Rahul Chowdhri
@rchowdhri
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Stellaris Venture Capital, views are personal
Bengaluru, India
Joined July 2009
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My 12yr old breaking his full day fast-no water/food. School project required to follow another religion’s practise for a day. Decided to follow Ramazan fasting. Amazed by his endurance & really liked the project.
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Bansal uncle (of Bansal Classes) took his last breadth today. While the brand faded away in the last decade, he changed lives of 1000s of student studying for engg entrance exams. He was an amazing teacher - taught me math and importance of discipline. RIP Bansal uncle...
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I understand that cos need to be profitable, but not with unreasonable customer experience.
@IndiGo6E
will not allow you me to generate a boarding pass w/o seat selection & only seats left for me to select r paid seats. So I can’t checkin w/o paying 4 seats
@DGCAIndia
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1/n We recently visited Japan on a family vacation. Since its an unfamiliar country for most Indians, sharing some tips incase ur planning a trip –
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I asked my son Aditya to give some math sums to his younger sibling everyday, thinking he will learn leadership skills. He writes a program to generate 5 random BODMAS problems every day, where even operators are chosen randomly. Some out of the box thinking
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Met a founder at concept stage. He had offers from reputed VCs. Declined that since he was not clear on the biz direction & did not want the pressure to show ‘progress’ till he had conviction. Kudos to him, IMO it was a brave and correct decision.
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Met a young but amazing angel investor in mumbai. He likes to systematically sell his stake 2-3 years after entry. Asked him why exit so early & leave upside on table? He shared his grand-dad’s saying “bech ke pachtao to theek hai”
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Really admire single founder cos. Whom do they bounce their thoughts against, be open abt their concerns, have heart to take all failures on their shoulders, compensate for their blind spots? Need real guts over 5-10yr period to do that
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Hard to describe how happy one feels on this day
@mamaearthindia
@Stellaris_VP
@alokgoyal1971
@banglani
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I know twitter is not the place to post this, but can't help sharing what my 9yr old wrote on his own 😇😇
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I meet so many founders who do things because their investors told them so. Investors CANNOT run your business. Its ok to take inputs from people you respect but own the decision. It's you who will get credit for both success & failure
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1/2) As an investor, I love profitable companies. But I am finding that the narrative has shifted too much without taking into account the stage of these businesses. In a recent meeting, I realized I am asking PE style questions to early stage company founders.
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1/3 - One thing that is not talked about in Mithun's exit & ESOP buyback of Caratlane employees is how it’s a rare instance of an Indian corporate providing a fair outcome to founders/option holders years after the acquisition
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My 13yr old wants to go to gym but will not go out to play in evening. I see more kids in gym (might be harmful so early) & not many out on fields. Is this temporary or sign of new generation avoiding social interactions?
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14 yr old-uses chatgpt 2 write a blog 4 her homework, passes it through quillbot (to paraphrase), manually goes through it once 2 add her inputs, uses zerogpt & then submits the assignment. All by herself, no adult intervention. Q: As school principal, will u encourage it or not?
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Perfect day to travel in Bangalore today. Due to Eid, roads are empty. Did 6km in 20min, my personal best. Delhi folks, ignore this tweet. U will not understand our pain
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I am seeing an anomaly in the Indian startups funding. 2021 saw hordes of people getting funded. 2022 was reverse, several VCs turned bearish. 2023 has excessive dry powder in early stage but not enough founders starting. An amazing time to start a company from funding pov
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A good founder team decided 2 not proceed with their fund raising, realizing that they were not yet ready 4 VC money. This is after 10 days of investor conversation, some of which could have gone +ve. Kudos to maturity & courage of founders, it is rare in India
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There goes 4 out of 10 -
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I asked Chatgpt for career advice I should give to my 19 yr old given that several roles will be irrelevant soon. Shared that with my son. His response? He asked Chatgpt about what VCs should to do so that they don't become redundant & shares it back with me🙄
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I repeatedly hear from candidates in interviews that after spending 1-2 yrs in a company, they have learned the industry. Despite hearing this for last 15yrs, I still get taken aback. Here I am, still learning VC ropes. Either ur too smart or I too dumb
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1/n From buying small ticket items 2 negotiating a large contract, I am sure we all wonder if we good negotiators? Wanted 2 share a few principles of negotiations I like to follow. These have not necessarily made me a good negotiator, but I have realised that this is who I am
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(1/n) Each vertical in the B2B commerce vertical is $10-100B in size. But that was always the case. So what has changed now that makes space more exciting than ever before? Some thoughts-
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Reading
@NoRulesRules
. Interestingly we have no ‘vacation policy’, no ‘expense policy’, no ‘non-compete policy’
@Stellaris_VP
from day one. I know it’s easy 2 do since we r a small firm, still kudos 2
@banglani
&
@alokgoyal1971
for suggesting it in 2016
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When arguments alone are not enough to convince your team members in mon morning meetings
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Deepest thanks from bottom of our hearts to everyone out there helping run the country while we have the luxury of being at home
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I remember when we were starting Stellaris few years back, several folks questioned whether there r big white spaces left. Have seen some mind blowing ideas in last 4 years & ambitions r bigger now than ever before, be it covid or not. Look fwd to another exciting year. HNY...
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I struggle having a discussion when founders can't handle pushback. On the other hand, its an absolute pleasure when they treat u as equal, willing to debate rationally & ok sharing what they don't know. Met one such team yesterday. Came out energized after 90min of chat
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Would love to meet folks who r interested in chatting anything abt startup. No fund raising agenda so no pitching, more 4 me to learn and hope u also benefit. At Starbucks Indiranagar 8-9am. My calendar is available on
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Beauty of larger number of investors in India is diversity of views. What looks interesting to me may look like a dud idea to another investor. Allows for different kind of companies/ models to get funded. VCs have lesser say in who will win. Great time to be an entreprenuer
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Recently saw few founders do investor meetings without any deck. I am not sure if it is conscious choice or if they are doing because someone told them to do so. IMO, few things to keep in mind as you make this choice for yourself <0>
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For a change, met someone in 40s in CXO role. He started the conversation talking about his failures & what he learned from them. Very rare, most people talk about success, even if they were really not part of it. Being vulnerable is an immense quality, wish I learned it as a kid
Would love to meet folks who r interested in chatting anything abt startup. No fund raising agenda so no pitching, more 4 me to learn and hope u also benefit. At Starbucks Indiranagar 8-9am. My calendar is available on
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When u overshoot 60min meeting to 90min, some call it bad time management, I see it as a sign of connecting with passionate founders. Lucky to have had two such meetings today
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@ajinkyamkul
It’s not even started yet. Wait till cos gather courage to ask it’s tech team to work from office. That’s when the real fun will start. Welcome to bangalore, traffic capital of the country
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Half of bangalore has gone to their home town & half to Phoenix market city
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#ICICIBANK
home loan - i asked them for a repayment statement (how much have I actually paid & on which date). They say that only way to get this is to visit a branch & get a hard copy. Can you believe it?
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While I appreciate the hunger shown in cold emails, one needs to understand lack of interest after a reminder also goes unreplied
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Founders often ask what nos should they achieve for the fund to get interested. I find it really hard to give a number. Also, it is unfair to founders since there is no guarantee that VC will invest if they achieve the nos. Would you agree/ disagree?
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Is there a better job than mine, meeting amazing entrepreneurs day after day, for last 11 years? Got into venture since it was not as hotly contested role back then, similar to how founders start companies in areas not many people believe in
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By-product of all live Ed-tech models - in short term good teachers will move from schools to these platforms but if these platforms scale, in long term we should see respect/pay for teachers go up in India
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2/2) Similarly, I am seeing founders of SerA/B stage cos working towards cash profitability. I understand if it's temporary or a matter of survival. At the same time, I hope this thinking does not take away the growth and innovation mindset out of the startup ecosystem.
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Life goes in full circle 1.offline going online & online going offline, 2. Asset light cos buying assets & asset heavy offloading assets 3. Distribution cos focusing on products & product cos struggling for distribution, 4. Indian cos going global & global cos focusing on india..
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And the stage is full
Hard to describe how happy one feels on this day
@mamaearthindia
@Stellaris_VP
@alokgoyal1971
@banglani
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We have all been guilty of pushing cos 2 grow @ any cost. It’s not easy to suddenly ask them 2 focus on unit economics. These r cultural shifts that founders cannot make @ switch of a button. If we r backing a biz w/i LT view, advise them on what we believe will make sense in LT
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Likewise. It is amazing to see so much clarity and confidence in the young generation of our country
Had a great meeting with
@rchowdhri
from Stellaris Venture Capital.
@Stellaris_VP
It was great discussing Creator Economy, how creators plan their content and many more things.
Looking forward to staying in touch and collaborating in the near future if things allow.
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Impact of Neo banks -> ICICI/ HDFC change their login screens. You enter the credentials & realize that everything behind the scene is exactly where you left it 10 years back
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Looking for VP/associate
@Stellaris_VP
. Folks passionate about startups & with tech co background please reach out
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So
@hdfcbank
issues an addon credit card, which has same number/CVV etc. I can change PIN 4 my main card online but PIN change 4 addon card can only be done at ATM. U know why? Because their website can't distinguish b/w these 2 cards. I wonder where is their tech spend happening
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Sad - India’s workforce is masculinizing rapidly. Obviously bad for gender equality. As
@kunalb11
also commented, our GDP growth may get limited by this one big factor
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Founder: Starting my company was the best decision of my life. Will not trade it for anything else
Me: great. Will u do it again?
Founder: Are u mad? If I knew this is what I was getting into, I would have never done it
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Increasingly finding founders in either bucket 1 or 4. 2 is the best zone to be in, but within bucket 1 & 4, which one would you rather back, especially in context of India?
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3/3 - Next time, if I were to advice a company on taking up on an offer from Tatas, I know I will trust them on being fair to the shareholders
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It’s interesting dealing with Office Admins/EAs for scheduling meetings. As my partner says, their behaviour (both +ve and -ve) is a reflection of their manager’s personalities and not theirs…
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That countdown bell
@Stellaris_VP
@alokgoyal1971
@banglani
@namanlahoty
@jainmayank_943
@rupaligoel9
@AKhandelwal11
@sarkar1028
@TheShilpaShetty
@ArpitM7
@joveenaabreo
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We can have e-commerce regulator, but no retail regulator. This is when e-commerce service levels are much ahead of offline retail and it is less than 10% of market. Why?
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For those who know
@banglani
, they will understand how rare this event is. Has anyone else been in this unique position before or am I the first to witness it?
@Stellaris_VP
@alokgoyal1971
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Will take Indian beauty global
@VarunAlagh
@alokgoyal1971
@banglani
@Stellaris_VP
@GhazalAlagh
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1/n: In the cutthroat world of product placement, where every frame in a movie/ TV show is seen as a potential marketing goldmine,
@zoukbrand
has managed to embed their products seamlessly within the narrative of countless blockbusters & most-viewed TV shows.
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Unfortunately, muscle memory will be gone when bull market returns. Have seen it across 4 cycles & every time people say it’s different this time. Incentive misalignment imo
Investor view has corrected from growth-at-any-cost to clear-business-and-business-model -- this should be a welcome change for long-term builders who were otherwise distracted by unreal fundraising activity all round them.
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@UnamPillai
‘an absolute delight’; ‘gem of a book’ - are the best ways to describe this book. Never knew about this hidden history of Travancore
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Hard to find lawyers who have good business understanding, especially in early stage company docs discussion
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Chase your goals, don’t chase the trends. Advise from
@shashank_kr
to founders at
@Stellaris_VP
offsite
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(1/n) Every country wants 2 be self-reliant, but it is sad that we needed China’s actions to realise that. China did not become our 2nd largest trading partner overnight, & banning apps/slowing imports that go in2 our drug-elec mfg will not make that reliance go down anytime soon
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Story of online banking use interface - you use SBI & realise, I better use HDFC, you use HDFC & realise, I better use ICICI, you use ICICI & realise lets use global bank like StanC, you use StanC & ask where did all the design guys go?
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Big shout out to
@Ishaanmittal2
. We r researching a space & he graciously connected us to someone really relevant. Thanks.
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Looking for a PM for an interesting edtech co based out of Bangalore. As the founders described the role, they are looking for someone with 'krantikari' mindset
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@rajeshsawhney
I think it is easier to raise a seed or late stage round. One is raised only on hope and other on performance. Toughest situation is raising in between (ser A/B), when you can’t rely only on hope and performance is not fully proven
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Whatever we say about our ‘system’, the scale at which Indian elections have run for last 75 yrs, overwhelming number of election officers/ police involved in making it happen a fair manner, makes your eyes moist.
#NoExcuses
Make your vote count
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Despite all the amazing heroics of Kohli, what is the logic in risking a win in quest for his century? We won, but why risk it?
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Rocketship :)
🥳 We are excited to announce that we have raised $90 million in Series D funding led by
@SoftBank_Group
and participation from
@8roadsventures
,
@Sequoia_India
, Dragoneer Investment Group,
@FPrimeCapital
, and
@Cisco_Invests
. 🎉
And, we are just getting started! 🚀
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How hard is it to get positive testimonial from an Indian enterprise customer? I sense they always fear that if they praise you, next time you will charge more. True/false? Any anecdotes you can share?
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#NoFilterCoffee
Would love to meet folks who r interested in chatting anything abt startup. No fund raising agenda so no pitching, more 4 me to learn and hope u also benefit. At Starbucks Indiranagar 8:30-9:30am. My calendar is available on
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An innocuous Q. All the funds that r investing in Jio r expecting PE style returns, right? If yes, that means 2-3x return over 4-5 yr period? As a large public co, won't that get baked in price today, apart from cost of capital & future uncertainity part? Am I thinking it right?
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7/n 5) If u want veg, lots of vegan restaurants there, apart from Mexican/ thai/Indian which can make food free of meat. Happycow app is good for finding veg restaurants, Google search for vegetarian rest works well, 6) Most places spicy means more black pepper, not red chilli
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What does a founder do when a monkey enters the office while in a board meeting on zoom? Talk about founders navigating through twists and turns of building a company
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It gives an immense joy when your friends give unsolicited +ve feedback on the company you have backed. Real pleasure to be part of this journey
Congratulations to the newest unicorn in town -
@mamaearthindia
! 🎉We’re proud to be a part of this journey and look forward to exciting times ahead.
Read the announcement here:
@GhazalAlagh
@VarunAlagh
@rchowdhri
#Mamaearth
#FundingAlert
#Unicorn
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Despite FK & Amazon, it is amazing to see number of alternate ecommerce models for next 300m users we r seeing. Welcome the daring
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Congratulations
@Primevp_in
team. It is always a privilege to work alongside Ashish. So much to learn from him
We are excited to announce that Dr. Ashish Gupta, veteran investor and entrepreneur, will be joining our fund as Partner Emeritus. We are proud to have him onboard as an advisor and mentor for our portfolio.
#newappointment
#VC
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Conversation in the family to move from Hotstar to cable tv for IPL. Reason? Can’t stand the ads on
@DisneyPlusHS
. Can over exposure lead to brand disloyalty?
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So
@IndiGo6E
claims that they are a global 1st to allow deboarding from both the front doors (overall 3 door deboarding) of the aircraft. Saves on turnaround time. Why did no one think of this earlier?
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@alokgoyal1971
@livemint
But
@ET
said the CEO bought it. I demand real truth- who actually bought it, why did they buy it, why did not buy some other villa, what ramifications will it have on startups & country's growth...
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@hchawlah
I am not an economist, but totally resonate with these views. Consumer confidence needs to come back to kick start the economy
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You walk into a sports shoe shop, why does the staff embarrass by asking "What is the purpose of buying the shoe, is it for running/ playing/ walking?". I don't know. Is it too much to ask 4 a regular shoe, that you can use 2 walk/ play & is ok to trek as well?
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So I was watching
#dumbmoney
on Netflix. A must watch movie, and then
@IndiGo6E
air hostess tells that they will not sell tea stand alone if I don’t buy a food product. I am thinking is this a coincidence? Time to short?
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I asked my 11 yr old son Ishaan what he misses the most during the lockdown? His instant response was - ‘freedom’
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Hiring associates for Stellaris Venture in Bangalore. Tech operating exp required, startup exp/ founders preferred, MBA optional
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Its hard to shoot a video invite but its even harder to get all the brand building lessons from
@VarunAlagh
in an hour. Don't miss the D2C Dialogues this Fri.
@Stellaris_VP
@firesideventure
@Vinays05
@mamaearthindia
@namanlahoty
. Register here 4 invite -
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@IndiGo6E
I did opt for auto checkin & received no boarding pass, even though it less than 12 hours from the flight time. If I go back to the app, it is asking me to check in again, but only after I select a seat. And only paid seats are available. So I got stuck in a loop.
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1/2)Early stage investing is a lot about imagining the future & what all company can do if things work out. At the same time, I have struggled when investor’s view is orthogonal to founder's imagination. Rarely have I seen founders change their vision bcoz investors thought so.
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