Advertise on podcast: TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran

We speak with Alankar Saxena, CTO of Mudrex, a platform which has simplified the journey of crypto investors in India and abroad with innovative retail oriented product offerings like coin sets, vault, and now coins. This conversation is very timely considering the revival of crypto within mainstream narrative thanks to rising regulatory clarity (MiCA, UK Parliament, US SEC etc.) and the approval of Bitcoin ETFs within the US.  Alankar shares his take on how 2024 may pan out for crypto within global markets and whether this may be the inflection point everyone's been looking for when it comes to this exciting and highly volatile asset class.  Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We speak with Krish Ramineni, Co-founder & CEO of Fireflies.ai – a Canaan and Khosla Ventures backed startup whose flagship AI meeting assistant takes notes, transcribes, and analyses Meetings.  Used across 200,000+ organizations, Fireflies is on a mission to transform work conversations into actions with its voice assistant, transcription tools designed to automate your team’s workflow. The idea is to unlock the treasure trove of knowledge buried inside voice conversations by creating a searchable and shareable knowledge base.  Fireflies integrates with all leading video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, GMeet, and Teams along with popular CRMs and ERP applications like Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, and Slack. Aside from covering Krish’s journey at Fireflies and how he sees AI power future productivity tools, we try to understand the evolution of generative AI, early customer adoption, ethical and regulatory concerns and how the industry hopes to navigate these complexities. Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Peuli Das, Chief Insurance Officer at Future Generali India Life Insurance Company, a leading life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai offering total life insurance solutions across individual and group front. Peuli earlier served as MD, Actuarial, Insurance Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence at Accenture and as the Chief and Appointed Actuary in IndiaFirst. Her prior experiences include working in India and abroad for leading brands such as, Reliance Life, Exide Life, HDFC Life, New York Life, and Deutsche Bank. We gain a basic primer on insurance, what new-to-insurance policyholders should think of when they are buying life insurance, product innovation, mis-selling, inherent risks, role of technology, and regulatory developments which support insurance penetration, policyholder education, and changing customer preferences. Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Prashant A. Bhonsle, founder & CEO of Kuhoo, a Mumbai based fintech unlocking finance for Indian students. Kuhoo aims to become the first port of call for all Indian middle class students thinking about higher education, whether in India or abroad, premium college or not.  Kuhoo leverages advanced technologies, data science and analytics to customise lending solutions for students and enable them to get loans without concomitant worries. Their approach involves evaluating loan applications based on a student's potential to secure employment and income, rather than relying solely on traditional factors such as parental income. In addition to conventional educational paths such as Engineering and MBA, Kuhoo offers products for non-traditional certificate courses as well as online education programs. Kuhoo allows students to apply from anywhere, check eligibility, upload documents, and monitor loan status in real-time through its user-friendly mobile application. The platform also provides flexible and customized repayment options, empowering borrowers with the ability to obtain loans without co-borrowers or collateral. Kuhoo is backed by Westbridge Capital, and has established partnerships with ICICI Bank, offering additional products such as Forex and Insurance, and has introduced skill development programs for Engineering and MBA students. Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Rajesh Shet, Co-Founder & CEO of SahiBandhu, a trailblazing gold loan aggregation platform leveraging existing infrastructure, reach, and cost competitiveness of scheduled commercial banks to disrupt the traditionally NBFC-led gold loan sector. SahiBandhu aims to offer very convenient assisted customer journeys giving borrowers multiple gold loan products from best-in-class banks in line with their precise requirements and with a focus on underpenetrated semi urban and rural areas.  SahiBandhu has rapidly expanded its presence across Tier-3 cities (600+ locations), taking advantage of low competition outside major metropolitan areas. With offerings such as gold-backed credit cards and gold-backed investments, the company aims to now expand into Tier-1 and Tier-2 markets. Founded in 2019 and backed by The Manipal Group, SahiBandhu was established by industry experts including Mr. Rajesh Shet, Mr. Anuj Arora, Mr. Vijay Malhotra, and Mr. Virendra Yaduvanshi.  Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Bibhu Prasad Das, CEO & Co-founder of Propelld, a Series B funded Bengaluru based fintech specializing in providing personalised education loans to students and families in Tier 2/3 cities.  Propelld bases their lending decisions on selected course’s end-use, deep borrower underwriting, and by taking a partner-led model. Backed by marquee investors such as Westbridge Capital, Stellaris, and India Quotient, the company was founded with the mission to make education financing more accessible and affordable for Indian students.  Propelld leverages technology and ventures deep into its target segment (i.e. supplementary/out of school education and higher education) by collecting alternate data points to determine a student's forward looking capabilities and motivations. Listen in to this fascinating chat where we touch upon inherent underwriting challenges within education lending, how Propelld has tackled them to unlock the potential of this market as a large-TAM-low loss segment, and the perspective needed by institutional investors looking to take exposure in this space. Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other. The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing. If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Sonam Motwani, CEO of Karkhana.io, a custom manufacturing platform helping OEMs source the right MSME manufacturing suppliers and high-quality components for their projects. Karkhana.io has emerged as a new age tech-enabled managed marketplace, providing a wide range of manufacturing services catering to the needs of businesses for small to large volume production, product assembly, product localization, and contract manufacturing.  Their capabilities include CNC Machining, Injection Moulding, Vacuum Casting, Forging, Electronics Integrations, Casting, 3D Printing, and more. Backed by Vertex Ventures and Aureolis Ventures, and with a track record of manufacturing over 2.5 million components for more than 300 customers all through a network of 400+ suppliers, Sonam and Karkhana.io have set ambitious goals for themselves with the company aspiring to achieve a topline of INR1,500cr ($187.5m) by FY2026. Listen in to this fascinating chat where we touch upon the structural challenges around "custom-built highly engineered" manufacturing in India coupled with wider issues around fragmentation, low state of digitization in the ecosystem at large, along with the perspective needed by institutional investors looking to take exposure to this space.  Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other. The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing. If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Anuj Rajain CEO of Soteria, India's largest home grown integrated security, facilities management, remote monitoring, and video surveillance company offering its solutions to multiple industries like BFSI, retail, healthcare, construction, logistics, F&B, corporate offices etc. Anuj explains - through examples - how surveillance and remote monitoring are becoming more of a ROI driver than just a cost center. He walks us through the broader tech transformation underway converting surveillance into an automated workflow via sensor alert-based monitoring - thereby allowing Soteria to showcase its solutions as a SaaS based offering to clients. Listen in to this fascinating chat where we touch upon a wide range of topics ranging from the supply chain challenges faced by gold loan companies to why supermarkets in the US are being robbed left, right, and center!   Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Subhrangshu Kumar Neogi Co-founder of Escrowpay, a pioneer in digital escrow solutions enabling smarter, faster and safer transactions for businesses. Escrowpay is a trailblazer in the world of B2B escrow solutions, by digitizing a predominantly non-linear escrow mechanism involving multiple stakeholders including legacy regulated financial institutions, into an integrated single window platform.   Escrowpay's stack includes secure banking infrastructure, trusteeship services, instant identity verification, digital contracts with e-sign capabilities, payment gateway services, integration with various payment methods, digital ledgers, real-time reporting, and seamless transaction processing and management. Their platform caters to a wide range of industries and use cases, making it easy to establish digital escrow accounts in a matter of minutes. Through this chat with Subhrangshu, we discover the typical pain-points faced by MSMEs and how tech-enabled solutions like Escrowpay could go a long way in overcoming transaction inertia and unlocking growth.  Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Vikrant Singh, Co-Founder of BATX Energies, who recycles used Lithium-ion batteries to extract critical metals chiefly Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, and Manganese.  BATX subsequently supplies these extracted raw materials as inputs to battery cell manufacturers to create a closed-loop Circular Economy for Lithium-ion Battery Manufacturing and Electric Vehicles. With a R&D center in Gurgaon and an industrial unit in UP, Vikrant lays the brass tacks behind India's energy storage supply chain and how various extraction processes, ranging from mechanical, metallurgical, and chemical processes can play a crucial role in serving an energy starved and raw material deficient region such as ours.  Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Sudhir Kunder, Chief Business Officer at DE-CIX India, a leading carrier and data center neutral interconnection platform with organizational roots in Frankfurt.  By offering a reliable and low-latency interconnection platform, DE-CIX India enhances internet performance and optimizes network traffic flow between internet service providers (ISPs), content providers, and network operators. This exchange plays a crucial role in improving the overall internet experience for users and businesses by enabling faster and more efficient data exchange among digital entities in India's rapidly growing online ecosystem. In this podcast we deconstruct some basic concepts: 1. Primer on the internet and role of an Internet Exchange 2. On DE-CIX and its background 3. Business model of an internet exchange 4. Quick explainer on DE-CIX's offerings 5. Navigating data privacy on the internet: impact of AI, newer challenges, consumer recourse? Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in

We spoke with Rahul Khetawat, Head of Offline (Sales) at Property Share, India’s first and largest tech-enabled investment platform for commercial real estate. Property Share allows users to access investments in pre-leased institutional-grade commercial real estate in India and the UK - allowing them to diversify their portfolios and benefit from rental income and property appreciation. The company also provides property management services and resale support to ensure ongoing liquidity.  Launched in 2016 to democratize real estate investing, Property Share is now a Series B company having raised $52 million to-date and with marquee investors on its cap table, including the likes of WestBridge Capital and BEENEXT. With over $200 million in assets under management, Property Share has attracted 200,000+ registered users and 2500+ investors from over 20 countries. Tune in to an incredibly captivating conversation as you discover how Property Share sits at the confluence of finance and real estate, attempting to establishing a unique ecosystem in the process. Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running successful startups, profitable SMEs and family promoted firms on one end, and top investment professionals representing VC/PE/credit funds on the other.   The objective is to bring out an "actionable" perspective converging the world of business and investing.   If you're a founder and if you'd like us to drill down your model, feel free to drop us a line at edit@transfin.in