Becoming an entrepreneur isn\u2019t about a job title, it\u2019s about a relentless pursuit of ambition, purpose, and problem-solving. For some, the journey begins in a corporate office; for others, it starts from the humblest of beginnings. Take, for example, the story of a founder who began as a car cleaner and went on to create a venture capital model that serves rural India, an initiative called \u201cVC for Villages.\u201d Driven by a mission to empower farmers, shopkeepers, and small businesses often overlooked by traditional VCs, this journey shows that entrepreneurship is not about glamour or social media clout\u2014it\u2019s about solving real problems, building resilient teams, and thinking creatively about access to resources. Indiatoday.in spoke to Tarun Poddar, Foxhog, CEO, on how to build a startup.<\/p>\n
What experiences or challenges in your early career shaped your decision to enter the world of startups and funding?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
To go for any startup, we need to be ambitious because it is a mission, it is not a job, it is a full-time ambition-chasing process one should go once you are tryng to solve any problem of society. When I found that Big VCs have no interest in entertaining the business in rural India, I stepped in into the VC business and started a project called \u201c VC FOR VILLAGES \u201c, a service to provide interest-free loans to the farmers, shopkeepers, and every rural population who is suffering from the interest rate of Microfinance and Private lenders.<\/p>\n
When you look back at your own journey, what were the toughest lessons you learned about building something from scratch that most first-time founders overlook?<\/p>\n
Looking back, it\u2019s remarkable to see how far I\u2019ve come\u2014starting my career as a car cleaner and now running one of the finest venture capital firms. Life has been a tremendous teacher, and along the way, I\u2019ve learned some invaluable lessons:<\/p>\n
Keep your personal ego aside while doing business.<\/p>\n
Stop micromanaging; trust your team to execute.<\/p>\n
Listen to your critics\u2014sometimes words aren\u2019t enough, action speaks louder.<\/p>\n
Never give up; there\u2019s always a solution if you\u2019re willing to find it.<\/p>\n
Give credit where it\u2019s due\u2014acknowledge your team and everyone who supports your journey.<\/p>\n
Keep family separate from business to maintain balance and clarity.<\/p>\n
Many startups fail within the first three years. What mindset or practices do you believe help founders survive those initial turbulent years?<\/p>\n
Many founders start a company just to flaunt \u201cCEO\u201d on social media. But here\u2019s the reality: money runs a business, not social media, and burning cash is not business\u2014making profit is. Every aspiring entrepreneur should keep these in mind:<\/p>\n
Your product may be the best, but never underestimate your competitors.You are not superior\u2014always be open to learning from others.There\u2019s nothing personal in business; decisions are about growth, not grudges.Glamour is part of business, but it is not the business itself.This is your business, not a 9-to-5 job\u2014commit fully.You have a family to provide for, not a society to impress.<\/p>\n
What would you say to a young professional in a Tier-2 or Tier-3 city who wants to start a business but feels resources and networks are out of reach?<\/p>\n
The best part is that today\u2019s youngsters, even in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, have access to the best resources and technology in 2025. The challenge is not the lack of opportunities\u2014it\u2019s about knowing how to reach them.<\/p>\n
First, have the zeal to start and solve a problem. Focus on building your team first; funding will often follow once you have a solid idea and a committed team.<\/p>\n
Both the Indian government and private finance companies are actively supporting startups, and initiatives like Foxhog provide interest-free debt and equity funding. So for young entrepreneurs, this isn\u2019t a barrier\u2014it\u2019s a huge opportunity waiting to be seized.<\/p>\n
Your \u201cVC for Villages\u201d model is very different from traditional venture capital. What gaps in the rural economy are you trying to solve through this, and how scalable do you think such a model really is?<\/p>\n
The challenge is often invisible simply because no one has thought of it. If a VC can provide funding on an equity basis, why not on a revenue-sharing basis?<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not just talking\u2014we\u2019re doing it in over 150 villages. Through our CSP Centres, we provide financing using a revenue-sharing model, reaching farmers, shopkeepers, and rural entrepreneurs directly. While governance in this space is still developing, we believe that as more players enter, this approach could become a game-changer for rural India, significantly boosting the rural economy and complementing government efforts.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Megha Chaturvedi<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Sep 8, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Becoming an entrepreneur isn\u2019t about a job title, it\u2019s about a relentless pursuit of ambition, purpose, and problem-solving.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[28,158,37520,90587,90583,90588,90582,10196,90584,90586,90585,164],"class_list":{"0":"post-146130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-entrepreneurship","10":"tag-farmers","11":"tag-foxhog","12":"tag-interest-free-loans","13":"tag-revenue-sharing-financing","14":"tag-rural-india","15":"tag-small-businesses","16":"tag-startup-lessons","17":"tag-tarun-poddar","18":"tag-vc-for-villages","19":"tag-venture-capital"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}