Invisible Ink Podcast By Shubha K. Chakravarthy cover art

Invisible Ink

Invisible Ink

By: Shubha K. Chakravarthy
Listen for free

About this listen

 Tired of startup fluff?

Invisible Ink cuts through the hype, bringing you power-packed conversations with investors and founders who've built the companies you admire.

Forget theory and buzzwords. This podcast is your all-access pass to the real strategies, the tough decisions, and the often unseen struggles that shape successful startups.

Each episode zooms in on the specifics of what it takes to get funded, demystifying the process and giving you actionable insights you can apply today.

Join us as we unpack the gritty details the hype machine misses, revealing the truth about what investors look for, the mistakes to avoid, and the actionable steps you can take to make your startup unstoppable.

Invisible Ink is more than just a podcast – it's your personal mentor in the world of funding. Tune in, level up, and turn your startup dream into a funded reality.

Subscribe now!






Find show notes and more at https://achiiv.co/category/podcast/Achiiv, Inc. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Ep 75 - Cracking the Real PMF: How to Find Product-Market & Funding Fit, With Hanna Wu

    Ep 75 - Cracking the Real PMF: How to Find Product-Market & Funding Fit, With Hanna Wu
    Jun 8 2025
    In this episode, Hanna Wu, co-founder and CEO of Amplify, joins Shubha Chakravarthy to share her journey building a customer-centric, digital life insurance platform focused on wealth accumulation.

    Tune in to listen to the inspiring journey that took Hanna from running her own financial planning firm to founding the company that has been dubbed a future unicorn by TRAC. Check out Hanna's insights on:
    • What it takes to disrupt a legacy industry
    • How to take the simple but powerful steps to validate your market and demand
    • How to craft a killer value proposition in a competitive field
    • How to find the right customer segments to break into a tough business
    • How to adapt product offers with changing demand
    • The secret formula to tackle market changes in any industry, and the one capability that you can't do without
    • How to prepare for unexpected changes in the fundraising market, and the surprising impacts you must be prepared to face
    • What it really means to hire an A-team, and how to ensure you're getting the best people on board for the long haul
    • The one type of investor you really can't do without, and why they matter
    • Road-tested tips to prepare yourself for the long-haul, especially if you want to have a life outside your startup.
    and much more!
    Show more Show less
    1 hr
  • Ep 74 - Mastering XaaS Pricing: An Expert Perspective, with Ingrid Bonde Åkerlind

    Ep 74 - Mastering XaaS Pricing: An Expert Perspective, with Ingrid Bonde Åkerlind
    May 25 2025
    In this episode, Ingrid Bonde Åkerlind joins Shubha Chakravarthy to unravel the complexities of pricing for early-stage startups, especially in the world of SaaS and “XaaS” business models.

    Tune in to hear Ingrid's reflections on her unexpected journey into pricing, starting from scratch in a C2C marketplace to making investment decisions with a venture capital firm. Ingrid shares powerful insights about price inertia, customer psychology, and how anchoring and framing play critical roles in both B2B and B2C contexts.

    Don't miss her practical and actionable insights on:
    • Why pricing is often the orphan function in early-stage startups—and why it shouldn't be.
    • The psychological biases that impact pricing—across both B2C and B2B markets.
    • Why SaaS and XaaS pricing models are harder than they look.
    • Key differences in pricing strategy for early-stage versus mature startups.
    • How to use customer interviews for pricing research—even without hard data.
    • Why pricing isn't just about the number, but about picking the right value metric.
    • Best practices for testing different pricing models with early customers.
    • Practical tips for reviewing and iterating on your pricing regularly.

    and much more!
    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • Ep 73 - Winning Grants, Landing VCs and Building in Deep Tech, with Elise Strobach

    Ep 73 - Winning Grants, Landing VCs and Building in Deep Tech, with Elise Strobach
    May 11 2025
    In this episode, Elise Strobach, co-founder and CEO of AeroShield, joins Shubha Chakravarthy to share her journey from lab discovery to clean tech startup founder. Drawing on her experience as a mechanical engineering PhD at MIT, Elise discusses how a breakthrough in transparent silica aerogels evolved into a venture-backed company tackling one of the world’s biggest energy inefficiencies—heat loss through windows.

    Tune in to listen to Elise's thoughtful and actionable takes on:
    1. How the path to commercialization happens in the real world
    2. The big, unsuspected factor that can make your breakthrough marketable
    3. Key pivot points that drive commercialization impact in the research phase, and how to capitalize on them
    4. How to do customer interviews the right way
    5. The surprising secret to making your innovation attractive in the commercial market
    6. What big adverse events can teach you, and how to turn them to your advantage
    7. A killer strategy to optimize your grant outcomes
    8. How to use grant applications to also build customer traction
    9. How to build your execution roadmap when dealing with uncertain funding outcomes
    10. A secret to overcome imposter syndrome
    and much more!
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 8 mins
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup
No reviews yet