approach your business now?

    If I’m a new start-up today, starting with access to credit on a differentiator will fall by the wayside within six months, and therefore the answer must be something beyond that. For us the answer has been evolving from a product innovation standpoint, lending is one of the most commodity and a centuries-old product. Large institutions today would not even afford basic flexibility for a person to choose his own loan amount, repayment schedule, repayment flexibility if he wants weekly or monthly. I mean these are basic things we started on day one. The segment we started with I’m not talking about the affluent segment I am talking about the segment we started with a lot of people who are irregular salaried and small business owners. 

    How do you survive and manage to stand out from the pack?

    When you put risk and your customers first, I think the solutions start appearing in front of you. The drawback for some of these things are we’ve probably grown slower than some of our peers. I know a couple of organizations started after us technically on paper valuation they’re ahead of us. It doesn’t bother us because we know we are here for the long term. We are here to create an institution like Infosys and TCS. Something that will outlive us and I think that approach is unit economics-based fundamentals not chasing undue growth and keeping customers first. 

    How do you view GenAI helping you with this big opportunity? What are the next-level use cases that you see GenAI delivering for Ring? 

    GenAI is a very wide canvas, and I am not an expert, but I’ll tell you where we are focusing on with GenAI today in the company. We are today focusing on two things; one is mass customization and improving interaction with the customer. Ring is a culmination of saying how do I blend payments and lending into one platform which is very seamless to the customer. The idea being that we want to be a one stop solution to the customer. 

    Segment 2: The Accelerator

    Take us through the highlights of your funding journey.

    There are two big highlights. First, all our early-stage investors continued to remain with us and in fact they have invested in the last round as well, which is a testament to the fact that they believe in us, our business model and our team. Second big highlight is that we have always chosen investors not for the capital but something more they bring, whether it is market connect or international peer exposure that they give us. That has really helped us remain and largely we have chosen investors who share the same long-term vision as us.

    If existing lending products are viewed as digitized versions of their earlier analog experiences, What’s the second layer of innovation of a truly digital lending experience going to look like? 

    I am belaboring the point, but it must be menu-driven mass customization. It must be something that fits. Customization has happened in other industries and generally, people feel that it might not work in financial services, but it must be the way forward. I think the needs of specific customers are very different.

    The startup ecosystem is continuously evolving with newer sectors growing with increasing internet penetration and digitization. The country’s steady growth and commitment to science and technology, is emphasizing technology-driven innovation in shaping India’s future. 

    Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as they bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.

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  • Tenth Episode of Crafting Bharat Podcast Series with Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO of Aaritya, Explores Future Insights of the Indian Startup Ecosystem

    Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO of Aaritya discusses his entrepreneurial journey, building a trading platform, and upcoming trends in the industry.

    India is a country with great potential considering its population size, open global economy, and increasing digital adoption. India’s startup ecosystem is the driving force for India’s economic growth. 

    The “Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series” powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.

    Financial independence awareness is rising with the increasing young generation of India, and passionate and astute founder, Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO Founder of Aaritya, is on a mission to make financial independence seamless. In the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, Vaz talks about his entrepreneurial journey, building a trading platform, and upcoming trends in the industry.

    Explore the tales of Indian startup founders’ transformation from dreams to reality, navigating challenges to seize opportunities through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series.

    Crafting Bharat, Episode 10 With Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO of Aaritya

    Segment 1: The Incubator

    What was going through your mind when you put in your papers around this time last year as the CTO of a (reclaimed) decacorn to lead a startup of your own?

    There were a couple of factors that were running through my mind back in December of the 1 year. One factor was that I have always seen my career in chunks of 5 years. Every five years I would take out time to relook at what I am doing and plan the next 5 years. I believe that 5 years is a good chunk because it gives you enough time to build something meaningful and at the same time it’s a good enough chunk where you can then think of the next 5 years as a certain plan. So, I was coming up on 5 years at Swiggy and one option was always open which was to continue. But I have always had this itch at the back of my mind about taking the experience I have gained in working at a consumer product company and applying it to some transformative space. That itch was very strong, and it became even stronger as I was thinking about the next phase of my life.

    How did you sync your expectations with the investors for Aaritya?

    My journey with the VC Community has been a revealing one because from the outside it would appear that they would just give the money away. But interestingly what I learned is that the VC Community is very well educated about the space and so they have their own perspective and belief on what will work and what won’t. In terms of aligning the investors with my vision, it was largely mutual agreement, where we both came to a place where we both felt that we need to focus on the long-term goal and the long-term is really looking at the new age generations of users coming up, as more than half of our country is 29 years and below.

    Considering your vast tech experience with Amazon, how do you think AWS could be an effective partner to help you scale up?

    I have a history with AWS due to my past work at Amazon and Swiggy, we have chosen AWS as our partner for Aaritya. There are a few reasons why we prefer AWS; one, they give us the ability to scale but in a very cost-effective manner; second, some of the AWS managed services allow us to take away some of that operational load and give it away to AWS.

    Segment 2: The Accelerator

    Considering your experience, what would you say is the key to a good working relationship with the venture capital folks, for all the newly minted founders listening in?

    It’s very early for me to give advice as I have been doing it for a year now, but one thing that has really worked for me so far is being transparent.

    What’s your view on dealing with tech debt that some startups face when they scale up too quickly?

    I have this model which I have used which has kind of helped me. I see debt as two different types, one is a short-term mistake that is expensive to fix like a credit card debt and second is the kind of debt you consciously take like a home loan which is not too bad to have around. As a leader, you need to balance on when you are taking conscious debt which you can pay off over time versus when you are taking a poor decision that can lead to a big pain. As a leader, if you can manage conscious calls then you can achieve the balance between debt and speed of execution.

    The Indian startup ecosystem has been booming making its mark at the global level. With increasing digital adoption and passionate entrepreneurs, the future of the Indian startup ecosystem is promising.

    Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as they bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.

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  • Ninth Episode of Crafting Bharat Podcast Series Explores the Intricacies of the Indian Startup Ecosystem with Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store

    Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store discusses his entrepreneurial journey, building a D2C apparel brand around pop culture and upcoming trends with host Gautam Srinivasan.

    The startup ecosystem of India has grown tremendously in the last decade. India has emerged as a predominant player in the global startup ecosystem and is home to various successful startups and innovative entrepreneurs. 

    The “Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series” powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.

    Digital adoption has made shopping online effortless, and a zestful and passionate entrepreneur, Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store, is putting the ‘pop’ in pop culture. In the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, Sharma talks about his entrepreneurial journey, building a D2C apparel brand around pop culture and upcoming trends. 

    Explore the tales of Indian startup founders’ transformation from dreams to reality, navigating challenges to seize opportunities through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series.

    Crafting Bharat, Episode 9 With Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store

    Segment 1: The Incubator

    How confident were you of a product-market fit considering India was a very nascent market for such options?

    The only way to get official merchandise in India was either to call a relative who is abroad to get it for us or to buy fake merchandise from the street side. We saw the gap and knew that there definitely was a demand because people wanted it. There is a very low barrier to entry to start an apparel brand in India as it requires very less capital. 

    Dealing with challenges of ecosystem peer pressure and an urge to grow fast. How did you handle this phase? 

    When we raised our first round of funding, I wouldn’t call it pressure but more like responsibility to use the funding at the right place. We had a lot of cash in the bank, so we decided to increase the marketing spend which in turn increased our revenue. We burned cash in the short term but eventually it helped us in the long term. We did two things with the cash, one we increased the marketing and branding spend and second, we started hiring aggressively. To cut the long story short, we wanted to achieve the growth in 2 years which would have ideally taken us 5 years to achieve. After 2 rounds of funding and making the same mistake of achieving fast we established that the business would take its time to grow, we need to make sure we’re not burning cash, is profitable and at the same time if your product is good then your success is going to be a little delayed but it will come for sure. 

    What was the reasoning behind going physical considering most of your revenue still comes from the website and mobile app?

    We did real-life AB testing with the store. The store was 500 sq ft in size, which was a lot of cost to us back during that time. To our surprise the store worked well. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, and we had to slow down but we managed to pick up the pace and reached 23 offline stores. There was no pressure from the investors, but we wanted to give the offline channel a shot. The Indian audience loves to shop online but there is a great chunk of the audience who wants to shop offline to get the touch and feel of the products.

    Segment 2: The Accelerator

    From a cost-benefit perspective for a startup, what are the dos and don’ts of working with influencers and celebrities to drive brand popularity?

    I would say that be true to yourself and the brand. What we’ve seen through our journey is that whenever we try to do something for views it never works out. Our brand endorsement with Hardik Pandya aligned with the brand because the type of apparels he wears is like what we sell, and he genuinely loves our products. If we would have done this with someone else from the Indian cricket team whose vibe doesn’t align with our brand, it won’t work as effectively.

    As you evolve beyond Superheroes and Sitcoms, what’s the next pop culture phenomenon that you are looking to tap into at The Souled Store?

    The next pop culture phenomenon we aim to tap is Anime. We’ve been working heavily to get a Japanese brand like Attack on Titan. We are trying to get these brands to India and generally Japanese brands have very strict requirements. It’s a matter of them understanding that there’s a huge market here in India and we want to be the first ones to bring it to India.

    The Indian startup ecosystem has not only disrupted the traditional market but also created new markets and opportunities, showcasing India’s potential for innovation and entrepreneurship. 

    Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as they bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.

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  • Sixth Episode of Crafting Bharat Podcast with Rajat Deshpande, Co-Founder and CEO of FinBox Offering Valuable Insights into India’s Startup Landscape

    A startup founder’s life comes with layers of challenges, responsibilities, commitments, all-nighters, long hours, and more. It can be heartbreaking when things don’t work out, and rewarding beyond belief when they do. 

    The “Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series” powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times. In this episode of Crafting Bharat, Gautam speaks to Rajat Deshpande, Co-Founder and CEO of FinBox, and a shining star of India’s fintech ecosystem. Here, he talks about what motivated him to embrace entrepreneurship and the ways in which credit infrastructure is changing India’s fintech landscape.

    Through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, let’s discover the stories of Indian startup founders’ journey of turning dreams into reality and turning challenges into opportunities.

    Crafting Bharat, Episode 6 With Rajat Deshpande, Co-Founder and CEO of FinBox

    Segment 1: The Incubator

    They say there is a thin line between genius and insanity. What made you sure about being on the right track since India’s digital payments and lending revolution was yet to take off then, there wasn’t much bureau penetration yet, and none of you were engineers early on.

    FinBox was founded twice, once in 2015 as a Personal Finance Management App which didn’t work, so we reworked the product, launching it again in 2 years in a B2B format which you see now. The interesting piece was that we got so involved and we learned so much in that period. These experiences kept building, and we had so much fun along the way that we weren’t thinking about whether it would be a success or not. We were focused on building this, and we knew once we had built it, it would be great.

    Was there ever a situation where if you didn’t secure a client, the future of Finbox was at stake? Or did the B2B model, where it’s easier to build something that customers pay for from a use case perspective, enable a smoother ride that trained you to sell before you build versus the reverse? 

    This first sale was for more than $1 million which we thought was insane. When we received that payment in our bank account, we were in a state of shock, and we were counting zeros. It’s in that stage where you feel a huge burden because of the trust people are putting into your vision, which then makes you worry about what happens if things go wrong. But then suddenly, there’s a resolution that validates your vision.

    Besides generating personalized credit risk profiles with limited data and fraud detection, which emerging use cases for GenAI are you most optimistic about in terms of adding value for your company? 

    I look at GenAI in two different ways. One of the most talked about use cases is the customer experience layer and the second is the operational nature of GenAI in the B2B SaaS space. I am most excited about the latter, because if you get this right then the way the software is delivered and consumed changes meaningfully.

    Segment 2: The Accelerator

    The balance between hustle and process for startup founders. How do they achieve this to hyperscale effectively?

    Every startup founder is trying to find an answer to this question. I would say that the balance between hustle and process evolves as the company scales. In the early stage, you are the aggressor, all you want is hustle. As you grow larger and become a company, you have a lot to defend, a reputation to protect and customer experience on various layers, that’s where the process kicks in that you need to set up.

    From a product manager to a startup founder. What has this journey taught you? 

    Firstly, the product is not everything, distribution is equally important. Secondly, have real gumption for the startup roller coaster ride, and lastly, give importance to family support because they will be there through thick and thin. India’s startup landscape is expanding rapidly, emerging as a vibrant ecosystem in the global landscape. And it’s the founders’ vision and commitment that’s propelling this ecosystem forward.

    Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as they bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.

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