PBJ 5: Be Generous ft. Shashank Randev

Shashank Randev is Founder VC at arguably India's most active early stage VC firm, 100X.VC. He is also well known as one of the most generous VCs in the Indian startup space, whether it comes to his time, insights or ofc giving founders that first check. In fact this can also be said about the 100X.VC brand as whole, which is also part of my point, but more on that later. Let's dive right in.

PSA: this edition of the PBJ newsletter is going to be a little different. Same same but different, in that I'll share a personal story in addition to insights I've pulled from our guest this week.

First: story.

So: picture this. It's 2019.

Pre-COVID. None of that horridness has happened, and none of us have even imagined it, ever.

Shark Tank hasn't yet come to India. Make no mistake, the startup scene is still booming, and there are more builders and investors active than the rest of the world dares to believe, but being a founder hasn't become "cool" to the mainstream yet. There's even Indian-origin veteran investors returning from the States to invest in this budding Indian ecosystem, but more on that later.

A dropout writer and an MBA banker go into a restaurant (Delhi's Big Chill to be precise), sick of the grind in what they're doing. They vent and make plans to build a business together. Predictable, right? But instead of it ending there, they actually begin. They start spending every waking moment on this idea, researching, making plans, and finally start building. What? A food startup that can scale rapidly because it finds hidden efficiencies, while bringing international street food to India for the first time at such a high level of quality.

Now what do they need? Funds. Do they have them? Not really. So? They're hustling, they're on the lookout for any and every opportunity.

In comes a tweet. A big-time investor is coming to Gurugram, and has sent out a tweet to the ENTIRE world that he's willing to meet, offer insights and in general be a sounding board for anyone who shows up. Our 2 fledgling founders get excited and jump at the chance. And when they get there, they DON'T, for once, meet a hardballing VC who wants to find the flaws and bend the terms before he even hears them out. Instead, they meet someone who is gracious, kind and VERY sharp when it comes to how he sees the Indian ecosystem emerging in the next 5,10,50 years. ??

Their VC firm is new in India, in fact, even though the founders have pedigree and repute in the States already. They're even, in fact, the first ones to bring the SAFE vehicle to Indian early stage startup investing. They have BIG plans to be super aggressive in deploying capital, but there's more. He sees that it isn't just capital that VCs disseminate. It's also culture.

And their edge in a game where it is easy to say that money is just money?

He is more generous than everybody. Not merely with capital but with his TIME.

He believes giving of his time and insight to early stage founders will eventually build his reputation. The word will spread, and the fund's name will become top-of-mind for new founders looking for a first check.

One of those 2 founders in the story was me.

The VC in the story was Shashank.

The fund is called 100X.VC. It's a true story. ??

Be Generous

There is ONE thing I have learnt from Shashank Randev's personal brand, and 100X.VC 's brand as a Venture Fund at large, and that is generosity.

They will reply to everyone. They will speak at every event that is trying to offer actual value to the ecosystem. They will GIVE AWAY playbooks that are clearer than ANY content I've seen in the startup ecosystem anywhere in the world, tbh. Shashank will meet you at the airport if he can. I've seen it!

Now how is this relevant to our journey? What lessons can we draw, and USE?

It's FIVE years later and I still remember him, and champion their fund every single chance I get. Why? Generosity is memorable. Generosity sticks.

They have now become arguably THE MOST active first-check VC in the entire Indian ecosystem, and their dealflow's quality is impeccable because founders TELL EACH OTHER who the best investors are with whom they've had the best experience and the most generosity.

This is the kind of thing ONLY a brand can buy:

Compounding of reputation.

So how this applies to you is simple: Imagine how you want to be seen in five years. What are your objectives? Who are the people you want to attract, be in the conversations of? What do you want them to say about you? How do you want them to think of you?

And then starting TODAY, start not just "putting content out" but doing so with generosity. By which I mean with an intent to help THEM NOT YOU.

Do this everyday. Do it for five years. Do it for ever really, since the building of your brand is really an infinite game where you're essentially projecting yourself into the world, the way you are, so that you meet more people like you and get to do cool shit together.

HOW? I do this by ensuring I reply to every single comment I get on my content. ANY platform, ANY person: if they have taken the time out to read what you wrote, and say something, say something back. Let them know you appreciate them, make them feel seen.

What more could you do? If there's something you know that people ask you about—help them with it selflessly.

Make freebie notion docs. Make a course for those starting what you now know well. Give it away for free. And watch people start to see you not only as an "authority" but THE authority.

Remember: people go with the people they like over EVERY other metric in the world.

This is just human nature. And it is as it should be.

I've just realised while writing all this, that what I'm trying to say here is bring the personal in personal brand.

Social media is a GIVING game. The more you will give, the more you will eventually get (after a LOT of compounding.)

Branding for Orgs BEGINS with Personal Brands

Another insight ofc that is to be drawn from this PBJ:

Personal brands are NOT just for individuals.

A LOT of folks realise this already, but the brand of your senior management IS your brand.

Let's face it. VERY FEW brands/orgs/etc are able to create content that resonates in an organic way.

No one really cares about content from "entities". People like people.

(See, we return to the same thing.??) And so, the personal branding of upper management, of CXOs and so forth is CRUCIAL.

100X.VC is an excellent case study on how one of India's most aggressive expansions in the VC space happened due to how rapidly they've deployed, yes, but because the brands of Shashank as well as their other founder VCs are so strong and the content output is so consistent.

Personal brands are not just for content creator types or founders. They're also for VCs. For corporate folks who want relations with the it crowd. For EVERYONE seeking asymmetry.

That is my second point with this letter.

If you are leading an org, know that YOUR BRAND HELPS YOUR BRAND. (See what I did there???)

So be generous, and make sure you take out time to build your brand, no matter what you're building. In 5 years, I promise you it will have been worth it.

See you next week!

Cheers,