{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"First Principles","title":"Shiprocket's Saahil Goel on rebuilding the same company three times and wanting one paisa of every Indian transaction outside the marketplaces","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":7580,"description":"Everyone thinks Shiprocket began in 2017. But the company Saahil Goel and his co-founder Gautam Kapoor started was born in 2011, and it was rebuilt three times before it worked: a “Shopify for India” called KartRocket, a marketplace called Craftly, and finally the shipping-and-enablement layer now behind a quarter of a million Indian sellers, on its way to a public listing. In this ~2-hour conversation, Saahil takes Rohin through the whole arc: bootstrapping on Rs 15 lakh, why Indian SMBs wouldn't pay for software, an investor ultimatum to take $4 million or nothing, and how he came to believe you sell outcomes, not software. Then it turns reflective: the first principles he runs the company on, the single metric he obsesses over, his bet on applied AI, why he thinks you can't actually manage people, who does and doesn't survive at Shiprocket, the guitar he still plays, and a closing self-assessment delivered in a single number.\nChapters\n\n0:00  The company that started in 2011, not 20174:53  KartRocket: building an agency to learn the market7:02  Bootstrapped on Rs 15 lakh9:55  Why Indian SMBs wouldn't pay for software18:51  “Take $4 million or nothing”23:31  How Shiprocket was born27:59  What Shiprocket actually is — and how it makes money38:50  The IPO, and the state of the business45:12  Quick commerce without owning a truck49:33  From Delhi to a US career — and back56:52  Lessons from failed fundraises1:05:16  How much they've raised1:05:27  With hindsight, what he'd do differently1:06:34  “A paisa of every transaction in India”1:09:47  First principles: distribution beats product1:15:56  The metrics he obsesses over1:21:46  Betting on applied AI1:33:57  “You can't manage people”1:36:10  Who doesn't survive at Shiprocket1:46:29  The guitar, Pink Floyd, and Bruno the CHO2:02:52  The book he forgets — and how he reflects2:05:15  Rating his life an 8\nThis episode was produced by Rohin Dharmakumar and mixed and mastered by Rajiv CN.\nWrite to us at fp@the-ken.com...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/rfHh6dytJaKTzLNweTZ38EX73SZVevO_Bw9InyHzKY8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84NzVk/NWFiYmI1NzFkMjJl/NmM2OTY0N2U5YTBh/YmQyNC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}