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When Preparation meets Serendipity: How a Mumbai-based founder turned a cafe encounter into a pitch
Mumbai founder Yash Gawde turned a chance cafe encounter with Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath into opportunity, handing over a handwritten pitch-note about his startup, BeHooked, sparking admiration on LinkedIn.
Without a business card on hand, he tore a page from his diary and scribbled a handwritten pitch-note, introducing himself and his video AI startup.
For Mumbai-based entrepreneur Yash Gawde, a casual coffee meeting at Bandra’s Subko Cafe turned into a masterclass in founder hustle when he unexpectedly crossed paths with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.
Gawde, who runs the early-stage venture BeHooked, was deep in conversation with venture capitalist acquaintance Aakash Sood, dissecting the art of pitching, when Kamath walked in with a group and settled into a private room nearby.
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Starstruck but urged on by Sood, Gawde decided not to let the moment slip. Without a business card on hand, he tore a page from his diary and scribbled a handwritten pitch-note, introducing himself and his video AI startup.
“Hi Nikhil, Big Fan and Huge Respect for what you have built and achieved. I am Yash Gawde, an early stage founder building in Video AI space. I built an AI agent that turns your ideas into social media ready videos…”
Instead of interrupting Kamath directly, Gawde asked the cafe staff to deliver it discreetly. The gamble paid off in its own way, Kamath acknowledged the gesture with a smile and a wave.
For Gawde, that fleeting two-second interaction was a validation of taking chances. “That 2-second wave made the entire day worth it,” he wrote on LinkedIn, sharing the story and the note. The post quickly gained traction, with commenters applauding his boldness. Some called it “luck meeting preparation”, while others saw it as an “inspiring example of turning a moment into opportunity".
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