(January 21, 2022) What do you do when you’re fascinated with the world of startups but don’t have a tech background or the business know-how? Launch a podcast that addresses this knowledge gap. At least that’s what Indian venture capitalist Jivraj Singh Sachar did. The Kolkata-based 23-year-old launched his now hugely popular business podcast Indian Silicon Valley back in August 2020 to help answer questions like how to build a successful business.
Today, with about 90 episodes in the bag, Indian Silicon Valley has been consistently ranking in the top 10 business podcasts on Spotify. And the Indian venture capitalist has managed to also feature about 30 percent of the country’s unicorns.
For Jivraj, the motive behind Indian Silicon Valley (which has an active listener base of over 75,000) was simple: create a content repository for budding entrepreneurs and get valuable information and tips from industry experts. To that effect, Jivraj has so far featured several of India’s successful founders, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. While he is not hosting his podcast, so far, a one-man show, he is working his way around the world of venture capital at his day job with AngelList India, where he prescribes to the philosophies of Naval Ravikanth and Utsav Somani.
A podcast to help startups, start up!
Born into a Sikh household settled in Kolkata, Jivraj had the typical middle-class upbringing. His father runs a business in the wood space and his mother works in the fashion industry, while his sister works with E&Y.
The Indian venture capitalist, who spent most of his formative years studying in Kolkata’s St Xavier’s College, tells Global Indian, “Like any typical middle-class family our aspirations were to focus on our studies, excel academically and eventually get a degree in engineering. However, in high school, a whole new world of opportunities opened up to me. I began to get more involved in co-curricular activities like debating and realised that there was life beyond just academics.” This was a period when he was quite active in the college TeDx scene too.
The Indian venture capitalist eventually chose to do his graduation in commerce from the same institution where he’d done his schooling, and graduated in 2020. During his college years, he was actively involved in clubs and launched a few himself too. “I found myself drawn to entrepreneurship, and wondered more and more about what it took to set up a successful business. I wanted to know the how behind several success stories out there,” smiles the Indian venture capitalist, adding that Kolkata as a city was not very entrepreneurial in nature.
That’s when he decided to launch his podcast – To build a content repository for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to build a business. The podcast, which usually lasts anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour, has Jivraj speaking to industry leaders to try and democratise industry knowledge for people his age. Some of the people he’s featured so far include Jaydeep Barman of Rebel Foods, Ashwini Ashok of Mad Street Den, Sai Srinivas of Mobile Premier League, Vikram Chopra of Cars24, Kabeer Biswas of Dunzo, and Abhay Hanjura of Licious, among others. He has also interviewed managing partners of major venture funds such as Accel India, Sequoia Capital India, and Light Speed, to name a few.
Completely bootstrapped, the only investments Jivraj had to put into Indian Silicon Valley was to buy a good quality mic and laptop. “Revenue generation was never the idea behind the podcast. I was curious about how to build a business and since I didn’t come from a tech background, I thought the best way to gain that knowledge would be by interviewing industry insiders. That’s how the podcast came about,” says the Indian venture capitalist, adding that today, he also features experts from the Bay Area, UK, Netherlands and Bangladesh.
Aired weekly, his podcasts have Jivraj quiz industry leaders on how to go about tactical things, pull off valuations, establish culture in the company, and how to startup in the first place. “I want to equip the masses with the tools to start their own company and contribute to the Indian Silicon Valley and economy,” smiles Indian venture capitalist.
All in a day’s work
On the professional front, Jivraj began working with AngelList India in December 2020; at the time he was one of the youngest employees. Today, he works in the venture operations team, and looks at investor relations. “I look up to Naval’s ideologies and principals. I also have great respect for Utsav, the India partner. At 33, he’s one of the youngest investors in the country,” says the Indian venture capitalist, who is also an avid reader and loves to play table tennis when he isn’t reading up to understand the world of investments better.
A cricket and sport buff, the Indian venture capitalist also loves travelling with friends, and on occasion, adding adventure to the mix.
As his podcast continues to gain steam, Jivraj hopes that in the next few years Indian Silicon Valley becomes one of the most widely heard podcasts in the world. “I truly believe that innovation in India should not be restricted, it should be showcased to the world. And I hope we can do that through Indian Silicon Valley,” he signs off.
- Follow Jivraj Singh Sachar on LinkedIn
