100x Entrepreneur

Geopolitics is now measured in Nanometers. Anything with a battery or a plug has a semiconductor inside. But these chips aren't just tech anymore, they're shaping who becomes the next Superpower.In the 1980s, India was just two years behind the world in semiconductors. Today, we're 12 generations behind. What went wrong?India's top semiconductor expert, Raja Manickam, returns to The Neon Show to break it all down.We discuss how the U.S. lost the chip race it started, China's strategic rise, and how one visionary turned Taiwan into the most valuable island in the world.Raja Manickam dives into what the $10B India Semiconductor Mission is getting right and where we may fall behind. He explains why

There are No Checklists or Frameworks on HOW TO BE A VC?So how do you even know if it's the right path for you?Unlike most jobs, venture capital comes with an extremely long feedback loop. It can take years before you know whether the bets you made actually worked out. That's why most seasoned VCs say: only choose this path if you're in it for the long haul.This conversation will help you think through that choice. Whether you're considering VC as a career, love building businesses, or just want to understand who really calls the shots on a cap table.On The Neon Show, we have with us two operators turned investors:Gaurav Ranjan, Principal at Prime Venture Partners, has led deals including Dozee, Hitwikcet, Poshn and Gallabox.Naman Lahoty, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners has been part of investments like Zouk, Nestasia, Dashtoon and Lumio.They share lessons from evaluating thousands of startups - what they've unlearned about pattern-matching in investing, why Excel projections mostly fail and why founder empathy might be the most underrated edge in venture capital.It's truly a conversation between three VCs on what it really takes to be a VC today.0:00 – Stellaris Partners X Prime Ventures0:43 – How Founders Turn Into VCs4:19 – Do VCs Need an MBA or Consulting Background?6:32 – Why Startup Projections Rarely Come True8:43 – Are VCs Naturally Good Founders?11:19 – Startups we Evaluated & Founders we Met14:51 – From First Pitch to Deal Close19:02 – Why VC Feedback Loops Are Extremely Long21:00 – No Checklists. No Frameworks.25:27 – Why On-Demand Rebranded as Quick Commerce Won?29:20 – The Stellaris Framework to Evaluate Founders35:53 – Why Indian VCs Must Think Independently38:28 – Rapid Fire: The Big One We Missed39:16 – The One We Loved But Didn't Back42:23 – Startups We Wish We'd Invested In43:55 – Investors We Admire the Most47:20 – Do We Believe Peter Thiel's Theory?52:35 – Startup Stories: Slack, Flickr, Dozee, Rupicard57:15 – The GTM Hack That Led to Product Discovery58:15 – Babygogo & Atomic Work59:55 – All-Nighter Code Sprint for the Demo1:00:55 – Lessons Founders Taught Us1:06:30 – What We Miss About Being a Founder1:10:28 – When Do You Decide If You Are a Good VC?1:13:28 – Building a Fund V/S Building a Startup-------------​​India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Vertical SaaS customers don't buy software for 10 months, they buy it for 10 years. That's the opportunity and the challenge. Switching costs are high, which makes it hard to get in but once you're in, you're in.But regular SaaS playbooks don't work here. Forget PLG. Forget design partners. These industries have been burned too many times by bad software. Here, Trust defines GTM. Think warm introductions and on-site meetings, not cold emails and Zoom calls.But for founders building in vertical SaaS, there's little to learn from. So in this episode of The Neon Show, we bring together three founders who are building in the trenches of Vertical SaaS.Omkar Patil, Co-founder of Pienomial, helping biopharma companies run faster clinical research and unlock insights from complex drug data.Kumar Siddhartha, Co-founder of Merlin, rebuilding ERP from the ground up for the US construction industry.Divyaanshu Makkar, Co-founder of WizCommerce, modernising sales and commerce tools for wholesale distributors.If you're building SaaS for niche markets or wondering why traditional playbooks are failing, this episode is for you.0:00- Pienomial X WizCommerce X Merlin0:51 – What are we building in Vertical SaaS?4:29 – Vertical SaaS buyers are sticky by nature6:57 – How to build for industries used to Below-Par Tech?10:46 – Fix what your customer hated about the last vendor12:17 – Why these industries pay billions for implementation?13:38 – How we got our First customers?20:03 – Warm intros and word-of-mouth still win23:56 – Why Design Partners don't work in Vertical SaaS?27:17 – Why you should never sell your first product for free?30:29 – Can you Co-build products with early customers?34:33 – Building Your Own Platform Vs Building on Top of one39:33 – Building alongside Legacy players or innovating around them?44:31 – SaaS isn't going anywhere, AI will amplify it46:49 – Can AI agents really be reliable?48:42 – Which roles shouldn't be automated?52:16 – How to approach GTM where users guide you?54:43 – Why trust is everything here?58:54 – How to sell softwares used for 10 years?1:01:02 – How to win when the product demo comes last?1:03:16 – Why NOW for traditional industries with unsolved problems1:09:17 – Thoughts on agentic workflows1:13:02 – Why be Bearish on the “AI Employee Concept”?1:16:57 – Rapid Fire : Google or Perplexity?1:17:37 – LLMs: Open-source or Closed?1:18:19 – Favorite work software + We're hiring!1:19:42 – One business buzzword that should disappear1:20:55 – A Vertical SaaS company we admire (and why)-------------​​India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are thosSend us a text

Recko's acquisition by Stripe is one of India's biggest B2B exits. It's a great headline. But headlines don't tell the full story. They capture one final outcome not the numerous obstacles faced.In this episode, Saurya Prakash Sinha, co-founder of Recko, tells us what really happened behind the scenes. From the early days when no one was buying, no VC was funding, and they had just $500 left in the bank to building a product Stripe couldn't ignore. Saurya also shares hard-won lessons about product-market fit, customer validation, and why usage matters more than ARR in early-stage B2B.Tune in if you want to learn about the full story behind the headlines.0:00 - Trailer1:01 - Why Stripe emailed 2 founders in Bengaluru4:34 - How Recko discovered its core problem9:34 - What IF customers and investors reject?12:33 - How to Build with zero validation?14:18 - Solving what the Big Four couldn't at Myntra17:37 - What to expect when building Products in Finance?19:46 - Bought for the Product, Team or Scale?21:53 - “Customer voice is the loudest in the room”25:28 - Why VCs didn't “get” Recko28:27 - How to raise when investors follow success playbooks?30:36 - Why build products to compete with the Best?33:18 - The First cheque and first customer at Pingsafe36:45 - How to manage Acquisitions before making them public?41:02 - How Pricing is led during Buyouts?42:36 - The culture of Writing at Stripe44:08 - Why do companies Acquire?49:16 - Why ARR at early stage is not the right metric?52:26 - How to find what value your product really adds?56:38 - Why $100M+ acquisitions are rare?-------------​​India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

The dollar will lose its status as the world's reserve currency & the greatest wealth transfer in history is already underway - warns the founder of one of India's fastest-growing unicorns!In this episode, Deepak Garg, founder of Rivigo and AnywhereJobs shares why Rivigo's iconic Relay model succeeded, and what ultimately limited it. He predicts Zomato's dominance, questions funding choices of startups and shares why India may miss the AI revolution without a radical energy shift.From Bitcoin vs. gold and Trump's potential Nobel Peace Prize to Tesla becoming a $30 trillion company, Deepak's predictions are bold and grounded in years of pattern recognition.If you're a founder, investor, or macro nerd, this is an episode you won't forget.0:00- Rivigo & Anywhere Jobs02:16 – When your business outgrows the market04:18 – Capital raising is a Double-edged sword05:02 – Which ideas truly need funding?07:33 – Build teams with Accuracy, not Kindness09:39 – How to know if you've chosen the right market?10:41 – Why Zomato is India's best Consumer tech bet16:00 – How the Power is shifting b/w nations today?20:18 – Will Dollar cease to be a Reserve currency?22:36 – Is Bitcoin better than Gold?26:59 – Who will be the Next global Superpower?31:56 – India in the Next 20 years34:22 – When 2 players control 80% of India's Private sector35:52 – Why China is far ahead of India in Nuclear Energy?40:17 – Will Trump win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2025?42:01 – How Tesla could become a $30 trillion company?47:15 – Wealth transfer from Wall Street to Main Street50:30 – Where India should focus in AI-------------​​India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Venture capital is much fancied today.Is this job which looks like cutting cheques for products and founders you like, for everyone?As for any work, there are traits you should have and some which won't help you on the job.We have with us Kushal Bhagia (All In Capital), Karthik Prabhakar (Peer Capital), and Rajan (Upekkha).Three people who interestingly all began as engineers and took different career paths to today become Fund managers of leading VC firms.All In Capital's $24M pre-seed fund backing early-stage founders,Peer Capital's $75M early-stage fund investing in tech-first Indian startups from seed to Series A,Upekkha's $40M Capital's accelerator-style fund supporting B2B SaaS startups.Tune in!01:53 – Why builders shouldn't become VCs?03:12 – Why best VCs sell well & stay curious05:12 – How the VC job is like Flying a plane07:48 – How parental instincts enable VCs?10:42 – Is fundraising harder than ever?14:12 – What makes people write VC cheques?18:03 – Where do India's rich family offices invest?20:30 – Why India still doesn't have its own YC?22:55 – The OG YC when startups weren't cool28:00 – Can YC's numbers ever be replicated?33:03 – David v/s Goliath of Small vs large funds39:02 – Zepto's first $50k cheque40:22 – Sectors VCs won't touch41:35 – Story-driven v/s numbers-driven Fundraising44:36 – How we missed Swiggy, Postman & Zepto?46:18 – The best VCs48:24 – What needs to change in Indian VC?49:47 – Founders we'd invest In (But not work for)51:25 – Unlearnings as an Investor-------------​​India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”In this episode of The Neon Show, Vishwa (Co-founder of ZenDuty) is joined by Rahul Sasi (Co-founder of CloudSEK) and Ananda Krishna (Co-founder of Astra Security). They share how AI feels magical now. And how as founders they are trying to sprinkle this magic everywhere from how building products to building teams and everything that matters.-------------00:00 Everything is being Reimagined!00:41 Meet the New Hosts01:08 Founders' Biggest Time Killer05:10 Why entrepreneurs should fail fast?11:19 Will your job inevitably change?17:40 How AI has reimagined engineering jobs?19:13 PMs & Designers have New workflows20:35 Why everyone should learn to Prompt?24:14 Is your team using AI Budgets efficiently?26:59 Do people trust AI chatbots?32:18 Does sales still need humans?35:53 Do we expect empathy from AI?-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode, we sit down with two exceptional founders. One who is going after the biggest category, and one who created a new category and became its leading player.Vijay Rayapati (Co-founder, Atomicwork) and Khadim Batti (Co-founder, Whatfix) share their hard-earned insights on what it truly takes to build a great company.From closing million-dollar deals remotely to building AI-native organisations and cultivating long-term leadership, this conversation goes deep into the real playbook behind enduring companies.Watch if you're a founder, a team builder, or simply someone who wants to understand how great companies are actually built.0:00 – Trailer01:37 – The Viral Meme Story03:28 – What the Founders Admire About Each Other07:20 – Navigating US–India Work Timings08:39 – Hiring & Retaining Talent15:54 – Why Founders Need Mentors24:53 – When Employees Think Short-Term31:48 – Building Organic Leadership35:58 – Hunger vs Humility39:58 – Building Company Culture44:55 – Why Abolish Designations51:38 – What is Founder's Mentality?54:44 – Large vs New Categories01:00:44 – When Things Go Wrong01:02:41 – Handling Board Pressure01:06:45 – Never Compromise on Customer Service01:13:58 – What to build is becoming harder01:18:57 – FOMO in AI01:25:10 – AI Will Remove Bureaucracy, Not Jobs-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

CRM is a category often equated with its market leader, Salesforce.Hence, companies and investors question the viability of building a business in this space.Nilesh Patel, founder of Leadsquared, who built a Unicorn in CRM, joins us today.We discuss the category, the business, and its competitors.With Byju's as their first large deal, Edtech brought over 40% of their customers.Then the industry went through a downfall, but Leadsquared survived by a well timed expansion.From lack of capital restricting entry into the US market, to fast-forward today, where they have gone global.Nilesh shares his thoughts on the skills founders need and the decisions they have to make -on exits, acquisitions, and hiring.Tune in for more!0:00-Trailer1:35 – Building Leadsquared3:19 – First large deal with Byjus7:12 – Fundraising from Private Equity9:58 – CRM as an Undesirable Investment12:10 – Should Co's enter the CRM Space?13:35 – How to price SAAS in India?15:23 – Diversifying beyond EdTech16:49 – How to build market differentiation?20:29 – Highest annual deal of

Meet Sharad Sanghi who built India's first data center, he spent 25 years building Netmagic, India's largest data center company. He came to India in 1995, worked at VSNL as the country was discovering the internet, and built a company focused on internet for businesses.Now he is building Neysa, an AI cloud startup, which recently raised $50M to help businesses adopt AI, all from India. With Neysa businesses can use AI without writing a lot of code or use five different tools to run it. And do everything—train models, test them, deploy them, and monitor them—in one single dashboard.Sharad has a lot of perspective to share—as someone who was at the forefront while India adopted the internet, and now, the AI wave.If you're building in AI, part of an enterprise exploring AI, or simply thinking about where India is in the AI race—this episode is for you.0:00 – Trailer02:00 – How Neysa makes AI easy & cheap?04:37 – From datacentre to AI06:54 – 1200 GPUs & 15 Clients07:24 – Selling internet to Businesses12:03 – Why India Needs Local AI Clouds13:20 – How Neysa Plans to Stand Out15:14 – Is Scaling a Hyperscaler Easy?19:26 – Can India Shift from IT to AI?26:40 – AI in Large Enterprises vs Mid-Market27:51 – AI Revolution vs Cloud in 200631:06 – What's the Moat for AI Startups?33:08 – Is Private Data the Real AI Goldmine?35:59 – Why Product & GTM Matter Early On38:06 – Why Scaling must come before Demand42:12 – OpenAI's edge on Deepseek?44:52 – How should enterprises navigate AI?46:32 – Did Only NVIDIA Predict the AI Boom?48:17 – Founder 1.0 V/S 2.0-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode of The Neon Show, we bring you into the room with someone who's spent over a decade backing India's most ambitious companies.We're joined by Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel. With over 14 years in venture capital, Prayank walks us through his journey of discovering and building expertise in specific sectors—from cybersecurity and developer tools to SaaS and marketplaces—and how VCs identify the categories they truly understand.We dive into how Accel chooses best founders, and the balance between backing founder versus business across stages. Prayank shares his candid thoughts on why India has been slow and late to the AI race, and what a realistic way forward could look like for Indian startups.He also offers a glimpse into Accel's evolving investment thesis around AI, sector by sector, and talks about how the enterprise landscape is changing—and what that means for Indian founders building in this space.Tune in!0:00- Trailer1:45 – Finding Great Founders6:30 – What We'd Do Differently10:16 – Sector Expertise Matters13:15 – Where AI Money Should Go18:00 – Accel's GenAI Bets21:18 – Sector-Wise Thesis in AI23:24 – Growth means Product in AI26:45 – Rise of Founder-Influencers29:10 – $650million India Fund31:35 – Beyond Roti, Kapda, Makaan34:07 – Why Accel is Big on Content36:03 – 15 Years in VC38:16 – Highs & Lows of VC Ecosystem43:36 – Knowledge Compounds in VC49:45 – Conviction over Consensus51:06 - Conclusion-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Is it time for investors to move beyond the valley when analyzing India?Dev Khare, Partner at Lightspeed agrees. He shares with us an interesting view on two funding models:The Silicon valley model begins with raising millions of dollars & going through huge negative cashflow for years. Hopefully building a great product or maybe even creating a new market. And a few years later, comes out with super fast growth & revenue potential of millions & billions of dollars.Whereas, in the Compounder model companies raise little to no funding in early days. They don't go to negative cash flow, instead growing slowly. Not at 3x ,but at 50% and keep at it for some 10 years building a large company. Thus becoming profitable in a few years following a slow J curve, and raising rounds only to accelerate growth.India has built exceptional companies in the software industry following this model. But, we can all sense that lack of approval for India's enterprise products, which we can confidently say has been achieved in the consumer markets.With 13+ years at Lightspeed, Dev has backed companies like PhysicsWallah, Razorpay, PocketFM, ShareChat, Darwinbox, Portkey.ai, Qure.ai, and Accel Data. Prior to VC, Dev started as a product manager then founded his company Covigo, a developer platform for mobile applications.This episode promises an interesting discussion on building companies in enterprise.0:00- Trailer1:12 - Early days at Lightspeed India8:11 - Learning curve of an Investor11:52 - How OYO fixed supply when Airbnb didn't16:37 - Is organic acquisition now the norm?19:02 - India must rediscover its AI edge20:20 - Compounder v/s silicon valley companies23:26 - Why Freshworks & Zoho chose mature markets?27:40 - Can India create SAAS category leaders?29:18 - Enterprise startups cap at 30%33:07 - How a $3.2B company found its niche37:42 - AI services & AI led services40:37 - Lightspeed's Investment thesis45:34 - Why we have 70% second-time founders?48:18 - Will ITC & Jio acquisitions set a trend?52:37 - Are software IPOs sparse?55:34 - India's enterprise buyer market is small1:04:47 - Missed investments & Lessons1:06:28 - Why is India having a lag effect in AI?1:10:19 - Has India built global enterprise products?-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode, Avnish Bajaj, Founding Partner at Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), shares what it takes to build one of India's most competitive VC firms and land the best startup deals.With over 20 years of experience, Avnish has been at the forefront of India's venture capital industry. He co-founded Matrix Partners India in 2006 after a successful entrepreneurial journey with Baazee.com, which he later sold to eBay, serving as its Chairman & Country Manager.From founder to angel investor to VC, Avnish has done it all—scaling businesses, backing category-defining startups, and navigating the challenges of venture investing. His portfolio includes Ola, Razorpay, Country Delight, Practo, Quikr, and many more.Tune in as we dive into his insights on winning the best deals, building a top-tier VC firm, and the evolving startup ecosystem in India.0:00- Introduction2:58 - How Founders Should Choose VCs?9:02 - Z47 as an Operator-Led VC15:32 - Generalist vs. Specialist VCs20:24 - India's VC Ecosystem in Last 20 Years6:38 - First-Time vs. Second-Time Founders31:48 - Founder-Market Fit Explained35:18 - How LPs Allocate Money in India?46:22 - How Investors Bet on Countries & Assets52:09 - Can Tech Founders Run Multiple Businesses?57:06 - Is India's Market Ahead of Entrepreneurs?1:01:10 - Rapid Fire: How Z47 Picks Founders1:03:44 - Is Seed Stage Funding the Only Battle?1:11:21 - When VCs Like the Founder, Not the Market1:14:11 - Z47's Work Ethic----Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.----Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7----This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode of The Neon Show, we have Sharad Sharma, founder of iSPIRT, the technology think tank behind India Stack, Health Stack, and other digital public goods. If you want to understand where India's digital space is headed, how AI can shape its future, and why strategic autonomy is critical, this episode is a must-watch!0:00 – Introduction03:12 – India's aim to prevent digital colonization05:00 – Democratising digital infrastructure07:09 – UPI's 2012 vision: intraday loan for Rajni12:50 – The origin of ‘DPI' & misconceptions in India14:46 – Can India keep its first-mover advantage in DPI?16:15 – How UPI lost to Brazil's PIX17:49 – Introduction to MOSIP & DEPA19:22 – Did UPI fail to detach from government control?20:33 – The world evaluates DPI with India's 5 sutras22:48 – DPI interoperability & India's global leadership25:23 – Managing $2-3 billion funding in India's DPI ecosystem27:03 – Why India must stay paranoid: The David vs. Goliath mindset30:09 – Sam Altman doubted India's AI, now wants in33:25 – Facebook opposed net neutrality in India, backed it in the U.S.36:46 – Regulatory Innovations: Cable TV, mutual funds & OTAs40:19 – Did GST replace 4 tax filings with 36?44:05 – Does India have a regulatory framework for digital?51:06 – Scaling 10-100 with help from educational institutions53:02 – Breaking away from Visa & Mastercard55:47 – The ‘Stay in India' checklist to bring back talent59:58 – Grading India on DPI globalization01:00:57 – U.S. antitrust battles & how they shaped big tech01:08:25 – Building India's AI ecosystem using its data advantage01:12:50 – Picking India's battles in AI: healthcare as an opportunity01:15:00 – Can India build its own AI assistants?01:17:56 – Why India must update academia & build industrial labs01:22:18 – DEPA: Enabling Low-Cost Access to Non-Public Data01:27:55 – UPI was age & color blind, DEPA won't be01:31:06 – How will India approach AI regulation?01:39:05 – Creating ‘landing spots' for Indian AI talent01:41:53 – Five key actions for India's AI success01:45:01 – Hiring call for India's AI & DPI visionaries01:51:55 – Building Co's for India's strategic autonomy----Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.----Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7----This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode, we have Vishal Jain, CEO of Zerodha Fund House, who brings over two decades of experience in building ETFs and passive investment products.From launching India's first-ever ETF with Benchmark AMC in 2001 to now leading the country's first passive-only AMC, Vishal has contributed through various roles to India's financial markets.We break down:- The history of mutual funds in India from the 1960s to today's ₹68 Lakh Cr AUM industry.- Why index funds & ETFs are transforming retail investing.- How retail participation is growing (but why 2/3rd of investors still hesitate).- Vishal's investing philosophy is rooted in a belief in India's growth story, beyond the obvious goal to beat inflation.- The role of gold as a portfolio hedge, even for those bullish on India.- Zerodha Fund House's vision—Can passive investing truly take over?If you're curious about where India's investment space is headed and how you can position yourself wisely, this episode is a must-watch!2:10 - History of mutual funds in India7:09 - Exchange-traded funds10:13 - Employee Provident Fund in ETFs11:01 - Why COVID increased trading activity?12:36 - Is now a good time to invest?14:02 - How Vishal builds his portfolio16:18 - Trends in India's mutual fund adoption17:44 - Why only 1/3rd of retail investors buy mutual funds?21:36 - Can investment markets learn from OTT growth?22:52 - Does India need more mutual fund providers?23:51 - Is India's growth limited to the top 1%?27:06 - Can you buy mutual funds w/o a demat account?28:07 - Physical gold vs. gold ETFs29:34 - Who's buying mutual funds?33:11 - What's driving usage of financial products?34:26 - AI's role in customer acquisition36:40 - What's Zerodha Fund building?38:32 - Risk & return across asset classes40:12 - Is Vishal bullish on India's future?---Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.---Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

A seasoned investor who ran India's Finance Ministry.This week on The Neon Show, we welcome Jayant Sinha—Investor, Policy Maker, and former Minister of Finance & Civil Aviation.Mr. Sinha shares how the government builds innovative investment solutions for startups and large-scale funding programs for institutions.He played a key role in launching a ₹2,000 crore Fund of Funds, which invests in startups through domestic VCs. He was also instrumental in establishing India's Sovereign Wealth Fund, managing ₹39,000 crore in assets as of 2024.As Civil Aviation Minister, he worked on policies like UDAN to make aviation more inclusive and played a key role in DigiYatra, driving digital transformation in air travel.Mr. Sinha is focused on policies that drive India's economic growth in a climate-conscious way. From research to action, he is working across policy, investment, and technology to shape India's path towards Net Zero.Read Jayant Sinha's Latest book : “India's Green Startups:Entrepreneurs That are Driving Growth” - https://www.amazon.in/India%EF%BF%BDs-Green-Startups-Entrepreneurs-Paperback/dp/9353458633  00:00 - Highlights03:01 – Growing up in a diplomat household05:34 – Working at McKinsey06:48 – The Opportunity cost of a political career08:03 – From Harvard to Hazaribagh09:18 – Exposure to Policymaking & elections11:52 – First electoral win in 201414:37 – Twice chosen as Union Minister15:33 – Arun Jaitley: Also an Excellent Advocate16:55 – India's Sovereign Wealth fund18:17 – Higher Education Financing Agency19:32 – Taxation of Alternative Investment Funds20:17 – Fund of Funds for Domestic VC's21:47 – Aviation Reforms: UDAN & Digiyatra30:26 – Privatization of Air India33:32 – India's vision to lead globally35:42 – India's path to a green future39:31 – The CO₂ blanket effect42:04 – Nuclear fusion as a zero-carbon solution44:24 – Why land will be hotter46:13 – How climate change affects Economy48:57 – India's Net Zero Goals50:04 – $1 Trillion Investment to Finance Net Zero55:00 – Scaling green businesses in India56:26 – Global North's carbon responsibility vs India's emissions1:00:52 – Chronic health effects of pollution on children1:02:07 – What India can learn from Beijing1:06:42 – India's Net Zero Bill & global legislation1:08:08 – Personal connection to The Environmental Cause1:12:47 – Trump's impact on the global green mission1:15:05 – Why India must invest in R&D---Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.---Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7---This video is for infoSend us a text

In this episode, Sharath shares his journey of building two successful AI-driven enterprise solutions.Sharath Keshava Narayana, founder of Sanas and Observe shares his market-product fit approach of winning enterprise clients in the US- Identifying large, underserved markets and solving their biggest problems. He also dives into fundraising stories, from getting into Y Combinator to attracting top VCs, leading to an $8 million seed round.Sharath emphasizes why founders must be great sellers and how building the right team early on is crucial for scaling a business.If you're looking to build a SaaS company, expand into the US market, or understand the power of AI-driven enterprise solutions, this episode is a must-watch!________00:00 - Trailer01:50 – Early Entrepreneurial Days: From India to the US07:10 – Building a US Clientele for an Indian Product10:55 – Idea Stage of Observe.AI15:20 – Raising the First Cheque16:35 – Y Combinator: From Application to Selection20:38 – Inbound from Top VC's24:53 – Meeting the Sanas Co-Founders27:29 – Raising Funds Pre-Product & Pre-Revenue30:10 – The Sanas Investment Thesis34:03 – What Drove Success at Observe & Sanas38:09 – Drawing Parallels in Building Two Companies45:00 – Scaling Challenges: Hiring & Team Building50:15 – Fundraising Lessons: Always Be Ready54:17 – Market-Product Fit vs. Product-Market Fit57:10 – Solving the Black Box of Call Centers59:12 – Solving for Speech-to-Speech in Real Time1:05:15 – Thoughts on The Neon Fund1:07:03 – Bengaluru vs. Bay Area1:11:10 – Founders Must Be Sellers1:19:42 – Do Indian Founders Underprice?1:23:13 – Final Thoughts: Likeability as a Founder---Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.---Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7---This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Venture Capitalists on Venture CapitalIn this episode we have Alok Goyal and Ritesh Banglani, Partners at Stellaris Venture Partners, one of India's top VC firms. We go into details on running a VC firm in India. We discuss the ambition of Indian founders, what are the next B2B SaaS billion-dollar outcomes, market-first vs. founder-first investments, decision-making process at Stellaris and why DPI (Distributed to Paid-in Capital) is the ultimate measure of success.If you're curious about how top VCs invest, what makes a great fund, and what advantages Indian startups have in the AI race then this episode is for you. 0:00 - Stellaris Venture Partners Introduction0:50 - How Stellaris Measures Success3:16 - Deal Sourcing in Venture Capital5:40 - Coverage Ratio in Venture Capital7:39 - Contrarian Bets: Mamaearth and Whatfix9:34 - Independent Conviction in Venture Capital12:03 - Trust in Venture Partnerships15:12 - The War Stories Behind Stellaris' First Fundraise18:10 - Fundraising during COVID22:30 - How Stellaris Raised Its Third Fund26:31 - Stellaris' Investment Strategy30:08 - Founder-First Vs. Market-first Investments36:32 - Strengths of Stellaris' Four Partners41:07 - Culture of Open Disagreement in Decision-Making48:08 - The Ambition Levels of Indian Founders50:08 - Next Billion-Dollar SaaS Companies From India56:17 - How Venture Investing in India Has Changed57:38 - Decision-Making in Stellaris vs. Other VC firms1:07:43 - Global AI Trends and Stellaris' Investment Thesis1:11:31 - Opportunity For Indian AI Startups1:16:17 - How Stellaris is Evolving with Time1:17:24 - The Need for Bigger Outcomes in Fund Three-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Ganesh Krishnan is the man behind some of India's most iconic startups, including BigBasket, Bluestone, Homelane, and TutorVista—India's first ed-tech startup before ed-tech was even a category.Ganesh explains how he thinks about business opportunities in India, why he keeps it simple, and why Indian entrepreneurs need to keep it simple. He shares candid stories—from raising BigBasket's first $10M on a flight to successfully exiting an ed-tech company 15 years ago.If you're curious about India's startup ecosystem and want to understand what works in India, this episode is for you!Read Ganesh Krishnan's latest book: Mastering Disruption: A Practical Guide to Understanding New-Age Business ModelsTimestamps00:00 - Trailer 01:37 - Introduction to K. Ganesh02:05 - Ganesh's Entrepreneurial Journey03:32 - The Growth Story Model06:28 - Challenges and Successes in Fundraising09:25 - Case Study: The BigBasket Story22:12 - Business Models and Market Timing33:51 - Opportunities in India's Broken Systems41:44 - The Evolution of Business Models42:15 - Valuation of Loss-Making Companies42:51 - Network Effects and Demand Economies of Scale43:51 - Platform Businesses vs Traditional Businesses46:27 - Challenges in Platform and Marketplace Ventures50:36 - Exploring SaaS and FinTech Opportunities51:41 - Growth and Monetization Challenges57:44 - Consumer Behavior and Microtransactions01:06:08 - The Rise of Quick Commerce01:09:21 - Vertical Software and Generative AI01:15:43 - What's Next for India's StartupsHi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the fascinating history of semiconductors, their evolution over the years, the rise of old giants and new disruptors, and explore why India has yet to produce a leader in one of the most important technological races of all time.Raja Manickam, a serial entrepreneur in the semiconductor industry, shares from his decades of experience about the business and science of semiconductors and offers a glimpse into the future Timestamps0:00 - Trailer 1:20 - Introduction2:10 - History of Semiconductors2:56 - Raja Manickam's Journey in the Semiconductor Industry7:02 - Evolution of Semiconductors Over Time9:49 - Why Silicon Valley?11:30 - NVIDIA: A Leader in Chips14:55 - Competition in the Semiconductor Industry17:31 - Building Microprocessors23:08 - The Race for Top Talent27:41 - NVIDIA's Journey with CUDA and Artificial Intelligence32:03 - NVIDIA's Market Dominance35:07 - How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Became NVIDIA's Key Customers36:13 - IBM's Transformation: Market Leader to Reinvention37:48 - India's Journey in Semiconductors and IT Services43:22 - Why India Lacks Semiconductor Giants48:00 - India's ₹100,000 Crore Semiconductor Plan57:28 - IVP: Outsourcing Chipmaking and Focusing on Design1:01:22 - Cost of Starting a Semiconductor Manufacturing Company1:05:38 - India's Vision for Its Semiconductor FutureHi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional adviceSend us a text

India's leadership story is a fascinating journey full of lessons for anyone looking to make an impact.In just two years, opening up the space economy has led to over 100 new startups in aerospace, sparking innovation and fueling the dreams of a new generation of changemakers.And it doesn't stop there—India is heavily investing in future-focused areas like green hydrogen, quantum computing, and the blue economy, showing a clear vision for industries that will define tomorrow.Drawing from its rich heritage, India blends ancient wisdom with modern governance.Texts like the Arthashastra guide policies that empower people and prioritize collective welfare.Initiatives like Aadhaar and participatory governance models reflect these principles in action, bringing millions into the financial mainstream and fostering inclusive growth.Experts believe India's leadership also addresses the need for decolonization—not just in reclaiming cultural pride, but in rediscovering its intellectual confidence.This leadership model, rooted in inclusivity, resilience, and innovation, is steering India into a brighter future. In this episode of The NEON Show, Dr R. Balasubramaniam, author, member of the Capacity Building Commission (Government of Bharat), and Chairperson of the Social Stock Exchange Advisory Committee at SEBI, shares the essence of Indic leadership as explored in his book Power Within.Time stamp00:00 Intro00:12 Dr. Balu's contributions to rural service00:41 Current roles: Capacity Building Commission member & Rhodes Professor00:55 Overview of "Power Within"01:13 Journey: From physician to policymaker02:16 India's traditional wisdom in governance03:08 PM Modi's leadership focus in Balu's analysis05:24 Modi's ethos of service (Seva Bhaav)08:09 Modi's leadership during Morbi tragedy10:06 RSS philosophy: Cultural nationalism & service13:15 Overcoming colonial mindsets to restore pride17:09 Participatory governance: Janbhagidari & Mission Karmayogi23:57 Revamping civil services training26:08 Influence of Ramakrishna Mission's seva philosophy28:01 Panch Pran: Vision for a self-reliant India29:51 Chanakya Niti: Ancient leadership principles34:38 Decisive actions: Doklam, surgical strikes, Pulwama38:14 Challenges in implementing farm laws45:51 Repeal of Article 370: J&K integration50:05 India's balanced foreign policy (Russia-Ukraine, Qatar)52:03 Comparing Modi's leadership to global icons-----Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-----Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-----This videoSend us a text

Harish Bhat, ex-Brand Custodian of the Tata Group, joins us to share unique moments from the extraordinary life of Ratan Tata. From creating India's first indigenous car, Tata Indica, to his on-ground response during the 26/11 Taj Hotel attacks, to the Tata Finance crisis, to leading India's fight against cancer, Ratan Tata led from the front.Harish shares how he first met Ratan Tata and the personal note he received, highlighting Ratan Tata's integrity, humility, and more-than-a-businessman philosophy.Tune in to know more about one of India's greatest icons.Timestamps00:00 - Trailer02:20 – Introduction02:39 – Reflecting on Jamshedji Tata's Legacy04:13 – Celebrating Ratan Tata's Life05:46 – First Meeting with Ratan Tata08:26 – The Birth of Tata Indica16:31 – Ratan Tata's Dedication to Healthcare19:23 – Handling the Tata Finance Crisis25:19 – Ratan Tata's Response to 26/1129:05 – A Story of Grace and Dignity31:33 – A Personal Note from Ratan Tata33:20 – Defining Characteristics of Ratan Tata34:03 – Influences and Inspirations35:49 – Ratan Tata's Vision for the Tata Group37:53 – Fondness for Dogs and Bombay House40:01 – Legacy and Transformation of the Tata Group43:31 – Philanthropy and Nation Building46:18 – Reflections on Ratan Tata's Leadership52:50 – Lessons and inspirations from Ratan Tata's lifeHi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In 2010, Facebook opened its first office in India, four years after it went online.They needed someone bold to lead their journey in India which had a major customer base potential.That someone was Kirthiga Reddy.Under Kirthiga's leadership, Facebook not only grew its user base but also planted deep roots in a complex and rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.Today, India has the most Facebook users with over 448 million, followed by the US (258 million).After six years of phenomenal growth at Facebook, Kirthiga decided it was time for a new challenge.In 2018, she became the first female partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, managing over $5 billion in investments.Today, Kirthiga leads her own venture, Verix, focusing on trust, transparency, and community-driven solutions.In this episode of the NEON Show, Kirthiga Reddy shares her inspiring journey. From a small-town upbringing in India to building Facebook in India, Kirthiga takes us through the challenges of scaling operations, transforming workplace culture, and driving growth. She also opens up about her transition to SoftBank. From leading the fund's first investments in quantum computing and additive manufacturing, Kirthiga shares how she worked closely with founders to shape strategies and scale businesses.Timestamps00:00 - Trailer 01:51 - Intro02:09 - Kirthiga's career from Facebook India to SoftBank03:17 - Childhood in Nanded shaping values04:46 - Early career programming for Let Us C06:20 - Masters in the US and arranged marriage08:33 - Syracuse University and joining its Board09:30 - Silicon Graphics high-tech projects12:20 - Stanford MBA and transition to business17:58 - Startup role in product management21:20 - Motorola acquisition and return to India23:08 - Meeting Sheryl Sandberg27:32 - Joining Facebook as its first Indian employee28:50 - Facebook's 100-100-100 strategy30:40 - Building a Facebook culture35:30 - Personally hiring Facebook India's first 100 employees36:45 - Success stories of early hires37:50 - Leaving Facebook to balance family and career45:20 - Joining SoftBank & managing $5B in investments47:19 - Key investments in IonQ and 8fold.ai52:38 - Transition from SoftBank to new ventures56:14 - Founding Verix and Virtualness57:00 - AI-first companies and tech vision01:00:28 - India's thriving tech ecosystem01:03:51 - Vision for Verix, Virtualness, and social impactHi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-----Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-----This show is for informational purposes only. Send us a text

How a 1,500-Year-Old Game Became an Online SensationIt started as a simple idea in 2005—a hub for chess enthusiasts to connect, chat, and share their love for the game.Erik Allebest and Jay Severson, two college buddies with a shared passion for strategy, had just purchased the domain Chess.com for $55,000. Initially, it was a forum, but then the demand for online play began to soar.In 2007, they launched the first subscription-based version of Chess.com. Within a few years, the platform began to gain members and marked its place as the go-to site for chess lovers.In 2023, it hosted the first-ever Champions Chess Tour, offering a record-breaking $2 million prize pool.Last year alone, 12.5 billion games were played on Chess.com—an astonishing 35 million games per day.In this episode of the NEON Show, Erik Allebest, co-founder of Chess.com, discusses his journey from a chess enthusiast to creating the world's largest online chess platform. He talks about his entrepreneurial start, the hurdles in building a sustainable business, and key moments in Chess.com's success, including lawsuits, early VC rejections, a $600 million valuation, and scaling during the pandemic.Timestamp00:00 - Introduction02:06 - Family influence on Erik's entrepreneurial mindset05:00 - Falling in love with chess at 18 through books07:25 - Selling an e-commerce business to fund chess.com09:00 - Founding challenges and initial growth struggles13:50 - Why conventional careers didn't suit Erik18:30 - Settling lawsuits, including the vodka-based case21:50 - Persevering despite doubts about the chess market22:55 - General Atlantic's investment in chess.com26:10 - Key insights learned from investor partnerships29:56 - Shifting from entrepreneur to CEO33:24 - Erik's passion for creating products37:18 - How media boosted chess's popularity globally44:23 - The downsides of rapid monetization46:53 - Managing chess.com's pandemic-driven growth50:06 - Erik's focus on sustainability and future growth56:00 - India's cultural impact on global chess59:24 - Erik's views on digital security risks01:03:40 - Why employees stay for passion, not just pay01:07:26 - Erik's belief in chess's continued global growth01:09:00 - Embracing errors as learning opportunities-----Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-----Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-----This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

These farmers lost around $1.72B in a single morning.It was all because of tit-for-tat import taxes.But what really happened and who were these farmers?It all started when Donald Trump walked into the White House in January 2017, promising to take on what he called “unfair trade” with China.March 2018, Trump slapped $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, aiming straight at the heart of China's industrial ambitions—its "Made in China 2025" strategy. This marked the start of the trade war.April, 2018, Beijing hit where it hurt—Trump's voter base.It announced a 25% tariff on American soybeans, cars, and chemicals. And it wasn't just any random pick. China was the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, importing 60% of all U.S. exports.The markets reacted immediately and soybean prices went into free fall, erasing $1.72 billion in market value by morning.Farmers who relied on China as their primary buyer suddenly found themselves staring at massive losses.In this episode of The NEON Show, Matein Khalid, a seasoned financial advisor, shares his fascinating four-decade journey. Starting as a teenage trader in Dubai, he later advised corporate boards and family offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Matein talks about global trade, geopolitics, and economic strategies, providing insights on the US-China trade war, Trump's economic policies, and shifting global power dynamics.Check out Matein's writings here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateinkhalid/Timestamps00:00 – Trailer01:17 – Introduction02:38 – Matein's early trading and wealth management04:37 – Trump's unpredictability in geopolitics06:04 – Rise of China hawks in US policy07:40 – India's edge in US-China tensions09:50 – Starlink vs. Indian telecoms10:30 – US Steel and political influence12:51 – China's slowdown and unemployment19:02 – US K-shaped recovery and inequality21:46 – US debt crisis and risks26:41 – Adani controversy's geopolitical angle31:17 – Possible end to Russia-Ukraine war33:55 – Israel weakens Iran's air defense37:35 – Trump's isolationist policies41:02 – Trade and capital flows in forex42:39 – South Korea's political turmoil48:04 – Syria's proxy wars reignite52:04 – Modi's UAE visit boosts financial flows54:34 – India's entrepreneurial spirit------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professioSend us a text

In this episode of the NEON Show, Boris Wertz, a renowned venture capitalist and entrepreneur, shares his extensive journey through the tech and investment world over the past 25 years. From founding a company that was acquired by Amazon to becoming an investor and backing emerging fund managers globally, Boris offers a rich and unique perspective on the evolution of venture capital.Timestamp00:00 - Trailer 01:40 - Introduction and background03:17 - Journey as a venture capitalist04:49 - Boris's first investments in emerging managers07:32 - Why is Boris so focused on the Indian market?09:48 - Fund sizes and strategy13:03 - VC returns and liquidity16:06 - Boris's key learnings from successes and failures21:20 - Themes like AI, crypto, and climate tech25:00 - India as the next frontier28:50 - Challenges Indian entrepreneurs face35:46 - Boris's concept of minimum viable fund39:10 - Cycles in venture capital43:46 - A16z board partner program48:45 - Evolution of venture capital mindsets-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode of the NEON Show, Ashok K. Lahiri, a leading economist and former Chief Economic Advisor, talks about India's economic journey and the changes in its tax system. Lahiri shares why India has fallen behind some countries, pointing to missed opportunities in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. He also highlights the importance of India's democracy and federal system in shaping its progress.Check out Ashok K. Lahiri's book, India in search of glory, https://www.amazon.in/India-Search-Glory-Political-Calculus/dp/067009207X/Time Stamp00:00 - Trailer01:27 - Introduction of Ashok K. Lahiri03:07 - Ashok's upbringing and early education in economics05:27 - Why Ashok went abroad and how UPSC got him back08:33 - Are you satisfied with GDP growth12:42 - Education and health lead to long-term economic growth15:27 - The right to information is important but debatable18:27 - The govt went overboard in the 70s20:37 - What happened to West Bengal24:32 - Improvement will come with liberal society25:57 - Troubles of taxations29:42 - Taxing in the Indira Gandhi era33:27 - People once informed take the right decision37:32 - Chicken and egg in politics39:27 - Why India is on the right track43:27 - Challenges faced by Bangladesh and lessons for India47:32 - India: union of states52:07 - Struggle of India to get where it is right now58:32 - Why we can't blame our ancestors01:01:52 - Importance of transportation and Connectivity------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

The world's largest tech-focused venture capital fund. And the man behind it is Masayoshi Son, often referred to as Masa.At 16, Masa moved to California, drawn by the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley.Before he turned 21 years old, Son sold his first company— a multilingual translator bought by Sharp for about $1 million.Masa returned to Japan and founded SoftBank as a software distribution company. In 1995, Masa made one of his first bold investments— a $100 million for a 30% stake in Yahoo. In 1999, Masa made an even bigger move, investing $20 million in Alibaba, a year-old e-commerce startup.Over 23 years, that investment turned into a $72 billion gain, making it one of the most successful tech investments ever.In 2014, he brought in Alok Sama who had a key role in some of SoftBank's biggest successes, like the $32 billion acquisition of ARM and the $59 billion Sprint-T-Mobile merger.In this episode of the NEON Show, Alok Sama, takes us behind the scenes of his journey at SoftBank, where he played a crucial role in shaping the group's global investments and strategy. He shares insights into working alongside Masa, managing the Vision Fund, and the challenges of betting on transformative entrepreneurs.Check out Alok Sama's book,  The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble - https://www.amazon.in/Money-Trap-Alok-Sama/dp/9361134337Timestamps0:00 - Trailer1:13 - Alok's career, and Money Trap2:20 - Transition to SoftBank and the motivation behind Money Trap3:29 - what Alok thinks about Nikesh Arora and Masayoshi Son5:07 - Masayoshi Son's visionary mindset and why Alok admired him6: 40 - Why Alok values intellectual curiosity in people and himself7:50 - Alok's entrepreneurial journey post-Morgan Stanley09:30 - The meaning behind Money Trap and reflections on money12:30 - Masa Son's struggle growing up and the freemium coffee model17:00 - Alok's last year at SoftBank and decision to leave18:08 - Alok's relationship with Nikesh Arora20:10 - Delhi roots, and family time21:20 - Alok's view on vulnerabilities 27:20 - Masa Son's character and commitment to backing entrepreneurs fully31:10 - Valuation lessons in technology investments34:20 - Son's early bets on AI and his timing challenges37:30 -  Joined SoftBank to impress Alok's teenage son and connect with family40: 10 - experience of writing a book43:10 - Masa's thesis on India-----Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-----Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This show is for informational purposes only. The vSend us a text

Why does 50% of India's workforce remain in agriculture while the U.S. has just 2%?Despite all those hands in the soil, the sector contributes just 15-18% to the GDP. While countries like the U.S. and Europe shifted quickly from agriculture to industry, India's progress was pretty slow. So, is it too late for India to catch up and move on from agriculture?Although India did build textile mills and steel plants, its industrialization lagged behind faster-growing Asian economies like Japan, South Korea, and China, which aggressively pursued manufacturing.So, what happened? Well, India's focus remained on agriculture, missing the chance to build a strong industrial base that could absorb its large agricultural workforce. But there's a new hurdle—manufacturing isn't the job creator it once was.Experts like Subhash Garg argue India may have missed the industrialization train. With automation reducing labour needs, ramping up manufacturing might not create enough jobs for India's vast workforce.In this episode of The Neon Show, Subhash Garg, former Secretary of Economic Affairs, shares his unique perspective on India's economic ambitions and the journey toward the $10 Trillion Dream.Check out Subhash Garg's book, We Also Make Policy : An Insider's Account of How the Finance Ministry Functions, https://www.amazon.in/We-Also-Make-Policy-Functions/dp/9356994714Timestamps00:00 - Trailer01:25 - Subhash Garg's background in economic affairs03:27 - Why has India's "10 Trillion Dollar Dream" dented10:04 - India's current GDP12:50 - Need to shift labour from agriculture to high-value sectors16:48 - Why India missed industrialisation20:26 - The global manufacturing train left—and India missed it21:55 - Why should you invest in services for real growth26:55 - Sports, gaming, and entertainment are hidden gems for rural jobs29:54 - Why is agriculture unreformed31:34 - The impact of subsidies: is it a dead-end for farmers?36:47 - Garg explains GDP with the “potato chip” example42:42 - Why is farmers' share of the final product small47:10 - India's manufacturing needs a tech boost48:22 - Why India's PLI schemes aren't hitting their targets52:58 - How India's service sector thrived due to minimal regulation1:01:57 - Garg's positive take on brain drain1:10:10 - Millionaires on the move1:11:50 - Support for short sellers as market correctors1:13:12 - Announcement of Garg's book, expected in October-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------Send us a text

In India, financial security often seemed just out of reach, especially when it came to insurance. For many, insurance was complex, filled with hidden terms, and often mis-sold.That's exactly what happened when an engineer-turned-consultant discovered that his father had been duped by insurance agents into purchasing a policy that was both confusing and overpriced.Instead of just shrugging it off, this experience sparked an idea: why not create a platform where people could get straightforward, honest information about insurance?So in 2008, Yashish Dahiya, along with co-founders Alok Bansal and Avaneesh Nirjar, launched Policy Bazaar. Today, Policy Bazaar has grown into India's largest insurance aggregator, with an annual run rate of 100 million visitors. In 2022, The platform accounted for 93% of online insurance sales in India, holding 25% of the country's life insurance cover and 7% of retail health insurance cover. In this episode of The Neon Show, Yashish Dahiya, co-founder and Chairman of Policy Bazaar, shares his journey of building India's leading online insurance platform. Drawing from personal experiences, including his family's army background, Yashish explores the challenges of creating financial security for India's middle class, when not taking risk is the biggest risk and the HUGE India opportunity.Timestamps00:00 - Trailer01:18 - introducing Yashish Dahiya02:18 - Policy Bazaar's rise as India's top online insurance platform03:26 - India's rising costs and financial aspirations05:11 - Sanjeev Bikhchandani's early investments in Policy Bazaar06:43 - India's economy as a mix of Bahrain, UK, Brazil, and Africa07:49 - Financial inclusion across India's diverse social structure11:53 - Why does mass class movement happen16:20 - Institutional strengths drive GDP19:38 - Why Policy Bazaar outperformed its competitors25:22 - Daily discipline and the importance of consistent execution28:36 - How Yashish built team trust and values at Policy Bazaar31:38 - Things changed when I got married33:40 - Managing family life across India and the UK36:36 - Why the value system is important41:48 - What is stress exactly for an entrepreneur46:18 - Sanjeev view on Policy Bazaar49:40 - Policy Bazaar's vision for social impact53:58 - Consistent values pre-and post-IPO57:33 - Why did Policy Bazaar go public-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the inSend us a text

Ever heard of the M Document?Montek Singh Ahluwalia, an economist in govt of India, saw that India needed to make some big changes to keep up. So, he started working on what would become the M Document. The M Document suggested bold reforms. Many government officials thought these ideas were too radical. Then, something unexpected happened: the M Document got into the hands of journalist Ashok Desai, who saw its potential, and gave it the now-famous name, the M Document.Even though the document was just meant for internal review, the leak sparked public debate on how India's economy could be modernized.Though it didn't lead to immediate changes, the M Document planted seeds that grew in a few years.In this episode of the NEON Show, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a renowned economist and former Deputy Chairman of India's Planning Commission, shares insights from his pivotal role in shaping the 1991 economic reforms and reveals the behind-the-scenes story of the influential "M document" and how it ultimately shaped India's approach to liberalisation.Check out Montek Singh Ahluwalia's book, BACKSTAGE: The Story behind India's High Growth Years, https://www.amazon.in/BACKSTAGE-Story-behind-Indias-Growth-ebook/dp/B084P4Y3VW/Time stamps 00:00 - Introduction to Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia01:04 - Early life and family's experience post-partition05:11 - Winning the Rhodes Scholarship06:14 - Early career at the World Bank07:15 - Returning to India as an economic advisor09:02 - Washington invitation and Planning Commission role13:02- 1991 economic reforms18:40 - Committees for economic reform22:00 - High import controls as an economic issue26:34 - Challenges in policy reform28:38 - V.P. Singh asks Montek to write the document”?31:36 - How did the “M document" leak38:40 - Maruthi engine block story48:35 - SEBI and financial system reforms58:25 - Moving past the “Tonga mindset.”​1:01:20- Why controlled imports are tax on exports1:09:00 - How do exchange rates impact imports and exports?1:12:04 - Discovery of Roman gold coins in South India1:16:50 - Narayana Murthy's import struggles1:22:25 - Politicians should openly support beneficial policies1:32:55 - Montek's vision for India's next decade1:39:58 - Final thoughts on India's future-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

After India's big economic shift in 1991, each state grew at different rates—but they didn't all get there at the same speed.Western and southern states saw major benefits, while many in the east and north struggled to keep up. In fact, by 2021-22, the per capita income in the top five states was 3.3 times higher than in the bottom five—a clear sign of the widening divide.So, what does this uneven growth look like?In the 1960s, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal were leading India's economy with contributions of 14.4%, 12.5%, and 10.5% of GDP, respectively.  Today, Uttar Pradesh's share has fallen to 8.4%, and West Bengal's to 5.6%, but Maharashtra remains a top contributor.Gujarat's share grew from 6.4% in 2000-01 to 8.1% in 2022-23, driven by strong industry and urban centres. Southern states like Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala now make up about 30% of India's GDP, boosted by cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.In this NEON Show episode, economist and policy advisor Sanjeev Sanyal discusses India's economic journey and why growth has been so uneven across states. He explains why some regions have surged ahead while others have lagged behind, touching on the role of anchor cities and old policies like the Freight Equalization Policy that held back Eastern states.Time stamps00:00 - Trailer02:40 - Banking Reforms and Creative Destruction03:20 - Process vs. Structural Reforms05:33 - Bureaucratic Challenges Affect Efficiency14:09 - Autonomous Bodies and Obsolete Institutions16:02 - Is it time to rethink outdated National Monuments?26:06 - What Does Data Reveal About Indian States35:03 - Did “Freight equalization” Rob Kolkata of its Competitive edge?36:25 - East vs. West: Is this India's true economic divide?37:32 - Southern and Western India's Success42:42 - High Growth States Rely on Anchor Cities44:01 - Reviving Kolkata and Eastern India45:12 - Local policies that can make or break state economies.49:11 - Tourism Has Made Sikkim and Goa Economic Stars.53:35 - India Needs to Modernize the Shipping Sector01:00:36 - India Needs a Healthy Clash of Ideas------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------Sponsor shout outLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies. To know more, visit https://primevp.in/-------------This video is for informationalSend us a text

The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a game-changer for India, shaking up its economy, defence strategy, and foreign relations. For years, the USSR had been India's largest trading partner, pumping in vital support through the rupee-ruble trade agreement.  But then, December 25, 1991, arrived, and the Soviet Union collapsed. While the Soviet Union's collapse seemed like a disaster at first, it actually pushed India to evolve—fast. In this episode of The NEON Show, a former diplomat with a 36-year career in the Indian Foreign Service, Rajiv Sikri examines India's complex ties with neighbouring countries exploring issues like Kashmir, economic interdependence, and political dynamics. He also sheds light on the impact of global powers, especially the US and China, on India's strategic choices.Check out Rajiv Sikri's book Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India's Foreign Policy: https://www.amazon.in/Strategic-Conundrums-Reshaping-Indias-Foreign/dp/0143464574-------------Timestamps00:00 -Host Siddharth Ahluwalia introduces The Neon Show.00:43 - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.01:04 - Pakistan's economic/political issues.05:06 -Pakistan's ties with the West, China, and the military's role.08:40 -Kashmir conflict and India-Pakistan relations.12:06 - Pakistan's internal political dynamics.15:24 - Bangladesh's identity and India relations.18:00 - India-Bangladesh economic interdependence.26:06 - India's strategic geographic position.29:52 - India's foreign policy after the Berlin Wall's fall.33:40 - Economic impacts and India-US relations.37:52 - US-Russia relations and the Ukraine conflict.42:12 - Russia-Ukraine war's effect on India.48:16 - US dominance and unilateral actions post-1989.52:04 - Challenges to US hegemony.56:00 - India-US relations amidst strategic concerns.1:01:20 - BRICS and global multipolarity.1:04:40 - Dollar dependency and US financial power.1:08:20 - Concluding thoughts on India's foreign policy.-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------Sponsor shout outLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies. To know more, visit https://primevp.in/-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

From Baker's Son to Global Investment Legend.Mark Mobius is known as a foundational figure in emerging markets investing. He is the chairman of Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund. Before that, he led the Templeton Emerging Markets Group for over 30 years, during which the group's assets under management grew from $100 million to over $50 billion.In this episode of The NEON Show, Mark shares his rules for wealth creation, why India is his top investment pick, his reasons for pulling investments out of China, what keeps him at the top of his game at the young age of 87, two ways to lose money fast, and why understanding art and creativity is more important than finance when it comes to making money.Connect with Mark MobiusLinkedIn | TwitterTo learn more from Mark check out his The Book Of Wealth-------------Timestamps00:00 - Trailer00:00 - Early Lessons in Money & Creativity04:13 - Becoming a Professional Student05:43 - The Road to Mark's First Million08:04 - The First Emerging Markets Fund11:03 - To Make Money Don't Focus on It12:38 - Making 10 Million Dollars14:20 - Mark's Early Investment Assets15:56 - Power of Compounding: Reaching $100 Million16:51 - Mark's Success with Investing in Asia19:22 - Why Mark is Not Bullish on China22:44 - How Mark Invests in India25:01 - Why Mark is Bullish on Taiwan25:56 - Mark's 3 Reasons to Invest in India28:19 - When will India Surpass China?30:51 - From Emerging Markets to Emerging Opportunities32:37 - It's All About Liquidity34:27 - Mark's Principles of Wealth Creation35:49 - How Mark Invests in Startups37:33 - How Not to Lose Money38:43 - Make Friends & Learn From Them39:38 - What Mark Learned From John Templeton40:54 - Why Invest in Emerging Markets42:10 - Who are the Best Political Leaders42:50 - Why Mark Shifted to Dubai44:02 - No Recession Anytime Soon-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | TwitterConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn | Twitter-------------Sponsor shout outLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies. To know more, visit https://primevp.in/-------------This Send us a text

In 1947, India gained independence with a per capita of around $2000(adjusted with inflation).But over the next few decades, the govt adopted socialist policies, emphasising self-sufficiency and state-led development. As a result, India's economy grew at a slower pace of 3.5% per year.In 1991, India introduced a series of reforms— liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation. India's growth rate picked up, and by 2023, India's per capita GDP was back to $2,600, driven by market-friendly policies and increased global trade.In this episode of the NEON Show, Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Executive Director at the IMF, explains how India can become a $55 trillion economy by 2047.To learn more read India @100 : Envisioning Tomorrow's Economic Powerhouse  Connect with Krishnamurthy Subramanian Linkedin |  Twitter---------Timestamp01:20 – The power of compounding in GDP04:55 – Chess game story that explains the power of compounding06:19 – Rule of 72 to understand how money doubles09:06 – How India will become a $55 trillion economy by 204712:33 – Thalinomics to understand inflation14:20 – What is money in economic terms?17:22 – Why was the inflation-targeting regime introduced post-1991?20:30 – Inflation's effects on currency26:42 – How does a currency react to economic shocks?30:34 – India's GDP in 1947 vs today31:28 – How socialist policies potentially held India back34:40 – Capitalism has always been in India's DNA44:31 – How socialist policies have hurt Indian farmers57:22 – Is agriculture a state subject?59:59 – How India's growth is linked to productivity01:09:30 – China's GDP vs India's GDP01:16:48 – Why India is a top investment destination01:26:10 – Indian startups should innovate differently-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Follow Neon:Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | TwitterConnect with Siddhartha:LinkedIn | Twitter ------------Sponsor shout outLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit primevp.in------------This episode is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the Send us a text

How the 1991 crisis got India to rethink its economic approach.By early 1991, India's reserves were nearly gone.The government took a desperate step—it sent 67,000Kg  of gold abroad to secure a loan from the IMF.This was a last-ditch effort to avoid default, but it only bought a little time. But soon, the govt collapsed again, leading to a new election.In June 1991, P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister, and he chose Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister— and things changed.Rao and Singh quickly implemented reforms: they removed restrictive licensing, welcomed foreign investment, and eased machinery imports.The 1991 crisis forced India to rethink its economic approach—it highlighted the risks of heavy borrowing and too much government control. But it also showed that when things get tough, bold decisions can turn a bad situation into an opportunity.In this episode of the NEON Show, Rajrishi Singhal, a senior journalist, banker, shares his deep insights into India's economic reforms and financial sector. Singhal offers a nuanced perspective on why India's economic progress hasn't met expectations, touching on issues from private sector investment to the success of reforms during coalition governments.-------------Timestamp 00:00 - Introduction to the podcast and guest, Rajrishi Singhal.01:23 - Corruption in India and its impact on the economy05:30 - how demonetization was not to take out corruption07:06 - Rajiv Gandhi was the original ‘Accidental Prime Minister'12:29 - What pushed us into the 1991 crisis14:45 - Raids on reliance industries 18:57 - How India almost went bankrupt21:45 - Complexities of India's banking system19:15 - What are regional rural banks (RRBs)25:26 - Corruption's impact on investments.28:41 - Why doesn't India have more new banks32:00 - Why private sector investments in India have been limited34:25 - Success of reforms during coalition governments40:26 - Foreign investors' concerns about sudden policy changes in India41:26 - Impact of demonetization on the Indian economy-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww-------------Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In the competitive world of online grocery shopping, BigBasket is a name that stands out.But how did they get here?By 2011, smartphones were everywhere, and you could buy almost anything online—except groceries. The co-founders decided to try the grocery game online again, leading to the birth of BigBasket.In 2015, BigBasket pioneered the dark store model, using small, strategically placed warehouses to speed up deliveries and roll out express delivery services. In May 2021, Tata Digital, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, acquired a  64% stake in stake in BigBasket for about $1.5-2 billion from major shareholders, including Alibaba and Actis.In this episode of Neon Show, Vipul Parekh, the visionary co-founder of BigBasket, shares his invaluable insights and experiences from his entrepreneurial journey. Vipul shares candid insights on the recent disruption in the online grocery space with the rise of quick commerce.----------------Timestamp00:00 Introduction01:14 Reflections on building BigBasket for 13 years02:21 Admitting wrong predictions about online grocers03:25 Analysis of online grocery delivery changes in India05:30 Factors behind quick commerce success in India07:45 Quick Commerce's success in India vs. other countries09:22 Profitability challenges for dark stores11:52 BigBasket's market share and transition plans13:06 Leveraging Tata Group synergies in retail15:36 Shift in household behaviour towards quick commerce21:53  Why India doesn't have its own Walmart-equivalent23:15 Learnings from Big Basket28:22 Tata's long-term approach to business30:04 BigBasket founders' future involvement31:47  Lessons from Tata33:00 Implementing financial governance at BigBasket36:08 Trillion-dollar question39:49 Potential for $100B Indian Startups45:18 Building financial independence through startups49:15 Hard work Vs Luck52:20 Vipul's background 55:40 Time in Wipro and meeting VS Sudhakar-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww-------------Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Every entrepreneur dreams of turning a small startup into a global powerhouse. But how do you do it without following the typical "build a product, get funding, scale it, and exit" playbook? Luca Ferrari, founder and CEO of Bending Spoons, did just that— their journey is anything but conventional.It started in 2013, when their first-ever startup Evertale flopped and left them with just $40,000. After Evertale missed PMF, they pivoted, bootstrapping Bending Spoons by focusing on acquiring digital products with solid market fit but untapped potential.Bending Spoons has mastered the art of turning underperforming digital businesses into powerhouses using operational tweaks, AI, and machine learning.In this episode of Neon Show, we sit down with Luca Ferrari in the heart of Milan, at the headquarters of a tech company that's rewriting the rules of how digital businesses scale.Discover their bold acquisition strategy behind major deals like Evernote and Splice, and how they've managed to serve 150 million monthly active users with just 400 employees!Timestamp:00:00 Introduction00:37 Who is Luca and what's Bending Spoons?02:32 Bending Spoons by the numbers: Users and revenue03:05 Recent funding rounds: 2023 and 202404:59 Profitability and use of debt07:27 Luca's previous startup experience10:17 The birth of Bending Spoons in 201313:35 The secret sauce: Product-market fit and talent15:29 First acquisition: iPhone keyboard app18:28 Top revenue generators: Remind, Evernote, Splice20:26 Future acquisition strategy debate24:24 Price range for acquisitions33:29 Transforming acquired products like Evernote37:00 Competing with giants: Evernote vs. Notion42:32 Plans to enter enterprise software45:07 Luca's take on product-market fit47:58 Luck vs. skill in Bending Spoons' success51:30 AI's Impact on Bending Spoons54:42 Why Italy for Bending Spoons?59:08 Going public: Future plans1:00:32 Luca's journey: From small town to tech CEO1:04:27 Why aren't more tech companies starting in Europe?1:10:54 Bending Spoons' unique hiring approach1:14:35 Future growth areas for Bending Spoons1:16:47 The art of pricing in acquisitions1:21:49 How accurate are Bending Spoons' acquisition predictions?-----------------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.—---------------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww—---------------------Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/—---------------------DisclaimerThis video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not c

To say that India needs to create more jobs, is a downplay - what we need are 20 million jobs every year. But jobs can't be created out of the wishing well.We have resources, but not proper skills. We have opportunities, but not proper initiatives to boost on the employment elasticity. We need a shift from Tier 1 to Tier 2 cities. We need a shift of capitals. We need immigration-based jobs for our youths, and we definitely need the women workforce landscape to improve at the earliest. But, will this be enough?Check out our latest podcast where we are in a conversation with Sridhar Krishna, a senior scholar at the Takshashila Institution, to know more!  Timestamps00:00 - 00:47 - The Karnataka Job Reservation Bill04:19 - The impact on the recruiters/builders07:00 - Public Transport and Women in Karnataka 09:16 - Bangalore is not just for startups!09:27 - Government's performance: what we have done well & where can we improve? 11:19 - India needs 20 million jobs each year 12:00 - How to create jobs in India?13:16 - Annual PLF data on unemployment - truth or facade?14:12 - Have “100 million people joined the workforce” truly?14:52 - Labor productivity in India vs in the US 15:22 - Statistics on how to grow employment elasticity 16:25 - 1800 people apply for 10 vacancies in Gujarat - why? 17:23 - ILO reports on job skills and job vacancy mismatch 18:56 - Is manufacturing & services good options to transition from agriculture?20:32 - Shridhar talks about his take on Raghuram Rajan's book “Breaking the Mould”21:26 - Are PLIs unable to craft job growth?22:30 - Rebuilding big cities - a solution for employment growth?23:22 - Lavasa, Maharshtra failed - why?25:02 - Utlising AI to analyse the nature of jobs in other countries27:08 - Career Impact Bonds - What's that?33:14 - 6 pillars as proposed by the recent Eonomic Survey33:49 - Focus needs to shift from Tier 1 to Tier 2 cities 34:40 - Women workforce participation better in Bangladesh than India?39:57 - India losing significant GDP due to fewer women in the workplaceFollow Sridhar Krishna - Linkedin -   / sridharkrishna  X - https://x.com/sridhar_kri?___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Over the last decade, we have been getting news updates, social media highlights, and WhatsApp forwards about India being the “fastest growing economy” in the world. IMF, World Bank, and ADB have confirmed this. The question is, in the face of demonetisation, GST, and the drastic shift of focus to the organised sector from the unorganised one, is this data a true reflection of India's economic reality?  Today, Neon talks about these facts with Professor Arun Kumar, a renowned author of economic titles and an Economic Professor at JNU.Watch the episode to know more!Timestamps0:00 - Introduction0:14 - Introducing Economist Arun Kumar0:40 - Current scenario of India's Economy1:25 - South East Asian countries' growth from 1947 as compared to India?3:31 - Proof of India's failure in education system 5:20 - How can India develop education & health?8:48 - Does India really have “TOO MANY” billionaires & why is it a concern?  9:24 - The journey from becoming a “developing” nation to a “developed nation.”10:51 - The “Bottom-Up Approach” - What's that? 14:00 - Growing chasm between high-earning & low-earning category?15:22 - Is the current budget failing to fund labour-intensive sectors?17:03 - What's the unorganised sector in India?17:47 - What are the Micro, Small & Medium Sectors in India?18:33 - Robot uprising vs human employment! 21:03 - What are the 4 types of unemployment in India?23:27 - 60k jobs and 47 lakhs applicants ?27:20 - Is GDP a proxy of the organised sector for the unorganised sector?30:03 - Demonetisations hits the unorganised sector32:12 - Is IMF, World Bank & ADB's version of India's fastest economic growth true?34:25 - Black economy = Digging holes & filing holes40:40 - India should have been 8X its current economy - how & why did we fail?42:31 - Are we really a 3.6 trillion dollar economy?51:11 - How can we help the unorganised sector generate more income? 1:01:48 - Bottom economy = 40% of the Goverment's vote bank & yet not the focus of development & growth? Why?1:05:26 - Why does the government want to help the organised sector?1:11:38 - How will India transform into a “developed” nation or double the GDP per capita?___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

SaaS is Dead. There is Too Much SaaS.The two most common proclamations about SaaS these days. But where is the truth?In this episode we analyse the State of SaaS in 2024. We discover new truths and uncover fundamental truths.From where is the money in SaaS to where is the market. From the challenges first time founders face to the mistakes second time founders make. We cover the heavy cost of not understanding brand marketing, why PMF is not a science, IPOs in India, The India SaaS Advantage, Pricing Innovation and so much more.Tune in for insights to power your SaaS strategy in 2024 and beyond.Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction1:06 - Where is SaaS in 20242:08 - Delivering Value is the Most Important Thing3:57 - AI is a Tool not a Magic Wand5:04 - SpotDraft's Super Growth5:36 - Is There Too Much SaaS?9:49 - Where is the Money?12:22 - Metrics, Metrics But No Vanity Metrics14:50 - Is There an India advantage for SaaS IPOs?17:18 - Pallav's lessons from Investing in 50+ SaaS companies23:30 - What First: Feature Parity or Pricing?25:24 - Where Are Category Creators SaaS Startups in India?28:02 - Has AI Changed Buyer Expectations30:24 - The Next SaaS Unicorns From India32:35 - Exploring Exit Options for Indian SaaS Unicorns35:01 - So Much to Learn From SaaS Startup Community37:19 - Why Do Second Time Founders Fail40:39 - PMF is Not a Science44:14 - SaaS is Dead?48:55 - Digital Marketing or Billboards?51:02 - The Cost of Not Understanding Brand Marketing54:44 - Is Europe a Good Market for SaaS Startups?59:36 - How to Expand Globally1:01:30 - To Be a US HQ or India HQ Company?1:05:01 - Pallav on Fusion Charts and Presentations dot ai1:09:00 - Discussion on replacing established SaaS products1:15:11 - Success in SaaS: Product vs Distribution___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

150 Years of Greatness in 50 Minutes.There is much talk about John D Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie but not much about India's first business Titan, Jamshedji Tata.In this episode, we sat down with Harish Bhat, Former Brand Custodian of Tata Group, and dive deep into Tata Group and its legendary founder. The founder who kept community at center and nation first, who brought the best to India and built the best in India with fire in his eyes and kindness in his heart. And the giant which never stops, the Tata group, from building India's first steel plant to India's first airlines.Tune in to hear lesser-known but must-watch stories about what it takes to build great companies with mission and purpose.00:00 - Introduction00:36 - The Story of A Titan06:19 - Lessons From An Entrepreneur With Purpose08:29 - The Value of Values12:10 - Great Founders Are Always in The Room16:44 - Because Right Decisions Matter19:25 - The Everything Company: From Textiles to Telecom21:56 - The Great Digital Evolution23:33 - How Tata Group Created India's First Cancer Hospital28:36 - Building The Best With Fire in Eyes & Kindness in Heart36:16 - What Makes Someone a Patriot38:32 - Great Leaders Are Great Readers42:43 - How India Started Flying49:33 - Always Be Learning___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Success Starts with Belief. And Belief Comes from Actions.Indians and the world are optimistic about India. But what actions has India taken that inspire this belief? And what actions does India need to take to keep up the momentum?From independence to today, India has increased its GDP 40x, its per capita income 8x, its literacy rate 6x, and its electrification 300x, among many other achievements. But the ambition of its people has also grown manifold.In this episode, we talk about India's journey from a survival mindset to a thriving mindset, and its road to becoming a developed nation. From entrepreneurs everywhere to numerous IPOs. From brain drain to reverse flipping. And what the government needs to do to what we, the people, need to do.Tune in and let us know what are you optimistic about.00:00 - Introduction01:00 - The Hero's Journey Of India03:31 - Doing Business Is Not A Bad Thing07:02 - India Is More Ambitious Than Ever09:10 - Entrepreneurs Everywhere: From IITs To Tier 2 Cities11:59 - What's NAAMM?12:47 - India's Pivot From Socialism To Capitalism16:07 - India Story Vs China Story20:47 - How Flipkart's Acquisition Changed Everything22:46 - How Much Should Regulators Regulate?26:56 - IPOs, IPOs and More IPOs28:36 - The Era of Reverse Flipping30:28 - The $10 Trillion Dollar Economy Goal31:14 - India is Growing But Are All Indians Too?33:08 - Will SaaS Be India's Next Growth Lever?34:52 - What Inspires Us At Neon?___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

China is the 2nd largest economy. India is on its way to become the 3rd largest economy. Few decades ago both were at the same level. Is there anything for India to learn from China? Or we will have our own unique journey?In this episode of The Neon Show we explore the nuances behind the economic and political landscapes of India and China. From becoming the world's biggest factory to now shifting to high-end manufacturing. From economic liberalisation to now back to being heavily controlled by the government. From boom to bust.China & India are two very unique countries. But are there any similarities between these two Asian giants? Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on two of the world's most important economies.00:00 - Introduction00:45 - Similarities and Differences Between India and China07:49 - How China Became The World's Factory?15:17 - Do Indian & Chinese Cities Face Same Challenges?20:50 - What Caused The Real Estate Bubble in China? 30:14 - Why is China Shifting to High-End Manufacturing?35:31 - Charlie Munger on India Vs China41:11 - Does India Have The Right Industrial Policy?45:09 - The Right Job For The Right People48:36 - The Power of Good Infrastructure___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Talent Investing and the Future of EntrepreneurshipIn this episode, we have Matt Clifford, founder of Entrepreneur First, an organization focused on talent investing. We cover how EF invests in talent, the success stories and unicorns that have emerged, and whether location truly matters for entrepreneurs.Matt also discusses the optimism of Indian talent, the regulatory environment in Europe, and India's unique AI opportunities. We also explore how the UK differs from the EU in tech innovation, why Silicon Valley remains the best, and what it takes to win in the software market.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction00:25 - Investing in Talent First07:34 - Matt's Journey From Mckinsey to EF11:13 - Why EF is Now A Venture Fund15:02 - How EF Investments in Talent17:55 - EF Success Stories & Unicorns26:16 - Does Location Matter for Entrepreneurs?30:38 - Why Indian Talent is So Optimistic?33:33 - Is Europe All About Regulation?37:29 - India's Unique AI Opportunity45:06 - How UK is Different From EU50:08 - Why Silicon Valley is Still The Best54:02 - What to Win in Software Market56:34 - Key Learnings from 13 Years of EF___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________Sponsor Shout OutLooking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Mobile App is The New Bank Branch.In this episode we have Vinay Bagri, co-founder of Niyo, one of the leaders in the Neo banking movement in India. Vinay shares fascinating insights on how young India travels, the opportunity size of the travel tech market and why India hasn't become a major travel destination despite having the best to offer.We also cover Vinay's journey from FMCG to Banking, The Impact of Regulations on FinTech, And large untapped opportunities in Fintech space.Timestamps00:00 - Introduction00:56 - From Water Bottles to Personal Loans06:05 - The Rapid Evolution of Banking In the Last 20 years09:41 - Mobile App is The New Bank Branch14:57 - The Launch of Niyo19:43 - Is Travel Tech a Big Market?24:12 - Where & How Young India Travels31:03 - How Powerful is Indian Passport?39:02 - Why Aren't More People Travelling to India43:28 - The Good & Bad Of Regulations on FinTech50:13 - Is IPL Good For Acquiring Customers?51:17 - What's Next for FinTech in India___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Nishit had a front-row seat to the growth of the Indian Startup ecosystem. And often times he was in the driver's seat as well.Nishit Garg, a partner at RTP Global, shares his experiences from his early days at Flipkart, discussing the pivotal 0-1 journey and key projects that shaped his career. He provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Tiger Global revolutionized the Indian startup ecosystem and his reasons for joining RTP Global.We also cover the scaling challenges for Indian startups, staying relevant in a rapidly evolving market, the ability to sell and the surprising nature of Indian markets.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:07 - Nishit's Entry in The Startup World07:55 - The 0-1 Journey at Flipkart09:34 - How Tiger Global Changed the Indian Startup World10:07 - Why Nishit Joined RTP Global17:46 - Why India Surprises Everyone?24:06 - The Right to Win For VCs26:41 - Venture Capital is About Power Law35:33 - Challenges & Opportunities For Indian Founders40:09 - Scaling Challenges for Indian Startups47:48 - Growth is The Only Way to Stay Relevant57:31 - Future of Indian Startup Ecosystem___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. __________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/__________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Manav Garg is the founder of Eka and Together Fund.Manav started Eka before SaaS was even a word. We start with Manav's journey from a small town in Punjab to founding Eka, one of India's first vertical SaaS companies. He shares all the ups and down in Eka & his life in the last 20 years. From building and selling from India to global businesses. From pivoting, which few companies survive, to coming out not just alive but highly profitable again. We also discuss his work with SaaS Bhoomi, future of Indian B2B SaaS, Together fund and Manav's next mission.-------------------------------------Timestamps00:00 - Introduction00:39 - From Small Town Punjab to International Trading12:08 - Quitting Job & Now What17:00 - Fundraising Struggles & Launching Eka23:07 - Scaling Eka from $3-4 million to $10-20 million26:57 - The Journey of Scaling a SaaS Business From India30:00 - The Time To Pivot & How to Come Out Alive35:23 - Build SaaS From India: But Where Are The Lessons?36:26 - Reaching Revenue Peaks Again After The Pivot37:23 - Next Mission After Eka41:14 - How To Plan An Exit Like a Pro48:30 - Together Fund and Its Mission54:17 - AI Wave & SaaS: What's Changed?1:00:08 - The Growth of Indian B2B SaaS1:03:33 - AI-First Tools From India1:08:08 - AI and New(&Old) Industries1:12:00 - Business Runs On Trust1:17:20 - Don't Be Indisciplined About Discipline1:21:14 - Lessons From 20-year journey with Eka___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. ___________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/___________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/___________________________________

VCs Invest in Startups But Who Invests In VCs?In this episode we host Raja Doddala, an experienced investor and a key figure at Churchill AM a leading Fund of Fund. Raja shares how he judges the strategy of a VC fund, metrics to evaluate a fund manager, which sectors have yielded the best returns and the differences between the best VC funds and the rest.We also discuss how funds compete for the best VCs, why old days of fundraising are over, whether Indian public markets are better than the US for IPOs, why he and Churchill are excited about India and much more...If you are interested in startups, venture capital, fund management, and investment strategies then this is the episode for you.___________________________________Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:11 - From Software Engineer to Investing in VC funds03:53 - The People Who Invest in VC Funds05:33 - State of Fund of Fund Ecosystem in the US06:51 - What Makes Fund of Fund Different from University Endowments?07:42 - What Makes Someone an Emerging Manager08:59 - Churchill's Strategy for Venture Capital Investments12:56 - How to Choose The Right Fund of Fund Manager15:10 - How Fund of Fund Compete For The Best VCs18:10 - Churchill's Evaluation Criteria for VC Funds22:34 - At What Stage of Fund Does Churchill Invest24:17 - Churchill's Geographical Focus From US to Israel26:29 - Manager Is More Important Than The Strategy30:01 - Metrics to Evaluate a Fund Manager: IRR, DPI & TVPI33:39 - Which Sectors Have Given The Best Return36:40 - How Raja Judges The Strategy of a VC Fund38:09 - How The Best Differ From The Rest39:59 - Old Days of Fundraising Are Over42:20 - Decide Your Minimum Viable Fund Size44:03 - The Mortality Rate of Funds45:02 - Mistakes Funds Make When Building Data Rooms47:45 - Why Raja & Churchill Are Excited About India49:57 - Churchill's Investment Strategy for India50:59 - Churchill's Investment Strategy for Israel53:05 - Are Indian Public Markets Better Than US for IPOs___________________________________Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes. We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. ___________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/___________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/___________________________________

In this episode of The Neon Show, we dive deep into the serious world of casual gaming in India with Dilsher Malhi, the founder of Zupee.We discuss the uniquness of Indian gaming market, why entertainment is a feature and not a bug, India's trillion dollor digital economy dream and how will regulation affect the gaming industry.If you are serious(or casual) about gaming and startups then this episode will offer a range of insights to you.________________________________Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction 01:12 - Gaming Market in India: Who, What & How Much03:39 - Did You Win By Skill Or Chance?06:05 - The Serious World of Casual Gaming09:47  - Is Real Money Gaming Bad for Society?12:33 - Entertainment is a feature, not a bug14:39 - Real Money Gaming & Stock Markets19:33  - Innovation Vs Regulation: What's The Right Balance24:32 - From Infosys mafia to Flipkart mafia25:13 - Why Indian Gaming Market is Unique?29:29 - Why is RMG Successful in India and NOT Everywhere?30:35 - The Tencent Story: Power of Brand & Distribution31:44 - Does India Have a Gaming Ecosystem?32:43 - Gen AI Will Make Everyone Creative34:25 - What Makes Zupee Successful?35:27 - Break Barriers and Build Amazing Things36: 23 - Lessons From an Unstructured Learner39:07 - The Joys of Crazy Inherent Curiosity________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/

Join us on this exciting episode of The Neon Show as Siddhartha Ahluwalia hosts an insightful conversation with Sanjay Swamy, Shripati Acharya, and Amit Somani, Managing Partners at Prime Venture Partners.We discuss the past, present and future of Venture Capital in India. In this unfiltered conversation we cover the struggles, successes, opportunites and failures as well.From MakeMyTrip IPO to the evolution of the Indian market. From why talent left India to why it is coming back now. From building a career in venture capital to the nuances people miss. And so much moreDon't miss this episode if you want to gain a deeper understanding of venture capital in India from seasoned experts.___________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/___________________________________Visit our Website: https://neon.fund/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheNeonShowwFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/___________________________________Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction 01:09 - The Origin Story of Prime Venture Partners02:48 - India's Place In The Global Macro04:02 - MakeMyTrip IPO and The Evolution of the Indian Market06:29 - Why Is Talent Returning to India11:55 - What's Unique About The Indian Tech Ecosystem17:45 - The Impact of Global VC Funds' Presence in India20:59 - Prime Venture Partners' Strategy and the India Opportunity26:24 - The Magic Four-Letter Word (Exit) In Venture Capital34:14 - Building A Career in Venture Capital39:03 - The Nuances of Venture Capital People Miss50:20 - The Venture Capital Opportunity In India52:34 - Lessons Learned From Companies That Didn't Succeed