Blume Podcast

We've reached the end of the road for the second season of the Blume Podcast, which was championed by its theme: the power of compounding. Karthik and Rohit discuss, analyse, and deconstruct their favourite moments from the season, which featured stalwarts like Manish Sabharwal, Nithin Kamath, and Radhika Gupta. They haven't just built companies. But rather, institutions, in their own right. Understand why Karthik encourages everyone at Blume to listen to all episodes, his utmost belief in step-function compounding, and how every founder journey is inherently unique, even if it bears similarity with others. It's been a true pleasure bringing you these conversations across industries, sectors, and domains. Tune in for episode ten, and see you very soon again!

Diamonds are forever.But in 2008, they also went online. In our first ever video episode of the Blume Podcast, which happens to the last episode of Season 2, Karthik Reddy sat down with Mithun Sacheti, the CEO of CaratLane who spilled some gems on the glitzy yet laborious world of being a D2C jewellery brand. In a traditionally ‘low-trust’ society like India, Mithun and his team went from his early days selling jewellery with the family-owned Jaipur Gems to becoming an indispensable part of the Titan group. The journey has is fair share of ups and downs, including a riveting conversation with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the topsy-turvy process of raising capital, and solving for trust through brand-building.You can find Transcripts on Blume's official website - https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast

Join us in this insightful episode of the Blume Podcast as Karthik engages in a candid fireside chat with Radhika Gupta, the dynamic Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Edelweiss Mutual Fund. Delve into Radhika's fascinating journey from a diplomatic upbringing to becoming a trailblazing entrepreneur in the financial services sector. Discover the twists and turns, the challenges faced, and the strategic decisions that led her to her current role. Gain valuable insights into the world of asset management, entrepreneurship, and the power of compounding success.

Join us as we delve into the remarkable story of R.G. Chandramogan, who went from selling ice cream on pushcarts in the 1970s to becoming the chairman of India's largest private-sector dairy company, Hatsun Agro. Discover his pioneering journey in the world of dairy, entrepreneurship, and resilience. With a 7,000+ crore revenue company, Chandramogan's insights and determination to build a generational business are truly inspiring.

For the latest episode of the Blume Podcast, Vinati Saraf Mutreja of Vinati Organics takes us through her journey of growth, innovation, and resilience, leading one of India’s most respected chemical manufacturing companies that she joined all the way back in 2006.In conversation with Blume Ventures’ Karthik Reddy, Vinati spoke about the importance backward-integration in a heavily commoditised business like chemicals, why equity is the important source of capital, and some hidden insights around India’s misunderstood manufacturing industry.Later on in the episode, Vinati speaks about the changing landscape of women leadership in the corporate world and why staying healthy is more important than being successful.It’s an episode for the ages.Listen now!You can find Transcripts on Blume's official website -[https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast]Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for all our latest videos and follow the Blume Podcast on your favourite podcast app.#blumevc #podcast #vinatiorganics #chemicalmanufacturing

In this episode, Manish Sabharwal from TeamLease discusses the origins of the staffing company and the key traits that contributed to its success. He shares his memories of India Life and how it eventually led to the creation of TeamLease. Additionally, he talks about the differences in decision-making between the two companies and the advantages of being a second-time founder. Manish discusses the key areas that need attention for India's development. He emphasizes the need for civil service reform, as it plays a crucial role in regulatory reform and ease of doing business. The conversation also touches upon the significance of human capital for a country's growth. Manish cites India's achievements in software exports and the pharma industry as examples of successful utilization of human capital. However, he acknowledges the need for basic school education to ensure a strong foundation for the entire population. Manish discusses the concept of balancing short-term and long-term goals, drawing on the distinction between Amanat and Jagir from his Kashmiri upbringing. He explains that Amanat refers to a trusteeship, where one is expected to pass on something in better condition to the next generation, while Jagir represents personal ownership and consumption. Drawing on this analogy, Manish highlights the importance of expanding time horizons beyond immediate gains and optimizing for long-term growth, rather than focusing solely on short-term profits by emphasizing the achievements of companies like HDFC, Infosys, and TCS, which have built lasting value through decades of consistent growth and compounding. In this conversation with Karthik B. Reddy, Manish discusses why, for long-term growth, a company should adhere to certain principles. Firstly, it should differentiate between a "baby" company poised for growth and a "dwarf" company that remains small, based on a balance between short-term and long-term goals. Manish emphasizes the importance of the cap table and funding sources to secure perpetual capital for future aspirations. Additionally, he stresses the need for cognitive diversity within the team to incorporate different perspectives and skills. Lastly, Manish advises companies to avoid making detrimental decisions, such as diversification, excessive debt, or non-compliance and recommends having safeguards in place to prevent such mistakes. Check out the entire episode for lessons on building a long-lasting business.

In this podcast episode, Dinesh talks to Karthik B. Reddy of Blume Ventures about his journey starting a business in India around the time the internet was first introduced there. He was passionate about doing some business that would be centered around the internet and in India. He waited for the internet to be announced in India, and as soon as the announcement was made on August 15th, 1995, he asked his manager to transfer him back to India. Dinesh also shared his thoughts on business growth and profit margins. The compounding can come to you when your margins are expanding. He encourages entrepreneurs to aspire to this kind of compounding. He also talks about the importance of having a mix of talent in a team, including those who are operationally strong and can focus on present problems, as well as those who are forward-thinking and consider future trends. On India’s growth story, he emphasizes the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in creating employment and income in India. He argues that ignoring SMEs could lead to disastrous consequences for the country. Dinesh's thoughts on SMEs and the importance of employment highlight his commitment to building a successful business in India that benefits all stakeholders.

In this episode, Nithin Kamath, founder and CEO of Zerodha sat down with Karthik B. Reddy, Managing Partner at Blume Ventures, to talk about building and scaling an online brokerage firm without any external capital. Nithin's idea was to attract a small niche group of active online traders, which is how Zerodha started. The company was never meant to be a large brokerage, but rather a boutique firm to cater to these traders. Nithin's journey serves as an example of the power of compounding and his ability to inspire young entrepreneurs.He emphasizes the importance of building trust before buying a financial product, which is built through word of mouth. They have worked on building trust by answering customer queries on forums and providing market intelligence.Highlighting Zerodha's self-sustainability, Nithin argues that having growth capital could have allowed them to grow faster, but also acknowledges it still happened at the same pace nevertheless minus the pressure of raising one round after the other. Nithin discusses the importance of long-term thinking in business, contrasting with other peers who focus on short-term goals. At Zerodha, the core team has been together for at least five or six years, ensuring their understanding of the business and skill sets compound over time. This approach has kept the business together, as the top hundred members are dedicated to the company's philosophies, such as treating customers right and using success to give forward.In this season of Blume Podcast, we hosted another eminent personality in the finance space, Raamdeo Agrawal of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Check out our last episode here - https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast/raamdeo-agrawal-podcast

In the second episode of the Blume Podcast, host Karthik B. Reddy of Blume Ventures engages in a captivating conversation with Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, one of India's leading financial services firms. Agrawal shares his insights on various topics, including his investment philosophy, the dangers of building a startup for the wrong reasons, and his views on the growth of India. Throughout the conversation, Agrawal emphasises the importance of being passionate about one's work and having a strong sense of purpose. He shares how he and his co-founder built their company from scratch, starting with a small office and gradually building it into a national brand. On his investing outlook, shared his experience with Bharti Airtel to discuss the value of having a framework for understanding the value of a company. He also talks about the importance of creating a solid brand identity and the role that marketing plays in building a successful business, and how Jagdeep Kapoor of Samsika Marketing inspired him. The conversation concludes with Agrawal offering some advice to startup founders. He emphasises the importance of having a clear vision and patience in building a sustainable business instead of focusing on short-term returns and a temporary valuation bump. Watch this space for more.

In this podcast, Peyush Bansal, founder and CEO of Lenskart, India's largest eyewear company talks to Karthik B. Reddy, co-founder and managing partner of Blume Ventures, the importance of hiring the right people in building long-lasting businesses, the pathological obsession of founders to solve a particular problem, which is essential in India's small market, and balancing short-term objectives with long-term goals.  Bansal built Bagskart, Watchkart, Jewelkart, before focusing his energies on Lenskart, and the disturbing statistic where said that 75% of people in India who need specs are not them helped “focus his vision.” And as a reward for his clarity of purpose, IDG Ventures was soon on board.  Bansal was also inspired by Uniqlo’s growth in the West, where it managed to create differentiation in the same category of products. He gives the example of shoes: People no longer just want sports shoes. There’s one for walking, one for fast-paced running, and one for slow running. This trend is expected to continue in the future, with eyewear products being offered to cater to every single need of a consumer.  Bansal also emphasizes the need for long-term thinking and sustainability in the business. They discuss the success of Maruti and the importance of considering the long-term impact of their decisions. Peyush also shares his thoughts on wealth and the influence of Indian entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, who has significantly impacted his outlook on life and career.  For more on the importance of hiring right, check out Naveen Tewari of Inmobi’s episode on X-Unicorns.  https://open.spotify.com/episode/2b0PgICcwg2DQI49zqpWay https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast/naveen-tewari-on-the-quest-for-a-purposeful-life-the-beauty-of-creating-versus-competing-and-building-a-culture-of-compounding-trust All episodes: https://open.spotify.com/show/227rW4Ee4ob6wRT8U7pJ8s https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/blume-podcast/id1651800944 https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvNGJiMzM3MDQtNjE1Yi00MDU0LWFhZTktYWNlNTAwZmQ0MTk3L2IxZjk3NGJiLWUxMWMtNDZlYy1hNzFkLWIwMTgwMDlkZjk1Ny8xMTViMzZlYi0yNzY0LTRiZTEtYThmYy1iMDE4MDA5ZGY5ODEvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M

S2 E0. Karthik Reddy and Rohit Kaul talk about the Power of CompoundingBlume PodcastAugust 02, 202300:20:58S2 E0. Karthik Reddy and Rohit Kaul talk about the Power of CompoundingAudio Player103000:00:0000:00:001x The Blume Podcast is compounding! Our new season will feature remarkable founders who have dedicated their lives to building generational companies. The focus will be on their tales of courage, anecdotes of resilience, and the stories of compounding. Why are we doing this? Because there is an urgent need to shift the narrative away from the obsession with unicorn valuations and instead highlight the importance of building sustainable and profitable organisations. Karthik B. Reddy, co-founder and managing partner of Blume Ventures, takes us through the motivations that drive an entrepreneur to persist and ride on incremental wins only to create outsized returns in the long term. Warren Buffet attributes his wealth to living in America, fortunate genetics, and compound interest. He is known as one of the best investors and wealthiest individuals globally, with a net worth exceeding $100Bn. Interestingly, almost 98% of it accumulated after his 60th birthday. This is the Power of Compounding, the overarching theme of the current season. In the trailer, we talk about how this compounding can create institutions out of companies and why these stories need to drive upcoming founders to build for the long term. Think of it as the story of the hare versus the tortoise race. Who cares about who leads when 25% or 50% of the race is done? What matters is the end outcome. And as Buffet has shown, it's clear then which path gets you favourable results. In our last season, we covered X-Unicorns. These aren’t your blue-eyed, pedigreed, get every round systematically every year or two and rapidly scale to a Unicorn status in five-six years. They didn’t fit the traditional mould of the type of Unicorn that the media was obsessed with, yet attained long-term success. Check out all the episodes here: https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/227rW4Ee4ob6wRT8U7pJ8s https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/blume-podcast/id1651800944 https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvNGJiMzM3MDQtNjE1Yi00MDU0LWFhZTktYWNlNTAwZmQ0MTk3L2IxZjk3NGJiLWUxMWMtNDZlYy1hNzFkLWIwMTgwMDlkZjk1Ny8xMTViMzZlYi0yNzY0LTRiZTEtYThmYy1iMDE4MDA5ZGY5ODEvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M

This episode provides a deep dive into the journey of Persistent Systems, from its humble beginnings to becoming a global technology powerhouse. Anand Deshpande shares insights on company growth, leadership transitions, and the importance of adapting to market changes. His perspectives on entrepreneurship, technology trends, and social impact offer valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and established business leaders alike. Key Topics: Persistent’s growth journey and evolution through multiple business orbits Entrepreneurship challenges, scaling strategies, and leadership transitions Technology trends, including the impact of AI on the IT industry Social impact initiatives and philanthropic efforts  Global expansion and understanding international markets Timestamps  00:03:18 - Early life 00:06:55 - IIT Kharagpur experience 00:09:59 - US education and work 00:19:34 - Founding Persistent Systems 00:26:29 - Indian IT challenges in 1990 00:32:00 - Business model evolution 00:35:25 - Persistent’s S orbits  00:39:46 - Transition from ‘My’ to ‘Our’ company 00:56:18 - VC funding and IPO 01:01:42 - Philanthropic initiatives 01:08:16 - Research projects 01:14:12 - AI impact on IT 01:16:36 - Rapid-fire questions

In the finale episode, Sanjay Nath chats up Naveen Tewari of InMobi on building two unicorns, creating an "institution" vs an organization, and not getting phased by feedback. Sanjay also shares how Naveen has been a major influence in his journey of co-founding Blume. Tune in for more.

In this episode, Manish Taneja of Purplle tells Ashish Fafadia of Blume about the perils of moving away from your vision because "some VC told you to" and the mistakes that entrepreneurs should avoid in their journey.

In this episode, Karthik B. Reddy sat down with Prashant Pitti of EaseMyTrip to talk about his journey from IIT Madras and working in the US to returning to the homeland and starting up with his brothers.