The Spotlight

Magenta Mobility is doing everything to enable the transition from ICE engines to EVs without actually manufacturing EVs. Maxon and Darryl talk about their journey of building up Magenta from scratch with almost no external funding for the first few years, and about staying true to their game plan to build an EV ecosystem platform.

Adarsh and Kushagra had been working with global energy companies when they decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship more than a decade ago. In this conversation, they talk about their journey of building Sunsource through a sustainable path of generating revenues and about the vision they are chasing to fight climate change at scale.

Xceedance is building a unified suite of services and products for insurance companies, helping them in their digital transformation journey and creating cutting-edge products for the next-gen customer. Arun was recruited as a very young India CEO for Berkshire Hathaway Insurance, which paved the way for him to eventually start Xceedance. What you must not miss:- Building a 100 million dollar busi...

XYXX Apparels is among the most well-funded innerwear startups, having raised more than 30 million dollars to date. Yogesh talks about the market opportunity in the innerwear space and the long-term vision he is chasing. Don’t miss:- Fallacy of building consumer brands Theory of naming XYXX Customer acquisition strategy Learnings as a founder

This is the era of vertical Saas - instead of building all-purpose Swiss army tools, successful companies are building focused tools that are the best in the world for one focused niche. IBS Fintech is disrupting the space of treasury management by offering a purpose-built Saas tool that is outcompeting global giants. Don’t miss:- Founding thesis Making a treasury Unique brand positioning Future r...

Virtual Forest is a startup helping appliance companies build more energy-efficient products. Omer has had a fascinating journey- from first running a family business to now building a funded technology design startup. He talks about the impact that is possible just by adopting superior motor technology in products like air conditioners, fans, washing machines and Electric Vehicles. What you must...

KPO or knowledge process outsourcing is a fast-growing industry that has been a major contributor to India’s services export revenue. It offers India a sustainable way to generate employment and grow the GDP. Ashish has had an amazing journey of building not just startups but also two of India’s most respected private universities - Ashoka University and Plaksha University. Benori Knowledge is a g...

Once every 2-3 decades, we experience an era of technological change that completely transforms how we live. In the 90s it was the connected computing devices, and right now we are going through another such transformation in the space of mobility. Micelio was conceived as the first-of-its-kind catalyst in the electric mobility value curve. Its mission is to power innovation and drive long-term, s...

Fashion is a two and a half trillion dollar industry globally, with a complex supply chain that includes diverse stakeholders ranging from yarn manufacturers to designers to apparel manufacturers to big brands like H&M and Zara. Locofast addresses the broken textile supply chain through a platform connecting vendors and suppliers. They have expanded rapidly and partnered with 700 plus supplier...

The older you get, the more you realize the importance of a good sleep in making you more productive. There are numerous flaws in the traditional mattress markets such as overhead costs, inflation and material information. To solve these, Kabir Siddiq built the digital first brand - SleepyCat. His aim was to offer a premium 'all-in-one mattress' product with a direct 'factory-to-consumer' model. L...

Water is an industry ripe for innovation and requires game-changing technologies to ensure a sustainable and better future for all. Uravu Labs literally creates water out of thin air. Swapnil talks about the journey of building the technology stack to make it possible and the business opportunities they are chasing. Listen on to this insightful conversation about building a deep-tech startup in In...

You would be surprised to learn that most companies outsource their payroll processing. Neeyamo started as an HR outsourcing firm and is now a leading technology-enabled global payroll and EOR solutions provider for MNCs worldwide. Rangarajan talks about the journey of building up Neeyamo and some of the fascinating disruptions we can expect to see in the space of payroll. What you must not miss:-...

Age is not a factor in trying to forecast entrepreneurial success but experience does and it often comes with age. D P Mangal started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 62 with Lagnam Spintex, manufacturer of high-quality cotton yarn using the most advanced technologies in the world. The company now expects an annual turnover of 325 cr, of which 180 cr are from exports. What you must not mi...

Seekho is a leading upskilling platform that plans to prepare Indians for the careers of tomorrow. The Gurgaon-based startup has created a novel AI engine to customize learning and make job matching more effective. Listen on as Arihant speaks about the platform bridging the gap between CVs of employees and JDs of employers! What you must not miss:- Semester at sea Experiences at Freshworks Why ind...

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision may seem risky for the equity market, but Bridgewave promises to be groundbreaking. Bridgeweave aims to help everyone make better investment decisions by providing the best possible information and ideas in the most convenient way. What you must not miss! Flagship products of Bridgeweave. Trends in wealth management. Understanding the cry...

In India people wwere inclined to import performance wear brands. Zymrat is an innovation-led D2C performance wear brand with technology at its core with an extensive focus on superior raw materials. Tune in to know how this D2C platform became a game-changer for the activewear market in India! What you must not miss! Finding the product-market fit. Initial hurdles. Anticipating consumer trends.

Courseplay is the scalable learning technology solution for enterprises to deliver delightful learning content, engage hard-working employees, automate tedious workflows, and accurately measure impact for employees using any device. Tune in to know how this B2B platform aims to meet changing industry demands as well as bolster personal growth! What you must not miss! How did Courseplay start? Mone...

There was an upsurge in the video wave with brands exploring formats like social commerce, video commerce or live commerce to increase their customer base. Most brands are falling short in effectively engaging with their customers and Hyperstate with its flagship product Kappa is trying to fill this gap. Hyperstate creates AI-driven pipelines and frameworks in the digital economy to enable instant...

The world of cryptocurrency is complex. Bhagaban started Defy with the aim to build a fair, efficient and transparent system that enables investors to take charge of their finances. Defy puts the user’s needs at the heart of the conversation. A crypto user can communicate with other users and learn along the way. Bhagaban speaks about the complexity that crypto investors face and how Defy solves i...

The real challenge for the SME sector lies in day-to-day cash flow management. A large number of start-ups today have started providing financial services to SMEs, often functioning as an alternative to banks. Numberz is a Fintech Saas start-up streamlining the day-to-day banking activities of SMEs. Aditya, an alumnus of the Indian School of Business, speaks about his vision of spotting the right...

The care for chronic disease management addresses pain points at scale and has the potential to become a large business globally. Akshay Datt speaks with Jogin Desai, Founder & CEO of Eyestem, a leading cell therapy company in India that aims to set a new benchmark for quality and affordability in this domain. Dr. Desai has previously served as the CEO of Cenduit and has extensive experience i...

In this edition of The Spotlight, Akshay Datt talks with Smriti Tomar, Founder and CEO, Stack Finance, a Bengaluru-based investing platform.  An alumnus of NIT-Bhopal, Smriti worked as a data analyst specializing in the banking and financial sector, before venturing to Stack in 2020. Stack Finance is working to make investments more accessible and affordable to India's youth. Stack enables yo...

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to lead a new normal life where people have found various ways to entertain themselves. The online gaming industry is having exponential growth in India. It is necessary to have a safe and legal platform to entertain people.  In this episode of The Spotlight, Akshay Datt speaks with Saurabh Gupta and Siddharth Swarnkar, Founders of Tamasha. live . Bot...

“ When health is absent ... wealth becomes useless ”. The pandemic made everyone understand this deep-rooted connection between health and wealth. Businesses were hit hard and employers realized the importance of employee health and insurance.  In this edition of The Spotlight, Akshay Datt speaks with Sanchit Malik, Co-founder and CEO of Pazcare , a Bengaluru based InsurTech start-up that aim...

If I were to choose the most hectic and time-consuming process in an organisation, it is definitely going to be training sales representatives, which takes somewhere around 6-8 months. In this edition of The Spotlight, Akshay Datt speaks with Shruti Kapoor, CEO, Wingman , an AI platform that helps salespeople by guiding them to interact with prospective customers. Shruti, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedab...