Founders Unfiltered A Junior VC

Join us as we talk to Ashok Hariharan, the CEO of IDfy about their story.

Ashok earned his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Penn State Engineering and went on to complete his MBA at the Indian School of Business.

His career as a hardware engineer includes positions at Acterna, Coree Networks, Marconi Communications, Laurel Networks, and Astuto Networks. He also served as a strategy manager at British Telecom.

In 2008, he founded Gaboli Online Services and has been the CEO of IDfy since May 2011.

🏢 About IDfy:
IDfy is an Integrated Identity Platform that combats fraud with advanced KYC, KYB, and verification solutions. Recognized by Deloitte and Forbes in 2023, IDfy performs 2 million daily verifications.

Key offerings include APIs for verification, a video onboarding platform, RiskAI for risk management, IDfy360 for custom workflows, and CrimeCheck for legal history checks.

🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Playlists🎬:
🎙️Founders Unfiltered: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZb75L7Qi_1r_yCxtrkFtTqwgoKj8f66
🎥 AJVC BTS: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZb75L7Qi_2SqAGAJ0_rS1--1u82jvfL
🦄 Start-up Chronicles: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZb75L7Qi_0ujPMygWRZQcJBK250BXbC
🔎 AJVC Insights: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZb75L7Qi_00SpPyAU_zhicXdehoNuBd
🎯 Deep Dives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZb75L7Qi_2BHzAOji1wBEKjXo-go7e6
📈 Founder Insights: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZb75L7Qi_1L3HjHLvNUQgPWGrfcoc-q


🎤 About the Hosts :
Aviral Bhatnagar is a VC at Venture Highway and is the Founder of A Junior VC. He started the A Junior VC Newsletter in 2018 after observing whitespace in conversations in the Indian Venture ecosystem. He completed his B. Tech from IIT Bombay and MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Mazin Biviji is a Product Owner at Agoda and a founding member of A Junior VC. He previously worked at Deloitte as a Senior Consultant. He completed his MSE and BSE from the University of Michigan and his MBA from INSEAD.

🌍 Join us at https://ajuniorvc.com/community/ to be a part of an exclusive community and grab the opportunity to question and hear our guests live every Sunday.

🚀 AJVC: https://ajuniorvc.com/

✂ Editing Credits:
1. Neel Panji - https://www.linkedin.com/in/neel-panji-598b7b176/
2. Sweta Singhania - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sweta-singhania-755b92183/

🔎 Research:
1. Ayush Kumar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushkcs/
2. Sahil Nizam - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahilnizam12/
3. Aditya Chauhan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditya-chauhan-27b298177
4. Deepthi Nagoorkar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepthi-nagoorkar-64408085/

00:00 Intro
02:24 Rapid Fire
08:24 Early Days
17:02 First Company
19:01 Meeting the Co-founder
20:33 The Idea
22:30 Post Ideation
23:51 Failure of the First Version
25:20 Start of the Enterprise Business
25:53 Initial Pitch
28:32 Growth Stage
29:50 The Struggles
31:21 Leadership lessons in Growth Phase
33:36 Vipassana
35:12 The North Star
37:07 Culture and Transition
38:57 Leadership Development
41:58 The Website
45:10 Fraud
1:00:18 Accelerated Growth
01:04:26 Unfiltered Feedback

#ajvc #startups #india

Join us as we talk to Uttam Digga, the Co-founder & CEO of Porter about their story.

Uttam completed his integrated MSc in Economics at IIT Kharagpur in 2012. Following that, he held positions as an Analyst at both HSBC and J.P. Morgan before launching Porter in 2014.

🏢 About Porter:
Porter goes beyond logistics, fueled by their mission to 'move a billion dreams, one delivery at a time.' Embracing 'Own It,' they've grown rapidly with 7.5 million drivers and 15 million customers.

Backed by $150 million in investments from leaders like Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global, their tech-driven approach sets new standards in last-mile logistics.

Join us as we talk to Ranvir Singh, the Founder and CEO of Kissht and Ring about their story.

Ranvir completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 2001 and his MBA from IIM Bangalore in 2005. He served as an associate partner at McKinsey & Company, held the position of Managing Director at Si-Creva, and established Kissht in 2016.

He is also the founder and CEO of Ring and a founding member of FACE.

🏢 About Kissht & RING:
Kissht is a fintech platform that provides instant, seamless credit to consumers for purchases at both online and offline points of sale. This next-generation financial technology company strategically aids individuals in increasing their borrowing capabilities.

RING is a top fintech company in India, emerging from the success of Kissht. It excels in data-driven lending and serves over 11 million customers, with 40% from tier 2 cities and beyond. RING provides both short and long-term loans for business, personal, and recurring needs.

Join us as we talk to Rajat Deshpande, the Co-founder and CEO of FinBox about their story.

In 2009, Rajat completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering at IIT Bombay.

His professional journey includes roles such as General Analytics Associate at ZS Associates, Senior Associate at Citigroup, Advisor at BookMyCab, and Vice President of Product at GoPigeon.

In 2017, he co-founded FinBox.

🏢 About FinBox:
FinBox was founded in 2017 with a mission to democratize financial services for the next billion Indians.

It provides advanced credit infrastructure, simplifying business operations so companies can concentrate on growth.

It offers a comprehensive lending platform, featuring tools like bank statement analysis, alternate data underwriting, LOS, journey orchestration, partner management, business rules, and multi-bureau analytics.

Join us as we talk to Sumeet Mehta, the Co-Founder and CEO of LEAD Group about their story.

Sumeet earned his Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering at PEC, followed by an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in 1999.

After his MBA, he delved into brand management at Procter & Gamble, Singapore, and later served as CEO at Zee Learn for almost five years.

In 2012, he co-founded LEAD School.

🏢 About LEAD Group:
LEAD, India's largest school EdTech unicorn, strives to revolutionize schools for a confident India.

With a vast network of over 9000 LEAD partner schools, LEAD impacts over 5 million students across 400+ cities in India.

Join us as we talk to Sneh Jain, the Co-founder of The Baker’s Dozen about their story.

Sneh Jain completed his B.Tech degree at UDCT, Mumbai, and subsequently an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in 2009.

He gained professional experience at renowned firms such as Cipla and Orchid Pharma before serving as a consultant at McKinsey & Company post his MBA.

In 2012, alongside his wife, Aditi Handa, he co-founded The Baker’s Dozen.

🏢 About The Baker’s Dozen:
The Baker’s Dozen is a neighbourhood artisan bakery specializing in a wide range of international baked goods, with a focus on delivering high-quality, freshly made European breads and pastries.