The VCpreneur: Startups | Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Fundraising

In this episode, Arpit Maheshwari, Principal @Stellaris Venture Partners, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his background and path leading up to Stellaris, the investment philosophy at Stellaris and the journey from Fund I to Fund II, stand-out attributes of select founders from Stellaris’ portfolio, scaling up as an investor and balancing mindshare between different sectors, managing relationships/conversations with startups that are unable to achieve venture scale and value add from investors.

Stellaris is an early-stage sector-agnostic investment firm, currently investing from its second fund of $225mm. Since its inception in 2017, the firm has invested in 30+ startups across sectors like SaaS, financial services, B2B commerce, consumer brands, social commerce, education, electric vehicles, healthcare, and more. Some of its marquee portfolio startups include the likes of Whatfix, MamaEarth, Turno, Slintel, Limechat and Signzy among others. 

Prior to Stellaris, Arpit ran Corporate Innovation for Arvind Limited, managed product and strategy for Cardekho.com’s used-cars business, and headed product management at iProf – an edtech start-up. An IIT-Delhi/IIM-Ahmedabad alum, Arpit started his career with a 3-year stint at BCG.

You can connect with Arpit here on Linkedin / Twitter

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Show notes –

1. (01:45) Arpit’s path leading up to Stellaris Venture Partners

2. (05:06) Stellaris - the investment philosophy and journey of the firm from Fund I to Fund II

3. (14:06) Stand out attributes of select founders from Stellaris’ portfolio

4. (21:27) Scaling up as an investor and balancing mindshare between different sectors  

5. (30:04) Managing relationships/conversations with  startups that are unable to achieve venture scale

6. (34:05) How has being an investor influenced Arpit over the years?

7. (35:35) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platform of your choice (like⁠ Spotify⁠ & ⁠Apple iTunes⁠). We would appreciate it if you could leave us a review on ⁠Spotify⁠ or ⁠Apple iTunes⁠. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit⁠ thevcpreneur.com⁠ and follow us on Twitter⁠ @thevcpreneur⁠_ & Instagram⁠ @thevcpreneur⁠ for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on ⁠Linkedin⁠ & ⁠Twitter

In this episode, Vishesh Khurana, Co-Founder @Shiprocket, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his background and path leading up to Shiprocket, macro tailwinds that shaped Shiprocket’s evolution and its current product stack, challenges faced when scaling up Shiprocket, empowering leaders and people management, Shiprocket’s inorganic growth playbook, fundraising journey and value add from investors.

Shiprocket is a logistics enablement platform that offers SaaS solutions to online sellers and D2C brands for aggregating and choosing the best logistics partner to ship their e-commerce orders. Shiprocket is backed by some marquee investors like Lightrock, Temasek, Zomato, Bertelsmann, Moore Strategic Ventures, March Venture Capital, and Paypal among others. Till date, Shiprocket has made five acquisitions, including cargo shipping business Rocketbox, supply chain management solution Glaucus, marketing automation platform Wigzo, logistics aggregator Pickrr and Arvin Internet’s retail enablement business, Omuni. 

You can connect with Vishesh here on Linkedin / Twitter

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Show notes –

1. (01:31) Vishesh’s path leading up to Shiprocket

2. (02:59) Genesis of Shiprocket

3. (06:23) Macro tailwinds that shaped Shiprocket’s evolution and its current product stack

4. (13:06) Importance of building an alternate demand ecosystem to scale up an e-commerce business

5. (14:57) Challenges faced when scaling up Shiprocket; Approach to partnerships and competition  

6. (21:31) Empowering leaders and people management 

7. (23:17) Shiprocket’s inorganic growth playbook

8. (28:56) Fundraising journey and value add from investors

9. (36:56) Shiprocket's expansion plans

10. (38:28) How has being a founder influenced Vishesh over the years?

11. (40:29) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platform of your choice (like⁠ Spotify⁠ & ⁠Apple iTunes⁠). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on ⁠Spotify⁠ or ⁠Apple iTunes⁠. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit⁠ thevcpreneur.com⁠ and follow us on Twitter⁠ @thevcpreneur⁠_ & Instagram⁠ @thevcpreneur⁠ for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on ⁠Linkedin⁠ & ⁠Twitter

In this episode, Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner @Avaana Capital, joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path leading up to Avaana Capital, investing in process & product innovation, key headwinds & tailwinds in the current climate tech cycle, innovative sustainability startups from Avaana’s portfolio, the role of the board at early stages of a startup, importance of having a diverse board, how can founders draw maximum value from their board, and what to overindex on to build longevity in one’s career.

Avaana is an early/growth stage fund that invests in technology and innovation-led start-ups catalysing climate solutions and sustainability. Some of its marquee portfolio startups include the likes of Terra.do, Farmart, Eeki Foods, Animall and Praman among others.

Anjali has also invested in and mentored various successful start-ups including Delhivery, UrbanClap, Nykaa and Lenskart. Previously, Anjali has been the Non-Executive Chairperson of Dena Bank, appointed by the Govt. of India to steer the resolution of the stressed bank. Prior to that, Anjali was a Global Partner and Managing Director with TPG Growth PE.

She also serves as an independent director on several leading boards including Tata Power, Bata, Kotak AMC, and Piramal Enterprises. Anjali is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and serves on the CII National Committee on Corporate Governance. You can connect with her here on Linkedin

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Show notes –

1. (02:17) Anjali’s background & path leading up to Avaana Capital
2. (06:37) Identifying the scale-up potential of startups
3. (10:28) Investing in process & product innovation
4. (14:30) Climate tech – Key headwinds & tailwinds in the current climate tech cycle
5. (18:43) Cutting through the noise and staying focused when investing in a hot market/theme
6. (21:37) Full-stack support that Avaana brings to startups
7. (23:40) Innovative climate tech startups that are part of Avaana’s portfolio
8. (26:02) Role of the board at early stages of a startup and how does that evolve as the startup matures in it’s lifecycle
9. (30:08) Importance of having a diverse board and how to draw maximum value from your board
10. (33:35) Reflecting on a multi-decadal career - What to overindex on to build longevity in one’s career?
11. (35:25) Advice for first time GPs
12. (38:04) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platform of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Spotify or Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Vishesh Rajaram, Founder & Managing Partner @Speciale Invest, joins our host Digjay, to talk about Speciale Invest’s journey with fund I, added advantages of a larger fund II, whether climate tech is at its inflection point today, challenges faced by founders building in this space, Vishesh’s approach to building a thesis in frontier-tech, his portfolio construction strategy at Speciale Invest, overcoming valleys of death as a deep tech startup, and the promise of the Indian frontier-tech story.

Speciale Invest is an early-stage investment firm that invests in deeptech startups - both hardware & software - across domains like Space tech, Robotics, micro-mobility, and clean energy transportation. The firm which recently launched a larger Fund II, has invested in ~25 startups so far. Some of its marquee portfolio startups include the likes of Agnikul, Utlraviolett, Cynlr, Rocketlane, Uravu Labs, Eka Care and Bluecopa among others.

Vishesh started his venture capital journey with Venture East back in 2007. After spending almost a decade at Venture East, Vishesh founded Speciale Invest in 2016. Vishesh is a Chartered Accountant and an alum of the Indian School of Business. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter

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Show notes –

1. (02:06) Reflecting on Speciale Invest’s journey so far; The added advantages of a larger fund II
2. (08:17) Is climate tech finally at its inflection point?
3. (11:49) Areas within climate tech that Speciale Invest is keen to invest in
4. (16:03) The challenge of building partnerships and securing access to material-intensive supply chains
5. (20:07) What should founders over-index on, to solve these challenges?
6. (22:33) Vishesh’s approach to building a thesis in frontier-tech; Importance of the outbound approach to finding stellar startups
7. (27:49) Portfolio construction strategy; Investing along the S-curve
8. (33:14) Overcoming valleys of death as a deep tech startup
9. (37:44) The promise of the Indian frontier-tech story
10. (40:01) How has being an investor influenced Vishesh over the years?

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platform of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Spotify or Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Aditya Kulkarni (Co-founder & CEO, Stoa), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his past experience as an edtech entrepreneur, meeting his co-founder Raj and stumbling upon the idea of building Stoa, the value proposition of Stoa’s alternative MBA program, building community as a moat, fundraising philosophy at Stoa, leveraging investors in the 0 to 1 phase, the importance of aligning incentives of internal teams with the broader vision of the company as you scale the business, and more.

Stoa School is building India’s alternative to a traditional MBA. The program helps students pick up skills in domains like Product, Marketing, Leadership, Finance, General Management and subsequently helps them find job opportunities within India’s growing startup ecosystem. Since inception, the startup has enrolled 700+ students across several cohorts and has become a sought after program for early-stage professionals looking to level up their career trajectory. Stoa is backed by marquee operators and investors like Udemy and Maven co-founder Gagan Biyani, Better Capital founder Vaibhav Domkundwar, Teachable co-founder Ankur Nagpal, NotBoring Media founder Packy McCormick, Dunce Capital investor John Danner and Zivame co-founder Richa Kar.

An IIM-B and BITS Pilani alum, Aditya is a decadal edtech entrepreneur who has built and sold two startups (Learning Outcomes - acquired by Liga EduTech and BabyOnBoard - acquired by RoundGlass) in the past. You can connect with Aditya here on Linkedin / Twitter.

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Show notes –

1. (01:59) Aditya’s background & past experience as an ed-tech founder
2. (09:05) Meeting his co-founder Raj and stumbling upon the idea of building Stoa
3. (16:38) The value proposition of the Stoa program
4. (21:58) Building community as a moat
5. (27:54) Fundraising philosophy at Stoa
6. (33:34) Leveraging investors in the 0 to 1 phase
7. (37:09) Setting up the ‘students-educators-jobs’ flywheel in action
8. (41:14) Scaling up - Importance of aligning incentives of internal teams with the broader vision of the company
9. (46:29) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platform of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Spotify or Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Somesh Dash (General Partner, IVP), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his path leading up to IVP, IVP’s stellar track record of 130+ IPOs and how has the firm managed to win the trust of marquee founders, the importance of mentorship in building a legacy venture firm, learnings from founders of Snapchat, Discord and Lyra Health, some of IVP’s anti-portfolio companies, the potential of the Indian startup ecosystem, the value of independent board members, learnings from fellow investors and more.

IVP is a venture capital firm that invests in companies on the path to rapid growth. Since its inception in 1980, the firm has invested in 400+ companies with a stellar track record of 130+ IPOs and 25+ exits of >$1 billion. The firm has $8.7bn in total committed capital and has invested in marquee companies like Twitter, Coinbase, Brex, Slack, Discord, UiPath, Lyra Health, FTX, Harness among others.

Somesh joined IVP in 2005 and focuses on growth investments in Enterprise Software, Consumer Internet, and Digital Health companies. He was recognized by The New York Times and CB Insights in 2019 as one of the top 100 venture capitalists. A Stanford and UC Berkeley alum, Somesh is also a board member of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Advisory Council at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and the Tech Interactive. You can connect with Somesh here on Linkedin / Twitter.

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Show notes –

1. (01:50) Somesh’s background & path leading up to IVP
2. (10:19) IVP’s thesis and past investments
3. (14:33) The firm’s stellar track record of 130+ IPOs and how it has managed to win the trust of marquee founders
4. (20:03) Importance of apprentice & mentorship in building a legacy venture firm
5. (22:02) Learnings from founders of Snapchat, Discord and Lyra; Common thread that cuts across these outlier founders
6. (30:00) Anti-portfolio at IVP and reflecting on missed opportunities
7. (36:37) The promise & potential of the Indian startup ecosystem
8. (42:31) The value add by independent board members, particularly those that have experienced difficult times in their own career
9. (43:25) Learnings from fellow investors that are on boards of IVP’s portfolio startups
10. (48:05) Importance of coaching and mental wellbeing
11. (52:05) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Spotify or Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Mark Kahn (Managing Partner, Omnivore), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his path leading up to Omnivore, Omnivore’s investment thesis and evolution of the agritech opportunity in India, how and why India stands out compared to other global agritech markets, attributes of founders that are able to scale & raise follow-on rounds, the case against investing in solo-founder led startups, staying relevant as a venture investor, importance of finding a wedge as a first time VC and more.

Founded in 2010, Omnivore invests in early-stage startups developing breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate, and the rural economy. The firm recently announced the launch of its 3rd fund at $130mm. Omnivore was one of the first agri-focused VC funds from India, and has previously backed some stellar startups like DeHaat, Reshamandi, Stellapps, AgNext, Bijak, AGRIM, Eruvaka, Pixxel, and Animall among others.

Prior to Omnivore, Mark led Strategy & Business Development at Godrej Agrovet, one of India’s foremost diversified agribusiness companies and worked at Syngenta and PFM early in his career. An HBS alum, Mark is also the Co-Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Task Force on Agri Startups and a member of the Governing Council of the Maharashtra State Innovation Society. You can connect with Mark here on Linkedin / Twitter.

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Show notes –

1. (01:15) Mark’s background & path leading up to Omnivore
2. (04:08) Omnivore’s investment thesis
3. (11:27) Evolution of the agritech opportunity in India
4. (13:31) Why India stands out compared to other global agritech markets?
5. (19:21) Portcos that are building the foundation for the agritech ecosystem in India
6. (24:36) Attributes of founders that are able to scale & raise follow-on rounds
7. (26:41) The case against investing in solo-founder startups
8. (30:39) Approach to deal flow and follow-on investments
9. (32:56) Staying relevant as a venture investor across multiple cycles
10. (35:52) Importance of finding a wedge as a first time VC
11. (38:41) How has being a VC influenced Mark’s personality over the years?
12. (39:18) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Pearl Agarwal (Founder & Managing Director, Eximius Ventures), joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path leading up to Eximius Ventures, the investment thesis & key focus areas at Eximius, the Web3 opportunity, marquee portfolio startups at Eximius, parallels between a founder and a first time venture capitalist, winning the trust of LPs & founders, building the foundation to scale up to a larger fund and more.

Founded in 2020, Eximius is an early-stage micro-VC fund that invests in startups across sectors like fintech, healthtech, gaming & web3. The fund has already made investments in marquee startups like Eka.care, Jar, Stan, Kala Gato and Fego among others.

Prior to Eximius, Pearl spent ~10 years across investment roles in the US and UK, facilitating multi-billion dollar mergers, helping companies raise capital, and more. You can connect with Pearl here on Linkedin / Twitter.

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Show notes –

1. (01:32) Pearl’s background & path leading up to Eximius Ventures
2. (07:52) Genesis of Eximius; Investment thesis & key focus areas
3. (15:34) The Web3 opportunity
4. (19:57) Marquee portfolio startups at Eximius
5. (24:18) Raising a venture capital fund in the middle of a pandemic
6. (32:17) Winning the trust of LPs & founders; dealflow strategy as a first time VC
7. (37:07) Importance of having mentors & advisors for a fund manager
8. (40:27) Building the foundation to scale up to a larger fund
9. (45:00) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter

In this episode, Pankaj Makkar (Managing Director, Bertelsmann India Investments), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his path leading up to Bertelsmann, evolution of Bertelsmann’s India investment strategy and why now is a good time to accelerate investments in India, challenges faced in evaluating growth stage startups, mitigating the noise when investing in a ‘hot’ sector, Pankaj’s perspective on the exit landscape in India, mental models to identify stellar startups and more.

Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), is a strategic investment arm of the global Bertelsmann Group which has invested more than $1bn in over 250 companies and funds. Established in 2012, BII is a sector agnostic early-to-growth stage fund that has invested in category-defining companies like Eruditus, Licious, Shiprocket, Pepperfry, AgroStar, Vymo among others. The firm also recently closed its new $500mm India fund.

Prior to Bertelsmann, Pankaj worked with Mayasian conglomerate - The Usaha Tegas Group and invested in various sectors in India and South East Asia. Pankaj received his MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a B.Comm Hons. from Delhi University. You can connect with Pankaj here on Linkedin / Twitter.

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Show notes –

1. (01:50) Pankaj’s background & path leading up to Bertelsmann India
2. (03:48) Evolution of Bertelsmann’s India investment strategy
3. (08:25) India bull case - Why now is a good time to accelerate investments in India?
4. (14:07) Challenges faced in evaluating growth stage startups; Assessing binary & non-binary risks
5. (20:11) Mitigating the noise & taking a measured approach when investing in a ‘hot’ sector
6. (24:40) Processing signals from early stage investors
7. (26:25) Portfolio construction strategy at Bertelsmann
8. (30:15) Pankaj’s perspective on exits in India’s startup ecosystem
9. (33:13) Mental models to identify stellar startups; Key outlier founders within Bertelsmann’s portfolio - Eriditus, Licious, Pepperfry, Shiprocket, Agrostar
10. (37:02) How has being a VC influenced Pankaj’s personality over the years?
11. (40:40) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify & Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast organically. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ & Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin & Twitter