E124: Sumeet Mehta (Co-founder & CEO, LEAD)

The Desi VC with Akash Bhat

Sumeet Mehta is the co-founder and CEO of LEAD, an edtech company helping digitize and transform affordable private schools to better serve students from middle and low-income groups of families. Before co-founding LEAD, Sumeet was Chief Executive Officer at Zee Learn (2007-2012). He transformed the institution from a pre-school franchise company to an education company with a presence in pre-schools and K-10 schools, and science activity and animation classes. Prior to that, Sumeet spent eight years at Procter & Gamble Singapore, where he was involved in in brand management, leading businesses in Australia, Southeast Asia, and India. Sumeet is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and PEC Chandigarh.

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Episode Notes:

1. Introduction (1:40)
2. How and why did Sumeet co-found LEAD? (3:08)
3. How do you 'figure out' your mission as a founder? (8:18)
4. Do founders take time to introspect about their personal growth? If they do, how frequently do they engage in this practice, and what methods do they employ? (14:23)
5. How can a founder effectively address and manage their insecurities while continually learning and growing in their role? (19:20)
6. What has Sumeet learned about himself over the course of his entrepreneurial journey (24:00)
7. The toughest part of building a company (28:36)
8. Working with your significant other as a co-founder (32:08)
9. Non-negotiables as a founder (34:50)

Fostering a culture of long-term thinking among employees (39:02)

10. Advice Sumeet would offer his younger self (41:11)

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Social links:

• Follow Sumeet on Twitter
• Follow LEAD on LinkedIn
• Follow The Desi VC Podcast on Twitter
• Follow Akash Bhat on Twitter
• Follow Akash Bhat on Instagram