Prime Venture Partners Podcast

Madhav Sheth, - the driving force behind Realme, now the Founder of Ai+, opens up about the inside world of smartphone wars, the rise (and fall) of Indian brands, and his vision to rebuild from scratch.

🔍 In this episode:

• How Realme rewrote India’s smartphone playbook

• Why most Indian brands couldn’t survive the global onslaught

• The hidden monopoly controlling 60% of the market

• The next revolution: AI-powered smartphones built for India

• Lessons on leadership, innovation, and staying hungry after success

📌 Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

03:00 – Building Realme: From Idea to Global Brand

04:15 – The White Space in India’s Smartphone Market

06:20 – Understanding Indian Consumers: From Price to Value

08:10 – Scaling Through Value, Not Volume

10:00 – The Future: Hardware + Software + AI

12:00 – Why India Missed the Smartphone Opportunity

14:10 – Inside BBK Group: Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus & Realme

16:55 – What Killed Indian Smartphone Brands

19:05 – Inside the Smartphone Monopoly

20:35 – Building NextQ: Madhav’s New Mission

23:00 – Leadership Lessons & Founder Mindset

25:30 – Advice for India’s Next-Gen Tech Founders

🎧 Watch the full episode and discover what’s next for India’s tech future.

#MadhavSheth #Realme #AI #IndiaTech #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Innovation #TechRevolution #MadeInIndia #Smartphones #FounderStories #ScaleUp #BusinessGrowth #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #DigitalIndia #FutureOfTech #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

For the first time ever, the Prime Venture Partners investment team — 1 Principal and 2 Vice Presidents — sit down to answer everything founders wish they could ask a VC face-to-face.

This isn’t theory. This is the real inside view of how venture capital works in India:

💸 How VCs actually pick the 5 startups that make it through

📉 The real reason your pitch deck isn’t working

💬 Why not every profitable business is “VC-fundable”

💭 And the timeless debate: is venture success skill or luck?

📊 Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

05:51 – The VC funnel: 5,000 pitches → 5 investments

07:09 – How to reach a VC (referrals vs. cold outreach)

09:57 – Why not all great businesses are VC-fundable

14:20 – Founder mistakes that kill deals

18:20 – How much should you raise — and when

25:17 – Analysts & Associates: the real champions of deals

33:41 – The underrated power of monthly updates

39:49 – How founders should think about valuation

45:39 – How to pick your VC partner

50:00 – ESOPs, angels & early-stage strategy

56:00 – Skill vs. Luck — what really drives VC success

If you’re building a startup, fundraising, or even thinking about raising capital someday, this is your Fundraising Masterclass from inside the VC room.

🎧 Watch till the end for honest takes, funny moments, and practical insights that can shape your next raise.

#PrimeVenturesPartners #VentureCapital #StartupIndia #Founders #Fundraising #VCInsights #Entrepreneurship #StartupIndia #IndianStartups #RaisingCapital #PitchToVCs #StartupTips #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

In this episode, we sit down with Prateek Jain (Principal Scientist & Director at Google DeepMind) for an unfiltered deep dive into:

• How AI research has evolved from handcrafted features → deep learning → transformers → generative
• Why safety and efficiency matter just as much as scale
• India’s once-in-a-generation chance to lead in deep AI research
• The founder’s playbook: building sustainable AI-first companies
• The next big bottlenecks — and opportunities — in this space

This is more than a conversation. It’s a blueprint for the future of AI. 🚀

📌 Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

03:00 – How Prateek stumbled into AI research in college

07:00 – The AlexNet moment and why it mattered

14:30 – GPUs, TPUs & scaling AI

16:20 – The ChatGPT moment & mass adoption

21:40 – Long reinforcement learning: the biggest surprise

24:00 – Bottlenecks in AI: data, efficiency, alignment

26:49 – India’s deep AI research challenge

50:44 – Founder advice for building with AI

👉 Watch the full episode now and subscribe for more thought leadership from India’s top founders and innovators.

#ArtificialIntelligence #DeepLearning #GenerativeAI #MachineLearning #AIInnovation #TechTrends #FutureOfAI #AIForStartups #IndiaTech #Entrepreneurship #StartupEcosystem #GoogleDeepMind  #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, host Jerome Manuel sits down with Prof. Venkat Ramaswamy, Professor of Marketing at the Ross School of Business, and a globally recognized thought leader on innovation and co-creation.

Prof. Venkat is the co-author of the seminal The Future of Competition with C.K. Prahalad and the new book, The Co-Intelligence Revolution.

In this conversation, they discuss:

• Why the next decade will be shaped by co-intelligence — humans + AI co-creating value
• How experience innovation is transforming industries across the world
• Real examples from Indian farmers to L’Oréal & Siemens
• What startups, founders, and enterprises must do to thrive in the AI era

💡 A must-watch episode for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and innovators building in the age of AI.

Episode timestamps

00:00 Introduction

01:03 The origins of co-creation with C.K. Prahalad

02:37 Humans vs AI - subjective experiences

04:24 Opportunities for entrepreneurs in co-intelligence

05:32 Jugalbandi case: WhatsApp assistant for farmers using AI + government services

17:36 L’Oréal’s AI in beauty

19:30 Porso example: AI transforming consumer beauty experiences

25:31 The Intelligent Enterprise: AI transforming how businesses operate

29:16 Siemens case: digital twins & industrial AI ecosystems

30:00 Enterprises and ecosystems

39:00 Risk-managed value - how enterprises evaluate startups

43:24 Power of prototyping for startups

45:00 AI’s role in startup speed & compressing time-to-value

📕 Learn more about Prof. Venkat’s book The Co-Intelligence Revolution: https://www.penguin.co.in/book/the-co-intelligence-revolution/

📌 Subscribe for more such content.

#TheCoIntelligenceRevolution #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Startups #Entrepreneurship #CoCreation #ExperienceInnovation #FutureOfWork #BusinessStrategy #VentureCapital #Leadership #TechTrends #DigitalTransformation #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

In this PrimeVP Podcast episode, we go back to the roots of the internet with Sabeer Bhatia, the man who gave the world Hotmail. 📧

From his Hotmail journey to his bold perspectives on today’s most pressing themes, Sabeer shares unfiltered insights on:

1️⃣ How an email problem at work sparked the idea that changed global communication forever
2️⃣ Why communication skills — not just capital — make or break founders
3️⃣ Why health & discipline matter more than hustle in the long run
4️⃣ Why India’s education system needs urgent reinvention to foster critical thinking
5️⃣ Why AI today feels like the early days of the internet — and what it means for the future

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
02:50 – The serendipity behind Hotmail’s creation
06:40 – Storytelling vs. features: what consumers really buy
09:00 – The importance of thinking like a consumer
12:30 – The $99 smartwatch that beats Apple Watch
15:00 – Communication as a founder’s superpower
17:37 – From supercars to bicycles: redefining success
19:37 – Why AI will be bigger than the internet
20:00 – Critical thinking as the #1 future skill
24:30 – AI in medicine & education disruption
38:37 – Health as the real wealth for entrepreneurs
44:00 – Advice to young founders

💡 Top Takeaways for Founders & Professionals:
✔️ Simplicity + storytelling beats features every time
✔️ Health & discipline > hustle culture
✔️ Communication is the most underrated startup skill
✔️ India must prioritise critical thinking to stay globally competitive
✔️ AI’s impact will rival the internet revolution

💡 A must-watch for founders, operators, and anyone curious about what it takes to build, scale, and stay relevant across decades.

🎙 Hosted by Amit Somani

#SabeerBhatia #Hotmail #PrimePodcast #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast #Entrepreneurship #IndianStartups #CriticalThinking #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #FutureOfWork #FounderMindset #CommunicationSkills #HealthAndWealth #Leadership

How do you pivot from an early idea that didn’t work ➝ to building a global SaaS leader trusted by 700+ enterprises?

In this full episode of the Prime Podcast, Khadim Batti (Co-founder & CEO, Whatfix) reveals the raw founder journey:

• The pivot moment that sparked Whatfix
• Hustling with 500 cold emails to close first customers
• Landing a Fortune 10 client at $25/month (and why logos matter more than price)
• Why product-market fit keeps evolving
• Scaling SaaS from India ➝ US with 85+ Fortune 500 clients
• Raising $270M and turning investors into growth partners
• How AI is shaping the future of digital adoption

📌 Hosted by Gaurav Ranjan, Principal at Prime Venture Partners

📌 Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
 02:40 – Creating a Category Before It Existed
 08:30 – PMF as a Moving Target
 12:20 – 500 Emails & First Customers
 15:50 – Why Focus on the US Market
 18:40 – Fortune 10 Customer at $25
 22:10 – Narrowing Down GTM
 25:00 – Selling to Enterprises
 30:00 – India vs US Sales Teams
 37:00 – Fundraising Lessons
 44:20 – How AI is Changing Digital Adoption
 47:19 – Making Investors Work for You

📺 Subscribe for more founder journeys

 #SaaS #Entrepreneurship #Whatfix #Founders #StartupJourney #VentureCapital #ScalingStartups #IndiaToGlobal #DigitalAdoption #Leadership #StartupEcosystem #FounderLessons #CategoryCreation #PrimeVenturePatnersPodcast

In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, Sanjay Swamy hosts Mahesh Joshi, Head of Asia Private Equity at BlueOrchard and author of H.I.T. Investing.

He shares powerful insights on how companies across India and Asia are solving critical problems like:

• Financial inclusion for underserved Kirana stores
• Gender equity in small business finance
• Climate resilience through tech and EV adoption
• Leveraging UPI, DPI, and IndiaStack to scale affordable services

📌 Key themes:

- What HIT investing really means (High Impact + Tech)
- Why India is the perfect testbed for scalable impact
- How founders with deep domain knowledge are creating billion-dollar       outcomes
- ESG vs HIT: The execution gap

📣 Whether you're a startup founder, investor, or policy watcher — this is an essential conversation on the future of purposeful capitalism.

🔔 Subscribe to our channel & hit the bell so you never miss an episode.

📌 Follow us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primevp_in/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574450955885
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp
Twitter: https://twitter.com/primevp_in
Website: https://primevp.in

#ImpactInvesting #HITInvesting #StartupIndia #ClimateTech #TechForGood #FinancialInclusion #ESGInvesting #SocialImpact #FounderStories #MaheshJoshi #BlueOrchard #StartupPodcast #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

From “Virat Kohli is the best preparer in the cricket world” to reminding startup leaders of the most important lesson - “Who I am and the results of what I do are different”, our podcast with Paddy Upton has it all!

🎯 What you’ll take away in this full episode with Paddy (mental coach to India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team):

✅ Why startup founders must evolve from individual contributors → captains → coaches
✅ How to build “personal mastery” through unsexy fundamentals
✅ The hidden costs of ego in leadership
✅ Lessons from MS Dhoni & Virat Kohli
✅ Why “success ≠ self-worth” — and how to emotionally detach from outcomes

📌 Episode Timestamp

00:00 – Introduction 

01:46 – What startups & sports have in common

03:46 – Leadership evolution: player → captain → coach

05:46 – Mental fitness: sleep, nutrition & exercise

08:16 – Separating identity from outcomes

12:00 – How to review wins & losses

15:20 – The danger of chasing shiny objects

17:35 – Lessons from Virat Kohli & MS Dhoni

🎧 Whether you’re building a startup, leading a team, or navigating your own mental game—this conversation is for you.

Hosted by Amit Somani!

#PaddyUpton #AmitSomani #Leadership #MentalFitness #Startups #Entrepreneurship #CricketLeadership #MSDhoni #ViratKohli #SelfWorth #PerformancePsychology #IndiaStartups #MindsetMatters #CoachingJourney #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast 

🎙️ Bala Parthasarathy - Chairman & Co-founder, Freo, Director at People+AI, Senior Adviser, EMK Capital (London) -  joins us for one of our most insightful episodes.

In this full conversation, Bala discusses:
🔹 Snapfish’s dotcom-era growth, crash, and acquisition by HP
🔹 Building Aadhaar from the ground up with Nandan Nilekani
🔹 The truth about raising and deploying venture capital
🔹 What’s broken (and what’s working) in fintech
🔹 The founder's mindset in the age of AI

If you're a founder, investor, or operator, this episode is packed with lessons, stories, and perspective.

📌 Episode Timestamps:
00:00 – Bala’s background & Snapfish origins
03:00 – Dotcom boom, bust & Snapfish acquisition
06:30 – Understanding VC: what founders often get wrong
10:00 – Building Aadhaar at scale with Nandan Nilekani
13:00 – Freo, fintech & operating in regulated markets
16:00 – AI disruption & founder readiness
23:00 – How every function is being reshaped by AI
28:00 – Founder life: balance, energy & playing the long game

📌 Follow us:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp
Twitter: https://twitter.com/primevp_in
Website: https://primevp.in

👇 Subscribe for more insights from top founders & investors.

#BalaParthasarathy #Startups #AI #VentureCapital #Aadhaar #FintechIndia #Entrepreneurship  #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast