#127 - Vidit Aatrey and Adora Cheung

About this episode

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/viditaatrey">Vidit Aatrey</a> is cofounder and CEO of <a href="https://meesho.com/">Meesho</a>. Meesho is a platform in India that allows people to resell products using their social networks. They were in the Summer 2016 batch of YC and you can check them out at <a href="https://meesho.com/">Meesho.com</a>.<br><br><a href="https://twitter.com/nolimits">Adora Cheung</a> is a Partner at YC. Before working at YC she cofounded Homejoy.<br><br>You can find Vidit on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/viditaatrey">@viditaatrey</a> and Adora is <a href="https://twitter.com/nolimits">@nolimits</a>.<br><br>Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.<br><br>Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/">https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/</a><br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics</b><br><br>00:00 - Intro<br><br>01:20 - What is Meesho?<br><br>3:20 - Why not just sell directly to consumers?<br><br>5:05 - What are the macro trends in Meesho's favor in India?<br><br>7:30 - A trust deficit market<br><br>8:55 - How does Meesho help users get online and start selling?<br><br>11:45 - Most impactful user stories<br><br>13:50 - Growth drivers<br><br>15:50 - Balancing growth and quality<br><br>17:25 - What if Facebook copies Meesho?<br><br>18:50 - When did Vidit and his cofounder know they wanted to start a startup?<br><br>21:20 - Their first startup idea and the inspiration for Meesho<br><br>25:40 - When did they know Meesho was working?<br><br>27:20 - How hard was it to pivot the business and how did they manage it?<br><br>30:05 - As a CEO how does he stay in touch with users?<br><br>34:50 - How has Vidit's role changed over time?<br><br>36:55 - How has he learned to be a CEO?<br><br>38:30 - What mistakes have they made?<br><br>39:35 - What was his best decision?<br><br>40:15 - What's a strong opinion he had about running a startup that he's changed since running Meesho?<br><br>41:45 - How has the Indian startup ecosystem evolved?<br><br>43:20 - Big problems worth solving in India<br><br>43:05 - Can foreigners come to India and start a startup?<br><br>45:10 - Best advice for aspiring Indian founders<br><br>46:20 - After Meesho, what's the most exciting startup in India?<br><br>47:20 - Why is Delhi the best IIT?<br><br>48:15 - What's a must read book and why?<br><br>49:10 - What's a startup idea he'd be working on if Meesho didn't happen?<br><br>49:25 - In 100 years, what does he hope Meesho is?<br></p>