Thanks to eChai Ventures for organizing the lovely meetup. It was great to meet everyone and I learned a lot.

I got inspired by Nemesh Singh who runs a successful SaaS company from Bhopal with exceptional growth.

His insights on serving enterprise businesses were eye-openers.

I learned about the importance of understanding the unique needs of enterprise clients, and how to tailor solutions to meet those specific demands.

Also learning about building strong, long-term relationships with enterprise customers by focusing on reliability and customized service was truly impressive.

I loved the way he is running his business, mirroring the exact mindset of Zoho, especially in terms of people and culture.

Overall, it was great meeting all of you. Thank you!

eChai with Founders from the community who have made it to Shark Tank India.

Ft.

Ananya Maloo

, Co-Founder, Nuutjob

Shani Pandya

, Co-Founder, Imagine Powertree

Payal Pathak

&

Soham Payal Pathak

, Co-Founders, The Simply Salad

Jignesh Vasavada

, Co-Founder, Temple.ngo

Jainam Mehta

, Co-Founder, UrbanNaps

I had moderated this meetup.

 

The last-minute demo day turned out to be a huge success 🚀

Here are the key moments from eChai Ventures's 2024 Demo Day

Kudos to the 4 incredible founders who pitched with unwavering confidence, showcasing their innovative ideas and the tenacity of entrepreneurship.

Their strong grit is set to leave a lasting impact on the startup ecosystem💪

John Edward Founder of Chalice, unfolded a fresh perspective on digital marketing through his stealth marketing approach.

Vijayaraghavan Founder of of Stealth Product, emphasized the importance of building a marketplace for video editors and creative minds

Jayachandran, Founder of Maasta, showcased how technology can revolutionize the media and entertainment industry.

HEMAN Founder of GatiShakthi Bin who is on a mission to create impact through leveraging 5G Small Cells, Plastic Recycling, and Advertisement Revenue.

Huge shoutout to our venue partners Sevika Tech Pvt Ltd and Cynthia for helping us with the venue.

If you're interested in partnering with us to host these energetic events at your office space, feel free to DM me. Let's make every office space in Chennai a hub for innovation, without the need for formal hiring.

Exciting times ahead with numerous activities and events planned for the coming year. Follow me, Kirithiga, and eChai Ventures to stay updated on the latest startup events.

Let's keep the momentum going! 🚀

eChai Socials are delightful and fun conversations with founders. 

Lot of learning and fun exchanges.

Today 

Amit Panchal

(Allevents) hosted the founders lunch to welcome Bhopal-based Nemesh Singh (Appointy) who was visiting the city.

Appointy is one of the leading online scheduling software companies in the world, with over 200,000 customers globally.

We were joined by

Shalin Parikh

(Entigrity) ,

Rishit Shah

(Kinetiq),

Pankaj Bhimani

(58miles),

Bhavesh Patel

(Brands.live),

Ruchit Patel

(Allevents),

Kush Prajapati

(Redicine) and Dhruv Patel (SalesHandy). 

We had hosted the first eChai in Bhopal at Appointy Office in 2014. 

Loved moderating this eChai Ventures gathering on Fundraising for Startups, with Shubham Jhuria and Dishan S Raao at Draper Startup House ❤️

Quoting an attendee who shared his feedback post event, "I feel my energy is revived after attending this and knowing that there are others just like me who are hustling, building and willing to help each other grow".

P.S. We used Cards Against Work by Plum at the start of the event to have a whole lotta fun!

#Startups #LifeInBengaluru

Just back from 'Demo Day' organized by eChai Ventures.🎢

Picture this: it's like speed dating for entrepreneurs – you're not there to find a date, but to scout the future of your business!

The event was a blend of startups, businesses, and investors.

New ventures had their moment in the spotlight, sharing their visions and getting early feedback – minus the high-pressure environment of a judging panel.

Reflecting on the day, here's what stood out:

💡It was a fantastic opportunity for new startups to get valuable insights and possibly catch an investor’s eye.
💡For seasoned entrepreneurs, it was a space rich in networking opportunities, where business cards were exchanged as eagerly as ideas.
💡The inclusivity was notable: we had a spectrum of attendees from budding entrepreneurs to business experts.

This wasn't just about swapping greetings and LinkedIn profiles.

It was about creating meaningful connections that could steer your business towards exciting new horizons.

A huge shoutout to Nihal Ahamed M and Kirithiga Sundaramoorthy for organizing such an insightful event.

Can't wait for the next one!✨

#Throwback

Had a fab time sharing my Shark Tank India journey at this wonderful eChai Ventures evening!

It always gives me immense joy to be able to share my learnings and lessons from building Amrutam with budding entrepreneurs and start-up enthusiasts.

I also feel grateful to be given a platform to talk about crucial topics that are not spoken enough about, like mental health and female representation in business.

Learned a lot from my fellow Shark Tank founders Dhruv Soni Arun Agarwal Priyank Jain and Saif Shaikh :)

Had a blast at eChai's National Startup Day Bash in Bengaluru yesterday! 🎉 Big thanks to eChai Ventures, Jatin Chaudhary, and our awesome panelists - Karan Bahadur, Himanshu Upreti, and Mrinal Rai. 🚀

Draper was buzzing with energy! 🌟 Shoutout to everyone who joined in – you made the night unforgettable. Let's keep the startup vibes going! 🚀✨ #StartupFun #BengaluruNights #eChaiCelebration

Miracle Me, Draper Startup House, Ai Palette, Intugine - Logistics through Innovation, Sumit Dutta, Suranjika Mohapatra, Amrit Achipalya

And the most promising D2C start-up of the year award goes to…

BabyOrgano | India's First Dedicated Ayurvedic Baby Care Health and Wellness Brand.

I'm still excited about the amazing event put together by eChai Ventures and DevX.

It was filled with energy, and I was surrounded by a group of amazing entrepreneurs determined to create an impact.

The best part of the evening? Definitely get to talk with experienced entrepreneurs, especially Udit Goenka.

Our casual chat turned into a valuable lesson on effective marketing and the important details of running a successful business.

The event wasn't just about listening and learning – it was hands-on.

We played interesting games that were not only fun but also gave practical insights into solving problems creatively.
The pitch sessions taught us a lot about how to communicate effectively, and each entrepreneur had something special to share.

What really stood out was the lively and collaborative atmosphere.

It wasn't just about individual success stories; it was about creating a supportive community where ideas flowed freely.

It felt like a big brainstorming session, and I left with new perspectives on building a brand and being an entrepreneur.

Once again, big thanks to Jatin and the eChai Ventures team for making this happen!
Also, a shout-out to Umesh Uttamchandani and the DevX team for providing such a fantastic venue. 

They did a great job recognizing the efforts of startups and showed a real passion for creating a supportive environment for new businesses.

The event was a boost for growth, a mix of ideas, and a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit. 

I'm grateful for the experience and can't wait to use what I've learned in my own entrepreneurial journey!

From last week’s National Startup Day event at Draper Startup House Hyderabad - amazing conversation with Shireen, Manish Ranjan and Sai Chaitanya Kokku around building startups, challenges faced & best practices to navigate.

Continue to organise such wonderful events Jatin Chaudhary and eChai Ventures!

Consistent participation in #eChai socials with Jatin & Manasvi has helped all of us mutually to crack newer and pathbreaking ideas. 

This one was from yesterday’s one at Karnavati Club. 

When you network in an #eChai social two things are sure to happen. 

You strengthen your social capital.

You crack the idea that can enhance your personal capital!

I am forever grateful to Jatin Chaudhary #eChai for introducing me to Sohil Patel, who has been a true friend and mentor for the past decade.

Sohil's guidance and support have been invaluable to my personal and professional growth. Here's a throwback picture from our last dinner together at the beautiful lakeside in Udaipur.

#iimahmedabad #grateful #friendship

eChai Startup social celebrating the vibrancy of entrepreneurship and Co rising together with cool much of folks & founders with a picturesque backdrop. 

1st eChai social of #HappyNewYear2024 🥳

Thanks Shalin Parikh and Leena Parikh of Entigrity for being an amazing host. 

eChai Startup Social in New York. 

Small Group. Candid Conversations. Startup Folks. 

Fab locations. 

The eChai Startup Demo Days are held on last Saturdays of the month across cities in India. 

The eChai Startup Demo Days with CoKarma in Hyderabad have become a great monthly ritual to celebrate entrepreneurship in the city. 

Glad to have attended the eChai Ventures Startup Growth Meetup at CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad. Thanks, Jatin, for the invitation.

We had esteemed panelists from various industries including B2B, D2C, and SaaS.

We discussed various aspects of running and growing a startup. Here are a few highlights of the event:

1. Solve the problems of customers. Sometimes, as an early-stage startup, we are too involved in our idea, but solving real-world problems is key to sustaining and scaling.

2. Nowadays, D2C startups' Go-to-Market strategies are 100% dependent on Paid Advertising, and that is not sustainable. D2C startups need to find organic growth channels to sustain growth while reducing costs. (CC: Sumit 'Curl' Karranji)

3. Running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Patience is what makes or breaks a business. Some years you might not generate enough positive cash flow, but suddenly one year, you get all the ROI. So, staying in the race is important. (CC: Udit Goenka)

4. Dealing with the government requires an H2H approach, meaning Human to Human Relationship. One needs to build rapport to do business with the government. (CC: Shani Pandya)

Thanks again to everyone who joined the event, to Jatin for hosting this wonderful event, and to the fellow speakers for sharing their wisdom about their journey.

🚀 Excited to share insights from my talk at eChai Startup Saturday where we delved into the heart of GTM strategy for early-stage bootstrapped startups! 💼

🎙️ The most burning question of the day for the panel being moderated by Gopi Krishna Gantala was: "How to plan a killer GTM strategy?"

Here's a quick breakdown of the key takeaways:

1️⃣ Define Your Target Market/Audience: 🔍 Start by identifying who your product is for and where to find them. This crucial step shapes your messaging and content strategy.

2️⃣ Clarify Your Primary Objective - Branding or Selling: 💰 Determine if your focus is on building brand awareness or driving immediate sales. This decision will guide your ROI calculations and budget alignment.

3️⃣ Craft a Long-Term Vision: 🔮 What's your grand plan for the future? Do you want to build a #lifestylebusiness or work up towards a high value #investment table. Knowing this helps build a Unique Selling Proposition (#USP) and validates your business strategy.

Remember, the magic happens when these three factors align seamlessly! ✨

Big thanks to eChai Ventures & Jatin Chaudhary orchestrating such an incredible event, and The Headquarters for being a hospitable venue partner🙌

Gratitude to the engaged audience and fellow panelists Shreyes Manyam & Pradeep Reddy many for making this Saturday a power-packed session of learning and collaboration. 🚀 Let's keep the momentum going! 💼

I am thankful to eChai Ventures for giving me this wonderful opportunity to present narad.io | The Intranet 😊  

Great cheers to whole community for support and sharing honest feedback 🙌 

And yes, this is just a start, many more to go ❤️ 

eChai AI Social X Because.
Small Group. Candid Conversation.

 Thanks, Jatin Bhai organizing this meetup and also, big thanks to Aditya Bhai & Deenky Shah for Hosting us at Because office to Discuss about How to use AI in Marketing.

Here are a few Takeaways:


Aditya: “Individuals need to either learn how to create something original (100% authentic) or they need to learn how to master AI and generate the optimum output. In between, people need to either upskill themselves with AI tools or they need to master the art from scratch.".

AI in Marketing:

-> Content Generation: Current LLMs are very good at providing detailed structure of any prompt given. Before AI, we need to start from nothing, and after AI, we can start with Something. So I think 50% of the problem is solved by thinking about where to start.

-> Visual Creation: DallE, Mid Journey, and Adobe Firefly are very good at creating images from text and give designers the Imagination to wildly experiment with their concepts. But remember, concept and context are very important for Visual Creation.

-> Brainstorming: Post-AI, any Marketing Idea you can brainstorm with LLMs, you don’t need 2 humans for that.

-> AI Assistant: AI will help in not only above things but its application will help in every possible intellectual exploration from Ideation, Market research, Storyboarding, Brandstorming, problem solving, A/B Testing etc.

My 2 Cents on AI:

AI has started affecting the Service Sector, but eventually, we will live in a world where efficiency is/will increase exponentially (10 to 15X) and POST AGI, every industry adopts an AI not only in software but Hardware (Cars, Machine, Robots etc.) too. imo all the jobs that people do just for the money it will replace by AI & AI Enabled Robots.

It seems pessimistic but I am optimistic that AI enables us to reach to singularity (Ultimate Truth) faster.

Work that gives meaning will always thrive...

Again thanks to all the participants for sharing their experience: eChai Ventures, Jatin Chaudhary, Aditya Shah, Deenky Shah, Syed Nadeem Jafri, Ekta Shah, Harsha Bhurani, Pankaj Bhimani, Vikas Mundhra, Kumar Manish

How you are using AI? Curious to know

P.S. This post is not #ChatGPT Written :) 

As the co-founder of Brands.live, I recently had the incredible opportunity to present our app at the Echai Demo Day held at the prestigious MICA Institute as part of MICAVERSE.

It was an exhilarating experience to showcase how Brands.live empowers Indian small and medium businesses with innovative AI social media solutions.

A heartfelt thank you to Jatin Chaudhary of eChai Ventures for this amazing opportunity. Your platform continues to be a beacon for startups and innovators.

Special thanks to the dynamic duo, Udit Goenka and Pratik Patel from Yudiz Solutions for their insights and support. Your guidance is a cornerstone in our journey towards empowering businesses through technology.

To all the aspiring entrepreneurs out there, remember: every presentation, every meeting is a step closer to your dream. Let's keep innovating and growing together!

Exciting day was not completed without the another great session on Growth by eChai Ventures at IIMA Ventures with great panel with intense and deep conversation on business growth, startup hurdales, mindset for growth and lead generation. Jatin Chaudhary curated a great panel with Shani Pandya , @sumit from Curlin.Official (Backed by 100x.vc) Udit Goenka from FirstSales.io and @vikas mundhra from Magenta Insights.