Prime Venture Partners Podcast

What does it take to build original deep tech in India, get some of the country’s largest companies to adopt it, and eventually take the business to a ₹1,000+ crore IPO?In 2007, Professor Shashikanth Suryanarayanan started @SEDEMAC Mechatronics out of an IIT Bombay lab. Nearly two decades later, SEDEMAC has become one of India’s standout deep-tech success stories. The company crossed ₹1,000 crore in annual revenue, ships around 1 million motor controllers every quarter, and its ISG (Integrated Starter Generator) technology is now on an estimated 12 to 13 million vehicles on the road.It also reached a milestone very few Indian deep-tech companies do: the public markets, through a ₹1,087 crore IPO that was entirely an Offer for Sale, with no fresh capital raised by the company.In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, Jerome Manuel sits down with Shashikanth to explore how SEDEMAC went from building proprietary control technologies to creating products adopted by major two-wheeler and generator manufacturers.00:00 Introduction00:59 What Does a Motor Controller Do?03:53 What Is Control Technology?08:43 The Sensorless Commutation Problem16:55 How Technology Creates New Markets22:44 How Sedemac Reached Millions of Vehicles27:33 Why India Needs More Original Technology31:34 “You Will Not Produce a Virat Kohli in Spain”41:50 What Made Sedemac Work?47:40 Building a Technical Team54:53 From Professor to Founder1:00:27 Getting OEMs to Adopt Deep Tech1:09:19 ₹36 Crore to ₹1,058 Crore1:20:08 Competitive Advantage, Profitability & ROCE1:22:44 The Road AheadShashikanth explains SEDEMAC’s work in sensorless commutation and Integrated Starter Generators, but the bigger story is how a technology moves from an engineering breakthrough to something millions of people actually use. SEDEMAC had to demonstrate something customers were not asking for, convince large OEMs to test it, validate it over years, and gradually earn adoption across multiple vehicle models.That leads to one of the central ideas of the conversation: technology creators do not always enter existing markets. Sometimes they create the market itself.Finally, Shashikanth breaks down SEDEMAC’s growth from ₹36 crore in revenue in 2016 to ₹1,058 crore in FY26, and makes a provocative argument: if a technology company has genuinely created something differentiated and reached scale, that advantage should eventually show up in pricing power, profitability and capital efficiency.A rare look at what it takes to turn deep-tech innovation into a scaled business in India.Connect with Professor Shashikant LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashikanth-suryanarayanan-6ba85010/Follow Jerome ManuelX (Twitter):https://x.com/JeromeAndManuelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromermanuelRead the transcript for the entire podcast here: https://bit.ly/SEDEMAC-Mechatronics About Prime Venture PartnersPrime Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm backing exceptional founders building category-defining technology companies across SaaS, fintech, AI, healthcare, consumer internet and enterprise software.Learn more: Prime Venture PartnersFollow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2780448/admin/dashboard/X (Twitter): https://x.com/Primevp_inInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/primevp_in/Learn more about:Website: https://www.sedemac.com/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/sedemac-mechatronics#DeepTech #OEM #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

India’s alcohol beverage industry is worth around ₹5 lakh crore, and spirits make up roughly three-fourths of the market. But building a successful alcohol brand in India involves much more than making a good drink.00:00 Introduction01:21 How Big Is India’s Alcobev Industry?02:13 Why Spirits Dominate India04:00 The Alcobev Ecosystem & Jobs07:00 India vs Global Alcohol Markets10:00 How the Indian Whisky Market Has Changed14:00 Premiumisation & Changing Consumer Preferences18:00 Building Premium Indian Alcohol Brands24:54 How Radico Kaitan Built Categories27:46 Are Alcohol Companies Profitable?29:05 What Does It Take to Launch an Alcohol Brand?35:00 Building a Brand Beyond a Great Product40:00 Distribution, Retail & Getting on Shelves45:00 Why Every Indian State Is a Different Market50:00 Regulation, Excise & Government Control55:00 How Alcohol Brands Scale Across India1:00:00 Indian Whisky vs International Brands1:10:00 The Future of Premium Indian Spirits 1:18:29 Ankur’s Favourite Spirits 1:21:52 Final ThoughtsAnkur Sachdeva has spent around 25 years in the Alcobev industry, with stints at William Grant & Sons, Radico Kaitan, the Kajaria Group and Allied Blenders & Distillers. He was also involved in bringing Glenfiddich and The Balvenie to India, and today is building premium Indian whisky brands of his own.In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, Jerome Manuel sits down with Ankur Sachdeva, Co-founder & CEO of Uppal Brewers and Distillers to understand an industry that most people consume, but few understand as a business.They start with the scale of the Indian market. Ankur explains why India's alcohol industry looks very different from global markets, where beer is the largest category, while spirits dominate India and account for around three-fourths of the market.The conversation then moves into the rise of premium Indian spirits. Ankur discusses brands such as 8PM, Magic Moments, Jaisalmer, Rampur, Indri and Royal Ranthambore, and how Indian companies have identified gaps in the market and built brands around them.But a good product is only the beginning.Ankur explains what it actually takes to launch an alcobev brand: from having a clear idea and building the product to manufacturing, capital, distribution and getting consumers to pick it off the shelf. He also talks about why a clever bottle or an unusual flavour may make an interesting product, but that alone does not necessarily make a successful brand.The episode also gets into the economics of the industry, including why established Alcobev businesses can operate at strong EBITDA levels, and what makes the category attractive once a business has established its model.For anyone interested in consumer brands, whisky, premiumisation, distribution, regulation or building businesses in India, this conversation gives a detailed look at how the alcobev industry actually works.Connect with Ankur SachdevaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asachdeva/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ankursachdevaind?igsi=MTdwNGljOGZ2dWtudg==Follow Jerome ManuelX (Twitter):https://x.com/JeromeAndManuelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromermanuelRead the transcript for the entire podcast here - https://bit.ly/Prime-Venture-Partners-And-Uppal-Brewers-And-Distillers About Prime Venture PartnersPrime Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm backing exceptional founders building category-defining technology companies across SaaS, fintech, AI, healthcare, consumer internet and enterprise software.Learn more: https://www.primevp.in/Follow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2780448/admin/dashboard/X (Twitter): https://x.com/Primevp_inInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/primevp_in/Learn more about:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uppal-brewers-distillers/Website: https://soorahi.com/#IndianStartups #Alcobev #Whisky #ConsumerBrands #Entrepreneurship

Subrata Mitra, Co-founder and Partner at Accel India and co-author of Down But Not Out, shares what decades of backing Indian startups have taught him about building companies that survive setbacks, adapt through uncertainty and keep going long enough to succeed.00:00 Introduction01:01 Why Subrata Wrote Down But Not Out03:08 The Founder Stories Behind the Book09:29 The Map, the Compass & “Long-Term Greed”13:44 What Makes a Founder Resilient?15:46 How Investors Evaluate Founders17:21 How Founders Learn, Adapt & Evolve21:12 The Role of Mentors, Coaches & Family25:13 Finding Your Mission Beyond Money27:32 From Generalist to Specialist30:01 The 2 Things Founders Should Focus On Every Day30:50 Why Relationships Matter More Than Grades36:55 Find Your Unique Skills & Double Down39:08 Why Startup Culture Should Make Room for Joy43:01 What Subrata Would Tell His Younger Self44:40 Why No Startup Goes Straight Up & Advice for Young FoundersWhen Subrata Mitra wrote the first cheque to Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal, he says a $200 million outcome would have made them happy. Flipkart crossed that milestone so quickly that nobody stopped to treat it as a major marker. It eventually became one of India’s biggest startup success stories.But the more interesting story is everything that happens before the outcome: ideas that do not work, difficult decisions, founders who have to change, co-founder challenges, unexpected opportunities and the resilience required to stay in the game for 10 to 15 years.On this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, Amit Somani sits down with Subrata to discuss the ideas behind his book Down But Not Out, which brings together stories of Indian founders who experienced major setbacks but continued to build. Subrata explains why entrepreneurship is more like a Test match than a T20: you need the stamina to stay long, but you must also recognise the right opportunity and hit the ball when it comes.The conversation explores what Subrata looks for in founders, why it can take eight to nine months to understand whether a founding team has what it takes, and why the ability to evolve may matter as much as what a founder knows when they start. They also discuss coaching, mentorship, family support, complementary co-founder skills and the transition from being a generalist founder to becoming a more specialised leader as the company grows.Connect with Subrata Mitrahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/subratamitra/Follow Amit SomaniX (Twitter): https://x.com/amitsomani?lang=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/Listen/Watch this podcast onSpotify:Apple Podcasts: Read the transcript for the entire podcast here - https://bit.ly/Prime-Venture-Partners-And-Accel-India About Prime Venture PartnersPrime Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm backing exceptional founders building category-defining technology companies across SaaS, fintech, AI, healthcare, consumer internet and enterprise software.Learn more: https://www.primevp.in/Follow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2780448/admin/dashboard/X (Twitter): https://x.com/Primevp_inInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/primevp_in/Learn more about:Accel: https://www.accel.com/news/portfolio#IndianStartups #VentureCapital #StartupInvesting

Piyush Shah, a legendary Indian Founder of 2 Unicorns (InMobi & Glance) shares why India's AI strategy has to look nothing like Silicon Valley's or Beijing's, and what founders should build instead.00:00 Introduction00:48 Why the Country That Invents AI Rarely Wins02:16 US vs China vs India: India's AI Opportunity03:55 How China Is Winning the AI Race09:38 AI Startup Ideas for India12:52 Consumer AI vs Enterprise AI14:20 Why Consumer AI Can Bankrupt You16:45 Why Enterprise AI Will Win First19:57 Distribution Is Still the Biggest Moat21:43 How AI Startups Should Go to Market25:14 Physical AI Startup Opportunities28:37 What US Enterprises Want From AI Startups32:45 Why Purpose Is a Competitive Moat35:58 How InMobi Uses AI Internally37:47 AI Sales, AI Agents & Enterprise Automation42:16 How Leaders Should Drive AI Adoption44:50 AI Won't Replace You. Fear Will.46:09 The Fastest Way to Learn AI47:32 My AI-Native Chief of Staff48:52 How AI Changed My Personal Life52:38 Final ThoughtsEvery general purpose technology gets invented once and scaled somewhere else. Germany invented the printing press. Britain built an industry on it. America turned that industry into an economy. Piyush Shah, Co-founder of InMobi and Glance, thinks the same pattern is repeating with AI right now, and he's convinced most founders are drawing the wrong lesson from it.On this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, Amit Somani sits down with Piyush to make the case that copying America's invention-first approach or China's industrialisation-first approach would be the wrong move for India entirely. Instead, Piyush lays out what he believes India's real opportunity looks like: not the smartest AI for the world's most sophisticated users, but AI that raises the floor for a billion people who've never had access to a tutor, a doctor, or a financial advisor in their life.The conversation doesn't stop at strategy. Piyush and Amit get into why consumer AI has a cost problem nobody's fully solved (he calls it inference CAC), why distribution remains the real moat even in an AI-native world, and why "purpose" might be the one advantage that's genuinely hard to copy. Piyush also opens up about how InMobi and Glance have rebuilt themselves around AI internally, and how AI has changed the way he runs his own life, from an 18-year-old AI-native chief of staff to using AI to understand his family's health reports.If you're building an AI startup, thinking about India's AI strategy, or trying to figure out whether your business model can survive the AI shift, this conversation offers a real framework, not another hype-cycle.Connect with Piyush ShahLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/piyush-shah-0583412/Follow Amit SomaniX (Twitter): https://x.com/amitsomani?lang=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesomani/About Prime Venture PartnersPrime Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm backing exceptional founders building category-defining technology companies across SaaS, fintech, AI, healthcare, consumer internet and enterprise software.Learn more: https://www.primevp.in/Follow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2780448/admin/dashboard/X (Twitter): https://x.com/Primevp_inInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/primevp_in/Learn more aboutInMobi: https://www.inmobi.com/Glance: https://glance.com/?c=BAU&pid=Social_X_bio&shortlink=6md9fteh&source_caller=ui

What You’ll Learn:00:00 Introduction02:13 Why Marketing Owns Zero Board KPIs08:54 There Is No Killer Marketing Campaign15:41 Why Your First 10 Customers Matter More24:16 The Biggest GTM Mistake Founders Make33:48 How AI Is Changing Customer Discovery43:11 Demand Generation Beats Chasing Leads53:02 Why Value Wins Over Price1:02:47 The New Rules of B2B Go-to-Market1:11:26 Rapid Fire with Alon WaksRethink your B2B SaaS GTM strategy from pipeline to persona SpotDraft’s CMO Alon Waks shares the framework behind $100M raised and 450+ customers.Ask a B2B founder about their killer marketing campaign and most will have an answer ready. Alon Waks will tell you that answer is wrong. There is no killer campaign. There is no one channel. And most of what founders think of as marketing is stuck in one-to-many land when it should be one-to-few.That is where this conversation starts, and it does not slow down.Alon is the CMO at SpotDraft, the AI-powered contract lifecycle management platform backed by Vertex, Qualcomm, Prosus, and P&G Invest, now serving customers across the US, UK, and APAC. In this episode with Prime Venture Partners, he opens up the playbook he actually runs day to day:- How he defines persona versus segment (and why founders keep starting with the wrong one)- What changes as a company moves from 0 to 1 to 10 to 100- Why he thinks paid marketing has become a race to the bottom that most founders are still throwing money at.He also opens up his playbook for B2B influencer marketing, an angle most CMOs will not talk about publicly. He explains why validation has quietly shifted away from Gartner and toward peer-to-peer conversations on Reddit, LinkedIn, and community forums. And for the Indian founders trying to crack the US, he lays out exactly which cities matter, what not to do on outbound, and when to make your first local hire.Toward the end, Alon gets uncomfortably honest about what marketing actually owns on the board KPI list (spoiler: almost nothing) and why that changes everything about how you should measure your team.If you are a founder, a marketer, or a CMO building a B2B SaaS GTM strategy from scratch, this is the one to bookmark.Connect:Alon Waks on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alonwaks/Spotdraft: https://www.spotdraft.com/Prime Venture Partners: https://www.primevp.in/Jerome Manuel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromermanuel/About Prime Venture Partners:Prime Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm partnering with exceptional founders building category-defining companies from India.#GoToMarket #B2BMarketing