Understanding Myntra’s Founder Mindset with Vineet Saxena

This is a podcast episode of The Builders Club with Vineet Saxena, the co-founder of Myntra. The episode is about Vineet’s entrepreneurial journey, including his early days at Myntra and his current venture, Card91. In the episode, Vineet talks about the challenges of starting a business in India, the importance of pivoting, and the role of funding in a startup’s success. He also discusses the importance of building a strong team and the challenges of scaling a business.

Early Days of Myntra

• Vineet’s Background: Vineet Saxena is a techie who worked in various startups across Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore for seven years after graduating from IIT Kanpur. He started his entrepreneurial journey with a small service startup that provided tech solutions to other startups.
• Founding Myntra: Vineet and his friend Ashutosh met Mukesh, who had an idea similar to CafePress, a personalized merchandising company in the US. They decided to bring a similar idea to India and founded Myntra in 2006.
• Initial Focus on Personalized Merchandise: Myntra initially focused on personalized merchandise, such as IPL jerseys and mugs.
• Pivot to Fashion and Lifestyle: In 2010, Myntra pivoted from personalized merchandise to a full-fledged fashion and lifestyle portal.

Entrepreneurial Mindset

• Importance of Mentorship: Vineet emphasizes the importance of mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, even if they are not from the internet industry. He advises seeking guidance from people who share the same vision and can provide valuable insights.
• Following Your Gut: Vineet believes that ultimately, it is the entrepreneur’s decision to make, but mentorship can provide valuable guidance.
• Dealing with Failures: Vineet views failures as an integral part of the learning process. He encourages entrepreneurs to learn from their mistakes and not give up easily.

Challenges of Starting a Business in India

• Regulatory Hurdles: Vineet points out that the regulatory requirements in India can be lengthy and time-consuming, which can slow down the funding process.
• Lack of Trust: In the early days of e-commerce in India, there was a lack of trust among consumers. Myntra addressed this by prioritizing customer satisfaction and building a strong reputation for trust.

Role of Funding

• Funding as a Catalyst: Vineet acknowledges the importance of funding in scaling a business. However, he emphasizes the importance of bootstrapping and building a solid product before seeking external funding.
• Choosing the Right Investors: Vineet advises entrepreneurs to choose investors who not only provide capital but also bring valuable expertise and connections.

Building a Strong Team

• Importance of Team Dynamics: Vineet highlights the importance of building a strong team with complementary skills and a shared vision.
• Delegation and Empowerment: Vineet emphasizes the importance of delegating tasks effectively and empowering team members to take ownership of their work.

Scaling a Business

• Customer Acquisition Strategy: Myntra initially focused on acquiring customers through word-of-mouth referrals and leveraging corporate networks.
• Building Trust: Myntra prioritized customer satisfaction and built a strong reputation for trust, which was crucial for growth in the early days of e-commerce in India.
• Strategic Alliances: Vineet discusses the importance of strategic alliances with other businesses to expand into new markets and reach new customers.

Card91

• Focus on Issuer Processing: Card91 focuses on providing the infrastructure for businesses to issue their own cards, rather than competing with existing card issuers like Happy or Slice.
• Differentiation from Competitors: Card91 differentiates itself from competitors like Zeta and M2P by focusing on businesses as its primary customers and providing deep expertise in card issuance.

This podcast episode provides valuable insights into the entrepreneurial journey of Vineet Saxena, the co-founder of Myntra. It covers a wide range of topics, including the challenges of starting a business in India, the importance of building a strong team, and the role of funding in a startup’s success.