Raj Shamani - Rajesh Dembla

1) Rajesh Dembla talks about his journey from sleeping on railway platforms to become an investor in Dunzo. He discusses the impact of success on the lives of Indians and how success means different things for different people. Dembla shares his personal story of coming from a difficult background, losing his father at a young age, and having to support his family. He spent time sleeping on railway platforms and experiencing the best and worst of humanity, which helped shape him into the person he is today. Despite not having money for education, Dembla found his calling and pursued his dreams, eventually becoming a successful investor in his own right.

2) Rajesh shares a life-changing experience at a railway station that led him to start his own business. As he was observing the vendors on the platform, he noticed that they were borrowing money and making double the amount they borrowed by the end of the day. He then proposed a 50-50 partnership to one vendor and invested in him, later expanding his investments to other vendors as well. This experience allowed him to understand the value of such investments and eventually led him to invest in other businesses, including Dunzo.

3) Rajesh talks about his journey into entrepreneurship. After experiencing financial struggles, he got into the business of lending money to vegetable vendors, earning a significant profit per day. However, he became greedy and started lending his own money, which proved to be a mistake. He then took on an office boy job that eventually led to a proper job with Yellow Pages. Despite the difficult years he went through, he is grateful for the experience because it shaped who he is today.

4) Rajesh shares how he got his start in accounting, despite not being trained in it, which ultimately gave him a foundation for his future ventures. He then goes on to discuss the art of selling, emphasizing that the key is to understand the need of the person on the other side and uncover their needs before offering the product. Rajesh demystifies the misconception that salespeople are there to sell, but rather, to help the buyer make the decision by presenting how the product will solve their problems, rather than talking about money. Sales, according to Rajesh, is an art that involves preparation, emotion, and then execution.

5) Rajesh shares his experience working with JustDial, a local search engine company in India. He recalls negotiating a deal where 40% of the top line goes to him for handling sales. However, he soon realized that the pricing of Just Dial was not profitable, with a one-year listing at 999 rupees and a lifetime listing at 29.99. To make it worth his while, he raised the price to 4,999 rupees for a year. Despite starting as an external sales vendor, Dembla's success led to his current position as an investor in Dunzo, a hyperlocal delivery service company.

6) Rajesh talks about Just Dial, one of India's most successful companies, which revolutionized the way people accessed information for small and medium-sized businesses. Just Dial provided everything one needed in their life through a single phone number. The company was financially successful, had a market cap of around $2.2 billion by 2015, and hired over 10,000 employees at one point. However, the speaker believes that the company's innovation did not keep up with the times. Just Dial could have been bigger than companies like Zomato, Ola, and Practo, but the internal debate between build vs. buy prevented them from seizing crucial opportunities to invest in those companies.

7) Rajesh and Raj discuss how the downfall of many companies is the belief that what worked for them in the past will work for them in the present. They mention how Just Dial could have been a combination of all the successful businesses today but lost consumer trust. They explain the importance of adapting to consumerism and becoming everything for someone rather than something for everyone. They also mention Sanjeev Bikhchandani's success with Info Edge and Tiger Global being investors in both Just Dial and Info Edge.

8) Rajesh discusses the importance of being able to adapt and play the game in order to succeed in the business world. He cites the example of Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Naukri.com, who diversified into other businesses such as edtech and insurance. Bikhchandani understood the pulse of India and the importance of investing in the right people to lead his businesses. Dembla advises founders to focus on the user's needs and profile them correctly to build a product that meets their requirements. He also suggests building a cash cow as a fallback and experimenting for great innovation to happen.

9) Rajesh discusses the advantages of relying on internal accruals rather than investor money, as it allows a founder to build their business without interference and maintain complete control. He also touches on the cultural differences between Indian and Western customers, noting that Indian consumers want high-quality services but are often unwilling to pay for them. Additionally, he talks about his investment in Dunzo and his reason for investing in it, citing the need for businesses to create new ways of monetization. Finally, he mentions his newly formed company, ZoZo, and its similarities to Google. Although he doesn't have any particular end game for ZoZo, he believes that innovation and a desire to change consumer habits are what drives successful companies.

10) Rajesh talks about the inspiration behind his latest venture Zuzu, an e-commerce enabler in India that allows sellers to list their products and sell through a network of 2 million micro distributors. Zuzu's program also allows people to have their own full-fledged e-commerce business and earn money by selling high-quality products without worrying about logistics, technology, accounting, and payment gateway. The program costs 99 rupees a month, and Dembla hopes to democratize e-commerce by creating wealth for thousands of people.