How I Became...

Naman Budhdeo, General Partner at Antler, shares his entrepreneurial journey and startup success. Growing up around two entrepreneurs, Naman was inspired to become an entrepreneur himself. His first four businesses were in the travel space, where he identified gaps in the market and built innovative solutions. 

He has had a fascinating journey, from founding and exiting 3 travel technology businesses, including Flight Network and TripStack. FlightNetwork.com is one of Canada's largest online travel agencies with teams of over 600 people in 7 offices using technology and a superior online user experience to generate over $1B in sales a year to millions of customers. His business was named one of Canada's Fastest Growing Companies by PROFIT Magazine 6 consecutive years from 2009 to 2015.

TripStack, just as impressive, a growing B2B Travel Technology company whose vision is to change the way millions of people travel. In 2019, TripStack and FlightNetwork were acquired by Swedish based Etraveli (owned by CVC Capital Equity Partners). And Naman then took a leap to Antler.  

Naman has been a member of YPO for 9 years, a finalist for EYs Entrepreneur of the year in 2009 and 2010, one of Canada's top leaders in the Top 40 under 40, and the impressive accolades go on. But, instead, I want to jump into our conversation Naman, let’s start at the beginning. What made you interested in entrepreneurship. 

In this episode, Naman reflects on the challenges and proud moments of building and growing his businesses, emphasizing the importance of building a strong team and surrounding himself with people who knew more than he did. He also discusses the decision to bootstrap his companies and the considerations for founders when deciding whether to seek venture capital funding. 

We discusses the challenges of scaling a business, making difficult decisions, and the importance of education. Naman also talks about his involvement in a family foundation and the impact of AI on the startup ecosystem. He emphasizes the importance of people-first investing and dispels the myths of founder market fit and the need for a technical founder.

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