Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting and engaging with incredible minds at the eChai Ventures Ahmedabad event at IIMA Ventures.
As a speaker, I had the opportunity to share my journey of building Cargar, diving into how and why we’re tackling the EV charging problem the way we are. We also explored the life of an entrepreneur, from day zero to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Looking ahead to 2030, I envision standing in the same place, among the same brilliant individuals, and thanking them for switching to green mobility and thanking them for using Cargar services. The future of green mobility is bright, and together, we’re driving the change.
I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Jatin Chaudhary for founding eChai Ventures and for the incredible work he’s doing. eChai has become a platform that amplifies voices, motivates individuals, and helps many make better career decisions. The impact of this initiative is truly inspiring, and I’m excited to see how it will continue to empower and guide people in their journeys.
As a part of B2B Yatra, we're looking to screen our documentary to thousands of colleges in India!
The Goal? To inspire students in colleges across India to either build, or join B2B Startups as Interns, Full Timers.
And, here comes Anto, the super energetic soul - One of the few meetings I've had in quite some time where you lose the track of time! :)
Anto built Under 25 Universe for the last 11 years, to empower and celebrate hundreds of thousands of young people by giving them a voice and a space to connect, learn, and grow.
Under25 has it's wings spread across 4000 colleges in India, and aspires to be the largest platform for students where they can freely express themselves, connect with like-minded peers, and pursue their passions. Crazy!
MR Rangaswami Thanks for the connect, you're a rockstar! ❤️
🦄 Thank you for joining us in the eChai Ventures Product Growth meetup at Urban Vault Headquarters in HSR, Bengaluru! 🚀
Glimpses -
Aditya Agrawal is a product leader at Cuemath. He left no stone unturned to remind all of us in the room about our math marks and tuition classes from school days! There are over 4,000 tutors on the platform, largely women who consider Cuemath to be a source of income and identity. He believes that the two most important deliverables for a product manager are the value to the customer and the viability to the business. He recommends reading 'Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value' by Melissa Perri. Shout out to Amal Mishra for the warm welcome extended to his college senior 😊
Ashish Singh is not just a product leader at Paytm, he is also certified to climb the Mount Everest! He shared titbits from his days at Swiggy sprinkled with buzzwords like customer lifetime value, churn score, priority support and the icing on the cake - customer satisfaction score which witnessed a massive jump during his tenure. He believes that 70% of product management is identifying the right problem and knowing when to solve it. His go-to book recommendations include 'The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact' by Chip Heath, and 'Principles: Life and Work' by Ray Dalio.
Madhurita M. is a product leader at Meesho, a board games enthusiast, F1 fan and a globe trotter who has been to 35+ countries! She shared insights from building her favourite products and activating people on return. She believes it's important to understand your customer really well at the n-th level. The skill to ask the right questions to know what they truly want is critical. This will ensure that the need for iterations and pivots drastically reduces. Whether you are looking to break in to product or get better at it, what gets you anywhere is curiosity! Go through apps from start to finish. Think through why someone would add these features and how that impacts your experience.
Sameer Mandge is a product leader at GoKwik. Recalling his days from Amazon, he says when Amazon launched in India, the default check out option was COD. They went through a journey of introducing changes for the new users and the existing users to eventually reduce COD. While Cash On Delivery is a growth lever, they aimed at reducing it owing to higher return to origin, frequency of purchase and more reasons. Return To Origin is an important step as it adds to merchant cost and operations to bring the undelivered orders back. He believes that customer keeps evolving and so do their needs. It's important to do your customer research well and put a clear persona to your user. He recommends reading 'The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business' by Charles Duhigg and 'The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you' by Rob Fitzpatrick.
At the eChai Ventures AI Day with GUSEC, one of the panellists, Chirag Patel, Chief Strategy Officer of Rysun Labs, emphasized the critical importance of embracing AI. He remarked, "In the future, there will only be two types of companies: those that embrace and adopt AI, and those that are shut down."
This resonates with the recent survey titled "Labour force perception about AI: A study on Indian white collar workers" done by Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad faculties & industry experts. It was released last day.
The survey reveals fascinating insights into AI adoption in India across industries like education, IT, manufacturing, and healthcare. • 𝟨𝟢% 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘈𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝟧𝟥% 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. • 𝟩𝟢% 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘐 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝟨𝟨% 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘐 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴. • 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘛 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝟥𝟤% 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘐 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢.
With AI making inroads across sectors, India’s AI market is expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2023 to $8.3 billion by 2025. While AI adoption is rapid, caution is advised as the workforce gears up to upskill and adapt.
It’s clear—AI is transforming industries and creating both challenges and opportunities. Continuous learning and upskilling will be crucial to harnessing the potential of this AI-driven future.
Professionally, I have been using AI tools and it has enhanced my productivity and also helped in do mundane jobs while giving me extra time for creativity and complex problem-solving.
However, there can't be any replacement for Human Intelligence or maybe it is wishful thinking. Only AI can tell 😀.
Would love to hear your opinion & insights on this.
It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Allan Koltin. I've been following your incredible journey since the start of my career in the US accounting industry, and your insights have always been invaluable to me. Truly humbled by your humility and generosity in taking the time to share your wisdom. Thank you for the great conversation—I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the field!
As we are working on product development at Binary Infura. I always had questions related to "Selling the product before or while building it". I was fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss this with Panelists. Luckily panelists are also tech product founders and so, they shared valuable insights from their journey.
🌟 Had a blast at the Startup Social in Bangalore organised by eChai Ventures & moderated by Chaitanya last Saturday, where the conversations were as energetic as a double-shot espresso! During one of the discussions, I casually mentioned "ICP," and someone in the audience asked, "What's that?" 🤔
Well, ICP could stand for Ice Cream Party" 🍦🍕 but that’s not quite right. 😄
ICP actually stands for 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲—not as fun as an Ice Cream Party but arguably just as essential. 🏆
Let me break it down for you: (some gyanbaji ) 😬
Imagine you're in the business of selling custom superhero capes. You could try selling to everyone, but wouldn’t it be better to focus on those die-hard superhero fans who can’t wait to put on a cape and feel invincible? These are your ideal customers—the ones who not only need your product but are also excited about it, ready to buy, and might even show up to work wearing one!
Your ICP is that dream crew for your product or service—the people who need what you offer, will benefit from it, and will love you for it. When you know who they are, you can focus on speaking directly to them. No more guessing games, no more "shouting into the void."
Why is this crucial for product managers and founders? t’s like having a superhero’s map 🗺️ that guides you toward the right customers, knowing your ICP helps you avoid the classic startup trap of trying to be everything to everyone. 🎯
Instead, you can zero in on those who truly need what you’re offering. This means better product-market fit, more effective marketing, and ultimately, a happier customer base.
In short: Know your ICP, and you’ll spend less time chasing the wrong customers—and more time delivering value to the right ones. 💡
P.S. Still craving that Ice Cream Party though... 🍨
Got an opportunity to reconnect with old & new US state alumni based in Ahmedabad. Attended the “Alumni Networking Event" hosted by the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad.
As part of a Legislative Fellow way back in the Year 2016, I spent a month in the USA ( Washington DC & Reno) during the election time of Ex Prez Trump & Hillary Clinton and got first-hand experience of the US election frenzy. During the fellowship, the best part was meeting fellows from other parts of India & Pakistan who were working on sustainability, digital media, storytelling, social mobilisation & the political domain. Also, staying with host US families and getting first-hand experience of American culture.
As part of this meet-up, we exchanged ideas, experiences, and insights to see how each of us can partner in making a positive impact in our chosen area of work.
The breakout sessions on Climate Change, Women’s Economic Empowerment, DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility), and Education led to thought-provoking discussions & collaborative opportunities.
A big thank you to Nerissa Castelino and the team for organizing such an enriching experience, and special thanks to Rob Anderson and Tejal Vasavada for hosting the event. Also, met Nayankumar Dave,a media veteran and former TOI colleague, after a long time.
Hope to have meaningful collaboration & partnerships on issues which are close to our hearts.
In case, you are a US state alumni based in Ahmedabad/ Gujarat and still not part of the community, do PM me to join the dedicated WhatsApp community. :)
We work with a wide range of event organizers at AllEvents, from local gatherings to global festivals. But seeing a traditional institution like ISKCON Bangalore✔ embrace digital technology for their Janmashtami celebrations is something truly special.
In just 2-3 days, tens of thousands of devotees registered online for the event. It’s inspiring to see how the temple is using technology not just to streamline the festival but to build a stronger, more connected community. Going digital allows them to plan future festivals more effectively, keep their community informed, and ultimately enhance the experience for everyone involved.
This partnership is a beautiful example of how tradition and technology can come together to create something meaningful. We’re proud to support ISKCON Temple Bangalore in their journey towards a more connected and engaged community.
At Draper House Americas we continue to make history by creating non-equity high-impact programs, not only through our community but also through the speakers who shape them.
Join us for 10-day programs in various locations across the Americas and participate for a full scholarship for the #HeroProgram at Draper University 🇺🇲 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 🇺🇾 🇧🇷
🌟 We offer opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to accelerate their growth, connect with #DraperMentors and access over $125k in #DraPerks, with plenty of other value propositions.
📅 Upcoming programs:
🇨🇱 August '24 - Santiago de Chile, Chile (Registrations closed ❎)
🇦🇷 September '24 - Mendoza, Argentina (Registrations open! 🔥) in partnership with Embarca! More info 👉 https://shorturl.at/weHny
🇺🇾 October '24 - Punta del Este + Montevideo, Uruguay (Registrations opening 🔜) at our #DraperHouseUY
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.
