Distribution · Community · Partnerships

Distribution-first founder.
Operator.

I'm Santosh Panda. Give me any business and I'll find a model to build its distribution, through community and partnerships. Scaled Explara to $11M GTV with zero paid marketing. Now testing new distribution models at a new venture. Based in India; lived and worked across Dubai, Singapore, the UK, Finland and the US.

How I build distribution → Read my essays

Santosh Panda Community × Partners

Since 1998 · Community-led 21+ countries ↓ Scroll

// Numbers that matter

100K+

Events live on Explara, zero paid marketing

$11M

Explara GTV scaled from zero

10K+

Community members across 35+ cities

Startups accelerated - Foundership

Most businesses don't fail on product. They fail on getting it to people. I've spent 25+ years on that problem: two startups, product teams at eBay UK and the BBC iPlayer launch in 2007, a decade across FTSE 100 companies, a bootstrap to $11M, near-death during COVID, and an accelerator across three regions.

My edge is community + partnerships: getting other people to carry your movement, mission, service or product because it's good for them too. At Explara, 100,000+ events went live with zero paid marketing and our first $1M GTV was fully organic; we scaled to $11M GTV across 21+ countries. During COVID, Grittiest grew a founder-for-founder network to 100+ Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. At Foundership, we accelerated 58 startups from 1,500+ applications and built Foundry Club across 35+ cities with 10,000+ members. We closed Foundership in August 2026.

Most recently I took a "founder as operator" role at a fintech payments company, getting operations, growth and partnerships ready to scale. Now I'm testing new distribution models at a new venture.

Got a business where distribution is the bottleneck? Let's talk.

// 02 — Work

Where distribution got built.

Every venture, one thesis: products don't spread on their own. Community and partnerships make them spread.

Active · Now

Helping businesses build distribution.

Founder · Operator

↗

Testing new distribution models at a new venture: community-led and partner-led. More soon.

Community

People who carry the mission

Partnerships

Channels that win when you win

Operator

Hands-on, not from the outside

Founder · 2008

Explara & ExplaraX

↗

India's first DIY event-ticketing platform. 100,000+ events went live with zero paid marketing; first $1M GTV fully organic, then scaled $0 → $11M across 21 countries. Backed by Blume Ventures and dozens of angels. Now ExplaraX, a WhatsApp-first community platform, led by its own team.

Co-founder · 2021 → 2026

Foundership

↗

Emerging-tech accelerator across Dubai, Singapore and India that grew into a Business Studio. Distribution for the portfolio came from community: Foundry Club across 35+ cities, and AI Valley Club for builders shipping AI-first startups. Closed August 2026.

Communities I've built

Distribution, the community way: 10,000+ builders, operators, founders & investors.

Grittiest

Founder-for-founder network across 100+ Tier 2 & 3 cities (2020)

The Foundry Club

Builders, marketers and founders across 35+ cities

AI Valley Club

Community for serious builders shipping AI-first startups

// 03 — Talks & Interviews

On record.

Two decades of conversations on distribution, community-led growth, and the operator's craft.

▸ Now

Distribution, communities & the next decade of building

▶ Keynote/0xCamp

Addressing Web3 Startup Founders at 0xCamp

What founders get wrong about distribution, and how to build for the next cycle, not the last one.

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 ↗

▶ 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 ↗

▶ 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

NASSCOM Product Conclave 2015

Growth Hacking

How Explara grew without paid marketing.

Watch ↗

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

9 more conversations

// What I speak on

→
Community-led growth & distribution
Why distribution is the real moat in the AI era.
→
Partnerships as a growth engine
Building channels that win when you win.
→
Growth with zero paid marketing
How 100,000+ events went live on Explara without ads.
→
Building internet-first companies
25 years of lessons from London to Bengaluru.
→
Founder resilience
What I learned almost losing Explara during COVID.

// 04 — Track record

25+ years, abridged.

2026 → Now

Building distribution

Testing new distribution models at a new venture: community-led and partner-led.

Distribution Community Partnerships
2026

Fintech payments company — founder as operator

Got operations, growth and partnerships ready to scale.

Operator Growth Partnerships Fintech
2021 – 2026

Foundership — co-founder

Accelerator across Dubai, Singapore and India (1,500+ applications, 8 cohorts, 58 startups) that grew into a Business Studio. Built Foundry Club (35+ cities, 10,000+ members) and AI Valley Club. Backed by Blume Ventures, Hiro Mashita, and a strong angel cohort. Closed August 2026.

Foundership Foundry Club AI Valley Club Blume Ventures
2020

Grittiest — founder

During COVID, built a founder-for-founder network for Tier 2 and Tier 3 city founders, reaching 100+ cities. That work became Foundership.

Grittiest Community Bharat founders
2008 — 2020

Explara — co-founder & CEO

Built India's first DIY event SaaS to $11M GTV. 100,000+ events with zero paid marketing. Backed by Blume Ventures and dozens of angels; three rounds across India, Singapore, and the USA. Multi-product evolution: Events, Community, Payments, Crowdfunding. Now ExplaraX, a WhatsApp-first community platform, fully run by its own leadership team.

Explara Blume Ventures Microsoft Accelerator India · SEA · USA
2004 — 2008

UK — FTSE 100 consulting → eBay & BBC iPlayer

Consulted for Vodafone (supply chain across 27 countries), William Hill (betting platform), Allianz (insurance e-commerce), and News International (digital paywall for Times, Sunday Times, Sun). Then product teams at eBay UK and the BBC iPlayer launch in 2007 — a landmark in streaming.

Vodafone William Hill Allianz News International eBay UK BBC iPlayer
1998 — 2004

CoreObjects · Sonata-Terranova

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

CoreObjects Sonata-Terranova

// My network

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

Index

All essays & posts

Read the full archive on Notion.

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Operator-first writing, delivered.

↗

// 06 — Where I'm useful

How I build
distribution.

→ 01

Community as a channel

Turning users, customers and fans into people who carry the mission. Foundry Club across 35+ cities, Grittiest across 100+, and 100,000+ events on Explara without a paid-marketing engine.

→ 02

Partnerships that compound

Finding partners who win when you win, then designing the deal so they keep pushing. Channels, co-marketing, and micro-business partner networks.

→ 03

The distribution model, not the campaign

Pricing, positioning, and the GTM motion that repeats without me in the room. I get inside the machine. I don't advise from the sidelines.

→ 04

The operator's hard calls

New markets, new models, and the timeless question: when to hold versus when to leap.

Give me any business. I'll find a model to build its distribution.

Distribution-first founder. Operator.

Where distribution got built.

Helping businesses build distribution.

Explara & ExplaraX

Foundership

Distribution, the community way: 10,000+ builders, operators, founders & investors.

On record.

Distribution, communities & the next decade of building

Addressing Web3 Startup Founders at 0xCamp

The NEON Fund Show

Web3 Conversation with TRST01

India's Web3 Potential — NASSCOM

The Explara years — India's first DIY event SaaS

9 more conversations

25+ years, abridged.

How I builddistribution.

Community as a channel

Partnerships that compound

The distribution model, not the campaign

The operator's hard calls

Distribution stuck? Let's talk.

Distribution-first founder.
Operator.

How I build
distribution.

Distribution stuck?
Let's talk.