Mahesh Murthy's guest appearances

Mahesh Murthy

Beneath The Force: The Vishal Gondal Show

My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Maharajas of Scale

Bill Gates

Pratik Shah

Nischal Shetty

Sunil Patro

Ronnie Screwvala

Abhishek Shah

Santosh Panda

Vivek Khandelwal

Amit Munjal

Satyam Kumar

Abhishek Desai

Varun Sheth

Amit Gupta

Nithin Kamath

Akash Gehani

OwlTail

BIO: Mahesh Murthy has helped launch Amazon, over 60 startups, a few hundred brands, and a few satellites. He’s a marketer, entrepreneur, and investor.STORY: Mahesh invested close to $400,000 into a startup only to discover that one of the founders was siphoning money via his sister and mother.LEARNING: Verify startup founders before investing in them. Hire someone to monitor your investments if you cannot do it yourself. Invest in a minimum of 10 startups instead of just one. “Never give your entire investment to one person.”Mahesh Murthy Guest profileMahesh Murthy has helped launch Amazon, over 60 startups, a few hundred brands, and a few satellites. He’s a marketer, entrepreneur, and investor.As a marketer he:Worked on Amazon, Pepsi, and NikeHelped launch MTV and its rival Channel V.Founded ad firm Pinstorm.Wrote ads, including ‘Asia’s best ad of the decade.”As an entrepreneur he:Failed in his first three ventures.Is taking a company public soonHas taken another into space: Asia’s first private firm to launch satellitesAs an investor he:Has run three venture fundsWas voted India’s “Best VC of the Year.” Twice.Worst investment everMahesh was lucky to be in the US at the start of the Dotcom revolution working at one of the early digital advertising firms in Silicon Valley. He read about a small startup in Seattle that wanted to sell stuff online.Mahesh went to his boss and told him about the startup, but he dismissed him. But he prevailed, and finally, the boss allowed him to meet the startup’s founders. The startup was Amazon. Mahesh started working with Amazon, and in the process, he learned a lot from Jeff Bezos.After a few years, Mahesh decided to return to India and take his e-commerce knowledge there. He also started doing a lot of angel investing. Through this, he met two founders who wanted to teach students outside India online.Mahesh was very excited about the idea and was ready to invest. The two founders hired teachers, and the teaching started. Mahesh was pretty much hands-off and would write a check every three months. The founders would update him on the progress and insist they had everything under control.Soon, Mahesh noticed the company was spending so much money renting computers and an office space bigger than necessary. He kept asking why the founders were doing this instead of buying the computers and renting a smaller space. The founders insisted that they just wanted to be flexible and not invest in assets they knew nothing about. Mahesh just bought into all this.Finally, after about two years of pumping so much money into the company without much progress, Mahesh decided to look deeper into how things were running. He went to the office, and while looking at the financial books, he noticed that the people renting out the computers and the space were related. He dug a little deeper, did a few Google searches, then figured out that the computers belonged to one of the founder’s sisters and the space belonged to his mother. This partner was taking a chunk of money from the company and putting it into his own pocket through his mother and sister. Mahesh was incensed. When he asked the founder about it, he exited the company. When the second founder heard about it, he also left the company.Now Mahesh had very little money left, a company with no leadership, about 25 staff, and no customers. He and his partner jumped in and did what they could to find some customers, paid the teachers full pay, and slowly let them off.About two years later, they sold the company to another company building an education giant and got some shares in it. Up to that point, Mahesh had invested close to $400,000, and he only managed to get about $40,000 back when the new owners took the company public.Lessons learnedNobody’s a good judge of character, so don’t trust people blindly.Being hands-off may be easy and fantastic, but it won’t help your investments.Ensure all the paperwork is correct and your tax is done correctly.Hire somebody who will track and monitor your investments if you cannot be hands-on.Andrew’s takeawaysIf you’re going to invest in startups, invest in 10 startups, not just one.Monitor your investment regularly.Get your complete financial statements, balance sheet, and income statement monthly and hold a monthly meeting to review them.Actionable adviceIf you’re investing in a startup, hire a chartered accountant who will look deep into the books on your behalf. Additionally, put the systems in place to monitor your investments so you don’t get scammed.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsMahesh Murthy’s goal for the next 12 months is to launch more satellites and segments.Parting words “Trust but verify.”Mahesh Murthy [spp-transcript] Connect with Mahesh MurthyLinkedInFacebookTwitterInstagramWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

<p><strong>BIO: </strong>Mahesh Murthy has helped launch Amazon, over 60 startups, a few hundred brands, and a few satellites. He’s a marketer, entrepreneur, and investor.</p><p><strong>STORY: </strong>Mahesh invested close to $400,000 into a startup only to discover that one of the founders was siphoning money via his sister and mother.</p><p><strong>LEARNING: </strong>Verify startup founders before investing in them. Hire someone to monitor your investments if you cannot do it yourself. Invest in a minimum of 10 startups instead of just one.</p><p> </p><blockquote><strong>“Never give your entire investment to one person.”</strong></blockquote><blockquote>Mahesh Murthy</blockquote><p> </p><h2>Guest profile</h2><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/maheshmurthy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Mahesh Murthy</strong></a> has helped launch Amazon, over 60 startups, a few hundred brands, and a few satellites. He’s a marketer, entrepreneur, and investor.</p><p>As a marketer he:</p><ul><li>Worked on Amazon, Pepsi, and Nike</li><li>Helped launch MTV and its rival Channel V.</li><li>Founded ad firm Pinstorm.</li><li>Wrote ads, including ‘Asia’s best ad of the decade.”</li></ul><p>As an entrepreneur he:</p><ul><li>Failed in his first three ventures.</li><li>Is taking a company public soon</li><li>Has taken another into space: Asia’s first private firm to launch satellites</li></ul><p>As an investor he:</p><ul><li>Has run three venture funds</li><li>Was voted India’s “Best VC of the Year.” Twice.</li></ul><h2>Worst investment ever</h2><p>Mahesh was lucky to be in the US at the start of the Dotcom revolution working at one of the early digital advertising firms in Silicon Valley. He read about a small startup in Seattle that wanted to sell stuff online.</p><p>Mahesh went to his boss and told him about the startup, but he dismissed him. But he prevailed, and finally, the boss allowed him to meet the startup’s founders. The startup was Amazon. Mahesh started working with Amazon, and in the process, he learned a lot from Jeff Bezos.</p><p>After a few years, Mahesh decided to return to India and take his e-commerce knowledge there. He also started doing a lot of angel investing. Through this, he met two founders who wanted to teach students outside India online.</p><p>Mahesh was very excited about the idea and was ready to invest. The two founders hired teachers, and the teaching started. Mahesh was pretty much hands-off and would write a check every three months. The founders would update him on the progress and insist they had everything under control.</p><p>Soon, Mahesh noticed the company was spending so much money renting computers and an office space bigger than necessary. He kept asking why the founders were doing this instead of buying the computers and renting a smaller space. The founders insisted that they just wanted to be flexible and not invest in assets they knew nothing about. Mahesh just bought into all this.</p><p>Finally, after about two years of pumping so much money into the company without much progress, Mahesh decided to look deeper into how things were running. He went to the office, and while looking at the financial books, he noticed that the people renting out the computers and the space were related. He dug a little deeper, did a few Google searches, then figured out that the computers belonged to one of the founder’s sisters and the space belonged to his mother. This partner was taking a chunk of money from the company and putting it into his own pocket through his mother and sister. Mahesh was incensed. When he asked the founder about it, he exited the company. When the second founder heard about it, he also left the company.</p><p>Now Mahesh had very little money left, a company with no leadership, about 25 staff, and no customers. He and his partner jumped in and did what they could to find some customers, paid the teachers full pay, and slowly let them off.</p><p>About two years later, they sold the company to another company building an education giant and got some shares in it. Up to that point, Mahesh had invested close to $400,000, and he only managed to get about $40,000 back when the new owners took the company public.</p><h2>Lessons learned</h2><ul><li>Nobody’s a good judge of character, so don’t trust people blindly.</li><li>Being hands-off may be easy and fantastic, but it won’t help your investments.</li><li>Ensure all the paperwork is correct and your tax is done correctly.</li><li>Hire somebody who will track and monitor your investments if you cannot be hands-on.</li></ul><h2>Andrew’s takeaways</h2><ul><li>If you’re going to invest in startups, invest in 10 startups, not just one.</li><li>Monitor your investment regularly.</li><li>Get your complete financial statements, balance sheet, and income statement monthly and hold a monthly meeting to review them.</li></ul><h2>Actionable advice</h2><p>If you’re investing in a startup, hire a chartered accountant who will look deep into the books on your behalf. Additionally, put the systems in place to monitor your investments so you don’t get scammed.</p><h2>No.1 goal for the next 12 months</h2><p>Mahesh Murthy’s goal for the next 12 months is to launch more satellites and segments.</p><h2>Parting words</h2><p> </p><blockquote><strong>“Trust but verify.”</strong></blockquote><blockquote>Mahesh Murthy</blockquote><p> </p><p>[spp-transcript]</p><p> </p><h3><strong>Connect with Mahesh Murthy</strong></h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/maheshmurthy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/maheshmurthy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/maheshmurthy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mahesh_murthy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://www.pinstorm.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Website</a></li></ul><h3><strong>Andrew’s books</strong></h3><ul><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3qrfHjX" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market</em></a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/2PDApAo" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>My Worst Investment Ever</em></a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3v6ip1Y" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them</em></a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3emBO8M" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points</em></a></li></ul><h3><strong>Andrew’s online programs</strong></h3><ul><li><a href="https://valuationmasterclass.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Valuation Master Class</em></a></li><li><a href="https://academy.astotz.com/courses/how-to-start-building-your-wealth-investing-in-the-stock-market" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market</em></a></li><li><a href="https://academy.astotz.com/courses/finance-made-ridiculously-simple" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Finance Made Ridiculously Simple</em></a></li><li><a href="https://academy.astotz.com/courses/gp" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence</em></a></li><li><a href="https://academy.astotz.com/courses/transformyourbusiness" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points</em></a></li></ul><h3><strong>Connect with Andrew Stotz:</strong></h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.astotz.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">astotz.com</a></li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstotz/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/andrewstotzpage" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/andstotz/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Andrew_Stotz" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/andrewstotzpage" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/my-worst-investment-ever-podcast/id1416554991?mt=2" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">My Worst Investment Ever Podcast</a></li></ul>

Mahesh Murthy – Trust but Verify Startup Founders

Mahesh Murthy is a name that most entrepreneurs who started up in India between 2000 and 2012 know. Mahesh went from being a copy writer in Silicon Valley who helped Jeff Bezos with the "Everything store" campaign to leading Channel V and founding Seed Fund, one of India's best known seed funds that funded storied names such as Red Bus, Chumbak, Carwale, Voonik etc. Both his Seed Funds won the best fund award, a rare feat. Having funded some of India's storied startups and seen good exits, Mahesh is now trying his hand at Space, a new and exciting frontier. In this episode, he shares his wisdom on what makes ventures work, the strategies that entrepreneurs need to employ and what the space race is all about. He knows a thing or two about scaling startups and should we add that the episode is full of rare insights and pointers on how to make your venture tick, succeed and scale.  A must listen!

<p>Mahesh Murthy is a name that most entrepreneurs who started up in India between 2000 and 2012 know. Mahesh went from being a copy writer in Silicon Valley who helped Jeff Bezos with the "Everything store" campaign to leading Channel V and founding Seed Fund, one of India's best known seed funds that funded storied names such as Red Bus, Chumbak, Carwale, Voonik etc. Both his Seed Funds won the best fund award, a rare feat. Having funded some of India's storied startups and seen good exits, Mahesh is now trying his hand at Space, a new and exciting frontier. In this episode, he shares his wisdom on what makes ventures work, the strategies that entrepreneurs need to employ and what the space race is all about. He knows a thing or two about scaling startups and should we add that the episode is full of rare insights and pointers on how to make your venture tick, succeed and scale.  A must listen!</p>

Ep. 16: Mahesh Murthy of Seedfund - From Copywriting to leading Channel V, India's Best seed Fund and the Space Race

He is a man with a resume, spanning 34 years’ of experience as a marketer, being an entrepreneur for over 2 decades and an investor for the last 19 years. He has worked on brands like Amazon, Yahoo, Pepsi, Microsoft, Nike, Unilever, Kraft, across the US, China, Europe and India. Mahesh has been instrumental in the launch of MTV in India and then ran its rival Channel V. But, lately there is a cloud of doubt engulfing this very influential man who has been allegedly charged for sexual harassment. We have with us, Mahesh Murthy. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5 You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

<p>He is a man with a resume, spanning 34 years’ of experience as a marketer, being an entrepreneur for over 2 decades and an investor for the last 19 years. He has worked on brands like Amazon, Yahoo, Pepsi, Microsoft, Nike, Unilever, Kraft, across the US, China, Europe and India. Mahesh has been instrumental in the launch of MTV in India and then ran its rival Channel V. But, lately there is a cloud of doubt engulfing this very influential man who has been allegedly charged for sexual harassment. We have with us, Mahesh Murthy.</p> <p>You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: <a href="https://goo.gl/tGYdU1" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/tGYdU1</a> or iOS: <a href="https://goo.gl/sZSTU5" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/sZSTU5</a></p> <p>You can check out our website at <a href="http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.ivmpodcasts.com</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

S02 E09: Mahesh Murthy