An Operator's Blog - with Soumitra Sharma
An Operator's Blog - with Soumitra Sharma
Soumitra Sharma
Building a US-India AI startup in fintech software
52 minutes Posted May 8, 2025 at 6:27 pm.
This episode goes in-depth into the key operating aspects of building & scaling a US-India cross-border AI startup serving the US financial services market. We cover everything from customer behavior & AI adoption patterns by large US financial services enterprises, approaches & frameworks for building fintech MVPs, state-wise & country-wise regulatory & business nuances, AI’s impact on fintech product roadmaps, tactics for US-India fintech software founders to find US design partners, go-to-market approaches for large enterprise GTM, emerging AI-driven fintech software pricing models, building a US fintech GTM team as a US-India founder, and finally, learnings from fintech fundraising in the Valley.Joining me for this discussion is Shantanu Gangal, Founder & CEO of Prodigal, an AI platform for loan servicing & collection agents, both human and virtual. Prodigal’s Intelligence Engine touches ~40 million consumers in the US, Canada & UK. The company is backed by top-tier VCs like Accel & Menlo.TIME STAMPS:
AI’s impact on the US fintech software landscape
Backstory of Prodigal
Approaches & frameworks for building fintech MVPs
State-wise & country-wise regulatory & business nuances
Importance of meeting customers in person
AI’s impact on fintech software product roadmaps
Tactics for US-India fintech software founders to find US design partners
Go-to-market motions for a US-India fintech software startup
AI’s impact on fintech software pricing models
Building a US fintech software GTM team as a US-India founder
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This episode goes in-depth into the key operating aspects of building & scaling a US-India cross-border AI startup serving the US financial services market. We cover everything from customer behavior & AI adoption patterns by large US financial services enterprises, approaches & frameworks for building fintech MVPs, state-wise & country-wise regulatory & business nuances, AI’s impact on fintech product roadmaps, tactics for US-India fintech software founders to find US design partners, go-to-market approaches for large enterprise GTM, emerging AI-driven fintech software pricing models, building a US fintech GTM team as a US-India founder, and finally, learnings from fintech fundraising in the Valley.Joining me for this discussion is Shantanu Gangal, Founder & CEO of Prodigal, an AI platform for loan servicing & collection agents, both human and virtual. Prodigal’s Intelligence Engine touches ~40 million consumers in the US, Canada & UK. The company is backed by top-tier VCs like Accel & Menlo.TIME STAMPS:(01:15) AI’s impact on the US fintech software landscape(08:22) Backstory of Prodigal(12:02) Approaches & frameworks for building fintech MVPs(15:42) State-wise & country-wise regulatory & business nuances(21:44) Importance of meeting customers in person(23:59) AI’s impact on fintech software product roadmaps(32:59) Tactics for US-India fintech software founders to find US design partners(37:25) Go-to-market motions for a US-India fintech software startup(42:20) AI’s impact on fintech software pricing models (46:45) Building a US fintech software GTM team as a US-India founder(50:26) Learnings from fintech fundraising in Silicon ValleyConnect with Shantanu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shantanugangal/ and follow him on X - @shantanugangal*****Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).