E110: Abhishek Goyal (Co-founder, Tracxn)

The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Abhishek Goyal is the Co-founder, Vice Chairman, and Executive Director of Tracxn, a leading research firm that provides market intelligence data on private companies. Since its founding in 2012, Tracxn has secured funding from top investors like 3one4 Capital, Elevation Capital, Prime Venture Partners, and angel investors including Sachin and Binny Bansal, and has grown to become a highly profitable business.

After much success, Tracxn debuted on the NSE in October 2022, becoming one of the few venture-backed startups to go public. Abhishek's strategic leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence have been vital in the growth and success of the company.

Before Tracxn, Abhishek gained experience working with esteemed organizations such as Amazon Development Centre (India) Private Limited, Yahoo Software Development India Private Limited, and Accel. He also served as a consultant with 3i Infotech Limited and Erasmic Consulting Private Limited.

Abhishek has been recognised as part of the '40 under 40' list by Fortune India in both 2018 and 2019, highlighting his success as a young entrepreneur. He holds a bachelor's degree in technology with a specialization in computer science and engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Episode Notes:

1. What was it like before and after Tracxn's IPO? (3:38)

2. Why did Tracxn's founders choose to go public instead of selling the company? (6:10)

3. How has Abhishek's leadership role changed since the IPO? (7:30)

4. How did Tracxn's investors learn about the IPO process, and what was their reaction? (15:53)

5. What's the best analogy for a company going public? (20:20)

6. Why did Abhishek choose to become an entrepreneur? (22:30)

7. What was Tracxn's first milestone? (26:00)

8. Would Abhishek do things differently if he had to build Tracxn again? (30:30)

9. What were some of the toughest days as a founder? (33:33)

10. What is Abhishek's superpower as an angel investor? (38:18)

11. What's the biggest lesson Abhishek has learned over his career? (44:23)

12. Abhishek tips on leadership and management (47:15)

13. What advice would Abhishek give his younger self? (57:00)

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Social Links:

Tracxn on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tracxn

Abhishek Goyal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbhishekTracxn

Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc

Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash

Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc

Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash