Bert Mueller on Scaling California Burrito, IPO, Delivery, and Surviving Chaos

The Most Anticipated Fintech Launch in India | Revolut (Paroma Chatterjee)

In this episode of Chain Reactions, we welcome Paroma Chatterjee, CEO of Revolut India.  With a career spanning marquee names like Flipkart, Airtel, Kotak, and ICICI, Paroma is now leading Revolut’s ambitious entry into one of the most complex and promising fintech markets in the world: India  Our conversation spans:  • The real moat in Indian fintech (it’s not user growth)  • The pitfalls of global fintechs entering India without localization  • How India’s next fintech opportunity goes far beyond UPI  • What Revolut’s dream team hiring philosophy looks like (and why most don’t make the cut)  • Why Paroma hates being called a “woman CEO”—and what needs to change in boardrooms  • Advice for India’s next-gen founders  Paroma also shares her vision for personalized payment solutions, UPI innovation, and Revolut's ambitious plans involving IoT, AI, and a potential banking license. She also reflects on her leadership philosophy, the art of building exceptional teams. This episode was proudly sponsored by Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/ [https://atomikgrowth.com/]  Connect with Paroma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paroma-chatterjee-503193/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paroma-chatterjee-503193/] Connect with Subah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/subah-wadhwani/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/subah-wadhwani/] Connect with Vihaan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/]

How I Made Early Bets on Myntra & FirstCry | Sudhir Sethi

What’s it like running a $1.3B venture fund in India? After 8 unicorns, 4 IPOs, 140+ investments, and nearly $1B returned to LPs, Sudhir Sethi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhir-sethi-a5303510b/] sat down with Vihaan Khanna [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/] to break down his journey building Chiratae Ventures and the bets that defined it. They discuss: * why the next wave of generational companies will be built in India * how VCs can operate with founder DNA * his early investments in Flipkart, Myntra, Lenskart, and more Connect with Sudhir: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhir-sethi-a5303510b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhir-sethi-a5303510b/] Connect with Vihaan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/] Email: admin@atomikgrowth.com [admin@atomikgrowth.com] Start your podcast: https://atomikgrowth.com [https://atomikgrowth.com] 00:00 Trailer 01:01 Exits 05:48 Shot clock on IRR 07:05 Memorable first phone meeting 11:40 Common denominator 12:46 Actual investment process 14:55 Exceptional founders 16:23 Everything new, the youngsters 17:25 The Chiratae ideology 19:38 Change is the only constant 20:10 The founder mindset 21:56 Misaligned incentives 23:57 Red flags 25:45 Toughest discussion 27:26 Global and domestic funds 35:18 Indian entrepreneurs are world class 37:09 Risk and ecosystem pivot 38:59 Shark Tank 39:49 Leadership framework 43:10 The markets are changing 45:04 Deploy, dry poweder, delta 48:12 Reputation and performance 51:15 Firms run their way 52:23 Incubators 54:08 What's next for Chiratae? 55:51 Legacy 57:34 Who's next?

How Srivatsan Sridhar Built Skydo to Eliminate Foreign-Exchange Costs for Indian Exporters

Srivatsan Sridhar, co-founder of Skydo, is building a cross-border operating system that's transforming how Indian businesses receive international payments. In this conversation, we dive into how Skydo enables 0% FX fees for freelancers and businesses, making them the cheapest option in the market. Srivatsan shares how traditional payment methods like PayPal and wire transfers cost Indian exporters up to 8% in hidden fees – a problem Skydo directly solves with local collection accounts and transparent pricing. The discussion covers Srivatsan's journey from running his family business to co-founding a fintech startup, the importance of finding the right co-founder with complementary skills, and how persistence helped secure crucial banking partnerships. We also explore Skydo's approach to building an MVP, their fundraising strategy, and how they've processed over $300 million in annual payments. Connect with Srivatsan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srivats80/ Connect with Subah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/subah-wadhwani/ Email: admin@atomikgrowth.com Start your podcast: https://atomikgrowth.com 00:00 Trailer 01:07 What is Skydo and how it works 03:08 Cost comparison: PayPal vs wire transfers vs Skydo 06:10 The cognitive overload problem for international clients 07:26 Building a cross-border operating system 09:37 Growing up in an entrepreneurial family 13:02 Finding self-motivation and academic excellence 14:45 Why he returned from the US to India 19:30 Getting a scholarship and the decision to study abroad 20:10 Starting with entrepreneurship first, then finding the idea 22:40 Meeting his co-founder at Ola 25:14 Complementary skillsets in co-founding partnerships 26:51 Why venture capital vs bootstrapping 30:08 The credibility factor of VC backing 31:42 Hiring philosophy: mindset over pedigree 34:47 Building an MVP with spreadsheets 36:42 Getting first customers through Twitter 38:10 Multiple layers of product-market fit 41:06 The process of getting PACB entity approval 43:54 Building international banking partnerships 47:11 How money moves through Skydo's infrastructure 51:10 Regulations as enabler, not blocker 55:09 Customer onboarding and KYC process 57:54 Revenue model and transparency in pricing 01:01:41 Fraud detection and AI implementation 01:05:30 Competition with Revolut's India launch 01:08:08 Could you build this without college? 01:09:43 Fintech opportunities in crypto and IoT 01:11:48 Advice to younger self: be bolder

Bert Mueller on Scaling California Burrito, IPO, Delivery, and Surviving Chaos

Bert Mueller landed in Bengaluru at 22 and turned a single burrito joint into California Burrito’s 100-plus-store Mexican fast-casual empire across India. Expect candid takes on staffing, frugality-over-VC cash, mall vs. airport launches, and why a 2030 IPO dream keeps him obsessing over beans, bowls, and burrito-worthy value. Chapters * 0:00 – Trailer & Chain Reactions * 2:50 – Indian Consumer Fit * 4:00 – Operations & Freshness * 6:30 – Organization & Leadership * 8:30 – Tech, Delivery & App Strategy * 10:30 – Long-Term Vision * 12:00 – Early Fundraising Journey * 14:30 – Focus Over Distraction * 16:30 – Personal Ties to Mexico * 18:30 – Delivery & Platform Commissions * 20:30 – ONDC & Market Disruption * 22:30 – Indian Consumers & Value Expectations * 24:30 – Growth Strategy: Pune, Not Mumbai * 27:00 – Going Global? Not Yet * 28:30 – Lessons From Doing Business in India * 30:00 – Straight Talk & Core Values * 32:00 – Co-Founders & Early Struggles * 34:30 – Staying Scrappy, Not VC-Backed * 36:00 – Choosing Cities & Formats * 38:30 – International Expansion & Franchising * 40:30 – Adapting to Indian Business Culture * 43:00 – First Betrayal & Lessons on Trust * 44:30 – Resilience & Delusional Optimism * 46:00 – Marketing Learnings Post-COVID * 47:30 – Indian Holidays & Food Occasions * 49:00 – Racism, Etiquette & Cultural Fit * 51:00 – Corruption, Compliance & “Let India Be India” * 53:00 – Advice to His 22-Year-Old Self Connect * Bert Mueller [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bert-mueller-47430326/] * Vihaan Khanna [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/] * Subah Wadhwani [https://www.linkedin.com/in/subah-wadhwani/] Email: admin@atomikgrowth.com [admin@atomikgrowth.com] Start your podcast: https://atomikgrowth.com [https://atomikgrowth.com]

Welcome to Chain Reactions

Start a podcast: https://atomikgrowth.com Vihaan Khanna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-khanna/ Subah Wadhwani: https://youtube.com/@UCD8B5kw3kZymsvHHStXJNfw https://instagram.com/subaaaah Chain Reactions explores the moments that triggered remarkable outcomes.An ad-hoc podcast. Proudly sponsored by Atomik Growth.