The Role Of Trust

What I Look for Before I Invest In A Business Having sat on both sides of the table, as a founder seeking funds and as an angel investor (and Shark 🦈) deploying funds: I’ve realized that when I invest in a startup, I’m evaluating far more than just the pitch deck numbers. Here’s what I really look for when a founder pitches to me: ☑️ Passion & Resilience: I know, everyone says “I’m passionate,” so how do I gauge it? By the sparkle in their eyes when they talk about their product and the honesty when discussing hurdles. I often ask, “What will you do if things don’t go as planned?” – a well-thought answer here shows me they’re in it for the long haul, not just the glory days. ☑️ Understanding of Customers: You’d be surprised how many pitches focus on market size but gloss over the actual customer. I love hearing a founder say, “I spoke to 100 potential users and here’s what they said.” It shows me they’re grounded and customer-obsessed. If you know your users deeply, you can pivot and iterate intelligently. ☑️ Coachability: No one has all the answers, and that’s okay. I actually appreciate when a founder says “I don’t know” and follows up with “…but I’m eager to learn or get help.” It tells me they’re open to mentorship and collaboration. An investee-investor relationship is like a partnership – I don’t want to just write a check; I want to add value. It’s easiest to help someone who’s receptive to feedback and new ideas. ☑️ Alignment of Values: This one is more intangible, but crucial. I check – does this founder’s ethos align with mine? For example, if a founder is willing to compromise on product safety or ethics for a quick buck, we’re probably not a fit. But if they demonstrate integrity (even in small anecdotes, like how they handled a customer complaint), that builds trust. I invested in one startup mainly because the founder said their first big purchase order was delayed and they chose to be transparent with clients rather than cover it up. That honesty won me over. In short, I invest in the person as much as the business. The right investor-founder fit is like finding a co-founder. So if you’re pitching (to me or anyone), remember: beyond the TAMs and P&Ls, we’re listening for your story, character, and vision. And as always, if you have a pitch that fits my areas (D2C, sustainability, etc.), I’m all ears. What qualities do you value most in a founder or an investor? #Leadership #StartupFunding #AngelInvestor #Entrepreneurship

A fascinating study from researchers at Brown, U-Colorado, and Portland State looked at people who disagreed with the scientific consensus on topics like vaccines and climate change. They weren’t just misinformed. They were convinced they were the most informed. Researchers ran science literacy tests. The people most opposed to expert consensus scored the lowest. The more confident they were, the worse they performed. And it gets worse: The more certain someone was, the less likely they were to change their mind—even when presented with clear facts. Confidence ≠ knowledge. And overconfidence can make correction nearly impossible. So what do we do? If you want to change minds, just dumping facts doesn’t work. They don’t think they need more information—because they believe they already know enough. The real key? Help people recognize what they don’t know. Curiosity is sparked not by more data, but by showing someone a gap in their understanding. When they see the hole, they’re more likely to fill it. The next time you're trying to persuade someone, remember: It's not about proving you're right. It's about helping them realize there's more to learn. That’s when minds start to open.

We digitised banking. Now we need to digitise trust Trust is the cornerstone of finance. As India moved online almost overnight, every institution raced to be part of the transformation. With over a billion internet subscribers, we built at scale. Yet, the vulnerabilities of a nascent digital ecosystem tested people's confidence. The next chapter is not about adoption. It is about building trust and confidence, a far more complex and layered challenge. Trust extends beyond algorithms. It is built on experiences, emotions, narratives and the confidence that the system will protect people when something goes wrong. At the heart of confidence-building lies accountability. There must be absolute clarity on who takes ownership because a system without accountability is a system without trust, regardless of its speed or scale. Recent research on UPI adoption found that perceived trust is one of the strongest predictors of consumers adopting and continuing to use digital payments, alongside ease of use and performance. This insight should matter to every institution operating in India's digital financial ecosystem. The market leaders of tomorrow will be those that pair speed and scale with empathy, transparency and accountability. Ultimately, India's digital financial future will not be measured by how many people use digital platforms but by how confidently they continue to use them. Our responsibility as financial institutions is not only to innovate faster, but to ensure that every innovation strengthens the confidence customers place in us. That is how we will build a truly inclusive and resilient financial ecosystem.

Trust at scale has always been the hardest thing to build in business. Word of mouth was the original mechanism. One person tells another, credibility transfers, trust builds slowly. It worked, but it was a limited mechanism you couldn't control. What's changed today is the infrastructure. Reach, repeated visibility to a large audience, is now one of the most powerful trust-building tools available to any founder or business. I am not saying being seen is the same as being trusted, but trust requires repeated exposure before it forms. The people and businesses that maintain high engagement at scale on their social media are the ones that showed up repeatedly, with a clear point of view, long before the numbers got impressive. Trust is a perception built over time through repeated signals: what you say, what you stand for, what you consistently show up for. Reach accelerates that process. Every post is another data point for your audience to evaluate whether your judgment is worth following. Enough of those data points, delivered consistently, and reach becomes evidence that you are someone worth trusting. The people and businesses who understand this aren't just building audiences. They're building credibility that makes everything else, fundraising, hiring, selling, structurally easier. #rajshamani #figuringout

“The Buffalo Wasn’t Wrong to Run… But Here’s Why You Shouldn’t” 🐃 A buffalo running to escape what seems like an unjust system might feel like a funny story on the surface. But dig deeper, and it reveals a serious mindset among many citizens: the belief that navigating the Indian legal system is too tedious and time-consuming to be worth the effort. Yes, it’s true. The legal process in India might feel daunting. With over a billion people, countless disputes, and an intricate web of laws and rights, the judicial system has a lot on its plate. But here’s what most people overlook: the system works. It’s slow at times, but it’s thorough, reliable, and ensures justice when approached the right way. Why You Should Trust the Indian Judicial System: 1. Upholder of Democracy: The judiciary plays a vital role in maintaining the checks and balances essential to a thriving democracy. Landmark judgments in recent years have upheld the rights and liberties of citizens across all sections of society. 2. Diverse Perspectives, One Law: India’s legal framework accommodates a multitude of religions, cultures, and practices, ensuring justice is accessible to everyone. 3. Judicial Independence: Courts operate independently of political influence, which is a cornerstone of ensuring fair and unbiased judgments. 4. Access to Remedies: From consumer disputes to fundamental rights violations, Indian courts offer mechanisms for nearly every type of grievance. 5. Support for Citizens: Initiatives like Lok Adalats, fast-track courts, and digital filing systems are steps toward expediting justice for those who need it most. The real issue lies not with the courts, but with our perception and approach. With the right legal representative, proper documentation, and patience, justice isn’t just a dream—it’s a reality. A Reminder to all: If a buffalo could misunderstand its place in the system, imagine how many of us, as laypeople, do the same. The key is to educate ourselves, approach issues with clarity, and trust the process. Running away isn’t the solution. Staying, trusting, and following the system is. Let’s change the mindset, one informed step at a time. #LegalMindset #JudiciaryTrust #IndianLaw #JusticeForAll #TrustTheProcess #LegalRights #IndiaJusticeSystem #viralpost

"I don't trust any doctors, even if they're black and I don't believe you" She said it matter-of-factly, adjusting her church hat while I reviewed her EMG. Textbook carpal tunnel the muscles of her hands showing signs of atrophy. It stung different. Because we shared the same skin color. The same history. The same learned distrust of a system that's failed us for generations. Here's what they don't teach you in medical school: Sometimes being a Black doctor means carrying the weight of every Black doctor who came before you. And every white doctor who dismissed, minimized, or misdiagnosed. When Black patients don't trust me, it cuts deeper than professional rejection. It's personal. It's ancestral. It's the echo of Tuskegee, of Henrietta Lacks, of their grandmother who died because "colored folks just complain more." She kept talking. Sharing stories of family members misdiagnosed and mistreated. Each doctor "seemed nice enough" until the complications came. Until the questions were dismissed. Until she became another cautionary tale whispered in beauty shops and church parking lots. The truth about medical distrust in Black communities: • It's not ignorance—it's intelligence • It's not stubbornness—it's survival • It's not irrational—it's learned I wanted to tell her about my degrees. My fellowship. My outcome scores. Instead, I listened. Because trust isn't built on credentials. It's built on patience. On proof. On showing up differently than everyone who came before. "I understand," I told her. "You tell me when you're ready. I'll be here." Some patients, I can convince. I show them my hands—the same color as theirs. Share stories of my own grandmother's medical journey. Build bridges with our shared understanding. But some carry wounds too deep for one doctor to heal. Their distrust is earned through generations of medical trauma. Who am I to demand they risk again? The hardest lesson I've learned: Sometimes letting them go IS the healing. When I stop trying to convince and start trying to understand. When I validate their distrust instead of defending against it. When I give them power in a system that's taken it for too long. Three months later, she came back. We scheduled surgery. Not because I convinced her. But because I didn't try to. To my colleagues: When patients don't trust us—especially when they look like us—it's not failure. It's history. Meet them where they are, not where we wish they were. To every patient carrying generations of medical trauma: Your distrust is valid. Your caution is wisdom. Take your time. Trust, like surgery, can't be rushed. Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is admit that. #MedicalTrust #HealthEquity #PatientCare #BlackDoctors #GenerationalTrauma

Titles may give someone authority, but they don’t automatically earn trust. People decide who they’ll follow based on what they experience every day. They notice who listens when it would be easier to dismiss. They remember who stays steady when things get uncomfortable. They pay attention to whether their leader sees them as people, not just roles, headcount, or performance metrics. Leadership with heart is about understanding people will give more of themselves when they believe the person leading them genuinely cares about their growth, their dignity, and their contribution. This statement from Leadership First offers a timely reminder of what endures long after titles change and roles evolve. In the end, people don’t follow power. They follow trust.

I’m tired of connecting with someone on LinkedIn only to get pitched their product or software within five minutes. Yes, sales matter. But relationships matter more. When the first message is a pitch, it tells me you’re chasing transactions, not building trust. It skips the part where we actually get to know each other. Where we learn if there’s alignment. Where we find out if what you’re offering even solves a real problem. The best partnerships I’ve been part of didn’t start with a cold pitch. They started with a conversation. Ask a question. Learn what matters to me or my team. Offer something helpful before asking for time. It’s not about playing games. It’s about respecting people and earning the right to share what you do. Sales will always be part of business. But if you’re not building relationships, you’re building a house on sand. #SalesWithIntegrity #RelationshipsFirst #LinkedInCommunity #TrustMatters #BusinessDoneRight #CustomerExperience #ListenBeforeYouPitch

Good governance starts on Day One. Too many organisations treat governance as something to be taken seriously only once they are large. In reality the seeds are planted at the very beginning. If shortcuts are taken early, they become habits. When the company grows, those habits grow with it and are far harder to change. At Marico Limited, we made a conscious choice to hold ourselves to high standards even when it slowed us down. Clean books, transparent disclosures, strong internal controls, and a culture of compliance were part of our foundation. It sometimes meant more effort or a delay, but it paid off in trust. The cost of getting caught cutting corners is far higher than the cost of doing things right. Rebuilding credibility can take years. Building it from the start allows you to focus on customers, employees, and growth instead of firefighting. Governance is not a burden. It is an investment in resilience, reputation, and long term success. #leadership #culture #governance #future #success

A Chennai jewelry brand partnered with their biggest rival and became a ₹3983 crore revenue brand. Back in 2007, Mithun Sacheti had a wild idea - sell diamonds online when most Indians wouldn't even buy books on the internet. His family ran Jaipur Gems for decades, but Sacheti wanted something different. He teamed up with tech expert Srinivasa Gopalan and founded CaratLane. The problem? Nobody trusted buying diamonds online. CaratLane's early strategy was smart: → Focused on diamonds over gold for better margins → No physical showroom costs meant attractive discounts → The New York-based investment firm invested ₹284 But by 2015, Sacheti hit a wall. Customers still wanted to touch jewelry before expensive purchases. The try-at-home experiment was too expensive to scale. That's when he made a bold move. He approached Titan Company Limited, the company behind India's most trusted jewelry brand Tanishq. In May 2016, Titan acquired 62% stake in CaratLane for ₹357 crore. Last year, Titan acquired 27.18% shareholding in the startup for INR 4,621 Cr at nearly INR 17,000 Cr valuation. People questioned this decision. Why sell majority control to your biggest competitor? But Sacheti understood what CaratLane desperately needed - instant trust. Building that credibility alone would take decades and money couldn't buy it fast enough. The partnership transformed everything: → Got endorsed as "A Tanishq Partnership" - instant credibility across India → Accessed Titan's operational expertise and cheaper debt → Revenues jumped from ₹141 crore (2016) to ₹3983.11 crore (2024) Today, CaratLane - A TATA Product became Titan's second-largest jewelry brand under Titan. He proved that sometimes partnering with your competitor is the smartest move you can make. The lesson? Strategic partnerships can give you decades of credibility overnight that money alone can't buy. Has a partnership with a competitor ever worked for you?