If you’re raising your first serious round or trying to figure out why “great deck, no cheque” keeps happening, this is your masterclass with Vinay Bansal — founder of IPV and Physis.
He’s screened ~30,000 startups and funded ~0.4–1%. In this conversation, we get specific about founder filters, technical depth vs hustle, the valuation trap, and why fundraising is actually a full-time job.
What you’ll learn
The “Salary to Payroll” shift: moving from taking to giving, and why early founders quit too soon
The IPV grit model: passion, past adversity, and how fast you integrate mind + emotion + intellect
Technical credibility vs “personal problem” stories: when lived pain is not enough
Why early stage needs a village: VC-grade due diligence at angel stage and who should pay for it
The valuation trap: how over-pricing your first 2 rounds kills the next 2
India vs US angels: ticket sizes, DD rigor, and real democratization
Early vs late stage: how investors change, how founders should change
Sports as leadership: training boredom, cutting 6 minutes in 3 years, and never tapping out
Sectors he’s backing now: space, drones, AI, healthcare. Problem first, sector second
One line to 25-year-old self: start earlier
Chapters
00:00 Cold open: Why only 0.4% get funded
02:24 Seeds of entrepreneurship and what corporate taught him
05:03 Freedom or freefall: starting IPV months before the 2020 crash
06:31 30,000 screened, 0.4% funded: what changed in their filter
08:41 Technical depth vs “I faced this problem”
09:20 The grit test and how IPV probes for it
11:14 Spotting leadership early and how ecosystems signal it
12:57 IPV to Physis: community DNA with fund-level rigor
15:46 Managing later-stage founders vs early-stage founders
17:50 Fees and DD: why angel-stage looks different from fund-stage
22:37 US vs India angels: tickets, cartels, and missing rigor
25:21 True democratization: why 1 lakh tickets matter
26:48 Building in India: rupees, dollars, and mindsets that must change
30:12 Fundraising as a full-time job: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh analogy
35:19 Sports and leadership: training boredom and staying in the game
37:39 Betting on sports not real-money gaming
40:25 Problem first, then sector: space, drones, AI, healthcare
41:14 AI as opportunity, not problem
41:59 Advice to 25-year-old self
About the guest
Vinay Bansal leads IPV and Physis, backing India’s most promising founders with VC-grade diligence and a community model that actually democratizes angel investing.
Who should watch
Pre-seed to Series A founders, angels building a sensible portfolio, and operators crossing the chasm from salary to payroll.
Subscribe for more
If you’re a mid-career founder who wants clarity, speed, and one investor who actually fits — hit subscribe, drop your question in the comments, and tell me which chapter helped the mo
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