OM DENNE EPISODE
He sold his first company to Google and his second to Okta — then walked away to build a third from scratch.
In Episode 1 of The Catapult Code by Qapita, Jay Srinivasan (CEO, Stitchflow) joins host Ravi Ravulaparthi (CEO, Qapita) and Brendan Marshall (Advisor, Qapita) to unpack what really happens inside the 0-to-1 journey — the part most founders romanticize and almost nobody explains honestly.
From pricing virtual cows at Zynga to two Silicon Valley exits, to now building from India, Jay breaks down why there's "no secret sauce," how he picks which problem to solve, what real product-market fit looks like, how to choose (and part ways with) a co-founder, when to sell, and why he just pivoted his entire company using AI agents.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
(0:00) - There is no secret sauce. It's luck every time.
(1:06) - Meet Jay Srinivasan: the 3X founder
(1:36) - From IIT to a PhD to McKinsey
(2:45) - "Corona on the beach": quitting consulting
(4:30) - Zynga, Farmville & the price of virtual cows
(5:02) - Selling to Google & Okta — the pull of 0-to-1
(6:32) - Is there an algorithm for picking the next problem?
(8:20) - The atSpoke method: mining billion-dollar markets
(11:22) - What "getting to one" really means (real PMF)
(14:38) - The 0-to-1 playbook: launch fast, assume you'll fail
(16:33) - "Thrashing" vs. conviction: reading signals earlier
(18:34) - The toughest decisions are always about people
(20:16) - How to choose a co-founder
(23:57) - The one filter: can you fight and not hold a grudge?
(24:09) - Cap tables & parting ways with co-founders
(25:31) - When to sell: local maxima vs. global maxima
(27:35) - Why the Google exit was a "global max"
(30:16) - Strong opinions, loosely held: his framework
(31:05) - Building teams & the trait he hires for
(33:56) - Screening for defensiveness & radical candor
(40:36) - "There can only be one CEO": the tiebreaker rule
(43:23) - The Stitchflow story: solving SaaS sprawl
(46:39) - When Claude Code changed everything: the AI pivot
(52:38) - Choosing investors & "nobody cares — figure it out"
(1:04:00) - Building in India: culture, deadlines & whole selves
(1:09:34) - Risk tolerance & why Indian talent stays
(1:12:24) - Talent density vs. "polish" vs. the Valley
(1:14:17) - The pitch: agent amplification of founder-led marketing
(1:17:35) - Closing thoughts
📌 ABOUT THE GUEST
Jay Srinivasan is a 3X founder and CEO of Stitchflow. He previously founded Appurify (acquired by Google, folded into Firebase Test Lab) and atSpoke (acquired by Okta, where he led Okta Identity Governance). An IIT Madras grad with a PhD in Computer Science, his earlier stops include McKinsey and Zynga. He's now building his third company — with a team in India.
🎙️ ABOUT THE CATAPULT CODE
A podcast for builders navigating the turbulence between current traction and the next orbit — founders and leaders serious about building enduring companies. From the Indus Valley to Silicon Valley, it brings voices from founders and operators who've built across India and the US.
Hosted by Ravi Ravulaparthi (Co-founder & CEO, Qapita — 17 years alongside high-growth founders, now managing equity for 2,700+ companies, including half of India's unicorns) and Brendan Marshall (serial founder, investor, and operator from Silicon Valley who has backed hundreds of startups).
🏢 ABOUT QAPITA
Qapita is a global private markets infrastructure platform for equity management, fund administration, and liquidity — helping founders, employees, and investors unlock the power of ownership. From cap tables and stock option administration to valuations, fund management, and structured liquidity, it's all on one audit-ready platform, trusted by companies across the US, India, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
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YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkM1O_TwfK4
🔗 https://www.qapita.com | LinkedIn: Qapita
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