Alok Mittal has been on both ends of the startup ecosystem. He’s been a founder and a VC. These days he’s back in the founder’s seat but still enabling businesses but through his lending platform Indifi which lends money to Small and Medium Enterprises or SMEs. He has very strong thoughts about org building even though he admits Indifi is only 9 years old. He speaks from his observations and his strong beliefs. In Alok’s mind it’s the mid-management which holds together the organization and not necessarily the leadership team. Alok also has the history of setting up three ventures, which includes the part he played in setting up Canaan Partners, a VC firm in India. Then of course there is JobsAhead which was his first startup and now he’s busy lending to the sector which contributes to 30% of the country’s GDP, and yet finds credit hard to come by. Alok hung up his VC shoes in 2015 to solve this problem and take on the problem of lending to SMEs, the ones who were being given a pass by traditional banks and NBFCs. But they’re not leaning on solving for every SME out there. Indifi have found the sectors they want to lend to and are working towards making these businesses get access to credit. He also talked about: Failures and the learnings it bringsHow he assesses risks as a VC and a founderThe bible of raising moneyAdvice to Young entrepreneurs Listen to all of that and a whole lot more in this Part 1 episode of our conversation with Alok Mittal. Welcome to First Principles – The weekly leadership podcast from The Ken. Let’s get started. Also, if you love listening to First Principles, you are sure to love The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business publication. To discover the deeply-reported stories that we publish everyday head over to our website and subscribe to The Ken’s premium subscription. Also, do write to us with your suggestions and opinions about First Principles at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners and subscribers.