TheOnePoint

Rohit Yadav
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Interviews on niche topics from the startup and venture world. Focused, Explorative, and Limited.

  1. 2D AGO

    The 10 Shifts Rebuilding Indian Consumer

    What happens when the former CFO of Myntra and a Flipkart leadership veteran walks away from operating the biggest names in Indian e-commerce to build a venture firm that backs the next generation of Indian consumer brands?  Dipanjan Basu, co-founder and partner at Fireside Ventures, sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to break down nearly a decade of building one of the country's most operator-led consumer funds. From explaining why the power-law model that defines US venture doesn't apply to Indian consumer - even though 45 years of US venture has delivered 18–22% IRRs with Apple, Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Uber sitting inside that number - to why India's $6.5 trillion economy by 2030 will be 60% consumption-driven, and how the convergence of a billion smartphone users, 800 million Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha consumers, and six-to-seven distinct sub-economies inside one country is rewriting the consumer playbook - this conversation is a structural look at how Indian consumer is actually being built today. Whether you're a founder, an LP, a venture investor, or someone trying to understand where the next decade of Indian consumption is heading, this one will reshape how you think about Indian venture math. 🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With: ➡️ Why the power-law model imported from US venture is a structural mismatch for Indian consumer — and what replaces it ➡️ How Indian companies can IPO at $100M of revenue and how strategic acquisitions clear at $25–40M of revenue, reshaping the exit architecture ➡️ Why India is not one country — and how the stack of geographic, income, and demographic diversity creates an opportunity surface no reference market replicates ➡️ Why quick commerce is structural to Indian consumer behaviour, not a bubble — and why the same model wouldn't work in New York or Frankfurt ➡️ The 10 shifts redefining how consumer companies are built in India — from data-first replacing D2C, to brand-over-channel, to assisted commerce for Bharat ➡️ The three Ps that separate enduring brands from momentum brands — and the marathon-versus-100-metre mindset Dipanjan uses with founders ➡️ The four themes Fireside is positioning its new fund around: consumer health, Gen-Z native, built-for-Bharat, and manufacturing-led R&D ➡️ Why patience and reflection are the most undervalued disciplines in Indian consumer building — and why throwing capital at a stuck brand makes it worse Links: Dipanjan Basu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dipanjan-basu-a253297/ Fireside Ventures: https://www.firesideventures.com/ Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23 Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/

    1h 18m

  2. APR 8

    India's Deep Tech Shift: From Exporting Talent to Building Multi-Billion Dollar Companies

    What happens when a country that exported its best deep tech talent for decades suddenly has the markets, the capital, and the geopolitics to commercialize at home? Abhishek Srivastava, Partner at Kae Capital — one of India's leading institutional seed funds managing $250M+ across five funds — sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to break down The India Deep Tech Report 2025 and map the entire landscape of what's changed, what's working, and what's still missing.From explaining why India has shifted from cost arbitrage to capability arbitrage — to why the country's renewable energy build-out in the last three years has exceeded the previous 15–20 years combined — to why there is no GTM playbook for deep tech hardware and anyone claiming otherwise is lying — this conversation is a masterclass in understanding where India's deep tech ecosystem actually stands and where it's headed by 2030.Whether you're a founder, investor, LP, or just tracking India's emergence as a deep tech force — this one will reframe how you think about the opportunity.Chapters:01:00 — Introduction: Abhishek Srivastava and Kae Capital02:16 — Kae Capital: Five funds, $250M+ AUM, and the portfolio — Porter, Zetwerk, 1MG, Healthkart04:08 — Top three takeaways from The India Deep Tech Report 202508:10 — India's deep tech evolution: From talent era to technology era to market era13:11 — India vs US: How far behind is India's deep tech ecosystem really?16:08 — The categories that truly excite Kae: Energy transition, advanced materials, physical AI20:23 — Which Indian deep tech sectors are primed to go global today?23:18 — Are Indian startups building for the world yet? "Close, but not there"28:34 — Policy, academia, and the IP problem: What needs to improve32:40 — How Kae underwrites risk in deep tech vs SaaS36:57 — Why Kae pushes founders to visit China — and what they come back with39:50 — The zero-to-one journey of an Indian deep tech startup43:12 — Founder patterns that separate deep tech startups that scale from those that stall46:42 — How Kae coaches technical founders on commercialization51:26 — How LPs understand (and misunderstand) deep tech risk-return in India55:56 — Three bold predictions for Indian deep tech by 203058:02 — Building a world-class deep tech company out of India is about...🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:➡️ Why India has shifted from cost arbitrage to capability arbitrage — and what that means for founders and investors➡️ The three eras of Indian deep tech: talent → technology → market — and why the market era changes everything➡️ Why India's renewable energy progress in the last 3 years exceeds the previous 15–20 years combined➡️ Why there is no GTM playbook for deep tech hardware — and why that's actually the founder's advantage➡️ The optical fiber warning: why getting caught building the wrong technology is the biggest deep tech risk➡️ Why Kae sends founders to China — and why every single one comes back with a different level of ambition➡️ The Series A/B funding gap that could throttle India's deep tech ecosystem➡️ Why India's IP ecosystem still doesn't hold value the way it does in the US — and what needs to change➡️ Kae's four C's framework for backing deep tech founders: Customers, Capital, Capabilities, Community➡️ Why the best deep tech founders hire people smarter than themselves — with zero insecurityLinks:Abhishek Srivastava : https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhisheksrivastava1801/ Kae Capital: https://kae-capital.com/The India Deep Tech Report 2025: https://kae-capital.com/report/india-deeptech-2025/Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/

    1 hr

  3. APR 6

    Zero Revenue to IPO: How Ather Energy Built India's First Smart Electric Scooter

    What happens when two fresh graduates with zero auto industry experience look at the same technology as every legacy manufacturer — and see a completely different cost structure? Tarun Mehta, Founder & CEO of Ather Energy - India's first smart electric scooter company, now a public unicorn - sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to break down the full arc of building a deep tech, hard tech startup in India from zero to one, to unicorn, to IPO.From realizing that what the entire auto industry saw as a ₹5 lakh electric scooter was actually a ₹1 lakh scooter hiding underneath early-stage costs - to spending five years building before shipping a single product - to sticking a 7-inch touchscreen tablet on a scooter handlebar when nobody in the world had done that on a two-wheeler - to launching at ₹1,65,000 when the original plan was ₹75,000 - this conversation is a masterclass in what it takes to build physical products in India and survive long enough to win.Whether you're a founder, operator, investor, or just curious about India's deep tech moment, this one will change how you think about building hardware startups.Chapters:01:00 — Introduction: Tarun Mehta and the Ather Energy story01:55 — The zero to one insight: Why the auto industry couldn't see the real cost structure05:35 — The one decision that made Ather Ather: Sticking to the original product vision09:24 — Five years without a product: How Ather survived the zero-to-one phase13:05 — India's deep tech tailwinds: What's driving the hardware startup explosion16:47 — Per capita income: The single biggest factor behind India's startup boom19:54 — What's hard about deep tech in India: Policy, incumbents, and the PLI problem24:46 — Early adopters in India: Why premium performance was the only viable entry point28:43 — Non-negotiable product philosophy: Differentiation or death32:17 — Supply chain and geopolitics: De-risking across geography, vendor, and technology35:26 — The KPIs that matter: Software usage, store count, and scaling a physical business37:28 — The best advice from a VC who rejected Ather: "Price higher or die"42:04 — Moats in Indian deep tech: Why acquired industry understanding beats experience46:34 — Why Ather IPO'd: Public markets, SIP inflows, and the fundraising reality48:59 — Going global: Why India will be the largest two-wheeler exporter in 10 years52:25 — Busting the deep tech myth: Hardware is not capital intensive53:53 — Building a unicorn in India is about... persistence🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:➡️ Why the auto industry saw a ₹5 lakh scooter and Tarun saw a ₹1 lakh scooter — and why that gap was the entire opportunity➡️ How Ather stuck a touchscreen tablet on a scooter handlebar when nobody in the world had done it on a two-wheeler➡️ Why Ather planned to price at ₹75,000, launched at ₹1,65,000 — and that's where they found success➡️ How IIT Madras is incubating ~100 startups a year, almost all deep tech or hardware➡️ Why India's PLI scheme accidentally excludes every EV startup while qualifying the smallest legacy player➡️ Why Ather holds ~70% market share above ₹1.25 lakhs and has zero presence below it➡️ Why Tarun calls the "deep tech is capital intensive" narrative nonsense — Ather's total capex over a decade is under $200M➡️ Why Japan won't go electric, China moved on from two-wheelers, and India is the only country going all-inLinks:Tarun Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarunsmehta/Ather Energy: https://www.atherenergy.com/Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/

    55 min

  4. APR 1

    30 Years of Indian Consumer Markets: Why Legacy Brands Are Losing and Who's Winning

    What happens when a public markets veteran who advised Nestlé, Unilever, and Aditya Birla on their India strategy decides to bet everything on the disruption of those very companies? 🇮🇳Nikhil Vora, Founder of Sixth Sense Ventures - India's first and largest consumer-only fund - sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to break down three decades of watching, studying, and now funding the transformation of India's consumer economy.From explaining why two players control 80–100% of every consumer category in India - while globally it's only 40–45% - to why legacy companies could lose half their wallet share in the next decade, and how quick commerce did in 3 years what e-commerce took 15 years to build - this conversation is a masterclass in understanding where India's next trillion-dollar consumer opportunity is hiding in plain sight.Whether you're a founder, investor, brand builder, or just India-curious - this one will change how you think about the Indian consumer.🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:➡️ Why India's consumer duopolies are sitting on $800B+ of value — and why half of it could shift to disruptors➡️ The difference between wallet share and market share — and why legacy companies are winning the wrong metric➡️ Why Indian consumers skipped 3 stages of retail evolution and jumped straight to quick commerce➡️ How distribution democratization broke the single biggest moat legacy brands had in India➡️ Why premiumization is irreversible — once Indian consumers upgrade, they almost never downgrade➡️ The "unreasonable passion" quality that Nikhil sees uniformly across every successful founder in his portfolio➡️ Why public markets need proof of deliverance but private markets need belief in deliverance — and what that means for valuationsLinks:Nikhil Vora: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhil-vora-07713622/Sixth Sense Ventures: https://sixthsenseventures.com/Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/

    54 min

  5. MAR 30

    Stop Looking for the "Uber of India." Here's What Actually Works.

    What happens when a country generates $145 billion in startup exits in five years - but still doesn't have enough growth-stage investors to count on two hands?Anand Prasanna, Founder & Managing Partner of Iron Pillar, sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to break down what's really happening beneath the surface of India's tech ecosystem. From the missing layer of growth capital to a framework for when founders should actually IPO, this conversation goes deep on the topics that rarely make it into ecosystem discussions. Whether you're a founder, investor, or LP trying to understand India, this one will reframe how you think about the market.Chapters:01:00 — Introduction: Iron Pillar & the India Series01:49 — Origin story: Why Anand started a growth-stage fund in 201603:29 — How many growth-stage funds actually exist in India?05:12 — The tailwinds: What excites Anand and his LPs about India08:11 — The capital cycle and the people cycle08:59 — One belief about India that's only gotten stronger09:11 — "Building from India for the World" — what it really means11:43 — The single biggest change in the ecosystem: Exits13:55 — The one unlock India still needs: The right kind of capital16:16 — What global LPs still get wrong about the India thesis19:46 — Growth-stage investing: What signals matter most?20:15 — "Definite optimism" — the Peter Thiel concept Anand lives by23:39 — How to evaluate revenue quality in Indian startups28:38 — What it takes for an Indian startup to go global32:43 — Is capital the real barrier to going global?34:26 — Brand India: Where does the perception stand today?36:16 — The IPO framework: When should Indian founders go public?39:23 — Why going public too early becomes a trap41:40 — M&A, secondaries, and staying private longer43:08 — Going public in India vs the US: Key differences45:18 — The #1 mistake founders make around exits47:36 — Crystal ball: Growth-stage capital in India by 203050:02 — Contrarian prediction: India will build global product companies51:55 — Rapid fire: One metric, best advice, myths & outlier habits🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:→ The exit data that proves India's ecosystem has hit a phase change — not just growth→ Why the "X of Y" approach to India investing misses the biggest outcomes→ The IPO math most founders ignore — and why the 400th company matters→ Three distinct paths Indian startups take to go global→ Why Anand believes India will produce the next BYD, Xiaomi, or HuaweiLinks:Anand Prasanna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anand-prasanna/Iron Pillar: https://www.ironpillar.com/Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/

    54 min

  6. MAR 25

    Scaling at Lightspeed - A Startup Story from the Operations Side

    What does it take to scale a consumer brand from ₹50 crore to ₹500 crore in two years - in a country where the consumer changes every 50 kilometers? 🇮🇳Karan Singla, COO of Sleep Company - one of India's fastest-growing physical consumer product companies - sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to break down the raw, unfiltered operational reality of building a premium brand across 45 cities, 175 company-owned stores, and 15,000 pin codes.From opening a new store every 5 days to running 50 logistics vehicles to deliver 50-kilo mattresses next day - and dealing with customers who lock mechanics in rooms, exploit buy-now-pay-later loopholes, and go incognito after receiving replacement products - this conversation is a masterclass in what it really means to operate at scale in India.Whether you're a founder, operator, investor, or just India-curious - this one will change how you think about building in Bharat.Chapters:01:00 — Introduction: What is Sleep Company & the India Series02:30 — The origin story: Smart Grid technology, Amazon launch & early PMF06:00 — From online-only to 175 company-owned stores in 2 years09:30 — The operational reality: Delivering 50-kilo mattresses across 15,000 pin codes13:00 — Opening a store every 5 days: How the process was built16:00 — India One vs India Two vs India Three: Who is Sleep Company solving for?20:00 — Bangalore vs Jaipur: Why consumer behavior changes every 50 kilometers25:00 — Why Sleep Company rejected the entire dealer-distributor model29:00 — Trust deficit: How consumer brands in India actually build trust33:00 — Narrative vs product: Why storytelling-only brands don't survive in India37:00 — India is not for beginners: The mechanic hostage, the BNPL scam & the incognito mattress42:00 — Learnings from Audi, Volkswagen & Rebel Foods46:00 — Talent in India: The grocery incentive hack that outperformed cash bonuses50:00 — Why industry hires fail in startups & what to look for instead53:00 — Can Indian brands go global? The perception problem56:00 — Why this is the best time to build in India59:00 — What excites Karan most about India's next 15 years🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:➡️ Why a store in Guwahati delivers the same unit economics as a store in Bombay➡️ The Bangalore vs Jaipur consumer contrast -and what it teaches you about scaling in India➡️ How Sleep Company built a full logistics company inside a mattress startup➡️ Why every dealer asked "what's my margin?" and nobody asked "what does the consumer want?"➡️ The grocery incentive that cost less than cash but retained more talent➡️ Why building processes at ₹10 crore is the only way to survive at ₹200 crore➡️ How quick commerce has spoiled India - and why even mattresses now need next-day deliveryLinks:Karan Singla:   / karan-singla-399a7920  Sleep Company: https://www.thesleepcompany.in/Rohit Yadav:   / rohityadav23  Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/

    55 min

  7. MAR 23

    20 Years of Building India's Venture Ecosystem

    What does it take to build one of India's most resilient venture firms - in an ecosystem where exits were considered impossible? 🇮🇳Sudhir Sethi, Founder & Chairman of Chiratae Ventures - one of India's oldest homegrown venture capital firms - sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to share the unfiltered story of building a VC firm across 20 years of market cycles. From nearly dying after Fund II to returning over $1B to investors, pioneering multi-asset secondary sales, and backing brands like Lenskart, FirstCry, and Flipkart before they became household names - this conversation is a masterclass in surviving and scaling in Indian venture capital. Whether you're a founder, investor, LP, or just India-curious, you cannot miss this one.Chapters:00:00 — Introduction: Chiratae Ventures & the India Series00:55 — What global investors get wrong about India03:42 — Is comparing India to Silicon Valley the right lens?07:37 — The depth of India's venture ecosystem most people miss08:13 — FirstCry, Lenskart & building dominant Indian consumer brands11:54 — What has changed most in India's startup ecosystem over 20 years?12:36 — Talent evolution: from IT services to deep tech and manufacturing16:04 — The rise of domestic capital & India's $11B sovereign deep-tech fund21:24 — Why democratic startups find markets in democratic countries23:16 — How Chiratae differentiated itself over two decades26:25 — The near-death of Fund II and the pivot that saved the firm31:46 — Multi-asset sales, IPOs & scaling the exit engine33:40 — Myths vs. reality: risk and returns in Indian venture36:49 — How India's domestic LP ecosystem matured39:50 — The full exit landscape: IPOs, M&A, secondaries43:54 — Why deep tech is the key to unlocking global M&A46:20 — When should Indian brands go global?51:29 — Deep tech companies that went global early: Miko, Aether, Cavli53:02 — Building a unicorn in India is about...55:34 — Why purpose matters more than KPIs🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:Why India's venture ecosystem was built in capital scarcity — unlike the US and China — and what that means for returnsHow Chiratae went from raising just $95M in Fund II to returning over $1B across its fund historyThe multi-asset secondary sales strategy that no other Indian VC had tried beforeWhy dominant Indian consumer brands effectively block global competitors from entering the marketHow India's $11B RDI Fund could reshape the deep-tech landscape globallyWhy Indian VCs are finally turning to European LPs — and the massive opportunity that representsThe difference between consumer and deep-tech playbooks for going globalWhy patience and purpose — not valuation milestones — define the most successful Indian foundersLinks:Sudhir Sethi: linkedin.com/in/sudhir-sethi-a5303510b/Chiratae Ventures: chiratae.comRohit Yadav: linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23Newsletter: yadavrohit.substack.comThe social media content for this mini-series was produced by Brownie Media. Brownie Media helps brands looking to scale their presence and assists founders and VCs in growing their podcasts. Learn more at browniemedia.co

    59 min
  8. Data Driven Playbook: Behind Purplle's Unicorn Journey

    MAR 16

    Data Driven Playbook: Behind Purplle's Unicorn Journey

    What does it take to build a billion-dollar beauty brand in a country where everything changes every 100 kilometers? 🇮🇳Manish Taneja, Co-founder & CEO of Purplle - India's leading beauty e-commerce unicorn - sits down with Rohit Yadav in this special India Series episode to share the unfiltered story of building from zero to unicorn status. From surviving 6 months with no cash to using AI to decode India's hyper-diverse consumer base, this conversation is a masterclass in building for Bharat. Whether you're a founder, investor, or just India-curious, you cannot miss this one. Chapters: 01:00 — Introduction: What is Purplle & the India Series01:44 — The origin story: How two flatmates chose beauty e-commerce in 201105:01 — India in 2011 vs 2025: The infrastructure revolution 09:18 — How a PE background shaped the founding strategy 10:47 — Zero to One: The first 3 years, survival & near-death moments1 3:11 — COVID as an opportunity: Why Purplle thrived while others struggled 16:36 — Talent philosophy & why Mumbai is the secret weapon 19:34 — India is not one country: Decoding hyper-local consumer behavior 26:25 — The private label bet: Why half of Purplle's revenue is its own brands 34:49 — Going offline: Data-driven store expansion, one state at a time 40:20 — Competition & moats: How Purplle stays ahead 44:48 — Profitability mindset: Why Manish refuses to burn cash recklessly 47:12 — Why Indian startups aren't going global (yet) 52:19 — Myth busting for global investors: India is NOT for beginners 55:05 — What excites Manish most about India's macro story right now 58:17 — What's broken: Copying culture, unpredictable regulation & more 1:01:45 — Building a unicorn in India is about… 🎯 🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With: - Why India's beauty market is a $10B+ opportunity hiding in plain sight - The AI + festival calendar hack that made content go viral across 28 states - How Purplle turned data into its most powerful competitive moat - The private label strategy that has no parallel anywhere in the world - Why staying in the game for 10 years is the real unicorn secret Links: Manish Taneja: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-taneja-64657116/ Purplle: https://www.purplle.com/ Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23/ Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/ The social media content for this mini-series was produced by Brownie Media. Learn more at https://www.browniemedia.co/https://www.linkedin.com/company/browniemedia/

    1h 3m
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About

Interviews on niche topics from the startup and venture world. Focused, Explorative, and Limited.

Information

  • Creator
    Rohit Yadav
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Rohit Yadav
  • Show Website
    TheOnePoint