Zero to Infinity

223: Trends in Term Sheets: What Founders Need to Know

Between overprotective term sheets and oversimplified ones lies the real market. On this episode of #ZeroToInfinity [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/zerotoinfinity], Avnish Bajaj and Tarun Davda, are joined by Archana Rajaram to weigh in on one of the most misunderstood parts of startup building: the term sheet. As the founder of River Law (formerly Rajaram Legal), Archana’s work has quietly shaped the “market standards” that nearly every Indian SHA now follows. In this episode, they break down the real-world changes in Indian term sheets post-2021: from liquidation preferences and reverse vesting to governance, exits, board control, and how AI is already reshaping negotiations. The way a founder negotiates a term sheet often foreshadows how they’ll build their company, handle conflict, and navigate hard decisions later. Tune in for a rare inside look at venture’s most misunderstood document 01:23 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=83s] Introduction to the Z47 podcast 02:52 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=172s] Handshake deals to hyper-detailed clauses: how India’s term sheets have evolved 05:55 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=355s] Why written guardrails matter, even in trust-based relationships? 08:48 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=528s] Between one-pagers and legal novels lies the real market standard 10:38 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=638s] Founders lose leverage the moment they sign without counsel 12:42 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=762s] What founders miss at incorporation, they pay for at IPO 16:20 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=980s] You can’t switch from founder-led to board-led overnight 28:02 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=1682s] In India, governance runs through SHAs, not boards 34:07 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=2047s] Every founder’s dilemma: what terms really matter in your term sheet? 37:39 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=2259s] Event of Default: India’s most controversial term and why it exists 49:49 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=2989s] How you negotiate your first term sheet predicts how you’ll scale 59:57 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdM5m4BvBGk&t=3597s] AI may change diligence, but judgment still writes the rules For more insights, revisit the related Z47 episode:   [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPX3atOS2eM] • The Terms of Term Sheets  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPX3atOS2eM]   [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-VyRtZUDzM] • Hard clauses in a term sheet  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-VyRtZUDzM]   [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqOlpe_jKkQ] • From (Z)omato to (A)ther: India’s Tech IPO...  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqOlpe_jKkQ] Article:   [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbXFiQ1BPSVZ5SlBaSkhzbmllRWZsQ0FBM2xfd3xBQ3Jtc0tsV3FnRWpkSmVqdXdERS16c3EtWkhxTV9wNi1jVkJDV29OOHRpZTduODFyblZwNlJQbkp2cDd0RDJXMVBzbVN2VEJpU3RNMkk2ampDVW82em1pNy1BSHlvcnRjYU5fMXBUbE50QkN6bHJaTkZaYllaZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40tarun_davda%2Fcalculating-liquidation-preference-f604cb70d652&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] / calculating-liquidation-preference  [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbXFiQ1BPSVZ5SlBaSkhzbmllRWZsQ0FBM2xfd3xBQ3Jtc0tsV3FnRWpkSmVqdXdERS16c3EtWkhxTV9wNi1jVkJDV29OOHRpZTduODFyblZwNlJQbkp2cDd0RDJXMVBzbVN2VEJpU3RNMkk2ampDVW82em1pNy1BSHlvcnRjYU5fMXBUbE50QkN6bHJaTkZaYllaZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40tarun_davda%2Fcalculating-liquidation-preference-f604cb70d652&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] Follow us on: Website: https://www.z47.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2c4RFNuNkxLNzAwQXRMY05WNGVhQUNvOTc0d3xBQ3Jtc0treUZ4ek96Q3dpZ2JnMnl3U2VqaVdsNnZwTlZVbUxWREhFai1CaHVDTFFMbjlhaFBJdWxERE1QVWZvcnJUanhjbFZiUDY1dE9KLXhEWnVra0tCUm1EU203c3FMMUo5YVZ2Rjc2VXo1UEIteGtHazEzcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.z47.com%2F&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] LinkedIn:   [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWV2QlJUWnF0aUVQQzdwa3lxUUVhczdlRkZvd3xBQ3Jtc0tuLW50LWlQVVcxcUtLVzhMaVJTazBNcmlZaGJxM09oOUNNZ2diR2xzVFZZdnpxRWdvVS1kTkhTdERpRXpScGFHbm1ybVM5N09HcksyUUpsRDh0OTAyckpFS21ScnM4LTNtQUY1aVd3Q3U3MWxYYmhIaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fz47-vc%2F&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] / z47-vc  [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWV2QlJUWnF0aUVQQzdwa3lxUUVhczdlRkZvd3xBQ3Jtc0tuLW50LWlQVVcxcUtLVzhMaVJTazBNcmlZaGJxM09oOUNNZ2diR2xzVFZZdnpxRWdvVS1kTkhTdERpRXpScGFHbm1ybVM5N09HcksyUUpsRDh0OTAyckpFS21ScnM4LTNtQUY1aVd3Q3U3MWxYYmhIaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fz47-vc%2F&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] X: https://x.com/z47_vc [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU1RTXdFUkhaNlBiLXBXZmFYOERHOGNxNkhQUXxBQ3Jtc0ttLV9WbEw2WTVfTlNGdjZzNnQ4dDMzQmlpZnFmZTI5OHNrWjQzRlJsTld2QWR0OHUxeHdRZEp5RVRReVFxUGt4T1ZFdm1MMUl6bExZOWRScE5CQkxiSGRXS1hiNkQ1ckx4UmFfZ1IwV1FaLTBVeXN5aw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Fz47_vc&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] Instagram:   [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa3o1RjMwYl9PcVNDTGY4c01CNXZnUEFwWUtIQXxBQ3Jtc0ttaVNQejIwR2lCSXNiRk1oRjRaTXRNX015ZDBwRko5LXM2UXFqRFcxSzE3RTFfOFF0N2xacmlMdHRrcHJnT2E3NU1MUWNsSmE3X19mWlZLb1cyQWs2cE1sUDJVdHYtRjlJZ3Exck1QaTlRVW15R2JPcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fz47.vc%2F&v=PdM5m4BvBGk] / z47.vc   [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa3o1RjMwYl9PcVNDTGY4c01CNXZnUEFwWUtIQXxBQ3Jtc0ttaVNQejIwR2lCSXNiRk1oRjRaTXRNX015ZDBwRko5LXM2UXFqRFcxSzE3RTFfOFF0N2xacmlMdHRrcHJnT2E3NU1MUWNsSmE3X19mWlZLb1cyQWs2cE1sUDJVdHYtRjlJZ3Exck1QaTlRVW15R2JPcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fz47.vc%2F&v=PdM5m4BvBGk]

222: How Emversity Is Bridging Higher Education with Real Industry Skills | Zero to Infinity

In this episode of Zero to Infinity, Rajat Agarwal and Chandrasekhar Venugopal sit down with Vivek Sinha, second-time founder and CEO of Emversity, to unpack one of India’s most urgent and least-discussed problems: 👉 Why are millions of young Indians still unemployable after 16 years of education? 👉 What will it take to build a truly job-ready workforce? 👉 And why might the biggest opportunity in education lie in the “grey-collar” economy, not tech or test prep? Vivek takes us deep into the realities of India’s higher education system, the failure of legacy institutes to prepare students for real-world roles, and the massive talent gaps in healthcare, hospitality, construction, and manufacturing. He also breaks down Emversity’s groundbreaking model: On-the-job learning (not online, not offline) Industry-backwards curriculum co-designed with employers Earn-while-you-learn degrees that effectively cost students ₹0 VR simulation labs and real-world skill training 50%+ organic student acquisition driven purely by outcomes If you care about India’s future workforce, social mobility, or building meaningful businesses at scale, this conversation is a must-watch. 01:47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=107s] - Introduction to the Z47 Podcast 02:52 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=172s] - What really happened to India’s EdTech boom? 03:25 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=205s] - The three faces of EdTech: daycare, test prep & higher education 06:24 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=384s] - Intent and Outcomes:  the two pillars of real education 10:51 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=651s] - From disruption to discipline: building an education business that lasts 15:47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=947s] - Emversity’s goal: make every student employable, not just enrolled 18:59 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=1139s] - Bridging academia and industry through tech + training 22:43 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=1363s] - Why Emversity bets on India’s grey-collar workforce 27:55 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=1675s] - Earn while you learn: the zero-cost degree model 31:24 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=1884s] - Tech-enabled, execution-driven: how Emversity scales smart 37:27 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=2247s] - The long road ahead: can Emversity educate a million students 40:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=2430s] - Changing lives, one job at a time 42:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4LQDKWW44&t=2520s] - Building India’s next-gen education infrastructure Follow us on: Website www.z47.com/ [http://www.z47.com/] LinkedIn www.linkdin.com/company/z47-vc/ [http://www.linkdin.com/company/z47-vc/] Twitter: https://x.com/z47_cv [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnFnc1ZkZ1RVRVdKVjBMYldFVTR2cTZFTzZVZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttNUJWT2VqaEdrc1RnS01fSktnZmZ2S2Y1SmFNZTFEaDZpZGhzT3N6UEptVlo2N2Z3eXVVMHRBUi00V3FlQTRxTnRNSFVITGdSUmo0LUh0R2VkMGtGR3VPMjlkeXNBdmlHMVZWcHViYVF5emNzQlVVNA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Fz47_cv&v=aH4LQDKWW44] Instagram: www.instagram.com/z47.vc/ [http://www.instagram.com/z47.vc/]

220: India’s Secret Advantage in AI: The FDE Revolution

70% of enterprise AI projects never reach production. The solution: Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs). In this episode, Vikram Vaidyanathan and Rocketlane CEO, Srikrishnan Ganesan unpack the rise of the FDE model, from Palantir’s origins to how AI companies use it today to bridge the gap between prototypes and production. They discuss why traditional SaaS orgs break in AI, the governance needed to scale FDE teams, and why India is emerging as the global engine room for AI deployment. A crisp breakdown of the role shaping the future of enterprise AI. Chapters  00:01:29 -  Introduction to the Z47 podcast  00:04:16 - The 70% problem: Why enterprise AI fails to scale 00:05:25 - The origin story: Inside Palantir, where it all began 00:12:43 - Evolving from deployment to GTM engine 00:14:23 - The Vision Selling era: from POCs to production ROI 00:17:09 - What does a great FDE motion look like? 00:18:59 - Building with FDE DNA: How Rocketlane practices what it preaches 00:24:06 - Product, success, or stand-alone: Where should FDEs sit? 00:26:22 - Scaling the FDE model: from speed to structured governance 00:33:38 - Pairing on-site FDEs with India’s 24×7 talent engine 00:34:21 - AI adoption as India’s next big export 00:37:49 - FDEs: The human bridge between AI promise and delivery

221: How MoEngage Is Powering Global Customer Engagement | Zero to Infinity

From a small apartment in Bengaluru to powering over 2 billion users across 60+ countries, MoEngage is one of India’s most quietly global success stories. This is more than a startup story — it’s a story about India’s rise as a product nation, and the founders who are reimagining how the world engages with technology. Raviteja Dodda, Narasimha Reddy and Yashwanth Kumar built a world-class customer engagement platform out of India — long before “SaaS for the world” became a buzzword. We trace MoEngage’s journey through its toughest pivots, its cultural DNA, and the product decisions that made it indispensable to brands like Airtel, Ola, Nestlé, and Samsung. In this episode of #ZeroToInfinity [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/zerotoinfinity], MoEngage co-founders Raviteja Dodda & Narasimha Reddy join Tarun Davda & Pranay Desai of Z47. In a wide-ranging chat, they discuss the MoEngage journey - from initial failures to serving over 2Bn users.

219: The Startup That Can Build Anything

756 of 1,009 rows displayed Submarine parts. Metro casings. Agricultural harvesters. Even bombshell casings for the defence sector. In this episode of the #ZeroToInfinity podcast, Ximkart founder explore how solving the “thinking loop” first makes it possible to deliver parts for any industry, anywhere. Once the right inputs hit the execution loop, size, sector, and material become irrelevant, it’s all just precision manufacturing at scale.