<p>Martin Escobari is the co-president of General Atlantic, one of the largest growth equity funds in the world, and he says entrepreneurs and gangsters have more in common than we admit — so few make it, so many die early, and the ones that survive are almost always wounded in some specific way. He grew up in Bolivia in the 80s through 35,000% inflation, eleven presidents in ten years, and three coups; his family lost everything in a revolution; and he now believes America is converging towards the volatility he escaped, not the other way around. I brought in Arian, a 21-year-old founder who cold emailed Sam Altman from India, and asked Martin to allocate $100 billion across three industries with a blank slate today — AI, healthcare, energy transition, and the rise of the new consumer in the global south. We got into why India hasn't produced a truly global company, why four out of seven frauds in General Atlantic's entire history happened here, why the next generation of Indian founders has to build without shortcuts, and why fiction makes better investors than non-fiction. The most interesting two hours I've spent at a dinner table this year.</p><p><br></p><p>Timestamp:</p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>05:14 Engineering a happy life</p><p>08:22 Surviving Bolivia's hyperinflation</p><p>12:19 Trauma as the engine behind every entrepreneur</p><p>20:17 Built-for-turbulence companies and spear fishing the storm</p><p>25:31 Is America still worth the journey, and what is wealth for</p><p>31:00 Capitalism, communism, and learning to think critically</p><p>37:19 Submarino, the IPO crash, and the India that almost was</p><p>43:02 Aryan's story: cold-emailing Sam Altman from Mumbai</p><p>51:18 The four mega-trends and where to put 100 billion</p><p>1:01:53 Why India has never built a global company</p><p>1:10:25 How General Atlantic is built: perpetual capital and pooled bets</p><p>1:16:14 Manifestation, the 8-second rule, and the checklist for great companies</p><p>1:24:23 Failure, dead ends, and the courage to change your mind</p><p>1:28:36 The venture-to-IPO value chain, monopolies, and young revolutionaries</p><p><br></p><p>#nikhilkamath Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas</p><p>Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast</p><ul><li>Twitter: <a href="https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">x.com/nikhilkamathcio</a></li><li>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio</a></li><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio</a></li><li>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>#MartinEscobari — Co-President and Head of Global Growth Equity at General Atlantic</p><ul><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mart%C3%ADn-escobari-6a713b/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">linkedin.com/in/martin-escobari</a></li><li>Twitter: <a href="https://x.com/MartinEscobari?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">x.com/MartinEscobari</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify</p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Spotify Link</a></p><p><br></p><p>Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify</p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Spotify Link</a></p><p><br></p><p>Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify</p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Spotify Link</a></p><p><br></p><p>#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline</p>