Rajiv Sodhi

My discussion with Shashank Mani on his book covering 'Middle India' -- the huge in numbers & hugely aspirational middle-class of India. You will find this to be a delightful and inspirational conversation. Shashank is now a BJP candidate from Deoria, UP. This work with 'Jagriti Yatra' is so delightfully innovative & truly inspirational. Do subscribe to the 'SangamTalks Business' channel. #decolonisation #india #bharat #भारत #middleclass #entrepreneurship #startups #risingindia

19

It’s high time we reimagined what entrepreneurship can achieve in India.    We have the potential not only to build world-class companies but to solve global challenges in ways that truly make a difference. Let’s create communities that champion bold ideas, embrace risk, and fuel innovation.    The future looks bright when we dream big together—because when one of us rises, we all rise. 🌟    #india #entrepreneurship #business #startups #future #success

472

31 Comments

Recent article (originally published in Fortune) highlights a simple concept that Satya Nadella put in place at Microsoft that transformed its culture and re-ignited innovation. “If you take two kids at school, one of them has more innate capability but is a know-it-all. The other person has less innate capability but is a learn-it-all. The learn-it-all does better than the know-it-all,” - Satya Nadella, Hello Monday podcast (2019) As a leader, how can you tell whether you're building a team of "learn-it-alls?" 5 characteristics of "learn-it-alls" vs. "know-it-alls" - Listens more than talks - Asks questions that start with "Why..." - Is comfortable saying, "I don't know....yet." - Admits failure then reflects on what to do differently next time - Makes it a point to consider diverse perspectives (that may differ from their own) What else would you add to the list? #leadership #microsoft #growthmindset #culture https://lnkd.in/gBJFXCaD

24

4 Comments

"Engaging discussion with Mr Sanjeev Chopra, former Director of LBSNAA, on #Indianmasterminds. His book 'We, the People of the States of Bharat' offers pragmatic insights into restructuring India's internal boundaries. Intrigued by the upcoming biography on Lal Bahadur Shastri, a visionary leader pivotal in India's resurgence. The interview unveiled lesser-known facets of Shastriji's life, underscoring his foundational role in shaping India's destiny. Eagerly awaiting the formal release! A must-watch for those interested in Indian history and leadership. Kudos to Mr. Chopra for enriching our understanding of our nation's past and present. #IndianHistory #Leadership #Inspiration"

4

Climate change is accelerating rapidly, with emerging markets facing disproportionate risks despite contributing less to emissions. In India, climate tech startups have received investments exceeding $7 billion from 2018-2023, showcasing robust growth and innovation in sectors like Electrification, Renewables & Energy Storage, and Climate Adaptation/Mitigation. The climate tech evolution and growth in India has been bolstered by progressive government policies, technology innovation, ongoing infrastructure development and increased corporate adoption. At B Capital , Climate is a key pillar of our investment strategy, and we see India's climate investment landscape reaching a critical inflection point. We are excited to partner with visionary founders emerging from India, contributing to sustainable solutions and impactful change. Explore our thoughts on climate investments in India as part of an ongoing series and join us in shaping the future of climate technology together. Jeff Johnson Don Wood Deepanshu Pattanayak Karly Wentz https://lnkd.in/gjxyq_yp

64

1 Comment

Few articles on leadership have made a more lasting impression on me than this one by Venkatesh Rao of the Ribbon Farm newsletter. “BDFxing, or Post-Charismatic Distributed Leadership” is my Good Read recommendation for Aug 9, 2024. https://lnkd.in/gcWsdPWv Venkatesh covers so much in this article. Exposing the unnecessary nature of most leadership, most of the time. “Even in an ordinary org with no special architecture, 80% of activities don’t need to be led 80% of the time.” And then countering that “There’s no such thing as a leaderless org.” Enter what Venkatesh calls the ephemeral/transient leadership organization. The idea that certain situations require bursts of leadership from the team members best suited to resolve the specific situation. Or as he puts it, “The giraffe leads when the problem is high up, the mouse leads when it is down a long hole.” I love the clarity of this model. It resonates with my experience and I suppose my temperament. The job of a founder or co-founder then is to design for bursts of leadership. To welcome them when and where they are needed. And to resist the inclination to lead all the things. That small gesture creates the conditions for others to experience agency in their work. And an organization where agency is widely experienced is an organization that can accomplish just about anything it sets out to accomplish. There’s much more in this good read. I highly recommend it. #leadership #distributed #sustainablebusiness

7

We recently launched a brand new season of Propel – a global business accelerator for startups in India. First started in 2021, this program sits at the intersection of three key areas – startups, exports and technology adoption – all important for India as a nation. The program has already helped 70+ brands from different parts of India make their debut in global markets with many of them witnessing strong and consistent business growth. In this season 4, I expect even more entrepreneurial energy. At our end, we continue to focus on making exports easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses across India as we move closer to our goal of enabling $20B in cumulative exports from India by 2025. Read More: https://lnkd.in/gVYvXGwU #AmazonIndia #Exports #GlobalSelling #Propel #Startups #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurs Vivek Somareddy | Bhupen Wakankar | Chand T. Mazumdar | Srinidhi Kalvapudi | Aditia Bhalla | Amazon Global Selling

446

15 Comments

In this episode of The Lobster Talks, Ashish Bajaj, co-founder of DIME (YC W24), shares the emotional rollercoaster of building a startup after Y Combinator. ✅ Ashish opens up about the challenges of maintaining intensity and focus after the YC accelerator program. ✅ He shares the strategies he and his co-founder use to keep their momentum going. ✅ Ashish also talks about the importance of mental resilience in entrepreneurship. Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform or watch it on YouTube - https://lnkd.in/gScqXQdY . . . . . #startups #YCombinator #entrepreneurship #manufacturing #innovation

17

Usage-based revenue models are on the rise. BoostUp's co-founder, Amit Sasturkar breaks down everything you need to know about how to set up an effective forecasting cadence.

10

1 Comment

**The Shift to Results-as-a-Service for CDOs and CIOs ** cc Gopal Ravi Vineet Rao Pooja Dewan ------------ As enterprises evolve, one thing is becoming clear: the shift to **Results-as-a-Service (RaaS)** is no longer just an option—it’s an inevitable transformation. This isn't just about improving IT operations; it's about delivering **tangible outcomes** that drive business value at every level. With platforms like **Databricks and Snowflake** CDOs and CIOs are uniquely positioned to lead this charge. Leveraging the platform's Agent Framework**, IT teams can now deploy AI agents to streamline operations, automate processes, and deliver faster results. This directly impacts the **end-user experience** by providing faster, more responsive services, reducing wait times, and enhancing overall satisfaction. But the benefits don't stop there. It enables **better budget management** by shifting focus from maintaining infrastructure to achieving specific, measurable outcomes. IT teams are no longer just maintaining systems—they're driving business growth CDOs and CIOs are transforming IT from a cost center into an **innovation hub**, delivering both operational efficiency and business growth.

19

2 Comments

Shashank Bijapur co-founder and CEO of SpotDraft, our portfolio company, ran a terrific panel at the Arkam Innovation Summit. He covered a lot of ground with Manish Jethani Co-founder and CEO of Hevo Data Data, and Gaurav Sharma Founder, and CEO of SaaSLabs .    Here are some key takeaways that stayed with me: Initial journey of identifying the problem statement and figuring out the solution during the early days at SaaS Labs and Hevo Data After selling his first company in the US, Gaurav returned to India. All he wanted to do was make $4-5 K living in India, so he started out by building tools for Shopify users. But when those tools rapidly grew to half a million in recurring revenue, Gaurav realized that he could build anything, be anywhere in the world, and sell it worldwide. Manish believes that your product has to solve a personal problem in addition to an industrial one. Once you start the journey as an entrepreneur, financial success will not satisfy you. “What one problem can you solve even if the financial outcome is not that great?” Deciding whether to validate the product in India and move to the US versus taking a US market-first approach Selling in India is hard, especially in the early days. As Gaurav said, "if you sell a $10 product, you must create an invoice, and then they’ll make the payment in 60 days. So, it became very hard to make a profit. From this, I realized that India is not ready to buy software yet, so the best model would be to build it in India and sell it across the world" Manish believes customer needs and expectations are completely different across India and the US. It's quite challenging to build a product for India and expect it to succeed in the US. So, from day one, he focused on the US market-first approach. Establishing product differentiation during the early days of growing in the US market? Initially, the number one challenge for Manish was to sell a product that their target audience could build themselves. Hevo Data needed needed financial and operational data from companies, which nobody shares easily. Most companies prefer to build a product in-house and work with that tool. So, Manish decided to find initial customers who meet three criteria: they should not want to build a product in-house, they should be fine with sharing the data, and they should be from the US. Aspects of the business that changed from 0-1 to 1-10 journey and beyond To get initial customers, Gaurav decided to integrate his product into larger companies to get more eyes on it. To sustain this growth, Gaurav bet on excellent customer service, which is “an unfair advantage for Indian SaaS,” as he says. His customer service and fast responses became the talk of the town amongst his customers. Here’s the full video video. Well worth your time to listen to three $10M+ ARR SaaS founders at the top of their game.   Arkam Ventures https://lnkd.in/gP_YT-gV

73

1 Comment

Business Messaging using Whatsapp has truly evolved over the last 3 years to enable consumers to talk to businesses like they do with friends and family. From rich personalized experiences using Flows, Carousel Catalogs, Payments to innovation with Voice Calling for Businesses and now Meta AI, Whatsapp has truly emerged as a very powerful business tool. Customers are seeing high RoI when used in the right manner across the entire spectrum of the sales cycle from discovery to engagement, commerce, native purchases in-app to sophisticated customer service journeys. Read on for more insights. Sandhya Devanathan Ravi Garg Prache Agarwaal Aditi Mathur Rohant Shyam Rammohan Rishabh Khandelwal Rachit Jain Swati Mishra Rutuja Kagwade Ekta Agarwal Riddhika S. Prachi Dhamale Sai Gadkari Gaurav Agrawal Anshika Malviya Kirti Zadbuke Chand Ajmera Shreeya Roy Ambika Balasubramaniam Chetan Chadha Shalki C. Amit Shanawad Pooja Khanduja Ranjeet Malhotra Paras Arora Piyush Vaidya Animesh Baidya Biswas

106

7 Comments

🚀 New Podcast Episode Out Now! THS 14 🎙️ In the latest episode of The Harsh Pandey Show, we dive into the inspiring placement journey of Ninad Sugandhi, who recently secured a role at Prodapt 🎉 ✅ Prodapt’s Placement Process: Ninad shares insights on Prodapt’s rigorous process, which included technical assessments, rounds focused on problem-solving and industry knowledge, and HR interviews designed to assess his fit within the company’s culture. ✅ Strategic Preparation: Ninad committed time to mastering core technical concepts, consistently practicing problem-solving, and analyzing the placement process. He utilized mock interviews and reviewed previous placement papers to prepare effectively. ✅ Navigating the Placement Market: With the competitive market in mind, Ninad tailored his preparation to focus on industry-relevant skills, ensuring he was ready for the evolving demands in tech roles. ✅ Building a Support System: Ninad emphasizes the importance of friendships during college, which provided motivation and kept him grounded through the ups and downs of his journey. ✅ Lessons in Resilience: Persistence and resilience played a major role in Ninad’s success. Through consistent effort and tackling self-doubt, he navigated the challenges of the placement journey with confidence. 📺 Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/dzZzDZnD #Prodapt #Placements #TechCareers #TheHarshPandeyShow #EngineeringLife #JobPreparation #CareerAdvice #Resilience

50

4 Comments

🌟 Celebrating Satya Nadella: A Leader of Transformation 🌟 From his roots in India to leading one of the world’s largest tech giants, Satya Nadella has become an inspiring symbol of innovation and transformational leadership. As the CEO of Microsoft, Nadella has played a pivotal role in reshaping the company’s vision, focusing on cloud computing, AI, and inclusive growth. Under his leadership, Microsoft has not only regained its position as a tech leader but has also driven innovation in ways that positively impact billions globally. Here are a few lessons from Satya Nadella’s remarkable journey: 🚀 Growth Mindset – Nadella has emphasized the importance of continuous learning and adaptability, which helped transform Microsoft's culture. 💡 Empathy and Humility – Leading with empathy, Satya believes that successful leadership involves understanding and supporting people at every level. 🌍 Global Impact – Nadella’s focus on empowering individuals and organizations worldwide has revolutionized industries and transformed businesses with tools like Azure, AI, and cloud solutions. 🌱 Diversity & Inclusion – A strong advocate for creating inclusive work environments, Nadella continues to champion equality and diversity in the tech world. Satya Nadella’s story is a testament to how visionary leadership can drive not just business success but also innovation and societal change. #SatyaNadella #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Microsoft #Inspiration #TechInnovation #CloudComputing #AI #DiversityInclusion

25

1 Comment

Rapyder and AWS Unite for Innovation 🌟 As AWS forges ahead with its ambitious vision for India, we at Rapyder are thrilled to play a pivotal role in this transformative journey. Our recent recognition through the “Strategic Collaboration Agreement” with AWS underscores our commitment to delivering innovative cloud solutions that empower businesses across the nation. With AWS expanding its cloud infrastructure and strengthening local partnerships, we are positioned to drive non-linear growth and create a significant impact on the Indian business landscape. 🚀 Our collaboration is not just about technology; it’s about harnessing the power of the cloud to solve unique challenges faced by Indian enterprises. By leveraging AWS's vast resources and Rapyder’s expertise, we aim to accelerate digital transformation and enable companies to innovate, scale, and thrive in today’s competitive environment. Together, we can unlock the full potential of cloud computing, helping businesses reduce costs, enhance agility, and improve performance. 💡 Let’s embark on this journey of innovation and growth, reinforcing our commitment to building a robust cloud ecosystem in India. Here’s to setting new benchmarks in the industry and driving forward together! Amit Gupta Ashish Koul Athreya Ramadas Sharad Setlur Rapyder Cloud Solutions #AWS #CloudComputing #DigitalTransformation #Rapyder #Innovation #StrategicPartnership #IndiaVision #TransformativeSolutions

7

India’s Oyo, once valued at $10 billion, is finalizing new funding at a $2.5 billion valuation. This marks a steep decline from its $10 billion valuation in 2019. The startup, which has raised over $3 billion from backers like SoftBank, Peak XV Ventures, Lightspeed, Airbnb, and Microsoft, has struggled to attract institutional investors. In recent months, it has aggressively pitched to high-net-worth individuals after withdrawing its IPO application twice in the past four years. Once a red-hot Indian startup active in markets including the U.S. and Europe, Oyo has now scaled back its international presence. #venture #downround https://lnkd.in/gE2GjYnM

5