Blume Ventures
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Before India talked about “deep tech,” IIT Madras was already building it. At a recent IIT Madras event, Tarun Mehta of Ather Energy heard a staggering stat: 115 startups incubated last year — almost all in deep tech, hardware, or AI. But this culture didn’t appear overnight. Back in 2007, a group of alumni created the CFI — Center for Innovation — a massive lab filled with tools, equipment, and total creative freedom. Weekends suddenly meant: “What are you doing?” “I’m in CFI, building something.” By 2009, directors began modelling the research culture on Stanford. More dominoes fell: a junior started attempting startups at scale, and the Engineering Design department became a quiet catalyst — with nearly two-thirds of students attempting a startup at some point. What emerged was a generational shift: not just an institute that taught engineering, but an institute that built entrepreneurs, deep-tech products, and a culture of doing. In S4 of The Blume Podcast, Karthik interviews Tarun and dives into how IIT Madras became the birthplace of some of India’s most ambitious hardware and AI companies — including Ather. 🎧 Watch the full episode now — a story of culture, community, and creation: Karthik Reddy Ashish Fafadia Sajith Pai Sanjay Nath Arpit Agarwal Ria Shroff Desai sarita raichura Alok Mehta Mitul Mehta Rohit Kaul Deepika Gautham S Elton Ray Coelho Vikram Gawande
Blume Ventures55,043 次观看 • 7 个月前
🚨 🎙️E1 of Season 4 of the Blume Podcast is here! In the season opener, we uncover a story of relentless persistence: 100+ bank rejections, a grandfather's property sale as ‘angel’ funding, India's first fintech to get into the Y Combinator, and two young engineers determined to fix India's broken payments system. Karthik Reddy (Karthik Reddy) sits down with Razorpay founders Harshil Mathur (Harshil Mathur) and Shashank Kumar (Shashank Kumar) for their most candid conversation yet. This raw, unfiltered conversation takes us back to the beginning—before the meteoric growth, IPO plans, and billion-dollar valuations—to reveal what it truly takes to disrupt payments and build a fintech juggernaut. Watch the full episode on YouTube: More ways to watch/listen/read in comments. Ashish Fafadia Sajith Pai Sanjay Nath Arpit Agarwal Ria Shroff Desai sarita raichura Alok Mehta Mitul Mehta Rohit Kaul Deepika Gautham S Vikram Gawande Elton Ray Coelho Adithya Santhosh Y Combinator Vikram Vaidyanathan Paul Graham Garry Tan Z47 Joseph Sebastian Jatin Madhra Brought to you in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank and Ultrahuman (Blume Fund III portco). 🧵 Here's a thread of our favorite moments from the conversation.
Blume Ventures18,144 次观看 • 10 个月前
MakeMyTrip is a Rs 60,000 crore company that, by all logic, shouldn't exist. It launched in 2000 when India's internet barely worked. Connections dropped, credit cards failed online, and most people used the internet to browse, not buy. The company faced a triple whammy of the dotcom bust, 9/11, and SARS in the early days, each hitting global travel harder than the last. Two decades later, COVID brought travel to a grinding halt—again. In between, deep-pocketed competitors launched brutal price wars that burned cash faster than revenues could grow. Desktop UX was losing ground to nimbler competitors. Hotels remained stubbornly offline—despite celebrity campaigns, the fragmented market wouldn't budge. Yet, against every odd, they didn't just survive—they rewrote India's internet story. In this weekday episode of the Blume Podcast, Karthik Reddy (Karthik) sits down with co-founders Deep Kalra (Deep Kalra) and Rajesh Magow (Rajesh Magow) to chat about building a generational company through two decades of chaos. Here's what makes their story remarkable: They grew 25× between 2005 and 2010—from near-bankruptcy in 2001, working without salaries in a ₹12/sqft mezzanine office where their knees touched when they swiveled around. They rang the Nasdaq bell in 2010—when Indian internet companies going public on a foreign exchange was virtually unheard of. 75-80% of employees held ESOPs that turned into real wealth practically overnight. They bet the company on mobile-first when it mattered—abandoning desktop entirely to win on app UX, never looking back. They survived a quarter with 96% revenue drop during COVID—and emerged with ruthless cost discipline and a stronger product, while keeping their best talent motivated when competitors were hiring aggressively. As Rajesh says, "Every crisis gives you the license to fix what you couldn't before." Today, MakeMyTrip is worth over ₹60,000 crore—but for its founders, it's still Day 1. With India's macro tailwinds and AI reshaping travel, the next chapter might just be their biggest yet. 🔗 Season Partners: IDFC FIRST Bank and Ultrahuman (Blume portco) Ashish Fafadia Sajith Pai Sanjay Nath Arpit Agarwal Ria Shroff Desai sarita raichura Alok Mehta Mitul Mehta Rohit Kaul Deepika Gautham S Elton Ray Coelho Vikram Gawande
Blume Ventures11,791 次观看 • 8 个月前
Nothing exemplifies "Winning Beyond Boundaries" more than an Olympic Gold medal 🏅 We're ending Season 3 of the Blume Podcast with a bang! In the 10th and the last episode of this season, Karthik Reddy (Karthik Reddy) sat down with Olympic Gold medalist, World Champion, and Asia's beacon of excellence in athletics - Neeraj Chopra (Neeraj Chopra). 💪 From a small town in Haryana to shattering European dominance in javelin throw, Neeraj's journey perfectly embodies S3's theme of Winning Beyond Boundaries. In this candid conversation, he opens up about: • His mischievous childhood & unconventional entry into sports • The mindset behind handling victories and near-misses • The Gold medal moment and everything that he did to reach there • What it takes to compete and win against the best in the world • His partnership with his coaches and how he trains • Why he believes children should be allowed to be naughty A big thanks to Vinay Singhal (Vinay Singhal (stage.in)), co-founder of STAGE, and the entire STAGE team for making this episode happen 🙏 (and for graciously letting us use their beautiful office for many hours on a Saturday). STAGE (a Blume Fund IV company) is revolutionizing the Indian entertainment landscape by bringing authentic regional content to millions. Neeraj is their brand ambassador, a perfect partnership celebrating India's cultural heritage. Thanks to IDFC FIRST Bank for being our annual partner. Watch the story of Neeraj Chopra and discover what’s possible with resilience, confidence, and unshakable self-belief. Or, in Neeraj's words "यही एडवाइस है—खुद पर बिलीव रखो और सही मेहनत करो!” Watch the full episode here or on YouTube (link in comments). Karthik Reddy Ashish Fafadia Sajith Pai Sanjay Nath Arpit Agarwal Ria Shroff Desai sarita raichura Alok Mehta Mitul Mehta Rohit Kaul Deepika Gautham S Vignesh Aditya Kuber PS: On his first day of school, little Neeraj threw his books into a well and went off to play. Who knew this mischievous kid would one day throw a javelin into Olympic history! 😄
Blume Ventures15,889 次观看 • 1 年前
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