Prime Venture Partners Podcast

Prime Venture Partners: Early Stage VC Fund

A podcast for entrepreneurs who are looking to build & grow their startups. Avoid common traps & learn uncommon strategies & tactics from makers & doers of startup ecosystem. Prime Ventures is a early-stage venture fund which focuses on startups that not only need capital but also require mentoring to transform them into disruptive companies. We share a passion for working closely with entrepreneurs and enjoy sharing their journey in a high-frequency, interactive and fun environment.Read more about us at http://primevp.in

  1. 2026 Predictions - AI, Robots, Biotech, Unicorns & the Next 5 Years | Prime Ventures Podcast

    JAN 21

    2026 Predictions - AI, Robots, Biotech, Unicorns & the Next 5 Years | Prime Ventures Podcast

    In this special episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, the Partners come together to discuss how AI, new business models, and shifting global dynamics are reshaping startups and what founders should be preparing for as we head deeper into 2026 and beyond. From pragmatic AI adoption to new opportunities in services, SaaS, climate, and governance, this is a grounded conversation on what’s actually changing and what still matters. ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction 01:30 – What Prime Is Willing to Bet On 03:20 – AI Models vs Real Value Creation 07:35 – Automation, Services and Opportunity 11:30 – Moats and Distribution in an AI-First World 20:00 – Why Fundamentals Still Matter 24:05 – SaaS, Services and India’s Global Opportunity 28:25 – How AI Will Change Venture Capital 37:40 – Predicting the Defining Startups of 2030 42:05 – Climate, Energy and Big Problems Becoming Solvable 45:40 – Boards, Governance and AI Ethics 52:10 – Closing Thoughts for Founders Building in 2026 🔥 What You’ll Discover: How founders should think about AI in 2026Why services + AI could unlock product-like margins and global opportunitiesHow India’s startup ecosystem is evolving as customers begin paying serious money for softwareWhat venture capital, boards, and governance might look like in an AI-first future 🎧 Key Takeaways: Why solving the right customer problem is still a binary outcome, regardless of the AI model you useHow SaaS, services, and AI are converging into new business modelsWhat founders should expect as old cost advantages disappear and new ones emergeWhy long-term company building, discipline, and fundamentals still winAs the startup ecosystem enters its next phase, this episode offers founders, operators, and investors a clear-eyed view of what’s ahead and how to prepare for it. 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on startups, venture capital, and building enduring companies. 👇 Join the conversation - What do you think founders should focus on most in 2026? #2026Predictions #IndianStartups #VentureCapital #AI #PrimeVenturePartners #StartupEcosystem #FutureOfWork #SaaS #Services #ClimateTech #Entrepreneurship #CompanyBuilding

    55 min
  2. A Time Machine Roundtable: Inside India’s Startup Journey (2010 to 2025)

    12/18/2025

    A Time Machine Roundtable: Inside India’s Startup Journey (2010 to 2025)

    🚀2025 feels like a turning point for the Indian startup ecosystem. In this special year-end episode of the Prime Venture Partners podcast, we take a step back and look at the journey from the early days of 2010 to where we are today and what lies ahead. We talk about: • The wild early years when founders were figuring things out as they went • How Aadhaar, UPI and cheap data quietly changed everything • What COVID revealed about founder resilience • How AI is being used inside real companies today • Why India’s startup ecosystem took longer to take off, but is now scaling bigger than expected This is a candid, experience-led conversation from the Prime partners, shaped by nearly two decades of building and investing in Indian startups. 🎙 Episode Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 03:17 The Three Phases of the Indian Startup Ecosystem 05:16 Early Founder Reality (2010–2015) 08:09 What It Was Like to Be an Investor in Early 2010 11:36 When No One Even Talked About Exits 12:49 Early Unicorns and the First Belief Shift 15:05 Founders We Underestimated and Why It Changed Our Thinking 19:07 Backing People Over Plans 23:29 India’s “Too Operational” Companies That Scaled Big 27:46 Jio and the Moment the Internet Became Affordable 29:33 When the Internet Truly Reached Bharat 31:43 Aadhaar, India Stack, and Building at Population Scale 35:16 COVID: Revenue to Zero and Zero-Based Accounting 39:00 Crisis Decisions, Calm Leadership, and Founder Resilience 43:20 The Crypto Wave: Knowing What Not to Chase 46:34 Practical AI Use Cases Inside Real Companies 54:07 Lessons From 15 Years of Venture Investing 58:59 India’s Startup Ecosystem in One Minute  If you care about startups, founders, or the future of technology in India, this episode will resonate. #IndianStartups #VentureCapital #FoundersJourney #StartupEcosystem #IndiaStack #UPI #StartupLessons #Entrepreneurship #TechInIndia #InvestingInsights #PrimeVenturePartners

    1h 2m
  3. The Holy Grail of Business AI: Uniphore's $2.5 Billion Playbook with Umesh Sachdev

    12/03/2025

    The Holy Grail of Business AI: Uniphore's $2.5 Billion Playbook with Umesh Sachdev

    Umesh Sachdev, cofounder and CEO of Uniphore, joins Shripati Acharya for a deeply insightful and very real conversation about what it actually takes to build and scale enterprise AI.  Whether you are a founder, a product leader or someone thinking seriously about enterprise AI, this episode will give you clarity on business AI you won’t find elsewhere. What you’ll take away: • A clearer understanding of what Uniphore does as an end-to-end enterprise AI and data platform • Why so many AI pilots “fail” at first and how that failure can actually be meaningful progress • How enterprises are achieving predictable outcomes using unitary agents, workflow orchestration, guardrails and fine-tuned SLMs • The inside story of Uniphore’s strategic raise and why some of the world’s biggest AI and data companies chose to back them ⭐Episode Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 03:00 – What Uniphore Actually Does  05:47 – Why Enterprise AI Struggles to Scale Beyond Pilots 10:08 – The Determinism Problem: Why AI Gives Different Answers Each Time 12:32 – Unitary Agents and Workflow Orchestration for Predictable AI 14:00 – Small Language Models vs Large LLMs for Enterprise Use Cases 15:25 – Why Guardrails and Governance Matter in Real Deployments 16:39 – One Big Agent Fails but Ten Small Agents Work Better 20:40 – Why AI Pilots Fail and Why That Is a Good Thing 22:20 – Converting Experiments into Enterprise-Scale Adoption 24:26 – 35,000 Invoices a Week with Only Four Humans: ROI Case Study 26:25 – What Enterprises Really Look for in AI Systems 28:45 – Lessons from Building Across India and the US 32:51 – Why Founders Must Be Close to Their Biggest Market 34:44 – Structuring Teams Across Geographies for Global Scale 38:10 – The Journey of Building Uniphore Over Seventeen Years 42:36 – Hard Lessons Learned Along the Way 46:45 – Why NVIDIA, Snowflake, AMD and Databricks Invested 51:17 – How the Strategic Round Came Together 52:22 – Closing Note If this conversation resonates with you, drop your biggest takeaway in the comments and subscribe for more in-depth founder and VC discussions. #EnterpriseAI #Uniphore #ArtificialIntelligence #AIAgents #SmallLanguageModels #AIInnovation #AIinBusiness #FounderInsights #StartupLessons #TechLeadership #GlobalScale #FutureOfWork #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

    54 min
  4. How Stories Shape Decisions, Trust & Startup Outcomes — A Masterclass with Ameen Haque

    11/19/2025

    How Stories Shape Decisions, Trust & Startup Outcomes — A Masterclass with Ameen Haque

    Ameen Haque — Founder of Storywallahs and one of India’s leading storytelling coaches — joins Amit Somani for an eye-opening deep dive into the craft of storytelling in business. If you're a founder, operator, leader, or creator, this conversation will reshape the way you pitch, lead, persuade, and communicate. 🔍 In this episode: • The real meaning of the “lion vs hunter” lesson • How Ratan Tata exemplifies storytelling through action • Why great leaders win trust through narrative • How to make customers the heroes of your story ⏱ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 02:00 – Why humans think in stories, not facts 02:23 – “We are all storytellers” 03:18 – Why good work fails without a good story 04:54 – The “lion vs hunter” mindset shift 06:16 – Storytelling through action: The Ratan Tata example 07:23 – Living your story vs. telling it 14:39 – Why customers should be your storytellers 15:23 – The hierarchy of difficulty: 16:40 – Behavioural economics & persuasion 38:03 – “Stories aren’t long or short — they’re good or bad” 40:58 – Editing is the most underrated storytelling skill 41:48 – Learning from masters: music, art & observation A must-watch for anyone building something meaningful. 🎙️ Full episode now available on Prime Venture Partners Podcast. 📌 Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primevp_in/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574450955885 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp Twitter: https://twitter.com/primevp_in Website: https://primevp.in #Storytelling #StartupMindset #LeadershipInsights #FounderWisdom #BusinessStrategy #CommunicationSkills #EntrepreneurJourney #PitchBetter #StartupLeadership #LearningToLead #AmeenHaque #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

    44 min
  5. Apple, China, and the New Map of Global Power: What Patrick McGee’s Apple in China Teaches the World and India

    11/06/2025

    Apple, China, and the New Map of Global Power: What Patrick McGee’s Apple in China Teaches the World and India

    Apple’s China story is more than a business case — it’s a mirror of globalization itself. In this eye-opening conversation, Patrick McGee, Financial Times journalist and author of Apple in China, sits down with Pankaj Agarwal to explore how Apple’s greatest triumph became its biggest challenge. 💬 In this episode: How Apple helped build modern ChinaThe lessons India must learn as it becomes Apple’s next manufacturing hubThe trade-offs between innovation, control, and national interestsWhat this means for founders, investors, and policymakers shaping India’s tech future 📌 Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 01:11 – Why Patrick Wrote Apple in China 03:33 – How Apple Ended Up in China 06:25 – Researching the Untold Story 08:21 – The Three Phases of Apple in China 11:03 – Lessons for Founders on Supply Chains 12:26 – The ‘Siren Song’ of China 13:13 – Apple’s Moral Dilemmas and Trade-offs 16:27 – Innovation, Arrogance & Plateau 19:04 – The Economics of Dependence 22:27 – What Can India Learn from China? 23:53 – Why Does Apple Need India? 25:45 – Are iPhones Made in India? 26:55 – The Future of Globalization & Supply Chains 31:31 – Why Should You Read Apple in China A conversation for those who think beyond valuations — about strategy, sovereignty, and the soul of global business. 🎧 Full episode out now on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts. #PrimePodcasts #PatrickMcGee #AppleInChina #GlobalBusiness #IndiaStartups #Leadership #TechGeopolitics #Apple #China #PrimeVenturePartners

    36 min
  6. How Can India Build Its Own Global Smartphone Brand? Conversation with Ex-CEO of Realme and Founder of Ai+ | Madhav Sheth

    10/15/2025

    How Can India Build Its Own Global Smartphone Brand? Conversation with Ex-CEO of Realme and Founder of Ai+ | Madhav Sheth

    Madhav Sheth, - the driving force behind Realme, now the Founder of Ai+, opens up about the inside world of smartphone wars, the rise (and fall) of Indian brands, and his vision to rebuild from scratch. 🔍 In this episode: • How Realme rewrote India’s smartphone playbook • Why most Indian brands couldn’t survive the global onslaught • The hidden monopoly controlling 60% of the market • The next revolution: AI-powered smartphones built for India • Lessons on leadership, innovation, and staying hungry after success 📌 Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 03:00 – Building Realme: From Idea to Global Brand 04:15 – The White Space in India’s Smartphone Market 06:20 – Understanding Indian Consumers: From Price to Value 08:10 – Scaling Through Value, Not Volume 10:00 – The Future: Hardware + Software + AI 12:00 – Why India Missed the Smartphone Opportunity 14:10 – Inside BBK Group: Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus & Realme 16:55 – What Killed Indian Smartphone Brands 19:05 – Inside the Smartphone Monopoly 20:35 – Building NextQ: Madhav’s New Mission 23:00 – Leadership Lessons & Founder Mindset 25:30 – Advice for India’s Next-Gen Tech Founders 🎧 Watch the full episode and discover what’s next for India’s tech future. #MadhavSheth #Realme #AI #IndiaTech #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Innovation #TechRevolution #MadeInIndia #Smartphones #FounderStories #ScaleUp #BusinessGrowth #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #DigitalIndia #FutureOfTech #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

    34 min
  7. Inside the VC Mind: Prime’s Fundraising Masterclass for Founders

    10/07/2025

    Inside the VC Mind: Prime’s Fundraising Masterclass for Founders

    For the first time ever, the Prime Venture Partners investment team — 1 Principal and 2 Vice Presidents — sit down to answer everything founders wish they could ask a VC face-to-face. This isn’t theory. This is the real inside view of how venture capital works in India: 💸 How VCs actually pick the 5 startups that make it through 📉 The real reason your pitch deck isn’t working 💬 Why not every profitable business is “VC-fundable” 💭 And the timeless debate: is venture success skill or luck? 📊 Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 05:51 – The VC funnel: 5,000 pitches → 5 investments 07:09 – How to reach a VC (referrals vs. cold outreach) 09:57 – Why not all great businesses are VC-fundable 14:20 – Founder mistakes that kill deals 18:20 – How much should you raise — and when 25:17 – Analysts & Associates: the real champions of deals 33:41 – The underrated power of monthly updates 39:49 – How founders should think about valuation 45:39 – How to pick your VC partner 50:00 – ESOPs, angels & early-stage strategy 56:00 – Skill vs. Luck — what really drives VC success If you’re building a startup, fundraising, or even thinking about raising capital someday, this is your Fundraising Masterclass from inside the VC room. 🎧 Watch till the end for honest takes, funny moments, and practical insights that can shape your next raise. #PrimeVenturesPartners #VentureCapital #StartupIndia #Founders #Fundraising #VCInsights #Entrepreneurship #StartupIndia #IndianStartups #RaisingCapital #PitchToVCs #StartupTips #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

    1h 5m

Trailers

4.5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

A podcast for entrepreneurs who are looking to build & grow their startups. Avoid common traps & learn uncommon strategies & tactics from makers & doers of startup ecosystem. Prime Ventures is a early-stage venture fund which focuses on startups that not only need capital but also require mentoring to transform them into disruptive companies. We share a passion for working closely with entrepreneurs and enjoy sharing their journey in a high-frequency, interactive and fun environment.Read more about us at http://primevp.in

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