E25 - Everyday is Day 1 w/Vokal & Koo & Taxi For Sure's Aprameya Radhakrishna

In this Episode I speak with Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder and CEO of Vokal & Koo, also the Co-Founder of TaxiForSure.  

Taxi For Sure, Aprameya’s first venture disrupted the ride-sharing industry very early in the day. Eventually, 4+ years into operations, it was acquired by Ola in 2015. An exit that gave Aprameya much perspective and learnings, which he carried to his next ventures.  

Koo & Vokal are two phenomenal platforms, built for the Expression and Discovery of the Indian Audience. Described by many as India’s answer to Twitter, Koo became the Best Everyday App of 2020 by Play Store only 8 months into launch. At the same time Vokal builds the Indian Human Search as folks continue resorting to the platform with the multiple questions they are curious about in the language of their choice, to receive an answer from another trusted folk on the platform.  

Aprameya has years of experience under his belt, and one may imagine that he has built everything there is to, but he is just getting started, which is what inspired me to theme the Episode as Everyday is Day 1.  

Through the Episode we discuss the following:  

1. (3:56) - What does Success mean to a 2x Founder ?  

2. (5:48) - Aprameya's viewpoint on the Indian Silicon Valley  

3. (9:37) - Major Learnings from the Taxi for Sure Exit  

4. (13:24) - The Founding Story of Vokal & Koo  

5. (17:04) - The Hypothesis around the Middle India Market Opportunity  

6. (19:23) - Understanding Vokal in Context with the Democratised Model  

7. (22:24) - Establishing Quality & Trust in the Community of Users 

8. (23:51) - Consumer Insights prevalent amongst the Middle India Audience  

9. (26:59) - Dawning Multiple Hats and Managing Time  

10. (30:05) - Deep Dive into Angel Investing and Aprameya's role as an Angel  

11. (32:48) - What does Aprameya look for in a Founder before deciding to Invest or Not?  

12. (35:56) - When do you know an Exit is right? & the Internal thesis behind Taxi For Sure's Exit  

13. (38:01) - The sentiment around Exits in the Indian Ecosystem 

14. (40:35) - The importance & nuances of Hiring as a Founder 

 15. (43:37) - Focusing on Culture at Vokal & Koo  

16. (47:16) - Inculcating the Founder Mindset & Aprameya's roadmap to becoming a Founder - Expressing by Starting Startups 

 17. (53:55) - Aprameya's Founder Persona  

18. (58:58) - Dealing with the Lows of Starting Up // Getting out of Corners for Aprameya  

19. (61:43) - Final learnings from Aprameya's Journey  

20. (64:33) - The Conclusion  

Let's dive into the 25th Episode of the Indian Silicon Valley Podcast - Everyday is Day 1 with Aprameya Radhakrishna of Vokal & Koo & Taxi For Sure.  

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