Is conviction something you build with evidence; or something you feel before the evidence arrives?

Because at the earliest stage of a company's life, there's nothing to measure. No traction, no revenue curve, no product-market fit to validate. There's only a founder, an idea, and a decision that has to be made anyway.

But that raises a deeper question- if there's nothing to point to, what exactly are you underwriting?

This episode exists to interrogate that.

Through Ishaan Khosla and Huddle Ventures, we wanted to move past the polished stage-by-stage playbook and get closer to the decision itself. Not what a founder eventually becomes, but how you build belief in them before anyone else does.

At SIG Tattva, this is a question we constantly sit with; from the opposite end. Huddle writes the first institutional cheque, entering at zero-to-one where belief has to do the work data usually does. We come in after validation, when the question is no longer "will this work" but "will this scale inside a live business." Two philosophies that look like opposites. Harsha calls it Batman versus Joker.

Which is why this conversation leans into uncomfortable territory.

If you back a concept on paper, then execution capability; not pedigree, not narrative, becomes the only thing worth underwriting. If the future belongs to smaller, focused funds, then attention, not capital, becomes the real edge. And if conviction is the job, then the hardest discipline isn't finding deals, it's staying high-conviction instead of spraying and praying.

But that's where the friction lies.

Because conviction forces trade-offs. It forces you to separate genuine belief from your own bias. And in a market that rewards activity, saying no is often the hardest thing to do.

So this episode stays inside that contradiction-

Between belief and evidence. Between speed and scrutiny. Between the founder's freedom and the investor's involvement.

If you're building or backing early, don't just ask: "Is this a good idea?"

Ask: "Would I still believe in it if no one else did yet?"

Because conviction that only survives with company isn't conviction; it's consensus.

Chapters -

00:00 – Intro & Welcome

05:51 – What Is Huddle: The First-Cheque Philosophy

13:36 – Batman vs Joker: Why Opposite Philosophies Are Complementary

19:22 – Founders & Strategic Capital: Freedom, Control & Trust

23:11 – Building Conviction on a Concept: Evaluating Pre-Seed

30:56 – The Huddle Name, the Advisor Network & the Anti-Portfolio

38:41 – Small Funds, Narrative & Grooming Founders

48:45 – Tattva's Lens: Strategic Value & Patient Capital

55:03 – Hot Takes: Consumer AI, Deep Tech & "Unsexy Is Sexy"

Hosted by Shashvat Somany and Sriharsha Bandaluppi

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