Feb 18, 2020 · 46m · neon-show
Episode 44 | Kitty Agarwal, Partner, Info Edge Ventures
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In this episode of the 100x Entrepreneur Podcast, Kitty Agarwal, Head of Investments at Info Edge, discusses the firm's balance-sheet venture capital model, early-stage investment theses, and founder-first governance philosophy. She shares practical lessons on backing market-defining Indian startups, managing hyper-growth, and cultivating long-term operational resilience.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
Siddhartha as informed peer 2.9 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 0.4 Siddhartha pushing back 0.3
speaking balance: gold is Siddhartha, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:47 Pushing back against assumed sector avoidance
Kitty directly contradicts Siddharth's premise that Info Edge stayed away from B2B marketplaces, citing portfolio names to prove their active thesis.
Hardest push from Siddhartha ▶ 8:56 Challenging the majority-stake reputationSiddharth directly probes the widespread industry perception that Info Edge takes controlling 50% stakes in early-stage startups.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 18:01 Reminding the host of Zomato and B2B orderingKitty corrects the host's assertion about skipping food delivery and high-frequency models by reminding him of their flagship bet on Zomato and ShopKirana's order cadence.
Siddhartha holds their own ▶ 7:46 Citing exact follow-on funding figuresSiddharth demonstrates detailed knowledge of Info Edge's specific financing rounds, accurately referencing ShopKirana's initial $2M check and subsequent $10M round.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Siddhartha as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Siddhartha pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty Agarwal's Background and Journey to Info Edge | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth prompts Kitty to share her professional background and her path into Info Edge. Kitty shares her story collaboratively without any tension. | |
| Portfolio Diversity, Non-Compete Philosophy, and Investment Ticket Sizes | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth asks about portfolio diversity and recent bets. Kitty explains Info Edge's strict policy against backing competing startups in the same vertical. | |
| Investment Cadence, Value Addition, and Equity Ownership Misconceptions | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Siddharth brings up the industry perception that Info Edge takes 50% stakes. Kitty reframes this by explaining that typical entry ownership is 15-25% and majority stakes are rare exceptions. | |
| Patient Capital, Flagship Performers, and Inelastic Market Failures | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth inquires about exit horizons and unsuccessful bets. Kitty discusses their patient balance sheet capital and past challenges in flash sales and home beauty. | |
| Strategic Focus on B2B Marketplaces and Enterprise SaaS | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | Siddharth presumes Info Edge avoided B2B marketplaces, prompting Kitty to correct him immediately by listing active investments like ShopKirana and ShoeKonnect. | |
| Evaluation Tenets and Sanjeev Bikchandani's Investment Involvement | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | When Siddharth suggests Info Edge avoided food delivery and high-frequency platforms, Kitty points out their flagship backing of Zomato and high-frequency B2B ordering. | |
| Macro Trends: Data Democratization, Video Growth, and Vernacular Commerce | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth asks about emerging macro themes. Kitty identifies key tailwinds including data penetration, vernacular user bases, and video commerce. | |
| Mentorship from Sanjeev Bikchandani and Founder Support Measures | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth demonstrates domain knowledge by asking about ESOP expansion and cap table restructuring. Kitty shares Sanjeev Bikchandani's supportive mentorship approach. | |
| Corporate Governance Frameworks and Institutional Standards for Startups | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth asks about corporate governance implementation. Kitty outlines audit committee requirements, independent directors, and non-executive chair arrangements. | |
| Investment Theses on ShopKirana and ShoeKonnect | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth explores specific investment theses. Kitty details how ShopKirana and ShoeKonnect solved regional supply chain inefficiencies with strong unit economics. | |
| Career Evolution and Navigating Well-Funded Competitors | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Siddharth asks how founders should respond when competitors raise mega-rounds from SoftBank or Naspers. Kitty advises staying calm, leaning on differentiated IP, and avoiding direct capital matches. | |
| Core Business Lessons, Edtech Dynamics, and Startup Exit Paths | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth asks about takeaways, edtech sector feasibility, and startup exits. Kitty details the nuances of edtech market sizing and alternative liquidity paths like strategic sales. | |
| Success Habits, Career Ambiguity, and Personal Interests | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth transitions into personal success habits and career transitions. Kitty discusses always remaining accessible to founders and navigating ambiguity after business school. | |
| Market Timing Risks, Product Iteration, and Episode Conclusion | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Siddharth closes by asking how investors manage market timing risk. Kitty emphasizes fast iteration and adapting the product pipeline over futile timing predictions. |
Statements from this episode (23)
Agarwal: Info Edge launched its venture arm due to internal bandwidth constraints
“There was a conversation at the InfoEdge board level that InfoEdge did not have the bandwidth to build all companies or verticals internally, and there were some very exciting entrepreneurs, very passionate people chasing great opportunities out there in the t…”
Agarwal: Info Edge refuses to back competitors of portfolio companies
“The reason it also looks way more diverse is because we don't invest in competition once we've invested in a company. And we are, we hold that very, very strongly irrespective of how that company is performing. That till we hold shares in one founder, We do no…”
Agarwal: Info Edge writes first institutional checks of $500k to $5M
“So first check sizes are fairly flexible and depends on the fund requirement of the company, but the stage, ah, we are a little more particular about the stage that we try to be the first institutional investor in, ah, typically amongst the first who are in. S…”
Agarwal: Info Edge paused all new investments from 2012 to mid-2015
“This was between 2000 and 12 to 2015 mid where we did not make any new investments. Because the environment at that time just seemed really euphoric to us, and so we have the liberty to slow down the pace of investment since we invest from the balance sheet an…”
Agarwal: Info Edge executes five to six new deals annually
“But right now, as of now, we are doing about five to six deals a year, new, new investments a year, but we are very large on follow-ons with existing companies.”
Agarwal: Info Edge funded two-thirds of ShopKirana's $10M round
“So the ten million round that has recently happened, we've done two thirds of that round and one third has come from other existing and new investors.”
Agarwal: Info Edge holds a majority stake in only one portfolio startup
“Because if you look at the current portfolio, only in one company we have over 50% stake out of that, out, all the others are minority investments, and the first shareholding that we look for when we enter is typically between 15 to 25%, which is extremely reg…”
Agarwal: Info Edge has held Zomato and PolicyBazaar for over 10 years
“For example, we've been now invested for 10 plus years in Policy Bazaar, 10 plus years in Zomato 10 plus years in Merit Nation.”
Agarwal: Info Edge flash-sales investment failed as capital flooded the sector
“So we did, we took an early bet in a fashion e-commerce, one of those flash sales companies, which did not work for us because a lot of capital flooded the sector immediately after we invested and unit economics did not work.”
Agarwal: Info Edge is extremely bullish on B2B marketplaces
“B to B marketplaces, we've actually done quite a few because if you look at Shopki Rana, Shoe Connect, Wishbook, these have all been B to B marketplaces, right? So we have a very robust view on the sector and we are extremely bullish about it.”
Agarwal: Info Edge evaluates 500 startups annually and invests in five
“500 startups, roughly, we evaluate in a year. That's what the traditional kind of metrics show us, and we end up investing in five or six.”
Agarwal: Sanjeev Bikhchandani spends 70% to 75% of his time on investments
“So Sanjeev gets roped in because he spends about 70, 75% of his time on the investment activity.”
Agarwal: ShopKirana retailers order five to six times per month
“BtoB shop Kirana is very high frequency, so a retailer orders five to six times a month, at least, with good ticket sizes”
Agarwal: Info Edge avoids pure content startups over monetization challenges
“Content based startups, you know, we've not really invested in any because we just find the monetization angle a bit difficult to get our heads around.”
Agarwal: Info Edge seeks startups uniting Jio data, video, and vernacular
“What we are really actively looking for is companies which can bring these trends together, right? Whether it is through a commerce angle, whether it is through other engagement angles, or providing newer products or services to consumers which they did not kn…”
Agarwal: Outsized startup growth is heavily driven by luck and timing
“So I would say the ones who are lucky enough, because luck also plays a big role, we believe, ah, for all these factors to come together, they grow, end up growing 5000 X, and the ones that are slightly unlucky or, you know, just wrong time, wrong place, at ti…”
Agarwal: Info Edge accommodates cap table restructuring for struggling founders
“When things are not going as well as imagined, then any kind of restructuring of cap tables or anything that we need to do in order to give the entrepreneur a fresh lease of life or give them another chance with raising money and all of that. We are fairly acc…”
Agarwal: Info Edge mandates independent audit provisions even in early-stage startups
“Once we invest we do put in place the audit committee and we put in place other committees, right? And we make sure that there is independence of those committees at all times. We also make a provision for an independent director, even in our extremely early s…”
Agarwal: ShopKirana grew 7x in six months post-$2M Info Edge check
“For example, with the two million dollars we put in they grew about six to seven X in six months on the base end, which we put that, right, which is phenomenal and similar kind of growth trajectory going forward.”
Agarwal: ShoeKonnect grew 16x in 18 months post-investment
“And again, even those guys in 18 months since we've invested, they've grown about 16 times.”
Agarwal: Info Edge invested ₹12 crore into ShoeKonnect across 18 months
“So Shoe Connect, we've invested 12 crores over a span of 18 months, but that's been sort of, you know, the first check was three crores, then there was another three crores, now there's six crores, and there's more going in, which we haven't announced yet. So …”
Agarwal: Indian edtech market size poses challenges for traditional VC returns
“Overall, we think it's a market that is very attractive. Finding you know, kind of a market size you know, think that can be a bit challenging for conventional VC investors, we think, because each of these companies can probably scale to a certain point, and t…”
Agarwal: Startup strategic sale multiples in India lag global standards
“So, strategic sales, right, of course that can be a good exit, but in India, you know, typically the sale value or the multiples have been low compared to, you know, global standards, but that can be a good exit if a company has not raised too much capital, bu…”