Millionaire Mondays by Backstage with Millionaires

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Jul 2024

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Millionaire Mondays is a podcast brought to you by Backstage with Millionaires and hosted by Caleb Friesen. We bring the stories of real Indian startups told by the entrepreneurs that built them.

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July 10, 20241 hr 4 min

Millionaire Mondays - How Evolve Built an Inclusive Mental Health App from India for the World

In this episode of Millionaire Mondays, featured in Startup Spotlights, an initiative by Google Play, we sit down with Anshul Kamath and Rohan Arora, founders of Evolve, a mental health platform, with a special focus on the LGBTQIA+ community. Since its inception in 2017, Evolve has helped over 1 million people across the world, in the uplifting and well-being of their mental health. 00:00 Intro 03:51 Story of Anshul 08:47 Rohan's Story 12:36 How Both of them Met 17:32 Evolve's Early Days 21:28 Early Financing 23:20 First Fundraise 27:29 Recognition by The Google Play Store 29:36 Building for the World 31:39 Evolve's Business Model 35:24 Decision to build for LGBTQ+ community 45:55 Is Evolve B2B or B2C? 50:18 Future Roadmap 53:09 Looking Back 58:31 Founder's Future Ambitions 1:04:24 Outro When Anshul and Rohan initially started Evolve in 2017, it was a mental health app for everyone. However, in 2021, the team pivoted towards an LGBTQ+ first app after seeing some early signs of traction. The reason according to the founders is that “the LGBTQ+ community is one of the fastest growing user segments globally and research shows that members of the community are almost 4 times as likely to experience serious mental illness compared to the general population”. Evolve’s core team comprises people from diverse gender identities and sexual orientations and this helps them understand first-hand the struggles and challenges of the LGBTQ+ community when it comes to mental health and wellness. What makes Evolve different from the other mental health apps in the market is its focus on community building. So while other apps focus primarily on virtual content, Evolve has a thriving community where users can discuss and share their experiences to normalise stressors. (Social Links Google India’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/googleindia/ Google India’s X: https://x.com/GoogleIndia https://x.com/googledevsin?lang=en Google India’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleDevelopersIndia https://www.youtube.com/GoogleIndia Google’s Global Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleDevelopers Google India’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleplaybiz/posts/?feedView=all Evolve’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/evolveinc/ Evolve’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolveapp_/ Evolve’s X: https://x.com/evolveapp_ Anshul Kamath’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anshulkamath/ Rohan Arora’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohan-arora5/ Anshul Kamath’s X: https://x.com/anshulkamath Anshul Kamath’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anshulkamath/ #mentalhealth #StartupSpotlights #GooglePlay [This podcast is sponsored by Google Play.]

June 18, 20241 hr 6 min

Millionaire Mondays - 40 Million+ Students, Bootstrapped & Highly Profitable! Journey of Programming Hub

In this episode of Millionaire Mondays, featured in Startup Spotlights, an initiative by Google Play, we sit down with Tito Aby Idicula and Nigel Crasto, founders of Programming Hub, one of the largest apps to learn programming. Since its inception in 2016, Programming Hub has taught coding to more than 40 Million people, reaching almost every single country in the world. 00:00 Introduction 03:41 Inception at L&T 04:34 Transitioning from Employment to Entrepreneurship 08:21 Financial Struggles and Creative Solutions 20:51 A Turning Point: Google Launchpad Accelerator 25:08 Understanding Userbase and Monetising them 34:32 Benefits of Bootstrapping 36:29 Project X 46:45 Insane Growth During Pandemic 54:05 AI: Boon or Bane? 1:04:29 Video Game Suggestions Tito Aby Idicula and Nigel Crasto started Programming Hub in 2016. The company was founded with the vision of addressing the growing demand for programming skills in an increasingly digital world. Recognising that traditional education systems often fall short in providing flexible, up-to-date, and comprehensive coding education, the founders set out to create a platform that would democratise access to high-quality programming instruction. At the heart of Programming Hub's appeal is its extensive library of courses, which covers a wide array of programming languages and technologies. From foundational languages like Python, Java, and C++ to specialized fields such as data science, machine learning, and mobile app development, Programming Hub caters to both beginners and advanced learners. Each course is meticulously designed to ensure a seamless learning experience, featuring interactive lessons, hands-on coding exercises, and real-world projects. The platform also offers courses in emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, ensuring that learners are well-prepared for the future of tech. Both Nigel and Tito see AI as the biggest advancement in tech till now and see it as a big opportunity for Programming Hub in the future. Among many things to take away from this podcast, their journey of building a bootstrapped profitable startup is something I am most impressed about. (Social Links) Google India’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/googleindia/ Google India’s X: https://x.com/GoogleIndia https://x.com/googledevsin?lang=en Google India’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleDevelopersIndia https://www.youtube.com/GoogleIndia Google’s Global Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleDevelopers Google India’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleplaybiz/posts/?feedView=all Programming Hub’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/programming-hub/ Programming Hub’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/programminghub.io/ Programming Hub’s X: https://x.com/Prghub Nigel Crasto’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-crasto-a2306547/ Tito Idicula’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/titoaby/ Nigel Crasto’s X: https://x.com/Nigelcog Tito Idicula’s X: https://x.com/KillerCrosser Nigel Crasto’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nigel_crasto Tito Idicula’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tito_aby #programminghub #StartupSpotlights #GooglePlay [This podcast is sponsored by Google Play]

June 4, 202459 min

Millionaire Mondays - How FanCode Is Changing Sports Consumption in India

Today's episode of Millionaire Mondays is extra special - because it's also the first episode being featured in #StartupSpotlights, a Google Play initiative, where inspiring startup founders share their untold growth stories. In today's episode, we're in conversation with Yannick Colaço, co-founder of FanCode, a one-stop destination for sports fans in India. FanCode has more than 100M lifetime users, making it one of the largest sports streaming platforms in the country. 00:00 - Introduction 04:08 - Career Beginnings and NBA Experience 11:23 - The Inspiration behind FanCode 17:15 - Starting FanCode 25:22 - Team and Culture at FanCode 38:11 - Navigating the Pandemic 42:28 - Growth and Expansion Post-Pandemic 45:52 - Monetization and Revenue Strategies 48:45 - Merchandise and New Ventures 56:28 - Future Plans and Innovations 58:33 - Outro Yannick Colaço and Prasana Krishnan started FanCode in 2019. The company has positioned itself as a comprehensive destination for sports fans, offering a variety of services including live streaming, non-live content, sports statistics, and merchandise. Yannick Colaço previously worked with NBA India as managing director, while Prasana Krishnan was a former executive at sports pay-television broadcasters Sony Pictures Networks and Neo Sports. FanCode raised $50 Million in May 2021. One of FanCode’s significant strengths lies in its comprehensive sports coverage. The platform offers live streaming of matches, which includes not just major leagues and tournaments but also smaller, regional, and even grassroots events. This has democratised access to sports content, enabling fans to follow their favourite sports and teams regardless of their geographic location. FanCode also provides detailed sports statistics and real-time data, enhancing the viewing experience for sports enthusiasts who crave in-depth insights. Expanding beyond digital content, FanCode also offers sports merchandise, allowing fans to purchase official team gear. During the ICC World Cup 2023, FanCode was the official partner for Indian team jerseys. Social Links Google India’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/googleindia/?hl=en Google India’s X: https://x.com/GoogleIndia https://x.com/googledevsin?lang=en Google India’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleDevelopersIndia https://www.youtube.com/GoogleIndia Google India’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleplaybiz/posts/?feedView=all FanCode’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fancode/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true FanCode’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancode/?hl=en FanCode’s X: https://x.com/FanCode Yannick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannick-colaco-237aab11/ Yannick's X: https://x.com/yansports [This podcast is sponsored by Google Play.] #FanCode #StartupSpotlights #GooglePlay

March 4, 20241 hr 1 min

Millionaire Mondays - Abhinav Das, Orangewood Labs

It all began in late 2008, amidst Abhinav Das' GATE exam. In a pivotal moment of realization, he abandoned the exam midway, recognizing that pursuing a master's degree wasn't his true calling. Instead, he crafted a business plan on the spot, birthing the concept of 'Evomo - Evolving Mobility'. The objective behind Evomo was straightforward: to replace the ubiquitous jugaad vehicles prevalent in rural India with Rural Utility Vehicles (RUVs). These RUVs were envisioned to be cost-effective, modular, and specially designed for rough terrains. However, Abhinav Das encountered a significant obstacle – funding. He required approximately 2.3 crore rupees, equivalent to about 383,000 dollars at the time, to kickstart his vision. Despite seven years of dedicated efforts and the creation of an impressive prototype, Evomo failed to generate any revenue. Abhinav Das attempted to secure venture capital to obtain certifications and commence manufacturing, but his endeavors only yielded a fraction of the required funds – a mere 12 lakh rupees, or 18,000 dollars at the time. Facing limited options, Abhinav Das took a daring leap and applied for Y Combinator in 2015. Despite being accepted for an online interview, he fell short of securing a spot after the in-person interview in California. The setback was a crushing blow, leading Abhinav Das to shutter Evomo, depart from Ahmedabad, and return to his parents' home in Delhi. He grappled with a profound sense of purposelessness, battling bouts of depression characterized by prolonged sleep and difficulty in getting out of bed. Yet, amidst the darkness, Abhinav Das resolved to reclaim his passion for entrepreneurship. He embarked on a journey to resurrect his dreams, eventually founding Orangewood Labs alongside his co-founders, determined to make a lasting impact in the world of robotics. Abhinav Das and his fellow co-founders at Orangewood Labs are on a mission to revolutionize the robotics industry. Their focus? Building robotic arms that are not only affordable but also incredibly easy to program, thanks to their innovative AI-powered software named RoboGPT.

November 13, 20231 hr 17 min

India Is #1 in EV Two Wheelers. Tarun Mehta Explains Why.

00:00 Intro 02:52 Building Ather S340 and 450 09:15 Indian EVs vs Chinese EVs 19:29 Can India become the biggest electric vehicle exporter? 28:10 Indian EV industry (wave 1) 33:30 Struggles of building an EV company 40:40 How Ather almost shut down 52:09 The hardware wave 58:10 How to take feedback 1:04:48 Asteroid mining is the future 1:09:59 The future of the energy industry 1:15:45 Outro

October 9, 202325 min

Millionaire Mondays - Pallav Nadhani, FusionCharts

00:00 Intro 01:50 From a Bedroom, to a Basement 05:53 Hiring in 2005: a Big Challenge 10:26 Building Culture, Organically 11:10 Running a Global Company in India 14:16 Being Profitable and Bootstrapped 16:16 Three Near-Death Experiences 22:40 Milestones and the Path Ahead Pallav Nadhani founded FusionCharts at the age of 17 in an effort to earn himself some extra pocket money. He succeeded in doing so, and now, 17 years later, he has more pocket money than he knows what to do with. The data visualization company has over 28,000 customers as of December of 2019, some of which include Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Adobe, Walmart, NASA, and many, many more. In this video, Pallav explains how he built FusionCharts from his bedroom and turned it into a multi-million dollar company over the course of the last 17 years. From a Bedroom, to a Basement: Pallav Nadhani was able to run FusionCharts for three years on his own before he realized that he needed help. He onboarded his first employee, a friend of his cousins, and together they worked out of Pallav's bedroom for about a year and a half. By the end of this period, they were working with over 1,000 customers, and couldn't handle to workload on their own anymore. They shifted into a basement office and started hiring more employees. Hiring in 2005: a Big Challenge: Hiring wasn't a very easy thing to do for a startup in Calcutta in 2005. India's startup ecosystem was still in its infancy, and the startup ecosystem in Calcutta was nonexistent. Employees were hesitant to join the startup despite the fact that they were already working with a number of Fortune 500 companies. However, with time and experience, Pallav was able to assemble of solid team of engineers. Building Culture, Organically: Even as FusionCharts was scaling up and the startup was onboarding more and more employees, Pallav really didn't know anything about building strong culture. Instead, he simply focused on instilling values like pride in the company, a strong work ethic, and the desire to learn and grow on the job. As a result of these values, FusionCharts was able to establish a strong culture organically. Running a Global Company in India: Less than 1% of FusionCharts' customers are Indian. This is something that Pallav takes pride in, because going global from India was a pretty big challenge when FusionCharts was first starting out. In spite of this, FusionCharts has been able to build quality products that are good enough not only for India, but also for the world. What is more, they have done so as a bootstrapped, profitable company from day 1. Being Profitable and Bootstrapped: Because FusionCharts has always been profitable and bootstrapped, they have very rarely struggled with money problems. In fact, the biggest money they have faced is a surplus of funds. The challenge for them has been to figure out what to do with these funds. Part of the reason that they are able to be profitable and bootstrapped is that FusionCharts is a very lean company: they have 68 employees serving 28,000 customers!

October 2, 2023Episode 1154 min

S1E11: Millionaire Mondays - Pravesh Pandey, Byg Brewski

Pravesh Pandey is one of the most renowned faces in India's Hotel and Restaurant Industry. He started his career with ITC Hotels back in 2002, where he was a Guest Service Coordinator. He spent the next decade of his professional career in senior positions at key companies like P&O Cruises, Lizard Lounge, Henry Tham Lifestyle Restaurant, and Hard Rock Cafe. In 2020, Pravesh started Bissi Bissi Oota, which is India's first QSR brand serving home-style meals that are 'Shuddha', 'Aarogya', and 'Taaza'. They ensure the provision of fresh, nutritious, and hygienic food at the most affordable prices. In fact, a meal is provided at a price of INR 30. Pravesh is also one of the shareholders and directors at Byg Brewski Brewing Company , which at the time of its opening was India's largest Microbrewery. Pravesh early in his career also helped in the rapid expansion of 'Social'.

September 25, 2023Episode 101 hr 5 min

S1E10: Millionaire Mondays - Candice Lock &Sameer Mirchandani, Chinita

Candice Lock's journey from her upbringing in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, oto her tech career in New York is a tale of cultural fusion and culinary passion. Growing up in a Cantonese family, she later found herself at the Copacabana salsa club in New York, where the Latinos affectionately referred to her as "Chinita," meaning "little Chinese girl" in Spanish. Her love for Latin American cuisine, especially Mexican food, blossomed during her time in the city that never sleeps.When Candice moved to Bengaluru for work in 2008, fate intervened, and she crossed paths with Amit Mirchandani, who had a deep appreciation for Mexican cuisine from his time in the United States. In 2010, and Candice had not only married Amit but had also fully embraced her passion for Mexican food.Together with Amit and his brother Sameer, who shared her love for Mexican cuisine, they embarked on a journey to bring the flavors of Mexico to Bengaluru. Tacos became their specialty, and they started selling them at Bengaluru's Soul Sante.

September 18, 202357 min

S1E9: Millionaire Mondays - Anubhav Dubey, Chai Sutta Bar

When Anubhav was a kid in school, he used to flip phones. That's the start of his business venture even though he didn't know that's how business worked. During his teenage, his parents wanted him to do his UPSC exam and become an IAS Officer but he chose entrepreneurship without his parent knowing about it.He moved from Delhi to Indore to start his entrepreneurial journey and decided to start selling chai. They came up with a business plan to start selling chai and decided to open their very first store in near a girls hostel. As they opened it, they had no name for the place. When customers came for chai, they started calling them "gumnaam chaiwallah" and that's they came up with the name Chai Sutta Bar.Chai Sutta Bar doesn't allow people to smoke in or around their outlets even though it has "sutta" in it's name. After they started their first store in Indore, they saw a massive demand and decided to open more locations. They had expanded to 3 stores by 2016 with a franchise model. Then in 2019 they expanded to 65 locations.Today, Chai Sutta Bar has expanded to 500 location across 300 cities, including 3 stores in Dubai. They are planning to open more stores in other countries like USA, Canada and the UK.

September 11, 20231 hr 23 min

S1E8: Millionaire Mondays - Nicolas Grossemy, Paris Panini

Explorex’s website: https://explorex.co/ When Nicolas moved to India from France for an internship, he was struck by nostalgia for the sandwiches from his homeland. And so, he embarked on a culinary journey. In 2015, he took a bold step and launched a food truck called Paris Panini in Bengaluru, with the aim of introducing gourmet French street food to the city.Paris Panini was among the pioneering food trucks in Bangalore, housed within a converted old-school van. Its weekly route quickly gained a following, with customers tracking its whereabouts through social media and forming long queues upon its arrival.Introducing a novel product to the Indian market posed its challenges, but Nicolas was determined to refine the menu to cater to local tastes while preserving the authenticity of French cuisine.One of Nicolas's key objectives was to change the prevailing perception of Indian street food as being predominantly unhealthy and unhygienic. To achieve this, the food truck was designed with an open counter, allowing customers to witness the panini preparation process, and fostering trust through a professional and hygienic live kitchen experience on wheels.Initially, the menu was quite limited, featuring approximately ten items. The primary focus was on delivering high-quality products crafted from fresh ingredients. Every item was painstakingly made from scratch, including the hand-cut and double-fried French fries that have since become iconic, reflecting the preparation methods in Nicolas's hometown of Arras, in northern France.Nicolas's unwavering passion and dedication catapulted Paris Panini into the limelight. The food truck gained immense popularity, leading to invitations to cater for major festivals, birthday parties, and weddings throughout the city.However, the food truck scene in Bangalore was marked by unpredictability, primarily due to the absence of regulation. At one point, the city's notorious traffic congestion even led to a temporary ban on food trucks. As Paris Panini's popularity continued to soar, Nicolas faced the challenge of scaling up his operations.This pivotal moment arrived when Nicolas crossed paths with AB and Nikhil from The Pizza Bakery, who shared his vision of transitioning Paris Panini from a food truck concept to a brick-and-mortar casual dining restaurant. They remained committed to maintaining the brand's core values while developing an extensive menu that would provide customers with an authentic Parisian cafe experience.In November 2019, Paris Panini opened its doors on the bustling 12th Main Road in Indiranagar, Bangalore. The restaurant's walls were adorned with hand-drawn Parisian street scenes, effectively transporting patrons to a Parisian cafe ambiance. The menu showcased gourmet panini, signature French fries, freshly brewed coffee, and delectable crepes, offering an authentic culinary journey.Today, Paris Panini boasts a rapidly expanding fan base, with the brand establishing itself in ten locations across Bangalore. It has quickly risen to become the city's leading purveyor of gourmet sandwiches, serving as a testament to Nicolas's dedication and commitment to bringing a taste of authentic French cuisine to the heart of India.