Barath Shankar Subramanian

It was a pleasure to join CNBC-TV18 to discuss Atomic Capital's ₹400 Cr+ maiden fund closure and our vision as an Operating VC to transform India’s consumer tech landscape. In this conversation, I shared actionable strategies and perspectives on building sustainable, high-growth startups. 1. Defining Operating VC: Unlike traditional VCs, we’re operational partners—driving value through hands-on support in strategy, hiring, and scaling, minimizing risks and maximizing impact. 2. Consumer and Consumer Tech Focus: With ₹10-30 Cr cheques for a curated 10-12 startup portfolio, we’re backing Consumer brands, Consumer tech companies, and consumer enablers reshaping India’s $2T consumer market. 3. Why Conscious Chemist and Doodhvale Farms: Our ₹50 Cr in four startups targets founders with robust PMF. We prioritize capital efficiency, defensible moats, and 10x growth potential in our evaluations. 4. Investment Outlook: Evaluating 20+ companies with a term sheet for our fifth, we plan 2-3 more investments by year-end, emphasizing high-conviction bets. 5. Emerging Trends: We’re bullish on omnichannel retail, eco-conscious beauty, and tech-enabled supply chains—trends set to redefine India’s consumer behavior. 6. Founder Advice: Prioritize pro-active organization building and capital efficiency. Ruthless focus on unit economics ensures sustainable scaling beyond initial product-market fit. 7. Our Roadmap: Full fund deployment by 2027, targeting 3-5x returns through follow-ons and exits, with plans to explore a second fund to amplify our impact. Thank you, CNBC-TV18, for the platform to share our mission. Atomic Capital Manish Jain Nikhil Patil #VentureCapital #ConsumerTech #StartupsIndia #OperatingVC #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

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After a fabulous two years at Kae Capital, I knew it was time to build the fund I wished had existed when I was a founder. Today, I’m launching Boundless Ventures, an early-stage, AI-native venture firm backing India-rooted founders who are building globally defensible companies at the intersection of science, systems, and culture. Boundless starts with a simple belief: the next decade’s breakout companies won’t “add AI” as a feature. They’ll be AI-native from day one, rethinking consumer products, enterprise workflows, and infrastructure with new primitives. We’ll write the first cheque ($200–400K), and then double down. We’ve proud to have already partnered with six category-shaping founding teams: • Superhealth: rethinking healthcare from the ground up • Armatrix: autonomous snake-arm robots for engine inspection • PierSight: real-time ocean intelligence • KNOT: AI-native fashion discovery and logistics • Two stealth companies in infra and consumer AI Our thesis spans four arenas: • The AI-native stack: infra, agents, and memory protocols • Make-in-India hardware: autonomous systems, design-led manufacturing • New-India consumer: culture × code • Science × story: where deep tech meets narrative leverage India is not catching up. It’s compounding. Boundless exists to back originals, with speed, belief and storytelling firepower. Link to our website & thesis below.

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝟬-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 Blip, the Bengaluru fashion startup that promised to deliver your wardrobe faster than your lunch, has officially pulled the plug after barely surviving a year. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 Founded in 2023 by Ansh Agarwal and Sarvesh Kedia, Blip wanted to be fashion's answer to grocery quick commerce - 25,000 SKUs delivered in 30 minutes from 10+ retail partners. They went live in October 2024, targeting Bengaluru's fashion-conscious millennials who apparently couldn't wait 24 hours for their new kurta. But here's where it gets interesting (and tragic). Blip never raised external funding. Not a rupee. In a sector where players like Zepto have burned through hundreds of millions just to perfect 10-minute grocery delivery, these founders thought they could bootstrap fashion delivery with zero investor backing. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 The founders cited "limited capital and go-to-market challenges" for the shutdown - startup speak for "we ran out of money before figuring out unit economics." Their partner-dependent model meant they were essentially playing middleman while competitors owned their entire supply chain. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Blip's collapse isn't just another startup failure story. It's a masterclass in misreading market dynamics. Fashion isn't groceries. When you're craving milk at 11 PM, you'll pay ₹10 extra for 10-minute delivery. But when buying a ₹2000 shirt, customers aren't desperate enough to pay surge pricing for speed. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 + 𝟯𝟬-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 = 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀. While chasing the "Zepto of fashion" dream, Blip forgot that sustainable businesses need sustainable funding. In today's market, speed without capital is just expensive theater! #zepto #business #businessgrowth #startup

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🚨 Big Change for Angel Investors in India SEBI has raised the bar for who qualifies as an Accredited Investor: 📉 Earlier: ₹2 Cr net tangible assets (excluding primary residence) was enough to start angel investing. 📈 Now: Net worth ≥ ₹7.5 Cr (with ₹3.75 Cr in financial assets) OR Income ≥ ₹2 Cr annually OR Income ≥ ₹1 Cr + Net worth ≥ ₹5 Cr (with ₹2.5 Cr in financial assets) Corporates/Trusts need ₹50 Cr net worth This raises a crucial question: 💭 What happens to those who met the earlier requirements, began their angel journey, but no longer qualify under the new rules? 👉 Will they be locked out of funds? 👉 Does early-stage capital shrink? 👉 Or will new models emerge to keep them engaged? I’d love to hear perspectives from founders, fund managers, and fellow investors. Drop your thoughts ⬇️ #AngelInvesting #StartupEcosystem #IndiaStartups #VentureCapital #AngelInvestors #SEBI #InvestingInIndia

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We just crossed ₹2 Crore in annualised revenue! 🚀 What began as a simple idea — to make healthcare more transparent, convenient, and affordable — is now a serving new customers and patients everyday. India’s healthcare retail market is massive, fragmented, and underserved. The incumbents have barely scratched the surface. We see a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape how healthcare is delivered — city by city, store by store, across 1000+ cities in India. #LokamHealth #HealthcareForBharat #ChronicCare #AffordableHealthcare

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Shivakumar Ganesan, Co-founder & CEO of Exotel, joins The Neon Show. A 14-year journey from bootstrap to scale, Exotel’s story is one of India’s most remarkable SaaS journeys. We discuss: 1. How Exotel grew for 8 years post-seed round without external funding 2. What happened when COVID slashed revenues from $10M to $5M. 3. The bold strategic moves: 3 funding rounds & 2 acquisitions that followed. 4. The tough transition of customer base from SMBs to enterprises. 5. Building a ₹2500 crore+ business without leaving India. 6. Why Shivku chose to stay focused on India despite advice to go global first. 7. How automation could cut contact center jobs by 80%. 8. The challenge of building voice AI across 30+ Indian languages. And much more on timing, reading the market, and creating moats in overlooked opportunities. The episode drops today on The Neon Show.

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Ever wondered why US VCs invest more in SaaS while in India we focus on consumer? From a seed investor’s lens, the math looks very different. In the US (SaaS) → Predictable ARR means companies can raise debt early, so equity rounds are cleaner and less frequent. A seed investor who comes in at $5–10M valuation often still holds a meaningful stake by Series C. Multiples at exit (10–20x ARR) only compound that advantage. In India (Consumer) → Brands chew up capital for inventory and offline scale. That means round after round of equity, each one crushing early investors. A seed cheque at $5M valuation can shrink to a rounding error by the time the company is big. On spreadsheets, it looks like bad math. But here’s the paradox: India’s consumption depth is so large that even after ugly dilution, outcomes can still be big enough to make sense. In the US, SaaS is the logical bet. In India, consumer is the volume bet. For seed investors, it’s not about who scales faster — it’s about who leaves you with more stake once they do :)

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𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 $𝟭 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 India’s manufacturing output hit $471B in FY24, and if current momentum continues, it’s projected to nearly triple to $1.3T by FY30. But this isn’t just about topline growth, it’s about a shift in the quality of what we’re building. We’re moving from assembly to IP-led manufacturing, from manual production to automation and digitization, and from commoditized inputs to strategic sectors like electronics, aerospace, and medical devices. This is what we call advanced manufacturing—companies that build or apply deep R&D, proprietary equipment, or process innovation to drive step changes in performance, efficiency, or cost. It’s not a buzzword. It’s where the world is headed. And it’s where India has a real shot at global leadership. 𝗔𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹, 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀. Smartphone exports crossed $24.1B in FY25, making them our largest export category. Over 200 mobile factories are now operational, up from just 2 in 2014. And PLI incentives have catalyzed over ₹14 lakh crore in production. This isn’t a government-led push alone. It’s a rare convergence of policy, global supply chain shifts, and startup energy. If we lean in now—with capital, skilling, and long-term conviction—India won’t just participate in the global manufacturing wave. We’ll shape it.

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