Understanding the Shifting Landscape of Fundraising Negotiations in India with Mehak Khanna from Khaitan & Khaitan

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In this episode you will learn:

02:30 - Origins of Venture Studios

09:02 - Venture Studios vs Accelerators

13:49 - Higher Startup Success Rates with Venture Studios?

18:43 - Founder Obsession with Idea: Key to Startup Success?

24:35 - Evaluating Founders for Outbound Opportunities

31:44 - Founders: Domain Expertise vs Quick Learners

33:49 - Corporate Collaboration with Venture Studios

39:14 - Equity Ownership for Founders in Venture Studios

45:08 - Challenges Faced by Venture Studios

46:39 - Collaboration with LPs in Venture Studios

53:11 - Managing Multiple Studios within a Venture Studio

59:13 - Who Should Start a Venture Studio?

01:01:43 - Conclusion

About:
Sam is an entrepreneur, venture builder, board advisor and investor. He works with pre-seed and seed-stage entrepreneurs & investors to build startups & venture studios.

In 2017, he founded Rainmaking APAC Venture Studio. Rainmaking APAC is today one of the largest venture development companies in the region, and was acquired by Bain & Company in 2023. 

The companies that have been built and scaled by Rainmaking APAC have generated $880m in funding and hold a combined equity value of more than $9bn. Through his work with Rainmaking APAC, Sam has also pioneered a range of equity-share models of corporate venture building.

Sam’s focus is on building companies, supporting venture build ecosystems, and creating and empowering venture builders. He believes that entrepreneurship is one of the best means that we have of offering fulfilling work and creating the conditions required to unlock the potential in our global workforce at scale. 

Prior to launching Rainmaking APAC Venture Studio, Sam was a founder and early team member in startups in Europe, and invested in startups through an early-stage accelerator. These experiences as founder, operator and investor shaped the thinking, philosophy, process and governance structure that he now applies to venture building at scale in the Rainmaking APAC Venture Studio.

In this episode you will learn:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:00:42 - Optical vs Quantum Computing

00:03:11 - Basics of Photonic Computing

00:07:15 - Challenges in using Optics for Compute

00:09:44 - Under-utilization of Compute for Data Transfer

00:13:19 - Segments and Opportunities in Photonics

00:20:08 - Lumai's Approach in Optical Processing

00:21:55 - Importance of Optical Computing in AI Progress

00:27:21 - Industries Benefiting from Optical Computing Breakthroughs

00:30:10 - Talent and Startups in Optical Computing

00:33:12 - Backgrounds of Optical Computing Founders

00:34:09 - Do we need Quantum Computing?

00:41:09 - Challenges of Optical Computing

00:43:29 - Investment Opportunities in Optical Computing

00:45:07 - Business Models for Optical Computing Startups

00:50:54 - Exits and Acquisitions: Problem Size and Tech Maturity

About

Denis Kalinin, serving as the Asia Business Development Manager at Runa Capital since 2020, plays a pivotal role in advancing Runa's initiatives across Asia. His primary focus lies in facilitating the entry of portfolio startups into Asian markets, with a special emphasis on China. Denis actively seeks out suitable technological and distribution partners for these startups, while also contributing to the scouting efforts for B2B SaaS, Deep Tech, and Fintech startups in the Asian region.

Before joining Runa, Denis led an investment project in China and co-founded a startup dedicated to assisting high-tech companies in navigating the Chinese market. Holding an M.S. degree from the University for International Business and Economics in Beijing, Denis also gained valuable international exposure through an exchange program at the Free University of Berlin. Notably, he served as the chairman of a student Energy Club during his academic tenure.

Fluent in English, German, and Chinese, Denis has a penchant for watching series and reading books in these three languages. Beyond his professional pursuits, Denis exhibits a keen interest in space exploration, having authored several articles comparing various space industries.

In this episode you will learn:

00:00 - Introduction

01:54 - Talent Investing & Fundamentals 

03:28 - Talent Investing vs. Recruitment

05:10 - What Talent Investors Look For

08:11 - Characteristics of Great Talent Investors

14:14 - Early Discovery of Exceptional Individuals

16:22 - Finding Exceptional Talent

17:58 - Characteristics of a Great Founder

23:48 - Challenges in Finding the Right Founders

26:37 - Fear of Failure

31:07 - Role of Family and Childhood

34:02 - Decision to Become a Founder

37:54 - Co-Founders with Complimentary Skillsets

42:09 - Increased productivity w/ a Co-Founder
52:18 - EF’s Ecosystem 

54:36 - EF's Graduate vs. Core Programs

01:01:17 - Conclusion

About

Rahul Samat, Partner and India Head at Entrepreneur First, brings over 14 years of experience as a founder, builder, and mentor. He holds a Master's in Science from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a scholarship program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Rahul started his career in banking at Barclays Investment Bank and later joined Capital One. In 2014, he co-founded InnerChef, a VC-backed startup, and in 2016, he became the Head of Private & Strategic Brands at Swiggy. In 2022, Rahul joined Entrepreneur First to lead and expand the team in India, focusing on supporting entrepreneurs from the pre-idea stage to fundraising through EF's investor network.

In this episode you will learn:

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:02:42] Mehak explains startup convertible notes.

[00:05:00] Improvements and challenges in Indian startup regulations.

[00:06:24] Foreign fundraising challenges and issues.

[00:09:24] Angel tax impact on startups and investors.

[00:11:46] Impact of recent FinTech regulatory changes.

[00:13:24] Data Protection Bill overview and startup cost implications.

[00:15:06] Crowdfunding platforms in India.

[00:17:51] Pandemic's impact on fundraising and startup valuations.

[00:19:00] Mehak on ESG importance in Indian startups.

[00:21:24] ESG due diligence and compliance indemnities.

[00:23:00] Explanation of indemnity in negotiations.

[00:25:50] Fundraising terms becoming founder and investor-friendly.

[00:26:55] Discussion on equity, preference shares, convertible notes, and debentures.

[00:28:46] Mehak on equity-debt debate and finding the right balance.

[00:29:54] Factoring vs. Debt Instruments: SAS companies and cash flow.

[00:30:47] Investor-Friendly Terms: Founder lock-in and escrow securities.

[00:33:23] Key Investor Rights: Preemptive, anti-dilution, and exit rights.

[00:34:46] Impact of Governance Issues: Control over founders and compliance focus.

[00:36:31] Founder's Response to Compliance Challenges: Establishing compliance departments and seeking advice.

[00:37:32] Compliance Verticals: ESG, tax, financial, data, and IP compliance.

[00:40:33] Challenge of Compliance in India: Navigating through myriad laws.

[00:41:41] Improvements in Contract Enforcement: Faster judicial remedies.

[00:43:18] Streamlining Labor Laws: Indian government's efforts through labor codes.

[00:45:50] Contractual Compliance: Focus on watertight contracts.

[00:47:38] Compliance Verticals: ESG, tax, financial, data, and IP compliance.

[00:49:46] Investor Checks and Balances: Emphasizing checks and balances.

[00:50:59] Post Fraud or Embezzlement Remedies: Founder clawback and exit clauses.

[00:53:19] Directors and Officers Liability Insurance: Protecting investor representatives.

[00:55:16] Positive Trend: Increasing importance of due diligence and compliance.

About

A seasoned corporate lawyer with 15 years of experience in law firms and in-house legal departments, Mehak has led strategic legal advice for both large, established companies and fast-growing tech startups, as well as investors. She has overseen intricate restructuring and M&A transactions, from orchestrating contract drafting and negotiations to delivering corporate advisory services and managing real estate deals. Her expertise extends beyond practice areas to include sector-specific advice in a wide range of fields, such as FMCG, manufacturing, technology/digital, sports, food, telecommunications, entertainment, e-commerce, and retail. She is a recipient of prestigious awards, including the ET Prime Women Leadership Award 2021, Asian Legal Business India Rising Star 2021, FORBES Under 40 Top General Counsel 2020, and the 40 Under 40 Rising Star Award by Legal Era 2020. Mehak regularly engages with industry and economy in forums and media such as Mint, Business Standard, and News18.

In this episode you will learn:
[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:05:15] Building an Enduring Firm

[00:08:00] Challenges of Partnership Culture

[00:10:43] Personal Brand vs Firm Brand

[00:13:00] Succession Planning

[00:17:00] Long-Term Commitment

[00:19:00] LP Relationships

[00:20:55] Advantages of a Partnership

[00:21:37] Benefits of Scale

[00:21:52] Building a Great Firm and Naming

[00:23:00] Soft Aspects of Building a Firm

[00:24:59] Unifying Themes in Firms

[00:27:00] Progression in Venture Capital

[00:29:40] Motivation and Managing a Firm

[00:31:20] Understanding Carry

[00:35:00] Managing Long-Term Careers

[00:39:07] Carry Allocation

[00:42:45] Team Dynamics and Carry Distribution

[00:43:50] Inclusion of Back-Office in Incentives

[00:44:40] Building a Successful VC Firm

[00:45:56] Firm Evolution

[00:47:32] Transition to a Bigger Institution

[00:49:25] Challenges in Talent Retention

[00:53:00] Philosophical Differences and Firm Evolution

[00:57:00] Risks in VC Industry

[01:02:00] Solo GPs vs. Venture Firms

[01:04:38] Building a Healthy VC Firm

About

Hussein is a partner at Hoxton Ventures. He currently represents Hoxton on the boards of Avantia Law, Baseimmune, BeyondRisk, Biocortex, Biotx, DruidAI, Finesse, Fy!, Giraffe360, Kbox, Kitt, Luminary, Peptone, PillSorted, Raptor Supplies, Really Clever, Rensair, Replai, Replan, Skin Analytics, TourRadar and XYZ Reality, and serves as a board observer on Behavox and Karakuri. He previously served on the boards of Babylon Health (NYSE:BBLN), bd4travel (acquired by Dnata), Campanja (acquired by 24/7 Media), Darktrace (LSE:DARK), Deliveroo (LSE:ROO), Panakeia, SOCOS (acquired by Sophos), Yieldify (acquired by Publicis) and Vidya Health.

Hussein serves on the board of UCLB, the commercialization company of UCL and also sits on the advisory board of GTO Partners, a tech mid-market buyout firm, and Landscape, a venture capital review site. Previously he served on the board of Tech Nation, a UK quasi non-governmental organization. In a personal capacity, he is an angel investor in Apex:E3, Builder.ai, Callaly, GoCardless, Mellizyme, MyGlamm, Reachdesk and Signpost.

While forming Hoxton, he helped Eros STX Global develop ErosNow, an online streaming video platform for Bollywood. Prior to Hoxton, Hussein was an associate with Accel Partners. He joined Accel from Microsoft Corporation. Earlier in his career, he worked with three startups, Safe-View (acquired by L-3), Radiance Technologies (acquired by Comcast) and Studio Verso (acquired by KPMG).

Hussein holds an MBA from London Business School and did his undergraduate studies in Symbolic Systems at Stanford University.

He stubbornly refuses to swear allegiance to a monarch and remains a proud American.

In this episode you will learn:

00:00 Introduction to Voluntary Carbon Markets

01:51 Exploring the Controversy Around Carbon Offsetting Firm Southport

05:14 Defining Carbon Credits and Carbon Offsets

11:09 The Challenges of Carbon Sequestration

19:59 The Role of Nature-Based Solutions in Carbon Markets

25:28 The Struggles and Potential of Nature-Based Carbon Credits

29:28 The Need for Both Engineering and Nature-Based Solutions

30:15 The Impact of Energy Sources on Carbon Credit Calculations

31:05 The Importance of Clean Energy

31:32 Challenges of Carbon Dioxide Capture

32:30 Potential Low-Energy Solutions for Carbon Capture

33:28 Discussion on Carbon Capture Techniques

34:08 The Role of Rock Weathering in Carbon Capture

34:48 The Potential of Carbonates in Carbon Sequestration

37:04 Challenges in the Voluntary Carbon Market

38:07 The Role of Compliance Market in Carbon Reduction

38:53 The Impact of Corporate Carbon Reduction Goals

39:43 The Need for More Credible Carbon Projects

40:34 The Role of Government and Companies in Carbon Reduction

52:01 The Rise of Climate-Focused Startups

55:04 The Business Models of Climate Startups

59:03 The Future of Carbon Capture Startups

About:
Maryanna Saenko is an early-stage venture capitalist and cofounder of Future Ventures. She invests in frontier technologies that make the world a better place, and don’t prey on human frailty. Recent investments have been across a wide swath of sectors, including nuclear fusion, sustainable agricultural and land management, bee immunology, women’s reproductive longevity, and the application of AI to everything from the construction industry to medical therapeutics. Previously she was at Khosla Ventures, and prior to that DFJ. She was also an investment partner at Airbus Ventures where she led a series of venture investments strategically aligned with Airbus’ future-of-aerospace initiatives. Before Airbus, Maryanna was a consultant at Lux Research and a research engineer at Cabot Corporation. She’s worked on lunar rovers, martian landers, driverless cars, and long-range low-frequency communication systems. 

Maryanna graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in BioMedical Engineering and a BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering.

In this episode you will learn:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:37 - Productivity of Agriculture in India

00:05:34 - Why Manufacturing isn’t where it’s supposed to be

00:06:54 - Opportunities for Tech Investment in Agriculture

00:07:59 - Omnivore’s Investment Focus

00:09:27 - Life Sciences

00:11:28 - Can ALT protein address protein deficiency in the Indian diet?

00:13:52 - Structural Changes in Diet

00:19:04 - Opportunities in Life Sciences

00:23:05 - Policy Changes for Agriculture

00:27:52 - Land Reforms and Digitization

00:30:30 - Leasing Land

00:33:34 - Entrepreneurial Talent in Agri Tech

00:36:42 - Diverse Business Models in Agri Tech

00:38:06 - IPOs in Agri Tech

00:40:07 - Small Holder Farming

00:41:23 - Drawing Wisdom from Rudyard Kipling

About:
Mark co-founded Omnivore with Jinesh Shah in 2010. Previously, Mark was the Executive Vice President (Strategy & Business Development) at Godrej Agrovet, one of India’s foremost diversified agribusiness companies. At Godrej Agrovet, Mark was responsible for corporate strategy, M&A, R&D, and new business incubation.  Earlier in his career, Mark worked for Syngenta and PFM.  He earned a BA (Honors) from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar.

In this episode you will learn:

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:37 Debate on Investing in YC Startups

04:43 The Role of Accelerators in Startup Success

06:34 Benefits of Joining an Accelerator

08:31 The Challenges of Being a Startup Founder

15:01 Choosing the Right Accelerator

18:12 What Accelerators Look for in Startups

22:46 Investment Deal Terms for Accelerators

25:26 Reasons a Startup Might Not Join an Accelerator

25:37 Understanding the Role and Value of Accelerators

26:25 The Business Model of Accelerators

27:37 The Importance of Providing an Excellent Founder Experience

29:15 The Challenges of Running an Accelerator

30:53 Exploring Different Models: Venture Studios and Incubators

38:05 The Evolution and Future of Accelerators

42:35 The Competitive Landscape for Accelerators

47:02 The Impact of Tech Advancements on Accelerator Models

50:25 Why Choose Forum VC for B2B SaaS Startups

About:
Michael Cardamone is the CEO and Managing Partner at Forum Ventures. Prior to Forum Ventures, Michael was one of the first 30 employees at Box in a BD role and then led partnerships at AcademixDirect. He is also an angel investor in a dozen companies, including in the seed round of Flexport. 

In this episode you will learn:

00:00 - Introduction

01:21 - Who is a solo capitalist?

03:42 - What are the merits of being a solo capitalist?

07:50 - How is a solo capitalist helpful for a founder?

15:20 - Do solo GPs offer better founder friendly terms?

17:30 - Can solo capitalists be a bad deal for some founders?

22:10 - Why are LPs interested in backing solo GPs?

24:20 - Do solo capitalists charge lower management fees than LPs?

29:00 - Is there an upper limit to the fund size for solo capitalists?

30:08 - What are the challenges of being a solo capitalist?

35:40 - How should solo capitalists look at their succession?

36:40 - How can solo capitalists stay on top of their game while maintaining work-life balance?

38:50 - How do solo VCs and traditional firms differ in terms of diligence, sourcing, portfolio risk management, etc?

41:40 - How has being a solo capitalist become a ‘trend’ in the last five years?

47:50 - Are solo capitalists born out of the evolution of scout programs and super angels?

51:00 - Do founders' agile fundraising strategies match the support provided by solo capitalists?

56:00 - What is the next step in the evolution of solo GPs?

57:15 - Will solo capitalists operate like traditional firms when it comes to managing reserves?

01:00:00 - How will the relation between traditional VC firms and solo capitalists evolve?

01:03:33 - Conclusion

About

Itamar is a solo capitalist and the founder of Recursive Ventures, a pre-seed fund focused on fintech, AI and emerging tech startups. Itamar has been on all sides of the startup table: as a founder and executive, an institutional VC, and an angel investor. He has supported over 50 successful startups, including Deel, Honeybook, Placer, Credible (IPO), MileIQ (acquired by Microsoft), Automatic Labs (acquired by SiriusXM), Tile (acquired by Life360), SafeGraph, and Armory. He’s been recognized by Business Insider as a Top 100 global seed investor. As an operator, he helped take Life360 from Seed to IPO, scaling the business to over $250m in revenue. Before that, Itamar was a founding team member and head of Product at Gigya (acquired by SAP). He holds an MBA from Berkeley Haas and an undergraduate degree in computer science from the Tel-Aviv Jaffa College.

In this episode you will learn:

00:00 - Introduction: The Essence of Startup Board Roles

00:34 - Board Governance vs. Decision-Making: An In-depth Exploration

00:37 - Understanding the Board of Directors and Their Vital Duties

10:25 - The Optimal Timing for Establishing a Business Board

16:50 - Defining 'Board Chairperson,' 'Board Observer,' and 'Non-Executive Board Member'

22:50 - Founder or Investor as Chair: A Crucial Decision and Its Rationale

23:55 - Finding the Right Board Size for Early-Stage Startups and Its Significance

27:00 - Strategies for Assembling Your Startup's Dream Board

31:40 - Red Flags to Watch Out for When Building Your Board

33:30 - Ideal Dynamics Among Board Members: A Guide for Startups

36:10 - Effective vs. Ineffective Communication Practices Between Founders and Investors

39:55 - Smooth Sailing Through Board Meetings: Best Practices 

47:40 - The Mystery of Board Packs and Their Purpose

About
Joe is a coach to CEOs. He works with CEOs at start-ups, high growth to IPO to public companies to the big exit; helping define what it means to be a leader, how to create impact, how to grow alongside the business and how to change the world all while enjoying every part of that journey. Joe is a recovering neuroscientist, then a spell as an elementary school teacher as well as 15 years in tech, $20b in revenue, experience with 30+ startups & FTSE / Fortune 100 giants.