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26: Finding & Scaling PMF

26: Finding & Scaling PMF

Matrix Moments by Matrix Partners India 20 August 2019

Episode Description

As a company scales, how you scale & grow with it as a founder is crucial to business success. A fundamental part of this transition includes knowing how to shift your strategy pre and post attaining PMF, in this episode Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix India sums up the key indicators and metrics to keep in mind at each stage.

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128: Boards

128: Boards

As a first time founder  - how do you decide the dynamics of your board?When should the board discussion happen?  when does it become relevant? How many people should be on a board, who should be on the board? We try to unpack learnings & reflections from our experience of being on boards, tune in to find out.

21 January 2022 33m and 9s


127: A look back at 2021 & forecast for 2022

127: A look back at 2021 & forecast for 2022

The Matrix team takes stock of the year gone by and discuss trend predictions for 2022. Tune in to hear our thoughts.

13 January 2022 33m and 56s


126: Inside out versus Outside in

126: Inside out versus Outside in

Inside out vs outside in: what is the better business strategy to adopt for an early-stage startup? Tune in to hear our thoughts.

17 December 2021 2m and 19s


125: Behind the scenes with Ilya Sukhar

125: Behind the scenes with Ilya Sukhar

On today's episode we have Ilya Sukhar (Partner at Matrix Partners) in conversation with Vikram Vaidyanathan (MD at Matrix Partners India). Through this conversation, we uncover Ilya's journey from founder to VC, learnings & insights gained from his journey at Parse.com, YC, Facebook and Matrix. They then dive deep into Ilya's investment in Fivetran -  leading provider of automated data integration. He takes us through the thought process behind the investment and much more. Tune-in

10 December 2021 57m and 33s


124: Hiring an in-house head of talent

124: Hiring an in-house head of talent

At the early stages, building your company's recruitment muscle is paramount to its growth, but is an in-house head of talent a necessity to accelerate this process? Tune in for key insights on team building & recruitment from Avnish Bajaj & Rajinder Balaraman.

3 December 2021 2m and 19s


123: Executive coach: what role do they play in a company’s success?

123: Executive coach: what role do they play in a company’s success?

Here's #AMatrixMoment with our take on the role of an executive coach, tune in to find out.

1 December 2021 2m and 43s


122: Hard clauses in a term sheet

122: Hard clauses in a term sheet

On today’s episode Avnish Bajaj, Founder & Managing Director at Matrix Partners India, & Sudipto Sannigrahi, VP at Matrix Partners India, dissect the Hard clauses in a term Sheet.

25 November 2021 38m and 42s


121: When to hire a chief of staff?

121: When to hire a chief of staff?

What does a 'chief of staff' role entail, and when is the right time to hire one? SHOW LESS

24 November 2021 2m and 38s


120:  DaMensch - building India's largest Men’s Fashion Essentials brand

120: DaMensch - building India's largest Men’s Fashion Essentials brand

On today’s episode we have the co-founders of DaMensch, Gaurav Pushkar & Anurag Saboo, along with Sudipto Sannigrahi, VP at Matrix Partners India. They talk about the origin of the brand DaMensch, how the company attained strong customer love over a short span of time and what it takes to build a profitable D2C brand and much more.

19 November 2021 22m and 48s


119: What if I want to startup, but don't have a problem statement

119: What if I want to startup, but don't have a problem statement

"What if I want to startup but don't have a groundbreaking idea?" SHOW LESS

16 November 2021 2m and 13s


118:  IPO readiness & startups

118: IPO readiness & startups

On today’s episode we have Rajinder Balaraman, Director at Matrix Partners India, as well as Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. They cover they key markers that help determine a company’s IPO readiness, the right size for an IPO, the role played by the board of directors and the board can be leveraged for an IPO and much more. Tune – in.

12 November 2021 29m and 1s


117: Downturns & M&A's

117: Downturns & M&A's

"When industries are changing in structure, either you shape that structure, or you can get shaped by that structure" - Avnish Bajaj #AMatrixMoment where we talk about M&As & downturns and the real value creation that can come out of mergers. Tune in to know more.

11 November 2021 3m and 25s


116: Decoding the BNPL model

116: Decoding the BNPL model

On today’s episode we have Dana Stalder, Partner at Matrix Partners. Dana is in conversation with Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. They cover Dana’s journey into the venture capital world, his learnings from his investments in Afterpay  and much more. Tune – in.

10 November 2021 43m and 34s


115: How to pick the right CEO

115: How to pick the right CEO

While each co-founder has a unique set of strengths, a company ultimately needs one decision maker - but how should a founding team decide who amongst them becomes CEO? Tune in to hear our take on it.

3 November 2021 2m and 18s


114:  OTO Capital - reimagining the 2 wheeler ownership experience

114: OTO Capital - reimagining the 2 wheeler ownership experience

In today's episode, we speak with Sumit Chhazed, the founder of OTO Capital, a company focused on reimagining the two wheeler ownership experience. Sumit opens up about why he chose this market & his vision to transform the future of bike ownership in India. Tune in to know more.

2 November 2021 35m and 41s


113: When to bring in an external CEO

113: When to bring in an external CEO

Should startup founders hire an external CEO? and if so, is there a right time/stage to bring in an external CEO? Tune in to find out how we think about it.

29 October 2021 2m and 43s


112: dezerv. - building an expert investing platform

112: dezerv. - building an expert investing platform

In today’s episode we are in conversation with Sandeep Jethani, Co-founder of dezerv. and Sarthak Malhotra, senior associate at Matrix Partners India and Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. In this episode we cover dezerv. Differentiated integrated portfolio approach and much more. Tune-in.

25 October 2021 34m and 11s


111: Captain Fresh: Building the future of fresh fish and Sea food

111: Captain Fresh: Building the future of fresh fish and Sea food

Joining us today is Utham Gowda, founder of Captain Fresh, along with him are Sudipto Sannigrahi, Vice President at Matrix and Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. In this episode, we cover Utham’s journey from a banker to a founder of a B2B Sea Food Marketplace.

21 October 2021 34m and 26s


110: Performance versus loyalty: how should employees be evaluated?

110: Performance versus loyalty: how should employees be evaluated?

One of the toughest questions employers struggle with & there are various schools of thought around it, here's #AMatrixMoment where Avnish Bajaj & Rajinder Balaraman discuss a framework to help think through it. Tune in to know more.

19 October 2021 2m and 38s


109: The Delhi Belly edition: Digesting the wisdom of our NCR founders! - Part 2

109: The Delhi Belly edition: Digesting the wisdom of our NCR founders! - Part 2

Hi and welcome back to part 2 of our Delhi edition Founder Moments episode. In todays episode we take stock of startup environment and the growing and burgeoning founder eco-system in Delhi NCR. we have with us today, Chirag Taneja, the Co-founder of GoKwik, Anindya Dutta, the Co-founder of Stanza Living, Amit Lakhotia, Founder of Park+, and Asish Mohapatra, Co-founder of Ofbusiness, along with Avnish Bajaj, Founder and Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. Tune - in.

12 October 2021 31m and 19s


108: The Delhi Belly edition: Digesting the wisdom of our NCR founders! - Part 1

108: The Delhi Belly edition: Digesting the wisdom of our NCR founders! - Part 1

Todays discussion is heavily centered around the prevailing start-up environment and we’re here to essentially take stock of the current scenario, from the overheated funding situation, to exits, MNA’s, remote hybrid working models, the COVID impact, all of these and more. We have with us today, Chirag Taneja, the Co-founder of GoKwik, Amit Lakhotia, Founder of Park+, Anindya Dutta, the Co-founder of Stanza Living and Asish Mohapatra, Co-founder of ofBusiness, along with Avnish Bajaj, Founder and Managing Director at Matrix Partners India.

7 October 2021 55m and 8s


107: bijnis - taking factories to the world!

107: bijnis - taking factories to the world!

Today on FounderMoments, we dive deep into Bijnis's journey of empowering the manufacturer community & their vision of taking factories to the world!

28 September 2021 51m and 46s


106: Convertible round vs priced equity round?

106: Convertible round vs priced equity round?

What should founders be raising and what's the market standard? Avnish Bajaj & Rajinder Balaraman discuss the thought process behind this decision for both the founder and investor. Tune in to find out.

21 September 2021 2m and 52s


105: Co-founder Conflicts

105: Co-founder Conflicts

Co-founder conflicts: one of the trickiest situations that a founding team goes through. How should founders engage with one another amidst a conflict & maneuver such a situation? Tune in to find out.

16 September 2021 2m and 32s


104: Fundraising: Speed, Frequency & Size

104: Fundraising: Speed, Frequency & Size

Amidst the current overheated funding environment - what is the right speed, size & frequency a founder should fundraise at? Here's #AMatrixMoment where Avnish Bajaj & Rajinder Balaraman discuss the nitty gritties of fundraising, tune in.

15 September 2021 1m and 36s


103: Democratizing the e-shopping experience with GoKwik

103: Democratizing the e-shopping experience with GoKwik

In today’s episode, we have Chirag Taneja, co-founder of GoKwik in conversation with Rajat Agarwal, MD at Matrix Partners India, and Sarthak Malhotra, Senior Associate at Matrix Partners India. Through the course of this episode, we discuss the growing need for the one-click check-out product such as GoKwik, what led Chirag to start this company, the early traction received, and much more.

9 September 2021 29m and 26s


102: Fundraising when you don't need it

102: Fundraising when you don't need it

"The best businesses raise money inbound, not outbound" - Avnish Bajaj #AMatrixMoment with our perspective on fundraising when you don't need it. Tune in.

7 September 2021 1m and 56s


101: Toddle - Superpower for teachers, by teachers

101: Toddle - Superpower for teachers, by teachers

In today’s episode, we have Deepanshu Arora, co-founder of Toddle, In conversation with Rajat Agarwal, Managing director at Matrix Partners India. As part of this episode, we cover the learnings from Deepanshu’s journey of building a global EdTech platform, from what triggered the inception of the company and what it's like to sell to schools, to managing a team remotely and much more

3 September 2021 44m and 49s


100: Toddle snippet: working with schools as your clients

100: Toddle snippet: working with schools as your clients

Deepanshu Arora, co-founder of Toddle - Your Teaching Partner, talks to Rajat Agarwal on his journey of building a "teachers-first" global edtech platform. Here's a snippet where Deepanshu shares his POV on what it's like working with international schools as his clients. Stay tuned for the full episode!

3 September 2021 1m and 9s


99: Stanza Living: Learnings From Hyper-Scaling A Phygital Business

99: Stanza Living: Learnings From Hyper-Scaling A Phygital Business

In today’s episode we have Anindya Datta and Sandeep Dalmia the co-founders of Stanza Living. In conversation with Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. In this episode we cover what it takes to hyperscale a phygital business amongst pandemic and biggest learnings that have emerged from this experience

24 August 2021 52m and 42s


98: Should you care if your VC backs your competitor?

98: Should you care if your VC backs your competitor?

There's a lot that has been said about this - if you're a founder who is fundraising & thinking about this, here's #AMatrixMoment capturing our take on it.

19 August 2021 2m and 10s


97: Where should I incorporate my company?

97: Where should I incorporate my company?

India, US, Singapore are some of the more common options that founders consider but what are the driving factors for this decision? #AMatrixMoment on our perspective, tune in to find out.

12 August 2021 1m and 47s


96: A decryption of the DealShare journey

96: A decryption of the DealShare journey

In today's episode, we have Sourjyendu Medda and Vineet Rao, the co-founders of DealShare in conversation with Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. We talk about what makes them unique and also cover highlights from their growth journey.

10 August 2021 57m and 31s


95: What's the right burn rate for your company?

95: What's the right burn rate for your company?

What's the right burn rate for your company? and how does this vary across stages? One of the most discussed topics by founders & VCs both, tune in to hear Avnish Bajaj share a framework to help think through it.

5 August 2021 2m and 23s


94: The Rocketlane Journey

94: The Rocketlane Journey

In today’s episode, we have Shri and Vignesh the Co-founders of Rocketlane. They’re in conversation with Pranay Desai Vice – President, at Matrix Partners India. They talk about the team's deep SaaS history, learning from their prior venture, Konotor, their vision for Rocketlane and much more.

3 August 2021 30m and 10s


93: Behind the Scenes with Tarun Davda

93: Behind the Scenes with Tarun Davda

This episode is an audio recording to the recent Clubhouse session, that Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India, Did with Priya Rajan, MD at Silicon Valley Bank, as well as Anand Chandrasekaran, Who is Executive VP at Five-Nine, Anand was formerly Director, messenger platform at Facebook and prior to that CPO at Snapdeal. In this episode, they cover the latest trend emerging in India tech. Matrix’s investment strategy through and post-Covid. IPO and MNA trend amongst other topics.

29 July 2021 1h, 2m and 32s


92: When should a founder announce their fundraise?

92: When should a founder announce their fundraise?

Announcing your company's fundraise is a big deal - but when is the right time to announce it? and more importantly, why should you be announcing it? Tune in to find out how we think about it.

27 July 2021 1m and 49s


90: Network effects in a nutshell.

90: Network effects in a nutshell.

Network effects: one of the most spoken about & most important concepts for tech businesses - it helps a co. scale, build moats and contributes to virality. But what really is a network effect? Tune in to hear Avnish Bajaj summarize network effects in a nutshell.

14 July 2021 1m and 58s


89: Product vs Distribution

89: Product vs Distribution

Product versus distribution capability - what's more crucial for a founder to focus on at the early stages & why? Tune in to know how we think about it.

6 July 2021 1m and 31s


88: The PhonePe journey with Sameer Nigam

88: The PhonePe journey with Sameer Nigam

Sameer Nigam, Co-founder, and CEO at PhonePe takes us through his journey of building India’s leading payments platform. In conversation with Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD at Matrix Partners India, they cover Sameer’s early days at Flipkart to starting up & scaling PhonePe & then selling to Flipkart, and much more. Tune in

30 June 2021 48m and 59s


87: Marketplaces - Part "2" : B2B&2C&2R&2E = 2B or 2E that is the question!

87: Marketplaces - Part "2" : B2B&2C&2R&2E = 2B or 2E that is the question!

This episode is part 2 of the episode we did earlier on Marketpalces. Joining us for this podcast is Rajinder Balaraman (Director, Matrix Partners India) and Avnish Bajaj (Founder & Managing Director, Matrix Partners India).

22 June 2021 28m and 9s


86: Tarun Davda - Building Matrix Partners India

86: Tarun Davda - Building Matrix Partners India

About Tarun Davda: He is the Managing Director of Matrix, India. Prior to joining Matrix, Tarun was the Co-founder, India CEO and Board Member at StepOut.com, a venture-backed startup. StepOut became India’s #1 online dating site with over 5 Million users. Before that, Tarun established BigRock.com (incubated by the Directi group) - India’s #1 provider of domain name registration and other web services. Tarun started his career at Infosys as an IT consultant. He has an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad and an Engineer from VJTI, Bombay.

16 June 2021 43m and 50s


85: Tarun Davda on AngelList India radio

85: Tarun Davda on AngelList India radio

Tarun Davda (Managing Director at Matrix Partners India) speaks to Utsav Somani of AngelList India to take stock of the current startup scenario and Indian entrepreneurial drive

11 June 2021 29m and 49s


84: Nithin Kamath unplugged

84: Nithin Kamath unplugged

In today's episode, we have Nithin Kamath the founder and CEO of Zerodha, India’s largest tech-broking discount firm as well as Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. This is Nithin's second podcast with us and in an unplugged and candid conversation with Vikram.

9 June 2021 38m and 26s


82: From both sides of the table: Kunal Bahl unplugged - snippet

82: From both sides of the table: Kunal Bahl unplugged - snippet

Here's a snippet, from our #FounderMoments episode, where Kunal Bahl (Founder & MD, Snapdeal) talk to Tarun Davda (MD, Matrix India) about the people that were most instrumental in his childhood & the qualities he imbibed from them very early on. Tune in to find out. To catch the full episode, go here: https://lnkd.in/ec4GxSn

1 June 2021 1m and 44s


81: Founder Compensation

81: Founder Compensation

As a founder how do you determine what your own compensation should be? & what is the right salary to be drawn across stages?    Here's how we Matrix Partners India think about it, tune in:

22 April 2021 2m and 43s


80: Co-founder Disputes

80: Co-founder Disputes

A conflict within the founding team is a situation that unfortunately arises more often than not, but when conflict does occur amongst two or more founders, how should one tackle it? Tune in to hear how Avnish Bajaj thinks about it.

20 April 2021 2m and 11s


76: LTV-CAC – what’s the right number?

76: LTV-CAC – what’s the right number?

LTV-CAC – what’s the right number early-stage founders should track?

6 April 2021 1m and 41s


77: Is marketing scalable?

77: Is marketing scalable?

Is marketing a scalable function for companies to leverage? Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India,  decodes how marketing is used to “fuel the fire” and why it’s far more impactful for digital businesses. Tune in for more.

1 April 2021 1m and 55s


79: Reverse Vesting

79: Reverse Vesting

s founder reverse vesting standard practice? Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India & Rajinder Balaraman, Director, Matrix Partners India, decode how we think about this at Matrix Partners India. Tune in for more SHOW LESS

30 March 2021 1m and 35s


78: Founder Ownership Structures

78: Founder Ownership Structures

How should founders think about it at across the different stages of a startup? Avnish Bajaj, (Founder and MD, Matrix Partners India) shares his perspective, while in conversation with Salonie Ganju, ( Marketing Manager, Matrix Partners India ) Tune in to find out

26 March 2021 2m and 28s


75: Valuation versus Dilution

75: Valuation versus Dilution

Valuation versus dilution is something all founders spend a lot of time thinking about. Avnish Bajaj (Founder & MD, MPI) shares his point of view on how founders should approach this.

24 March 2021 3m and 5s


74: The Hack Job – Hacking Your Way Through Growth and Profits

74: The Hack Job – Hacking Your Way Through Growth and Profits

What matters more – growth or profitability? In this episode, Rajinder Balaraman, Director, Matrix Partners India, and Avnish Bajaj, Founder and MD at Matrix Partners India talk about hacking the way to profitable growth vectors and loops.

17 March 2021 39m and 29s


73: From both sides of the table: Kunal Bahl unplugged

73: From both sides of the table: Kunal Bahl unplugged

In today’s episode, we have Tarun Davda Managing Director at Matrix Partners India, with Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital. Through the course of this conversation, we cover Kunal’s early childhood and background that helped him shaped him into who he is today. The biggest learnings from his journey at Snapdeal, transitioning from an entrepreneur to an investor.

15 March 2021 1h, 9m and 17s


72: What role does human capital play in venture investing?

72: What role does human capital play in venture investing?

Here's a snippet from an upcoming episode where Debleena Das & Rajinder Balaraman share learnings and insights on team building at the early stages.

1 March 2021 19m and 32s


83: Customer versus Competition

83: Customer versus Competition

How much should a founder worry about competition & the threat of being disrupted by a new startup? tune in to find out how Avnish Bajaj, (Founder and MD, Matrix Partners India), and Rajinder Balaraman, (Director, Matrix Partners India) think about it.

19 February 2021 1m and 29s


71: Redefining wellness, one mosaic at a time

71: Redefining wellness, one mosaic at a time

In today’s episode, we have Revant Bhate, the co-founder of Mosaic wellness in conversation with Sanjot Malhi, Director and the lead for the consumer sector at Matrix Partners India. Mosaic Wellness is a house of brands, focused on redefining the Indian wellness market and on today's episode we cover Revant’s transition from investor to founder and what that was like, what it takes to build a consumer brand in India and the problem they aim to solve through their recently launched brands ManMatters and Bodywise. Tune in to know more.

19 February 2021 35m and 10s


70: Profit Pools – fishing in the right pond!

70: Profit Pools – fishing in the right pond!

The pandemic & recent global trends have brought about a shift in the way companies are thinking about profit pools at the early stages,  but what’s really changed? and how does one go deeper into the value chain of an industry in quest of the right profit pool - tune in to find out.

11 February 2021 38m and 9s


69: OZiva unplugged: building India’s leading clean, plant-based nutrition brand

69: OZiva unplugged: building India’s leading clean, plant-based nutrition brand

In this episode, Sanjot Malhi (Director & consumer sector lead at Matrix Partners India) sits down with Aarti Gill & Mihir Gadani, the co-founders of OZiva, to dissect & decipher their journey of building India’s leading clean, plant-based nutrition brand.

4 February 2021 29m and 20s


68: Gaming+: some games are companies but all companies need to up their game!

68: Gaming+: some games are companies but all companies need to up their game!

In this episode, we explore the concept of “gamification” and the impact it has on user growth & retention at the early stages, tune in to know more.

29 January 2021 39m and 23s


67:  A look back at 2020 & forecast for 2021

67: A look back at 2020 & forecast for 2021

In today’s episode we take stock of the biggest learnings from the last 12 months and trends we think will explode in 2021. Tune in to find out!

8 January 2021 37m and 28s


66: Commerce N.0 - crystal ball gazing!

66: Commerce N.0 - crystal ball gazing!

In today’s episode, Rajinder & Avnish are crystal ball gazing into the future of commerce – tune in to know more about trends and sectors we expect to explode in 2021.

21 December 2020 34m and 13s


65: Working from home to working from anywhere to finally from work – our experience!

65: Working from home to working from anywhere to finally from work – our experience!

While choosing to ‘work from office’ is a personal & company specific decision, we at Matrix Partners India have slowly inched back towards operating from the office, with all measures & protocols in place. Tune in to hear what our experience has been like over the last few months.

18 December 2020 6m and 32s


64: From dream to reality - the journey of Dream11

64: From dream to reality - the journey of Dream11

Harsh Jain, CEO and Co-founder, Dream11, sits down with Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India to retrace the journey of building Dream11 – they discuss the key inflection points, fundraising struggles, winning the IPL title sponsorship, Harsh’s personal growth journey as a leader & much more. Tune in.

4 November 2020 51m and 51s


63: The untapped opportunities in agritech

63: The untapped opportunities in agritech

Welcome back to episode 5, the last episode of this series. In today’s episode we talk about the unsolved opportunities in the agri-tech space. We have with us Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-founder of Ninjacart, Shashank Kumar, Founder & CEO, DeHaat, Karthik Jayaraman, Co-founder of WayCool and Shobhit, Co-founder of VeGrow. The conversation was moderated by Ankush Goyal, Sanjot Malhi & Tarun Davda who look over the investments in the agri-tech sector for Matrix Partners India.

23 October 2020 7m and 59s


62: The role of tech in the Agri sector

62: The role of tech in the Agri sector

Welcome back to part 4 of this series. In today’s episode we discuss the importance of technology adoption in the Agri tech sector and how behavioural change plays a large role in the farmer community when it comes to leveraging tech. This episode is part 4 of a 5 part series on the Indian Agritech ecosystem, with insights from Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-founder of Ninjacart, Shashank Kumar, Founder & CEO, DeHaat, Karthik Jayaraman, Co-founder of WayCool and Shobhit, Co-founder of VeGrow. The conversation was moderated by Ankush Goyal, Sanjot Malhi & Tarun Davda who look over the investments in the agri-tech sector for Matrix Partners India.

22 October 2020 6m and 16s


61: Learnings from Ninjacart on building a sustainable agritech model

61: Learnings from Ninjacart on building a sustainable agritech model

Welcome back to part 3 of this series. In today’s episode, we discuss about the journey of Ninjacart and learnings on building unit economics positive business in Agri. We have with us Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-founder of Ninjacart, Shashank Kumar, Founder & CEO, DeHaat, Karthik Jayaraman, Co-founder of WayCool and Shobhit, Co-founder of VeGrow. The conversation was moderated by Ankush Goyal, Sanjot Malhi & Tarun Davda who look over the investments in the agri-tech sector for Matrix Partners India.

20 October 2020 10m and 33s


60: The inception of Waycool – insights from Karthik’s journey

60: The inception of Waycool – insights from Karthik’s journey

Welcome back to part 2 of this series. This episode is focused on the inception of WayCool and insights from Karthik's journey on building and scaling the company. Also part of this episode are prominent founders from the agri-tech startup industry, Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-founder of Ninjacart, Shashank Kumar, Founder & CEO, DeHaat and Shobhit, Co-founder of VeGrow. The conversation was moderated by Ankush Goyal, Sanjot Malhi & Taun Davda who look over the investments in the agri-tech sector for Matrix Partners India. Tune in.

16 October 2020 5m and 59s


59: Agri – tech startup advice – for founders, from founders.

59: Agri – tech startup advice – for founders, from founders.

In this episode we deep dive into one of India’s largest industries, which is agriculture, and the associated agri-tech disruption that is underway in India, we discuss the opportunities and the pitfalls in agri-tech, with Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-founder of Ninjacart, Shashank Kumar, Founder & CEO, DeHaat, Karthik Jayaraman, Co-founder of WayCool and Shobhit, Co-founder of VeGrow. The conversation was moderated by Ankush Goyal, Sanjot Malhi & Taun Davda who look over the investments in the agri-tech sector for Matrix Partners India.

15 October 2020 22m and 50s


58: India venture opportunity – part 2

58: India venture opportunity – part 2

This episode is part 2 to the India venture opportunity, a podcast we hosted last year. We cover the state of affairs in the Indian startup and Venture community, the recent China ban, and its ramifications. Jio’s impact on start-ups and the fund-raising environment and the COVID effect on India’s digital economy among other topics. Tune - in

30 September 2020 38m and 56s


57: The Whole Truth, and nothing else

57: The Whole Truth, and nothing else

In today’s episode we have Shashank Mehta the founder of The Whole Truth, (formerly known as and nothing else) with Sanjot Malhi, Director, Matrix Partners India. Sanjot and Shashank dive deep into the brand story, starting with Shashank’s real motive and personal journey behind founding The Whole Truth and the reason behind the recent brand transformation exercise.

8 September 2020 34m and 13s


56: Mobility trends & leanings from redBus's journey

56: Mobility trends & leanings from redBus's journey

In an episode focused on the mobility sector, Tarun Davda, MD, Matrix India & Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus decode the bus ticketing ecosystem, they talk about COVID recovery patterns, changing consumer behavior, and learnings from redBus’ journey in the international markets.

1 September 2020 48m and 35s


55: Moats

55: Moats

In today’s episode, we do deep dive on the importance of economic moats for early-stage startups, and why they matter.

25 August 2020 39m and 8s


54: Performance Management Systems Decoded

54: Performance Management Systems Decoded

In today’s episode, we have Rupali Sharma, ( VP, Human Capital, Matrix Partners India ) and Rajinder Balaraman, ( Director, Matrix Partners India ), they cover performance management systems & HR best practices for early-stage startups. We work closely with founders in this area and have tried to summarize some of the key learnings from our experience. Tune - in

5 August 2020 32m and 54s


53: The Journey of building Razorpay

53: The Journey of building Razorpay

In today's episode, we talk to Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, the Co-founders of Razorpay, as well as Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India. This episode is primarily focusing on the early part of the founder’s journey, we cover their fundraising process. Living together as founders and building an amazing product culture and much more.

28 July 2020 42m and 27s


52: Dailyhunt’s Journey – Part 2

52: Dailyhunt’s Journey – Part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of the Dailyhunt episode, with Virendra Gupta (Founder, Dailyhunt) and Umang Bedi (Co-Founder, Dailyhunt), as well as, Vikram Vaidyanathan (Director, Matrix Partners India). We talk about the dynamics of their partnership and also the cover the changing face of content consumption in India, and how Dailyhunt has been at the forefront in each of these changes. Tune in.

17 July 2020 30m and 57s


51: Dailyhunt’s Journey – Part 1

51: Dailyhunt’s Journey – Part 1

In today’s Matrix Moment episode, we have Virendra Gupta ( Founder, Dailyhunt ) and Umang Bedi ( Co- Founder, Dailyhunt ), with Vikram Vaidyanathan ( Director, Matrix Partners India ). We talk about the dynamics of their partnership and also the cover the changing face of content consumption in India, and how Dailyhunt has been at the forefront in each of these changes. Tune in.

17 July 2020 30m and 12s


50: Marketplaces

50: Marketplaces

With Marketplaces on the rise, today’s episode covers how Marketplaces have evolved as a sector and an analysis of the differentiated business models that work for different markets. Joining us to discuss this is Rajinder Balaraman ( Director, Matrix Partners India ) and Avnish Bajaj ( Founder & Managing Director, Matrix Partners India ). Tune in to know more.

14 July 2020 38m and 7s


49: The Journey of building OfBusiness – Part 2

49: The Journey of building OfBusiness – Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of Matrix Moment episode with Asish Mohapatra, Co-Founder & CEO – Ofbusiness opens up to  Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix Partners India, about transitioning from an investor to entrepreneur, building Ofbusiness from ground zero, co-founder relationships & dynamics, his thoughts on profitability vs growth and much more

9 July 2020 30m and 15s


48: The Journey of building OfBusiness – Part 1

48: The Journey of building OfBusiness – Part 1

In today’s Matrix Moment episode Asish Mohapatra, Co-Founder & CEO – Ofbusiness opens up to  Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix Partners India, about transitioning from an investor to entrepreneur, building OfBusiness from ground zero, co-founder relationships & dynamics, his thoughts on profitability vs growth and much more.

8 July 2020 20m and 27s


47: COVID -19 & its after effects on the grocery business.

47: COVID -19 & its after effects on the grocery business.

In today’s Matrix Moment episode, we will cover the opportunities in the grocery and E-Commerce space post-COVID-19, joining us for this discussion are Vineet Rao and Sourjyendu Medda, the co-founders of DealShare as well as Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Matrix Partners India, and Gourav Bhattacharya, Director at Matrix Partners India.

25 June 2020 41m and 59s


46: The journey of building Country Delight

46: The journey of building Country Delight

Today’s Matrix Moments episode is a masterclass on the journey of building Country Delight, India’s leading direct to home, mass premium, dairy, and fresh grocery brand. Country Delight currently serves 200,000 families across Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore. With a $50 million run rate along with the 3x year on year growth rate. The episode outlines the highlights and milestones of the journey with insights and inputs from both sides of the table – founders and investors. Tune in to know more.

27 May 2020 46m and 12s


45: Marginal Value add

45: Marginal Value add

In this episode Avnish and Rajinder talk about why not all margin is equal and how margins relate to valuation.

6 May 2020 30m and 46s


44: Exit Strategy for startups

44: Exit Strategy for startups

What is the change required to survive this crisis and how will each sector navigate their way through it? In this episode of Matrix Moments, the Matrix team shares their thoughts from a macro + sectoral view point. Tune in to know more.

20 April 2020 35m and 45s


43: Overreaction is the only reaction for Fintechs

43: Overreaction is the only reaction for Fintechs

In this episode of #MatrixMoments, Vikram Vaidyanathan, ( Managing Director, Matrix Partners India ) and Rajat Agarwal, ( Director, Matrix Partners India ) share guidelines for Fintech firms on how to navigate their way through the perfect storm that is Covid-19 and why overreaction is the only reaction at this point. Watch the full episode to know more.

26 March 2020 22m and 13s


42: Covid - 19 & its implications on startup India

42: Covid - 19 & its implications on startup India

With rapid evolution taking place in the business environment world over, we’re dedicating today’s #MatrixMoments episode to discuss and decode the implications of the Covid-19 on the startup ecosystem. Here’s how we at Matrix are thinking about it. Tune in to know more

17 March 2020 19m and 2s


41: Building India’s first discount broking model, Zerodha

41: Building India’s first discount broking model, Zerodha

In this episode, Vikram sits down with Nithin to uncover what it takes to build and scale India’s largest tech broking discount firm, Zerodha. Nithin talks about the early years of his career, co-founding a company with his best friend and brother, what he looks for in a person when hiring, why he hasn’t raised any form of external capital till date and his future plans for Zerodha

11 March 2020 30m and 14s


40: Decoding the Founder – VC  Relationship

40: Decoding the Founder – VC Relationship

Joining us in this episode of Matrix Moments is Asish Mohapatra, Co-Founder of OfBusiness – India’s leading tech driven B2B lending platform, and is also a Matrix portfolio company, along with Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix India. Prior to founding OfBusiness, Asish actually worked at Matrix as part of the investment team and worked very closely with Avnish during that time. This episode follows a role reversal of sorts, where Asish in the capacity of a founder interviews Avnish on all things fundraising, early stage and VC investing, he asks the hard questions that first time founders have always wanted to know but haven’t got the answers to. Tune in.

11 February 2020 38m and 4s


38: Creating new Consumer brands digitally

38: Creating new Consumer brands digitally

In today’s episode, we talk about DINVIBs i.e. Digitally Native Vertically Integrated Consumer Brands and our thesis behind investing deep into this sector. Joining us to discuss this is, Sanjot Malhi (VP & Consumer Sector Lead at Matrix Partners India), Avnish Bajaj (Founder and Managing Director at Matrix Partners India ) and Rajinder Balaraman (Director, Matrix Partners India). Tune in to know more.

28 January 2020 25m and 5s


37: Crafting Your Company Culture

37: Crafting Your Company Culture

In today’s episode we cover the importance of inculcating a strong and health culture in your company right from the early stages. Joining us to dicuss this is Ahana Gautam, ( Co Founder & CEO, Open Secret ), along with   Avnish Bajaj, (Founder  & MD, Matrix Partners ) and Rajinder Balaraman, (Director, Matrix Partners  India)

21 January 2020 26m and 32s


36: A look back at 2019

36: A look back at 2019

With 2019 coming to an end, we decided to do a quick look back and summarize some of the macro themes that emerged from the year. In some ways it’s been a record year for the Indian VC industry and a very busy year for Matrix, Avnish Bajaj (Founder and Managing Director Matrix Partners India), Vikram Vaidyanathan (Managing Director Matrix Partners India ) Tarun Davda (Managing Director Matrix Partners India), and Rajinder Balaraman (Director, Matrix Partners India) take us through the highlights of the year gone by and what to expect from 2020. Tune in to know more.

7 January 2020 31m and 27s


35: POS Framework

35: POS Framework

In this episode, Avnish Bajaj, Founder & Managing Director, Matrix India, talks about decision-making and applying the 'POS framework' as a guiding tool to navigate through hard decisions, both personally & professionally. Tune in to know more.

27 December 2019 9m and 4s


34: Founding Team

34: Founding Team

Today’s episode, Founding Team, is about a topic that we as a firm are very passionate about, it’s also a topic that forms the basis of Matrix’s investment philosophy, foundersfirst!. In this episode, Avnish Bajaj talks about the importance of a strong founding team, how this can shape a company’s journey, frameworks that can help reach the ideal founding team, learnings from Avnish’s experience with his 2 prior co-founders at Baazee and then Matrix Partners India.

10 December 2019 13m and 25s


33: What’s "Neo" about them?!

33: What’s "Neo" about them?!

With the recent spate of investments made by Matrix Partners India in the NeoBank space, we decided to host an episode with serial entrepreneurs, Jiten Gupta (Co-Founder of a Neobank venture, Jupiter and previously founder of Citrus Pay) and Anurag Sinha (Founder of neocard, OneCard and previously founder of Walnut, a personal finance management startup) to discuss the current landscape and what makes Neobanking so exciting at a time like this. The episode was hosted by Rajat Agarwal, Director and fintech sector lead for Matrix India as well as Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix India who has led the investment in market leading fintech companies like, Razorpay, Mswipe, Five Star Business Finance, and OfBusiness to name a few.

28 November 2019 32m and 26s


32: GTM for startups

32: GTM for startups

In this episode, Avnish Bajaj, Founder & Managing Director, Matrix India talks about the varied GTM strategies used by startups to drive a wedge into the market.

19 November 2019 16m and 12s


32: Fundraising & Valuations

32: Fundraising & Valuations

In this episode of Matrix Moments, Tarun Davda, (Managing Director, Matrix Partner India) guides founders on how to think about fundraising & valuations at the early stages. He covers how much capital is required to be raises at each stage, what the typical dilutions are at each stage, the downside that comes with raising too much capital and that at the end valuation is vanity, what matters is a founders percentage of ownership. Tune in to know more.

5 November 2019 14m and 35s


31: Stanza Living: transforming the student housing sector

31: Stanza Living: transforming the student housing sector

Stanza Living is one of India’s largest student housing networks, co-founders Sandeep and Anindya share their journey of building the company from ground zero, with guest moderator, Gourav Bhattacharya (Director, Matrix India) and also the investment lead for Stanza Living.

22 October 2019 23m and 2s


30: Startup Temperature Check

30: Startup Temperature Check

In this episode, Avnish Bajaj (Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India) and Rajinder Balaraman, (Director, Matrix Partners India) discuss the current environment in the startup and investments ecosystem. Funding in early stage companies versus later stage, repeat entrepreneurs, investment cycle bubbles and the  trends expected to play out in 2020, tune in to know more.

14 October 2019 21m and 12s


29: Learnings from Serial Entrepreneur, Bhavin Turakhia – part 2

29: Learnings from Serial Entrepreneur, Bhavin Turakhia – part 2

In part 2 of a 2 part episode, serial entrepreneur, Bhavin Turakhia, founder and CEO of Flock and Zeta, joins us to share learnings from his journey on what it takes, personally and professionally, to build and sell a series of successful companies. Tune in to know more.

10 October 2019 29m and 14s


28: Learnings from Serial Entrepreneur, Bhavin Turakhia

28: Learnings from Serial Entrepreneur, Bhavin Turakhia

In part 1 of a 2 part episode, serial entrepreneur, Bhavin Turakhia, founder and CEO of Flock and Zeta, joins us to share learnings from his journey on what it takes, personally and professionally, to build and sell a series of successful companies. Tune in to know more.

9 October 2019 32m and 3s


27: Exits

27: Exits

In this episode of Matrix Moments, Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, at Matrix Partners India shares his views on Exits: learnings from his journey with Baazee.com which was acquired by Ebay, key factors to evaluate when making this decision, and how to deal with multiple investors at a time like this.

3 September 2019 12m and 24s


25: The journey of building Citrus Pay & learnings on the fintech landscape

25: The journey of building Citrus Pay & learnings on the fintech landscape

Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix India, catches up with Amrish Rau and Jiten Gupta, Founders of Citrus Pay, which was later acquired by PayU, where both founders took on the role of CEO and MD, respectively. In this episode they go over the journey of building Citrus from ground up, the decision making process that went behind exiting Citrus, their investment strategy as angel investors and lastly their advice to founders looking to startup in the fintech space.

6 August 2019 37m and 17s


24: Investor Value Add & Engagement

24: Investor Value Add & Engagement

In this episode of Matrix Moments, we deep dive into the relationship dynamics between a founder and his/her board. Specifically for first time founders, board room etiquette is an unknown area and thus we decided to put together an episode that covers all queries founders may have on this subject. From setting the right rules of engagement to knowing how to deal with a difference in opinion in the board room, Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India shares his views on the best practices to keep in mind when dealing with a board of investors.

23 July 2019 18m and 35s


23: Metrics & Dashboard

23: Metrics & Dashboard

Tracking and measuring your company’s performance is crucial not just at the early stages but through the course of your companies lifecycle. In this episode of Matrix Moments, Tarun Davda & Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Directors at Matrix Partners India, share learnings from their experiences with founders on why tracking the right metrics can help you measure what is working for your company and what isn’t. In addition to measuring performance, picking a North Star metric as the one metric to align the entire company on what is important helps keep all teams focused on working towards the same goal. Listen in to know more.

16 July 2019 24m and 57s


22: Structuring incentive plans – ESOP, Cash and Balanced Scorecard

22: Structuring incentive plans – ESOP, Cash and Balanced Scorecard

Structuring and designing an effective incentive plan is key at the early stages to help promote retention as well as high levels of motivation among the team. From cash versus equity, how much equity is apt at each stage, bonus plans to measuring employee performance through a balance scorecard, in this episode of Matrix Moments, Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India, outlines simple thumb rules to keep in mind when structuring your employees incentive plan.

9 July 2019 16m and 26s


21: The State of the Indian Venture Market 2019

21: The State of the Indian Venture Market 2019

In this episode of Matrix Moments Tarun Davda, (MD, Matrix Partners India) and guest speakers, Miten Sampat, (VP Corporate Development, Times Internet) and Samidha Sharma (Emerging Business Editor at Economic Times) discuss the current state of affairs within the Indian startup and VC ecosystem and the way forward from here

2 July 2019 43m and 7s


20: The Terms of Term Sheets

20: The Terms of Term Sheets

In this episode of Matrix Moments, Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India, and Rajinder Balaraman, Director, Matrix Partners India, do a deep dive on the significance of terms within a Term Sheet, what founders should focus on, and essentially provide a guide for founders who are working on a Term Sheet for the very first time.

18 June 2019 32m and 38s


19: The Journey of Building LoadShare

19: The Journey of Building LoadShare

In this episode of Matrix Moments, we spoke with Raghuram Talluri, Co-Founder, LoadShare Networks, on the learnings of being a first time founder and scaling an asset light logistics platform. Rajinder Balaraman, Director, Matrix Partners India, also joined this episode to share insights from an investor perspective.

13 June 2019 20m and 58s


18: Budget & Burn

18: Budget & Burn

At the early stages a critical factor that determines your startups success or failure, is the level of spending or burn rates. Practicing extreme financial discipline is a crucial part of controlling your companies burn rate. Tune in to this episode of #MatrixMoments, where Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India, talks about the importance of business performances, plans, burn rates and budgets.

11 June 2019 11m and 35s


17: Org 3.0

17: Org 3.0

Every successful company goes through 3 distinct phases, the startup phase (0 – 1), the scaling / growth phase (1 – 10) and finally profitability (10 – 100). The archetypes of people required to help the company transcend all phases, is different at each stage. Avnish Bajaj, Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India, shares his experience on building the perfect Org in this episode of Matrix Moments.

4 June 2019 9m and 58s


15: The journey behind building Itilite

15: The journey behind building Itilite

Episode description: Founded by Mayank Kukreja and Anish Khadiya, Itilite is a corporate travel management solution that balances company’s savings and the traveler (employee’s) experience. Itilite is also a Matrix portfolio company and this episode features a conversation between Gourav Bhattacharya (Director, Matrix India) and Mayank (Co-Founder, Itilite) on what it’s like to make the shift from a stable job at Myntra.com to founding your company.

7 May 2019 17m and 17s


14: The InMobi journey

14: The InMobi journey

Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix Partners India, catches up with Naveen Tewari, Co-founder, InMobi, who unravels the journey behind building India’s first unicorn startup. Naveen gets candid about strategies implemented for expansion to international markets, creating a family-like work culture and rising above the challenges that come with building a weatherproof company.

23 April 2019 36m and 29s


13: CODS

13: CODS

9 April 2019 13m and 20s


12: Discovering Fintech Religion - Part 2

12: Discovering Fintech Religion - Part 2

As part of our guest series, Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix India catches up with Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director, RBL, Bank on “Discovering Fintech Religion”. The conversation is spread across a 2 part episode, and covers the transformational journey of Ratnakar to RBL Bank, a debate on Fin versus Tech, and phygital as a means for fintech companies and banks to scale.

28 March 2019 25m and 24s


11: Discovering Fintech Religion - Part 1

11: Discovering Fintech Religion - Part 1

As part of our guest series, Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix India catches up with Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director, RBL, Bank on “Discovering Fintech Religion”. The conversation is spread across a 2 part episode, and covers the transformational journey of Ratnakar to RBL Bank, a debate on Fin versus Tech, and phygital as a means for fintech companies and banks to scale.

26 March 2019 26m and 44s


10: Extreme Hiring

10: Extreme Hiring

Hiring at the early stages helps define the momentum at which a company grows. In this episode, Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix Partners India, captures some of his learnings from having worked closely with founders on what works when hiring for a startup. Dna based hiring versus hiring for skill set is another challenge that founders deal with and in most cases founders have found the former to be more effective at least in the initial phase of their company. Listen in to know more.

12 March 2019 23m and 4s


9: Extreme Referencing

9: Extreme Referencing

Hiring a strong team is the one of the proven ways to ensure startup success. Yet, it’s the biggest issue that founders / CEOs face when building their organization. In this episode of Matrix Moments, Tarun Davda talks about ‘Extreme Referencing’, and how this helps him go beyond the surface level interview process when trying to hire for senior executive positions.

26 February 2019 24m and 20s


8: State of the Indian Venture Ecosystem - Part 2: Forecast 2019

8: State of the Indian Venture Ecosystem - Part 2: Forecast 2019

In an attempt to forecast for 2019, this episode of Matrix Moments talks about the trends we expect to play out, sectors expected to explode (or not), the changing face of the average Indian entrepreneur and how 2018 will impact the momentum of 2019. Tune in to hear Avnish Bajaj, Founder & Managing Director, Matrix Partners India, take us through this.

12 February 2019 11m and 1s


7: State of the Indian Venture Ecosystem - Part 1: A Look Back at 2018

7: State of the Indian Venture Ecosystem - Part 1: A Look Back at 2018

A snapshot of the year gone by for the Indian Venture ecosystem: the aftermath of the Flipkart – Walmart deal, government policies surrounding angel tax, the possible rise of trade unionism within startups and the question on everyone’s mind – will India ever see IPOs for consumer internet companies in the near term?

29 January 2019 13m and 55s


6: Living in the Middle of the Funnel (MoFu)

6: Living in the Middle of the Funnel (MoFu)

In this episode, Avnish Bajaj, (Founder & MD, Matrix India)  talks about MoFu: what it takes to continue retaining & engaging your users post the initial burst of customers, how to evaluate CAC, and what metrics to keep a track of.

8 January 2019 11m and 4s


5: Extreme Productivity

5: Extreme Productivity

Why do some people seem to have more bandwidth than others, and how do they achieve extreme levels of productivity? This episode talks about the principles and practices followed by successful leaders when it comes to time management, prioritization and clarity of thought.

18 December 2018 13m and


4: Making Sense of Valuations

4: Making Sense of Valuations

Going back to the fundamentals of investments and valuations, and to ascertain whether a company's valuation is more than just a quixotic pursuit. Avnish Bajaj (Founder & Managing Director, Matrix Partners India) gives us a piece by piece break down of the valuation techniques and strategies used to analyse and determine a company's real value versus price.

11 December 2018 21m and 17s


3: Operator VCs versus Investor VCs

3: Operator VCs versus Investor VCs

Addressing the much debated question of who makes a better venture partner - operators or investors? Tarun Davda, Managing Director, Matrix Partner India, talks about his journey of transitioning from an intrapreneur to a venture investor, what his experience has been like having been on the other side of the table as an operator, his views on both types of venture investors: operator VCs and investor VCs and the biases that come with each.

4 December 2018 14m and 28s


2: Fear & Greed

2: Fear & Greed

In this episode, Avnish Bajaj (Founder & MD, Matrix Partners India), talks about the investment cycles of fear and greed with reflections from his first exposure to the high's and low's of the cycle. From Peter Lynch to Warren Buffet, he touches upon the investment philosophies that helped shape his own strategy and approach to the cycles, how to avoid the most common mistakes made in investing and navigate your way through a bear market.

27 November 2018 14m and 23s


1: Intrinsics

1: Intrinsics

We chose to launch our series with an episode on a topic that we believe is extremely integral for both personal and professional development, a concept that is at the core of Matrix’s ideologies and forms a large part of the foundation, intrinsics. In this episode, Avnish Bajaj (Founder & Managing Director, Matrix India) takes us through what he thinks are the traits required by an individual to succeed against all odds, the ingredients of what goes into the makings of the best founders, and the essence behind our foundersfirst! philosophy.

19 November 2018 12m and 2s

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