Startup Fridays Season 2 Ep. 5: VC or entrepreneur, seek to be relevant, enjoy the journey, deliver results: Sateesh Andra of Endiya Partners

<p>Our guest today is Sateesh Andra, managing director at Endiya Partners, a VC firm that backs early-stage IP-led startups. Before Endiya, he was a partner at Ventureast and DFJ. Before turning to VC, Sateesh was a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, as founder and CEO of Euclid, in the IT management software space. Sateesh was also a top-ranked table tennis player representing Andhra Pradesh.&nbsp;</p> <p>(00:46) Introduction to Startup Fridays</p> <p>(01:06) Our guest today — Sateesh Andra, Managing Director, Endiya Partners</p> <p>(02:28) A snapshot of Sateesh’s career and journey to Endiya</p> <p>(05:24) A few thoughts on what Endiya is about today</p> <p>(07:56) India’s startup scene — more often, today, companies are being started by multiple founders on day one</p> <p>(09:21) A quick recap of Endiya’s eventful last 12 months</p> <p>(16:02) Noteworthy global changes from a tech VC investor’s perspective and thoughts on how to back emerging startups in that context</p> <p>(20:53) Promising deep tech startups coming up in India — even a few in the hardware and related areas</p> <p>(24:02) Are the ingredients there in the Indian startup ecosystem today to support hard engineering based ventures</p> <p>(26:49) Endiya’s philosophy of being great sherpas to founders, and what it entails in practice</p> <p>(28:39) What does Sateesh look for in an entrepreneur and a startup</p> <p>(31:02) Money versus great investors — how should an entrepreneur choose</p> <p>(34:44) Do VCs need to work harder today to get the best entrepreneurs on their portfolio</p> <p>(37:18) For a VC fund that has given itself the mandate of backing deep intellectual property led companies, does that intensify the tension between a founder's vision to build his or her company in a certain way, and the constraints of returning money to LPs</p> <p>(39:34) Biggest takeaways from Sateesh’s entrepreneurial stint</p> <p>(42:52) The top challenges for entrepreneurs and VCs today</p> <p>(47:15) Advice to anyone aspiring to a career in VC</p> <p>(49:49) Rapid