UVC: Anjali Sosale from WaterBridge Ventures on founder learnability and scalability, the importance of conducting background checks on VCs & why more women should found consumer startups
In the latest episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, discusses her focus on finding and supporting innovative startups that serve the Indian consumer demand. Key takeaways from the podcast include the purpose of Fast Forward, the importance of conducting background checks on VCs, the prioritisation of assessing teams over analysing markets when evaluating startups, the role of women in building consumer products, and the focus on vanity metrics and growth at all costs in building sustainable businesses. Anjali also touches on the concept of founder learnability and scalability, and how founders can benefit from letting an experienced CEO scale their company.
In this episode you will learn:
- What is Fast Forward, and what problem does it aim to solve for founders, according to WaterBridge?
- How important is it for founders to conduct a background check on VCs, and what percentage of founders actually do it?
- What does Anjali mean by Founder learnability and scalability, and why are founders hesitant to let an experienced CEO scale the company?
- What are the networks and channels that WaterBridge relies on for sourcing high-quality startups?
- When evaluating a startup, why does Anjali prioritize assessing the team over analyzing markets?
- Does consumer behaviour evolve over time, or does human psychology follow a hierarchy of needs, according to Anjali?
- Why does Anjali think that women should build more consumer products?
- What are the reasons behind the focus on vanity metrics and growth at all costs before VCs started focusing on profitability and real metrics, and how can this be avoided in the future to build sustainable businesses?
About
Anjali Sosale is a Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, an India-focused seed to series A fund that invests in early-stage technology companies. With a focus on consumer tech, e-commerce, marketplaces, and all enablers to Indian Consumer Demand, Anjali is dedicated to finding and supporting innovative startups that are changing the way Indians transact online. She is particularly interested in products that can enable the next half billion rural Indian Internet users to engage in e-commerce.
Anjali Sosale
Partner at Waterbridge Ventures
Anjali Sosale is a Partner at Waterbridge Ventures, an India-focused seed to series A fund that invests in early-stage technology companies. With a focus on consumer tech, e-commerce, marketplaces, and all enablers to Indian Consumer Demand, Anjali is dedicated to finding and supporting innovative startups that are changing the way Indians transact online. She is particularly interested in products that can enable the next half billion rural Indian Internet users to engage in e-commerce.
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