The Adi Podcast | Startups, Tech, AI, Venture Capital, Fundraising, India & more!

Yulia Aslamova: Co-Founder @ DRIM on influencer marketing, personal branding and India

Yulia Aslamova is the Head of Asia at DRIM and Co-founder of MakeSuccess. With over 12 years of experience in marketing, growth, and entrepreneurship, Yulia specializes in driving customer acquisition and brand awareness through influencer marketing. At DRIM, she leads the expansion of a performance-driven influencer marketing platform trusted by global brands like Domino’s, McDonald's, AliExpress, and Amazon. Through MakeSuccess, she helps international tech startups and IT companies establish a strong presence in India.In this episode, we explore the future of influencer marketing and business expansion in Asia:- The evolution of influencer marketing and the impact of the cost-per-action model.- Strategies for global brands to scale in India’s dynamic market.- Lessons from scaling DRIM and working with 300k+ bloggers.- Key insights into growth marketing, community building, and digital PR.Yulia also shares her journey—from leading marketing at SEMrush and Nimbella (acquired by Digital Ocean) to co-founding an advisory board for startups. We dive into her experiences building brand awareness, fostering strategic partnerships, and successfully launching global businesses in India.DRIM:https://drim.oneYulia:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yulialundAdi:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheOfficialAdiTwitter: https://twitter.com/The_OfficialAdiTimeline00:00 Empowering Women in India00:12 The Reality of Influencers in India00:47 Facing Hate and Challenges01:44 Early Life in Russia03:04 Educational Journey05:49 Transition to Marketing08:27 Starting a Career in Marketing11:59 Navigating the Indian Job Market14:48 Financial Independence15:04 The Evolution of Marketing16:10 Founding DRM16:50 The Mission of DRM23:44 Cost Per Action Model25:17 Influencer Marketing Strategies33:19 SEO and AI: The Future42:44 Business Growth43:23 Influencer Collaborations43:37 Brand Control and Creative Freedom44:51 The Journey of an Influencer45:07 From Entrepreneur to Influencer46:36 Navigating Cultural Expectations48:23 Facing Online Hate and Privacy Concerns50:10 Reevaluating the Influencer Path51:35 Empowering Women Through Influence58:50 Work-Life Balance: Myth or Reality?01:06:54 Women Empowerment01:10:53 Personal Branding vs. Company Branding01:15:03 Monetizing as a Micro-Influencer01:21:01 Public Speaking and Personal Growth01:22:30 Future Goals for DRIM and Personal Aspirations

Neel Balar: Co-Founder ‪@ Clueso‬ on AI video generation, product docs & customer success

Neel is the Co-Founder at Clueso. Founded in 2023, Clueso is revolutionizing product education by enabling companies to create high-quality instructional videos and documentation in minutes. Their AI-powered platform transforms simple screen recordings into professional-grade content, streamlining customer onboarding and employee training.In this episode, we delve into the evolution of customer education in the AI era. * The inception of Clueso and its mission to simplify content creation. * How AI is reshaping the landscape of product tutorials and documentation. * Strategies for startups to effectively educate their user base. * The challenges and triumphs of building a tech company from the ground up. Neel also shares his entrepreneurial journey—from leading a Hyperloop team in college to co-founding Clueso and participating in Y Combinator's W23 batch. We discuss the impact of AI on content creation, the importance of customer feedback, and insights into scaling a startup in today's competitive landscape.

Dhruv Agarwal: Co-Founder ‪@ Middleware on developer productivity, DORA & engineering excellence

Dhruv is the Co-Founder & CEO @ Middleware. Founded in 2022, Middleware is building the productivity OS for engineering leaders to eliminate the obstacles that hinder tech teams, maximize developer potential and foster a more fulfilling work environment. In this episode, we talk about everything developer productivity. What does the present and future for dev productivity look like? What are the DORA metrics? How should organizations think about nurturing engineering talent and culture? All this and more, Dhruv shares his journey - from walking into an interview and pitching a product instead, to the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur, the ongoing impact of AI, and of course all the questions you wanted answered on Dev productivity! Middleware: https://middlewarehq.com Dhruv: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhruvagga/ Adi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheOfficialAdi Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_OfficialAdi Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:46 On Middleware 00:02:06 Engineering Culture 00:03:57 Customers 00:05:04 Dhruv 00:08:05 The Joy of Building 00:11:58 Before Middleware 00:18:44 Friends and Family 00:20:55 Beginning of Middleware 00:23:55 Managing Seniors 00:27:04 Developer Productivity 00:29:43 DORA Metrics 00:33:30 Middleware Product 00:38:57 Internal buy-in 00:42:58 Should metrics play a role in appraisal? 00:44:56 Thoughts on AGILE 00:47:34 10 Year Vision 00:48:08 Insights 00:51:25 Developer Tools 00:52:54 FOSS Middleware 00:55:58 FOSS vs B2B SaaS 00:57:35 Addressable Market 00:59:27 Tech behind Middleware 01:01:05 Customer stories 01:02:34 Work-Life Balance 01:03:36 Impact of Gen-AI 01:05:04 Use cases of AI 01:06:45 AI tools 01:07:47 Advice for students 01:10:58 Mindset 01:19:13 Detecting culture fit 01:21:54 What's next for Middleware

Yash Gupta: Co-Founder @ Nova Benefits on Employee wellness, insurance & benefits

Yash is the Co-Founder & CTO @ Nova Benefits. Founded in 2020, Nova Benefits helps companies get the best-in-class group health insurance plans and wellness benefits for their employees. In this episode, we talk about what everyone should know about company insurance but doesn't until it's too late. We go over Yash's journey of kick-starting Nova Benefits from the ground up, and building products across insurance, benefits and wellness. Nova Benefits: https://www.novabenefits.com Yash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashg2 Adi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheOfficialAdi Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_OfficialAdi Timestamps: 00:21 Mission of Nova Benefits 02:25 Evolution of Work Culture 5:34 Services offered from Nova Benefits 9:18 Things that an Employee must know 11:22 Start of Nova Benefits 12:00 Ideal Customer of Nova Benefits 13:08 10 Year Mission of Nova Benefits 13:47 Tech that powers Nova Benefits 18:21 Do Employees also get Nova Benefits 19:51 Licencing and Regulations 20:57 The Journey of Yash Gupta 27:05 Go to Market Journey 29:19 Friends and Family Reaction 30:30 Work life Balance 33:39 Things you wish you know sooner 40:28 Open Opportunities in the Industry 45:57 Engineering Culture at Nova Benefits 48:10 Approach towards LLM 51:16 Philosophy of Every Engineer being Full Stack 53:35 How did you narrow down on the Problem 1:04:06 What's Next for Nova Benifits 1:06:28 Pricing Ranges 1:10:54 Reaching out to Nova Benefits

Hena Mehta: Founder @ Basis on Investing for women, fintech & building for India | The Adi Podcast

Hena is the Co-Founder & CEO @ Basis. Founded in 2019, Basis is equipping Indian women with the knowledge and tools they need to achieve financial independence and security. From growing up in Bangalore, to working at Wall street and moving back to India to startup - Hena shares her personal journey and insights into how men and women think about finance differently, ultimately leading her to start Basis. In this episode, we talk about the need for a unique solution to increase financial adoption for women, lessons in community building, differences in men and women's psychology when it comes to money, building a startup in India, labels like "female founder", and what's next for Fintech and Basis. Basis: https://basisfoundation.in Hena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henamehta Adi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheOfficialAdi Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_OfficialAdi Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:22 Mission of Basis 07:09 Origin of Basis 12:07 How women approach finances 14:57 Community Building 19:49 On Basis 28:52 Customer Stories 31:42 Hena's Childhood 36:49 Finance psychology - differences in USA vs India 39:00 What inspired Hena to return to India 41:02 Advice for young students 44:48 Work cultures in USA vs India 48:30 Being a working woman in India 54:00 Advice for women starting up 58:28 Fundraising 1:04:10 Insights 1:08:37 Fintech 1:14:57 Finance ecosystem in USA vs India 1:17:59 Resources 1:20:45 What's next? 1:21:34 Best way to join Basis