What should founders be most focused on to scale a successful business from the ground up?

In my experience, the best leaders are often the people who listen very, very well. They listen, they observe, they can see when things are changing, they can absorb input from others and they don't always think that they have all the answers. But at the same time, they have a deep belief in what they want to do and in their vision. They aren't going to compromise their vision, but they're going to be very open to input on how to make it successful.

What makes you excited to be a technology investor right now? 

The current funding downturn is really an opportunity. Only the best opportunities will get funded, and they will be funded on more judicious terms on average than we’ve seen in recent years. I think today we're back to a more pragmatic capital environment. These downturns have come and gone in the past. Historically, many of the best companies have been born during these troughs, because this is when the stronger value propositions are funded and able to build a very solid competitive edge.

Overall, it's a good time to be an investor. It may be a harder time to be an entrepreneur because money is harder to come by. But those who do get funded, will have enhanced their chances of success.

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India is incredibly rich with opportunity in every area of technology and we expect our portfolio to expand substantially over the next few years.

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Can you talk about what Celesta’s India investments to date and how it will take shape in the future? 

We have about 15 investments in India today, spanning a variety of areas. Let me start with ideaForge, which is about to go public. They are a technology and manufacturing company that makes sophisticated drones used in security, defense, and enterprise applications. ideaForge is a great example of a company that has technology capitalized on the Indian market and then expands globally.

The second area I would spotlight in our India investments is technology which drives transformation of various industry sectors. Perhaps the best example is Stellapps, a company digitizing the complex value chain within the dairy business. Apart from providing quality certification for milk products, they also buy and sell milk to very sophisticated corporate customers. There are millions of farmers in India who are engaged in milk production and Stellapps helps them with everything from improving production, monitoring the nutrition and output of their livestock, the quality of their product, and more. Companies like this can create billion-dollar businesses right in the Indian market.

Similarly, technology-enabled transformation is being taken to other fields such as healthcare, where we have investments in companies like 5C and Connect & Heal, or in retail, where we have invested in a company called Arzooo, or in education, with Questt.

India is incredibly rich with opportunity in every area of technology and we expect our portfolio to expand substantially over the next few years.

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What are you most proud of in your career?

The past two roles I’ve had have been extremely interesting. I was at KPMG in India at a challenging time in multiple ways, including the economy and COVID, and yet we were able to lead the firm through tremendous growth over five years. There I had the chance to work with business and government leaders in India and in many other countries.

Another area I'm quite proud of would be my service in the Obama administration as a senior diplomat heading the bureau charged with increasing US exports globally and increasing foreign investment into the US. I led a team of about 1,700 people in 78 countries and all the 50 states. The job took me to more than 40 different countries, leading trade missions, and negotiating with business and government leaders on many different critical issues. The whole experience was intellectually fascinating, and a lot of hard work.

You have authored a book that is coming out soon – can you tell us about it?

I'm really excited about this book. It's called The Global Trade Paradigm and it’s a story of the evolution of trade, and focuses on where we are today in the geopolitical scene. I was initially inspired by my work in the Obama administration, where I had a lot of exposure to global macroeconomic issues. That sent me thinking about writing the kind of book that I would have liked to read when I entered public service in the arena of international trade.

The book highlights the isolationism we are seeing today, driven by several factors – the pandemic, supply chain issues, Ukraine, China. It’s all quite complexly intertwined and very dynamic, and we can all benefit from knowing more about current geopolitics and economics to prevent making some of the same mistakes we have in the past.

You’ve had a varied career in the public and private sectors. What drove your interest to enter venture capital and join Celesta?

What brought me to Celesta was a synchronicity of events. I had just finished my five-year tenure as Chairman & CEO at KPMG in India. I was looking to spend more time back in the US, but also continue to stay engaged in India. Sriram spoke to me about Celesta, and soon I was very enticed by the idea of working in the field of venture capital with such amazing people, especially the founding partners of the firm. I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship. I had always worked with smaller companies, been a mentor to many of them. This seemed like a very interesting place to go.

What do you enjoy most about being a venture investor?

I love learning. I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone. When hearing about gene panels and genomics on the one hand, and semiconductors on the other, you're really stretching yourself into new areas. Engaging with founders working at the frontiers of these is extremely enlightening. It’s stimulating to be engaged in these kinds of topics which one must constantly study to stay up to pace. I also love to mentor and support young leaders. Working with entrepreneurs, listening to their issues, helping them by opening doors for them or giving them ideas – I enjoy doing all that.

Is there a cause you're passionate about supporting?

For many years I've supported students in India who are pursuing higher education. I'm a trustee of a foundation, the Foundation for Excellence, which supports that mission, and we’ve helped students earn their advanced degrees now for more than 25 years. I first got engaged in this work alongside my father thirty years ago in Trivandrum, India and it’s amazing now to be Facebook friends and see how far some of these kids have come since I first met them as teenagers. They came from underprivileged backgrounds and now I feel great pride to see them thriving all over the world including right here in Silicon Valley.