After the fifth challenge on Mission Start Ab,
Sumedh from Daybreak was eliminated.
Sumedh, we just stopped seeing the fight in you.
And now, the remaining founders will have to face
the final and most difficult challenge on the show.
Our sixth challenge is called "Attract the Talent."
The first thought I had in mind was that this was the toughest challenge.
Our objective would be to impress a potential CEO.
I didn't get a sense of my role.
Do you need a CEO to be a face?
Do you really need a CEO?
Yes.
Well, I mean…
If this works, I can get down on one knee as well.
At the end of today's challenge, we will have those five founders
who will get a chance to woo the investors
and get an investment from them.
Three learnings are extremely important for any founder.
The first is conviction.
The second is to follow your instinct.
And the third and most important one
is the power of saying no.
In all previous episodes, you will be able to see the learning. However…
The sixth and final challenge on Mission Start Ab
would be putting our learning to the test.
In the real world, if the founders had to impress
senior talent from the industry,
what would they do and how?
In order to find the answer to this question,
the investors have come up with a hypothetical challenge.
The founders have to choose from among three executives.
Our first candidate helps start-ups
sling-shot into big businesses.
Champion of scaling, Saikiran Krishnamurthy.
Our next candidate knows how to turn local businesses
into global brands.
The branding Guru, Zeenah Vilcassim.
And our final candidate, the man behind 60 plus restaurant outlets
across 15 cities, Riyaaz Amlani.
The founders will have two chances to impress and attract talent.
Round one. The founders will be given a limited amount of time
to meet the CEOs and attract them.
Round two.
Only if the CEOs are impressed in round one,
will they walk into a room for a one-on-one meeting.
But besides judging the founders' ability to attract talent
in this hypothetical situation
the investors also want to see if the founders
have conviction and belief in their own leadership.
In round three, the founders will decide if they want a CEO
or do they have enough conviction and belief in their own leadership.
And on the basis of this choice,
the investors will make their final decision.
There are no external factors.
There is no carnival, there are no 200 people.
It's just you there, making a call.
You have to impress three CEOs.
I was like, these are the people who've raised billions of dollars.
Why would they need our company?
But we still have to convince and hire one of them. How do we do it?
Our sixth challenge was called "Attracting Talent."
As the name suggested, we had to attract talent
but we weren't thinking about that.
We jumped straight to the problem statement
which clearly stated that we had to hire a CEO.
Although, hiring a CEO was quite contrary to our plans
as we'd be replacing ourselves. But we took it as a challenge.
Why let go of any opportunity that comes our way?
We didn't reject the idea because anything could come out of it.
If I go out there and hire someone else,
it's basically like saying that I can't do it myself.
I want that person to do it for me at this stage.
We've worked so hard on this.
We have struggled a lot to be where we are today.
We left our jobs, we were the first ones to get to every meeting.
Why do we need an external person? We just had one question, "Why?"
Let's go to sleep.
Sorry, we've hardly slept for two to three hours.
Did you brush your teeth?
No.
We're not hiring.
-Please keep quiet. -I'm telling you.
Founders!
The final challenge before the final negotiation is here.
Re-Desyn, you have three boosters as well as immunity.
This means that even if you don't perform in today's challenge.
you're safe, you're fine and you are going to the finale.
Yatrikart and Alippo.
You both have one booster each.
If you don't perform well today and land in the bottom three,
you lose your last remaining booster
and also be eliminated before the finale.
But guys, remember one thing.
This is the last challenge on Mission Start Ab.
Give it everything you've got and the best of luck to all of you.
Fifteen minutes!
Even instant pain relief medication takes longer than that to work.
And that's the time that the founders will have
to impress three senior CEOs.
Overall, we had 15 minutes and we were the first to go.
-We were so stressed. -And we had only one booster left.
So, we saw Zeenah there, she was talking to Kunal.
-Hey, Zeenah! Hi. -Hi.
-Hi! -I'm Ayushi.
-How are you? -Nice to meet you.
-Nikhil this side. -Nikhil, I'm Zeenah.
And we're the co-founders of Alippo.
We're building a growth engine for women to learn different skills
and set up their home businesses.
And then we build their businesses, starting by
getting them the right licenses.
So, the idea is that we're trying to democratize the whole
starting up in every household…
and powering micro-entrepreneurship.
Okay, you guys threw a lot of information at me.
I'd want to get to know your guys a little better.
You've done the pitch.
But there's so much more to understand about who you guys are.
-Absolutely. -I think you spoke to me about
why you're looking for a CEO.
So, can we take a seat?
-Sure! -Absolutely! Yes, please.
I'd love to know you all a little more.
Oh, my God!
She asked us to sit down and we were running out of time!
Ayushi had a stopwatch running on her phone.
That was important so that we could give each other
a slight nudge and know when to leave the conversation.
You're asking for a CEO.
Because it looks like you're actually doing a great job together.
-Thank you. -Thriving this with the amazing passion
that you have.
What do you not have right now
-that you're looking for or need in a-- -The brand.
Okay.
A brand that actually walks with people,
right, but we're not able to do it right now.
And that is why you, being the champions of the underdogs,
and you've done it before multiple times.
That is why we feel this could be a very big value-add
for Alippo and for us.
The best thing was that she could connect with our mission.
We spent seven minutes there. We had a very good conversation with Zeenah.
If you like the mission, we'd definitely request you to
find some more time for us.
We can have a lot of conversations and chats about…
Yeah, I think…
-I'm slightly interested. -Wow!
-That's great! -High-five to that, please!
-But I'd like to think about it. -Yeah.
Then we moved on quickly and ran to meet Saiki.
I don't fully think they're very clear on what they want a CEO to do.
When they talked about
specifically what they wanted their CEO to do,
it was much around the brand
and driving that forward. So, I think it's--
Do they need a really strong CMO
or a really strong marketing head as opposed to a CEO?
They want a CEO who'd manage the brand as well as the two of them.
Yeah.
-That's not what a CEO does. -Exactly.
But I think maybe in another meeting they might be clearer
-having thought through this meeting. -Do you think you want to meet them again?
I'm not sure.
Instead of leaving Zeenah with answers,
the founders left her with questions.
This can prove to be a huge mistake.
We couldn't find the elevators.
-So, we-- -There were none going down at the time.
-Yeah. -So, we used the stairs
to go from the fourth floor to the ground floor.
We got there somehow.
Riyaaz was sitting there.
We ignored him and moved on.
We went straight to Saiki.
I was panting in the beginning.
So, it was a bit awkward but then I controlled it.
You guys have already done so much.
-Yeah. -So what is my role in this?
Okay. I think this dream is bigger than us.
So, if we're able to achieve something
in two to three years instead of four to five years,
it's much bigger than what we'd want in life.
We answered his questions very well.
We thought it was convincing enough for Saiki as well.
To cover everything that we had to say in 15 minutes was too tough.
Even if we manage it, it wouldn't be so effective
because you'd only get three to four minutes with each person.
It's too difficult.
So we'll try to cover
-either Saiki and then Riyaaz as well. -Riyaaz.
Are you comfortable with Hindi or English?
-Yes, absolutely. Tell me. -Alright.
So, we're making a Pension Box, which is this.
-Okay. -We're building India's first pension app.
-We decided to make cue cards this time. -Yeah.
-Yes. Kuldeep, basically, stole-- -I didn't steal it.
We copied the idea of cue cards. We saw Cyrus holding--
It was a good idea. It was small and precise.
You can keep something…
So, even we have a long journey with the user.
-After retirement-- -So, as long as that person is alive,
we'll be with them.
And that's our pitch, and I think…
How much time do we have left?
-And we're brothers. -And we're brothers.
-He's my younger brother. -Oh, you guys are siblings?
Yes. He looks like dad and I look like mom.
Just in case there was any confusion.
So, your parents aren't worried about you anymore, are they?
I think they still are because we both are a part of one start-up.
It's good because, for me,
it is important to know what the starting point of a mission is.
-Thank you so much. -All the best!
-Thank you, Kunal. -See you, guys. See you, Shivam.
We have to figure out someone else as well.
We had ten minutes left.
So, we thought we'd need to divide it between the two.
We saw both the CEOs there.
We thought it was a good opportunity
because we had only ten minutes that we could use here.
We're the founders of Pension Box.
It's India's first pension app, which is this.
-You can give it to her as well. -Yeah.
In India, only the government employees used to get pensions.
There are no government schemes available
for the employees of private companies
or self-employed persons in India. Right?
So, we started building a platform where any person can
figure out their retirement or pension in their own way.
And then it should be a tech-enabled business.
Our first priority was Saiki, so we both focused on him.
We didn't even look at Zeenah.
-But later, I gave her a cue card. -The wrong cue card.
No, it was the correct one. So, I gave her the cue card.
If you just turn the page, you'll see…
that there are about 34-- Oh, you have the wrong card.
So, if you…
I was like, "Oh, no!" Then I remembered.
Basically, we set a specific question to this
saying, "We have seen that you've gone from x to 10x multiple times.
Would you like to come on board and do a 0 to 1 journey with us?"
-That's our original pitch. -This looks like a marriage proposal.
So, building the core team is basically like building a marriage proposal.
You only missed getting down on one knee.
-Everything else was-- -If this works
I can get down on one knee as well.
So, when we look at each of you, we feel each of you has a strong point.
And we thought the only way to know was to go to round two.
Okay, so let's say I am great at execution
and Zeenah is great at marketing.
-Yeah. -How will you choose?
So, then we'll build the unicorn in the next two years, I guess.
-So, you want us both? -Two CEOs?
-No-- -Two founders and two CEOs.
If we get so much talent, we'll need to make two separate companies.
But I think that's something which we never thought about.
To date, our strength has been on-the-go…
-On-the-go pitching. -pitching.
We covered all three of them. We had a good conversation.
So, the round one was fun.
This is the device we've built
that can monitor the mother.
It has the functionality of a smartwatch
-but it's culturally designed… -It's beautiful.
and has a battery life of six to nine months.
Right now, we have 3.6 million customers on our platform.
This is more than a company for you. This is your life.
Tell me how you have thought about bringing someone from outside.
I quoted the example of Eric Schmidt.
Maybe Larry Page and Sergei Brin built Google.
However, Eric scaled the company and accelerated its growth.
So, he changed the perspective.
Because we're very touched with the problem statement.
-We want someone from outside… -To scale it.
to take over the company as a CEO and drive it forward.
It was a good interaction but it took up almost eight minutes.
So, we got only five to six minutes to pitch to Zeenah.
I like how deep they've gone with the problem they're solving.
And 3.6 million is a serious scale.
That was a positive surprise, Kunal.
So, the risk I see frankly, on their behalf,
I would have wanted them to ask me a few questions
to see if I could be real about this mission.
If you decide to spend more time with them
-you'll get an opportunity-- -I can sense that.
In India, 800 women die in the labor ward every day.
-Every day. -It's the highest in the world.
What we're doing with our technology is that
we're able to identify high-risk pregnancies in the second trimester
which means, we have five more months
to reverse the high-risk parameters with personalized nutrition etcetera,
and make it a low-risk pregnancy.
So, if I understand the challenge
or what you expect of the CEO
is to be able to accelerate the amount of women on the platform
way faster than you have done so far.
-Exactly. -That requires a lot of the…
The marketing, the messaging…
-and actually, the awareness. -Yes.
So, you're really trying to raise awareness for this
all across India, demonstrating the benefits.
-Exactly. -And driving the 25 million extra
-that you have. -Exactly.
It was a holistic experience.
We finally gave the band to her
and the best thing was that she wore it on her wrist.
We got started, and as we entered
we saw Riyaaz sitting over there.
And sitting next to him was Anisha.
But never mind. We're founders, we're used to the hustle.
As soon as I came to know that we'd be meeting you today,
I got really happy.
Because I think our synergies match
since you provide a physical platform to creators
while we provide a digital platform.
So, what are you thinking?
-What do you want from me? -Riyaaz, we want
a guardian for our vision and core values.
Someone who can think objectively about our big moves
and give us the perspective that we lack.
He asked questions, which we answered.
And the whole thing went very well.
When I looked at the stopwatch, I saw Anisha staring at me.
Then I understood that they were evaluating something.
-Thank you. -Nice meeting you.
-Take care. -Pleasure meeting you, sir.
Again, we have execution. We just need somebody to guide our vision.
-And we have less time, Shikhar. -I'll take it up.
-Thanks, guys. -See you.
Let's take the stairs.
The stairs, Shikhar!
He opened the fire exit door and ran down the stairs.
He reached the ground floor from the fourth floor in like--
In 20 seconds, he was on the ground floor with Zeenah.
-Hi. -Hi, Zeenah.
-How are you? -I'm Shikhar. Good.
Nice to meet you.
My co-founder is walking down the stairs. In the meantime,
-I thought I'd just come and join in. -Yeah.
Had I known this before, I wouldn't have worn heels.
I wasn't getting anywhere!
I even thought of removing the shoes and running
but it would be too dramatic. Anyway, I couldn't do it.
So, I walked slowly. Shikhar had already been with Zeenah for a minute
when I entered.
You understand this better than anybody else.
-What you did with surrogate advertising-- -So sorry.
So sorry. Heels.
-Hi, Zeenah. Smriti here. -Nice to meet you.
-Hi, Manish. -Okay.
-Take a seat. -Alright.
We have a very simple user for you.
-If I can walk you through. -Yeah, take me through it.
So basically, we ask creators to log in via OTP.
-and set up a store. -Yeah.
-Which is-- -There are brand curation options.
You go through multiple brands and add them to the store.
And merchandise is just one vertical.
There are brand deals, there's brand curation.
We have a brand dashboard where we can run campaigns.
That went very well, in my opinion.
The conversation with Zeenah was very good.
Because she was obviously very intrigued.
We had a very natural synergy with Zeenah.
Our objective was simple. There would be a stage in the company at some point
where our capacity to grow it would become limited.
That's when someone new comes in, shakes things up, and takes it forward.
So, I saw that in Zeenah.
And I thought this was the right way, so we spent some time with her.
Why do you think I would understand this topic?
We'll be able to re-route the engineering.
I know that supply chain management has always been your forte.
And the end at which we're looking to penetrate right now,
we're not talking 1000 or 2000 products.
We're talking 10,000 products.
And we're building a tribe.
So, once you reach 10,000 products, is my job done?
No, sir. That's when your job actually starts.
We're trying to scale up.
Once we scale up to that extent,
-we want a leader-- -So, you need mentorship.
-We want-- -We'll mentor you.
We want actual leaders to be there
-to join the tribe. -Explain to me in detail.
The biggest problem in deep tech is that…
when you explain something to someone, it can't be done with half-knowledge.
Ultimately, our focus was to ensure that our conversions were done correctly.
We are giving time to someone, so they should convert.
My closing argument would be that
I'd like you to join our tribe.
Let's… let's pull it up.
What did you think?
I didn't get a sense of my role.
So, I felt like a spectator
to an interesting story.
I didn't feel like an actor in that movie.
Who is your customer?
So, we will install a complete system in a village initially.
There are 6.5 lakh villages in India.
We're targeting almost 5000 villages by the end of this year.
To automate them fully
so that we may start generating revenue.
Could you give me an example of an application?
Yes.
So, what we do is start with the planning
and carry out the execution up to insurance.
So basically, the robots will start working in terms of preparing the field.
Once the field is prepared
the drones will start operating in terms of seeding the seeds,
then the sowing operation will be done by robots
and eventually, every one month,
they will spray the fertilizers and micronutrients required.
He seemed a bit curious.
So, we had a positive feeling there.
We had pitched our goal.
We met Saiki first.
Yes. And he was not our priority.
We've already built 96 stores in one and a half years.
-Right? So, we strongly-- -These 96 stores you have, they are…
-They're partner stores. -Okay.
Out of these, 35 are completely franchise stores.
And some are partner stores.
What's the difference between them?
-What is it? -We just provide supplies for one
because we are helping them build a habit before we go on board.
He was asking a lot of questions, he was very curious.
He was taking a lot of time.
So, we cut him short. Because we're hiring the CEO, right?
So, that attitude was necessary.
Don't worry, we'll definitely discuss this in the second meeting.
Right now, we're in a bit of a rush.
-We'll talk more. -So, you're leaving?
We'll see you in the second meeting and definitely talk more.
Nice meeting you.
Husband and wife that run together are happy together. Wonderful.
When we went downstairs, something exciting happened.
I saw that Zeenah was there with Manish.
So, we invited her to join us as well.
Can you come with us?
We can pitch to both of you together.
So, we asked her to come with us and took her to Riyaaz,
who was our final target.
Time is of the essence here
and I just want to know, what stage are you at in your company right now
that you would want a CEO?
We've already built from x-- From 0 to x.
Now we want someone to build from x to 10x with their experience
and with all their proactiveness.
So that we can focus on our mission and vision.
So, you want someone for business development?
-Not at all. -In simple language,
our experience is limited to building 100 stores
and managing a team of 100 people.
Any further experience, we'll either learn by making mistakes…
-That, we don't want. -or by getting educated.
So, instead, we can hire a CEO like you.
Our energy was really intense at that point.
So I think, they got caught up in our energy.
-We'll meet up in the next round. -Definitely.
Let's make a new company with multiple stores.
So, we completed our task,
which was supposed to be done in 15 minutes, in just 12 minutes.
So, this was our first task which we completed successfully.
It's now time for round two.
If the CEO walks in within a minute,
it means they were impressed and if they don't walk in…
Well, you know what that means.
Play.
-That timer increased our anxiety level. -Yes.
Either they'd come or they wouldn't. What's with the timer?
If Riyaaz shows up, we'll be sorted.
Zeenah also seemed quite positive.
That would be tough.
Zeenah should show up.
I think our synergy matched with Zeenah as well.
Oh, no.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
I think we've lost it.
Okay.
Oh, God! This is so tough!
He's not coming.
-And then… -He did not come.
Yes.
Zeenah was impressed enough to meet Alippo.
But it wasn't enough to say yes
without asking some questions.
I'm still not fully convinced that
you guys know exactly what you want.
So, we spoke about a CEO role,
but it seemed like what you were looking for was someone
to really drive that awareness,
the brand, the desired piece, and then scale that up.
Which is much more on the marketing side of things.
So, in your head,
are you clear in terms of
whether it is a CEO that you need
and what distinguishes that CEO from a CMO
that you might need instead?
There's a new era of brands coming in
with a face. That's actually working out for them.
-Yes. -And…
And that face is something that we want to try.
So, coming back to the question, yes.
It is absolutely and highly important for us to have that face.
The moment you have that face,
the entire branding, and the ripple effect side of things
changes the entire game.
But do you need a CEO to be a face?
When she asked the question,
we had a mindset that it would be conversational.
We thought it would go incrementally.
That's how our discussions have been, right?
But somehow, she only wanted to know
why we were looking for a CEO.
Someone that's bold, someone who could be a face,
and someone who can…
you know, articulate, and communicate well.
Right? But does that mean that you need a CEO?
What we feel is you can actually imbibe those qualities
not just in you, because it comes very naturally to you.
You can pass on the same to the team as well.
So, you can keep the team very motivated
-and attract newer talents. -Yeah.
Which is one of the very core requirements
that we see in a CEO.
So, if you are purely looking for gravitas,
I'm also a little bit worried that you are purely looking
at the superficial elements of what a CEO can bring.
And that will be quite short-lived, you know.
How about the bold moves, by the way, that a CEO takes and we follow?
-What about that? -Explain.
I had become a bit quiet because it was slowly dawning on me
that no matter how much we tried to provide her with pointers,
she wasn't building on them.
And if you are looking for a CEO… this is not an exam
where you come and start asking us questions.
-If you are not convinced… -Yeah.
-It has to be a bidirectional marriage. -Yeah.
-Yeah, of course. -So, unless…
I mean, there is no point
but I'll still say that what we brought in to you was real.
Yes, I believe that.
The discussion didn't progress incrementally.
Clearly, the both of us
were not able to converse very clearly.
It's okay, let's think about Saiki.
We were waiting for Saiki and we were very confident he'd show up.
Saiki is our first priority, I hope he comes.
If he doesn't, then we're in a problem.
There's a fifty-fifty chance.
-Saikiran seemed very curious. -Yes.
Is it because we cut him short…
If his curiosity had already been cleared,
why would he come for the next round?
Yes, so there is a possibility that he will come.
Saiki can come.
The timer kept running…
and Saiki didn't come at all.
-It's their loss. -Yeah.
No problem.
Then again, no one came.
We got really anxious.
-My face went pale. -We looked depressed.
-You were sacred. -I was like, what if no one comes?
Go ahead.
Oh!
-Thank you so much, sir! -Thank you, Saiki.
So, it was Saiki.
-Thank you. -We got saved.
So, what are your thoughts?
What made you come in the last ten seconds?
So, I got excited about the opportunity.
And I also really liked your mission and orientation as founders.
You're determined to do something.
So, I liked these two things.
So, what we have to offer here is that
we have a deferred offer letter, right?
Where within a year, you figure out a CEO
to whom you can hand off your earned company to someone you want.
You will become our CEO.
So, we want to make sure that your company is also handled.
-Right. -Don't join our company just yet
because you have your own company that you want to manage
and within a year, you will get to know us.
So far, we haven't even shared a meal.
-Right. -Right?
As a CEO joining our company and leaving his own,
it calls for at least one meal together.
We had structured the deal. If we have to do it, we'll do it this way.
For sure, at present, we can't afford your salary.
But we are raising from here and after that, we will also raise.
So, please explain to me, what is your philosophy towards compensation?
What is the minimum you need to have a comfortable life?
Mostly, the question is about equity.
-Not about cash. -Correct.
Thanks to a good life so far.
We are at this stage.
Even if somebody hires someone, he has to have some level of equity
-that he feels that he is a part of it. -Yeah.
But five percent is something we look at for someone to become a part of us.
Overall, the conversation was good.
But the internal conflict was still going on. Why should we do it?
Excellent. Thank you.
-Give me some time to think about it. -Perfect.
See you.
-Nice meeting you. -Bye.
Bro! I was so scared that I couldn't understand what happened.
-He was our first priority, right? -Yes.
And he liked us.
I just saw you put your hands in your face.
-Sorry to keep you waiting. -Hello.
-Thank you so much. -Good to see you again!
Where do you see the company with the type of CEO
that you say, you are looking for?
For us, success looks like reaching ten million women
in the next three years, that is the main goal.
And it means we'll be able to save 20 million lives.
-That is the mission we are focused on. -We are primarily focused on that part.
Alright, let's assume that
-I am the right candidate for you. -Yes.
Okay? Because of the track record I have for success.
So, how will you compensate me for this role?
We can actually offer you four to five percent.
-Four to five percent? -Yes. Phantom equities.
-To a CEO? -Yes.
-So, thank you very much. -Thank you so much.
For considering me.
Can I think about it and get back to you?
Very sure, sir.
I had a couple of concerns in terms of the creator earnings.
In terms of your daily active users as well.
How we want to scale up, you know.
Your net revenue was 3.6 crores in the last 12 months.
-In the scale of other influencer agency-- -Platforms.
-It's really not there at all. -Yeah.
But I just wanted to know a little bit more clarity.
From April 2023 to now until June…
we've been doing one crore a month.
So, we've done in three months what we have done in the entire last FY.
And what was the change that enabled that scale?
December and January are when our growth triggers started kicking in.
We launched a new tech, which was on the Ruby on Rails tag
and on the React tag.
-So, many more creators were going live… -Yeah.
-than they were earlier. -Okay.
So, we had a lot of backlinks driving traffic to the website.
Yeah, great! Okay, thank you so much.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
-Nice talking to you again. -Thank you.
-Thanks, Zeenah. -See you soon.
We only can hope for the best.
Then again the third timer started.
I wish Riyaaz would come now.
He is a priority now.
He understands our business very well.
The timer started,
and we were a little hopeful till the 30th second.
Of course, we didn't do so badly.
Time was ticking on and nobody had turned up.
We kept staring at the door, but nobody was coming.
Someone will come.
And at the very last moment…
Oh!
Oh, I'm so sorry! Wrong room.
What…
-What the heck! -Oh, God.
I'm just kidding. This is the right room.
-How are you? Good evening. -Thanks for coming.
-We want to show you something.
We did a competency test to see who is the best CEO fit for our company.
So, you are the first.
Wow!
Thank you. I feel privileged.
And then, our interview began.
We asked him a few strong questions as well.
How do you think the relationship between a CEO and a founder should be?
A founder has passion, he has enthusiasm.
The CEO who comes in prepares and presents
the annual plan of the board of directors.
As far as I understand, a CEO
executes the vision of the board and the founders.
-Yes, I love this. -Obvious reasons.
Let's assume that we like each other.
How will you compensate me?
-If I go with you… -It's a great question. Right?
-Great question! Absolutely. -Right?
You got our business model, right?
So, what do you think?
Can this become a billion-dollar company?
Of course, sir. Why not? One hundred percent, it will.
So, what are you withdrawing right now?
You've just joined Sula Vineyards as a director.
-As an independent director. -Independent director.
-What are you getting? -Alliance…
-Money-wise? -Yes, money-wise.
-I know I can't offer you that salary. -Yes.
-Right? But… -Look--
But I have a good offer for you.
-Thank you for that. -A really good offer.
Thank you very much.
We were very sure that we'd be able to crack Riyaaz.
The way he was asking questions
assured us that he was the one who would take our company forward.
Do our founders really need an external CEO?
The investors expect the founders to ask themselves this question,
before taking any final decision.
How important is a CEO for Alippo,
and the second thing is, Nikhil, you created this.
-Yeah. -So, are you ready to give that title
to somebody else?
The love that we have for Alippo is so tremendous that we want to see Alippo,
the company, reach great heights as a business.
If we are able to do something in five years,
and someone who is a veteran
can bring about the same growth in two years,
-then we'll be okay to pick that. -We're okay--
You all are okay to take a back seat?
-Yes. -Yes.
Any forced CEO won't participate in the growth.
It's not easy for a founder to say, let's bring in a CEO.
What do I lack? I can do the same thing.
Honestly, at the moment, even for the next three years,
I don't think anyone can execute it better than us.
Round three of the sixth challenge was the decision-making round,
where the founder had to take a call on whether they wanted the CEO.
Hello, sir. Is that my offer letter?
-Yes! -Okay!
Hi.
Oh! Thank you!
Do you like the offer?
You didn't tell me what you're really looking for from a CEO.
You used…
A lot of jargon, and big words.
Vision, execution, team leading…
But do you really need a CEO?
We know our limitations. So, we…
Our company is our first priority. We don't want to stand in its way.
The growth of the company is very important for us.
Is a CEO the right solution for the problems you're facing?
You just want to learn, don't you?
No.
I think we…
I can understand your dilemma.
Even we started a company.
And there was a time
when even we wanted someone who could hold our hand.
Someone who could guide us. Right?
-But that person is within you. -Absolutely.
-Right. -Okay?
And the stage at which you are right now,
our advice to you would be…
You're on the right track. You have experience,
you understand your customers.
Just keep going.
Believe in yourself
and when the time is right,
then and only then,
should you hire a CEO.
So, tell us.
What have you decided?
I think you'll have to tell us what you have decided.
So basically, our conversation went very well
in the sense that you connected with our mission very closely.
Right? However, we couldn't converge on our CEO conversation.
So, right now, we'll be rolling out an offer letter…
but we're not sure whether it's justified.
So, if I had to ask right now, in this moment…
-Yeah. -What would you decide?
To put an offer letter on the table,
or to continue the discussion?
I think we'd like to definitely position the offer on the table.
Okay, so I know this process was tough.
And I know that I was really tough on you guys also.
I think the reason that I was a little bit tough on you is that
I know you just need that clarity of thought. Right?
The communication of what you need your team to do.
And especially when you're looking at hiring at a CEO level,
you need to be crystal clear on what that person is supposed to do
beyond being the face of the company,
which is again something that you really need to think about
when you're engaging this kind of talent.
And I think even at this point right now, I'd have loved
for you two guys to come here and be like, you know what…
we're not ready to hire a CEO.
You know, maybe we need to look at a CMO
or another marketing lead, but let's keep in touch with our discussion
and maybe sometime in the future,
we'd be able to work together.
And so, I think that with that learning,
if you get that clarity of communication, you guys can be
on an amazing stead to finding the perfect talent for your business.
-That's so kind of you. -Absolutely.
-That makes a lot of sense, in fact. Yeah. -Yeah.
What's the verdict?
So, actually, we want you both to be in, but unfortunately,
we can have only one.
I think, Saikiran sir…
I mean, we were gunning for having…
finding synergy with you.
After speaking, we found that the synergy exists.
So, yeah. We would love to make you an offer.
Okay.
Mr. Riyaaz, we gave it a lot of thought after the interview.
Our offer still stands the same.
But I'd like to give you some advice.
There's a difference between a mentor, a CEO, and a co-founder.
I think where a mentor can get things done,
you don't need a CEO. Okay?
-Thank you so much, sir. -All the very best.
Both of you, have you arrived at a final decision?
Yes.
But I wasn't convinced till the end.
Kuldeep told me what he was about to say.
-My heart-- -Even though we structured a deal.
We spoke to them and worked on the feedback.
But even after everything, my heart said,
this is what I should say.
You were our first priority from the very beginning.
Since the time we decided on the profiles of everyone. Right?
And then, honestly…
at the stage we are in…
we don't need an external CEO but--
Good!
Having said that, we don't need an external CEO
because we can execute that. We're a team, the two of us.
We can do it, we can learn and grow further.
But having said that, you're a great addition to any team whatsoever. Right?
You're there in Bengaluru, we're in Bengaluru.
We don't need to give you a relocation allowance.
That's a plus point.
So, these are very honest, from-the-heart thoughts
that I'm sharing with you.
Just for the simulations,
we could've gone ahead and given you an offer to hire you.
But this is what we feel genuinely.
For what you just said,
you deserve a hug.
I love it.
Because you have not thought about
just hiring the CEO at any cost.
You thought about what's more important for the company.
And that you've kept uppermost in your mind.
By the way, if I were actually talking to you
this would give me a lot of confidence.
Because as founders, you care about the company,
and if I had to come join your company,
I also have to care about the company as much as you.
Fantastic!
At that point in time, they were testing us.
Nothing else. It was a pure mental simulation.
-Yes, we-- -They attracted us.
People came, and we interviewed them.
And then later, in the end, it's our call whether to hire or not.
-Yes. -And that we did.
I was so happy that I wanted to start dancing.
Even though this was a hypothetical challenge,
it was a real test of our founders' belief in their own leadership.
-How do you think your day went? -It was wonderful.
-Really? -Yes.
Please tell us.
During the third time, Riyaaz came. We asked him if he had any belief.
He said, yes, Yatrikart can be a billion-dollar company.
Billion-dollar company. We made him say it.
We made him say it. That went well. Yes.
Don't you think you're self-praising a bit too much?
-No. -Only you think you did well.
That's what we feel, sir.
He even praised us in the end. So, of course.
We think we did really well.
Gaurav, I really like your honesty.
You speak from your heart.
The one thing I liked yesterday was
when you were sitting with Riyaaz
-you weren't overwhelmed. -Right.
When I'd go to meet a senior candidate
who was working in big MNCs like Google or any other company…
I didn't know if I was interviewing them or they were interviewing me.
Absolutely.
I think you had a good conversation with Riyaaz yesterday.
-Thank you. -You were getting lost at times.
-Yes. -But I understand that. It's hard.
We had to make sure that he didn't feel bad.
I'd like to add one more thing.
We've just hired a VP.
We brought in a VP from Reliance Retail.
It took us one and a half years.
So, when we actually hire,
we don't make decisions like this.
I wish you had said what you're saying here, yesterday to Riyaaz.
That was the only thing. Because I like this.
What I'm hearing now is what I had wanted to hear there, so…
Thank you very much.
-You guys believe you needed a CEO? -No, but mentorship--
-Good mentorship, in terms of-- -Why didn't you say this there?
We wanted to have a soft knot.
Because disgracing a big personality directly…
How is it a disgrace? He would have been proud of you.
He would have said, wow! These founders are so confident.
Yeah, to scale, we need a CEO.
Should we be waiting as investors for the CEO to join?
Because as investors, we want to be investing
in companies that scale. But if the founders themselves believe
that they need a CEO to scale, then…
Shikhar, looking at your body language, and your tone,
I didn't feel like you actually wanted to hire a CEO.
We had a thought that even if we said yes today,
it's going to be at least a year before we get to a point.
But I think we should have simply said,
we don't want a CEO at this point in time.
-Why didn't you speak your mind? -Right.
Kuldeep and Shivam, I actually didn't like your approach.
I absolutely loved it.
-I loved all of it. -Thank you so much.
The path you took yesterday…
I'm sure you were very nervous,
and yet you decided that "No…
my instinct tells me
that this is the right path for me."
That's exactly how it happened.
Till the last moment, Kuldeep kept telling me that he--
He wasn't convinced.
He just wanted to say what came from his heart.
-Good. -That was Kuldeep's take throughout.
We were feeling that it might come across as a bit extreme,
and we might get eliminated for not following the brief.
I think… I remember the moment when Riyaaz clapped.
The moment I said, we're not hiring.
And Riyaaz's reaction seemed very genuine, the way it came out.
He seemed very happy.
And then, at that moment, I realized that we were on the right track.
Kuldeep and Shivam,
although this challenge was difficult for you, you made it look easy.
-Yeah. -So, congratulations, guys.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
-How was this challenge for you? -It was quite interesting.
It was new. It was relevant.
We read this challenge in this way…
There will come many big opportunities in Alippo
where we'll have to make some very hard decisions in life.
So, we treated this opportunity at the simulation in a way
as if this is there on the plate,
and if tomorrow, you have to relive this,
how will you go about it?
Okay, Ayushi, Nikhil.
Yes.
Firstly, you were hiring a CEO, not a CMO. Okay?
Second, it was not an investor whom you were pitching to.
I mean, it was an interview.
There's something of selling a dream, a mission.
Honestly speaking, while talking to Zeenah, for 30 seconds,
I was actually intrigued.
Because the lens was marketing, no doubt about this.
It shifted from executive to marketing, but…
It sounded interesting.
It seemed like it could be a game-changer for Alippo.
That's how I felt.
Nikhil, do you drive?
Ayushi and I love to drive.
Nikhil loves driving.
When the car is in neutral and
you keep pressing the accelerator,
-what happens? -The car won't move ahead.
-What else happens? -A lot of noise.
Your interaction with Zeenah was like a car in neutral…
and you kept pressing on the accelerator.
After a point, if you feel that
the conversation isn't going in the direction you want it to,
it's okay to step back.
It would have been okay for you to tell Zeenah…
"You're right. You have a very good point.
Let us come back to you about this."
Kunal, I think you were right outside watching everyone.
You must've noticed that we were giving nudges to Zeenah.
Team building…
Right? We're giving our bold moves
as a CEO. Right? Decision making…
And we were trying to see if the conversation was incremental or not.
You must've noticed, we didn't push it in the end.
We just said, "Let's stay in touch."
And in the offer, if someone compels us
in the simulation, we'd show it, or else we had everything written down.
We didn't even open it.
We knew that this hadn't gone anywhere, so there should be no offer.
Because we knew this was just not making sense at all.
What you're doing right now
is exactly the point that Kunal was making.
I just wish you guys had said, no.
Maybe you should have just said, "We're proud founders.
We'd love to have you as an advisor."
Founder's love in your journey at this stage is very critical.
Be honest and real about the situation.
-It's a show, correct. -Yeah.
But you have to be real about what your business wants.
-Anyway, guys, thanks a lot. -Thank you so much.
-Thank you, guys. -Can we just spend another one minute?
I'm so sorry. It might get cut.
-Let's spend some time… -Nikhil.
It's important to learn how to take a cue.
Yes, that makes sense.
We all appreciate your relentlessness.
It's a great attribute.
But when your desire becomes stubbornness, it doesn't look good.
If I could get some more clarity… Okay, that's fine.
-No problem. It makes sense. -You'll have many opportunities.
-Yeah. -But for now…
-Thanks a lot, guys. -Thank you so much.
-Thanks. -Thank you. Have a nice day.
Yeah. Thanks.
We will miss this deliberation actually.
Because when someone speaks sincerely,
it's important to grasp what they say.
This was the last debrief session of Mission Start Ab.
After six back-to-back challenges, we are moments away
from finding our final five.
Founders, all the challenges of Mission Start Ab are now complete.
After six grueling challenges,
you six founders are standing at the threshold of the finale.
So, congratulations to each and every one of you.
Incredible!
Out of you six founders,
one will go home today.
But before that,
we'll announce the top performer.
So, investors. Which of these founders
impressed you the most in this challenge?
Kuldeep and Shivam.
You showed great presence of mind.
Congratulations, you are the top performers in this challenge.
Now, here's the big question.
Out of these five founders, who are at the bottom?
-Anisha. -In this challenge,
we wanted to see a little more conviction from you all.
At this point, the stakes are very high.
That's why, we've decided that there will be no bottom three.
All five of you will stay here…
and one of you will be eliminated.
Manish, who is going home today?
Unfortunately…
it is Alippo.
Nikhil and Ayushi.
I've always called you the power couple…
and you'll always be a power couple for me.
You're a very strong relentless team
and I wish you a lot of success.
And you know where to find me.
You can reach me any time you like.
-Wish you all the best. -Absolutely. Thank you so much, Kunal.
You know, there's a quote by Edison.
"The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time."
And I see that spirit whenever I see you both.
All the best.
And of course, you know, I'm only a phone call away.
We're going to trouble all of you a lot.
So, don't worry about that.
-Anytime. -Don't think twice.
-Anytime. -Absolutely.
-Thank you. -See you.
-Thanks. Bye! -Bye.
All the best!
The journey we've witnessed on this show
-is an amazing journey. -Yes.
We've learned lots of new things.
Feedback, suggestions, debriefs…
We made wonderful friends.
We made friends after a long time.
Investor networks have opened up. Collaborations, partnerships…
We're taking back a lot of things.
And I think we have an amazing journey ahead of us.
So, we're excited for that.
After Alippo's elimination, we have our final five for the finale.
These five founders will have the opportunity
to win an investment from the investors.
Welcome to the grand finale of Amazon Prime Video's Mission Start Ab.
-Finally, we'll talk about funding. -We'd like to raise two crores from you.
-Three crores. -Two crores.
-Floor cap is 30 crores. -Sixty crores, floor.
And 80 crores, cap.
What kind of a deal is this?
Unfortunately, I will not be able to invest.
I'd like to join Kunal on the two-crore deal.
After putting in three to four years of hard work
and a lot of effort, I don't want to create
a perception for the young generation…
The perception is never shaped by valuation.
-Are you guys good with debt? -I think, let's do it.
Why would we invest when there's a debt coming on us?
Will the founders get the investors they want?
-This is very overwhelming. -But we'd love to have you on this deal.
And will the investors get the founder they want?
Are you willing to walk away without an investment?
Let's just say 20, take a hard stand.
We will incubate you in our Bengaluru office.
So, who will receive funding? We are about to find out. is deal.