Varun Chawla co-founded 91springboard, which grew into India's largest coworking community. Then, at 38, he had five health conditions at once. Six months of new habits later, all five were gone, with no medicines.
Today he runs Build3, an accelerator and venture studio where about 25,000 founders apply each year and around 600 join, and he is building the Startup Eco Ashram, a 30-acre village for founders and artists in the Western Ghats.
Our hosts Prahalad (@prahaladatreyaa) and Prratham (@prrathamkamath) sat down with @vc35 of @build3_startups at Edge City India in Goa:
1:45 What Build3 does: an accelerator and venture studio for purpose and profit
2:08 25,000 apply every year, about 600 join
3:27 Why Build3 backs a stage, not a sector: idea to PMF is one journey
4:36 A day at the Startup Eco Ashram, three weeks after moving in
6:24 Hiatus hernia, hypothyroidism, fatty liver, asthma and arthritis at 38
6:42 The documentary that turned him plant-based
7:39 Swapping win-lose deals for love and gratitude in every interaction
8:01 All five conditions gone in six months, no medicines
8:46 The typhoid cases that made him move his company out of Delhi
9:29 Why Goa won over Vizag, Kochi, Jaipur and Nagpur
10:53 After the move, staff churn was practically zero
11:25 Splitting equity: the YC default of 50-50
13:09 How his own 91springboard co-founders split it
14:26 Plate throwing or "bro, you're right": how co-founders should disagree
15:11 The two kinds of co-founder matches
16:08 How most of the top startups' co-founders actually met
17:28 AI as a co-founder, and the one-person unicorn
18:37 When will we be ready to work for AI?
19:02 Why he says please and thank you to every AI agent
19:41 How Edge City found him through a post on X
23:06 MVP vs product-market fit, in his words
25:04 YC's original rule: two founders, one technical
26:21 When a solo founder can work
26:41 Hacker, hustler, handler, hipster
27:23 Who Build3 backs: 18 to 70 years old, median age 35
29:00 A founder who wants to power rockets with light
And yes lot of folks have been really helpful and instrumental with helping me with the podcasts, video editing, and hosting events. we did it all for free. just to share joy. so, if you are wanting to join us for bouldering during the weekends in bangalore, feel free to let us know :)
my grandpa trait is i love to read physical newspapers even now. also, i have lost count of the number of times i have read about razorpay ipo. guys, just do it.
@krishadoshii Are you hosting any event or do you want to join one? Anyhoo, I can extend the invite. Join in for bouldering this Sunday. Will share the time and location if interested.
met gym bro who is bulked and jacked af but can’t do beach sprints because he keeps getting hamstring pulls. what’s the use of looking jacked af if you don’t have functional strength and athleticism. it isn’t good for your well being either. focus on being athletic, gaining functional strength and also looking good or jacked in a natural manner. don’t take shortcuts. there’s almost always a hidden cost you pay. think long term. stay consistent. be conscious and avoid injury bruh.
binge watched a lot of air crash investigation episodes. i felt nostalgic. then stumbled upon a yt channel called wyngx. dunno who is behind it but love the illustrations, explanation, and details. of course, it isn’t having actors to capture the sequence. but it is noice in a different way.
overhangs are always fun. btw they definitely made the gradings harder in the hoodi climbing station due to the comp simulations plausibly. but yeah. injury free bouldering is the goal. given so many of my friends got gravely injured thanks to being overtly competitive.
played football yesterday at decathlon. one of the few indoor turfs. the game was amazing. the kids were high energy. but i scored and dribbled past lot of folks so me estoy feliz bro.
@balajis@amasad Rooting for @balajis and @ns always. Made the best connects. Collaborations. Experimented a lot. Toyed with different ideas. After studying at bits goa, @ns was the next best thing that happened that felt as raw and inspiring as being in college.