E130: Rajiv Srivatsa (Partner, Antler India)

The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Rajiv Srivatsa is a Partner at Antler India, one of the most active early-stage venture capital firms. Prior to Antler, he co-founded Urban Ladder, an omni-channel furniture and decor retailer started in 2012. The company raised over $100M from SAIF Partners, Kalaari, Steadview, Peak XV Partners, Trifecta Capital and Ratan Tata. In November 2020, the company was acquired by Reliance Retail.

Prior to Urban Ladder, he served as a Senior Product Manager with Yahoo, and before that at Infosys. He is an alumnus of IIT-Madras and IIM-Bangalore.

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Episode Notes:

1. How did it all start for Rajiv (2:02)
2. When and why did Rajiv decide to start Urban Ladder (5:50)
3. Where does Rajiv’s love for consumer products come from (12:10)
4. How did idea of selling home decor / furniture originate (14:41)
5. How did Urban Ladder look at culture internally and build a great one at scale (28:45)
6. How has Rajiv’s leadership evolved over the years (34:12)
7. How and why did Rajiv decide to enter venture capital (42:35)
8. What does Rajiv enjoy the most - being an operator, founder or investor (55:10)
9. Rajiv’s advice to anyone on a break looking for a framework on how to develop a career plan (57:35)

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Social Links:

1. Follow ⁠Rajiv on Twitter⁠
2. Follow ⁠⁠Rajiv on LinkedIn⁠⁠
3. Follow ⁠⁠The Desi VC on LinkedIn⁠⁠
4. Follow ⁠⁠Akash Bhat on Twitter⁠⁠
5. Follow ⁠Akash Bhat on LinkedIn