Purva Gupta

I had a lot of fun recording a podcast episode with Shiva Singh Sangwan. We discussed the evolution of Humba Ventures & Susa Ventures; tips for raising and building a fund; how to improve investment sourcing & picking; the role of luck in investing, and so on. https://lnkd.in/eiqsStej

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Excited to announce the launch of Bracket by BoldCap 🚀 India's first Go-To-Market platform for entrepreneurs building global AI companies. For the past year, Bracket has been exclusively supporting our portfolio founders to tackle the complexities of scaling AI-native products in the global market, especially North America. Today, I am excited to launch Bracket; to provide all AI builders with the same GTM accessibility.. 🎯 The new landscape shift has made it absolutely clear that traditional SaaS playbooks no longer fit the bill for AI-native products. We are redefining this through Bracket – our closely curated community of 50+ GTM operators across North America and Europe who offer the resources, networks, and the new-age playbooks that founders need in their $0-$1M journey of building an AI company from India to the world. 🌍 We work with some of the smartest minds in GTM globally– from the Revenue director at Clari, Pricing leader at DocuSign, GTM leader at Databricks, Sales leader at Outreach to Growth Leader at Snowflake and many more– all exceptionally talented operators who have built multiple GTM motions from scratch and are now committed to support the upcoming generation of entrepreneurs along with us. We deeply believe this is what our ecosystem needs: accessibility to the right leaders in the global market, and we aim to bridge this for Indian founders. Thanks to our early GTM partners Jyoti Swarnkar Samuel Sunderaraj Kiran Surapaneni Merritt Baer Murali K Atul Sahai Ramana Narayanam Sara Archer Sara Jones Shiv Sundar Stan Rymkiewicz Andreas Drakos Andres Lozano Sanudo Ashwath M. Brant W. Cody Harris Connor Williams Daniil Krets Jake Haselden Jeff de Ruyter Karthik Ramamoorthy Kevin Flitcroft Laura Handy LeeRon Yahalomi Paul McGhee Shane O'Neill (and the list goes on.... unfortunately not able to tag more) who shaped Bracket into a powerful community along with us. Big shout out to Aditi Gera for all her effort on putting this together and to the rest of the BoldCap team Shiv Tayal Pratham Chadha Kevin D'Souza. Thank you Bhuvana Kamath and YourStory Media for this exclusive coverage - https://lnkd.in/gZBXTsmv If you're founder in the AI software space, we are excited to work with you! BoldCap

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its not just about VC/investor appetite for more mature start-ups where the risk is relatively less, its the turn now of VCs being treated the same by LPs. very likely to happen in India as well if not already happening. The infamous long tail in VC universe is very much going to be a reality.

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Episode 341 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Somak Chattopadhyay, Managing Partner at Armory Square Ventures. Yes, markets like the Bay Area, NYC, and Boston get a lot of attention when it comes to building startups and having the ability to raise capital, but there are lots of other places to build a successful company. This has always been the case, but the pandemic definitely pushed this reality further.  This is why a firm like Amory Square Ventures exists. There are lots of secondary markets where entrepreneurs need access to capital and it is also a very important matter for the local economy for these companies to grow and create jobs, versus relocating. Somak shares the details of what led him down the path to start Armory Square Ventures, a seed and early stage venture fund, and why their approach of investing in seconday markets has not only been a differentiator for their firm but what they also consider as an optimism engine and a community catalyst for regions outside Silicon Valley. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice on how founders can push back on advice from investors. * Somak’s background story and his early career in startups. * How he landed in venture capital at Edison Ventures and Tribeca Venture Partners. * The details on what they are targeting for investments and portfolio company examples like Machinery Partner and ACV Auctions, a Buffalo company that went public. * Somak’s anti-portfolio, companies that he reviewed and an investment didn’t work out and went on to be a successful company. * Advice on building a marketplace. * And so much more. #venturecapital #startups #marketplaces

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✨ Chet Kapoor ✨ is quite the Silicon Valley legend. Three-time founder and currently the CEO of DataStax his wisdom for founders is incredibly spot-on ✅ and timeless ⏰ ! In this most recent and probably best-ever episode of The Enterprise GTM podcast, Chet discusses what it takes to build enduring tech companies. Some 🎤 soundbites 🎤 from our conversation: 👩‍🏫 The quality of people influences the outcome of your startup the most. 🔥 You do not need smart people who sit around and pontificate. ☄ Momentum is everything. Never underestimate it. 🌟 Having complete clarity of thought at any given time is very important--who are you doing this for, and how will it change their lives? 🌈 One of the best ways to create a large company is to create a parade or join one. ☝ Know who you are. There's a high likelihood that the company will become more like who you are rather than who you want to be. 🛑 Don't make the mistake of hiring sales execs too soon. Be extra cautious about partnerships. 📣 Tune in to hear about what he has to say about AI startups getting started today, the future of the data layer, the evolving importance of data roles (data science, data engineering), and so much more! #devtool #founder #startup #data #ai https://lnkd.in/gW-58nvE

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Continuously learning on the job and reflecting on those learnings are important for personal growth. Another important thing is to pen down those reflections once in a while. This is a nice short read from Kaushik with candid reflections of an operator to VC transition with insightful nuggets for anyone who may be new at that intersection or for first/second time founders. #venturecapital #operator #founders

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SolarSquare Energy is the largest installer and operator of distributed solar assets in India, and has become one of my favorite case studies of *nailing* product-market fit within the Lowercarbon Capital portfolio. This week, they announced a $40M Series B funding round led by our friends over at Lightspeed - it's go time, chalo! India is the world's fastest growing residential solar market, with more roofs and more sun than just about anywhere on the planet. There's a whole lot of room to run - only 1M homes have been solarized to date out of the 50M ready to install. Add that up, and we see a $100B prize up for grabs by the end of the decade. The jalebi on top? The Indian government has strategically accelerated this industry by rolling out subsidies, reducing permitting friction, and enshrining net metering as a legal right. Solar Square is in the right place at the right time. Huge congrats to Shreya Mishra, Neeraj Jain, Nikhil Nahar, and the entire team. If anyone is looking to join the next Indian unicorn at the center of the global energy transition, look no further. #tech #climatetech #climate #energy #energytransition #solar #electrification #india #emergingmarkets

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I first met Mike Maples, Jr in 2010, when Founders Network was just an idea. Over the years, Mike and his team at Floodgate (special shoutout to Arjun Chopra) have been great mentors, sharing their insights and guiding our founders. Most recently, their advice played a pivotal role in helping us launch Founders Network Fund. Today, Mike shared the key ideas with FN'ers from his new book Pattern Breakers (https://a.co/d/buKBd5O ), which explores the insights he’s gained from backing companies like Twitter, Twitch, and Okta -- and which put him on the Forbes Midas List 8x. This is the most important book on startups in the last ten years, according to Steve Blank. My notes on the key concepts of his talk: 1) Inflections – "not a trend but a change event that represents a turning point in our ability to provide empowerment." e.g. The GPS chip in iPhone 4s 2) Insights – "a non-consensus and right insight about the future that's powerful and non obvious and leverages inflections." e.g. Lyft = GPS + strangers driving you 3) Founder future fit – "Living in the future before other people live in the future and then try to build what's missing in the future." If you're a founder, check out the book. Grateful for the impact Mike and Arjun continue to have on both me and the Founders Network community!

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Looking forward to meeting women entrepreneurs who are on their journey to create some pathbreaking ideas and inspiring others to do the same. #advaitawomenentrepreneurs #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurship #womenentrepreneurs #EmpowerWomen #womenleaders #businesswomen

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Venture capital exists to capitalize and create hallmark entrepreneurial business building stories, and this one, from Eric Tarczynski, Founder of Contrary, one of the earliest investors in Indian commerce start-up Zepto, is one of those outstanding stories and a must-read below! The growth and progress of this Indian start-up are truly remarkable, especially given it was only founded in 2021! Zepto recently raised $665 million in a new round of funding, more than doubling its valuation to $3.6 billion from $1.4 billion in less than a year, as the #Mumbai-based startup doubles down on its efforts to capture the contested quick commerce market in #India. US-based Glade Brook Capital Partners LLC, Nexus Venture Partners and StepStone Group co-led the “highly-oversubscribed” Series F round. Avenir, Lightspeed India and Avra (former Y Combinator Continuity exec Anu Hariharan’s new fund) as well as existing backers Goodwater, Lachy Groom and Contrary followed. It is clear that US investors are still active and keen on the India start-up market. The startup said its revenue has risen 140% from a year earlier, and its annualized gross merchandise value (GMV) is on track to exceed $1 billion. It works with more than 50,000 delivery partners and is adding over 5,000 delivery partners each month. The company said about 75% of its dark stores were EBITDA positive as of last month. Congratulations Eric Tarczynski and the Zepto Team! #fundraising #indianmarket #venturecapital #earlystage #indianentrepreneeurs #capitalmarkets #highgrowth #unicorns #seed

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Wow, great stuff on this first episode. I got the run down from Ataes Aggarwal and Arya Satish, and I see that critically important business and life topics will be covered in this podcast series. Follow, tune in, and spread the word. PSA: Some super thoughtful and practical content to be had here with this podcast. 🙌

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A wise CPG-focused investor once told me, “D2C is about building out distribution.” And he was absolutely right. I keep coming back to that idea because so much of why we see D2C e-commerce startups fail at Finprojections is that they overbet on online distribution channels that just don’t deliver. The classic mistake? Overestimating purely online buyers. Here’s what usually happens: 1️⃣ There just aren’t as many purely online buyers in the market as founders had imagined. 2️⃣ Competing for those buyers means heavy discounting, thanks to VC-backed platforms fighting over the same sliver of customers. 3️⃣ Even if you get a customer to try your platform once, there's no guarantee they’ll come back or continue to consume purely online. Eventually in emerging markets, most D2C founders realize they need to go omni-channel—blending online and offline. Why? Because a large portion of their target market is still transacting offline, and moving offline customers online tends to work better than chasing purely online buyers. But here’s the challenge: offline expansion is expensive. And many startups realize this too late, after burning through capital chasing online customers. At that point, they’re often too highly valued to raise the money needed for an omni-channel pivot without diluting everyone on the cap table, including themselves. So, what are the lessons? 1️⃣ D2C is about building distribution. If your customers are offline, don’t avoid retail—embrace it early. 2️⃣ Spend wisely. Betting big on online channels in a crowded space rarely works without strong differentiation. 3️⃣ Think long-term. Omni-channel retail can become profitable faster. Once you’re cash-flow positive, consider PE or debt for growth capital rather than "growth at all costs" VC funds. It’s a tough balance, but getting these decisions right early can make all the difference. Curious—what lessons do you think D2C startups should keep in mind? I’d love to hear your thoughts. #D2C #StartupGrowth #OmniChannel #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #Ecommerce #Founders

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Excited to launch our "India Tech Unicorns and Exits Report 2024" – An in-depth exploration of key facets of the Indian tech ecosystem. Key Highlights: -Significant Exits -Time-to-IPO Insights -Indian Unicorns HQ'd Overseas -Female Unicorn Founders  -Years to turn Unicorn -Global IPO Market This report dives deep into the dynamic landscape of India’s startup ecosystem, highlighting key trends, insights, and milestones. Explore the detailed findings here: https://lnkd.in/gB8QZu7 #startup #VC #funding #unicorn #ipo #exit

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🚀 Insights from Venture Collision Conf Today! 🚀 Privileged to learn from industry leaders at today's event: Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Web Summit, Rashmi Gopinath from B Capital and Shailesh Lakhani from Peak XV Partners. Here are some key takeaways: - Rise in Bootstrapping startups: More bootstrapping startups this year than ever, emphasizing a trend towards building with limited external funding. - Secondary Market Activity: The secondary market is more active this year, reflecting dynamic investment strategies compared to last year. - Engineering Talent: Strong engineering talent is crucial for building successful teams. Talent hotspots include the Bay Area, Beijing/China, and India. - Capital Dynamics: The excess capital raised in 2021 and 2022 has intensified competition in certain sectors, diluting opportunities and leading to an unsustainable environment. A return to stability will take time. Grateful to everyone who shared valuable insights today! #Venture #collision2024 #Startups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TechTrends

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Catch us for the session today - on Navigating the Entrepreneurial Ladder - Scaling to a Publicly Listed Co!

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I am always amazed when someone discovers whitespace in B2B SaaS that is eligible for pre-seed funding. It's interesting to see that Chiratae Ventures led Pre-Seed round for Pepsales. Pepsales is trying to help B2B SaaS companies improve their sales by creating personalized product demos using AI and ML. The pain point they are trying to address is that most demos don't impress buyers because they tend to be generic and one-size-fits-all. Congrats Ajay Singh and Abhinandan Sahgal! Source: INC42, Entrackr, VCCircle #VentureCapital #B2BSaas

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We’re facing a deluge of ecommerce enabler startups, and honestly, I don’t quite know why. I’d like to figure out if there is a bigger trend at play here, and also see as many more companies as possible in this space to help develop a thesis. So if you have any gyaan to dispense, please share your thoughts here or DM me (and we can setup a call thereafter if needed). And if you are a founder in this space/ know somebody who is building in this space, please write to/ refer them to investments@merakventures.com Dilsher Dhupia Pranav Sanghvi Tanuj Saraf Merak Ventures

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Looking forward to diving into the state of the late-stage venture market at TechCrunch Disrupt next week with Karthik Subramanian. With late-stage companies facing tougher paths to exit, we’ll be debating whether the market is actually rebounding, sharing our thoughts on the outlook for future IPOs, and discussing how founders can navigate these shifting dynamics. Hope to see you there! #TCDisrupt #VC

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