E129: Shwetank Verma (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Leo Capital)

The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Shwetank Verma is the co-founder of Leo Capital, a venture capital fund investing in companies inIndiaand South East Asia. Recent investments include CoLearn (edtech), WayForward (mental health), CoverGenius (Insurtech) and IndiaGold (Digital Gold). Leo Capital is backed by institutional investorsfrom Singapore and Silicon Valley.

Prior to Leo Capital, he led Open Innovation for MetLife Asia and was a part of the senior management team of LumenLab, MetLife's innovation consultancy. At LumenLab, he advised MetLife country CEOs andsenior leaders on growth, startup collaboration, culture change and new product development.

Prior to joining MetLife, he was a serial entrepreneur in healthcare and education in India. He serves asInnovation Adviser to the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University.

He is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales and holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Nottingham (UK), where he was a Foreignand Commonwealth Office scholar.

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Episode Notes:

1. State of the industry in 2024
2. How does Shwetank define a good investor?
3. Takeaways from working with portfolio founders
4. Vision for India the next 5 years
5. Examples of building from India for the world from a category-creation play
6. Best investor persona: Operator vs Pure investor?
7. How did Leo build its internal thesis?
8. Why did Shwetank become an investor?
9. What does Shwetank like and dislike about investing?
10. How has Shwetank evolved as an investor?
11. Insights from working with Leo’s porticos
12. Advice Shwetank would give his younger self

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Social Links:

1. Follow Shwetank on Twitter
2. Follow ⁠Shwetank on LinkedIn⁠
3. Follow ⁠The Desi VC on LinkedIn⁠
4. Follow ⁠Akash Bhat on Twitter⁠
5. Follow Akash Bhat on LinkedIn