Gamer to Game-Changer: Salone’s Journey in Building India’s First Gaming VC Fund

Gamer to Game-Changer: Salone’s Journey in Building India’s First Gaming VC Fund

In this episode of The First Cheque Show, Rishab Malik sits down with Salone Sehgal, founder and managing partner of Lumikai Fund, India’s first gaming-focused venture capital fund, to trace her journey from gaming entrepreneur to investor.   Salone shares how her early experiences in finance and gaming shaped her worldview, what it took to raise capital for a gaming startup in 2014, and how those lessons laid the groundwork for launching Lumikai in 2019. She opens up about the challenges of fundraising during the pandemic, building LP trust, and why product-market fit applies just as much to funds as it does to startups.   Now leading one of the most distinctive VC firms in India, Salone dives into the rise of women gamers and how India is poised to lead in interactive media. She also reflects on the mindset shift from founder to investor and what she had to unlearn to build for the long game.   Timestamp 00:00 – Salone’s introduction and background in gaming entrepreneurship 02:42 – Starting her career in finance and investment  04:39 – Demographic shift: more women entering the gaming market 05:37 – Joining a fund and stepping into the global startup ecosystem 06:52 – Moving back to India and launching Lumikai Fund for gaming startups 08:23 – Her experience raising capital for a gaming company in 2014 11:07 – Transitioning to fundraising for Lumikai in 2019 14:26  –The reality of fundraising during the pandemic 17:23 – Fund 1 as product-market fit: raising capital, backing talent, and scaling startups 18:09 – Deliberate deal sourcing: building a fund with intentional outreach 23:13 – Reflecting on focus: why a vertical strategy remains the best path 24:22 – Portfolio exits and returns: 107x median for early stage investors 25:46 – Debunking the monetisation myth and winning LP confidence 26:26 – Lessons from China: parallels in digital payments and gaming growth 29:30 – Startup founder vs. fund founder: key differences in mindset and control 34:10 – What she had to unlearn transitioning from founder to investor 36:47 – Emerging themes: convergence of game mechanics and consumer apps 40:16 – $2 to $22 ARPU: India's Gaming Inflection Point 43:07 – Why strategic exits dominate over IPOs in media and gaming   —    WHO ARE WE?    Jungle Ventures is a Singapore based Venture Capital Firm that invests in regional or global technology category leaders from Asia. We collaborate closely with Founders to build the intrinsic value of their company by building a scalable organisation and providing dependable long-term capital.    We have grown to become one of Southeast Asia's largest independent venture capital firms.   FIND US Website: https://www.jungle.vc [https://www.jungle.vc/] LinkedIn: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVl4eHpmaUpMamlweUJrbHJMZVhQbloxSDE1QXxBQ3Jtc0ttSDNUOHlDbFBFTUdEcm9pRHpVT3o1Wm9fM2lVMktUeUVfNkdjOUNGaGEwNlhobUZzSW56WHlELWlPS09iUnkzX0VaSkRmdWhfZGtrQkxqOXdGVFpQOGV5WVpWaHVXcmx2WmRKU25Nc0JtdHpEdFVLSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fjungle-ventures&v=GHX7PklIoSc https://www.linkedin.com/company/jungle-ventures [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jungle-ventures] Medium: https://medium.com/jungle-ventures/about [https://medium.com/jungle-ventures/about]

From TradeGecko to AMP - Why Cameron Priest Chose to Be Co-Founder, Not CEO

In this episode of The First Cheque Show, Rishab Malik sits down with Cameron Priest, founder of TradeGecko and now co-founder of AMP, to explore the journey of building, exiting, and intentionally starting over. Cameron shares how TradeGecko grew from an idea in Singapore to a global SaaS player acquired by Intuit and what the acquisition actually looked like from the inside. He talks about operating within a public company, learning to let go of the CEO role, and why he chose to return to the startup world again as a co-founder, not a CEO. Now building AMP, an AI-powered platform for e-commerce operations, Cameron reflects on the difference between raising capital and using debt, how AI is reshaping product and acquisition strategies, and what he’s doing differently the second time around. 00:00 – Introductions 01:13 – How TradeGecko was born and the early vision behind it 04:27 – What it was like raising a Seed round for B2B in Singapore in 2012 06:04 – Why they chose not to raise funding in North America despite early traction 07:38 – How the Intuit relationship began, evolved and what really happens after an acquisition 13:01 – Operating within Intuit after the acquisition and starting the next chapter with the changes involved 16:43 – Choosing to be a co-founder instead of taking the CEO role 18:37  – Ready to take on the CEO role again in the future after time as a co-founder  20:36 – The founding journey and vision behind AMP 23:38 – Growing funding and exiting a software company then in 2013 and now 26:10 – Employing debt as a key part of their acquisition strategy 28:07 – How AMP Embraces AI Internally to Drive Innovation 30:00 – How AI Is Redefining AMP’s M&A Strategy and Customer Value 31:47 – TradeGecko’s in-person culture vs AMP’s remote-first model 36:01 – After two e-commerce ventures, what’s next?   —    WHO ARE WE?    Jungle Ventures is a Singapore based Venture Capital Firm that invests in regional or global technology category leaders from Asia. We collaborate closely with Founders to build the intrinsic value of their company by building a scalable organisation and providing dependable long-term capital.    We have grown to become one of Southeast Asia's largest independent venture capital firms.   FIND US Website: https://www.jungle.vc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jungle-ventures Medium: https://medium.com/jungle-ventures [https://medium.com/jungle-ventures]

Building Atomberg - The 0 to 1 Brand Journey | The First Cheque Show

What does it take to build a premium Indian brand in a legacy category? In this episode of The First Cheque Show, Rishab Malik sits down with Arindam Paul, founding team member and Chief Business Officer at Atomberg, to unpack the building blocks behind one of India’s most distinctive D2C brands. They trace Atomberg’s journey from an engineering-led idea to a INR 1,000 crore business with over 10 million fans sold and a presence in more than 7 million Indian homes. Arindam shares how the team reshaped consumer perception on price and performance, scaled across online and offline channels, and built staying power in a legacy category. He breaks down his PPCMF (product-price-market-channel fit) model, a framework he has shaped and sharpened through a decade of execution that has become a reference point for early-stage D2C founders. Timestamps for the episode: 0:51 Arindam & Atomberg: Background Overview 6:14 Building the Atomberg Brand: Online & Offline Strategies 9:17 Electricians are Engineers: Shifting Perceptions 11:16 Consumer Pride in Atomberg Products: Brand & Product Creation 14:25 Overcoming Premium Price Perception: Value vs. Cost 15:55 Customer Service as a Marketing Channel 18:28 ROI on Appliances Driven by Strong Customer Support 19:21 Mixer Grinders: Product Journey Compared to Fans 23:34 Product, Price, and Channel Market Fit 27:30 Advice for Early D2C Founders in that 0 to 1 Journey   WHO ARE WE? Jungle Ventures is a Singapore based Venture Capital Firm that invests in regional or global technology category leaders from Asia. We collaborate closely with Founders to build the intrinsic value of their company by building a scalable organisation and providing dependable long-term capital. We have grown to become one of Southeast Asia's largest independent venture capital firms. FIND US Website: https://www.jungle.vc [https://www.jungle.vc] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jungle-ventures [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jungle-ventures] Medium: https://medium.com/jungle-ventures [https://medium.com/jungle-ventures]

Unpacking the First Cheque Report 2024 - India focus | The First Cheque Show

The Jungle Code kicks off with The First Cheque Show. In the debut episode, Rishab Malik, Partner, Seed investments at Jungle Ventures and Abhishek Goyal, Founder & CEO of Tracxn, unpack the First Cheque Report 2024 from the perspectives of both a founder and an active angel investor. They discuss the rise of local investors, flow of Seed capital beyond tier 1 cities, and how founder teams are evolving. Plus, why second-time founders are ahead of the curve and the growing impact of female entrepreneurs. Next episode: Christopher Madiam from Sociolla digs into Southeast Asia’s data from the report.   1:08 Intro to First Cheque@Jungle [https://www.jungle.vc/first-cheque] 2:23 Tracxn’s beginnings 4:38 Building for IPO vs M&A from the outset 5:57 Taking Tracxn public 7:35 Abhishek’s first angel bets 11:51 Unexpected findings from The First Cheque Report 2024 13:08 Rise of female founders in Seed funding 16:34 Female founders shaping company culture 19:17 Investor bias: Evaluating education, experience, and background 21:46 First Principles of angel investing 23:49 Propagation of the venture playbook into next-tier cities in India 30:57 Abhishek’s next big idea   WHO ARE WE? Jungle Ventures is a Singapore based Venture Capital Firm that invests in regional or global technology category leaders from Asia. We collaborate closely with Founders to build the intrinsic value of their company by building a scalable organization and providing dependable long-term capital. We have grown to become one of Southeast Asia's largest independent venture capital firms.   FIND US Website [https://www.jungle.vc] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jungle-ventures/posts/?feedView=all] Medium [https://medium.com/jungle-ventures]