Episode 5 - Rahul Subramaniam on Moving from America to India, and Managing Multiple Companies

Rahul Subramaniam is living the Indian dream! After growing up in America, Rahul moved to India about a decade ago. Rahul has started two companies in India — Athena Education, that mentors students for college abroad, and Florence Capital, a microcredit service for women in India. Rahul is passionate about the Indian growth story and has worked extensively to understand the education and fintech landscapes in India. In this episode, he discusses what shaped his decision to move to India, and how he he manages two companies side by side.

0:55 What made Rahul move to India from the U.S.
4:40 How traveling impacted Rahul's life
8:00 What India can learn from China
11:00 Starting Athena Education
18:30 Athena as a Venture Opportunity
21:20 About Athena’s Growth
26:50 Operational Challenges at a Startup
33:15 How to Spot Smart Students
36:50 Florence Capital
41:00 How Florence became an Organization for Women
44:30 Differences between Florence and Athena
47:30 Bootstrapping Florence
50:20 Florence in the next five years
52:10 Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs