From taking her family business to IPO to starting her own fund | Ft. Paula Mariwala w Radhika Bajoria

[00:00:01] Thanks Paula for being in the house with us and doing the show with us.

[00:00:10] Like you know, R.C. Lee, the Stachelnest, Wiping Out The Norm and you clearly have been

[00:00:15] one of the crucial forces in this regard because you started your journey from being a physicist,

[00:00:22] studied physics all throughout your career and today you are a well-known investor,

[00:00:27] a career that is of course unconventional and something that others can't envision.

[00:00:31] So this requires some kind of strength and belief in yourself to be able to do it.

[00:00:36] So to start things, how did you even start your studies in physics?

[00:00:41] Where did that interest come from?

[00:00:43] Thanks Radhika and great to be here.

[00:00:47] I love the Thank You Doctor show, Wiping The Norms.

[00:00:50] I will be doing many more.

[00:00:53] I am so grateful that you are talking to so many of us and there are so many out there

[00:00:58] who I am sure will meet that.

[00:01:00] So coming to my journey, I actually am from a business family but my father was an entrepreneur,

[00:01:06] one of the early tech entrepreneurs and because of that I had early exposure to

[00:01:14] technology, to actually scientists in India and abroad.

[00:01:21] And I think that fueled my interest.

[00:01:23] We were the first tech and IT company back in the 60s.

[00:01:33] So when I was young, I would meet this past amount of young

[00:01:38] scientists from the government or engineers and I think that was the main factor in

[00:01:49] getting my interest in science.

[00:01:51] I was also quite good at it and also because I had very good teachers in this school

[00:01:59] and my physics teacher and math teacher were really outstanding.

[00:02:05] So they were not just bookish or creating marks but they really created interest.

[00:02:13] My brother also was very interested and both of us used to talk a lot about it.

[00:02:18] So all that led me to go into the sciences and actually I did.

[00:02:24] I would have gone for engineering but I wanted to pursue pure physics.

[00:02:28] So I was very enamored by the challenge of a technical subject like physics

[00:02:34] and the possibilities that it had.

[00:02:36] So I chose to do physics at the series college.

[00:02:40] It is a great place, then I had some great professors, some unclean peers.

[00:02:47] He did some good amount of stuff with his hands to build things.

[00:02:53] And I think that allowed me to continue my initial interest.

[00:02:57] I went to study abroad in the US and I continued with physics.

[00:03:03] Even in the US actually, I was one of two women in my department at Stanford University.

[00:03:12] In the department of life physics, it was a tough department.

[00:03:16] It was a tough subject.

[00:03:18] But again, I had never thought that physics is something we will touch too.

[00:03:24] Because I think my father was always very influential.

[00:03:28] My teachers as well.

[00:03:30] So I never thought that it is something special to be a woman studying physics.

[00:03:34] It was when I was in the US that I realized that actually the representation is very

[00:03:39] I was also teaching assistant like most graduate students are in the US.

[00:03:45] And a class full of students are graduates.

[00:03:49] We have very few girls in physics.

[00:03:52] So I recognized that this is not something that is very common.

[00:03:58] Even in engineering, my brother went to IIT.

[00:04:00] There were very few girls in that department.

[00:04:02] It's not talking about 80s.

[00:04:05] I don't think it has changed drastically.

[00:04:09] IIT actually has changed quite a bit.

[00:04:11] There are lot more women there now.

[00:04:13] But overall, the representation of women in STEM continues to be less.

[00:04:19] Nonetheless, I think I got to see how science can be any fact.

[00:04:24] That also sort of encouraged me to pursue this further.

[00:04:29] Because I saw how various technologies come out of physics sciences.

[00:04:36] If you stop for physics, then all the semiconductors are already there.

[00:04:40] In the phone, in the cameras, telecommunication network, all of that.

[00:04:44] Fundamentals are physics.

[00:04:46] So for me that was really going beyond what is in the material or in your textbooks.

[00:04:54] You're actually using fundamental sciences to create things which is not only of

[00:05:01] use to humans, to mankind, but is actually completely changing the way we live.

[00:05:07] So there is a big, big fact.

[00:05:10] My father had started a company in the job with a venture life-stream technology.

[00:05:16] That was in 1966.

[00:05:18] So since then he had envisioned that.

[00:05:20] And one can see today all the more how having a phone in the hand of a remote

[00:05:27] village, for example, in a country like India or Africa, or having technology which will enable somebody in a

[00:05:35] remote place to have telemedicine.

[00:05:39] Or we have satellites which are doing so much data which can help farmers.

[00:05:46] I mean there's so many applications.

[00:05:48] So I think that was also big motivation for me to continue to study sciences and physics.

[00:05:57] And how did this opportunity of Stanford come into picture?

[00:06:02] You've already done your MSc in physics.

[00:06:05] So what led you to study more and more in the same area and what led you to Stanford?

[00:06:11] So, you know, Stanford is one of those education institutes which I would say does not look in the real world.

[00:06:20] It does not look on its past.

[00:06:23] It looks in the future.

[00:06:26] So how can we use what we have to build something for tomorrow?

[00:06:30] So they are a forward-looking institution.

[00:06:33] And I think that is always attractive to it.

[00:06:36] Now physics as a subject is a role subject.

[00:06:39] A lot of things have been done and of course you have to study it.

[00:06:43] But what to do with it?

[00:06:45] I think that is where I thought the University of Stanford really had integrated very well with CSI.

[00:06:53] Silicon and material science always lacking in physics.

[00:06:56] And the chips all came from there.

[00:06:58] A lot of the companies which are today household-age, Intel and all, we don't even pay a thought,

[00:07:05] but it all came, so many of those came from the universities like Stanford.

[00:07:10] So I thought it's a great place if you want to apply sciences or things that I have not done.

[00:07:18] So I applied to the Department of Applied Physics, which is in the Department of Theoretical Physics.

[00:07:23] And I got in again, it's a very solid physics department but very closely linked to CSI.

[00:07:31] A lot of the projects that we did were supported by companies in the Valley or even the government

[00:07:41] or various other global institutions like NASA etc. to the founders of the company.

[00:07:50] Right, yeah that's so true actually.

[00:07:53] And these days it's like the power of capital has shifted from it being in the hand of the founders

[00:08:00] when they chose their investors to now investors coming back and choosing their own companies

[00:08:05] after the frenzy that we all saw.

[00:08:08] Just to ask you as to how do we differentiate ourselves from being a strategic investor

[00:08:14] from the other parts?

[00:08:15] What value do we have in the option of our space?

[00:08:20] So, you know, when I look at every investment, of course you want that to understand the

[00:08:27] investment pieces.

[00:08:28] You look at what value the founders make, what experience they will bring and so on.

[00:08:34] And what are the gaps?

[00:08:36] You know, particularly in the startup where there are many gaps that the platform industry

[00:08:41] may have.

[00:08:42] The ecosystem itself may be quite broad.

[00:08:45] It has to take time.

[00:08:46] It's one of the pieces I don't know how to say it.

[00:08:49] We think that lots of complex problems in the world are there because of the crisis

[00:08:56] in climate and we need to solve those problems.

[00:09:01] When we look at those complex problems, we have to have a founder who is able to understand

[00:09:09] that.

[00:09:10] We have aligned large pieces that we need to solve this problem.

[00:09:16] Because it's a complex problem, it needs not just money but let's say connections

[00:09:24] between different organizations, different regulators even, different stakeholders.

[00:09:31] So, for example, there is a company that we invested in, Pixel, which is a satellite

[00:09:40] in that company.

[00:09:41] They made actually that whole product themselves and that price was reached by them.

[00:09:48] And they actually put the satellite up now and then they made the camera that they made.

[00:09:55] But now, the young people, the intellectual, the dystopian, the Nasa people, they are

[00:10:02] young, they have the understanding.

[00:10:05] So, along with money, you see, what are the different applications you get?

[00:10:12] How can we build these spaces to solve this problem?

[00:10:18] There is another young entrepreneur who is very concerned about pollution, air pollution.

[00:10:24] And he has created this product which can suck up the air.

[00:10:29] A very difficult technology as well as difficult to solve.

[00:10:34] To solve this at scale, he needs to connect properly with customers, with governments,

[00:10:39] with other parties who are into this.

[00:10:43] So, we can begin value by first-hand defense message, by connecting them to the right

[00:10:48] people.

[00:10:49] Also just giving them advice on how to do sales, how to do sales for example, or

[00:10:55] how to reprice these products.

[00:10:59] So, I think there are a lot of things particularly in the startup business.

[00:11:03] Then as they mature, we need to be the bounce people.

[00:11:06] And because by then they know more than we do.

[00:11:10] In any case, they probably know because they have worked in that area.

[00:11:14] But as they grow, there are larger investors coming.

[00:11:18] As early investors, I think we have the trust.

[00:11:22] So, strategically they would like to bounce off the dust as early investors.

[00:11:27] So, you need to keep that trust up.

[00:11:30] They also face a lot of setbacks.

[00:11:32] Any startup does.

[00:11:34] Before they can use a large company.

[00:11:35] So, I choose companies to come in that search.

[00:11:39] I choose founders when they are open to be found.

[00:11:44] They are open to accepting that what can go wrong and not wishing it away.

[00:11:52] So, that they prepare for these challenges.

[00:11:55] And founders who work with investors who solve various problems.

[00:12:05] Those are the kind of founders we choose.

[00:12:09] In terms of investors choosing companies, of course we have our own pieces.

[00:12:17] For example, for Lois we look at climate is one, deep tech is another, health, and AI is another.

[00:12:27] So, we look for companies which are breaking down some problems in these kind of spaces.

[00:12:37] So, one of the companies that we invest in is two young women, one is a data scientist, one is a neuro scientist.

[00:12:45] And they have created a product which is machine learning to do better diagnosis of neuro diseases like Alzheimer, autism and so on.

[00:12:54] It's a difficult problem.

[00:12:56] But we obviously needed the right kind of entrepreneurs.

[00:13:00] So, it matched our thesis and the founders also sort of peaked with not only the passion, but the commitment and also the right background.

[00:13:09] So, you have to look for a good package.

[00:13:14] Earlier I invested in that type of young woman who wanted to give access to energy programming also.

[00:13:26] And she had worked in microfinance.

[00:13:29] So, we went with her to those villages and we realized it's a big problem.

[00:13:34] The villagers actually have needs, they also have money, but they don't get access either to energy or to lots of other products.

[00:13:44] So, we decided to support her.

[00:13:47] And today she is 35,000 women of the ground who are talking to villagers and understanding their needs.

[00:13:54] And from FinTech to phones to agri products to makeup, she is selling all kinds of things, shoes, women on the ground.

[00:14:07] And so it's called Frenzy Markets.

[00:14:10] And amazing example of resilience and you know actually large opportunity as well.

[00:14:20] But a difficult one to crack going into the village as well.

[00:14:26] So, then she needed investors who understand and understood that it's not easy to solve this.

[00:14:32] She is looking for patient capital.

[00:14:36] Yes, she is looking for patient capital.

[00:14:38] So, she chose investors who were able to give her patient capital.

[00:14:43] In some of the copies, you know, when I get value with my technical background or with the setup of this factory and access to our co-price,

[00:14:54] that's another sort of angle that you bring.

[00:14:58] With your connections with US and Stanford and other universities, that's another value that you give me.

[00:15:05] So, I think as an investor also you have to be mindful of what else you can do besides capital.

[00:15:15] But it has to be something that the founders want.

[00:15:18] It cannot be over imposed.

[00:15:21] We cannot impose any of these things on the founders and we have to also know where to draw that.

[00:15:27] It's not, in the company as we run by the company.

[00:15:30] But I've seen, you know, most of the founders are very experienced, are very helpful for strategic.

[00:15:40] We need to be, for example, taking senior team members.

[00:15:45] It's very difficult for young founders.

[00:15:48] You also have invested in cello which we see raised another round of funding.

[00:15:53] So, could you tell us the story of how you happened to invest in the company?

[00:15:57] Yeah, this is one of my favorite stories because cello founder Mohit Pooja is the founder of one of my first investors ever.

[00:16:05] A company called Kalwani that he invested in when I was with CITF in 2006.

[00:16:11] And I had seen Mohit and his team and his co-founders build up this amazing company of used cars and cars, nothing like that existed.

[00:16:20] And they do very well and seen how he builds the team with great discipline and how he executed on the ground.

[00:16:28] So, I knew that for Mohit, execution is the key.

[00:16:34] Cello, you know, which is challenging to Mohit, which is actually focused on public transport.

[00:16:41] I think has a very strong thesis which matches our thesis that public transport can really be a win.

[00:16:49] We have been big changers, we have been public transport.

[00:16:53] We don't have the proper skills to do it.

[00:16:56] So, of course, he is part-part, but unless we build good public transport, we never overcome the problems of public transport.

[00:17:04] So, the skill that was required was that of talking to bus operators, talking to people on the ground, convincing BSE for PMC or other business corporations.

[00:17:17] For adopting digital technologies and improving the experience for users.

[00:17:23] And I think he did this so successfully on the ground in the car rally.

[00:17:29] So, whatever it was, like whatever Mohit does, I think he did best.

[00:17:34] So, it was sort of like my second generation.

[00:17:37] But also it aligned with the thesis that I was trying at the beginning.

[00:17:44] So, it was a strong match and I participated in all these jobs.

[00:17:49] I participated in the faculty very early when it was just that major.

[00:17:54] Oh wow! Your stake must be valued very high now.

[00:17:58] This will be like a pendulum, come in the future but come back in the present.

[00:18:02] Come back, that's the good way to do it.

[00:18:05] But you have yourself also grown your father's business.

[00:18:11] How did you face different challenges into that?

[00:18:17] And you must have been tested also being IPO, it was one of the first Indian IT companies to do so.

[00:18:24] So, tell us about that journey of yours of building India.

[00:18:29] So, the IPO actually happened when I was still young.

[00:18:33] I was a student in the US but it was the first IPO in the country.

[00:18:38] Back in 1988, so I had seen the scale happen.

[00:18:42] I had just joined venture with digital development, HB.

[00:18:46] So, it was definitely very momentous.

[00:18:49] After that, I started a block to communication initiative with Adderall face.

[00:18:54] So, I worked with Adderall, Zedralax and so on.

[00:18:56] There were lots of challenges because our business in India is challenging

[00:19:01] but also working in technology side is challenging.

[00:19:05] But it was quite exciting to be part of the first teams that were involved in the option

[00:19:13] to find a head start for the country which is led to the telecom generation.

[00:19:17] So, I worked with many companies like TAP, TransUnited,

[00:19:21] and the department of telecom communication itself.

[00:19:24] And the solar instrumentation and solutions and it was exciting this time to do this.

[00:19:30] So, that was very, very exciting.

[00:19:33] Very challenging because you had to, it was a very hard work because the cellular equipment

[00:19:39] and the telecom communication, the women were also in the block to the power, which is not easy.

[00:19:47] It's not as bad as India.

[00:19:50] There were some very good people out there.

[00:19:53] And we did a little bit of infrastructure development.

[00:19:56] So, it was quite a learning experience to build the team that will do that and so on.

[00:20:03] There were also Zedralax and we did a whole project with the very large telcos

[00:20:10] to build a video network which would be with the set of boxes, also with the set of boxes.

[00:20:18] To have what we see today is there was no data side even then.

[00:20:30] So, the two options were either you put the side on the shape of the moon and it

[00:20:33] was very, very good at home or you could have done on the Tata Skyroo which is satellite.

[00:20:42] We did the fiber because the quality is much better.

[00:20:46] It is the entire QC for that but the company chose to do the satellite.

[00:20:55] So, the entire thing was done.

[00:20:58] It was then adopted by the United States but that particular thing was the entire project

[00:21:04] with the set of boxes which were IPT.

[00:21:07] So, the IPT is now also very important.

[00:21:11] So, that project failed.

[00:21:14] So, that was also a learning experience.

[00:21:17] Technology was the best but that's not enough.

[00:21:21] That was a great learning that I also applied on my MSD.

[00:21:25] Just the technology is what.

[00:21:28] You see the whole problem is still there.

[00:21:32] Is the ecosystem ready to adopt it?

[00:21:36] Maybe ahead of the curve.

[00:21:39] A lot of the companies that we even saw in C5, I think that was before data became

[00:21:45] big.

[00:21:47] When you land in Melbourne, you turn the data out of the phone because it was so

[00:21:51] expensive to have data outside of the moon by the way.

[00:21:53] So, it was very difficult for a lot of companies to scale.

[00:21:57] Credit card penetration was very low.

[00:22:00] There was no TPL.

[00:22:02] Even RedBus had online and all these things.

[00:22:06] So, the learning I had from my business woman was that you can't just be focused

[00:22:14] on your network.

[00:22:16] We were all very focused on saying this is the best technology and I will deliver

[00:22:20] the best video quality at the home.

[00:22:22] But you can't put that last mile fiber because it will regulate your

[00:22:26] rights.

[00:22:28] You will not succeed in meetings.

[00:22:30] My mindset, I went to them but I learned a lot from them.

[00:22:34] So, lots of good.

[00:22:38] Tell me that you said that your keynotes solving hard problems that data

[00:22:44] technology as a part of it as well and creates a deep impact.

[00:22:50] But when it comes to consumers specific brands like MCAPI, it might not be a

[00:22:55] necessary need for everyone but once introduced in the market, it can be either

[00:23:00] adopted or not taken in a good light.

[00:23:04] So, how do you really see consumer as a category of investment because that

[00:23:08] doesn't really require a lot of technology as such?

[00:23:10] Well, so the way I think you put technology is that everybody has a technology

[00:23:18] very efficient.

[00:23:20] So, I wouldn't say that's now sort of your part of any business.

[00:23:25] I think there is innovation.

[00:23:27] So, I think technology by itself is useless.

[00:23:31] I think the innovation for example that MCAPI is using a particular product,

[00:23:38] a particular ingredient and creating a whole market segment around it.

[00:23:44] And it is impacting the whole class of the company because they are

[00:23:49] promoting also the dark skin is good and it's also very character.

[00:23:55] So, they are very focused on packaging and so on.

[00:24:01] I also see it as an opportunity to influence others.

[00:24:04] It's a more focused thing.

[00:24:17] So, it is addressing some needs of women and bringing them up.

[00:24:24] Gender lens is also very important.

[00:24:28] In which other sectors are you seeing the market pre-induced?

[00:24:31] Like you said this was a new product and it created its market on its own.

[00:24:36] Which other sectors or rather industry are you seeing such innovation?

[00:24:40] So, I mean wellness is a lot of stuff.

[00:24:43] One of the companies we have invested in for example Angels and also

[00:24:47] a company called Goldken.

[00:24:49] It's men's sexual wellness.

[00:24:51] It's something that's very difficult to talk.

[00:24:54] And there are no organized, very few organized solutions.

[00:24:58] So, it's a category created.

[00:25:02] It's created in BigFact and it's an interesting brand.

[00:25:06] But it is more for the BigFact.

[00:25:09] We have a health care clinic which is for insurance to give access

[00:25:17] to organized healthcare to your life, you know, very class-oriented.

[00:25:25] Which is the next stage.

[00:25:26] How do they use technology? They use data.

[00:25:30] I think wellness is another of the health and wellness.

[00:25:41] I mentioned the main side which is a little bit of a new way of being

[00:25:47] which is a brand. That's more I would say big-tap.

[00:25:51] Then of course, I would like to tell you about its usability.

[00:25:57] In direct-to-consumer, we have seen a lot of brands.

[00:26:03] We have seen one brand for example, Skincare which is using technology

[00:26:08] to actually solve problems.

[00:26:13] So, it's just a...

[00:26:14] We have invested but we have seen companies which will just

[00:26:19] look at your image and use AI to do so.

[00:26:23] So, I mean in Ektek, there's a huge Ektek company

[00:26:29] to do outcomes, learning outcomes.

[00:26:32] There's a company called Kera.2 that we invested in.

[00:26:36] It's an Ektek company for climate.

[00:26:38] So, if you want to do a climate startup or you want to do

[00:26:41] a climate startup, you can take courses.

[00:26:45] So, there's a category in Ektek, a company like that.

[00:26:48] Another company like Ektek called Inspirit, they're using

[00:26:52] 3D technology which teach STEM more effectively and

[00:26:58] learning outcomes are amazing.

[00:27:01] In the US, they've just signed with key state governments

[00:27:05] to implement it in government schools.

[00:27:07] So, imagine if learning outcomes in STEM teams for people

[00:27:13] in government schools are involved, it's a huge impact.

[00:27:17] And if there is absolutely no use of technology.

[00:27:20] So, I'm not...

[00:27:22] We should not also box ourselves in technology

[00:27:25] because like I said, we have to look at the institution.

[00:27:29] I always think of my failure, I was totally

[00:27:31] focused on the technology and ignored the rest.

[00:27:35] So, why it's very important and I will definitely

[00:27:41] one some part of my family only focus on Ektek.

[00:27:44] I want to solve important problems.

[00:27:47] Like I said, I want my company to use for some

[00:27:49] important problems.

[00:27:51] Getting women to take charge of the finances is an important problem.

[00:27:56] We have another company which is using technology

[00:28:02] for enabling smaller businesses to better through

[00:28:07] Insta and WhatsApp, so that they can track and

[00:28:11] they can market it and it's a quality window.

[00:28:14] There is another company which has got a great

[00:28:18] air platform to translate on the fly and

[00:28:22] use voice to reach to new investors.

[00:28:26] So, these are all technology based problems, not limited.

[00:28:31] You also spoke about problem solving.

[00:28:35] Sometimes the problem might not be visible as such.

[00:28:38] You really identify your market first and then

[00:28:42] tell the consumers, this is a problem.

[00:28:44] Consumers won't even know that it's a problem.

[00:28:46] So, in that case especially with D2C brands

[00:28:49] which are more so tasteful like Skippy which

[00:28:52] recently came on Shark Tank.

[00:28:53] It's not solving any problem as such, but it's

[00:28:56] a good add-on in any consumer's life's journey

[00:28:59] for their tasteful experience.

[00:29:01] So, what do you have to say for that kind of category?

[00:29:03] No, see it's innovation.

[00:29:05] We meet these categories also through there.

[00:29:08] I think the point is whether we can add value

[00:29:11] to such a company.

[00:29:13] I mean I think food is very important because

[00:29:17] what you consume is an experience that

[00:29:20] also will affect you.

[00:29:22] So, food for example, we have seen

[00:29:26] Google, we have seen the alternatives,

[00:29:29] we have looked at alternative things or

[00:29:32] things like CV and so on which are good for you.

[00:29:35] You are not out there.

[00:29:37] They created these key marches.

[00:29:40] They created categories and you are

[00:29:43] giving access to the consumer.

[00:29:45] So, I think that's important to be responsible.

[00:29:47] I would not want to support a brand which is

[00:29:53] not good for a product like Google.

[00:29:56] It's just what it's called.

[00:29:58] So, we need responsibility to this by

[00:30:03] being in this.

[00:30:05] I funded a company which was very

[00:30:08] well-fixed because it had excellent products.

[00:30:12] It was called Keto diet, Rokat diet.

[00:30:18] You would have all the ingredients listed

[00:30:21] and everything and there were some

[00:30:25] meals and so on.

[00:30:27] So, this is a week to see.

[00:30:29] A week to see but I will not call it.

[00:30:31] But it was there was innovation in how

[00:30:34] we were acting, how we were relating.

[00:30:37] So, you have to be broad about innovation.

[00:30:40] I think you can use technology when it is required.

[00:30:46] So, you have to have right technology.

[00:30:48] It doesn't all have to be in time.

[00:30:50] The reason I brought in the white

[00:30:52] so this is going on is this.

[00:30:54] We can't, it is in our case we are not

[00:30:56] looking only at the future but we do want

[00:30:59] certain more of a capital to go to that

[00:31:02] because it is a difficult problem.

[00:31:04] It requires a lot more time and a lot

[00:31:07] of health products.

[00:31:09] It requires a lot more time to do.

[00:31:12] In fact, investing in the value system

[00:31:14] was simple.

[00:31:16] Now, other people are also doing it.

[00:31:19] They are using some technology to

[00:31:21] enable but you take what impact it will

[00:31:25] do. So, I think the first thing we

[00:31:27] have to see is the founder.

[00:31:29] Whether the value system is aligned

[00:31:32] with the mission itself.

[00:31:34] The second is what problem are we

[00:31:35] solving and how.

[00:31:38] Whether technology is part of it

[00:31:41] or not is one question to ask.

[00:31:44] There are many other questions

[00:31:46] that we need to ask.

[00:31:48] In D2C grants, for example, there

[00:31:50] is active wear of the actual

[00:31:53] company.

[00:31:55] Some of them are solving the

[00:31:58] problem of unpaid fees.

[00:32:00] They always say that look today

[00:32:03] the second world clear towns in India

[00:32:05] are not going to buy the

[00:32:08] free things of access.

[00:32:10] So, I think one should not be

[00:32:12] limited.

[00:32:14] But we try to give a certain

[00:32:16] value to the best goods of the

[00:32:18] world.

[00:32:20] We think that we are simply

[00:32:22] and originally just a muscle.

[00:32:24] So, you know what works.

[00:32:26] Right.

[00:32:28] With this, we come to the last

[00:32:30] round of our interview which is

[00:32:32] the rapid fire segment.

[00:32:33] So, what are the top three

[00:32:35] qualities that you will look at

[00:32:37] in a formless pitch which really

[00:32:39] catches your attention as an

[00:32:41] investor?

[00:32:43] So, the first thing is clarity.

[00:32:45] The second thing is honesty.

[00:32:47] And the third thing is

[00:32:50] you know attention to detail.

[00:32:53] It may sound

[00:32:55] but I do think that the

[00:32:57] problem has to be not every

[00:32:59] day but every day.

[00:33:01] There is a lot to do that.

[00:33:03] So, I think the third thing

[00:33:05] is honesty.

[00:33:07] What's the best and the worst

[00:33:09] piece of advice you have ever gotten?

[00:33:11] I think the best piece of

[00:33:13] advice I have gotten is

[00:33:15] curiosity.

[00:33:17] That's the easy one.

[00:33:19] The worst piece of advice

[00:33:21] is

[00:33:23] a difficult one.

[00:33:25] But I think

[00:33:27] you know you should

[00:33:29] follow certain rules

[00:33:31] because you are a woman.

[00:33:33] I will give you

[00:33:35] certain advice that

[00:33:37] you don't speak up too much.

[00:33:40] That's the

[00:33:42] best advice.

[00:33:44] Yeah.

[00:33:46] Following that, what are

[00:33:48] the kind of advices that you

[00:33:50] faced in your career so far?

[00:33:52] Because you spent a lot of

[00:33:54] time in India

[00:33:56] and people there, especially

[00:33:58] the white men as

[00:34:00] what it calls them to be,

[00:34:01] they don't

[00:34:03] accept to put a thing on the

[00:34:05] same table as them, especially

[00:34:07] when it comes to

[00:34:09] foreign meetings.

[00:34:11] Well, when I first went to

[00:34:13] US and actually like I said

[00:34:15] I am nobody in India

[00:34:17] somebody in the US

[00:34:19] study physics but you are a

[00:34:21] woman and I never heard

[00:34:23] that so that you know also

[00:34:25] put it in my head that

[00:34:27] people there are not the

[00:34:29] same exactly.

[00:34:31] I didn't really face

[00:34:33] that till I got up to boards

[00:34:35] and one particular board

[00:34:37] of one of my companies where

[00:34:39] we had a strategic investor

[00:34:41] which is the last corporate

[00:34:43] and their CEO goes on the board.

[00:34:45] He would not pay any

[00:34:47] I contact him.

[00:34:48] He also told me that

[00:34:50] Madam G should not do certain things.

[00:34:52] May I advise you now?

[00:34:54] After a soft review.

[00:34:56] And also he would say

[00:34:58] that you know this is a

[00:34:59] hard thing, let me tell

[00:35:01] the founder some

[00:35:03] difficult things that

[00:35:05] you will not be able to

[00:35:07] do.

[00:35:09] Let me do this.

[00:35:11] You just

[00:35:13] don't want to be

[00:35:15] with you.

[00:35:17] So the longest time they

[00:35:19] would not even pay I contact.

[00:35:21] There was a founder who came

[00:35:23] into our office

[00:35:25] and me and my colleague

[00:35:26] and we sat

[00:35:28] and we looked around

[00:35:30] and he said I just

[00:35:32] waited.

[00:35:33] So I said you can start

[00:35:35] putting a presentation on this

[00:35:37] thing.

[00:35:39] No I will wait for the partners

[00:35:41] to come.

[00:35:43] This is a young man

[00:35:45] young

[00:35:47] very arrogant

[00:35:49] and then now

[00:35:51] I said we are the partners.

[00:35:53] I don't know social impact.

[00:35:54] So

[00:35:56] and

[00:35:58] then we were very

[00:36:00] back to the show.

[00:36:02] So you know

[00:36:04] this has happened

[00:36:06] quite a few times.

[00:36:08] Also in the

[00:36:10] Bay area

[00:36:12] usually you know

[00:36:14] they are

[00:36:16] usually very

[00:36:18] curious about

[00:36:20] how we got here.

[00:36:22] But I think it

[00:36:24] has changed.

[00:36:25] I think I don't think I have

[00:36:27] experienced too much

[00:36:29] of that in the Bay

[00:36:31] and the US.

[00:36:33] I think we need to change

[00:36:35] the attitudes as well.

[00:36:37] I mean particularly in the VC

[00:36:39] industry as you know we are

[00:36:41] very few in finance

[00:36:43] industry.

[00:36:45] I often say I remember every

[00:36:47] woman who speaks to me because

[00:36:49] I am so few.

[00:36:50] The last 17 years

[00:36:52] when I read in the space

[00:36:54] I have read very few.

[00:36:56] In the last I think my

[00:36:58] journey in technology is happening

[00:37:00] since I was a child.

[00:37:02] We are seeing more

[00:37:04] and

[00:37:06] there is more confidence

[00:37:08] in the women.

[00:37:10] But there is still a lot of

[00:37:12] alpha male

[00:37:14] vibe in the VC industry.

[00:37:16] You know like by age

[00:37:18] some people are able to collect.

[00:37:20] So which is why you have to

[00:37:22] tame your greed.

[00:37:24] Yeah that's true.

[00:37:26] But when it comes to the

[00:37:28] founder investor

[00:37:30] term sheet what are some of

[00:37:32] the terms that are

[00:37:34] not negotiable for you?

[00:37:36] So for me I want to make sure

[00:37:38] that it is a fair agreement

[00:37:40] but I have to look at

[00:37:42] my own interest.

[00:37:44] So an exit clause is

[00:37:46] extremely important.

[00:37:48] You know tagalog and

[00:37:50] tagalog rights which

[00:37:52] make sure that you don't

[00:37:54] have to go to the investor

[00:37:56] you know

[00:37:58] then also get the upside

[00:38:00] which makes it

[00:38:02] right.

[00:38:04] This is something called

[00:38:06] liquidation.

[00:38:08] The company shuts down

[00:38:10] you have to get the

[00:38:12] liquidation and without that

[00:38:14] you get nothing and your

[00:38:16] capital has scaled up

[00:38:18] the company or you can't

[00:38:20] do that.

[00:38:22] I also like to put in anti

[00:38:24] terms so that the

[00:38:26] founders takes on the

[00:38:28] founder factors.

[00:38:30] So all this is just

[00:38:32] for the founders.

[00:38:34] I don't like to put very

[00:38:36] on the rest of the

[00:38:38] founders that will be

[00:38:40] covered in the

[00:38:42] house of management but

[00:38:44] I do want to make sure

[00:38:46] the founders

[00:38:48] are responsible and

[00:38:50] respect the founders.

[00:38:52] So the standard term sheet

[00:38:54] is the

[00:38:56] term of exit,

[00:38:58] duration.

[00:39:00] A lot of it is legal

[00:39:02] which is legal terms

[00:39:04] but it also

[00:39:06] is not always

[00:39:08] enforced.

[00:39:09] It's a deterrent and

[00:39:11] we have companies where

[00:39:13] the founders we have

[00:39:15] given our liquidation

[00:39:17] to us because

[00:39:19] founders are not zero.

[00:39:21] And reverse is also

[00:39:22] the founders got that

[00:39:24] issued and not been

[00:39:26] fed to the

[00:39:28] investors.

[00:39:29] They are given from their

[00:39:31] own base to

[00:39:33] investors.

[00:39:34] So I think a lot of it is

[00:39:36] on the relationships but

[00:39:38] when legal terms are

[00:39:40] concerned you certainly

[00:39:42] have to protect

[00:39:44] yourself.

[00:39:45] There are all kinds of

[00:39:47] founders out there so you

[00:39:49] certainly have to use

[00:39:50] that.

[00:39:51] If I really find even in

[00:39:53] negotiations that

[00:39:55] there is distrust,

[00:39:57] I have walked out of

[00:39:59] several meetings.

[00:40:01] You feel like why is the

[00:40:03] founder not signing this?

[00:40:05] Not trusting you or

[00:40:07] they are putting in some

[00:40:09] clauses which are not

[00:40:11] made and there is too

[00:40:13] much time wasted on it.

[00:40:15] You just walk away.

[00:40:17] You just extrapolate as to

[00:40:18] what is going on.

[00:40:20] So exit clauses

[00:40:22] are very important.

[00:40:24] You are having a founder

[00:40:26] who is exiting our meeting

[00:40:28] books because you can

[00:40:30] think from those.

[00:40:32] What is your most

[00:40:34] fond childhood memory?

[00:40:36] Fond childhood memory?

[00:40:38] There have been many.

[00:40:40] I think I went with my

[00:40:42] father to see

[00:40:44] the launch of the satellite.

[00:40:46] Wow!

[00:40:48] That is very special.

[00:40:50] Lastly, what is the last

[00:40:52] thing that you did for

[00:40:54] the first time in your

[00:40:56] life?

[00:40:58] The last thing that I

[00:41:00] did for the first time

[00:41:02] in my life?

[00:41:04] Well, I have been

[00:41:05] trekking a lot.

[00:41:07] For the first time

[00:41:09] when I went to

[00:41:11] Lada, I went to

[00:41:13] cross nine rivers

[00:41:15] to come back.

[00:41:16] I was so scared.

[00:41:18] Yeah!

[00:41:20] But it is so nice to see

[00:41:22] you do that at this

[00:41:24] age also.

[00:41:26] We get tired during

[00:41:28] this age doing all this.

[00:41:30] My sons were there who

[00:41:32] were very

[00:41:34] motivated because they

[00:41:36] were going so fast but

[00:41:38] it was very scary because

[00:41:40] it was so flooding and

[00:41:42] we had to get out.

[00:41:44] I do want to check again

[00:41:46] with you Paula.

[00:41:48] Thanks a lot for sharing

[00:41:50] your insights.

[00:41:51] I just felt like some

[00:41:53] other founders sitting

[00:41:55] with an investor brainstorming

[00:41:57] about how the

[00:41:59] decades have changed in

[00:42:01] India when it comes to

[00:42:03] the world of

[00:42:04] entrepreneurship and it is

[00:42:06] so great to see you

[00:42:08] be a part of it and

[00:42:10] share it with all of

[00:42:12] us today.

[00:42:14] Yeah, I mean it is always

[00:42:16] my experiences

[00:42:18] that have been

[00:42:20] industry for a long time

[00:42:22] and I have done a lot of

[00:42:24] other things.

[00:42:26] Great!

[00:42:28] Cool, thanks for your time.

[00:42:49] Thank you for listening Wife.

[00:42:51] We hope this conversation

[00:42:53] was helpful and

[00:42:54] allowed you to deep dive

[00:42:55] into the mind of

[00:42:56] a senior woman investor.

[00:42:57] We are certain that

[00:42:58] we will soon see more

[00:42:59] women wiping out the norm

[00:43:01] and becoming senior

[00:43:02] leaders in investing.

[00:43:03] If you think you

[00:43:04] are a senior woman

[00:43:15] investor, please

[00:43:17] subscribe to our channel

[00:43:19] and click the bell icon

[00:43:21] to get notified

[00:43:23] when we upload new videos

[00:43:25] and we will see you

[00:43:26] soon.