Where are they now? Raghav Gupta Co-founder of Nymble labs on building Julia - A personal cooking assistant , gives new insights on customer development , talks about being on TV & cooking stir fries!!

Making India sleep better: More than 55% of Indian adults face trouble falling asleep at least three nights a week. Today, I speak with Surbhi Jain, the founder of Neend, a free app offering stories, soothing sleep sounds, meditation, and more to help users unwind and nod off. 

Launched in 2021, Surbhi shares how she started this journey after contracting Covid and struggling with sleep issues. She released the MVP on YouTube, experiencing significant organic growth. Surbhi discusses building a consumer app in the wellness space, addressing topics like traction, funding, her background, dealing with competition, and a referral scheme that didn't work out.

 She also shares insights into investing in startups, revealing what she looks for and her thoughts on the wellness space. Finally, Surbhi talks about handling criticism of her WhatsApp display picture by an unnamed investor and much more!

In this conversation we also talk about:

• How it works
• Her reluctance to seek feedback from friends and family
• Contacting customers first thing in the morning
• Business model.
• General sleep tips
• Thoughts on blue light glasses , do you they work.
• Dealing with biases. 
• Scaling the business. 

Links 

https://neend.app/

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Universal factories of the future. Today my guest is Gokul NA, Co-Founder of CynLr.  a pioneering deep-tech startup dedicated to the radical reinvention of dynamic vision-enabled robots, unlocking the potential to create the 'universal factories' of tomorrow. 

In this enlightening discussion, Gokul takes us on a journey back over a decade, recounting the humble beginnings with his co-founder in a modest office that evolved into a sprawling 13,000 sq ft research space. This state-of-the-art facility boasts robot research cells, cutting-edge electronics, a sophisticated camera and vision laboratory, all meticulously managed by an expert team of engineers and researchers. 

He delves into topics ranging from design, product development, and entrepreneurship. Why does he seek more competition, not less? Gokul discusses the impact of robotics on jobs and elaborates on the intricacies of the design process. The conversation explores high barriers to entry ($30K to buy the robot arm, $250K to adopt the full solution, over 12-24 months) , The robotics scene in India, energy consumption considerations, and the evolution of early prototypes. Gokul sheds light on their business model, detailing the planned volume of robot sales, revenue figures, and the current status of funding.

Gokul shares insights into motivation, the strategic onboarding of new team members, market validation, and adoption strategies. He imparts valuable advice tailored for first-time founders, Real-world applications. in the final stretch, Gokul provides an in-depth answer on the art of securing partnerships for startups.

In this conversation we also talk about:

• Selling to engineers.
• Coconuts!
• Building the ecosystem before building your business.
• Onboarding new team members
• Meeting his co-founder
• Opening an office in Switzerland.
• Dealing with initial feedback

Links.

https://www.cynlr.com/

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

From a 13-year-old dreaming of becoming a YouTuber to now leading a 6-figure video content agency, today I speak with Pratham Jindal, Founder and CEO of Praper Media—a content agency collaborating with some of the biggest creators on the planet. 

In this episode he shares insights into launching the agency, recounting the story of securing his first customer by spending 100 Rupees on a super chat. Pratham delves into his unique hiring philosophy and offers perspectives on AI, Chat GPT, and Sora. Additionally, he unveils his distinctive framework for hiring staff and discusses effective cold email strategies.

Pratham provides valuable advice on transitioning from a solo freelancer to starting an agency, reflecting on some mistakes made, such as not trusting his gut. He shares insights for first-time founders and entrepreneurs, discussing his hands-off management style.  Why his first content channel failed and key takeaways and starting your own content channel. Content is not an easy game!

Pratham highlights why Instagram is his most significant marketing channel and explains his reluctance to use freelancer websites. Talks about the startup scene in Chandigarh. Finally, he talks about his venture into creating a KPOP channel in India and much more.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Starting in his parents bedroom. 
• Not having issues with pricing 
• Algorithms 
• Meeting his Co-founder 
• Being consistant.
• The booming creator scene
• Plans for the future.
• Starting young,  did he miss out on social life?
• A great story about using the wifi restaurant password to complete a job.
• Getting referrals. 
• Growing quickly 1. to 45 team 1,000 sqft office 
• Qualities entrepreneurs must have - Communication. 

And much more 

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pratham-jindal/

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

It's a tough job market out there folks! , and on today's episode, we have an expert to guide us through it. I'm joined by Sarabjeet Sacher, the founder of Aspiration Jobs, with a profound passion for coaching professionals in areas such as career growth, career development, job search strategies, and interview techniques.

He shares valuable insights on crafting a compelling CV—what to include and what to avoid. The episode explores the intricacies of salary negotiation, providing tips on answering pivotal questions like "Why should I hire you?", 'Where do you see yourself in 3 years time?’   And his thoughts on software billionaire NR Narayana Murthy 70 hrs comment

In this insightful conversation, Sarabjeet  delves into the question of whether working for a startup is a wise career move. Great advice for first time graduates with no work experience. And how to deal with those gaps in your C.V!

We even touch on some wisdom inspired by Tony Robbins. Sarabjeet also offers practical advice on handling rejection gracefully.

As we wrap up, he generously shares his top recommendations for achieving career growth. This episode is packed with invaluable information, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

In this conversation we also talk about:

• What is the purpose of your CV/Resume
• Work life balance
• Thoughts on moonlighting
• Do people still want careers?
• What about the traditional 9-5 workday
• Which is more important: culture fit or technology fit.
• Don’t do a 13 page resume!
• Are CV’s are still relevant?
• The future of job interviews.
• The importance of soft skills.

And much more

Links

https://www.facebook.com/sarabjeet.sachar/

https://www.instagram.com/sarabjeetsachar/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabjeetsachar/

https://aspirationjobs.com/

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Enabling the well-being of more than 355 million Indian women through products, experiences, and experts. Today my guest is Aruna Chawla, founder of Salad, a lifestyle planner mobile app that support women to better manage their health throughout the menstrual cycle by providing personalised nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle advice. 

She talks about her own personal journey of being in and out of hospital. She talks about building an MVP without  a CTO or developers. Aruna talks about why they don’t want to go viral and or build landing pages. She talks about the first version of Salad,  a condom company which sold 20,000 in only two months with no paid marketing. 

She talks about her time at the Antler India residency , where they raised a  pre-seed round and met her co-founder. She talks about being a FemTech founder in India and the size of the market.  Every month, nearly 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate, and nearly 85% of this group suffer from hormonal imbalances. 

She talks about hormones , period tracking and finally she talks about her super strength and advice on how to build healthier habits and goals  using behavioural  science and much more!

In this conversation we talk about:

• Keeping it lean
• Stats so far
• Having a bias of action
• Not wanting to be a founder or do a startup in the beginning. 
• First impressions of her co-founder
• The state of the sexual wellness and FemTech industry india. 
• Conducting over 1000 interviews with women across Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. 
• 6 years of research 
• Her motivations.
• Shaking up the healthcare industry.

and much more

Links

https://www.grabsalad.com/

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Bye Bye Potholes! Today I have the pleasure to talk to Sourabh Kumar, co-founder of PotHoleRaja, a social venture that 's on a mission to make India & the world pothole-free.  He got the idea After reading a tragic story about a woman who lost her life due to a pothole. He gave up his highly paid corporate job to fill in potholes around the streets of Bangalore at 5AM!  He didn't tell his parents but he started getting goosebumps when random strangers started to praise his work and efforts. 

Without any background in civil engineering he started doing crazy google searches and ended up creating a number of cool products including Gridmats. a revolutionary patented product that’s eco-friendly, durable and crafted entirely from 100% recycled plastic waste to construct pavements/roads. 

He talks about a life changing moment meeting his co-founder. Talks about key learnings in the early days. Thoughts on social entrepreneurship in India some do’s and don’ts  (You can make money!) Why waste is the new gold. Talks about why you must be a risk taker and good at sales. 

Talks about the uncomfortable question he asks people when hiring.  Talks about keeping the faith and business models including franchise models. He talks about growing rapidly (100% growth) He reflects on this past year (2022). Thoughts on building a culture of being open.  And finally he talks about the biggest pothole he has ever seen and explains how filling a pothole is as easy as making 3 min Maggi noodles and much more.

In  this conversation we talk about:

• Why potholes
• Going to Singapore and reflecting on it's infrastructure. 
• The promise he made to himself when quitting
• Becoming a problem solver
• Thoughts on why the government are not doing this despite everyone paying taxes.
• 15000 km road trip checking out the potholes.
• Expanding into different countries.
• Civic tech  helping the government
• What does leadership mean to Sourabh
• Dealing with and the war with waste.
• Just him and his co-founder for the first two years

And much more 

Links

https://www.potholeraja.com/

Check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Join for free for 1 month and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/en/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Content is king! Today my guest is Gautam Madhavan CEO & founder of Mad Influence and influencer management agency. They do more than just connect creators and brands. They do digital marketing, social media management, content authoring, and providing consulting services to businesses. 

They are trying to create the biggest content companies in the world. In this episode he talks about how he got this off the ground by seeing the shift from Blogging to Vlogging 2017/18, realising the power of video and was laser focussed on tiktok in the early days before it was popular.  He explains why you shouldn't plan too much when starting up. 

Talks about dealing with uncertainty in the early days and hiring strategies. Advice for all you budding social media creators (Don’t do it for the $$). Building an AI platform for content creators and why you shouldn't worry about the algorithms. Thoughts on Twitter for content creators. 

Talks about who are the upcoming social media influencers in India.  His favourite content creators. Talks about research, conversation rates and analytics. Talks about how they Influence the influencers and why you cannot learn this at University, it’s all about building relationships. And he gives great advice on building relationships (be transparent) and why they don’t poach clients/creators/staff. 

He talks about what he looks for when choosing social media influencers (it's not just the numbers) And finally we talk about his favourite campaign promoting the movie Bachchhan Paandey  which got a billion organic views which involved kidnapping a bunch of influencers on a train. 

In this conversation we also talk about:

• Running India’s & Asia’s biggest content creator festival in Goa (2023)
• First mover advantage.
• Being down to earth and humble.
• Short video culture. 
• What excites him most about building this company.
• Why he prefers content creators instead of social media influencers. 
• Getting support from Mum and Dad. 
• Bootstrapping
• hiring advice

And much more 

Links 

https://www.madinfluence.com/home

Check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Join for free for 1 month and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/en/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Building the next wave of technology. Today my guest is seasoned investor Nitin Sharma, general partner & co-founder of Antler India. A global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. They're one of the fastest growing VC firms in the world. 

In this episode he talks about his 15+ year investing experience. He talks about how they help early stage founders. He talks about the differences between American entrepreneurs and Indian entrepreneurs. Talks about the No1 mistake founders make after raising money and how he deals with startup failure. 

He talks about Web3, Metaverse, Fintech and ONDC.  Gives important advice if you want to become an investor.  And finally he talks about the importance of mentorship and gives great startup advice based on Aristotle's persuasion triangle (character,emotion, logic)

In this conversation we also talk about:

• His first year (2008) as a VC
• How many startups they invest in and how much
• How to help founders with the residency program.
• Values, vision and skills.
• Going global from day one
• Pitching advice (why you & why now?)
• The importance of building a global network.
• Validating ideas.
• Dealing with new technologies
• Being passionate but not emotional.

and much more!

links

https://www.antler.co/india

Check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more. Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Join for free for 1 month and access all my classes!

https://www.skillshare.com/en/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on

music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

India is expected to be home to 700 million gamers by 2025. So Today my guest Piyush Kumar, he is the Founder and CEO of Rooter.  A game streaming and E-Sports platform. Rooter has emerged as the largest player in the Indian gaming category, with close to 50 million downloads, making it the No. 1 app in the ‘sports’ category on the Google Play Store since October 2020. 

Rooter is at the perfect intersection of Gaming and Content surge in India. So he talks about how it got this off the ground. He talks about what your MVP should look like. Talks about hiring strategies and philosophies. Mistakes made in the early days. Talks about why the future of social networking is gaming. Talks about the business model & raising $25+Million. 

Talks about finding his co-founder via Twitter and talks about the E-Sports landscape in India including dealing with the parents! Talks about how to build a consumer app and pivoting. Gives some great book recommendations and finally he talks about why everyone should try entrepreneurship at least once in their life and much much more so please enjoy the show.

In this conversation we talk about:

• E-Sports in the Olympic games.
• Being an Esports player is becoming a respectable job.
• Stats
• Influencer marketing 
• Performance marketing
• Research.
• Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
• Book recommendation - How to build a billion dollar app.
• Advice for first time founders.
• Esports tournament. 

Links.

https://web.rooter.gg/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.

Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 1 month.

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on

music by Punch Deck.

 https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Sports tech and driving sports engagement. Today my guest is  Amit Purohit  CEO & founder of Fantasy Akhada, a fantasy sports platform that provides you with an opportunity to play Fantasy Cricket, Fantasy Football and Fantasy Kabaddi by using your sports knowledge and skill. 

So today he talks about building a hyper growth sports tech startup, going from the 181st fantasy app to being in the top 5 , amazing stuff. He talks about the USP - focusing on customer delight. Talks about marketing and why they focus on quality not volume. 

A great story about getting  legendary cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle into becoming a brand ambassador and investor with a cold email. Gives advice for first time founders and his primary role as a founder. Nearly giving up , raising finance and finally some fantasy sports do’s and don'ts for first time players.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Why didn't they go for a subpar cricketer to promote the brand.?
• Dealing with customer service calls  on New Year Eve
• Being an ex-Star Sports employee.
• Getting support from friends and family
• Being a very competitive market because of the Low barrier to entry
• Key learnings and customer feedback in the early days.
• What is the business model?
• Having all the skill sets to get this off the ground.
• Raising finance.
• Talks about the team.
• How fast are they growing?
• Stats and engagement so far.

Links

https://www.fantasyakhada.com/

P.S

if you need something to do during these challenging and difficult times and want some inspiration and need some creativity. check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, tech, and more.

Anyone can join the millions of members in our community to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities.

Try Premium free for 1 month.

https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/neilpatel?gr_tch_ref=on&gr_trp=on

music by Punch Deck. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV

Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel 

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2

Listen and Subscribe to More Episodes

https://www.indianstartupshow.com/

Music by Punch Deck.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kdduxAVaFnbHJyNxl7FWV