Growing Gush with Nayrhit Bhattacharya

In this episode, of How I'm Building This, Prateek interviews Nayrhit Bhattacharya the Co-Founder of Gush who shares his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of building Gush, a productized service business, and insights on funding, hiring, and mental health as a founder. He emphasizes the importance of adaptability, proactive hiring, and the role of founder-led branding in driving growth. Nayrhit also discusses strategies for customer acquisition and the future direction of Gush, including expanding service offerings and enhancing their software capabilities.

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Takeaways:

• Nayrhit's journey from corporate to entrepreneurship was gradual and influenced by his experiences in venture capital.
• The launch of Gush was inspired by the potential of AI to transform service delivery.
• Raising funds requires a probabilistic approach and having a plan B is crucial.
• Maintaining growth in a venture-funded business is about compounding growth, not just absolute numbers.
• Hiring in a startup requires looking for proactive talent who can thrive in ambiguity.
• Productized services can democratize access to high-quality services for SMBs.
• Founder-led branding can significantly enhance customer acquisition efforts.
• Content creation for social media should be authentic and human-driven.
• Outbound sales should be thoughtful and personalized, rather than brute force.
• Mental health management is essential for founders, requiring support systems and professional help.

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Sound Bites:

• "Always have a plan B."
• "We are not a pure SaaS play."
• "You can’t be reactive anymore."

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In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Introduction to Nayrhit and Gush

01:24 Nayrhit's Journey to Entrepreneurship

05:25 Navigating the Funding Landscape

08:58 Challenges of Venture-Funded Businesses

11:39 The Art of Hiring in Startups

16:42 Understanding Productized Service Businesses

21:49 Solving Problems for Small and Medium Businesses

23:25 Converting Traffic to Customers

24:10 Innovative Customer Acquisition Strategies

25:59 The Role of Founder-Led Branding

30:27 Balancing Outbound and Inbound Strategies

32:59 Navigating the VC Landscape

36:01 Debunking Common Startup Myths

37:56 Mental Health and Founder Challenges

42:50 Future Plans and Business Expansion

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Where to find Nayrhit:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nayrhit/‍

Gush: https://www.gushwork.ai/

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Where to find Prateek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekmathur

Activated Scale: https://www.activatedscale.com

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For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email prateek@activatedscale.com