#Community - That space that always finds new people for you to meet, pushes you beyond limits, and puts you in situations that let you learn even if that means getting out of those formal shoes and playing pickleball barefoot after a fulfilling day at work or being behind the scenes at a large event amongst 50 other volunteers on a Saturday at a brewery.

You don't have to be the best, you need just to show up and magic happens! ✨

The last 4 days have taken me by storm, one that yet again reminded me that relationships and conversations are key to growth. While I continuously shuffled between my hat of being a volunteer at Headstart Network Foundation and leading a community at Razorpay Rize, the core of it all was interacting with founders, investors, enablers, partners and experts from 20+ cities in India that came together for #BangaloreSlushD. 

Huge shoutout to all the volunteers in the frame who have full-time jobs and yet have spent time over the last 4 months to bring this together. Grateful to be a part of this! 🤩 

As I prepare for the week ahead, here's a quick reminder for anyone out there who needs a push - The Time to Startup Is NOW! 🚀 

Dhandha ya Startup?

My recent family visit to Jaipur would have been incomplete without a quick check-in into the start-up ecosystem. A few conversations with Headstarters and a last-minute meet-up with eChai Ventures helped me understand-

1. Jaipur and Rajasthan as a whole believe in business = profit > massive growth
2. Fundraising doesn't take as much precedence as building a sustainable business
3. Some of the most renowned start-ups and businesses like CarDekho Group, Razorpay, DealShare, and even Dexter Ventures have started and been built in Jaipur
4. The community is nascent, close-knit and growing
5. A lot of talent, very good talent is available thanks to the number of colleges and coaching institutes in the region

A shoutout to everyone who made time on short notice to help me get a sneak peek into Jaipur and the Rajasthan ecosystem - Paresh Gupta, Tushar, Prateek Mathur, Vinay Kamal, Chetan Saini, Rahul Singh.
Jatin Chaudhary and Gautham Sivaramakrishnan Headstart Network Foundation always help me find the best people to connect with across the country and the world.

If you have been to or built-in #Rajasthan, I would love to hear your thoughts. Do tag anyone you would like me to meet the next time I'm in Rajasthan.

"I felt like the Formula 1 car driving in the rain knowing that the guy coming at the back is going to have a great time" shared Mithun Sacheti, Founder of CaratLane - A Tanishq Partnership

In my day's dose of podcasts, it was wonderful to hear an entrepreneur being born out of a family business, one that built in what wasn't a sunrise sector yet still a category creator - jewellery! Mithun not only set the path for start-ups in the space but paved the way for everything operations from negotiating the need for it with courier companies to convince the need for it to the banks and even had to explain the concept of online cross-border buying and selling of jewellery to the government, keeping it all ready for the ones to follow.

Some aspects that stayed with me-

- Relationships and your network: The importance of building relationships leading to mentorship backed by one's capability. He mentioned two core ones with Srinivasa Gopalan and how he got Raakesh Jhunjhunwala to listen to him while he got his numbers up after the insights Raakesh Jhunjhunwala shared (listen for more context- it's worth it)

- Partnerships led growth: Partnering with Cartoon Network to introduce a range of products for the 0-5yrs old and also working closely on introducing products with themes like Doremon and Harry Potter exponentially increased their TAM (total addressable market)

The Titan Company Limited partnership is one that went through its course, it gave both brands enough leverage to grow. #Founders, if you want to hear your heart drop for a few minutes, listen to the Titan-Caratlane story shared in the first 30 minutes of the podcast

- Reverse due diligence: The team travelled across the country and even to the US to understand their potential investors. While VCs have a stringent DD (due diligence) process, the founders knew they had to be aware of who they were getting onboard

- Holocracy: Roles > Titles ( What's in a name right? It's more about what you do) and that's exactly what the CaratLane - A Tanishq Partnership spirit was. Your work defines your role, not your title.

It made me smile to hear this last bit when Mithun Sacheti shared with Karthik B. Reddy that the Power of compounding = Sleep peacefully!

Podcast link

Founders, Investors, Enablers- Who are you listening to?

Over the last few weeks I've been constantly trying to rediscover learning through podcasts and here are some of them that are on my radar-

🎙 Seed to Scale by Accel - A podcast series highlighting the journey of various founders while launching a 2 podcast series with the Accel team from across the globe - Jim Swartz, Anand Daniel, Sameer Gandhi, Harry Nelis, Mahendran Balachandran celebrating their 40 years in the VC industry in 2023

🎙Blume Ventures podcasts - Season 1 on XUnicorns followed by Season 2 focusing on Power of Compounding where Karthik B. Reddy hosts founders like Peyush Bansal, Raamdeo Agrawal who have excelled at compounding from the last decade to almost half a century

🎙Matrix Moments by Matrix Partners India - Highlighting human capital while also discussing trends of 2023 and 2024 hosted by Rupali Sharma ranging to over 180 episodes over different seasons and topics

🎙DesiVC by Akash Bhat - Candid conversations with leading investors from across India with insights from Akash's journey as a founder and investor having spoken to 127+ people. This one has been on my list for over 3 years now

🎙Indian Silicon Valley podcast by Jivraj Singh Sachar- Intricate conversations with founders, investors, and enablers in the Indian start-up ecosystem spanning 161 episodes and more. Jivraj has been closely associated with the start-up and investment ecosystem bringing out his unique perspective through the questions he asks his guests

VCs have extensive insights and access to diverse information. They have access to insights ranging from an industry understanding brought together by cumulative team experiences, in-depth sector focus, and access to real-time information through their portfolio companies. Often these insights stay unshared or when shared, undiscovered by some of us. This year I'm on a mission to uncover some of the most insightful podcasts and will keep sharing as I keep listening.

So what are you listening to, to stay up to date? Drop startup and investing podcast recommendations in the comments. I'm sharing links to the ones I've mentioned above in the comments too.