Rishi Taparia is a seasoned operator turned investor who brings a unique perspective from his time in the trenches at companies like Poynt and Legion. Now, as the Co-founder of Garuda Ventures, he invests in the next generation of B2B software companies.

In this episode, we dive deep into the seismic shifts happening in the world of B2B SaaS, thanks to AI. We'll explore how the rules of software are being rewritten, what a real 'moat' looks like in this new era, and why customer trust might be the most valuable asset a company can have.

Rishi shares his 'team, market, product, vision' framework for investing and offers a candid look at the emotional rollercoaster of building a company from the ground up.

Links:

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

Garuda Ventures website - https://www.garuda.vc

Garuda Ventures newsletter - https://garuda.substack.com/

Brick by Brick podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@brickxbrickpod

Rishi Taparia on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rktaparia/

Rishi Taparia on X - https://x.com/taps

Taps Notes (Rishi's newsletter) - https://taps.substack.com/

Arpan Punyani on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arpanpunyani/

Arpan's newsletter - https://arpanpunyani.substack.com/

🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey

Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab

Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab

We talk about:

- Operator-turned-investor journey: From early employee at Point and Legion to founding Garuda Ventures

- AI disruption of B2B SaaS: Changing pricing models, margin profiles, and the build vs. buy decision

- Trust as the new competitive moat: Customer credibility and brand reputation in the AI era

- TMPV investment framework: Team, Market, Product, Vision evaluation criteria for early-stage deals

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:12) Rishi Taparia's background as an operator and investor

(07:08) Investment thesis and focus on B2B SaaS

(10:22) Impact of AI on B2B software and business models

(14:06) Evaluating founding teams in the AI era

(17:34) Vertical SaaS and competition from large AI companies

(21:24) Changing nature of moats in the AI world

(23:33) Discussion on customer trust and retention

(26:02) Key factors in evaluating early-stage investments

(28:29) Interesting AI application themes

(30:16) Evolution of commerce infrastructure

(34:01) Building credibility with founders

(37:14) Garuda Ventures' podcast "Brick by Brick"

(40:41) Managing time and priorities as a VC

(43:08) Exciting portfolio companies

(45:03) Rapid-fire round about Garuda Ventures' investment approach

For sponsorship or guest appearance requests, write to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com

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