🧠 Sridhar Ranganathan

Interesting and relatable piece by Nutgraf / The Ken Praveen Gopal Krishnan in my inbox today. Few VCs balance this line well, even fewer can project an authentic narrative of what they actually do. In my observation of actions, a VC is a financier first and last, and anything else is marketing until proven otherwise. #vc #startups #india #founder

19

1 Comment

'GenAI is easier to say in the boardroom and difficult to get right for many SaaS companies'. When speaking to multiple technology providers, we have observed this as well. I will go further to suggest that many existing players will find it difficult to move to agentic workflows meaningfully. Beyond document summarization, and basic AI uses. The real problem is not technology. It is the company's DNA and processes, and a large installed base of customers. Going from building deterministic systems to building non-deterministic systems with high accuracy is a different skill set and hard to pivot to quickly. #aiagents #genai

10

Nature, Tanvirul Islam, Anindya Banerji, Chin Jia Boon, Wang Rui, Ayesha Reezwana, James A. Grieve, Rodrigo Piera & Alexander Ling, “A privacy‐preserving publicly verifiable quantum random number generator” Verifying the quality of a random number generator involves performing computationally intensive statistical tests on large data sets commonly in the range of gigabytes. Limitations on computing power can restrict an end‐user’s ability to perform such verification. There are also random number‐ based applications where an honest user needs to publicly demonstrate that the random bits they are using pass the statistical tests without the bits being revealed. Here, we report the implementation of an entanglement‐based protocol that allows a third party to publicly perform statistical tests without compromising the privacy of the random bits. ——— #dataaccess #datainteroperability #FMI #globalsupplychain #crossboarderpayments #securefinancing #fraudprevention #tradefinance #openbanking #fintechdataplatform #tradematters #sustainability #digitaltrade #globaltrade #FinancialMarketInfrastructure #technology #LEI #digitalidentity #C4DTI #paperless #digitalidentities   #innovation  #digitalisation #paperlesstrade #digitaltransformation   #digitaltradechampion #digitaltradeevangelist #openfinance #internationaltrade #digital #crossbordertrade #smartdata #cbdc #regtech #suptech #payments #innovation #banks #digitalrevenueimpact #risk #regulations #digital #m2mi #cybersecurity #risk #banking #embeddedfinance #openbanking #sustainablefinance #iot #money #bankofengland #digitaleconomy #fintech #multicurrency #privacy #artificialintelligence

4

My discussion with Shashank Mani on his book covering 'Middle India' -- the huge in numbers & hugely aspirational middle-class of India. You will find this to be a delightful and inspirational conversation. Shashank is now a BJP candidate from Deoria, UP. This work with 'Jagriti Yatra' is so delightfully innovative & truly inspirational. Do subscribe to the 'SangamTalks Business' channel. #decolonisation #india #bharat #भारत #middleclass #entrepreneurship #startups #risingindia

19

Understanding sentiment is far more nuanced than simply “positive” or “negative.” At Sila | صلة, we believe sentiment goes beyond basic color-coded labels or binary choices. People experience a spectrum of emotions—some are slightly concerned, while others may be outright 'been on hold for 30 mins trying to get my own money' frustrated. I guess, like life, sentiment isn’t just black or white. That’s why we created the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI), which provides a richer, multidimensional perspective. Since 2020, our CSI has steadily built what I would confidently say, but have no substantiation for, is the most extensive database of Arabic-language consumer sentiment. View this information as more than data—and instead insight into the mindset and shifting attitudes across the MENA region. Each month, we publish a snapshot from the CSI, capturing current trends. This month, the focus is on the UAE, with an animation showing the bi-weekly shifts. For a deeper dive, check out our recent articles: UAE - (https://lnkd.in/gNZNTeRq) and Saudi (https://lnkd.in/ga-cDedp). Whether you’re looking for a broad consumer pulse or detailed sentiment breakdowns, our CSI provides invaluable insights across a number of timescales. And for brands, agencies or government departments with smaller budgets, the CSI’s depth can be a cost-effective way to unlock growth in 2025. More info: https://lnkd.in/gybEt6Sq

26

1 Comment

Sujith Nair, Beckn's WhatsApp-averse, badminton-loving chief mover and shaker, gave us a peek into the world's first # e-commerce protocol. Imagine if Colgate wanted to sell a lot of toothpaste, would it open separate exclusive stores on every street? NO! Instead, it ensures its products are available in all stores where people come to shop, and not just toothpaste. Similarly, Beckn is a way for an online business to make its products and services available on other stores (popular daily-use consumer apps) instead of setting up its own store (its own consumer app) and waiting for customers to come in droves! The Beckn Protocol underpins Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) and is a universal translator for e-commerce platforms. We would normally call it the Rosetta Stone for digital services, but now we have BHASHINI 😉 . It allows disparate systems to "speak" to each other seamlessly. The Beckn Protocol has become a verb in the tech world. "Just Beckn it!" has become a common phrase among developers when discussing open-source solutions for digital commerce. In fact, we like it so much that we are using Beckn use cases as our episode artwork (instead of our normal groovy cover art) to spread the word in our own little way. Some may even argue that the yellow and black in the artwork denote open mobility networks (read taxis) 😀. The even more nerdy might catch the movie reference in the title 🎬. So, is it an app? Is it an aggregator? Is it a platform? No. It is a Super Capability - #decentralised and #open. Listen, learn and use. sujith nair | Pramod Varma | Sanjay Purohit | Shankar Maruwada | Shireesh Joshi | T Koshy | Namma Yatri | FIDE | Antler | Bingepods (Ideabrew Studios) | OpenExO | Thinkers360 | IBM Alumni | Microsoft Alumni Network | The RSA (The royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce) | World Economic Forum | Digital India Corporation | nasscom | Abhishek Singh | Nilesh | Sheetal https://lnkd.in/dydrjnbU

47

4 Comments

How Stayzilla went from 18,000 to 0 listings: (the epic downfall of the Airbnb of India) 🇮🇳 Founded by 3 passionate travellers (Yogendra Vasupal, his wife Rupal Yogendra, and his friend Sachit Singhi), StayZilla was the largest Indian homestay network for travellers to find and book accommodations. For travellers — They got access to affordable, authentic, and unique stays even at Tier II and III cities in India. For homestays — Property owners got access to local and global customers by having a digital presence. The problem they were solving was massive. And the solution StayZilla provided was a no-brainer. 🤝🏻 It was a win-win and it revolutionised how people travelled in India. At its peak, StayZilla raised $34M from top VCs and boasted over 18,000 listings in more than 1,200 cities across India. StayZilla was riding high, being hailed as the next big thing in India’s booming startup ecosystem — until it wasn’t. Everything collapsed when: - The founder lost his focus (blinded by GMV) - The company used discounts to grow at a loss - Customers churned due to poor customer service - The founder was put in jail for defrauding an agency It's crazy to see how the company went from GodZilla to DeadZilla when you read the full story. Want to know why and how StayZilla died? The newsletter will be sent to my subscribers at 8pm today. Join 3,000+ operators here: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq P.S. I guarantee this is the best 5 mins you'll ever spend to learn from failed startup stories and become a better operator 🤝🏻 #startup

79

13 Comments

Prompt - "Compose a Hindi song on two fruits - Apple & Orange" Outcome - You have two variants of a ~30 seconds song available in a jiffy. I have combined the two and attached them to this post. What did I use? Introducing Udio (https://www.udio.com/), Your New AI-Powered Studio! 🎶 In an exciting development, a team of former Google DeepMind researchers have launched Udio, a revolutionary application designed to transform music production. This AI-driven platform enables anyone, from novices to professionals, to create high-quality music in mere minutes. 🌟 Why Everyone's Talking About Udio Previously only available in closed beta, Udio has already captured the attention of music industry giants like will.i.am, Common, and Kevin Wall. Its public debut is set to shake up the music creation landscape significantly. 🔧 How Does Udio Work? Imagine typing out the genre you love, adding some lyrics or a theme, and mentioning your favorite artists. In just 40 seconds, Udio delivers a fully mastered audio track! What’s more, with its "vary" feature, you can tweak the sound and length of your track until it's just right. 🛡️ Safety First Udio isn’t just innovative; it's responsible too. With robust automated copyright filters, the platform ensures all music produced is original and copyright-compliant. David (Fengning) Ding, Udio’s CEO, reassures us, "We’re deeply committed to ensuring all works created on our platform are novel." 💡 What Sets Udio Apart? Backed by top investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Instagram’s Mike Krieger, Udio is poised to do for music what Instagram did for photography—make it accessible to everyone. It offers up-and-coming artists a chance to produce their tracks without the hefty price tag typically associated with high-quality music production. 🎨 Creative Freedom and Business Impact This isn’t just about making music; it’s about democratizing creativity. Udio provides artists with new revenue streams and reduces barriers to entry in the music industry. Its ease of use and rapid output can spur a new generation of artists and producers. 🚨 Looking Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities While the rise of AI in music poses challenges like potential deepfakes, Udio is committed to ethical practices and collaborates closely with the industry to refine its safeguards. We will have to see the outcome in the near future. Read more - https://lnkd.in/dHJxBS5T #MusicTech #AI #Innovation #Udio #ArtificialIntelligence

16

YellowKyte is back with Factors.ai to discuss the (most) trending, opinion-splitting, and friend-dividing topic: AI and GTM. Who better to discuss it with than the folks building and shaping this space—Ankit from ClearFeed, Siddharth from Enfra, Anand from Happysales AI, and, of course, Praveen and yours truly 😁 If you made it to the last meet-up, this would be a closed-door, unfiltered, no-holds-barred discussion with food. Join us on Oct 18!

71

7 Comments

What if the answer to a massive healthcare problem was hidden in plain sight? In this week's The Lobster Talks, we follow Ankur Rustagi of Saatvy Health (YC S23) a YC founder who pivoted from AI to delve into the untapped potential of Ayurveda for chronic conditions. Ankur's curiosity was piqued by a startling statistic: the U.S. spends trillions on healthcare, yet a significant portion of the population suffers from chronic illnesses. Driven by personal experience and a thirst for solutions beyond conventional medicine, Ankur turned to Ayurveda. This episode uncovers: -The eye-opening data that revealed the scale of the chronic illness problem in the U.S. -Ankur's personal journey with rheumatoid arthritis and his exploration of alternative treatments -The discovery of Ayurveda's potential to manage symptoms and address root causes -The initial skepticism surrounding Ayurveda's ancient wisdom and its relevance in the modern world -Ankur's decision to dive deeper, connecting with practitioners, experimenting, and witnessing the benefits firsthand Listen to the full episode to hear Ankur's story and gain valuable insights into: -The power of questioning conventional wisdom and seeking alternative solutions -The importance of personal experiences in shaping entrepreneurial journeys -The potential of ancient healing traditions like Ayurveda to address modern health challenges -The courage to embrace unconventional ideas and explore uncharted territories 🎧 Listen to this episode on your fave pod platform or watch on YouTube -https://lnkd.in/e6_hUq_6 . . . . . #ayurveda #chronicillness #healthcaresolutions #founderstory #YCstartup #thelobstertalks

1

Commoditization of AI models Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of watching Aravind Srinivas' (founder of Perplexity) interview with Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan . It's a great interview and I would recommend AI founders to watch it if possible. https://lnkd.in/gnM2NeS8 Couple of things that stuck me from the interview: 1. Aravind believes in the commoditization of AI models in the long run. His take his firms like Perplexity which focus on user problems and solve for it using relevant models will win. Perplexity does it quite well, do check them out if you haven't already. This is something that AI entrepreneurs should think about. Creating foundational models is freaking expensive! and for conservative capital allocators like us it is too risky a bet (not betting on AI is even riskier 😅, I guess we need to learn more) I am going to tag the platform Guru and distinguished IIMB alumnus Sangeet Paul Choudary for his take on this. 2. The initial employees (5-10) have to be truth seekers rather than social affirmers(?) It was great hearing him talk about the culture at Perplexity of seeking the truth through open conversations and arguments on Slack rather than provide positive affirmation. I think it's something that every founder should strive for. Truth will prevail in the longer run. This works in technology, finance, politics, society, anywhere. (Satyamev Jayate is true in itself!) But to be able to have an open conversation, the founders need to have depth themselves. This is something that I feel the Indian ecosystem lacks, as most of the founders seem to be managerial in nature. I find them shifting to jargons rather than simplicity when questioned deeper. (By the way this is a classic test to check whether someone really knows it, people who know what they are talking about will make it simpler, those who don't take the cover of jargons to increase complexity and portray intelligence) I understand my analysis could be biased due to self-selection, and I would love to be proven wrong. It's pretty cool that Aravind chose Larry Page as his favourite entrepreneur due to their common background of coming from academic research to entrepreneurship. What I definitely don't agree with Aravind on The idea that luck doesn't play a role in outcomes. Successful people generally attribute success to their hard work/smartness / enterprise without understanding their privilege. For e.g. A smarter/more hardworking/more enterprising Dalit girl from Bihar will never have the kind of opportunities that I had as a Tam Bram born in a lower-middle class but very well educated family in Chennai. One has tried to solve for it using our Sakhi Scholars programme, which supports gifted girls from underprivileged communities to achieve their dream through financial support. On a lighter note, Aravind is a 2017 IIT-M alum and has already built a $8 billion company, what the hell am I doing with my life? 🤔

1

1 Comment

The decisions and actions of our brightest minds in the coming years will play a crucial role in defining our trajectory for the century and where we land with the technology of our time. We have a special fireside chat in Bangalore this week that will explore an Investor perspective on the India opportunity in AI. We’re joined by Pratik (from Nexus VP) and Matt (from EF) who’ve been investing in AI for more than a decade. Expect us to delve into key topics like the role of capital, talent, compute, the importance of alignment and safety, and the future of AI among other things (more on this in the link). RSVP here: https://lu.ma/h589mcrs #venturecapital #technology #ai #entrepreneurship #startups #vc

10

"Zero barrier" - A case study of how the Kamath brothers, Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath built something extraordinary in a non traditional way and that today is the the benchmark for millions in all sorts of ways. Read about it in my latest issue. https://lnkd.in/gmd5HBGp Feel free to subscribe to my newsletter if you want to read more interesting case studies. #newsletter #subscribe Zerodha #India #stockmarket beehiiv #kamathbrothers

5

I'm conflicted about Paul Graham's post on Founder mode (https://lnkd.in/gxuWYX_y.) It is true that there are things that only a Founder can do that no one else in the company can accomplish. This is an odd combination of skill, deep expertise in the domain, and passion. And I've seen it in myself, when I build product for myself and in other founders when I work for them. But the denigration of #executives as 'world-class liars' was bit much. Yes, senior executives as a group tend to be very, very manipulative. It's a necessary skill to get work out of a diverse group of people. But, almost every #founder and #VC I've met are also 'world-class liars'. Just a different kind of liar. What advice does one give to the hapless executive, particularly a product management executive reporting to a founder who's operating in 'founder mode'? Having been on both sides, of the table, as a founder, and as someone reporting to a founder, here's my take on the subject: 1. Recognise that the tenure of most executives at a startup is around 18 months, often less. Treat all startup employment as a temporary gig. Plan to be replaced. This often means explicitly preparing the ground for a future successor, by say documenting your thought process and decision rationale. But it also means being prepared for sudden unemployment. Make sure your finances, and career will be able to survive loss of employment *before* you take the job. 2. Defer to the founder's vision, particularly on product strategy. Keep reservations to yourself. Being critical of the founder's vision will not end well. They won't change their vision, and you will be out of a job. Your job is to try and realise the vision they have. If there are clear difficulties that you foresee in executing a vision, then layout the problem to the founder, and the options they might have available to them. It really helps to take a consultant's attitude to these sorts of situations. You provide helpful advice and execution support, but both the benefits and costs of founder's vision must belong to the founder. 3. Don't let yourself be abused: Some founders will take Paul Graham's essay to be a license to be arseholes. If this happens to you, politely disengage from the situation and terminate the employment relationship quickly. Yes, this means being prepared to be unemployed on short-notice. See item one above. Once the relationship becomes an abusive one, there is no way to recover it. Be careful not to further antagonise the founder in the process of separation. Be kind to them, and understand the stress they probably are in. That will avoid unnecessary litigation. And finally watch Shreyas Doshi's advice on the subject. It's excellent. https://lnkd.in/gSRsMGmM

6

1 Comment

The drama with India continues, partially due to the RCMP's recent statement and update (link to the full statement below). I'm no expert on these events (and would love to hear any insights in the comments) but this week has certainly raised even more questions, like: - this RCMP statement references evidence over and over again, yet doesn't share what it is. Is this by design? Am I missing something? - a lot of this stems from criminal activity being committed inside Canada, which has already been on the rise. Could this be due to the millions of people Canada has let in amongst reports that they've also been skimping on doing proper background checks? - can we afford to let our relationship with India sour like this? In my opinion we shouldn't. But certainly seems like Trudeau isn't doing a good job of strengthening it. Can't say I have much faith left in the current government, now on multiple fronts. What do you think? Or any details you can fill me in on? Link to the RCMP statement here: https://lnkd.in/gi626uPv

21

11 Comments

We launched #A11yCookies with Lainey Feingold on the DOJs New Rule on Web & Mobile Accessibility! Loved our conversation Lainey & thank you as always for doing this with us. We all have so much to learn from you! Well take out 10 minutes and get some clarity on what this means for all of us. #A11y #Accessibility #BeyondCompliance #WCAG #WebAccessibility #MobileAccessibility

24