Letters of Intent

In this special episode, Pankaj Raval and Sahil Chaudry announce Carbon Law Group’s move into the India-US corridor. Instead of breaking down a document, they explain why Sahil will spend October 26 through the end of December in Juhu, Mumbai, meeting with venture capital firms, family offices, and founders who want to access the US market.

Through this practical conversation, Pankaj and Sahil extract critical shifts in where growth is happening, the compliance layers of US market entry, and the patterns behind Indian capital flowing west, that apply directly to founders and leaders of growing private enterprises navigating cross-border expansion.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Takeaways
  • The Eastward Shift in Growth: Pankaj argues that the old advice to “go west” is dated, because much of the last twenty years of growth has happened in Asia. For leaders deciding where to expand or raise capital, the East is a source of opportunity that can’t be overlooked. 
  • The Layered Complexity of US Market Entry: Sahil uses California as the example of what US entry involves. That means securities compliance (the rules on raising money from investors), labor compliance (employment rules), and intellectual property protection, including copyright and trademark. Each is a separate track, and none of it is the business itself. 
  • Indian Capital’s Appetite for US Businesses: The interest the hosts describe is industry agnostic. It ranges from hedge funds investing in publicly traded securities, to buyers looking at US hotels, to companies selling medical devices. The common thread is demand for the US middle market, the tier of established private companies between small businesses and large corporations. 
  • Building the Gateway to the US: Sahil will be in Juhu, Mumbai from October 26 through the end of December, meeting with venture capital firms, family offices, and founders. Meeting requests go to sahil@carbonlg.com. 

Soundbites
  • “We’ve got the Gateway of India that’s made of stone in Mumbai that I know you and I have both visited. But we are building the gateway to the US, which is going to be built of carbon for Carbon Law Group.” 
  • “Accessing the US market is complex. And you don’t want to be focused on the administrative, the compliance, the legal. You want to focus on your business and making money.” 
  • “I think that saying, the statement that, go west, young man, I think is absolutely dated, right?” 
  • “The most important thing that I notice is that it seems that there’s an appetite from Indian capital for US businesses and we are here to service that capital.” 

Keywords
Cross-Border Transactions, India-US Business, US Market Entry, Family Offices, Venture Capital, Securities Compliance, Labor Compliance, Intellectual Property, Trademark, Middle Market

🔗 Learn More
Website: carbonlg.com
Connect with Pankaj: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankaj-raval/
Connect with Sahil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahil-chaudry-6047305/
Carbon Law Group's links: https://linktr.ee/carbonlawgroup

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Creators and Guests

PR
Host
Pankaj Raval
Founder of Carbon Law Group
SC
Host
Sahil Chaudry
Corporate attorney with Carbon Law Group, P.C.

What is Letters of Intent?

Conversations with business leaders and changemakers on how they built their business and what keeps them going.

Pankaj (00:00)
Welcome back to another episode of Letters of Intent, the podcast for deal makers and risk takers changing the world. and this episode is really about going global. You know, we've got some exciting news. We've been doing a lot this year. We've grown a lot. We've been able to help hundreds of clients this year. And Sahil, I think we're taking the show on the road, I take it, huh? What's this

I hear of us establishing presence in India?

Sahil (00:21)
Pankaj we have seen our practice more than double in the last year. And I am really excited to say that a large portion of that has actually come from cross-border transactions between India and the US. So we had a discussion, and as opposed to saying go west, young man, Pankaj, you declared to me go east, young man. And so here I am on my way, eastward bound, and

Carbon Law Group will be in Mumbai, India, between the end of October and the end of December. And we are there to take meetings with venture capital firms, family offices, and other people who want to access the US market and are looking for a legal partner.

Pankaj (01:01)
Absolutely. I think that saying, the statement that, go west, young man, I think is absolutely dated, right? Because now

Sahil (01:04)
Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

Pankaj (01:07)
now I think, the growth of probably the last twenty years has been now happening in the East, right? You know, looking at China, looking

Sahil (01:12)
Asia.

Pankaj (01:12)
at Asia, look at the roaring tiger, what's happening in Asia, it cannot be overlooked. And I think, when we look for opportunities for growth, that's that's where we've gotta go, that's where we've gotta be.

And yeah, I think it's super exciting that, we have an opportunity for you to be there for extended period of time to meet with, family offices, investors, venture capitalists, people who are really building the next great businesses based out of India.

Sahil (01:35)
And I'll say how this came about for our clients who are listening.

Pankaj, we just received such a huge amount of interest from Indian companies and Indian family offices, Indian venture capital firms wanting to invest in the US middle market that we just couldn't ignore it.

We've got the gateway of India that's made of stone in Mumbai that I know you and I have both visited. But we are building the gateway to the US, which is going to be built of carbon for Carbon Law Group. So we are ready to be that guide and that gateway. If you're an Indian venture capital firm, family office, entrepreneur, founder, and you're looking to access the US market. I mean,

The US market, especially, let's say you want to get into California, you have securities compliance, you have labor compliance, you have IP regulations, you have copyright, trademark. Accessing the US market is complex. And you don't want to be focused on the administrative, the compliance, the legal. You want to focus on your business and making money. So that's where we come in to plug that gap.

And we are prepared to do it. We are doing it for a number of companies now. And we've received such interest that we're ready to start building our presence in Mumbai. So I'm very excited to be there on behalf of Carbon Law Group.

Pankaj (02:49)
Absolutely. We're super excited to have you there, Sahil. I think it's really exciting time to be an entrepreneur in India. But of course, I think the reality is that still the American market, the American economy is, the biggest economy in the world. And why wouldn't you want to be here? Why wouldn't you wanna be playing in this market where the opportunities are so much greater? So we're here to support entrepreneurs, investors.

all types of businesses looking to enter the market and they're excited we're excited they're gonna be able to meet with you.

Sahil (03:14)
Yeah, I and just to kind of comment on some of the businesses that we've seen, Pankaj. I mean, we've had inquiries from firms that want to start hedge funds that are investing in publicly traded securities. We have companies that want to buy hotels in the US. We have companies that wanna sell medical devices. We have a multitude of inquiries that are coming in, and it's kind of industry agnostic.

The most important thing that I notice is that it seems that there's an appetite from Indian capital for US businesses and we are here to service that capital.

Pankaj (03:51)
Absolutely. Amazing. Amazing. Well, super excited.

Sahil (03:53)
Yeah.

Pankaj (03:54)
Please reach out to us if you guys are looking to meet up with Sahil while he's in India. What are the dates again and where are you gonna be?

Sahil (04:00)
I'm gonna be in Juhu, Mumbai, between October 26th and the end of December. If you'd like to schedule an appointment with us, just shoot a message to the firm. You can email me, sahil@carbonlg.com. My schedule is getting filled up, but we do know the best places in town. So if you schedule a meeting with us, coffee is on us. And we would love to speak with you about your business and about how you want to access the US market.

So Carbon Law Group is here to be that bridge between the US and India and to be your legal guide.

Pankaj (04:32)
Absolutely. Looking forward to it. Thanks again. Again, this is Carbon Law Group, Council for Deal Makers and Risk Takers. Can't wait to see you in India.