 KALAARI CONNECT
There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen. Compared to a quarter ago, all our lives have become more uncertain and more stressful. Now more than ever, we need to find our core strength to replace fear with hope, and make compassion contagious.
"If not us, who? And if not now, when?" - This has never felt more apt given the many challenges across our world.
At Kalaari, we have been busy assisting our portfolio companies to navigate through this pandemic and have been heartened to see many companies convert crisis into an opportunity for growth in their own unique ways.
Today as we are hiding from the virus and guarding ourselves from infection, the mask that we put on to protect ourselves and others has become the one thing that connects all of us globally. It has become a universal symbol that conveys and connects to each one of our fears and hopes. But social distancing doesn’t mean social isolation. So, do stay connected to people near and far and at Kalaari we would love to hear from you. Stay safe and strong.
Regards,
Vani Kola
Managing Director
Kalaari Capital
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The Psychology Of Belief
 Doubt can poison success, whereas belief can open up the universe. Self-belief is the first step in the journey of entrepreneurship. This article explores how the Placebo effect can be used as a pointer to the power that lies in our minds. Read more
Perception Dictates Price
 Pricing is power. Most companies think strategically about the product but don’t about the pricing. Pricing Strategy is critical to success. This article explores how increasing the perceived value of a product is critical to increasing your customer adoption and loyalty. Read More
Passing The Test Of Time To Build Businesses That Last
 To put longevity in perspective, the average age of a Fortune 500 company is 40-50 years, and even that sounds astonishingly long for startups who think of longevity in single digits. Worldwide, there are many companies that are more than 200 years old! What can we learn from companies which have passed the test of time? Read more
Doing More With Less
 "Doing More with Less”, is not just a leadership mantra but a larger way of life that can have a profound transformation. Hari Menon, CEO of Big Basket, swears by this mantra. In a recent conversation with Vani, Hari spoke at depth on how he achieved higher outputs with lesser resources. Read more
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Recent Fundraise By Portfolio Companies
 VernacularAI is a platform for businesses to build voice conversational bots & provide improved customer engagement solutions in local languages. The solution helps organizations reduce call centre costs significantly. In the last 12 months, VernacularAI has grown its ARR by 3x and signed multiple customers in the BFSI space. The company raised $5M Series A round led by Exfinity Ventures. Read More
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Conversations with Kalaari
CNBC TV18 | Biggest concern for startups
Since the spread of coronavirus, India's private sector has been stepping up to help. Vani Kola, MD at Kalaari, spoke to Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBCTV18, on what more companies could do to strengthen their response. Watch here
ET Now | Dealing With Impact of COVID-19
MSMEs time and again have been hailed as the backbone of the Indian economy, however it now faces an uncertain future. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Sangita Reddy, Vani Kola & Dipali Goenka discussed the future of business during Covid-19 & how India must plan for revival in these dire circumstances. Watch here
Entrepreneur India | Impact on Gaming
Online gaming has seen an unprecedented surge in interest during Covid19 and has put the focus firmly on the innumerable opportunities that lie within this industry. But it is still in its nascent stages in India. Rajesh Raju, MD at Kalaari, interacted with Manish Agarwal (Nazara), Roland Landers (All India Gaming Foundation), Paavan Nanda (WinZO), Parth Chadha (E-War) and Varun Mahna (Poker Dangal) to identify trends and decode the future of gaming. Watch here
YS Masterclass | The Explorer Mindset
“The Explorer Mindset” is often brought to leadership training and classrooms to draw lessons from famous expeditions. Much like the entrepreneurs of today, explorers had to raise capital, assemble a team and set out on an expedition. In a YourStory MasterClass session with Shradha Sharma, Vani Kola answered queries and dove deep into how startup founders could leverage the 'Explorer Mindset' for success. Watch here
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Curated Podcasts - What We Are Listening To
 At Kalaari, we like absorbing information and distilling insights across different form factors - be it books or podcasts. Here is a curated list of podcasts that we enjoyed listening to:
1) Invest Like the Best - Ben Thompson
2) Invest Like the Best - Sarah Tavel
3) NFX - The Next Social Era is here
Here is the entire list
Book Recommendations
 By Avinash Ramanathan: The Reluctant Billionaire traces the journey of Dilip Shanghvi from being an obscure and inconspicuous shop assistant in Kolkata to building India’s largest pharmaceutical company. My main takeaway from the book is Dilip’s strategy of first becoming a “big fish in a small pond” before expanding to other areas and sectors. Sun Pharma’s first drug was in neuropsychiatry, a branch of medicine which was practically non-existent in India in the 1970s. He succeeded in this area first - learning how to build relationships with doctors, being detailed oriented in the minutest aspects and being a learning machine who could hold his own against the best scientists despite coming from a Commerce background.
He eventually branched out to other therapeutic areas and briefly became India’s richest man in 2015, a tag that made him feel “uncomfortable”. I recommend this book as Mr. Shangvi's story is evidence that one can make it big in any area of his or her choosing provided they are willing to put in the work and have very big ambitions.
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Meet The Team
 Satish Hebbar is the Finance Manager at Kalaari and has been at the firm for 10 years. As a key member of the portfolio services team, he looks after finance and accounts of portfolio companies and ensures fund finances are in order.
Satish is also known for his wit, humour and deep interest in politics. His speeches in the office and at company offsites are always met with the loudest applause and also laughter because of his deep understanding of people.
Prior to Kalaari, Satish worked at Flextronics and Primus Retail and developed a good understanding of the manufacturing sector. In his free time, Satish likes to read fiction novels, work out regularly, play cricket on the weekends and also spend time with his family. Connect with him
 Harshith Mallya is a Fellow at Kalaari. As a fitness enthusiast, he practices lifelogging to measure & achieve peak performance in different aspects of life. One of his current goals is to track and optimise his sleep. At Kalaari, Harshith mainly looks at Digital Content and EdTech investment opportunities and also contributes to the branding, marketing and media strategy initiatives.
Harshith has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal. Before Kalaari, he spent four years tracking the Indian startup ecosystem as an early employee at YourStory.
Outside of work (In a pre-Covid world), you would have found him at a Cult boxing class or working out of a Third Wave Cafe while binge-listening to podcasts. He now spends his waking hours toggling between Zoom, Notion, Excel, CultLive, Lunchclub and Bumble Bizz. Connect with him
 Nandhita Nandakumar is a Fellow at Kalaari. She is passionate about gender issues, giving back to society and has been involved in diversity, inclusion and volunteering initiatives. Working with women entrepreneurs is a cause close to her heart. At Kalaari, she looks at opportunities in financial services and women-centric models and also contributes to the finance, marketing and community initiatives.
She graduated with a Master's degree from Loughborough University. Before joining Kalaari, she worked with a Fintech firm that assists early-stage startups as a Finance Business Partner
Outside of work, Nandhita loves exploring new eateries with a book in hand, backpacks, spends time with animals and is into photography. Climbing at least one route in Badami, is one of her goals for 2020. Connect with her
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