Puneet Kumar

Venture Partner at @NexusVP, Prev Visiting Partner at @YCombinator, Founder & CEO at @SuprDaily (scaled to $100M annual revenue run rate, exited to Swiggy)

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

For anyone who is confused on what product market fit looks like, this is it!

Had the fortunate chance of backing @Aa_Agarwl on day one, when this wasn't a category, and have seen him will this into existence.

But we are just starting, so much more to be done. Like he said, back to work!

[Aayush Agarwal @Aa_Agarwl]

247 metres.

The median distance our Experts travel between two jobs.

The single number that explains why Snabbit just closed its $56M Series D, taking total capital raised to $112M in two years.

This fundraise is a mandate, not a milestone. Heads down. Back to work.

[Arnav Sahu @arnavsahu341]

It was awesome speaking at YC Startup School India a few days ago. You could feel the collective builder energy. The students in that room will dictate what India looks like in the next 20 years 🫡

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

So inspiring to see and meet 2k+ builders in one place at YC Startup School India. Thanks a lot @ycombinator, @snowmaker, @agupta and @xuster for making this happen. The future is here and now!

[Jared Friedman @snowmaker]

What I told 2,000 future founders in Bengaluru today:

1/ We believe we are at the start of a second wave of Indian companies that will build world-class AI native products for the global market. Emergent and Giga are the model of the future.

2/ Just because a space seems crowded doesn't mean it's too late. Zepto, Emergent, Giga - none were first movers. Second mover advantage is real.

3/ In fact, a good formula for finding startup ideas is to look at ideas that are showing some promise and just execute them better. Execution is everything: if you're an exceptional engineer, and you can build and move faster than your competitors, you'll win.

4/ There is every reason to believe Indian teams can beat US teams building global products. The level of engineering talent here is on a whole different level, and that's the key input.

5/ In the AI era, the best founders are the ones building at the edge of what's technically possible. You need to be experimenting wth the latest models, the latest open source projects.

6/ Stay in the flow of information. Watch the right podcasts, follow the right people on X. With AI changing this fast, you need to know what the smartest builders are thinking.

7/ Most of the best startups don't come from someone explicitly trying to start a company. They start from someone building a project just for fun, or tinkering with a new technology because they are curious. India needs more of this "tinkering" culture - this is how you have novel ideas when technology is shifting quickly.

8/ Founders are getting younger. Aadit was 18 when he started Zepto. The Giga founders were 20 when they came to SF. Young people who can learn very fast have the advantage right now.

9/ The best founders are pushing AI coding to the max. You can now write 20K lines of code / day. One person can do the work that just a year ago would take a 100 person team. The best builders are taking advantage and building at Garry Tan speeds.

[Jared Friedman @snowmaker]

Tomorrow. YC Startup School India.

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

Must attend!

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

Startup School is coming to India! 🇮🇳

Hear from founders like @harshilmathur of Razorpay, @viditaatrey of Meesho, @lkeshre of Groww, @mukundjha of Emergent and more.

And join the best builders and hackers from across the country for a day of talks and sessions with YC partners.

[Dalton Caldwell @daltonc]

We just opened up applications for Standard Capital’s inaugural fall 2025 funding cycle!

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

Ground clearance is an issue for Seal in India. I doubt the suspension will be useful with such low ground clearance. Cars are complex engg products. Rarely just one spec changes the outcome. It's the tuning of all parts together that creates the symphony.

E.g. byd sealion 7 rwd has more power and larger battery than tesla model y rwd. So, if one were to nerd out on specs, it may look like byd has an edge. However, tesla is still faster in 0 to 100, has a similar range, and has faster charging.

Tuning everything together matters. Hence, imo, test drive is the only way to assess similar spec cars.

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

@distortedrandom Seal is a sedan and not the same form factor as model y.
And Byd isn't Tesla. 🙂

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

Founders, just one office hour with @paultoo or @daltonc can change the trajectory of your company, and to have both of them on your side, is game changing! What an unbelievable combo!

Had the fortunate chance to work with PB as our group partner when we went through YC, and Dalton when I was a Visiting GP.

Fun story, PB coined the term 'Trojan Cow' to describe Supr in one of the group office hours and it became our go to way to describe the company. The trojan cow slide on demo day killed it!🐄

And, I learnt so much about being an investor by just shadowing Dalton🙏. There is no one who knows more about startups than him.

Congrats guys!

[Dalton Caldwell @daltonc]

After 12+ years, 25 batches, and the privilege of advising >1,000+ startups, I’m transitioning to Partner Emeritus at Y Combinator.

YC changed my life. I’m grateful to the thousands of founders who trusted me with their journeys, my fellow YC partners and teammates, and to Paul, Jessica, Trevor, and Robert for creating this extraordinary institution.

Standard Capital is name of the AI-native Series A firm I’m co-founding with two of my favorite people: Paul Buchheit, my longtime colleague at YC, and Bryan Berg, the CTO of my previous startups.

AI is reshaping every aspect of our world. We aim to embed AI in every part of our business and back the AI disruptors of tomorrow.

Follow us at @Standard_Cap, you’ll be hearing more from us soon!

[Nexus Venture Partners @NexusVP]

Nexus Venture Partners is thrilled to announce Snabbit's Series A funding. Snabbit, India's first quick-service app for on-demand home services. We are excited to back the Snabbit team.

@suvirsujan I @_puneetKumar I Aayush Agarwal

#homeservices #innovation #India

https://t.co/gpkFiVv0hW

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

This needed to be said and @paulg has the superpower to name it and give founders the courage to follow this!

@bchesky talks on this topic, especially the one with Lenny, is one of the most recommended talks by me to founders of scaling companies.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Founder Mode: https://t.co/3hOnlKOJBi

[Daniel Mazur @thedanielmazur]

Puneet has been amazing to work with

[Arnav Sahu @arnavsahu341]

Work with Puneet. He would be an amazing partner to you in your startup journey. @_puneetKumar

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

Excited to join @NexusVP as a Venture Partner and pay it forward to the startup ecosystem. After building multiple startups and investing in companies globally as part of @ycombinator, I am eager to partner with and learn from the next wave of entrepreneurs.

Looking forward to work alongside @suvirsujan, @b_jishnu, Anup Gupta, @oneabhishek, @pratikpoddar, @Anand_datta, and our offices in India and the US.

If you are building something or thinking about it, please reach out. I love talking to founders and learning about new spaces. Please drop a note at [email protected].

[Ravin Thambapillai @ravin_tham]

Before we applied to @ycombinator, many folks said Jack and I were "too old" for it. They were well meaning, but never has worse advice been given. Our Group Partners @bradflora and @_puneetKumar accelerated us on product, sales, and even now on hiring. 10/10. Just apply.

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

Wow, just watched this, what a great epsiode by @daltonc and @lennysan, a must watch! I don't know anyone else who knows more about startups than Dalton. Kudos to Lenny for getting so many nuggets out of him in this episode.

[Lenny Rachitsky @lennysan]

Dalton Caldwell (@daltonc) is Managing Director and Group Partner at @ycombinator. During his time at YC, he’s worked with over 1,000 startups, advised more than 35 YC unicorns—including @DoorDash, @Amplitude, @Webflow, and @Retool—across 21 different YC batches, and racked up more than 6,500 office hours with founders.

In our conversation, we explore:
🔸 How to not die
🔸 The most common reason startups fail
🔸 Characteristics of a good pivot
🔸 “Tar pit ideas” (i.e. common bad startup ideas)
🔸 The importance of market size
🔸 Why investors say no to startups
🔸 Why founders over-delegate
🔸 Tips for talking to customers
🔸 20 ideas Dalton is looking to fund
🔸 Much more 🔥

Key takeaways below 🧵

Listen now 👇

YouTube: https://t.co/6EY6MJhEDP

Spotify: https://t.co/pyUvqjYCLu

Apple: https://t.co/HMlI617yLZ

[Puneet Kumar @_puneetKumar]

@koomen @ycombinator Congrats @koomen!!! You are going to be a force multiplier for YC founders!

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

The deadline to apply for YC S23 is tomorrow, Friday, April 7 at 8pm PT!

Apply at https://t.co/gNl84ElBrq.