Imagine a social micro-blogging platform like Twitter that allows users to express themselves in their local languages on a large scale. Well, that’s precisely what Koo offers. In today’s episode, we are joined by Aprameya Radhakrishna, the Co-Founder and CEO of Koo.

Aprameya’s first startup was TaxiForSure, which was acquired by Ola Cabs in 2015. Since then, he has invested in over 30 early-stage startups, including Unacademy, TapChief, and Daily Ninja.

During our conversation, Aprameya discusses his thoughts on Indian startups and tech talent building for global markets, his experience with VCs as a second-time entrepreneur, and much more.

Notes –

00:00 – Highlights

01:47 – Aprameya Radhakrishna and Koo’s story

03:23 – Koo’s scale in India and Brazil

08:30 – Current market headwinds

10:59 – Koo’s positioning in the audience’s mind

13:17 – VC and investor perspective being a second time founder

15:13 – Going deeper in India v/s going Global

16:30 – Exiting TaxiForSure

17:56 – Focus on product and traction while building a product

20:29 – Learnings from TaxiForSure

22:36 – Confidence to go global as a consumer internet company from India

26:50 – Self-doubt while starting Koo

31:14 – Change in Aprameya’s ability to read the market

33:22 – Gut feeling about the recession’s duration

37:04 – Balancing confidence and arrogance as a founder

40:17 – Relationship with VCs over time

45:00 – Future bets in the next 10 years

46:32 – Riskiest bets that paid off

48:02 – Financial independence’s impact on Aprameya as a person

49:57 – Aprameya’s other aspirations besides building Koo

51:53 – Is the core India really shining?

 

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