Arjun Malhotra is the General Partner at Good Capital, an India-focused, seed-stage venture capital fund that he co-founded with his late brother, Rohan Malhotra. Before becoming a full-time investor, Arjun co-founded Investopad, a startup incubator that became a vibrant community hub for entrepreneurs. The 12 angel investments made during this time, including in the future unicorn Meesho, formed a portfolio that generated a 138% IRR and has since returned over 50 times the initial capital. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, Arjun has led Good Capital to build a portfolio of over 25 startups, achieve successful exits like Simsim's acquisition by Google, and is now deploying a fund targeting over $50 million to back the next generation of Indian founders.
[00:00] - An "Accidental" Journey into Venture Capital
[02:29] - The Investopad Experiment: From "Terrible Ideas" to Community Hub
[10:02] - Becoming Angel Investors & Building a 50x-Return Portfolio
[14:14] - The VC Playbook: Good Capital's Network-Driven Strategy
[25:06] - The "Silent Killer" of Optionality & The Launch of Fund I
[33:19] - The Art of Fundraising: Pitching LPs on a "Blind Pool" of Capital
[38:39] - The Contrarian Thesis: Why Good Capital Bets on Middlemen
[54:15] - How to Build High Conviction: Evaluating Founders, Ideas, and Markets
[1:04:16] - Learning from Mistakes: The "Anti-Portfolio" & Borrowed Conviction
[1:09:15] - The VC Mindset: How to Stay Sharp and Keep Learning
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