This week we are covering the state of the Indian tech ecosystem. We are joined by Luke Skertich, senior associate at FJ Labs, who is leading the charge with our Indian investments.
Key takeaways
In this episode, we cover:
The history of India’s tech ecosystem and the recent explosion in unicorns
Why we are short term pessimistic, but medium and long term super bullish
Supply chains are moving to India
The government is investing aggressively
UPI is revolutionizing payments
GDP per capita is growing
Tech talent is on the rise
Why we are focusing on Picks and Shovels, Financial Infrastructure, and B2B Marketplaces
You can listen to the full episode in the embedded podcast player.
In addition to the above Youtube video and embedded podcast player, you can also listen to the podcast on:
After a long hiatus to take care of my ailing dad, who is fortunately fully recovered, I am back! For this episode and the next two, I am focusing on the Indian tech scene which has really come into its own in the last few years. In this week’s episode, it’s my pleasure to chat with Niraj Singh, founder and CEO of Spinny, the leading used car retailing platform in India and a unicorn in its own right.
Key takeaways
In this episode, we cover:
Niraj’s path to creating Spinny, including creating two much less successful startups right out of college
The differences between the US & Indian car markets
Spinny’s unique solution to the market considering the specifics of the market
Spinny’s ambitions on a go forward basis
The impact, if any, of the massive global multiple compression in comps like Carvana and Cazoo
The state of Indian tech market
You can listen to the full episode in the embedded podcast player.
In addition to the above Youtube video and embedded podcast player, you can also listen to the podcast on:
My apologies if I don’t have the same usual pep and spunk on this video as I usually do, but I was really sick with COVID when I did the interview. Thanks to Niraj for joining and putting up with me!
Lorien Gabel is the Co-Founder of Figment Network. He holds an LLB from Toronto’s Osgoode Hall Law School.
In 1994, at the age of 24, 6 months into practicing law, Lorien quit to help his brother Matt run a bourgeoning internet company, Interlog. Over the next four years, they managed the growth of Interlog to over 150 employees, 65,000 customers and profitability. It was later acquired by a large multinational telecommunications company.
Key takeaways
“Be an anti-institutionalist. Be a skeptic.” The goal is to find solutions to problems that institutions and crowds overlook.
Blockchain is a counter to over centralization by the government.
There will be an infinite demand for block space in the future. We’re going into multichain world. The question is, will there be 10 or 1000 blockchains.
Be intellectually curious because this will take you far especially in crypto.
Starting Figment
Lorien was intellectually intrigued by crypto but didn’t want start mining Bitcoin because he found it boring. So instead he attempted to start a crypto fund, but people didn’t want to give money to an inexperience investor. However, the people found his platform interesting and were willing to fund it.
This led to co-fouding Figment and betting on Proof of Stake (POS).
In the early days, it was not obvious that POS would be successful. But now we’re witnessing many newer cryptos launching on POS.
Since launch Figment has entered unicorn status with over 125+ employees.
Why Crypto?
There is an over-centralization problem both in tech and government.
We see this in the continued de-dollarization for countries who thought they owned their dollar reserves. Or the recent example of the broken financial system in Canada, where certain citizen bank accounts were frozen. The marriage between governments and large institution is evidence for finding a better alternative.
This lack of ownership is an example for why cryptos can counter over-centralization.
Advice for people wanting to join crypto
Understand that both web2 and web3 will co-exist. There some projects which makes sense for web2 and not web3. Recognize this and it will help you wade through the noise.
Figment hires people who are not only talented and skilled but they have to demonstrate intellectual curiosity for the space. It’s intellectual curiosity that drives innovation. Hence in such a new space like crypto, it’s a must-have.
Learn about the space by doing things. Having skin in the game is the fastest way to increase speed of learning. Start with places like Rabbit hole where you can earn tokens through on-chain activity.
You can listen to the full episode in the embedded podcast player.
In addition to the above Youtube video and embedded podcast player, you can also listen to the podcast on:
