Founders Unfiltered

Join us as we talk to Suyash Singh, the Co founder & CEO of GalaxEye of about their story. Suyash completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at LNCT College, followed by his postgraduate studies in aerospace engineering at IIT Madras in 2019. He gained experience as a data analyst and machine vision researcher at TCS and also founded Team Avishkar Hyperloop. In May 2021, he co-founded GalaxEye. Suyash received the Fortune India 40 under 40 recognition in 2023. 🏢 About GalaxEye: GalaxEye, an IIT Madras-incubated space tech startup, is creating The Drishti Mission, the world's pioneering multi-sensor imaging satellite. Founded by a team of 5 IIT Madras students/alumni, previously part of the successful Team Avishkar Hyperloop, GalaxEye was the sole Asian finalist at the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Competition led by Elon Musk. 🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Join us as we talk to Hari Krishnan Nair, the Co-founder of Great Learning about their story. Hari completed his computer science engineering degree at SCT College of Engineering, followed by an MBA from MDI, Gurugoan. He gained experience at various firms, such as Asian Paints and Withya, and held the role of Associate Director at the Great Lakes Institute of Management. In 2007, he was a co-founder of iLabs, which was eventually acquired by an IT enterprise company in 2010. Subsequently, in 2013, he co-founded Great Learning.   🏢 About Great Learning: Great Learning, part of the BYJU'S group, is a top global ed-tech firm offering hands-on programmes in business and tech fields. Partnering with leading academic institutions, it provides unparalleled learning experiences to millions worldwide, leveraging expert faculty and industry mentors.

Join us as we talk to Varun Khurana, the Founder of Otipy about their story. Varun completed his B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Delhi in 2001. Following this, he held the position of a lead engineer at a network appliance company. Subsequently, he established Wirkle Technologies, which was later acquired by Location Labs. Afterward, Varun held the role of Head of the India Development Centre at Location Labs. He then co-established MyGreenbox, which got acquired by Grofers, now known as Blinkit, and subsequently served as Grofers' CTO. Additionally, he is the founder and CEO of Crofarm. Finally, in 2020, he founded Otipy. 🏢 About Otipy: Otipy is India’s fastest-growing community group buying (CGB) player, which delivers handpicked farm-fresh vegetables and fruits directly from the farm to the consumer's doorstep in about 12 hours through a community of resellers (mainly women) with only 2 touch points involved.

Join us as we talk to Ankit Agrawal, the Founder and CEO of InsuranceDekho about their story. Ankit completed his Bachelor's degree in Commerce at the University of Kolkata and pursued his MFC at the University of Delhi. He gained experience as an associate at Kotak Wealth Management, Unitech Reality Investors India, and UBS, progressing to the role of AVP at Anand Rathi Advisors. Additionally, he held positions such as Head of Corporate Finance at MoveInSync Tech and COO of Insurance at CarDekho. In 2019, he founded InsuranceDekho. 🏢 About InsuranceDekho: InsuranceDekho is an online platform that lets you compare and buy insurance quotes from top-rated insurance companies across motor, health, life, travel, and other insurance from multiple companies.

Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Nityanand Sharma, the Founder of Simpl about their story. Nitya finished his mechanical engineering in 2002 at Punjab Engineering College. Then, he went on to do an M.S. in Financial Mathematics and Finance at the University of Michigan. After that, he had jobs as a Structured Credit Trader at Bear Stearns & Co. and as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the Greater New York City area. Eventually, in May 2015, he started Simpl. 🏢 About Simpl: Simpl is India’s fastest-growing checkout and post-purchase experience platform. Simpl uses machine learning and AI to offer a quick, secure, and hassle-free checkout experience to its users and build trust in the post-purchase experience.

Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Amit Gupta, the Co-Founder & CEO of Yulu about their story. Amit graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2000. Later, he completed an executive programme at Harvard Business School. His professional journey included roles as a software engineer at Aditi Technologies, an assistant manager at Citifinancial India, a manager at Andale, and a founder and advisor at Analyticsworks. He also held a global board member position at MMA. In 2006, he co-founded InMobi, and later, in 2017, he co-founded Yulu. 🏢 About Yulu: Yulu is India's largest shared micro-mobility service provider, using electric two-wheelers to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in urban India. Yulu’s technology-driven mobility platform uses IoT, ML, and AI for demand-supply management and efficient operations. Currently, Yulu is present in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Greater Mumbai.

Join us as we talk to Vinayak Shrivastav, the Co-Founder & CEO of VideoVerse about their story. Vinayak pursued his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University. Following that, he gained valuable experience in a wide range of fields. He contributed as a production engineer at KMO Engineers, took on the role of business development head at BigSchoolBox.com, and served as the head of sales and marketing at iolytics. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found several successful ventures, including Styck, Magnifi, Illusto, and most recently, VideoVerse, established in 2022. Additionally, Vinayak holds the distinguished title of being an official member of the Forbes Technology Council. 🏢 About VideoVerse: VideoVerse is a video tech company that encapsulates an ecosystem of smart video editing tools using AI for all enterprise and individual content creators.

oin us as we talk to Nitin Chhabra, the CEO of Ace Turtle about his story.   In 1995, Nitin completed his B.Com. degree at the University of Delhi, followed by a master's in business and management in 1997 from the Apeejay School of Management. He started his professional journey as a territory sales manager at Hindustan Unilever. He subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility, including the role of vice president at Arvind Brands, VF Corporation, and Reliance Brands Limited. Nitin also served as CEO for Brooks Brothers India and Iconix Brand Group. In September 2013, he took on the position of CEO at Ace Turtle. 🏢 About Ace Turtle: Ace Turtle, the forefront tech-native retail company of the new India, is pioneering the next phase of change in the retail sector. With vertical integration spanning design, local manufacturing, and direct consumer outreach, it employs proprietary technology driven by data science. This ensures it consistently meets evolving consumer needs from design to fulfilment.

Join us in our discussion with the Co-Founder of ePlane, Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy. Prof. Satya Chakravarthy received his Bachelor of Technology in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Madras in 1991 and went on to obtain his PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. Following his academic pursuits, he returned to his alma mater, IIT Madras, in 1997 as a professor in Aerospace Engineering. At present, he leads the Centre of Propulsion Technology at IIT Madras and has also established and heads the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) within the institution. Prof. Satya is very passionate about deep tech entrepreneurship to democratise technology. He holds the roles of Co-founder and Advisor in various companies, including AgniKul Cosmos, Aerostrovilos Energy, GalaxEye, TuTr Hyperloop, and X2Fuels. He also serves as an advisor for Avishkar Hyperloop and NewTrace. In April 2018, Prof. Satya took the initiative and founded ePlane.ai. 🏢 About ePlane.ai: ePlane is developing India’s first flying electric taxi for up to 10 times faster intra-city commutes and cargo transport. As an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) startup, they aim to alleviate on-road traffic congestion in cities worldwide by offering safe, sustainable, and affordable flying experiences through their flagship product, The ePlane e200. 🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Join us as we talk to Ravi Kumar, the Cofounder of Upstox about their story. Ravi and his younger brother Raghu were born in Madhya Pradesh, India, then moved to France before settling in Canada for 8 years. Ravi completed his high schooling there and developed a strong interest in startups. He later moved to California to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Information and Computer Science at UC Irvine, graduating in 2004. In September 2006, the brothers relocated to Chicago and co-founded RK Trading Partnership, a successful HFT firm that earned them over a million dollars in just two years. However, the 2008 crash forced them to return to India. In 2009, Ravi co-founded Upstox. 🏢 About Upstox: Upstox is an online trading app for Demat Account, Share Market, MF, IPO with 1cr+ customers. Backed by Ratan Tata and venture capitalists such as Tiger Global, Upstox offers a best-in-class technology-enabled trading platform. Headquartered in Mumbai, Upstox holds memberships with the NSE, BSE, MCX, and MCX-SX. 🌐 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

Join us as we talk to Rohit Chennamaneni, the Co-founder of Darwinbox about their story. Rohit Chennamaneni completed his Bachelor's degree in Technology from VIT Vellore and subsequently pursued his master's degree at IIM Lucknow. Following his education, he gained professional experience at renowned organisations such as Google, Procter & Gamble, and McKinsey & Company. Ultimately, in November 2015, he co-founded Darwinbox. 🏢 About Darwinbox: Darwinbox is a leading provider of cloud-based HR Management Software (HRMS). Their SaaS platform uses AI and ML to create a smarter and mobile-first HR experience. Darwinbox serves over 750 organisations and 2 million employees across 100+ countries. Their clients include notable conglomerates and technology companies like Adani, Kopi Kenangan, MatchMove, Mahindra, Bank BTPN, TVS, Shakey's, JSW, Nivea, Swiggy, Tokopedia, JG Summit Group, NutriAsia, Indorama, and more. 🌐 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

🎙️Founders Unfiltered Ep-81: Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Madhusudan Ekambaram, the CEO and Co-Founder of KreditBee about their story. In 2004, Madhu completed his Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from NIT, Karnatka. He enrolled in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto to pursue an MBA in 2010 but later dropped out in 2011. Throughout his career, Madhu has worked with notable companies such as TCS and Krazybee. In 2020, Madhu co-founded the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE). Additionally, he serves as an angel investor in various companies, including Wint Wealth, OneCode, Jodo, and others. Finally, in 2018, he co-founded KreditBee. He is also a proud recipient of "Rashtrpathi Puraskar" from K.R. Narayanan, President of India, and "Rajya Puraskar" from Khurshid Alam Khan, Governor of Karnataka State, India, for his contribution towards the Scout Movement. 🏢 About KreditBee: KreditBee is a financial technology (FinTech) platform that enables professionals to obtain immediate personal loans based on their specific needs, with loan amounts of up to Rs. 4 lakh. The platform has received funding in its Series-D round and is supported by reputable investors such as Advent International, Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, TPG-NewQuest, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, ICICI Bank, and Mirae Asset Venture Investments. Presently, the company serves a customer base of 10 million individuals throughout the country. 🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

🎙️Founders Unfiltered Ep-80: Brought to you by the Founders Unfiltered podcast by A Junior VC - Unscripted conversations with Indian founders about their story and the process of building a company. Hosted by Aviral and Mazin. Join us as we talk to Manish Rathi, the Co-founder & CEO of Rail Yatri and IntrCity about their story. In 1992, Manish successfully earned his Bachelor's degree in Technology from the University of Mumbai. He continued his academic journey and obtained his Master's degree from Western Michigan University in 1997. Following his graduation, Manish began his career as a research scientist at Telcordia Technologies. Subsequently, he gained valuable experience working in various roles with different companies, including Leapstone Systems, July Systems, and ultimately GlobalLogic. In July 2011, Manish took on a new venture and co-founded Intrcity. 🏢 About Rail Yatri and IntrCity: Intrcity RailYatri began its journey in 2011, and Intrcity SmartBus was introduced in early 2019. Intrcity SmartBus consists of a group of buses with special branding, aiming to offer passengers a consistent, safe, secure, and comfortable bus travel experience. In early 2019, Intrcity SmartBus started operating in two cities, and now it connects over 100 cities across India. The objective of RailYatri is to offer current and accurate information to the 25 million passengers who travel by train daily. Within its first year of launch, RailYatri's Android app has crossed 1 million downloads. 🌐 For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Join us as we talk to Ashish Jhina, the Co-founder  Jumbotail  about their story. In 2005, Ashish earned a dual degree in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from IIT Delhi. He later pursued an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and an MS in Environment and Resources—Freshwater from Stanford University in 2011. During his time at IIT Delhi, Ashish gained valuable experience interning at the Technical University of Denmark and the French National Institute of Agricultural Research. Subsequently, he worked with prominent companies such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Moutain Hazelnuts. In 2009, he co-founded a company named NextDrop before co-founding Jumbotail in 2015. Ashish's dedication to excellence and his commitment to empowering retailers have resulted in Jumbotail being recognized as a transformative force within the industry. Apart from his contributions to Jumbotail, Ashish is highly regarded as a leading figure in the entrepreneurial community. For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Join us as we talk to Srinath Ravichandran, the Co-Founder & CEO of AgniKul Cosmos about their story. In 2006, Srinath Ravichandran completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy in Chennai. He then went on to earn his master's degree in Financial Engineering from Columbia Engineering in 2009. Additionally, he pursued a Diploma in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. In 2021, Srinath Ravichandran furthered his education by completing a second master's degree in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also obtained a certification in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space engineering from UCLA in 2018. Srinath Ravichandran has an extensive professional background, having served as a Senior Director at AXA US and as an Assistant Director in Market Risk Management at AIG. Furthermore, in 2016, he took on the role of co-founder at Agnikul Cosmos, showcasing his entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to innovation. About AgniKul Cosmos: Agnikul is a pioneering space technology startup that specializes in the development, production, testing, and launch of orbital class rockets specifically designed for micro and nano satellites. The team operates from the esteemed National Center for Combustion R&D at IIT-Madras, where a diverse group of individuals, including rocket scientists, engineers, former bankers, and space lawyers, collaborates synergistically. This distinctive mix of talent and expertise stands as one of Agnikul's greatest assets, contributing to their exceptional capabilities and success. If you are excited about their journey, please reach out to them @ humancapital@agnikul.in For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

In 1996, Shub Bhowmick completed his B.Tech. in chemical engineering from IIT-BHU and later pursued his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Throughout his career, he worked with a number of companies, including Infosys, Motif, Mu Sigma, inVentic Health, American Express, and Liberty Advisor Group, before co-founding Tredence in February 2013. Shub Bhowmick's journey is a testament to his commitment to excellence, innovation, and the pursuit of growth. His passion for data analytics and business intelligence has played a key role in Tredence's success, and his contributions continue to shape the company's future. After earning his Bachelor's degree in Technology from IIT Madras, Shashank Dubey pursued an MBA from ISB. He then gained work experience with DRDO and Mu Sigma before co-founding Tredence. His passion for data analytics and business intelligence, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills, have helped Tredence establish itself as a leader in the industry. About Tredence: Tredence is a global data science solutions provider focused on solving the last mile problem in AI. The ‘last mile’ is the gap between insight creation and value realization.  Headquartered in San Jose, the company embraces a vertical-first approach and an outcome-driven mindset to help clients win and accelerate value realization from their analytics investments. Tredence is a Great Place to Work-Certified and a ‘Leader’ in the Forrester Wave: Customer Analytics Services. Tredence is 1,500-plus employees strong with offices in San Jose, Foster City, Chicago, London, Toronto, and Bangalore, with the largest companies in retail, CPG, hi-tech, telecom, healthcare, travel, and industrials as clients. For more visit - https://ajuniorvc.com/podcast/

Join us as we talk to Avnish Anand, the Co Founder and COO and Mithun Sacheti, the Co Founder and CEO of CaratLane, a Tanishq Partnership, about their stories. Mithun completed his B.com from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. Later on, he completed his Master's from IIM Bangalore in 2010. He served as a Director of Jaipur Gems for 10 years and founded CaratLane in 2008.  Avnish completed his Bachelor's degree in Statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute in 1998 and later obtained an MBA from IIM Lucknow in 2001. He has worked with several companies such as ONIDA, Standard Chartered Bank, and DuPont India before joining the founding team of CaratLane in 2007. About CaratLane: CaratLane, India’s first omni-channel jewellery brand, was founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan with a simple but courageous objective: to make beautiful jewellery accessible, affordable, and forever wearable. With a strategic investment from Titan Company Limited, CaratLane is now a partner with India’s largest retail jeweller, Tanishq. The partnership aims to work towards a common mission: to offer customers beautiful jewellery and a distinctive shopping experience that fits today’s values and lifestyles, enabling CaratLane to grow as India’s 21st century jewellery brand.

Arnav Kumar is the Founder of Leap Finance, a digital platform that helps Indian students access loans for studying abroad. He completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Applied Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in 2010. After graduation, he worked at Deutsche Bank as an Analyst and then joined UrbanTouch.com as a Vice President. In 2013, he founded Sokratik, but unfortunately, he could not find product-market fit and had a suboptimal GTM strategy. Later on, he founded Zoomo in 2014. He then joined Elevation Capital (previously known as SAIF Partners) as an Associate Vice President. Finally, in 2019, he founded Leap Finance. About Leap Finance: From Sundar Pichai to Indira Nooyi and Satya Nadella to Laxman Narasimhan, Indians today lead the world’s most influential companies. Increasingly, young Indians are going beyond geographical boundaries - to study at the best global schools and pursue global careers. Leap Finance supports future leaders from India in their quest for global impact. They create modern financial products and services that help Indian students pursue a global career. From choosing the right university and the best financing option to lining up job interviews and introductions, Leap Finance invests heavily in your success. Leap Finance (www.leapscholar.com) offers counselling and related services for study abroad aspirants.

Rohan is an accomplished entrepreneur and computer scientist who is best known for founding the technology company Soroco. Born in 1983, Rohan Murty is the son of N.R. Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of the Indian multinational corporation Infosys. Rohan Murty graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Cornell University. He later went on to obtain a Ph.D. in computer science from Harvard University, where he specialised in "Opportunistic Wireless Network Architectures". He also worked as a research intern with Caltech and Microsoft. In 2010, Rohan Murty founded Soroco, a company that develops and implements automation solutions for various industries. Apart from his work at Soroco, Rohan Murty is also an author and philanthropist. He has authored several books, including a translation of the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He has also established the Murty Classical Library of India, a project that aims to translate and publish classical Indian literature. Rohan Murty's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to innovation have made him a leading figure in the technology industry. His contributions to the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning have helped shape the way businesses operate and have set the stage for future advancements in the field.   About Soroco: Soroco's mission is to enable organizations to enhance how teams experience work and drive higher productivity by scaling empathy through Scout work graph. Today, teams spend over 60% of the workday on unstructured interactions across emails, documents, and custom applications – outside of ERP, CRM, and other systems of records. This massive enterprise data is untapped and undocumented. Our flagship product Scout, powered by the work graph, provides near real-time, structured insights into this last mile of manual digital work and helps enterprises accelerate their transformation journey. Unlike traditional solutions, the "work graph" provides a single source of truth. We are a deep tech company with ~40 patents. We have operations across the USA, Europe, UK, Singapore & India, with a roster of Fortune 500 customers across 30 countries. Visit www.soroco.com to learn how we help teams discover their work graph.

Join us as we talk to Aakrit Vaish, the Co-Founder & CEO of Haptik about their story.  Aakrit Vaish holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which he completed in 2008. Following his graduation, he gained valuable experience by working with renowned companies such as Motorola and Deloitte in the Bay Area. In 2011, Aakrit joined Flurry Inc., where he served as the Director of Global Business Operations and India, playing a pivotal role in the company's success.   In the years that followed, Aakrit went on to co-found several companies, including Flato.to and Interakt. He also served as a managing partner for Peercheque and as an advisory board member for H2 (h2.co), where he shared his expertise and insights with fellow entrepreneurs.  In July 2013, Aakrit co-founded Haptik, a groundbreaking conversational AI platform that has revolutionized the way businesses engage with their customers. As the company's CEO, Aakrit has been instrumental in driving its growth and success by building a team of talented professionals and leading the development of cutting-edge technology.   About Haptik: Haptik is a prominent conversational AI platform that helps brands create engaging and personalized experiences for users across 20 channels and 100+ languages. By using cutting-edge AI technology, Haptik enables brands to design delightful experiences that improve conversion rates throughout every stage of the customer journey.  With a vision to create the most compelling conversational commerce platform of the 21st century, Haptik has established itself as a leader in the industry. The company has a global presence with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Singapore and boasts an impressive client roster that includes KFC, Whirlpool, Starhub, HP, Reliance Jio, CEAT, Disney Hotstar, OLA, and Zurich Insurance, among others.  Haptik's Conversational Commerce platform has received widespread recognition and acclaim from leading industry experts, including Gartner, G2, Opus Research, and many others, who have hailed the company as a category leader in the space. Through its innovative technology and commitment to excellence, Haptik is poised to continue driving growth and success for its clients well into the future.