In this episode of Kwk, Kushal Lodha interviews Aviral Bhatnagar, a prominent venture capitalist in India, known for his innovative approach to supporting early-stage startups. He is the founder of AJVC (A Junior VC), a pre-seed fund aimed at empowering entrepreneurs, particularly in the enterprise software and artificial intelligence sectors. With a background in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Aviral has a deep appreciation for data-driven analysis and embracing uncertainty.

Before founding AJVC, Aviral was a lead investor at Venture Highway, his journey includes roles at various startups during his college years and consulting at a top-tier firm after graduating from IIM Ahmedabad. Aviral's passion for startups and his commitment to simplifying the funding process for early-stage founders have made AJVC one of India's most approachable pre-seed funds.

Aviral's unique perspective and dedication to supporting entrepreneurs have earned him a strong reputation in the venture capital community. He continues to build a community around startups, sharing data-driven opinions and insights through his newsletter, "Life of A Junior VC."

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00:00 Introduction
1:43 Meet Aviral Bhatnagar
2:02 Current edtech sector situation and its challenges
7:28 Edtech sector barriers to entry and scaling
9:28 Failures of Front Row and Doubtnut
12:01 Starting school: Is it difficult?
13:46 Advice on starting an edtech company
15:28 Byju's What went wrong?
17:33 Debt-fueled acquisition strategy explained
19:00 Byju’s accounting issues
20:00 Top players in the edtech industry
21:01 Duolingo’s business model breakdown
25:24 Fintech payment giants: Razorpay
28:03 Razorpay’s successful model
32:44 Future billion-dollar companies with small teams?
33:16 Zerodha: Top fintech company analysis
38:56 Groww’s customer acquisition strategy
40:31 What’s happening with Cred?
42:45 Cred’s revenue strategy and NPAs
44:48 Paying rent through Cred
46:21 Can Cred be profitable soon?
47:01 SaaS sector overview
50:08 Zoho’s successful business model
55:41 Why SaaS businesses have high profits
56:01 What is the SaaS Index?
56:42 Rule of 40 explained
57:28 Metrics for investing in SaaS companies
1:00:36 Edtech and fintech investment metrics
1:07:41 DAU to MAU ratio importance
1:14:01 Instability of quick commerce model
1:18:24 Quick commerce: Advantages in India and threats
1:24:12 Zepto’s revenue growth strategy
1:27:23 Replicating quick commerce business: Challenges
1:28:03 Aviral’s target sector insights
1:33:48 Ending statement
1:34:20 Outro