Anand Kannappan

SolarSquare Energy is the largest installer and operator of distributed solar assets in India, and has become one of my favorite case studies of *nailing* product-market fit within the Lowercarbon Capital portfolio. This week, they announced a $40M Series B funding round led by our friends over at Lightspeed - it's go time, chalo! India is the world's fastest growing residential solar market, with more roofs and more sun than just about anywhere on the planet. There's a whole lot of room to run - only 1M homes have been solarized to date out of the 50M ready to install. Add that up, and we see a $100B prize up for grabs by the end of the decade. The jalebi on top? The Indian government has strategically accelerated this industry by rolling out subsidies, reducing permitting friction, and enshrining net metering as a legal right. Solar Square is in the right place at the right time. Huge congrats to Shreya Mishra, Neeraj Jain, Nikhil Nahar, and the entire team. If anyone is looking to join the next Indian unicorn at the center of the global energy transition, look no further. #tech #climatetech #climate #energy #energytransition #solar #electrification #india #emergingmarkets

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Startup decks vs Business plans. It's accepted that a startup needs a deck. Dax Dasilva of Lightspeed Commerce made an important point on 20VC. Writing a business plan - including financial projections - is an important step. It requires discipline. It provides a rigorous framework for thinking deeply about the problem you're trying to solve. Harry Stebbings countered that he doesn't even want to see a deck since it's all dreams. We spent a lot of time and energy on our business plan with the expectation that we would show it to no one ever. The business plan was part of our roadmap for the company. We researched customers - including having 50+ conversations. We wanted to understand them: their background, their interests, their presence on social media. We also wanted to understand how they were evaluated by leadership and how integrated they were with the business of the company they were protecting. We researched pricing both with potential customers and other products in our industry to find out if OpEx or CapEx was a better fit. How did they buy today? How would they like to buy? We did market research to understand the verticals and map the right entry point - we were wrong but that doesn't reduce the value of the research. We looked at competitors in depth to understand what they were seeing that we weren't. Dax is right. This is an invaluable document that should be updated every year - the company is changing, the market is changing, there's more feedback about price and ICP. It's not for sharing with the outside world. It's a map for driving forward. Decks won't get you investment - VCs invest in people. We make decks but we know they don't tell our story. The deck is a calling card. Dax and Harry are both right. https://lnkd.in/e25M82xY

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This is so true! You still need to build a startup company and no one does that better than the founder/founders. It takes a super special breed of human. Visionary Leadership: Founders drive the startup's vision and mission, ensuring alignment with long-term goals and fostering innovation. Deep Understanding: Founders possess industry expertise and market insights crucial for strategic decision-making and staying competitive. Commitment and Resilience: Founders do not quit. They may pivot 3 times, but always demonstrate unwavering dedication and perseverance, essential for navigating challenges and achieving success. Culture and Team Morale: You think the most talented people on earth are going to work for you at 20%/30% market rates? right. Founders shape company culture and foster a positive work environment, influencing employee engagement and retention. Investor Confidence: The right financial partner is all a startup needs. A startup does not need 100 financial partners, it needs one believer. No one can do this better than the founder. Then with the right capital, the founder can build her VP team and execute. Good luck doing all that without the right, motivated founders!

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Discover the list of #realestate #PropTech startups that have secured funding. Feel free to access the list of funded startups at your convenience. https://lnkd.in/dGjuBRD5 #entrepreneurship #investornetwork #businessgrowth #dealflow #businessconnections

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Breakdown of startup funding across sectors in 2024: 1. #Fintech: - 18.3% of seed stage funding - 17.1% of growth stage funding - 23.8% of late stage funding - Total funding: $2.5 Bn (17% decline from 2023) 2. #EnterpriseTech: - Raised $1.8 Bn - 167 deals 3. #ConsumerServices: - Raised $1.8 Bn - 48 deals - Boosted by Zepto's $1.3 Bn funding 4. #Ecommerce: - Raised $1.5 Bn (42.3% decline from 2023) - 203 deals (highest number of deals) 5. #Cleantech: - $829 Mn - 75 deals 6. #Healthtech: - $716 Mn - 78 deals 7. #Deeptech: - $460 Mn - 78 deals #Source: [1] After rough ride in 2024, Indian startups look for a promising new year https://lnkd.in/dVjxwUGC [2] Over 1 lakh 40 thousand recognized Start Ups in the country, over ... - PIB https://lnkd.in/dU9UQCN9 [3] After rough ride in 2024, Indian startups look for a promising new year https://lnkd.in/dkmzBN4q [4] Startup Funding Recap: November 2024 - PrivateCircle Blog https://lnkd.in/dP4MUx3Y [5] Unveiling the Indian Startup Funding Landscape in 2024 - LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/dcUTBRYB

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Weekly Recap 1. Recorded an episode with Arun Antony of YE Stack - They have a very interesting hypothesis 2. Talked with Arav Behl building BuilderCast podcast 3. Talked with Adil building WeCrack Cohort 4. Preparing for a big episode today Ft. Co Founder of Blume Ventures 5. Received a really kind message from an upcoming guest 6. Received an encouraging message from Amrit Sheneva building Flashmates, Hiremart, and more Next week is going to be an interesting one

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Motivate Your Money to Create Abundance At ODIGITAL Startup Drivers, we believe everyone deserves to experience living in financial abundance sometime in their lifetime. We know a proven way to create financial abundance is to either own a successful business or invest in businesses that are addressing real-world challenges in life and business. When these assets increase rapidly in value over time, they will deliver massive profits in return on investment (ROI) for stakeholders at future exits. At ODIGITAL Startup Drivers, we understand that venture capital investing operates the Power Law business, where one big win with 50x or more will more than pay for all the portfolio losses in a diversified fund, with massive profits in ROI. Take a look at this big win by Sequoia Capital, an investment in YouTube. A win that will definitely pay for a ton of losses, that gave them a return on investment of 57x in about a year after funding. https://lnkd.in/dKY5B-hv We have partnered with Tekedia Capital to give our members exclusive access to invest a minimum of $250 per startup in their early-stage technology startup investment deals. We have an ongoing funding round that will end in 4 days. This round has a diverse line up of 10 innovative startups from varied sectors and regions, that are poised to disrupt markets, and deliver outsized gains in ROI for investors at future exits. This cohort has the most innovative line up I have ever witnessed on this platform, and I urge you not to miss out on this round, even if you have to sacrifice something today. I believe your future will thank you for it. We invested in a startup at $1m valuation in 2020 and it's currently valued at $100m. We funded another company in 2022 and it's valued at $150m presently. And we have delivered 3 profitable exits in less than 2 years after funding. If you want to start building or you want to add to your portfolio of high-growth technology startups, hurry and connect with me via direct message, or email - [email protected], or click - https://lnkd.in/dHd8K9ZN - to join our WhatsApp group. I will guide you through our process of becoming equity owners of these potential category-king businesses, and positioning for exponential ROI at future exits. Join Us. Let's Win Together! Repost for the benefit of your network.

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I am always amazed when someone discovers whitespace in B2B SaaS that is eligible for pre-seed funding. It's interesting to see that Chiratae Ventures led Pre-Seed round for Pepsales. Pepsales is trying to help B2B SaaS companies improve their sales by creating personalized product demos using AI and ML. The pain point they are trying to address is that most demos don't impress buyers because they tend to be generic and one-size-fits-all. Congrats Ajay Singh and Abhinandan Sahgal! Source: INC42, Entrackr, VCCircle #VentureCapital #B2BSaas

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This hard reset is required for all AI founders from India building global B2B products: Product Innovation > GTM muscle Product innovation is happening at a rapid pace in each of your categories, valley competitors are building thought through features that can help them win customers mid-long term, GTM muscle alone without product differentiation wont help you win in the first half of this AI decade. We are doing this hard reset within BoldCap on what we are looking for in AI founders. Ping us if you are tinkering in global AI B2B products. Shiv Tayal Pratham Chadha Aditi Gera

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Why Buying Your First Business is the hardest & Financing The Fear is Being seen as too risky by lenders and investors. The Solution: Prepare a solid business plan with detailed financial projections. Work with a financial advisor to enhance your credibility. Consider alternative financing options like SBA loans or seller financing.

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✨ Chet Kapoor ✨ is quite the Silicon Valley legend. Three-time founder and currently the CEO of DataStax his wisdom for founders is incredibly spot-on ✅ and timeless ⏰ ! In this most recent and probably best-ever episode of The Enterprise GTM podcast, Chet discusses what it takes to build enduring tech companies. Some 🎤 soundbites 🎤 from our conversation: 👩‍🏫 The quality of people influences the outcome of your startup the most. 🔥 You do not need smart people who sit around and pontificate. ☄ Momentum is everything. Never underestimate it. 🌟 Having complete clarity of thought at any given time is very important--who are you doing this for, and how will it change their lives? 🌈 One of the best ways to create a large company is to create a parade or join one. ☝ Know who you are. There's a high likelihood that the company will become more like who you are rather than who you want to be. 🛑 Don't make the mistake of hiring sales execs too soon. Be extra cautious about partnerships. 📣 Tune in to hear about what he has to say about AI startups getting started today, the future of the data layer, the evolving importance of data roles (data science, data engineering), and so much more! #devtool #founder #startup #data #ai https://lnkd.in/gW-58nvE

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Rubén D. has put together a great list of some powerful startup resources. Check it out and see which one of them would be most helpful to you and your startup.

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Sequoia Capital's Framework to Find Out If a Startup Has Achieved Product-Market Fit (PMF) 👇 The First is "Retention Curve" - "The retention curve is what percentage of your users keep coming back over some time while using your product/service." Essentially, there are 3 kinds of retention curves, and you should plot this curve by day, week, or month, once you launch your product. 1. Declining Curve (dark grey line), let's say you’ve launched a consumer internet app on day 0, and every week your retention rate declines by 10%, which essentially means that by the end of 3rd month, all your initial users would have churned, then that's a declining curve, which indicates that you don’t have a product-market fit. 2. Flattening Curve (orange line) is actually good, although it kind of varies depending upon the category (Health-Tech, EdTech, etc.,) but generically speaking if the retention curve flattens between 20%-40% that could be quite good. 3. Finally the best one is the Smiling Retention Curve (green line), which means that retention drops but then as time goes on you keep reactivating users, which indicates that you're getting close to your product-market fit. Another question that founder should think is - 2. Do Customers Love Product? Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric that organizations use to measure customer loyalty toward their brand, product or service. NPS works by asking your customers a single question: "How likely are you to recommend our products/services to others?" NPS = % Promoters (score 9-10) - % Detractors (score 0-6) If the magic score is = 70% or more, then you have an amazing product-market fit. But if the number declines to 40% or below, then you don’t have it. It's that simple! What do you think of these two methods? Check out my free newsletter for more insights: https://lnkd.in/dTzRN9HK . #startup #fundraising #venturecapital #funding #fundraising #founders #founderjourney #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #founderstories #startuptips #sharktankindia #siliconvalley #startups #vc #vcfund #vcfunding #funding #startups #pmf #product #sequoiacapital

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Bold prediction for 2025: Investors will pay founders to access their venture data. Founders own their data and grant access to investors for a fee. This shift promotes transparency, trust, and efficiency in fundraising, while giving startups a new revenue stream.

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Y Combinator is a launchpad, not a label. Here’s how we maximized our YC S24 experience with Spur (YC S24): #1 Learn Relentlessly 📇 The best founders, according to YC partners, are insatiable learners. We approached every interaction hungry to absorb insights and "mind suck" their wisdom. #2 Show Up & Be Vulnerable ☝️ We said yes to every opportunity—talks, mock pitches, and feedback sessions. Failure didn’t matter; trying did. #3 Come Prepared 🚀 Starting with a somewhat validated idea and clear plan allowed us to hit the ground running. Pivoting is fine, but I do feel like doing YC with a solid foundation helps you make the most out of the experience YC opens the door. What you do next is entirely up to you.

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Vinod Khosla 's statement highlights a harsh reality that many founders face: choosing the right investor is crucial, and the wrong one can indeed be more of a liability than an asset. From our perspective at Unbar.vc, the issue often stems from a lack of strategic alignment and insufficient operational support from the VC side. Our work with venture funds focuses on optimizing their processes and providing deeper due diligence, not just to mitigate risks, but to ensure they’re truly equipped to add value beyond capital. The funds that invest time in improving deal flow, conducting thorough due diligence, and offering tailored portfolio support are the ones that make a significant, positive impact. The key takeaway? VCs need to invest as much in their own capabilities as they do in the startups they fund. When VCs bring specialized expertise and strategic guidance to the table, they can be powerful enablers of growth rather than hindrances

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Equity Fundraising Basics for Founders: Understanding equity fundraising is crucial for early-stage startups. Here's a breakdown of the key concepts: 1) Convertible Notes: These are short-term debts that convert to equity during future financing rounds, allowing you to defer the valuation decision until later. 2) Valuation Cap: Protects early investors by setting a maximum price for conversion, ensuring they get a better deal if the company’s value skyrockets. 3) Liquidation Preference: Investors typically have a 1x liquidation preference, meaning they get their investment back first in the event of a sale or liquidation. 4) Equity Rounds: Seed rounds often involve giving up 10-25% of the company. Plan to raise enough funds to cover 12-18 months of operations. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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The other week at Demo Day, I met a founder from YC's 2005 batch. His cohort had just eight companies! In 2020-2022, YC was accepting upwards of 400 companies, largely driven by international expansion into India and Latin America. Now in Fall '24, we've seen a deliberate reset to 93 companies. The batch composition reflects the specialties of YC partners more clearly too. Diana Hu, Dalton Caldwell, and Jared Friedman's presence helped drive 24 developer tool companies in the cohort. Meanwhile, the absence of some partners also is reflected e.g. Surbhi Sarna, who focuses on biotech, was reflected in fewer biotech startups. Closer partner-batch alignment enables more specialised mentorship and targeted growth strategies. This may correlate with exceptional performance... This was the first batch in YC's 19-year history to achieve 3X average revenue growth during the program.

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