Learn How to Take Advice from the Right People at the Right Time

09/17/24 • 30 min

Rajan Maruthavanan, Cofounder and Managing Partner at Upekkha, shares deep insights into the dynamics of building B2B startups from India for global markets, particularly in the US. He discusses the strengths and challenges of Indian founders, such as thriving in vertical, niche markets versus struggling with infrastructure and dev tools for global adoption. Rajan emphasizes the importance of founders learning how to take advice and shares his thoughts on the key skills needed for founder success.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:57] Building a new type of VC firm: The Upekkha story

[7:36] Why Indian startups struggle to break into the US market

[14:43] The Power of annual contract value (ACV): How ACV shapes startup strategy

[19:03] The vertical advantage: Why Indian founders succeed in niche Markets

[22:03] How biases and bad advice can trap founders into their biggest pitfalls

[28:07] Changing the VC game by improving founder success rates

The nonprofit organization Rajan is passionate about: Sitare Foundation

About Rajan Maruthavanan

Rajan Maruthavanan is the Cofounder and Managing Partner at Upekkha, with extensive expertise in guiding early-stage startups through their critical zero-to-one phase to achieve product-market fit. At Upekkha, he has made over 120 pre-seed investments in SaaS startups and assisted numerous founders with M&A activities in DeepTech and B2B SaaS over the past eight years. Previously, Rajan was an Operator and Head of Product for QuickBooks Global at Intuit, where he managed the India GST strategy and led iCombinator, Intuit’s internal accelerator. He also organized two notable conferences: SaaSx in Chennai (2014-2016) and StartupBridgeIndia at Stanford (2016-2019). Earlier in his career, he co-founded and served as CTO of a computer vision startup, developing a SIFT vector-based visual search for Nokia phones.

About Upekkha

Upekkha, established in 2017, is an AI SaaS accelerator dedicated to helping Indian founders create global software brands. Currently in its 13th cohort, Upekkha has collaborated with over 165 startups and cultivated a network of more than 300 SaaS entrepreneurs. The firm has a diverse portfolio including companies like iMocha, Almabase, Kloudle, and Cloudbankin. Notably, about 25% of its startups hail from tier-II cities, such as Pune, Kochi, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Raipur, Vadodara, Jabalpur, Warangal, Coimbatore, and Trichy.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:57] Building a new type of VC firm: The Upekkha story

[7:36] Why Indian startups struggle to break into the US market

[14:43] The Power of annual contract value (ACV): How ACV shapes startup strategy

[19:03] The vertical advantage: Why Indian founders succeed in niche Markets

[22:03] How biases and bad advice can trap founders into their biggest pitfalls

[28:07] Changing the VC game by improving founder success rates

The nonprofit organization Rajan is passionate about: Sitare Foundation

About Rajan Maruthavanan

About Upekkha

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Previous Episode

Impact a Billion and Make a Billion

Raed Masri and Rama Chakaki, general partners at Transform VC, discuss their unique approach to venture capital, focusing on impact-driven investments and supporting diverse, underrepresented founders. Drawing from their diverse backgrounds as entrepreneurs and investors, they discuss how they evaluate startups, form investment convictions, and challenge traditional industry norms. Raed and Rama also provide practical advice for founders seeking to make the most of their early meetings with venture capitalists.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[3:12] Moving beyond traditional Silicon Valley thinking to embrace global perspectives and diversity.

[7:21] Why Transform VC prioritizes founders who are deeply obsessed with their customers and solving real-world problems.

[11:15] How VCs build conviction through multiple interactions with founders

[17:54] Bridging the gap for underrepresented founders; what the industry can do to better support these entrepreneurs

[22:28] Practical tips for founders to maximize early meetings with investors

[24:41] Measuring impact in startups: Key criteria and questions for founders to consider when demonstrating their social or environmental impact.

The nonprofit organization Rama is passionate about: VIP Fund

About Raed Masri

Raed Masri is the founder and general director at Transform VC. Raed is a seasoned technology entrepreneur turned top-performing venture capitalist. As the founder of Transform VC, a Silicon Valley firm that has backed multiple deep tech startups, including four unicorns, Raed focuses on identifying untapped founders who can achieve transformative impact and exceptional returns. With a track record that includes two companies with 20x outcomes and three failed ventures, he brings a wealth of experience to his role as a hands-on investor. Raed aims to support 1,000 mindful tech founders to each impact a billion lives and make a billion dollars through deep tech for social and climate impact. He holds an Engineering degree from Carleton University and an MBA from Cornell University.

About Rama Chakaki

Rama Chakaki is a general partner at Transform VC. Rama is an impact-driven tech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. As a partner at Transform VC, she supports tech founders using deep tech for climate and social impact, with a mission to empower 1,000 founders to impact a billion lives and make a billion dollars. Rama has been a key figure in developing the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Middle East and leads the VIP.fund, an edTech nonprofit aiding youth affected by conflict. Her work has been recognized in publications like Forbes, Bloomberg, and Arab Women Rising. She holds degrees in Computer Engineering and Engineering Management from George Washington University.

About Transform VC

Transform VC is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in, creates and builds sustainable businesses with a long-term investment view. They focus on mission-driven, determined, and authentic founders who use deep tech and network effects for social and climate impact.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Next Episode

Grit and Passion are Important; Ideas are a Dime a Dozen

Shreesha Ramdas, a successful serial entrepreneur and angel investor, shares his investment approach, which focuses on the individual stories of entrepreneurs rather than just their business ideas. He discusses the changing face of entrepreneurship in India and highlights the significance of community for founders through the story of how Funda, a thriving community of founders, investors, and operators, came to life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:17] “Silicon Valley—what I call Disneyland for tech—completely transformed my mindset.” - Shreesha Ramdas

[5:36] New challenges for Indian entrepreneurs building global solutions

[13:36] Founder stories matter

[19:30] Funda: Building a strong community where founders can learn from each other

The community activity Shreesha is passionate about: Funda

About Shreesha Ramdas

Shreesha Ramdas is a seasoned entrepreneur with a proven track record of launching and scaling products in highly competitive markets. He is the CEO and Founder of Lumber, a workforce management platform tailored for the construction industry. Previously, Shreesha was the CEO and Co-Founder of Strikedeck, a customer success automation company that was acquired by Medallia. Before Strikedeck, he served as GM of the Marketing Cloud at CallidusCloud and Co-Founder of LeadFormix, which was acquired by CallidusCloud. Shreesha also held leadership roles at Yodlee, OuterJoin, Catalytic Software, MW2 Consulting, and Tata. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he actively invests in and advises several growth companies, including Workato, Enact, RevvSales, and others.

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