🎙️ EP45: Raising Funding for an Indian AI Sports Tech with Megha Gambhir, CEO… | InvestHer Podcast

Hi, it's your funding friend, Anne, and welcome to another episode of InvestHer Podcast. And this week, I'm super, super happy to have with us Megha Gamhir, who is founder and CEO of Stupa Sports Analytics, a super AI sports analytics tech firm that you're gonna hear about from India. And it was so, so exciting to talk with her because Megha is one of our winners from the Global Pitch Competition of InvestHer Summit last year. And you're gonna hear all about what she's doing to revolutionize the world of sports and sports federations using the power of AI, her, you know, growth as a company, her funding journey, and her great messages to help you on your funding journey or help you learn more about her sector and industry. Enjoy. Welcome everybody to this latest episode of InvestHer Podcast. And today I am delighted to have with me Megha Gambhir from Stupa Sports. Analytics. Welcome, Megha. How are you?

I'm, I'm very good, Anne, and thank you so much for, for having me. Uh, I think it's, it's for me also, it's a privilege to be part of this podcast. So thank you so much.

Well, you know, we are so proud of you, really, of what you've accomplished so far, and very sure you're going on to even greater world domination in the positive sense. Um, so like, we're very, very excited to have you. So today we really just wanted to have a chat with you about your journey, like how and why you created Stupa Sports Analytics. Let's start there, and then we can go on into the funding journey, like how you got there.

Yeah, definitely. I think it's one of the, um, the interesting, I would say, phase of my life as well, because this phase of, you know, starting up has changed my life completely. I mean, the dynamics and everything in my life has Has now been changed because of it. So I think when I talk about it, it also gives me a little bit of goosebumps, you know. But, but to start with, I actually come from a technology background. I've spent 15 years in technology. I've worked in, you know, different companies like service sectors, Cognizant and HCL. And then later part of my corporate career, I was working with EY. And also last stint was with EY where I was, you know, handling a lot of work from World Bank and United Nations on the technology consulting part. So that's basically my background. But my connection to sports, I would say, is because of my husband. I think that's something God has already written, maybe. So me and Deepak, who's my husband, we met in college and we got married. And he was from the sports sector itself. He was an athlete before, and the later part of his career, he was, you know, the coach of the Indian national team in table tennis. Yes. And that's how I think after sort of so many years, because he was into the sports sector, he was working with a lot of athletes for enhancing their performance. He was struggling with one big problem of analyzing performance of the players and helping them in making them better in their performance or, you know, improvising the growth of the sports in a particular country. especially for India because we are quite patriotic as well. So that was the reason we started this company because at that point in time, 5 years back, we could not find any solution who can help the athletes in enhancing their performance in the racket sports segment, you know. But I would say that the journey wasn't easy when we started, it came with a lot of hurdles, we were able to raise initial funds as well. But, and I would say I was quite fortunate to have very good investors, mentors/advisors into the journey very quick, which really helped me, you know, in identifying a lot of things which we should have taken care at that point in time, starting with, you know, accepting that what's working and what's not working, because when you're too attached with something which you have built and with the vision you have built and you see that, okay, however, I mean, no matter how big or how big the impact is, but you also need to see that what is the impact it is creating on the P&L of the business as well, you know, how big it can become. Yes.

But pause because you're jumping really ahead and I want us to kind of circle back for a second. I know I love your enthusiasm. I don't want to curb your enthusiasm. It's not that. It's like, I want you to explain kind of very clearly what Stupa Sports Analytics does. Let's start there, because again, it's in your head, you know what it is. But let's tell everybody what you do and for whom. Who do you serve? So who are the clients that you serve?

So Stupa basically is a company, like I said, it started with a vision of, you know, solving a problem for enhancing the performance of the players. By real-time analyzing their videos through artificial intelligence, using artificial intelligence. And we picked up table tennis to begin with, and then we expanded into multiple other racket sports like padel, badminton, tennis, pickleball. And we will be picking up a few more, volleyball and basketball as well in the near time. But initially, the intent when we started was basically to help the athletes in enhancing their performance. Now, We pivoted. And what we do now is a different business, a little different business than what we were doing before. We use the tech and AI, of course. But we identified that there is a huge gap in the sports ecosystem as well, where, you know, the federations are struggling for a lot many different areas. Basically, they were struggling to digitize all of their operations. And they were doing their operations manually or using very, you know, old-style softwares, or if they are using new softwares as well, then it is too much segregated in different, different partners. So if a federation is using one software for managing their membership and licenses, one software for streaming, one software for, say, tournament management, and one software for analysis, There's a lot of data leakage happening. And to an extent, many of these federations were just not using any software at all, you know, very, very old platform or Excel they have been using. And this basically slows down the growth of the sports ecosystem in, I would say, on whole, because when you want to grow a system, you really need to know each and every, you know, know-hows of it and also You need to collect a lot of data to basically work on how you can make it better. If you do not have the data points about your, maybe the grassroots players, if you do not have the data points about your talented pool, how you can make their performance better, if you do not have data points about, you know, how you can grow, I mean, the content or the memberships or the licenses in your particular country. Then it becomes very difficult for them also to be independent and to, you know, make more money and then invest it back in the growth of the sport. So we saw this is like a vicious circle they are stuck in. And that's where we wanted to solve that. We then came up with a platform, which is a SaaS platform, which helps them in managing everything on one single, I would say, system. Starting from membership management, licensing management, tournament management, league management, streaming production, sponsorship management, managing, I would say, the player data, content distribution, and also the information about the OTT streaming, everything. It's one single platform. And on top of it, we use AI, which basically helps in curating and personalizing the data and the media and helps the players, coaches, fans who are consumers of that data to basically, you know, grow the sports from there and help in monetizing the data and media to the federations. So that's basically now we do. Alongside, we also have one more product which is purely into the broadcast technology wherein we help the fans who are watching the sport to be you know, watching it more carefully because on TV, they can watch a lot of stats analysis merged with 3D immersive graphics. And then they can see what's happening and they can understand the strategies of the players, how they are playing with the heat maps, with knowing the speed of the ball, knowing the rally analysis, knowing the match summaries in an objective way. So that's what we do now. Since we, you know, identified the right product market fit, what we do now. I think since then, till now, we have expanded fairly, you know, in a good manner. We have been working with 15+ global federations now. We work with International Federation, and we also work with national federations, also some of the content companies as well who buy the content and media and data rights also. So this is how we have, I would say, Just a summary of what Stupa does at the moment.

That's amazing. And it's, it's, I love how you describe it as well. Of course, all founders know what it's like, we have to go through the pivot stage and do multiple, multiple pivots until you get that product market fit, if you ever do, because sometimes people don't get it. But of course, it's very exciting how you are streamlining the whole process for the different stakeholders. As you say, the fans, the players, the federations, the sponsors, everybody can have access to their data in order to make better decisions along those things, and that you have— you're collecting and analyzing that, all that data in one place. That's really fantastic. And I think it's also exciting to hear how you're branching out from the racket sports, as you were saying, to kind of the different ball sports, basketball, and hopefully other types of ball sports.

Yeah.

Because that's where a lot of money is, I'm sure you're very aware of. So, so that's very exciting. And so you set this up with your husband, correct? So Is it, is it just the two of you who are founders?

Yeah, so we, we two are the founders because I come from the tech and he comes from the sports background. I think it was fairly, uh, I would say a complementing kind of a structure we had. And, um, yeah, so we are just the two founders now. Of course, the team has expanded. We have like a good team who are also like a founding team. Yeah, I don't think that without them we could have, you know, come here. But yes, as founders, we both are the ones.

And where are you based? Where is Stupa based?

So we are actually currently headquartered in Delhi. Yeah. And our office is in Gurgaon, which is, you know, I mean, quite close to the airport as well, where all the corporate companies are there near Delhi. And but now I would be more than happy to share that, you know, we'll be soon opening one center in Europe. Yeah, either in UK or maybe in Europe. We are in discussions, so we'll soon be setting up because a large part of our business is in Europe. So we are planning to set up one entity there as well.

Fantastic. And that's so exciting because I think when— so before we get into your funding journey, like, we were so excited to meet and know you because last year you applied to the Investor Summit pitch competition and you were our winner for the category under AI. And congratulations for that. And, you know, we're so excited to see your progress. It's been stupendous and to see how you're progressing. So how many countries are you now in or working in or working to serve?

So we are currently working with the clients, I think, who are from more than 15 countries. And they are primarily based from Europe. And I mean, mostly in Europe only. Now we are Europe as well as well as Asia, like India. And now we plan to expand in US as well as in UK and a little bit more in Asia and Oceania. But our core focus will still remain to, you know, Europe and UK.

Okay. Interesting. Interesting. Yeah, because it's huge culture of sports and betting. It's interesting.

And club culture as well. Yes.

Yeah, but you haven't mentioned betting. Like, is that part of what— or there's so many other people doing betting and AI on betting in sports? Is that going to be part of your offering or not at all?

No, it is part of our offering, actually. And we, you know, call it like data and media rights, and then, you know, selling the data and media rights to the content partners who are actually the partners of the betting companies itself. Because I think one of the key areas where sports make money is also through betting. And that's one of the key area which we also, you know, support through our data and media and the content. You know, that's what we tend to support the betting companies by providing a lot of data to get insights about the players' profiles and also do a lot of predictions about, you know, who can win and who cannot. So a lot of our business coincides with betting. We have already started working with 2 betting partners at the moment. who are based out of Europe itself, but we provide them the content and media that basically comes from the federations, national associations. But more or less, we tend to expand into this area in next year.

Amazing. Brilliant. That's exciting. So another, another product line that's coming, that's, that's working its way. So now let's circle back, Megha, to your funding journey. So when you were starting this You know, when you were starting out with Stupa, how did you start? Did you self-fund? Did you get grants? Tell us a bit very early on, how did you do that from Delhi where you are?

So I would say that initially, when we started, you know, we started just not to set up a company. If I really go back, it was basically for us to solve a problem. And it was basic, I would say it was a problem for the Indian national team at that point in time, which we're trying to solve. Because we wanted to—

Which year was this, Megha?

This was 2018. Yeah, when I left EY. And at that point in time, I left EY with a very heavy heart because I was taking a sabbatical. Somehow I was not finding a kick in my, you know, job. And I just thought that, okay, let me take a break and figure out what I, you know, need to do next in my life. And that's how I just left and kept it open that I'll explore. And I did a lot of trekking during that time. I did a lot many different things at that point in time, and I was quite free. So this is where I would say Deepak at the same time was struggling with this problem statement because he was a coach for the Indian national team, and he was traveling with the Indian team, and he was very, very upset because he was seeing that the team has so much potential, but we are, you know, not winning the way we should have. And that's how he started to look out for a solution that what can help us in solving this problem, how we can identify what needs to be improved on. And it's a long journey, you know, we need to start early. And that's where at that point in time in 2018, he started to share with me that now you're free, can you just you know, start helping me in figuring out what we can do around this. I want the Indian team, you know, to win, to bring more medals. And that was the only reason I, uh, you know, started to help him in identifying what we can do to solve this problem. So, and that's probably—

so I want to pause there for one second because it's so important, your why, like the why of Stupa and how it, how, how it came together. And I love what you said, we wanted the Indian national team to win more medals. It was never about money or other things. It was like, how can this be national pride and serving the athletes to give them the information they need to be able to get there? So I think that's very important to kind of capture the why, because also when we're talking to investors, they want to know the why, because that's the motivation to keep you going. So that's why I wanted to know. So when you started in 2018 with Deepak, was Just, did you use your own funds? Or how did you kickstart that part?

Yeah, so we, at that point in time, you know, we started it like a POC. And we did not, you know, set up a company out of it. We were just working on this problem statement. And I needed some help of a few more tech resources. So I took them on freelancing. And we started to pay from our own And we, you know, did some bit of a POC where we just analyzed some of the athletes from the Indian team and tried to give them their reports on how they have been performing, what's their trend patterns, and so on. Alongside, you know, I submitted the same work to International Table Tennis Federation at that point in time. There was a Congress, Sports Science Congress happening in 2019 in Budapest. And I just submitted my work there that this is what I've done to, you know, analyze the matches and the performance of the players and so on. And at that point in time, I did not know that, you know, this work can be kept— I mean, can, you know, caught their eye and they will want me to be there. I never thought of it. But I think destiny was thinking something else for both of us. And I got a call and I was like that, you should come and present. We really like this. And I think this is one of the areas where we want you know, our sport to grow on the data and the analytics space. So, can you come and present?

Amazing. So, I was like, okay.

So, I went to Budapest in 2019, and I presented in ITTF Sports Science Congress. And that gave me quite a big, you know, boost about the market sizing and why it is important. And it's just not the problem of table tennis, but many other sports as well. And from there on, when I came back in 2020, you know, we finally set up the company, because we figured out that this can lead to a big impact. And let's just, you know, start working on it. And at that, from 2018 till 2020, and I would say till even after founding the company, till 2021 January, we were spending our own money. And we are close to $100,000 we have spent at that point in time. I would say all of our savings and even some loans we have taken and debt we have taken to do these things. And I don't know, at times I believe that, you know, I was, I don't know, I was dumb enough to, you know, take such a risk in my life to invest everything in one project and not keeping any backup for me or for my, you know, or for our family and so on. But I don't know, the only one motivation I was having that time, and I think Deepak was also having at that point in time, is to build something and see where it goes, and to try to solve and create a big impact in the sports, you know, by helping the athletes or by helping the federations and so on. So that was the initial, I would say, motto. And it just, I mean, kept us going. And we kept on investing until we realized that we are now out of funds, and we cannot invest more. We need to go out and raise funds. So, and that's, yeah.

So tell us more. So when you started to raise funds, where did you get the first funds? And what type of funders were they?

So, you know, I think here I would call myself a little fortunate enough as well, where I've got some right connections. Because when I was looking at this to be, you know, making a proper business, I get connected to someone through my connection. And he was the National Director of EY before. Yeah. And he was retired by that time. But he was doing very active work on supporting some new startups, you know, by giving them advisory and so on. And his name is Sunil Chandiramani. I would not, you know, I mean, not, I would be more pride in saying his name as well. And he actually helped me a lot in understanding the dynamics of the entire funding cycle. You know, I would say that he literally gave me a crash course of how to be presenting in front of investors, what are the things. And, you know, when I was doing that prep work, it was almost like 6 to 9 months I did— 6 months almost, I think, 6 to 8 months I only did the prep work, you know, and he was giving me so many things. like competition analysis, he was giving me things about, you know, GTM, what's my plan, how I'm going to use the funds, the pitch deck, and so on. And at a certain point in time, I was thinking that why, I mean, you know, I need to build so many things. I mean, I know about my business. But I think little did I know that time that all these things are, you know, very important and funding journey, it is is not easy at all, you know, it's just very, very, very tough because I would say that I think the most important thing the investors look at is the founders, you know, how much clarity they have on what they want to build.

Yeah.

And of course, the nature and the resilience, all these things also come, but it is important to have that kind of clarity and vision. Either they are having it or not having it. And if they have it, and even if they don't know, you know, how to achieve it, they'll find a way to build it. That's what I think I've learned in those 6 to 8 months by building or by doing a lot of research, building so many different documents, which I don't know how would I, you know, use them. But all those pieces, that preparation helped me in understanding my own vision and gave more clarity about how I can, you know, execute it.

And so, so while you were doing that prep work with Sunil, so then what then was the next natural step? So he was, he was helping you, giving the crash course. I love it. And it's so great that you shout out, shout out, give him a shout out. So then from 2021 to '22, is it that's when you started to talk to investors? Or what, what other funders did you get grants or bank loans at that point? Or did you have some company contracts coming in? Tell us a bit more about where you were then.

So at that point in time, we were, you know, building the tech, and we were at a very, very early stage and pre-revenue stage, you know, no revenues, just the paper on the plan. And 2020, we founded the company. And at the same time, I was having Sunil as well onboarded. And 2021, you know, I got after, I would say, 2021, March, I got my first check. And it was, I mean, more than like 11 months after the company was founded. The first check, initial 6 to 8 months, I did a lot of preparation, of course. And then after that, I started to, you know, go out and talk to— first of all, I started networking. He suggested me to, you know, also go out and speak to people. So I went out and attended some some of the summits, I would say, and also some of the groups where a lot of investors come as panelists and talk, you know, and I was one of the attendees in there doing networking, talking to investors, trying to, you know, grab their attention by, you know, in a coffee time or maybe in a lunchtime or something like that. So that's how I started. And then slowly, slowly—

You say your first check in 2021, what was it roughly? You don't have to say who it was from or anything, But it was from angels. And it was, it was, how long did that get you going? How much was it?

It was actually $100K. And it was from one of, now he's my very, very dear friend. And I will not mind taking his name, he'll be more than happy. He's Akshat Rathi. And he's also one of the, you know, the founder of a company who's into gaming and broadcast tech and so on, you know, so brilliant. Yeah, so he has been, I would say, of tremendous support. And he decided to fund us in just 5 minutes, you know, I get him. So I got to him quite late, I would say, I mean, towards when I was raising funds. But the moment I, you know, got into a meeting with him, in 5 minutes, he decided that, okay, I'm investing. Now tell me about what's next happening. Yay.

Okay, so that was 2021, you're saying?

Yes, that was 2021.

Okay, and then what happened next?

And then I started to reach out to some other angels as well through the angel network groups and also through, you know, by networking into the summits or networking into the programs which I was attending. And in that, you know, 3 months itself, I was able to raise close to, I think, $300K. $100K from him and rest of the another, you know, $200K from more angels. So I closed my round in $300K somewhere in April 2021.

Yeah.

And I got some runway by then to, you know, pay the salaries to the people. And by the time I was having a team of, I think, close to 9-10 people to whom I was, you know, paying salaries from our own pocket. So then we took those $300K, and that was like a runway for us for next year and a half for us to, you know, identify the product-market fit. And I would say, you know, or maybe take that product into the market, build it quite fast, and then take it to the market and then start building the revenues.

Yeah.

But like I said, which I just started at the beginning when I was introducing myself, that when you are, you know, raising funds and you've built a product with so much pride and it is still not doing good into the market, how would you handle that pressure? You know, the pressure of— it's not something, you know, the pressure comes from the investors. They are not doing that, you know, they are like dear friends and they are angels. But it is also because you feel obliged towards their commitment on you.

Yeah.

And you feel that, you know, you need to perform better or you need to execute what you have promised. But unfortunately, we realized that this is a B2C product, what we built at that point in time. And B2C means that we have to spend or burn a lot of money to get to the consumers and players and coaches to to buy the analysis services. And we also figured out that it's also quite a niche segment because players and coaches who are at an advanced or a competitive level will only be buying it. Maybe the amateurs will not buy. And when we realized it, realized it by the time I would say already 8-9 months or a year have passed and we were left with a very less runway. And now what to do? And of course, I would say that one good thing which probably I feel all the founders are having is, you know, not giving up and resilience. And that's what I think. I don't know if it's an inherent trait or I don't know, I feel that I've practiced also a lot of not giving up. I manifest a lot on that. But we just figured out or we were just figuring out that what can work in the market, we cannot just shut it down, we need to figure out. There has to be, you know, something related to this because this industry is prevailing, the industry is in demand, and it's booming also. Maybe we are not hitting the right product, it could be something else. Then we started doing a lot of reflection, me and my husband Deepak, and we started sitting and analyzing and talking to some of our initial clients who were taking our services for analysis. And with a lot of connection we already had with the customers, and that time our customers were some national federations who were taking analysis services, we spoke to them and they came up with a very different thing altogether. They said that, I think we are also, of course, looking out for solutions for solving the analysis of our athletes, but this is the next step for us, you know.

Yeah.

We are not even there where we know how many players we have in our country who plays the sport, or we do not, you know, even have the basic amount of information of their history, of their performance, and so on. We don't even capture at the moment their results. And so I just figured out that my— I mean, our product was just ahead of the time. And the problem was much, I would say, I mean, I don't know the name, but it is quite big enough. But it is much ahead of the time which we were trying to solve. They were at this, I mean, I would say they were at very low sort of tech.

Yeah, different level of maturity, I think is what you're talking about. Exactly. Yes, exactly.

The right word. Yes. And we were expecting a lot of of more maturity in terms of tech from them.

Yeah.

And that actually, you know, shook us up as well, me and Deepak, and we figured that there's another opportunity here, you know, we can actually digitize their operations of managing their members, licenses, data, and help them in creating content. And social media itself is booming, why not to help them in growing the sports through content distribution and so on. And that's how we started to pivot. And but the next problem was waiting that we were running out of funds. Okay. You know, and then—

So what happened next? There you have us on the edge. Literally, if you're watching on YouTube, I'm like on the edge of my seat. So what happened next?

So then we were again out of funds, and we figured out that what can work in the market. So I again went back to my angels, And I explained them and I asked them that, you know, I think that what we figured out earlier may not work as it is, we may need to, first of all, go a little down and create a maturity around the tech enablement into the federations. And then maybe from there on, we can achieve what we wanted to achieve. Not now, but in the next couple of years. So I need your support. And I would say that they have been very, very, I would say, kind as well as, you know, have been trusting me in the entire journey because they figured out that what we were doing and we have figured out that it's not working. But I think they've done our analysis again and we feel that this is going to work. And they also felt that what we are, the way we are pivoting is the right pivot. And they again invested close to $200K more into the business. And this was in somewhere, I would say, 2022, mid of 2022. I got again more funds for us to, you know, settle and then pivot and work on it. And I would say that that was the time where I felt very, very motivated as well, because I figured at that point in time that maybe this could be the end of the world if I do not get funding, you know, I may have to, you know, shut. And I don't know if I'll be able to get more funds. But I think God has some other plans. And the angels also went ahead with the trust and with whatever analysis we have done. And with that, we pivoted the product, we changed the product line itself, we started to build the SaaS, we started to build, we started to shift our AI into the broadcast tech for more fan engagement. And by 2022, end of the year, we were ready with our first MVP. And with that MVP, you know, I went out into the global market, did a couple of trips, and started to sell. By the time the product was not fully ready, it was like I said, it was at MVP stage, but I went out and I started to do some selling. And I was able to do, I mean, I was able to, you know, grab some of the big contracts out of it.

Yay, congratulations. That's awesome. So then 2023 was your big year, really, because that's when you got the big contracts with the federations and like 15. That's amazing. And then tell us more. So when we When you applied for the pitch competition to Investor Summit, that was like in early whatever, April, March, April '23. You applied and then you won, you came to Paris. So tell people a little bit about that experience of winning the summit and what happened as a roller coaster after, because it's so exciting.

Yeah, yeah. So I would say that 2023 year was a very exciting year for us. But also it comes with, you know, a mix of both good and bad things because we were again running out of money. And at that point in time, we were signing the contracts, we were spending a lot on developing the product as well because it was at an MVP stage and we still need to, you know, build the product to the core and to the depth. So 2023, our more focus also was to raise funds, and also to get more visibility out there into the investor circle. Because to somewhat, I would say, we have analyzed in 2023 first quarter that there is a PMF, you know, there's a product market fit now. Now we needed some initial VCs to fund us, to help us, and similar for the same kind of visibility to be in the network. I also, you know, applied for Global Investor Summit as well because I believe that it is important to be in the network and also to be, you know, meeting people, talking to them, not just because always to, you know, grab something out of it. But I feel that it's my view, it's my opinion that there are a lot many things in a founder's mind that, you know, just all the time runs, a lot many thoughts coming here and there. And when you meet people, you get different perspectives. And those different perspectives can help you in sharpening some of your thoughts, which may not be very directly relatable to that conversation, but indirectly, that will help you in sharpening some of your thoughts. So I have given a lot of preference initially in this journey to be networking, and to be, you know, present and being visible to the investors and also to build a relationship with them. Do not go out to them, you know, to raise funds always, because that's not something I think any of the sale can work. Even when you're selling your pitch also to an investor, it's a sale, right? Similarly, you're pitching your product to a customer, it's a sale. I think it's more about relationship building. And when people build that relationship, people see your journey, the way you've been working, they get more trust in you. And then I think it is a matter of time where you figure out the right synergies who are working out together. And 2023 was a year where I was, you know, going out and meeting people, meeting the investors as well. And therefore, I applied for Global Investor Summit. And honestly, that was the reason I applied for that as well, that I thought that maybe I can get some good investor community there, coming from Europe or coming from US, which I would definitely say that, you know, I've been networked to as well. And I did not know that I will win the competition, which of course added a lot to the credibility and the PR of the company and to my profile as well. But during that time, it was more about talking, meeting, building relationships. And right after I won the competition, I was already in some conversations with some Indian investors who have quite global network in sports tech as well. And so I was talking to a few of the investors, and I've started to get, you know, initial interest from them. And I think right after I came back from the summit, one more month or two more months, I just signed, you know, I locked the term sheet. with them. And I've raised, I mean, that's like a pre-series funding, which is quite a good amount. And next 2 years is basically going to be more focused to use that funding in expanding the business into, you know, the European region as well as in UK, US, and also about expanding the team, hiring the team. And that's where I would say that helped us a lot. Meeting and networking and talking and also coming to the Global Investor Summit as well helped us a lot.

That's— and it's so great to hear, Megha. We're so proud. And like this year you're coming back to Dublin as a speaker, this time on the panel, to be able to share about your journey of what you've built with Stupa and, and your funding journey and your success. And so you mentioned that you'd locked in a pre-Series A. So can you share with us? That amount that what you've— that you raised in that round with the investors?

Yeah, yeah, sure. So we have locked in close to, I think, $3.5 million on total US dollars. And that's coming from 2 big investors from India, 2 big VCs. One is actually a purely sports tech fund by the name of Entercore Capital. And the other one is Peer Capital, who is also led by, you know, quite I would say marquee, I would say founders as well as consulting background people who have founded this fund. And they both have come forward to invest and I would say build with us in this journey together.

Amazing. So what was the name of the first one? Because I didn't hear it very clearly. Sports tech?

It's a sports tech fund by the name CenterCourt Capital. And the other one is Peer Capital.

Okay, brilliant. Now I mentioned it because we want to put in the resources link to their website so people can also find them, other AI and great women entrepreneurs and other diverse founders to find them. Fantastic. So that's given, and you were also featured in Forbes India, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes. And actually, that was also, yeah, I think they just, you know, there was a podcast which they were doing in technology and sports as well. And they somehow, you know, landed on, we just got to connect to each other. And then I spoke to them and they really liked the journey so well. Then they ended up, you know, featuring us other than the podcast in their Forbes magazine as well. So it was quite—

What a year! That's like, and it's only the beginning, Megha. So as we wrap up, can you share maybe your 2 to 3 key tips to founders, to women founders on the journey? You've mentioned quite a a few, but what would be your key tips in 2 or 3 words to women founders on this journey?

See, I would say the first and the foremost thing, what I believe is that I think there are a lot many things which are uncertain in this journey, you know, nothing is certain and you don't know what is going to come up. And there are so many times where you actually feel like you're broken up, you know, when you're just not having enough of the energy to wake up and to do things. But I think in my journey, a lot of manifestation, journaling, and writing, and affirmations helped me. There has been so many different times in my— in my— this entire journey, and still now, I mean, I think it will keep on coming. Those moments will never, I go away. But I think what helped me was to write positive things and write the execution of positive things in the past tense, you know, literally the affirmations. So that has helped me. And it's not like a tip for a founder, but I think for anyone who is moving on and they have, you know, different kinds of stresses in their life, I feel that journaling and manifesting helps a lot.

Yeah.

And that has shaped me up into a better confident woman as well. Second thing is that I also feel that it is really important to find the right mentors and advisors, you know, early on, because the people who have helped me right from, like I said, Sunil and Akshat and then Sanjeev and many more, I can just take, you know, so many different names, Everyone has played their role in this journey. And I don't think that, and I'm just not talking about advisors, mentors, even my founding team as well, the people who have, you know, been with us and supporting us. I think those are very important pillars of your life. And you need to be in touch with them and be with them because I've seen the people who are having a high intel and intellect, they help you in inspiring as well as help you in thinking bigger than what you have been thinking at that point in time.

Yeah.

Therefore, I never discount networking and meeting people because you never know.

I—

because you never know whom you will find, someone who can be of, you know, you can talk more and the vibrations can match and yeah, this can be. So I'm a strong believer of that and I think Um, you should never discount the importance of good advisors and mentors. Uh, like I said, that they can literally do a crash course, you know, and, and take you from here to there.

I love it. So I have, um, doing the, the manifesting journaling and affirmations. You talked about having, you know, finding great mentors and advisors and, and learning from them, and then the power of networking. So there Great 3 tips. How can people find you, Megha, and learn more about Stupa? Where are the best places to find you?

The best places to find me is on LinkedIn. Actually, I'm quite active on LinkedIn, and people can, you know, just give a quick message. I'll very quickly be able to respond, more than happy to, you know, I mean, talk more and share my experiences. Otherwise, my email ID is meghagambhir@stupanalytics.com. Anyone can write me and I'll be Very quickly responding.

Amazing. And thank you. We will share to all of you listening and watching, we will share the links to Megha's LinkedIn, to her email, and to the resources that she mentioned already. So thank you so much, Megha. It's been such a pleasure. And as I say, this is just the beginning. Like, you're just starting now. It's getting ready for liftoff. I can feel it. And I cannot wait for you to share your story at the summit in Dublin. So for those of you listening, please do come. We will share a link to Investor Summit Come, come, because basically we, like Megha, our big why is she saw a problem with Deepak and they wanted to change it. And we are the same. We see that the funding ecosystem is broken for women entrepreneurs. We want to help change that by bringing together the people who actually care about funding women entrepreneurs, the corporates, the founders, the investors, the ecosystem players. So come to Dublin, have an incredible experience with us. And come take action with us because it's an action summit. It's not a blah blah summit. It really is. So thank you so much, Megha. It's been such a pleasure to have you with us today sharing your story.

Oh, thank you so much for having me. And thank you so much, you know, for— I, I feel that, uh, it was really, really good that I, I was— I participated last time. And I think it, uh, it is creating a beautiful journey for, for me as well. And we, we both are together, you know, now At this moment.

I love it. It's amazing. And thank you so much. And thank you for the— for inspiring all the other women. And, you know, tell them, pitch, go to apply to our pitch competition. It's open until the 10th of May. So you could be sitting where Megha is, and you could be sharing your story in a few months, which is all we wish, and saying how you've raised an incredible $3.5 million pre-Series A. Yay! So cool. Thank you so much, Megha, and take care.

Thanks, Anne. Thanks. Thank you so much.

Wasn't that an incredible interview with Megha? Isn't she really amazing? And I, I just love her energy, her focus, how she has managed to pivot intelligently, as a lot of entrepreneurs do. And let's look at her 3 key takeaways. One, nothing is certain, and so many things feel broken, so you need to kind of keep moving forward. So for the women entrepreneurs and just entrepreneurs in general, what helped her was manifesting, journaling, and doing affirmations. And that science— that is science-backed— that shows it's proven to have a huge impact on all of our mental health and to look after ourselves. So manifest the good things that you want to happen. Say those affirmations, journal to get all the roller coaster emotions out of you. If you're a founder or a funder who's raising funds for your own fund, you are also going on that roller coaster ride. The second key takeaway was find the right mentors and investors. She was very clear to call out her incredible mentors and investors on the journey who made a huge difference to her. So make sure that you bring the right people alongside you for the ride. And if they turn out not to be the right people, just get rid of them as soon as you can in the most elegant, positive way possible. And the third key message that was very strong in everything she shared was was network, network, network. The power of networking. Put yourself out there, go to the conferences. And I would say that's both for founders and funders. Get out there. And if you're a funder listening to it, for the founders, you heard what she said, you've got this. For the funders, I really encourage you to go to those summits, conferences that you don't normally go to. Go where there are more women founders, more diverse founders, different sectors. But even if it's in your sector, Go to the ones that are more mixed or where you're going to find more women because you could meet another mega. You would want to back her. You want to be part of what she's building. So please do that. And, you know, also bring a woman entrepreneur with you to those summits and to those conferences. So those are some of her key 3 takeaways. Thank you for spending time with us today on this podcast. We do appreciate it. And if you love what you heard, and I'm sure you did, Please share it with an entrepreneur or a funder who needs to hear it, or someone from the sector, or your mom, whoever it is, just to show. Because the whole point of what we're doing here at the summit and at this podcast is to showcase these incredible women who are changing the world, who are working on important problems. So share, share, share. Thanks for being with us and look forward to having you on the next episode.