About Me

 

Utilizing this digital window to share my understanding of the funder and founder relationships and….
several other things that intrigue me!

Podcast Tag

#DamaniTalks, Entrepreneurship, Learning

Arcatron Mobility builds the next generation of innovative physical aid devices to enhance people's lives with limited mobility and elderly care needs. Last year Arcatron launched a premium range of products to COVID-protect its customers. The success of this new line has wholly revolutionized

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Arcatron Mobility builds the next generation of innovative physical aid devices to enhance people’s lives with limited mobility and elderly care needs. Last year Arcatron launched a premium range of products to COVID-protect its customers. The success of this new line has wholly revolutionized the trajectory of the company, with its product consistently featuring at the top of eCommerce store product rankings! 

Ganesh Sonawane is the cofounder & CEO at Arcatron and is changing the game for those in need through his innovation. Before Arcatron, he was working with Bajaj Auto Ltd as an R&D Assistant Manager. Ganesh completed his Engineer’s Degree from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut. 

Key takeaways from the episode: 

  • How did Ganesh’s education help him in his entrepreneurial journey? Why did he decide to build an innovative wheelchair for his college project? Why did Ganesh refuse the grants to develop the design further during that time?  
  • What was Ganesh’s role at Bajaj? What were his key takeaways from this experience? Why was losing out on a 1st-year bonus at Bajaj Ganesh’s favorite mistake?  
  • What does Arcatron mean? How did Ganesh choose his cofounders? Why did Ganesh start Arcatron Mobility? 
  • What was the experience like providing wheelchairs to military rehabilitation centers? How did Ganesh help Saravana Kumar- a national-level wheelchair table tennis player in his tournament? 
  • What was COVID19’s impact on Arcatron? What made Ganesh decide to expand his product portfolio outside of assisting the differently-abled?   
  • How did Arcatron transform itself from a struggling business to one that is doing over $1m in quarterly revenues? 

Ganesh’s book recommendations: 

Watch this episode: 

#DamaniTalks, Venture Capital

Coutloot is a local language social commerce offline to online (O2O) platform which lets anyone sell online across the country directly to buyers who can simply bargain and shop online from the sellers. Jasmeet Thind came up with the idea when

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Coutloot is a local language social commerce offline to online (O2O) platform which lets anyone sell online across the country directly to buyers who can simply bargain and shop online from the sellers.

Jasmeet Thind came up with the idea when he realized he didn’t have any room left in his closet for his new clothes, which he didn’t use but didn’t want to throw away either. His larger-than-life personality is always a breath of fresh air, as you’ll find out in this talk.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • What is CoutLoot? How does it empower small sellers from its platform? What was the original business plan for Coutloot? Why did they decide to pivot? When is it essential to pivot a business model? How does one pivot a fast-growing startup? How COVID-19 impacted Coutloot’s operations, and what are they doing to adapt to the pandemic?
  •  How did Jasmeet’s Unilever experience help him in his founder journey? What is his recommendation for college graduates who want to get started with entrepreneurship right away?  
  • Jasmeet’s experience pitching to his first set of investors. How did he stand out from the crowd? How does Jasmeet handle rejection from investors?  What was his reason behind rejecting some investors? 
  • What did Jasmeet take from each set of investors that helped him build Coutloot to where it is today? How did he use that set of advice in his business? What is his advice to funders about fundraising?  
  • What is Jasmeet’s advice for founders and budding professionals? Where does Jasmeet see Coutloot in the next 5 years?  
  • What was his experience raising money from Chinese VCs? How do they differ in their thoughts and approaches from other VCs? What is his takeaway from the Chinese startup culture? 

Jasmeet’s Book Recommendation: 

Jugaad Innovation by Navi Radjou 

Watch the episode:

#DamaniTalks, Analysis, Artha, Brand, Entrepreneurship, Investments, Learning, Technology, Venture Capital

Fynd is an online retailer of multi-category fashion products. Fynd's product catalog includes apparel, footwear, innerwear, jewelry, accessories, and more. Fynd was the first startup in India to directly raise a round from Google and exit to Jio! Harsh Shah is

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Fynd is an online retailer of multi-category fashion products. Fynd’s product catalog includes apparel, footwear, innerwear, jewelry, accessories, and more. Fynd was the first startup in India to directly raise a round from Google and exit to Jio!

Harsh Shah is one of the three cofounders of Fynd. At Fynd, he brings his valuable experience in technology and entrepreneurship to the table and oversees operations’ supply side, including managing partnering brands and stores.

Harsh is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and an angel investor with a portfolio of 15+ startups.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • How did Harsh convince his initial investors to invest in a startup catering to a small, price-conscious and hesitant audience in India? How did he leverage his alum network to kickstart Shopsense?  
  • What led to pivoting Shopsense into Fynd? How did he convince Shopsense investors to continue investing in the company’s new path? How did he convince his investors to take a haircut on their investment?   
  • Why did Fynd become one of the 2 Indian startups to raise money from Google? What role did angels, family offices, venture capital funds, Google, and Reliance Jio play in Fynd’s progress? How does a founder manage different investors on their cap table? 
  • Why did the founders decide to sell a majority stake to Reliance Jio? What is it like to work with one of the largest Indian corporate houses known for its petrochemicals business and not for its technology prowess? How did the founders convince all the different sets of investors to accept the offer? What did it feel like once the money hit the investors’ bank accounts? 
  • How is Harsh giving back to the venture community? How many angel investments has he made? What is he looking for in the founders he wants to back? How can founders reach out to him? What is Harsh’s advice for other founders that are just beginning their journey? 

Harsh’s Book Recommendations:

Watch the episode:

Brand, Opinion

Yesterday I was in Lucknow attending SIDBI’s first Investor Day in honor of their foundation’s 29th anniversary. Over 40 fund managers were present, representing thousands of crores in capital available for investment. Considering the dry powder that was going to

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Yesterday I was in Lucknow attending SIDBI’s first Investor Day in honor of their foundation’s 29th anniversary. Over 40 fund managers were present, representing thousands of crores in capital available for investment. Considering the dry powder that was going to be available in the room, the SIDBI team sourced 20 start-ups to pitch to the captive audience. The standard of the start-ups, the quality of their pitches, the professionalism and punctuality with which the event was carried out was truly unique. I have congratulated the SIDBI team privately for executing such a well-organized event but would also like to do so once again publicly through my loudspeaker (read: blog).

After the event, a few of us (fund managers) got together to catch up over drinks and hunt for Lucknowi kebabs. Since we rarely get the time or occasion to meet outside events, we took this opportunity to share several things with each other, from the books we were reading to the morning routines we were following. One of the heavily discussed topics was the podcasts that each one of us was listening to. The list includes; Joe Rogan Experience, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History amongst others.

By the time I got back to my room, it was midnight. I had a full stomach and my mind had been stretched in many new directions. All in all, it had been a day well invested!

This morning on my flight back to Mumbai I replayed last night’s conversations about the podcasts that my fellow fund managers were listening to. It got me thinking whether I should move my own blog to a podcast – or have it co-exist with the writing?

There are few (if hardly any) podcasts that capture the perspective of an early stage VC in India. I was wondering if it would be more convenient for the 9,000+ followers of showmedamani.com to hear my podcast instead of reading my blog. The biggest benefit for me (and my team) would be that, it will be easier to project my dry sense of humour (accurately) through voice modulation over prose. So, my question is…

38/2019

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