Forbes India - Tech Conversations
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Ankit Jain and Sidhant Pai at StepChange on the opportunity to 'productise' carbon reduction
In this episode, Ankit Jain and Sidhant Pai, co-founders of StepChange talk about the products they offer enterprise customers to track and reduce their carbon footprints. They also help companies attempting to build sustainable products get deep insights into the impact of their products and operations. Ankit and Sidhant are developing StepChange into a SaaS software platform that businesses can use to also specifically target what are called Scope 3 emissions, which the entrepreneurs say are the most difficult to curtail
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InFocus: VC exits — Sanjay Swamy and Anshul Rai decode what founders should know
In this episode, Sanjay Swamy, managing partner and co-founder of Prime Venture Partners, and Anshul Rai, co-founder and CEO of Happay, talk about the central role of exits in the venture capital-driven startup growth model. The VC investor and the entrepreneur break down everything from the timing of an exit to what not being able to provide a good exit to stakeholders can do to founders. Rai also reflects on what life is like, after Happay's success and $180 million sale to Cred
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Rishabh Agarwal on 'human-centric' tech and US expansion plans at Peer Robotics
In this episode, Rishabh Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of Peer Robotics, talks about how more attention is being paid today to 'human-centric' technologies. Rishabh and his IIT Delhi senior Tanya Raghuvanshi founded the Delhi venture in 2019, and Tanya's former boss at Interra Systems joined them as the third co-founder the following year. With $2.3 million in recent seed funding, led by Kalaari Capital, these entrepreneurs are looking to expand the market for their collaborative robots in the US and in India
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ToneTag founders Vivek Kumar Singh and Kumar Abhishek on their next phase of growth
In this episode, Kumar Abhishek and Vivek Kumar Singh, co-founders of Naffa Innovations, a startup better known for its sound-based technologies under the name ToneTag, talk about how their tech is like the 'Intel inside' model, today making sound-based transactions possible on a 100 million Android phones. They also talk about a solution that allows feature phone users to make UPI payments using their voice, and the next phase of ToneTag's growth
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Taslimarif Saiyed on the urgent need for growth infrastructure and capital for India's deep-science startups
In this episode, Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and director of C-Camp (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms), in Bengaluru, talks about how Indian biotech startups are ready for their next stage of growth. What's needed, urgently, is the high-end infrastructure, in close proximity to research environments and the VC and private equity network that can quickly assess these deep science based startups and provide the growth capital they need
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Pravin Agarwala on ambition to get to $1 bln in revenue by 2025 at BetterPlace Safety Solutions
In this episode, Pravin Agarwala, co-founder and CEO of BetterPlace Safety Solutions, talks about the factors that are coming together to put the company in hyper-growth mode. Agarwala and his friend Saurabh Tandan started BetterPlace in 2015, with one product, offering background verification. This year, he expects to go well beyond $100 million in revenue by December, even as the company seeks new markets in Southeast Asia for its software platform that already connects businesses with millions of blue-collar job seekers
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Nalin Agarwal of Climate Seeds Fund on the need to accelerate climate action, even as more money and talent come in
In this episode, Nalin Agarwal, founding partner at Climate Seeds Fund, talks about an annual Startup Week, organised by Climate Collective Foundation, which shares the same founding team as the fund. The event, which will continue through next week, is aimed at bringing together climate tech startups, investors, other stakeholders and aspiring entrepreneurs as well. Agarwal also talks about the need for more climate action even as various factors are coming together to advance the outcomes in this field
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Avlesh Singh at WebEngage on the convergence opportunity with first-party data marketing
In this episode, Avlesh Singh, co-founder and CEO of WebEngage, talks about building a profitable $20 million ARR SaaS company — which he expects will grow 100 percent this fiscal year as well, after 2021-22 — in the competitive space of customer engagement and retention. He also talks about the big changes in the world of marketing and ads that will push the idea of first-party data marketing to the top of the CMO's agenda, and how that presents a large opportunity for WebEngage
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Ankit Alok Bagaria at Loopworm on the nascent insect biotech scene in India and the opportunity to tap global markets
In this episode, Ankit Alok Bagaria, co-founder of Loopworm, an insect biotech venture in Bengaluru, talks about the opportunity ahead for the business that he started with his fellow IIT Roorkee graduate Abhi Gawri, straight out of college. They aim to tackle food waste and increase the incomes of smallholder farmers. Using multi-species insect biotechnology, Loopworm is upcycling food waste into protein-rich nutrients and value-added ingredients with applications in aquaculture, pet food, and nutraceuticals
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Prashant Kumar on his plans for planet-friendly operations at scale at Zingbus
In this episode, Prashant Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Zingbus Technology, talks about how his venture is innovating inter-city bus travel, as road infrastructure improves in India, and technology facilitates data-driven dynamic pricing. He also talks about how Zingbus, backed by investors including Y Combinator, Info Edge Ventures and AdvantEdge Founders, is shifting towards a carbon-neutral future, including plans for electric buses, and experimenting with a way for passengers to pay to neutralise the carbon footprint of their trips
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InFocus: Narayan Subramaniam, Niraj Rajmohan and Vishesh Rajaram on building high-quality EVs in India for global markets
In this episode, Niraj Rajmohan and Narayan Subramaniam, cofounders of Ultraviolette Automotive, and Vishesh Rajaram, managing partner at Speciale Invest, talk about the importance of strong local R&D for the long-term growth of the EV sector in India. They also talk about how developing Ultraviolette's first electric motorcycle, called F77, which is soon to hit the market, has helped the company build a connected vehicle platform that can support multiple future products and services
