Shows
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranHow India Shops Online with Swati Bhargava of CashKaroIn this episode, we sit down with Swati Bhargava, co-founder of CashKaro, India’s largest cashback website with over 20+ million downloads and EarnKaro, India’s no. 1 deal distribution platform.
Swati walks us through the innovative business models and strategies that have positioned these platforms at the forefront of India's cashback and affiliate marketing ecosystem:
Personal Journey: Origin story starting from her childhood in Ambala, higher education in Singapore and London, followed by her stint as an investment banker to creating a cashback business in the UK and then building India’s first VC funded cashback website raising...2024-10-1237 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranFrom Higher Education to Industry with Anish Srikrishna of TimesProJoin us for an insightful conversation with Anish Srikrishna, CEO of TimesPro, an education initiative by The Times Group which aims to revolutionize professional education in India.
TimesPro serves as a Higher Education Technology (H.EdTech) platform, offering a wide range of courses and training programs across various sectors, including Post Graduate Programs (PGPs), Master's degrees, and specialized training in finance, banking, e-commerce, technology, and more.
TimesPro has a tech enabled educational offering encompassing both classroom and online/live interactive learning, including collaborations with prestigious institutions such as IIMs, IITs, XLRI, and Ivy League universities, as...2024-08-2948 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranSolving Payment Delays for MSMEs with Winny Patro of RecordentWe spoke with Winny Patro, CEO & Co-founder of Recordent, a pioneering SaaS-based platform aiming to tackle the significant issue of unpaid dues that MSMEs encounter, which is estimated to be around INR5L cr across the sector.
Recordent provides a technology platform designed to help SMEs manage their credit and collections more effectively. The company offers a suite of services that includes:
Payment Reminder Automation: Automating reminders for payments to ensure timely collections.
Invoice Management: Streamlining the invoicing process to reduce delays in payments.
Credit Registry Reporting: Similar to a CIBIL report, it allows businesses to report defaults...2024-08-1644 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAI Revolutions in Recruitment with Manikanth Challa of WorkruitWe spoke with Manikanth Challa, Founder & CEO of Workruit, an AI/ML assisted career and recruitment platform catering to the B2B, B2C and B2G segments.
Offering a suite of solutions like an i) AI-assisted Resume, CV, and Cover Letter Builder with a ii) Job Search and Matching Play, Workruit has built an interactive dating app-like interface where employers/recruiters and job seekers can match with each other.
Manikanth speaks about his personal journey from the US to India, throwing light on how he struggled to find developers and engineers in 2016 via traditional solutions...2024-07-0138 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranSafeguarding your Digital Universe with Balaji Subramaniam of SattrixWe spoke with Balaji Subramaniam, Head of Global Sales and Strategy at Sattrix Group, a pioneer in cyber security solutions offering AI-driven managed security services to small, mid, and large scale enterprises.
Founded in 2013, Sattrix’s core focus is to protect critical assets and sensitive information from cyber threats. Sattrix stays ahead of the curve by leveraging emerging trends like AI and machine learning, Zero Trust Architecture, and cloud security to address the evolving threat landscape...further aiming to deliver top-notch cybersecurity managed and professional services to businesses globally.
We explore the cyber security market dynamic in I...2024-05-2438 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranStreamlining Credit Cards with RV Ramanathan of HyperfaceWe chat with RV Ramanathan ("Ram"), co-founder of Hyperface - a cutting-edge Bengaluru based company pioneering contextual banking solutions.
With a particular focus on streamlining the credit card experience, Hyperface's "Credit-Cards-as-a-Service" platform simplifies end-to-end program management for credit cards, pay-later, and prepaid cards.
Hyperface offers a comprehensive suite of products designed to launch impeccable Credit Card programs within a matter of weeks. With a focus on simplifying complex technology, Hyperface has developed robust APIs, PWA, and SDKs, empowering businesses to effortlessly integrate instant card issuance, real-time rewards, and other innovative financial features.
We speak ex...2024-05-2348 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCracking Compliances with Sandesh Chitnis of Core IntegraWe spoke with Sandesh Chitnis, CEO of Core Integra, a regulatory technology company offering labour law compliance, payroll processing, permanent hiring, staffing, and employee benefit solutions to its clients.
Ctrl F is Core Integra's flagship ERP-based software tool whose core features include automated statutory compliance management, risk management, regulatory compliance, and audit software to optimize business performance. Additionally, the platform has a comprehensive library of Indian laws and acts, facilitating easy search and indexing.
Sandesh shares his take on how technology can play role in digitizing and cracking labour law compliances in a complex country such...2024-05-0637 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDemystifying Fractional Ownership of Real Estate with Shiv Parekh of hBitsWe spoke with Shiv Parekh - Founder of hBits - a fractional ownership platform focused on democratizing Commercial Real Estate.
Grade A Commercial properties, typically leased to multinational corporations and institutions, can potentially offer stable, secure, and relatively high yielding rental incomes to investors.
hBits grants retail investors access to such high-value assets by aggregating demand on its platform, and on the way reduces average ticket size needed to participate.
With rising investor appetite for Real Estate linked financial instruments in general, and SEBI's recent interventions to regulate the fractional ownership industry in particular, hB...2024-05-0436 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDigitizing Jewellery Investments With Veer Mishra of PlusWe speak with Veer Mishra, Founder of Plus, a Bengaluru-based fintech platform aggregating and digitizing "jewellery savings schemes" in India.
Veer gives us a primer on this interesting asset class and describes Plus' offering which includes facilitating discovery of 270+ jewellers nationwide while allowing its customers to plan and save for their next significant jewellery purchase with ease.
Available over Google Playstore, Plus is free-to-use and offers an attractive 10% IRR along with exclusive discounts of up to 15% to its customers.
Approximately 25% of total gold and jewellery sales transpire through various jewellery savings schemes in India, ye...2024-02-2729 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranThrough the Crypto Looking Glass With Alankar Saxena of MudrexWe 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 c...2024-02-0842 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranUsing AI to Unlock Meetings With Krish Ramineni of Fireflies.aiWe 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 ap...2024-02-0139 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranUnderstanding Life Insurance With Peuli Das of Future Generali India Life InsuranceWe 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...2024-01-2447 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDisrupting Student Loans with Prashant Bhonsle of KuhooWe 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.
2023-12-281h 01
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranRethinking Gold Loans with Rajesh Shet of SahiBandhuWe 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 g...2023-12-2744 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDemocratizing Education Finance with Bibhu Prasad Das of PropelldWe 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...2023-11-1858 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDigitizing India's Manufacturing with Sonam Motwani of Karkhana.ioWe 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 m...2023-11-1649 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranTransforming Security for Businesses with Anuj Rajain of SoteriaWe 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.
...2023-10-2547 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranEnabling Smarter Safer Transactions with Subhrangshu K Neogi of EscrowpayWe 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 r...2023-10-2149 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranRevolutionizing Battery Recycling With Vikrant Singh of BATX EnergiesWe 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 a...2023-09-2843 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDeconstructing the Internet With Sudhir Kunder of DE-CIXWe 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. P...2023-09-2536 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranInvest in Commercial Real Estate With Rahul Khetawat of Property ShareWe 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...2023-09-1640 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranUnlock High Yield Debt With Saurav Ghosh of JiraafWe speak with Saurav Ghosh, Co-Founder of Jiraaf, a digital platform unlocking and democratizing high yield fixed income investment opportunities for retail investors.
Jiraaf offers individual investors access to a wide array of alternate investment products beyond the usual suspects like listed stocks, mutual funds, real estate or gold, all via an easy-to-use convenient digital platform. The investment opportunities are spread across a great mix of asset classes, risk profiles, yields, and tenors, including the likes of corporate debt, venture debt, invoice discounting, and asset backed leasing, which are traditionally often accessible only to institutional players.
...2023-08-2352 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranFreedom From Debt With Ritesh Srivastava of FREEDWe spoke with Ritesh Srivastava, Founder & CEO of FREED, India’s 1st Comprehensive Debt Relief Platform.
FREED was founded with the goal to provide an affordable and comprehensive debt relief solution to India's retail borrowers.
Ritesh has been a serial entrepreneur for over 20 years and thanks to his background in Debt Relief in the US, he was naturally attracted to this segment in India. He understood the pain points of debtors in India and set out to solve the big problem. So far under his leadership, FREED has counselled over 45,000+ customers and enrolled over INR300 crores in...2023-08-2250 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranGrabbing Consumer Mind-space With Nishith Gupta of Sapana Carpet-MatsWe spoke with Nishith Gupta, Director Sapana Carpet-Mats - a leading brand with a market share of 50-55% among branded plastic mats in India.
Considering the lower propensity to spend on home décor among Indians vs. the west, Sapana decided to explore the world of plastic mats as they were much more affordable than conventional carpets.
The company operates through an omnichannel distribution model with over 30,000 retail stores across India and a robust online presence. The 100% family-owned business recently clocked revenues of INR135cr.
Listen in for a super interesting chat to understand how...2023-07-3134 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCreating an EV Ecosystem With Sameer Aggarwal of RevfinWe spoke with Sameer Aggarwal, Founder and CEO at Revfin, a specialist lending company focused on underwriting electric vehicle (EV) loans.
Last we chatted with Sameer was in December 2019 (link to the episode) when Revfin was taking initial steps in its journey. The world has changed a fair bit since then, with the company having financed over 25,000 vehicles across 19 states, disbursed INR300cr in loans, and raised capital from a bunch of marquee investors including the likes of Green Frontier Capital (GFC), LC Nueva Investment Partners, and debt from the US International Development Finance Corp.
Sameer's v...2023-07-2835 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranInspect Your Home With Saurabh Tyagi of PropChkSaurabh Tyagi is the Co-Founder and CEO of PropChk, India's fastest growing tech-enabled home inspection company.
An Electrical Engineer from IIT Roorkee, Saurabh started PropChk to help homebuyers and homeowners gain visibility around potential construction defects within a home before they purchase/invest in the asset. The company operates on a B2C business model that covers home inspection, dampness detection, area measurement, and multi-stage inspection for ready to move in properties. They also provide B2B solutions, including commercial properties, project audits, RWA project takeover audits, and multi-stage inspections.
Once inspections are completed, a comprehensive...2023-07-1346 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranSupplying Fashion With Abhishek Sharma of FashinzaAbhishek Sharma is the Co-Founder & COO of Fashinza, a tech-enabled platform that solves manufacturing for fashion brands.
Started initially to improve experience while dealing with suppliers, Fashinza takes a value chain approach to support brands, acting as a one stop shop for their sourcing requirements, from the placement of orders all the way to fulfilment, including design, pattern making, sales forecasting and even colour on latest trends and styles.
Fashinza is able to do this by digitising the entire production flow at the supplier's end.
Listen in for a super interesting chat to understand...2023-06-0237 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranUnpacking Metaverse With Piyush Gupta of VOSMOSPiyush Gupta is the CEO of VOSMOS, connecting brands to customers through immersive, engaging and easily accessible virtual experiences.
VOSMOS is helping companies create virtual and hybrid events, immersive DIY virtual stores, and transforming online customer interactions through creation of tailormade and realistic digital environments.
Piyush takes a pragmatic take towards the evolution of digital commerce, blending arguments in favour of metaverse/related immersive technologies with on-ground structural realities such as low adoption of hardware beyond mobile (i.e. VR/AR headsets etc.).
Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath T...2023-05-2337 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranInsure Your Team With Anuj Parekh of Healthysure
Anuj Parekh is the Co-Founder and CEO of Healthysure, an employee benefits insurtech company enabling comprehensive group health coverage for employees of SMEs, startups, and enterprises.
Healthysure offers digitized policy and claims experience with curated health and wellness offerings, including an industry-first flexi top-up insurance product which allows employees to personalize & upgrade their corporate health covers and enjoy continuity benefits post-employment.
Riding the post pandemic spike in insurance penetration in general, Healthysure helps SMEs build customized benefits suite, receive proposals from 20+ insurers, lock plans, and simplify/automate the entire experience for employees including visibility on claims...2023-05-2346 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCustomer Nudges With Narinder Mahajan of ODNWe chat with Narinder Mahajan CEO of ODN Digital Services (short for ‘Open Doors Now’), a market leader in ‘Shop Now’ strategies, enabling brands and e-commerce platforms to sell successfully online.
Narinder is a consumer-retail and e-commerce specialist, and has over 20 years of industry experience. During his corporate journey, he worked with various game-changing organizations across diverse industries and formats of consumer retail.
In 2015, he turned entrepreneur and co-founded ODN. At ODN he assists 200+ consumer brands across 20+ product categories meet their ecommerce and digital conversion goals.
In this chat we touch upon:
Understa...2023-05-0139 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranThe India Investing Story With Shivam Bajaj of Avener CapitalWe chat with Shivam Bajaj CEO of Avener Capital, an investment bank offering bespoke PE Advisory, M&A Advisory, structured finance advisory and debt syndication services. Being on the same side of the fence we reflect upon:
State of Venture Capital investments in India
View on unsecured credit as a new and emerging source of capital for SMEs
Next in line for REITS and InVITS in light of recent taxation norms
Dynamics of deal making in India
Hope you enjoy this TRANSFIN. Podcast with Nikhil Arora and Sharath Toopran, where we converse with entrepreneurs and business operators running su...2023-04-2648 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranUnlock Loans Through Digital Assets With Shreyans Nahar of FinsireWe chat with Shreyans Nahar CEO of Chennai based Finsire who is building infrastructure to aggregate and secure digital assets so that Banks, NBFCs, and Fintechs can lend against them.
Their solution allows creditors and asset-holding brokers to maximise their lending capabilities and create an additional source of revenues by lending against earned income (for salaried employees) or digital assets (such as life insurance). This is done by permitting the lenders to leverage Finsire’s infrastructure that connects with employers and asset originators (i,e Life insurance companies, and CAMS) to enable secured credit to individuals.
In...2023-03-0952 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranPower of Micro Investing and Savings With Satyajeet Kunjeer of DecimlWe chat with Satyajeet Kunjeer, Founder of Deciml, who is working towards building and automating a micro investing and savings culture in India.
Deciml is a micro-investing and micro-savings app that enables young Indians to auto-invest their spare change (as low as Re 1/-) from online transactions into Mutual Funds or Fixed Return Funds. The company recently raised launched its product and raised capital.
Within three months of its introduction on the Android PlayStore, Deciml received 25,000+ downloads with a total of ₹20,00,000+ being invested through round-ups, as well as daily investments. Currently, an average user of Deciml is...2023-02-2551 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranOnboarding Credit Risk With Nageen Kommu of Digitap.AIWe chat with Nageen Kommu, Founder and CEO of Digitap.AI, whose work has largely revolved around solving the problem of information asymmetry for lenders.
Majority of BFSI players in the country are dependent on bureau data while c. 400mn Indians have low bureau scores, making formal credit inaccessible to them.
Digitap.AI provides alternative data and scoring models to underwrite such borrowers, thereby reducing the risk of NPAs. An early stage fintech platform, the company offers AI and ML based Credit Underwriting, Digital Customer Onboarding, Automated Risk Management and Big Data enabled solutions, including Risk An...2023-02-2049 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranBuilding Shopify for Insurance With Adarsh Chokhani of AssurekitWe chat with Adarsh Chokhani of Assurekit, a Mumbai-based Insurtech startup aiming to make insurance commerce simple.
Adarsh is building a technology enabled interface between manufacturers of insurance products i.e. insurance companies, and distributors who want to sell insurance, either as part of their core business or as a value added service.
Think of someone who enables Make My Trip to sell travel insurance directly on its App, or an auto financer sell car insurance through its website, and so on and so forth. And doing this in a country where 99% of policies are still...2023-02-0154 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCreating India's Largest Youth Travel Hostel Brand With Pankaj Parwanda of goSTOPSWe kick off our new season with Pankaj Parwanda of goSTOPS, a hospitality startup targeting young people (sub INR1,000 average daily rate beds) via tech-enabled creation and formalization of the youth hostel inventory pan India.
Leveraging benefits of sharing economies and community living, goSTOPS is run by Pallavi Agarwal & Pankaj Parwanda, a very strong founder team who operate 30+ properties comprising 2,500+ available dorm beds spread across the country.
A super interesting business with great potential - being asset light and possessing strong execution capabilities, we delve deeper into the very model that makes goSTOPS great, and which...2022-11-221h 02
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranWhy Banks in India Need Neobanks with Suman Gandham of Finin.In sight of the neobanking explosion (of sorts) to have taken place post-COVID, it becomes important to differentiate between the many emergent models under the “neobanks list.
Suman Gandham, as the founder and CEO of Finin - a new and upcoming neobanking platform, interestingly characterises Neobanks as Fitbits of Finance. Though one may remember him from his interview on Transfin. last year. This time Mr. Gandham pours into the structural nuances of various neobank models, illustrates how being consumer first can be a differentiator, and his take on RBI's directional thinking in terms of regulating this space.2021-03-2231 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranHow Indians Can Benefit from Investing in the US Stock Market with Viram Shah of Vested FinanceViram Shah has been helping Indians invest in the US stock markets through Vested Finance, a company he started in 2018.
We (at TRANSFIN.) have always found this theme rather interesting, considering US equities' global leadership when it comes to innovation and market dominance (exhibit A). Aside from the obvious diversification and foreign exchange market benefits (in most cases), listed US companies often set the tone for the rest of the world when it comes to superior disclosures, liquidity, and price discovery.
Hence in this chat we walk through Viram's take on this opportunity, as well as throw light on...2020-10-0841 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranHow Edtech Startups in India Became the Next Big Thing with Ashutosh Kumar from Testbook.comThe embrace of technology by fields of learning and education has transpired on an accelerated basis during COVID-19, allowing startups in India with a strong edtech core, including equipment for virtual online classes and smart classrooms, to be well positioned to benefit from this behavioural shift.
Testbook.com - an end-to-end learning platform with a focus on Government job entrance exams, is one such company. Luckily we had a chance to catch up with Testbook's Co-Founder and CEO Ashutosh Kumar, whose unique vantage point makes him naturally appreciative of the dichotomy between tremendous potential and significant complexity, when it c...2020-09-1036 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranConversation with YouTuber Mukul Malik on Asset Yogi, Finance and Indian Markets in a Post-COVID WorldMukul Malik runs Asset Yogi, a Finance focused YouTube channel with over 1.45 million subscribers. We try to understand his secret sauce to crack video content on finance and his take on the Indian markets in a post-COVID world through this fascinating chat.
Mukul talks about his journey to-date, his strategy on content and business, the market pain points when it comes to financial awareness, and the commitment it takes to figure out one's audience.
As fellow content creators, we loved every second of this conversation! Hope you like it too. 2020-09-0339 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranHow Agriculture in India Went Right and Wrong Post-COVID with Aneesh Jain from Gram UnnatiAneesh Jain runs an agricultural value chain services business which serves over 150,000 Indian farmers across six states.
With a front row seat to the impact of recent agriculture reforms announced by the Government...he's a credible sounding board to talk of the so-called rural revival narrative resonating in mainstream business media in the months after the coronavirus pandemic struck. Aneesh brings to light the complex undercurrents making agriculture in India what it is, thus preferring a cautiously optimistic take.
We talk of the Government's interventions during COVID to ensure food supply chain continuity, reforms in agriculture m...2020-08-311h 01
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranPost Pandemic Global Markets and A Strategy for Email Newsletters by Abhijeet Awasthi from FirstRandAbhijeet Awasthi's LinkedIn page describes him as a Corporate Dealer (FX & Interest Rates) at FirstRand Bank...but it is his ability to write great emails that got us in touch.
He sends a fascinating email to his clients each morning, with commentary and his take on significant happenings affecting world markets. Wanting to put a differentiated spin to this rather tedious morning ritual, he took an unconventional approach when it came to structuring and positioning his content. Over time, the humble emailer helped him engage with his clients more effectively plus gain additional business.
Serendipity...as he pu...2020-08-2453 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranElliot Alderson on Aarogya Setu Privacy Issue, Aadhaar, His Modus Operandi and Philosophy as an Ethical HackerBaptiste Robert (aka Elliot Alderson aka @fs0c131y) has developed somewhat of a cult personality and following in India i.e. ever since he flagged data security and privacy issues within COVID-19 contact tracing Aarogya Setu app and the much wider Aadhaar ecosystem.
We catch up with Baptiste to learn his take on the Government's tricky relationship with citizens' data, the philosophy (and process) behind his work as an ethical hacker, and his thoughts on the privacy debate raging within India and the world.
We definitely enjoyed having a conversation on this much important subject. 2020-08-1140 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranWatching Indian Startups Amid the Coronavirus Lockdown with Yatin Thakur from CoworkInIn the latest "work-from-home" episode of LongShorts, we catch up with "serial entrepreneur" Yatin Thakur, probably one of the most positive speakers we've ever had on our Podcast!
As the Managing Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network India and Founder of coworking office space startup CoworkIn (which incidentally happens to be where we at TRANSFIN. have set shop), Yatin is no stranger to startup ventures.
He began his entrepreneurial journey when he was only 16. So, back in 2003 when the words "entrepreneurship" and "startup" were still alien in India and the business psyche was still dominated by the...2020-07-0851 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDemise of Movie Theaters Amidst the Rise of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar with Professor Madhu Viswanathan from ISBWe catch up with Professor Madhu Viswanathan, Assistant Professor of Marketing from ISB Hyderabad to discuss his journey - starting as an engineer to a gig as a CAT/GMAT instructor to working in software to becoming a B-School Prof! On the way we touch upon the ever changing shades of News and Entertainment content through the lens of product, brand building, business models, and pricing.
Madhu was previously an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, and has a Phd from the University of Minnesota. He has done a fair bit of work on B2B relationships and s...2020-05-2953 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranDoes JAM Trinity and PDS Ensure the Coronavirus Relief Package Reaches Last Mile with Astha Kapoor from Aapti InstituteWith Covid-19 unleashing an economic crisis at an unprecedented scale, the role of new age Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) infrastructure with India's legacy Public Distribution System (PDS) in providing much needed relief to the poorest of the poor, be it in cash or in kind, cannot be understated. In that backdrop it was a real pleasure to pick the brain of Astha Kapoor, Co-founder of the Aapti Institute, to hear her views on the government's INR1.7Lcr relief package.
As a public policy consultant, Astha closely looked at the interface of technology within delivery of government welfare services. She b...2020-05-0143 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranHow is India handling Coronavirus with Dr Arun K Chopra from Fortis Escorts Hospital AmritsarWe spend some valuable time with Dr Arun K Chopra, a Senior Cardiologist at Fortis Escorts Hospital Amritsar, who is part of his hospital's Covid 19 response team, to understand India's strategy behind its handling and response against the Coronavirus outbreak, starting from the stringent lock down to the rationale behind targeted testing.
Dr Chopra gives a medical perspective to the disease and its mechanics (e.g. did you know about "nasal shedding" which allows an infected person to continue transmitting even after recovery?), along with thoughts on the immediate challenges facing our country, be it the role of testing...2020-04-241h 02
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranWhat Drives Corporate Governance Issues in India with Professor Shashwat Alok from ISBProfessor Shashwat Alok from ISB Hyderabad is the perfect person to throw light on what drives corporate governance issues in India. Well, the country has been an excellent breeding ground for corporate governance, or shall we say corporate misgovernance case studies, be it Satyam, IL&FS, DHFL, ICICI, and now Yes Bank.
Prof Alok discusses why corporate governance often fails to translate from rules and processes to actual execution, touching upon a multitude of themes be it risks of promoter-led shareholding, lack of market reforms, to inadequate and opaque disclosures. A proponent of the power of free markets, Prof A...2020-04-2048 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranViral Return of the Indian Bank NPAWelcome to our WFH podcast season opener where we bring Anuj Dayal, a Credit Markets commentator, and look at the new paradigm faced by Indian banks in a post Covid-19 world. Anuj brings his rich experiences from the world of structured credit and private equity and deconstructs the manifold challenges (i.e. rising NPA, depressed growth, liquidity and funding crunch) faced by Indian financial institutions and lending at-large in this hour and half long conversation.
We talk of the ills unleashed on the Indian banking sector through bad underwriting, corporate governance lapses, and mis-selling (a fair bit on the Y...2020-04-091h 10
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Touch-and-GoThe world has changed a fair bit since our last episode. The Covid-19 outbreak has been a wrecking ball disrupting health care, supply chains, economies, and lives all over the world! We, like most people, are working from home, which makes it an ideal opportunity to shoot a podcast and talk to you all. Listen in as we do a run through and make sense of recent economic policy announcements (i.e. the Finance Minister and Reserve Bank of India’s packages) in the aftermath of this unprecedented crisis, in addition to other rather humble issues. Take care and be sa...2020-03-2933 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Win, Lose or LawWe know the next season of LongShorts is yet to officially come out but what’s the harm in another “In Between Seasons” special?
Like we said before, we take our breaks rather seriously!
An English novelist once wrote, “There are three sorts of lawyers – able, unable and lamentable.” Our guest this week is of the fourth sort: commendable.
Sonali Malhotra comes from a family of lawyers, and this helped her get a foothold in the profession at an early age. In this episode of LongShorts, she breaks down legal jargon and processes and explains the...2020-03-1654 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: School's Up! Now What?While gearing for LongShorts and Adda's upcoming season with brand new podcast equipment, we just couldn't resist an opportunity to chat with Divya Gupta, Founder & CEO at Dialogue Room.
Yes we take our breaks rather seriously.
Talking with Divya was an absolute pleasure. A corporate lawyer by training she launched Dialogue Room to target business, finance, and life knowledge gaps by leveraging on conversations with expert networks, value add events and one on one coaching.
Today we chat about Dialogue Room's interesting business model, the value of niche audiences, media monetization, and the challenge o...2020-03-0952 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Finish the PaperworkIn our season finale, we catch up with Shivam Singla, Founder of Leegality - an eSign, eStamping, and document workflow platform. Shivam is a lawyer by training graduating from the National Law School of India University in 2016.
He straight up got bit by the entrepreneurship bug, kicking off Leegality for helping businesses "digitize and optimize documentation workflows, enabling them to execute and manage 'paperwork' 100x better - without paper".
Describing Leegality as "we are to agreements what email has been to postcards", Shivam gives a fascinating account of his company's business model, product, and differentiation.
He is a p...2020-02-2457 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: A Brief History of Time and Google's Health ExperimentIn our final episode of this season of Transfin. Adda, we journey back in time to understand why the RBI's accounting year is different from the Government's fiscal year, and why that is different from our calendar year. The answer takes us to 12th century Europe and Rome in the 1st century BCE!
Then, we travel back to the present and discuss how Google has one leg in the future. The tech giant is engaged in a unique experiment to use architecture and aesthetics to encourage its employees to eat and live healthy. What is it doing right and...2020-02-2017 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: To Infinity and Beyond!?Nakul Jain heads Inverted Prism (https://www.invertedprism.in/about-us/) and has been designing and executing career exploratory programs for more than five years.
In his own words, he's an "on paper" Mechanical Engineer who found his true calling in the world of education, realising how travel experiences can be powerful in shaping one's views around academic and professional choices.
In this fascinating conversation, we reminisce on our own journeys and how the Indian educational system often misses the point when it comes to helping kids plan their future, the sensitive considerations for parents and teachers, and t...2020-02-1756 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: Engineering Lessons from Nature and The Nike Vaporfly ControversyThis week, we begin our chat by discussing why bullet trains' engines are elongated, why airplanes are shaped like bats, and what sharks and professional swimmers have in common. We do this by delving into the colourful world of biomimicry - the science of finding solutions to human problems by searching nature's designs for answers.
And then we take a wide detour into the world of sports - specifically, the controversy surrounding the Nike Vaporfly shoes in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics. Listen in for some fun facts and insights!
PS: You can sign up for Transfin...2020-02-1315 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: When Nike Fakes It and The Dark Underbelly of GamingWe touch on two topics today. First, the counterfeit goods industry - how big it is, how powerful, how damaging, and how we can ensure that the things we buy online are real and original. (Spoiler alert: Simi says she'll go home and smell her shoes to make sure they're not fake!)
And then we discuss the gaming industry, which is bigger than you may think. We delve into its often-ignored dark side - overtime, no extra pay, cyclical lay-offs, and generally dubious labour conditions.2020-02-0617 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: The Art of Scale with Ravi Kaushik from WaterBridge VenturesWe catch up with Ravi Kaushik, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, an early stage Venture Capital (VC) firm, as he reflects on his philosophy to identify disruptive VC opportunities.
From spotting great Founders, going deep dive when it comes to addressable markets, to the value of primary research during diligence, Ravi is "inherently excited by India's consumer opportunity" and looks out for any product that passes the "tooth brush test".
He also shares his take on what filters can make more sense of the Indian market story, dynamics of startup exits, and the potential role played by p...2020-02-0344 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Monetizing KnowledgeKinner Sacchdev has been closely tied with the knowledge economy for close to a decade now. From education consulting, crafting stories for brands and products, to creation of Knorish (https://knorish.com/), Kinner is a firm believer in the power of learning.
In the gig economy where content can be one's single biggest differentiator, Knorish enables hobbyists, professionals and experts to create and monetize their content.
And while chatting about different models at play in this space, we also manage to put in the usual digressions, discuss a bit of Netflix, Spotify, Razorpay, and strangely Account Ag...2020-01-2759 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: China's Panda Diplomacy and The Healthcare-Tech NexusDid you know that pandas are more than just cute, squishy animals? They're also symbols of China's geopolitical ambitions and diplomatic outreach. This week in Transfin. Adda, we delve into the dark underbelly of China's "Panda Diplomacy" to panda-stand (sorry) Beijing's motives.
And then, we take a sharp turn and discuss something very different happening on the other side of the world. Silicon Valley's tech giants are joining hands with healthcare institutions (like hospitals and research centres) to monetise people's personal health data. What does this mean for privacy rights and how is this the epitome of Big Tech...2020-01-2318 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Making Education WorkWe're joined by Umang Jain, Co-Founder of StudyPad (makers of Splash Learn), a company of "hard-working and slightly nerdy people who are passionate to change the way an entire generation of kids learn".
Umang started his journey as an EdTech entrepreneur almost a decade back, and having scaled up SplashLearn from being a Math-focused learning product for kids in the US, to now expanding to other geographies, new subject matter and broader age groups, he has had a front row seat of how technology is and can transform the world of Education and Pedagogy.
He reflects on the I...2020-01-201h 00
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: What Influences the Influencer and Why Fair Isn't Really LovelyOne of the biggest trends of 2019 was the rise of the Influencer industry. Approached by virtually all sectors for brand marketing and charging by the millions, Influencers are the ambassadors of the zeitgeist. What drives this unique industry, why is it experiencing a sudden boom, and how big is it really? These are some questions we tackle in this week's Adda.
Second, we talk about skin whitening (or skin lightening or the more Indian sounding fairness creams) - an industry that is objectively racist and colorist, but also an industry that is lucrative and growing swiftly. But being morally...2020-01-1614 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: The Only Thing Indians are Talking AboutThis episode is very different from our usual routine. We will not talk about Business or Finance.
Because let's face it...nobody's talking about it right now! Even with the United States conducting air strikes against Iran, no one in India seems to notice.
What is being noticed is the ongoing sense of disillusionment, rage, and confusion that has gripped many Indian cities and academic campuses thanks to Article370-Ayodhya-CAA-NRC-Jamia-JNU in the age of WhatsApp and Twitter.
It is the Elephant in the room.
So we thought, let's dig in.
Nevertheless, this is a one-off break...2020-01-1344 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: The New Age of News and Podcasts to Beat the BluesWe begin the first Adda episode of the New Year by discussing what could be the overarching theme of 2020 - the shifting sources of news. We live in an online world, in an age of Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Universities, where social media has become a news platform on its own. How will this affect the dissemination and reception of news? And how are teenagers driving this tectonic shift?
Then, we chat on what we do - i.e., podcasts! How and why has this medium blossomed in recent years and why do people like listening to podcasts? Listen...2020-01-0914 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Sun is ShiningWe hear a lot about solar energy and how it can help the environment. But as retail customers does that pitch really work? What if we rather start looking at solar energy as an investment opportunity?
Well...Pranesh, our guest this week, has made a viable business out of it, so we thought its best to ask him ;)
Pranesh (Chaudhary) has worn many hats. From the world of analytics at Capital One to transformation strategies for large financial institutions - more than three years ago he decided to move away from his rather "desktop" origins to the tech/o...2020-01-0655 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: The Great Digital TamashaAnkit Agarwal is the spokesman for Digital. His journey, which started from setting up a personal finance blog (Getting Money Wise https://gettingmoneywise.com/) to heading Digital Media & Performance Marketing at Uber India is fascinating.
Sitting on the crux of content, product, and marketing, Ankit reminisces on how the internet has permanently changed the way we consume and perceive brands.
We go deep into content monetization and changed customer narratives, discuss the overlaps between Fortnite and Star Wars, and wonder why it makes sense for pure play Indian digital brands to opt for offline advertising.
A...2019-12-231h 04
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: A Billion Security Cameras and Why Gemology is in VogueHello, folks! We're back with another episode of Adda!
This week, we dwell on the global security camera industry and the implications of facial recognition technology. Both have serious privacy and security implications, and different countries are dealing with them in different ways. We delve through the data points and points of view to find out what the future of surveillance looks like.
And then we make a turn to discuss the growing significance of vocational courses - and how, contrary to what one might have assumed, they are more financially rewarding than many engineering or MBA degrees.
2019-12-1917 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: The Credit and Electric RevolutionWhen Sameer Aggarwal moved back to Delhi after working in credit for almost a decade (HSBC, Oakam - UK), he saw many Indians missing the financial inclusion boat. This in his view is part thanks to non-availability of data and part because of poor data.
He kicked off RevFin (as the name indicates) as an attempt to Revolutionise Finance and especially lending, starting by going deep into the consumer Electric Three Wheeler (e3W) segment.
We caught up with Sameer to understand the fundamental mechanics of the lending business i.e. lending itself and the role that can be...2019-12-1650 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: Mannequins on the Streets and Search Engines Planting TreesWe’re back with the fourth episode of Adda! This week, we discuss two evergreen topics – traffic on Indian roads and innovative ways to preserve our environment.
First, we talk about the latest trick the Bengaluru traffic police have pulled out of their hats to ensure that commuters follow traffic rules on the city’s eternally-congested roads.
What’s the trick, you ask? Life-sized, policeman-attired mannequins on the streets! (No, really.)
And then we discuss Ecosia, a search engine on a unique mission – to plant trees as you browse the web. Listen in for some fun facts and insightful di2019-12-1215 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Peeling the Onion and Pharmacy ClosedThe Reserve Bank of India to the surprise of economists (and by extension consensus) keeps repo rate at hold.
But economists are hardly right these days.
Nor do they drive economic narratives.
Onions however, do. That's topic number one.
Second is the recent woes of the online pharmaceutical industry, at one time touted as a INR25,000cr market opportunity, now facing the wrath of an erratic regulator. With it comes the oldest questions when it comes to tech. Should they be treated as the principal or just an agent? 2019-12-0926 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: Growing Old Before Becoming Rich and Everyday Rental FashionThis week we engage in an insightful discussion on what happens when a country grows old before its grows rich.
Following this, we talk about the up and coming trend of everyday wear rental in the fashion industry.2019-12-0515 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Uber Caps, Bad Banks and a Crooked KarvyToday...we go dark! No kidding.
Post a comparatively benign routine around Ola and Uber toing-and-froing with the regulator, we delve deeper into recent mis-steps within India's financial sector.
Today's TOC includes:
Commission and surge pricing caps on Uber/Ola
Creating a bad bank and why it may not work
The weirdly unnoticed fraud besotting Karvy
With the Indian economy jumping from one fraud after another, did we really have a choice?
One choice we did have was to use this space to broadcast our hiring woes ;)
Translation: we need a solid full stac...2019-12-0233 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: Aramco's Titanic IPO and Why All Maps Are WrongWe are back with the second episode of Adda! This week, we spend some time discussing what could possibly be the biggest IPO ever - energy giant Saudi Aramco's $100bn public listing and the hue and cry around the $2tr valuation Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is eyeing. Thereon, we move on to discuss why almost all maps you've ever come across were perhaps wrong.2019-11-2818 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLongShorts: Steel Wars and Telecom's Forgotten ProvisionsPlenty to catch up following Supreme Court's marathon run of closing corporate matters.
We however focused our energies deconstructing
The ongoing stress affecting India's telecom sector. Translation: AGR dues
The 1st major settled case under the nation's nascent bankruptcy law i.e. ArcelorMittal acquiring Essar
With 10 of the 15 telcos liable to the government (post SC's judgement) no longer in existence, the former can hardly be considered as "settled". And the corporate drama accompanying the latter can make your streaming service blush. Enough said. Tune in! 2019-11-2524 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAdda: Hollywood's China Problem and The Shoe That GrowsWelcome to Adda's very first episode! Today we talk on two topics that caught our attention through the week. First is the growing influence of China on Hollywood of all places. Second, is the curious case of the shoe that grows. Listen in for some riveting ice-breakers!2019-11-2115 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranStartup Plights, Investor Rights, Manufacturing HeightsFrom a finance buff and a corporate lawyer to the founder of a secret club and a policy researcher, Season 3 has seen a rather eclectic mix of guests. The season finale has been equally exciting.
This week we catch up with Vatsal Gaur, a M&A/PE and VC lawyer with over 8 years of experience behind him. After having previously worked with leading law firms such as J. Sagar Associates, Khaitan & Co and Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan in senior roles, Vatsal is currently working with HSA Advocates as an associate partner, looking after the PE and VC practice.
...2019-09-1653 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranAuto Deal, Recession Proof, Mega MergerAfter a three week hiatus (a bit of summer travel to recharge), we are back with a new episode of LongShorts. Number 47 starts with a chat on the sector which strangely but not surprisingly transformed itself from being the darling of the Indian stock market to its bane within twelve months! Yes, the Indian Auto space! However, the Mahindra-Meru discussion is only deployed as a crafty (real or imagined) segue to a wider commentary on the depressed Indian Economy.
Plenty of things have transpired over the last few days, be it RBI's gift to the government, mega bank mergers, o...2019-09-0929 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranMacro Headwinds, RIL's Craft, Big-Bang MergersWe’ve had an eventful few weeks here at LongShorts. We chatted with a long line of guests from various backgrounds with whom we conversed about a wide-ranging portfolio of topics. In this episode, we take a breather and go back to the good ol’ days when it was just us two chatting about the heavy-duty news developments of the week.
There’s been a lot in the news, therefore there’s a lot on our minds. Some things we discuss:
Killing two birds with one debt-laden stone – RIL’s much-talked-about deal with Aramco.... and their flashy AGM
Slowdown, slo...2019-08-1935 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCredit Line, Use Case, Big DataSurrounded by "heavy duty" political news and a bit of rain - we take a breather to catch up with Parikshit Chitalkar.
Parikshit is Co-Founder and head of Tech and Product at StashFin, a digital lending platform offering flexible loan products through their Credit Line Card.
He shares his story, including formerly building and exiting a business in Canada, the origin of StashFin, the room for innovative use cases in lending, and how they have managed to grow at a pace difficult to crack in the West.
And in between, we also find room to chat about bui...2019-08-1252 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCatch-22, Agro-Processing, Value ChainsA computer engineer by training, Aneesh Jain briefly dabbled in consulting at McKinsey and TechnoServe before he found his calling in the development sector, leading to the inception of Gram Unnati, a not-for profit set up working for the improvement of farmers' lives.
In yet another gear-shift from the series of guests we have had this season, Aneesh talks about how something that intuitively looked like a brilliant idea, with everyone posed to benefit, was in fact laden with multiple challenges.
Against the background of a lighter monsoon this year, this week's chat adopts a free market-oriented view...2019-08-051h 00
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranPractical Finance, Gilded Markets, Crypto BlockVatsal Srivastava has the rare distinction of being a Markets Participant...as well as a Markets Commentator. Between a B.A. Mathematics at St Stephen's and an MBA from INSEAD, he caught the trading bug when he speculated on L&T while interning at a Business TV channel.
But he's kept writing on Finance close to his heart, frequently publishing columns on major financial papers, aside from recently serving at Reuters as their Asia Markets Correspondent.
In this mighty interesting chat, Vatsal shares his thoughts on how "momentum with quality" tends to dominate over fundamental narratives when it com...2019-07-2954 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranBranchless, DIY, Savings 2.0Samant Sikka is the Founder and Chief Dreamer at Sqrrl, a new age personal finance platform helping young Indians re-align their experiential lifestyle and consumption focus with the counter-intuitive objective of saving money.
An industry veteran with asset management stints at Axis and Goldman Sachs behind him, Samant is a passionate proponent of the idea that in the age of platforms it is the modern consumer use-case which will emerge as the winner.
Our chat covers many interesting topics, some of which are:
The Democratization of Finance
Modern Use Cases
The Constraints of Fintech
H...2019-07-2257 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranUnited Nations, Econ 2.0, Parallel ForcesAashish Khullar is the first (now former) elected official on our Podcast though he doesn't fit its usual definition. He works with the UN system on global governance for sustainable development, specifically on environmental and economic issues.
He formerly represented the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth at various intergovernmental and multistakeholder processes.
Extremely passionate for sustainable development, the importance of intergovernmental cooperation, and ecological economics, Aashish believes in multilateralism's power to solve global problems.
In this cross-dimensional conversation, we touch upon (among other things):
- The Mechanics of United N...2019-07-1551 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranPolicy Winds, Land Rights, And WrongsLand Rights constitute one of the most complex and controversial policy issues afflicting Modern India. And Ankit Bhatia, an alumnus from IIT Kharagpur, from the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) has had a front-row seat while trying to deconstruct the problems at hand to make them part of mainstream discourse. Ankit and folks at CPR Land Rights Initiative started their journey over four years ago by analyzing 1,200 plus historical Land Acquisition-related Supreme Court cases to identify the biggest and most urgent structural problems at bay.
In a country where 60% of the population directly depend on land for their livelihood, a...2019-07-0856 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranGap, Consumption, CreditWhen Mayank Kachhwaha initially dabbled with India's credit market as a wannabe entrepreneur (back from a six year stint at Capital One), he was keen to explore peer-2-peer lending. Thus started IndiaLends in March 2015. But soon the realization dawned upon them that India doesn't really have a credit supply problem. Rather, it is the structural issues in the customer cycle itself which need fixing. Be it the high cost of origination or the technological capabilities to adequately price risk. With that as its core mandate, IndiaLends has metamorphosed to become one of the country's rising digital lending platforms.
I...2019-07-0151 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranSpoon, Full, SugarDr Arun K Chopra, Director Cardiology (Fortis Amritsar) is a DM from AIIMS where he also served as an Associate Professor. He's a passionate student and practitioner of nutrition and fitness, having lost over 100kg (10 kg 10 times) of weight in his lifetime, while developing an almost encyclopediac knowledge on the subject. Our chat touches upon something so harmful when taken out of control, but unfortunately also so ubiquitous, that we hardly notice it. Sugar.
Dr Chopra deconstructs man's biggest rival in his battle against obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In this hour long conversation, we touch upon:
W...2019-06-2451 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranPlus Minus, Next Five, Mile HighTaponeel Mukherjee (Formerly at Citi & UBS, presently CEO of Development Tracks, an India-focused advisory and investment business) took some time out to chat on India's recent infrastructure journey, his key takeaways from last five years wrt infra policy, capital, and execution, and everyone's favourite - potential lapses, reflections and areas of improvement for the future.
A firm believer of the India story, Taponeel emphasizes the need for patience, the presence of robust feedback loops involving all stakeholders, and shows a clear preference for iterative reforms instead of a heavy handed approach.
In this wide-lens podcast, we touch upon:2019-06-1752 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranBrand Power, Clean Slate, Human ElementOur podcast with Arjun Guleria (of Beam & Words, a Delhi-based brand communications & brand strategy firm) started with a conversation on Brands, but gradually changed course to reflect on his personal journey as an entrepreneur, the human element which is key for creative solutions, and the blessing that is his accountant!
P.S. He also humoured our usual digressions towards AI/ML, the myriad evolutions of consumer tech, for better, and for worse!
When Arjun started with his co-Partners, Beam & Words wanted to look at "Communications as a Whole", avoid siloes, and not become a hostage of platforms. 7 years l...2019-06-1053 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranSecrecy First, Immersive Power, Offline WorksWe sip Coffee with Shreya Soni, CEO & Founder of Delhi Secret Supper Club (DSSC) - India’s first-of-its-kind platform with a vision to enable "like-minded people to get together without an agenda". More than 6 years since inception, DSSC is now a leading curator of immersive experiences for the country’s most exclusive member base.
A former London-based Consultant, Shreya walks us through her journey as an Incognito (yes!) CEO and shares how Secrecy, even for herself, created the very hook and moat differentiating DSSC. Her thoughts on the value of curated discovery, the changing ebbs and flows of onlin...2019-06-0357 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranLegal Eagle, Value Chain, Business EaseWe chat with Kushan Chakraborty, as he gives us a crash course on India's dynamic but over-burdened Judicial System, and Legal Services at-large. Kushan is a Corporate Lawyer from Cornellia Chambers (a Gurgaon-based Law Firm), a product of Christ College Bangalore, a Podcast enthusiast, and most importantly a passionate proponent of the law's power to transform society. Today he gets candid on:
His journey as a Lawyer i.e. The Why?
The Question of Judicial Access
The Legal Ease of Doing Business in India
2019-05-231h 02
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranHot Money, Self Fulfilling, Niche CreditThe cliffhanger unveils!!!! Too dramatic? So what's the long and short of it?
For starters, our Podcast party just got bigger. All thanks to our very first guest for this Season. It was a real pleasure to chat with Mr. Anuj Dayal, a perpetual finance buff, former structured credit (Deutsche Bank, Och-Ziff - London) slash private equity professional (HPS - London), and all in all a great person to banter finance with.
The agenda:
How hot private capital can skew Business Models (hint: Uber's IPO)
Finance and its love-hate relationship with "I told you s...2019-05-1652 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCash Burn, Mixed Signals, Robo CabTracking the wide range of news & analysis out there, cross-sector and often cross-geography, is a fun albeit intense way to make a living. It's no wonder one gets even more excited going voice-borne, courtesy our Weekly Podcast i.e. LongShorts. Through a few data points, lots of insights, and even more banter...we typically aim to cover narratives and nuances which we "feel" are important. We started slow, but with 32 episodes and two seasons behind us, LongShorts has so far been a delight. Many more to come.
Today’s episode or ‘season finale’ touches on…
Paytm Mall’s siz...2019-04-2533 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranJet Set, Too Rich, Hot TicketSaudi Aramco may buy part of Reliance. Reliance may buy Hamleys. Xbox no longer has discs :( All this and...
The Moral Questions Thrown by Jet Airways
Cred's Credible Valuation?
Does Hotstar's Success Validate the Power of Freemium?
2019-04-1833 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranCore, Offline, PortsideToday we get cynical. Bigly. The headers:
What Makes Ola Unique?
The Road from Online to Offline Retail
The Ubiquity of Reliance Industries
Reference: Read More on Differential Voting Rights in India by clicking here.2019-04-1129 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranFroth, Fame, FirstWe've diverted from our usual "process", with pressing engagements forcing us to record this one a day in advance. Hope we didn't miss too much:
How much of Sensex / Nifty's recent rally is noise? How much of it is Fundamental?
Saudi Aramco and The Way the Kingdom Does Business
IPO Season in the US: Lyft, Pinterest, Uber, Levis
Bonus: Watch out for the Up-to-Date "PULL" and "Snapper" Reference...2019-04-0433 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranSandbox, Yield Flip, Apple PlusTwo of today's topics shriek "I Told You So!?". But let us describe them all:
Why RBI Finally Coming Around a Regulatory Sandbox is Good News!
The US Yield Curve is Inverted, Again.
Why Oprah Shouted "Apple!" this Week?
2019-03-2833 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranPublic Order, Passive Money, Musk RideWe open this Episode on a slightly different note. It is Holi after all ;) While you're hopefully resting post celebration...listen in to know of:
1. The Victims of PUBG
2. The Worthwhile Aspect of Index Funds/ETFs
3. Elon Musk's Potential India Plans2019-03-2129 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranGlitch, Translate, NewTubeSunday kicked off the Festival/Dance/Carnival (you get the point!?) of Democracy. But we spent our time discussing:
The Troubles of Boeing
How RBI's Rate Cut Not Hitting your Loan has Something to Do with Your FD
YouTube's Two Pronged Indian Foray
More on the Comet Aircraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeHavillandComet2019-03-1432 min
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranIn Conversation with a Doctor: Nutrition, Exercise, Health Tips, and PolicyWelcome to the Season Finale! To make this one really special - today we have a guest with whom we'll discuss:
The Bare-Bones (slurrp!) of Good Nutrition
Fitness 101
What's Wrong with India's Healthcare?
In Conversation with Dr Arun K Chopra, Director Cardiology, Fortis Amritsar.
Dr Chopra is a DM Cardiology from AIIMS where he also served as an Associate Professor. He's a Fellow of many respected International Medical Bodies as well as a regular contributor to reputed Medical Journals.
He's a passionate student and practitioner of nutrition and fitness, having lost over 100kg of...2018-12-201h 11
TRANSFIN. LongShorts with Nikhil Arora and Sharath ToopranJio Saavn, GDP Redux, OPEC PlusOne week in and Spotify faces its first Contender. Macro themes otherwise dominate:
How JioSaavn Makes Music Streaming an Open Game
The GDP Back-series Conundrum, Q1 Numbers and More
Qatar Exiting OPEC & Does it Really Matter?
Cherry on Top: How WhatsApp Payments Makes the Likes of Paytm etc. Nervous?
On a related note, do check out:
Spotify's entry into India (listen in from 0.55-5.23): https://audioboom.com/posts/7102074-high-end-let-go-thin-ice
India's New GDP Series: Understanding The Reduced Growth Rate Under the UPA Govt: https://transfin.in...2018-12-0630 min