Building Foundership Business Studio · Rebuilding ExplaraX for WhatsApp

Operator. Builder.
Investor.

I'm Santosh Panda — a serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of building, scaling, and investing in technology companies worldwide. India + Lived & Worked in Singapore, UK, Finland and US.

See what I'm building → Read my essays

Santosh Panda FSHQ × EXPL

Since 1998 · Internet-first 14 countries ↓ Scroll

// Numbers that matter

$11M

Explara GTV scaled from zero

Startups backed across 8 cohorts - Foundership

100K+

Global users on Explara

Countries lived & worked in

Two startups. A decade in FTSE 100 companies. Product teams at eBay UK and the BBC iPlayer launch in 2007. A bootstrap to $11M, near-death during COVID, then a rebuild for a new platform.

I bootstrapped & raised VC funding to scale Explara from $0 to $11M in gross transaction revenue, serving over 100K global users. Today, I'm rebuilding Explara/ExplaraX — a WhatsApp-first business platform and co-running Foundership, a full-stack Business Studio that co-builds, operates, and rescales companies.

Before all this, I shipped products at eBay UK, was on the BBC iPlayer launch team in 2007, and consulted for FTSE 100s — Vodafone, William Hill, Allianz, News International. I've lived and worked in the UK, USA, Finland, Singapore, and India.

I only work with founders and CEOs committed to building world-class companies. If that's you, let's talk.

// 02 — Work

What I'm building.

Active ventures. Each one a different lens on the same thesis: distribution and operator depth win.

Active · 2021 →

Foundership

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The Business Studio. We grow revenue, co-build ventures, and enable serious professionals to invest in high-impact businesses. Three studios, one ecosystem.

Explara & ExplaraX

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India's first DIY event registration SaaS, scaled $0 → $11M. Now reborn as ExplaraX — a WhatsApp-first business tool for events, community and commerce.

Communities I've built

10,000+ builders, operators, founders & investors.

AI Valley Club

AI Founder & Builder community

The Foundry Club

Blockchain Founders, operators, investors network

Grittiest

Support initiative for 2nd/3rd-tier city Founders & Startups

// 03 — Talks & Interviews

On record.

Two decades of conversations — Foundership and the next cycle of building, the Explara years, the operator's craft.

▸ Now

Foundership, SaaS, AI, Web3 & the next decade of building

▶ Keynote/0xCamp

Addressing Web3 Startup Founders at 0xCamp

A keynote on what Web3 founders are getting wrong about distribution — and how to build for the next cycle, not the last one.

Watch on YouTube ↗

▶ Conversation/TRST01

Web3 Conversation with TRST01

On Foundership's Web3 thesis, India's regulatory position, and what serious builders should focus on.

Watch on YouTube ↗

▶ Podcast/The NEON Fund Show

The NEON Fund Show

On building Foundership, the accelerator-to-business-studio pivot, and why distribution is the real moat.

Watch on YouTube ↗

▶ Panel/NASSCOM

India's Web3 Potential — NASSCOM

Panel discussion as a contributor to NASSCOM's Web3 Potential report.

Watch on YouTube ↗

▸ Then

The Explara years — India's first DIY event SaaS

National TV · CNBC-TV18

Explara on CNBC-TV18

Explara's growth and India's online ticketing market.

Watch ↗

Founders Speak · Blume

Belonging to Blume Ventures

On bootstrapping, raising, and the founder–investor relationship.

Watch ↗

ET Now

Explara on ET Now

Scaling Explara across India and SEA.

Watch ↗

Young Turks

Microsoft Accelerator

On joining the Microsoft Accelerator program and what it taught us.

Watch ↗

Panel

The Evolution of SaaS in India

India's SaaS journey from 2008 to 2018 — how the ecosystem formed.

Watch ↗

The Startup Operator

Building a Profitable Venture

On reaching profitability without sacrificing growth.

Watch ↗

▸ More

10 more conversations

// What I speak on

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Building internet-first companies

20 years of lessons from London to Bengaluru.
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The Business Studio model

How operators are replacing the accelerator.
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India's SaaS evolution

What we learned, what's next, and where the next $1B companies come from.
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Community-led growth & distribution

Why distribution is the real moat in the AI era.
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Founder resilience

What I learned almost losing Explara during COVID.
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Angel investing for serious professionals

How to invest like a founder, not just an allocator.

// 04 — Track record

28 years, abridged.

2021 → Now

Foundership - Business Studio

From accelerator (1500+ applications, 8 cohorts) to a full-stack business studio. Backed by Blume Ventures, Hiro Mashita, and a strong founder & angel cohort.
2026 → Now

ExplaraX — co-founder

a WhatsApp-first business tool for events, community and commerce.
2008 — 2019

Explara — co-founder & CEO

Bootstrapped India's first DIY event SaaS to $11M GTV. Three rounds raised across India, Singapore, USA. Multi-product evolution: Events, Community, Payments, Crowdfunding.
2006 — 2008

eBay UK · BBC iPlayer launch

Product teams shipping for UK & EU markets. Core team member on the BBC iPlayer launch in 2007 — a landmark in streaming.
2004 — 2012

FTSE 100 consulting

Vodafone (supply chain across 27 countries), William Hill (betting platform), Allianz (insurance e-commerce), News International (digital paywall for Times, Sunday Times, Sun). London & UK.
1998 — 2004

CoreObjects · Sonata-Terranova

EDI platforms, enterprise social tools, content management, and warehouse management — Helsinki, Bangalore, US market. The internet-first foundation.

// My network

3,500 Founders● 2,000 Investors● 250 Angels● 3,500 CXOs● 55,000 Connections● 3,500 Founders● 2,000 Investors● 250 Angels● 3,500 CXOs● 55,000 Connections●

Index

All essays & posts

Read the full archive on Notion.

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Operator-first writing, delivered.

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// 06 — Engagement