Inside the mind of Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder, Snapdeal & Titan Capital

The Neon Show

Our guest for the 100th episode of 100x Entrepreneur Kunal Bahl is best known as the co-founder of Snapdeal & Titan Capital.

He co-founded Snapdeal back in 2007 along with his high school friend Rohit Bansal. It initially started as a daily deals platform but soon expanded to become one of the largest online marketplaces in India.

Over the years, Kunal has mentored and invested in several early-stage entrepreneurs. In 2011, he decided to formalize it by setting up Titan Capital. Titan Capital has invested in the likes of Ola, Urban Company, Mamaearth, and Bira among others.

In this episode, catch Kunal talking about starting Snapdeal, guiding and investing in early-stage founders, having the drive to keep going as an entrepreneur, and much more.

For anyone looking to explore entrepreneurship, this conversation is worth its weight in gold. From learning from your own mistakes & failures to keep going even when you want to give up your entrepreneurial dream, this podcast will guide you through it all.

Notes -

01:43 - Launching Snapdeal after getting H1-B Visa rejected

03:59 - Pivoting from coupons marketplace to a marketplace for physical products

05:17 - “Identifying the type of businesses Rohit and I like to build”

12:01 - Why not fearing being wrong/failing is important

13:29 - “Our greatest powers will come from our greatest wounds”

15:04 - What drives Kunal even after 13 years as an entrepreneur

18:29 - Tectonic shifts in the Startup ecosystem over the last decade

26:42 - Investing in D2C companies; Beardo, Mamaearth, & OZiva, etc

39:02 - Investing in Urban Company based on their customer-first approach

43:32 - Investing in companies prior to Product-Market Fit

51:48 - Starting up as an Angel Investor and eventually setting up Titan Capital

56:59 - What has changed for Kunal after becoming a parent