Elevation Podcast

💳 New Day One podcast episode! 🎙️ Within a year of launching their revolutionary credit card, Scapia faced an unexpected hurdle – their core product issuance was paused due to external factors. It was a moment that would have broken many founders, but not Anil Goteti. Instead of retreating, Anil made a counterintuitive decision that speaks volumes about his leadership: he invested more in his team and product."Last year was fantastic for our product," Anil recalls, explaining how they expanded from just two travel categories to six, innovated on their airport experiences proposition, and built deeper partnerships with banks and card networks. When card issuances finally resumed in March 2025, Scapia emerged not wounded but transformed, stronger and more capable than before.In this candid conversation with Mridul Arora (Partner, Elevation Capital), Anil shares how he is building a travel fintech powerhouse that delights Gen Z & millennials and how Scapia’s integrated experience passes more value back to customers.In this episode you will gain insights on:> How Anil landed on the idea for Scapia> Creating both financial services and travel commerce infra> Building trust through transparency and delightful experiences> Using difficult periods to strengthen product offerings> Finding product-market fit before scaling…and more

“We are obsessed with patient experience and outcomes. EBITDA is just a byproduct.”This philosophy has guided MOC Cancer Care and Research Centre to profitable growth while delivering exceptional chemotherapy care through 24 community cancer centers. Founded by four medical oncologists, MOC began with a vision to bridge the massive gap between expensive private hospitals and overcrowded government facilities. Today, MOC is India’s largest network of purpose-built centers that focus exclusively on delivering standardized, high-quality cancer care closer to patients' homes.MOC’s model built on the two cornerstones of enhancing the cancer patient's journey and improving the medical oncologist's experience has proven remarkably successful. What's even more impressive is their roster of 48 medical oncologists with zero attrition - unheard of in an industry where doctor mobility is the norm.In this conversation with Mayank Khanduja (Partner, Elevation Capital), co-founders Dr Vashisht Maniar, Dr Ashish Joshi and COO Manish Jobanputra discuss their journey of creating a standardized, patient-centric cancer care delivery system.In this episode, you will gain insights on:> Identifying the structural inefficiencies in India's cancer care system> Scaling standardized care across multiple centers> Creating a dual focus on patient journey and caregiver experience> Building doctor satisfaction through autonomy and support> Achieving growth through patient outcomes

🎙️New Day One podcast episode!"We wanted to make the experience of receiving international payments exactly the same as domestic…"This crystal-clear vision is what led Srivatsan Sridhar and Movin Jain to build Skydo, which is quietly dismantling the confusing, opaque world of cross-border payments for Indian SMBs and freelancers. Srivatsan was acutely aware of the challenges Indian exporters face with international payments from his experience running his family's automotive export business as a second-generation entrepreneur. This deep understanding of exporters' pain points became the compass guiding Skydo's product development.Founded in 2022, Skydo has emerged as a transformative force for Indian SMBs and freelancers handling international payments. Processing $200 million in payments annually from 80 countries and serving 10,000+ businesses, they've built a platform that eliminates the opacity, delays, and excessive fees that have long plagued the industry.Skydo is also the first company in its category to secure a cross-border payment aggregator licence from RBI. In this illuminating conversation with Mridul Arora (Partner, Elevation Capital), Srivatsan shares how building deep infrastructure before scaling has positioned Skydo to become the "cross-border operating system", while revealing how compliance-first thinking has been the cornerstone of their success.In this episode, you will gain insights on:Building financial infrastructure as a competitive moatCreating a compliance-first culture across the organizationThe complex mechanics of international paymentsBuilding trust with regulators and banking partners…and more

🎙️ Presenting the first episode of ‘No BS by Elevation Capital’, a brand new podcast series where, as the name suggests, we cut through the noise and bring you actionable insights on navigating the earliest days of venture-building.No BS will share the tribal knowledge we've accumulated over 20+ years of working with India's best early-stage founders to the benefit of anyone early in their entrepreneurial journey.In our debut episode, Kshitij Jayakrishnan (Vice President, Elevation Capital) and Vaibhav Chowdhury (AVP, Elevation Capital) join Krishna Veera Vanamali (AVP Marketing - Content, Elevation Capital) to deconstruct the art and science of crafting the perfect pitch deck.Featuring never-seen-before slides from the first pitch decks of category-defining Elevation portfolio companies like Swiggy, Urban Company, Blissclub, Comet, Atlys, PlaySimple and Meesho, they break down six key principles that consistently appear in winning pitch decks.Stay tuned for more episodes tackling the questions every early-stage founder wants answered.---Chapters:00:00 Coming up01:26 Series Intro02:32 Episode Intro02:56 Importance Of Pitch Decks07:12 Winning Principles08:32 #1 Introducing Concisely ft. Blissclub, Swiggy12:48 #2 Captivating Your Audience ft. Atlys21:45 #3 Going Deeper Into Insight & Product ft. Swiggy, Dezerv, UC30:25 #4 Results Of Your Insight & Product ft. Blissclub, Comet, Swiggy37:26 #5 Why Is The Team Special ft. Dezerv, Blissclub, Swiggy41:18 #6 Paint Your Ambition ft. PlaySimple43:45 Closing Thoughts

🎙️ We have a special episode today - one where our entire Fintech and Financial Services team showed up!Mridul, Vaas, Kshitij, Ashray, Ishwar and Akshaya gathered around one table to share their unfiltered takes on what’s shaping the future of this space in India. The team breaks down the most notable trends they’re seeing and what they mean for founders. In this candid conversation, they dive into:1. The blurring lines between fintech and traditional finance2. The magic of India’s DPI story3. Opportunities in non-lending areas like wealth, insurance & verticalized payment4. The rise of AI in financial services5. Tech solutions making banks future-ready6. The return of consumer fintechs7. What personally excites each team member about the spaceIf you're curious about where fintech and financial services sector is headed or building something exciting in this space - tune in for an episode packed with sharp insights.

🤖 New SummitUp episode! Unlike cloud adoption, which took as many as ten years, enterprises are rapidly deploying AI - even traditionally conservative sectors like financial services and healthcare are moving from pilots to production at unprecedented speed. And India’s AI moment is here. This time, we’re not playing catch-up. In this episode, Krishna Mehra (AI Partner) and Poorvi Vijay (Vice President) join Vishy V (Head of Marketing) to unpack Elevation's thesis on the massive AI opportunity for Indian founders. The conversation explores three key themes where we see immense potential: 1. Infrastructure & Middleware: Building the essential tools that connect models to enterprise data and enable AI adoption at scale 2. Vertical AI: Reimagining entire industry workflows by combining domain expertise with AI capabilities 3. Services + Product Play: A unique India advantage in delivering end-to-end AI transformation for enterprises globally From commoditization of base models creating new opportunities and India emerging as a major AI market to the rapid enterprise adoption - Krishna and Poorvi break down the key trends shaping this space and share their advice on how founders looking to build in AI can stand out. ______________________________________________________________________ Chapters: 00:00 - Coming Up 01:20 - Introduction 01:38 - DeepSeek & Model Evolution 03:34 - Building Differentiated LLMs 05:02 - Moats for App Developers 05:32 - How to Disrupt in AI 07:38 - Exciting Themes 08:00 - Infrastructure and Middleware 11:12 - Vertical AI 13:40 - Services + Product Play 16:46 - Compute Infrastructure 18:27 - Enterprise AI Adoption 21:39 Advice for AI founders in AI 25:08 Closing Thoughts

“It’s no longer just roti, kapda, aur makaan - it’s roti, kapda, makaan, aur SIP,” remarks Manish, co-founder of ZFunds, highlighting how deeply mutual funds have become embedded in Indians’ financial planning. He’s seen candidates switch jobs based on their ability to continue their SIPs, and customers plan major life decisions around their mutual fund investments. Yet, Indian investors often chase returns by flocking to the highest-performing funds of the moment on DIY platforms, which can lead to poor investment outcomes in the long run. This return-chasing behavior led to ZFunds’ contrarian bet - that sustainable wealth creation needs human guidance through market cycles, not just cheaper alternatives. Founded by Manish and Vidhi in 2019, ZFunds is addressing critical gaps in India’s mutual fund industry by empowering distributors with technology to provide personalized advisory at scale while maintaining the essential human touch. Today, ZFunds serves 60,000 customers through 10,000 micro-entrepreneurs and has scaled to ₹1,000 crores in AUM. In this conversation with Kshitij Jayakrishnan (Vice President, Elevation), Manish and Vidhi discuss their journey of building one of India’s most capital-efficient wealthtech platforms and making wealth creation accessible beyond metro cities. In this episode you will gain insights on: 1. Scale of opportunity in the mutual fund distribution business 2. Fundraising journey and choosing the right partners 3. Content strategy as a capital-efficient acquisition channel 4. Emerging profiles of mutual fund distributors 5. Co-founder roles and conflict resolution 6. …and more Chapters: 00:00 Coming up 01:25 Introduction 02:37 Why ZFunds was started 04:35 Nature of End Customer 06:40 How their background shaped ZFunds 09:10 Product Strategy of ZFunds 09:56 Mutual Fund Distribution 11:45 Community and content at ZFunds 13:39 Earning potential in this space 17:42 Scale of Opportunity 20:36 Traditional MFD v/s ZFunds 21:45 Why did we invest in ZFunds 24:44 Team Building 26:18 Hiring Principal 27:35 Mindset shift in Startup execution 28:36 Roles and Responsibilities 30:49 How to raise funds 34:05 Vision for ZFunds 35:52 Key Learning and Closing Thoughts

"When you walk into any Vridhi branch, the first thing you see is our values on the wall." This isn't just a decorative choice for Ram Naresh Sunku. For this founder who started his journey in a small town in Andhra Pradesh and couldn't speak English, values and trust have been the cornerstone of building one of India's promising affordable housing finance companies. In this insightful conversation with Ishwar (AVP, Elevation Capital), Ram Naresh takes us through his journey of building Vridhi Home Finance, which has scaled to over ₹200 crore AUM with 50+ branches across five states. A rare combination of deep mortgage expertise and technology-first thinking, Vridhi is reimagining affordable housing finance for India's underserved segments. In this episode, you will gain insights on: Transitioning from corporate leader to founder Building a values-first organization Technology's role in traditional mortgage business Creating the right founding team Scaling in affordable housing finance The art of liability management

We almost let AI avatars host this entire episode... and then had an existential crisis when we heard how good they were! (Our AI hosts crashed the intro before we managed to nervously take back control 😅). But that's exactly what makes this conversation so relevant - generative AI has evolved from being a curiosity to now heavily influencing how we create, learn, connect and shop. And India is leading this adoption, emerging as the world's second-largest adopter of GenAI consumer applications. In this episode, Amit Aggarwal and Manish Advani from our consumer tech practice join a slightly anxious Vishy V (who's still processing that AI can do his job!) to explore the massive opportunities for Indian founders in this space. The conversation maps out several exciting areas: > Content creation & distribution > Personalized learning > AI companionship/social media > Travel planning > Shopping assistance They also discuss what we look for in founding teams building in this space P.S. For the meta experience - check out the version at the end where AI hosts recreate this conversation. We might be hiring them for a follow-up episode! 😅

💳 New SummitUp episode! Financial services are getting seamlessly woven into our everyday digital experiences. From pay-later options on your favorite shopping app to getting instant insurance while booking travel - embedded fintech is transforming how we access financial products. In this episode, Vaas Bhaskar (Partner, Elevation) and Kshitij Jayakrishnan (VP, Elevation) from our fintech practice join Vishy V (Head of Marketing, Elevation) to decode the massive embedded fintech opportunity in India. The conversation explores how consumer platforms can leverage their unique advantages to unlock new value pools by embedding financial services. Among other things, they discuss: Why large consumer platforms need to think about embedded fintech Framework for platforms to choose which financial products to embed The $25B revenue opportunity across consumer distribution pools and infra plays Key success factors and learnings from early movers Infra opportunities enabling this transformation

"No one really knows what happens in 70% of Earth's surface” This stark reality drove Gaurav Seth and Vinit Bansal to create PierSight, a spacetech startup using SAR and AIS-equipped satellites to pierce through this maritime blindspot and bring 24/7 visibility to the world's oceans. When the former ISRO scientist Gaurav and National Instruments engineer Vinit first collaborated on a prototype that normally takes months to build, they completed it in just six weeks. This "aha moment" sparked a journey to revolutionize maritime surveillance through a constellation of all-weather imaging satellites. In this illuminating Day One conversation with Manish Advani (Vice President, Elevation Capital), Gaurav and Vinit discuss their journey of building PierSight, why they chose SAR vs optical imaging, their unique approach to team building, going after the right applications, what it takes to win defence contracts, and early market validation while navigating the challenges of building a deep-tech startup in India.

"Traditional wealth platforms are going to be inadequate for this emerging class of investors…" A new generation of tech and startup professionals is amassing wealth through ownership stakes in their companies, primarily through ESOPs. And these individuals are seeking compelling opportunities to reinvest in the ecosystem they understand best - needs that traditional platforms aren't equipped to handle. Yet, paradoxically, the very people building today's great companies often find themselves locked out of investing in them. Unless you're part of an exclusive network or compensated with ESOPs, the doors to startup equity remain firmly shut. This disconnect is what spurred Ankita Tandon and Joylita Saldanha to start Infinyte Club. Infinyte Club is addressing the unique needs of this segment by unlocking access to the coveted asset class of startup investments as their starting point, with a vision to become the money manager for the next-generation wealthy.In this conversation with Kshitij Jayakrishnan (Vice President, Elevation Capital), Ankita and Joy take us through their journey of building a wealth management platform tailored for the Intelligent Investor - the employees, builders, and operators of India's burgeoning tech & startup ecosystem. They discuss the emergence of solo capitalists in India, the importance of building a team with "T-shaped” personas, and how their own fundraising experience informed their product design.

🔊 New Day One podcast episode alert! 🎙️ "I always feel it - am I able to add value to them? And if not, then I need to go back to the drawing board. Think harder, read more, be more aware." This drive to constantly improve and stay ahead of the curve permeates everything Sandeep Jethwani does at Dezerv. As the co-founder of one of India's fastest-growing wealth management platforms, Sandeep knows that in the world of finance, standing still means falling behind. In this illuminating conversation with Vaas Bhaskar (Principal, Elevation Capital), Sandeep takes us through Dezerv's journey of building a trusted brand for India's affluent investors. With over ₹7,000 crores in client assets, Dezerv is leveraging technology and expertise to solve a crucial problem - the severe underperformance of most high net-worth portfolios. Sandeep shares how Dezerv's Wealth Monitor app revealed a startling insight - nearly two-thirds of over 250,000 mutual fund portfolios they analyzed, comprising over ₹60,000 crores, struggled to beat their benchmarks. This resulted in missed gains of over ₹2,500 crores for investors. In this episode, you will gain insights on: Identifying the whitespace in India's wealth management industry Building trust in a digital-first environment The power of personal branding in financial services Balancing multiple subcultures within the organization The journey from the first set of users to ₹7,000 crores AUM

New Day One podcast episode! "We had just one month of runway left, and that was in a fixed deposit." This moment of truth in May 2022 sparked a bold decision that would define Seekho's trajectory. With their backs against the wall, co-founders Rohit, Keertay, and Yash took a leap of faith - they made the platform paid-only, with a subscription model. The bet paid off spectacularly, and today, Seekho boasts more than 500,000 paying subscribers. In this fascinating conversation with Amit Aggarwal (Principal, Elevation Capital), Rohit takes us through his journey of building a "Netflix for learning" targeted at the masses. Seekho makes learning easy and fun - with a learning-focused OTT platform that's tapping into India's massive appetite for bite-sized, engaging educational content. Rohit's journey is filled with counterintuitive decisions - from charging users upfront in a market known for its aversion to paying for content to running a lean team of just 18 people at this scale. These choices, driven by a deep understanding of the Indian consumer and a commitment to efficiency, have set Seekho apart. In this episode, you will learn about: Identifying and serving the learning needs of the masses Evolution of Seekho’s supply engine Hiring for cultural fit rather than specific skills Balancing engagement and monetization for a consumer app

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥?” “𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨." Talk about resilience! ⁠Ravi Adusumalli⁠ (Co-Managing Partner, ⁠Elevation Capital⁠) sat down with ⁠ixigo⁠ co-founders ⁠Aloke Bajpai⁠ and ⁠Rajnish Kumar⁠ to unpack their 17-year journey to a blockbuster IPO. The story of how Aloke and Rajnish built ixigo from a small apartment in Gurgaon in 2007 to India’s second-largest OTA by revenue is one of overcoming challenges, bouncing back, and transforming. This is encapsulated in the title of this special episode — “Resilience, Resurgence, Rebirth”. Each word represents a crucial chapter in ⁠ixigo⁠'s journey. The founders were at their candid best and spoke at length about: ➤ Founding ⁠ixigo⁠ when they were broke ➤ Landing on the highest-frequency use case for train travellers ➤ The decision-making process behind their biggest pivot - from metasearch to OTA ➤ That time when they mortgaged their homes to make payroll ➤ Surviving and thriving amidst hyper-funded competitors ➤ Closing two acquisitions in the thick of the pandemic We hope this conversation serves as an inspiration for all founders and aspiring builders out there, and as a reminder that while the entrepreneurial journey may be long and fraught with challenges, it is also immensely rewarding for those who persevere with grit and humility, and never lose sight of their vision.

🍕🍔 New SummitUp episode! India’s QSR market has been on a tear. 450-500 new stores are being added in this space each year.  However, it still remains massively underpenetrated. Changing consumer habits and rising discretionary expenditure are expected to make QSRs one of the biggest spend pools in the years to come. So what will it take for a new QSR brand to win in this market? In this meaty episode, Chirag Chadha and Vaibhav Chowdhury from our consumer brands practice join Vishy V to decode the secret sauce for building a large, profitable QSR brand in India. Among other things, the conversation digs into: Why QSRs can become VC-fundable businesses Getting the right throughput per store by optimizing menu, pricing, etc, as the first step to find early PMF Figuring out unit economics and the 'box model' to enable rapid scaling Key ingredients for building a strong moat Is the rise of food delivery a boon or bane for QSRs? At Elevation, we’ve been tracking & investing in the sector for over 10 years and have had the privilege of partnering with brands like Chaayos (Nitin and Raghav), which has grown to become India’s most loved and largest tea café chain. If you are building in QSR, we would love to speak with you.

🔊New Day One podcast episode alert! 🎙️ "I always joke with my friends that I did an MBA in sneakers"  Utkarsh Gupta says this with a laugh, but there's more truth to it than you might think. From spending hours at malls observing sneaker shoppers to striking up conversations with strangers at airports, Utkarsh and his fellow co-founder Dishant Daryani left no stone unturned in their quest to crack the code of the Indian sneaker market. This is the story of how two ex-consultants returned to India from the US to build Comet - a brand that embodies their passion for sneakers. In this fascinating conversation with Chirag Chadha and Vaibhav Chowdhury, the founders take us through their journey of building an aspirational lifestyle brand that resonates with India's fashion-forward youth. They discuss how their bold design choices and staying obsessed with the details make Comet truly stand out in the market. In this episode, you will learn about: Identifying the whitespace in India's sneaker market Balancing aspiration and value in pricing Choosing focus over variety in the early days Building a hospitality-first culture Creativity as the X factor in building a new-age brand

🎮 New SummitUp podcast episode! Mayank Khanduja  and Kshitij Jayakrishnan dissect the key trends and opportunities that will shape the future of gaming in India with Vishy in the latest episode of SummitUp. From the cultural significance of gaming to the drivers of explosive audience growth and emerging themes for builders, this episode unpacks the massive potential of India’s gaming ecosystem.

In this episode, Vaas Bhaskar (Principal, Elevation) and Kshitij Jayakrishnan (Vice President, Elevation) from our fintech practice join Vishy V (Head of Marketing, Elevation) to dive deep into the massive vertical fintech opportunity in India. They discuss why the time is ripe for a new wave of fintech innovation focused on serving the unique needs of specific customer segments. The conversation explores some exciting billion-dollar-plus opportunities across segments like schools, international students, tech workforce, and more.Stay tuned for future episodes as we continue to unpack high-potential themes that will unlock $400 billion of value creation in fintech over the next decade! Discover more insights from Elevation's fintech practice at The Bottomline - https://bottomline.elevationcapital.com/

🚀 New SummitUp podcast episode! In the fifth episode of SummitUp, Amit Aggarwal (Principal, Elevation Capital) and Manish Advani (Vice President, Elevation Capital) join Viswanathan V. (Head of Marketing, Elevation Capital) to discuss the massive opportunity in reimagining the travel industry for a new generation of travelers. They explore how rising affluence, changing demographics, flexibility at work, and a shift to experiences are fueling innovation across the travel stack. The episode unpacks Elevation's thesis on the four key layers ripe for disruption: Inspiration, Planning, Booking, and Immersion. Chapters: 00:00 Coming up 01:00 Intro 01:57 Rising affluence & changing demographics 05:57 Flexibility of work-life boundaries 08:21 Spaces within the travel stack 12:11 Corporate travel 12:49 Inspiration: From discovery to serendipity 18:11 Planning: AI meets the guidebook 22:27 Booking: The rise of vertical plays 29:27 Immersion: Curated experiences at scale 33:57 Closing thoughts