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, 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:

  • Jasmeet’s professional journey and how it led him to become a founder?
  • How COVID-19 impacted Coutloot’s operations, and what are they doing to adapt to the pandemic?
  • The Coutloot’s founders experience of raising angel investment and Chinese institutional investment
  • How does Coutloot leverage its investors to grow the company?
  • What is Jasmeet’s advice for founders and budding professionals to maintain their mental health and push forward during difficult times?

Jasmeet’s Book Recommendation:

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:

  • Why was it ‘easier’ for Harsh to convince initial investors to come on board?
  • How did Harsh leverage his IIT Bombay alum network to kickstart Shopsense and bring investors on board?
  • What was Shopsense, and how did it become Fynd?
  • A detailed history of the nonlinear path to raising from Google (it included a recapitalization of the Fynd’s cap table)!
  • What role did angels, family offices, venture capital funds, Google, and Reliance Jio play in Fynd’s progress?
  • Learnings and advice for founders to manage different investors on their cap table
  • Why Harsh became an angel investor? How can founders reach out to him?
  • What is Harsh’s advice for other founders and young entrepreneurs?

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