Anurag Choudhary

Kaun Banega CTO?! Shocking insights via The Mint - Highly valued Indian startups are opting out of hiring new executives at exuberant packages to lead tech innovation. This comes when a persisting funding downturn has pushed them to put a lid on hiring and venturing into new growth verticals to control cash burn. - Several new-age companies, including Zomato and Healthify, that have relied on tech to drive disruption are now opting out of hiring replacements for the once-prized C-suite role. - Companies retaining their high-cost CTOs are pushing them to take on additional roles such as “IT management, product oversight, or broader organisational responsibilities", it said. Why? “Over the last year or so, there’s been a lot of focus on profitability and making the business viable. We are now emphasising the right mix of talent and cost, and honestly, titles don’t matter," Mota Moti: It seems the “overpaid, over-hyped, over-marketed, overvalued” CTO is coming back to becoming just another #dhandhekibaat row item :)) If you have views, please share?! My view: if you are a promoter that doesn't know Tech, then this is not an option. Article link in comments!

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Buffet or A La Carte? Subscription vs One-Time Sales. If you create the most successful game in the world, such as Call of Duty, and generate 30 Billion USD revenues (2.4 LAC Crores) (from 2003), you will keep what's worked for you. At least you and me. But life and business are ALWAYS about disruption. Microsoft - the new owner of the Call of Duty (COD) game, is fixing what isn't broken. They are offering the new COD release as a SUBSCRIPTION and an individual sale. What's the big deal? Microsoft's Xbox service, Game Pass, costs $9.99 to $16.99 a month and provides access to hundreds of games from Microsoft and dozens of other companies. Call of Duty has released new editions annually for around $70 each in recent years. (25 million copies sold per edition) What's the Big Fuss? Microsoft could lose (25 million * $45 = 1 BILLION ) revenue if everyone bought subscriptions. But Microsoft doesn't care. It has adopted this model to grow its subscription base instead of bothering with one-time sales. Who gets affected? STAND ALONE independent studios that release Big Hits now have to compete in a market where the biggest game in the world is available as a subscription. This isn't helping them financially. What's the lesson? Big Tech WILL eat the Software trade for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and High Tea. If you are a standalone sandwich, vada pao, or samosa, you should become part of the Big Tech Buffet instead of trying to sell your little savoury. (message- sell to them and retire). Mota Moti - Traditional Niche Business models have no meaning when large corporations enter those businesses. They think long-long-long term vs medium or short term. Your takeaway? #Dhandhekibaat Link to WSJ article in comment.

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2021: Only grocery delivery app in India with 10 minutes delivery 2024: Competitor chasing the '10 minute' brand segment Zepto is the only player sticking to its original promise - and is clearly acing it Scaling up a grocery delivery business is particularly challenging in India. And adding up a unique attribute, as huge as this –  has clearly been game changing for Zepto. Success didn’t come easy to Zepto too, There was a time when all the Q-commerce players faced backlash & people questioned the safety of drivers. Some brands stopped claiming the delivery time altogether, from “groceries in 15-30 minutes”, they went to “groceries in minutes” But Zepto didn’t, it went on to install a myriad of dark stores across locations, and is already serving superfast deliveries in 10 cities. Top 3 factors that helped Zepto drive exceptional growth over a very short span of time: - Captivating Customer Experience: The platform served a deeply engaging user experience and the service promise was being consistently fulfilled – a powerful combo. - Outstanding Retention: All thanks to near-perfect buying journey, Zepto achieved a retention rate which was considered only to be a fantasy for the industry earlier. - Not slowing down: More dark stores and continuous geographical expansion at the same time helped the startup acquire customers in huge numbers. Zepto cracked the key to scale in the quick commerce space by constantly growing at the same pace, and not compromising customer satisfaction at the same time – simple yet not easy. A perfect example of go big, go fast – it is surely a fascinating study for the space creators. No matter the circumstances, the brand didn’t let go of its biggest differentiator, eliminating all the question marks experts had put to its launch. What do you think is going to be the future of grocery delivery space in India? #casestudy #growth #startup

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If you are building in Gaming or remotely interested in understanding the Indian gaming Industry, my colleagues Marmik Mankodi and Nachammai Savithiri R's reports give an amazing ELI5 and frameworks for thinking about how to build in India! Reports like these are a great way for anyone to get up to speed with whats new in the gaming industry.

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Q-Commerce overtaking traditional e-commerce? Currently we are seeing a big boom in terms of the different SKUs being sold in Quick commerce apps like Zepto, Blinkit, etc. - Atomberg Technologies 's fans - Sony's PS5 - Samosa, Chai and what not - Digital Gold from Jar! Zepto is in talks to raise $300m for its broader ecommerce play. While Swiggy is preparing to file for an IPO this year, incumbent Flipkart is readying its entry into quick commerce. Zomato has invested $240 million in Blinkit over the last one year. Taking a step back, the lines between quick commerce and traditional e commerce have started to become increasingly blurred with QCom pretty much catering to every needs! Also, multiple reports suggest that QCommerce can potentially become bigger than traditional e commerce in India!  Case in point : According to Goldman Sachs, the valuation of Blinkit is greater than Zomato's core food delivery biz! Non-grocery boom in Q-Commerce: Categories including beauty, toys, health and electronics are witnessing robust sales growth on quick-commerce platforms overall. While the overall base for the new categories is still small, aggressive expansion by these players is starting to ensure a dominant presence for these categories. Plus AOV is higher which also comes with better margins, making it a win-win! Case in point: Zepto - 2x sales MoM in segments such as toys and electronics accessories - Beauty category expanded 3x QoQ - ~15% of Zepto’s $1.2bn annualised gross sales currently comes from non-grocery products (Source: Goldman Sachs) For several D2C quick commerce has become the fastest growth channel as well as the platform with highest customer engagement This is definitely a positive for the consumers and the Q-Commerce players, but is everything on the up and up?   As the demand for space on quick-commerce platforms skyrockets, niche D2C cos in segments like FMCG, beauty and personal care, and health and fitness are agreeing to pay a 30-45% commission on sales, besides shelling out on advertising and discounting on these Q-Com platforms. On top of the commissions, brands are also regularly spending around 20% of their total sales on ads on the platforms, and discounting their products by about 20-25% (totaling 60-70% revenue!). This is in stark contrast to the 10-20% commission that large FMCG cos pay these platforms reflecting the intense competition for visibility. The brand's scale and comparison with competitors are crucial considerations when it comes to new listings. On the positive side, smaller D2C brands have seen 40-60% total revenue coming from Q-Commerce compared to ~10-20% from traditional ecommerce, which is surprising! Essentially, Q-com currently has a BIIIG Bargaining power against new D2C brands and can essentially make or break their businesses! Is this sustainable on the long run? #ecommerce #quickcommerce #india #zepto #businessmodel #d2c #startups #LIPostingChallenge

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What I've learned from past 5 years is that, when it comes to Consumer Tech/Media or Content businesses, India cannot be compared to China. I remember when I was building in Ed-Tech, there was this constant comparison with China, which I think people have stopped doing now, & rightly/thankfully so. We have been building a Mixed-reality (AR/VR) Live-Streaming platform for Emerging markets (wherever mobile-first gaming is prevalent), i.e. for SEA, MENA, Lat-Am (bit of US) regions to help gamers/streamers create creative &/or anonymous livestreams. &, While I'm talking to more people across SEA & MENA regions, I'm starting to realise that there are certain factions in India which behave similar to say Indonesia & certain factions which behave similar to say Egypt. But, the interesting fact is that Indonesia, which has a population of 1/6th of India, has an overall live streaming intent of 3x of India (in absolute numbers). Another, important point to note is that half of the overall intent towards live-streaming in Indonesia is geared towards wanting to livestream on TikTok Live, which is banned in India. &, Yes! for those who didn’t know, TikTok launched its Live Studio towards end of last year & we are now starting to see almost 250k monthly average searches for "How to go live on TikTok?" in Indonesia only. We believe that this is just the beginning & mobile games/mid-core/casual game streaming is going to be huge, perhaps larger than Twitch at some point! How will the rest of story play out? Whether India will become a standalone live-streaming market or the approach needs to be global first? I think the market will have to execute & observe!

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Co-lead a workshop (with Sumathi my business partner and Komal lath of Tute Consult) on branding and communication and why/how its' strategic & important for the portfolio companies of an early stage growth focused PE fund in Mumbai this noon. very interactive session. lots of takeaways. one of the biggest benefits of doing such workshops with founders and CXOs of growth companies is that you get to first hand understand their pain points and priorities. which makes you realize there is a long road ahead laden with great opportunity for those in PR & comms if we take off our hats and look at it from their perspective.

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Snapdeal's Downfall: A Cautionary Tale 🤯 Once a fierce competitor to Flipkart, Snapdeal's wait n wathc and unwillingness to sell led to its near-demise. 🔻 Despite having a solid product offering, Snapdeal's refusal to adapt and embrace the offers of a buyout let the valuations down. A stark reminder that in the fast-paced world of business, flexibility is key to staying ahead of the curve. 💪 #EcommerceInsights #StartupLessons #BusinessStrategy #10croreclub

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Sunday reads: Just listened to a podcast between Naval and Kapil Gupta. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/dTgMYhg2 It offers a deep, introspective dive into the concept of prescriptions and how they impact human behavior, success, and inner peace. Highly recommend giving it a listen! 💡 At its core, their discussion challenges the widely accepted notion that success and personal growth can be achieved by following step-by-step instructions or “how-tos.” Instead, they argue that prescriptions often become the very obstacles to success, particularly in creative, spiritual, or high-performance domains. The Limitations of Prescriptions: While prescriptions are useful in mechanical tasks (e.g., driving a car), they fall short in realms like spirituality, business, and personal enlightenment. ✨ Prescriptions become intermediaries that hinder progress, creating an endless loop of striving to meet standards rather than fostering true growth or self-discovery. ✨ The Myth of Emulating Success: They challenge the idea that one can achieve mastery by mimicking others. Naval highlights how biographies of great leaders like Steve Jobs may inspire, but cannot turn readers into Steve Jobs. ✨ Success at the highest levels requires one to forge their own path, beyond the guidance of coaches or “how-to” formulas. ✨ The Trap of Seeking Solutions: People often search for solutions without understanding the problem itself. Anxiety, for example, can’t be “solved” by external fixes—it must be deeply understood. ✨ A solution to any problem lies within the problem itself, not in prescriptions that treat the symptoms. ✨ The Power of Truth and Environment: Exposure to truth reshapes a person. Constant exposure to the truth rewires the brain and leads to a more profound transformation, often without the need for active effort. ✨This is a sharp contrast to the practice-driven mentality of seeking solutions through work or repetition. “You become what you are most exposed to.” ✨ 🌱 Freedom from the Mind: Real freedom comes from being free of the mind’s games. As long as the mind engages in its games of seeking validation or progress, one remains trapped. ✨ True freedom comes from understanding the mind, not fighting it. ✨ The Illusion of Progress: The conversation touches on how people often chase the feeling of progress as a form of pleasure. But seeking pleasure through improvement is just another trap of the mind. ✨ Freedom is beyond progress—it’s about reaching a point where problems are truly solved, not endlessly managed. ✨ Seek truth over method, and embrace the uncomfortable reality that true growth cannot be prescribed. -🌟 Instead, it comes from self-exploration, deep understanding, and ultimately, freeing oneself from the mind’s constraints. This approach, while counterintuitive and difficult to grasp, holds the promise of real freedom—both internally and externally.

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Push notifications have become an integral part of a marketer’s arsenal in recent times. Here are 14 interesting push notification statistics and facts that you need to know: 1. The subscription rate of #pushnotifications ranges from 0.5% to 15%, depending on the device and industry. Presently, the financial sector enjoys the highest opt-in rate. 2. While you can run push campaigns on mobile and desktop devices, the former sees a higher percentage of subscriptions (~60%), while the latter registers subscriptions at 30%. Tablet users constitute the remaining 10%. 3. Sending push notifications increases app retention rates by 3 to 10 times. 4. Google Chrome is the most popular browser associated with web push notifications, accounting for a whopping 90% of push notification subscribers. For mobile push notifications, Android devices outperform iOS ones in terms of click rate and subscription rate (91.1% for Android vs. 43.9% for iOS). 5. A single push notification to new subscribers during the first week since app installation can boost retention rates by 71% over two months. 6. On average, the click rate of web push notifications stands at 12%, which can be improved to 15% through push notification automation. Sending push notifications with rich media improves this number to 18%. 7. The click rate is observed to be at its highest during the period between the afternoon and 6 p.m. in the evening. Wednesdays and weekends are the preferable days for boosting opening rates. 8. July and December witness the highest subscription rates in a year. 9. Adding actionable CTAs can boost push notification campaign outcomes by over 40%. 10. The eCommerce sector occupies the largest share of sending push notifications amongst all industries (22.03%). It is closely followed by media, blog posts, and publishing (18.79%). 11. The highest push notification delivery rate stood at over 80%, which was for users who had been active in the last 24 hours. 12. Push notifications appear to be outweighing #emailmarketing by delivering better results. When compared, push notification campaigns observe opening rates increase by 50%, click rate by 7 times, and retention rates by 93%. 13. 70% of app users find push notifications to be extremely useful, and for this reason, 53% of these users are willing to share details, such as their location. 14. Promotions (34%) are the most-desired push notification content, while new developments and geo-localized content tie at second with 26% each. Optimize your push notification campaigns with these valuable insights! Follow me for more 😎

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BOULT: Cracking the Personal Audio Market in India Ever wondered how BOULT made its mark in the fiercely competitive audio market already ruled by Boat and Noise? Here's a breakdown of the insights from THINK SCHOOL'S podcast :) --- 1️⃣ TWS Revolution: The game-changer started in 2017 with True Wireless Earbuds (TWS). Thanks to Apple, TWS became the dominant category in personal audio, capturing 55% of the market share. And BOULT rode this wave perfectly. 2️⃣ Pricing Strategy: International brands like Apple and Sony charge ₹5k-₹10k, but BOULT found the sweet spot by offering top-tier quality at an affordable price. Why? Because they understood consumer behavior—people tend to lose their wireless earbuds, so BOULT’s budget-friendly approach made sense. 3️⃣ Sales Channels: E-commerce is where the action is: A massive 70-75% of TWS sales come from platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, making up ₹6,000 Cr of India's personal audio market. D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) is a tough nut to crack: At just 10% of total sales, it’s not as profitable due to high customer acquisition costs (CAC) and slimmer margins. 4️⃣ Profitability Formula: E-commerce becomes profitable once organic sales start rolling in, after the initial marketing push. Offline sales, despite the higher costs, offer better margins and long-term stability because of the emotional connection with customers. D2C serves the brand recall purpose, not immediate profits. 5️⃣ Cost Breakdown: Marketing costs in D2C can be as high as 50% in the beginning. On the other hand, e-commerce marketing costs stabilize as the brand grows. Offline channels demand a higher team cost and operational overhead, but in return, they build brand loyalty and long-term trust. --- Takeaway: BOULT succeeded by offering affordable quality, embracing multi-channel sales, and truly understanding India's price-sensitive yet quality-conscious audience. They didn't just play the game; they changed the rules. --- So, what do you think about the future of personal audio in India? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! So, if you found this post insightful, make sure to give it a thumbs up. This is Aishwarya, Signing off!! #ecommerce #stratergy

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These days, it's pretty easy to go viral. But keeping that fame for 5-7 years? That's the hard part. And that's when you really start making money. In a recent chat with Amit Tandon , we talked about how going viral and making money are two very different things. Making money from a viral video is a whole other game. It's not just about one hit; it's about keeping people interested and building a loyal following over time. A great example of someone who has done this well is Bhuvan Bam. He went from viral videos to a long-term, successful career. Check out this video to learn more about the difference between going viral and making money, and how to make it work for you.

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10 Indian astrology startups raised $16 million in 2021 – a 3x increase compared to the previous 5 years. And investments have continued to grow, with Astrotalk raising $20 million this year. Currently, India’s astrology market is estimated at $102 million and is expected to grow 10x by FY30. But what's driving this sudden popularity? Astrology has always been an integral part of Hindu culture. And while our parents' generation often believed in astrology discreetly, Gen Z has regained their trust in astrology and are embracing it openly – owing to social media and the digitisation of information. Astrology apps have effectively tapped into this phenomenon, regardless of whether it "works" or not. Interestingly though, the more the world becomes technical, the more we seem to be going back to our roots. #startup #genz #astrology #india

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Did you brush today? Enter: The GRAND opportunity of BASIC BUSINESS While the world fights over AI, cloud, food delivery and Loss-Making startups, solid operators like Colgate Palmolive are killing it with what they know best—Conquering Basic Business! The Colgate India CEO reveals, "50% of people don't brush daily in Indian villages and just 20% brush twice daily in the cities." Data Point: In India, oral care consumption is low, and even markets such as the Philippines consume 1.8 times and Brazil 3.1 times more than India. The strategy of Colgate? Educate and Sell "If we are doing enough to convince people of the importance of oral care, then the category will grow. And moments where we take our foot off that pedal, the category tends to grow relatively softer," Narasimhan said. "As the category leader grows in double-digits, the category growth also picks up." Learnings? There is BIG business in things that don't impress. I know many folks who have made it BIG, selling Chaddi, Chappal, Baniyan, Taalpatri, and the like. The challenge is to tame business shame :) - Markets like India HAVE 'never bought before' consumer categories. That's like finding a Snow Leopard on Juhu Beach. India IS a market that will never be done. - If you can't get into this business, BUY the Companies that do :) This is why Stock Investing is the ULTIMATE dhandha :) Quiz: Do you know any more categories like toothpaste that have a significant upside in India? #Dhandhekibaat Via the ET - Link in the comments

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{New pod 🎤} "𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐒-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁2𝐁 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬" This episode explores GTM strategies and learnings for US-India B2B SaaS startups. We cover everything from finding design partners in the US, scoping MVPs, figuring out what ICP to focus on, navigating the unique challenges of early PMF, GTM hiring in the US, and finally, working towards creating M&A exit options. Joining me for this discussion is Satya Ganni, an experienced SaaS founder and operator who has successfully built and sold five companies and led two acquisitions as a buyer. He is currently serving as CEO of Beamer and Userflow. Beamer is developing a cutting-edge product-led growth toolkit tailored to product leaders at SaaS and digital-first companies. They recently acquired Userflow to augment the business. TIME STAMPS: (01:15) Satya’s journey as a repeat US-India SaaS founder and operator (04:38) [Case Study: 0-to-1] Finding US design partners (11:09) Scoping B2B SaaS MVPs (15:42) [Case Study: $10k-100k ARR] Identifying which ICP to focus on - SMB vs mid-market vs enterprise (22:23) [Case Study: $100k-$1Mn ARR] Navigating the unique challenges of early PMF (27:18) [Case Study: $1-5Mn ARR] Building a US leadership team post-PMF (34:33) [Case Study: $5-20Mn ARR] Working towards creating M&A exit options  (38:46) Learning to become a proactive relationship builder YouTube - https://lnkd.in/guGQeBwA Spotify - https://lnkd.in/gAg7XeF4 Apple Podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gkYEDpED An Operator's Blog - https://lnkd.in/ggGbzSKY

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Watching someone struggle with something you've built is both humbling and enlightening. When Prashant and I introduced the initial version of prd2proto.ai, we thought we were onto something. Upload a PRD and boom—your prototype is ready! Made sense, right? After all, it's in the name. But as we sat down with our early access users, we noticed a sharp edge: many didn't have a PRD ready or found it a hassle to create one in another tool just to use our app. They dropped off, and we felt that sting. Garry Tan captures this perfectly: "When you make software, you have to watch at least 10 people use it. Sit next to them and say absolutely nothing... WATCH USERS AND CRINGE AND THEN FIX IT. SAND DOWN THE EDGES." We listened, we cringed, and we learned. Today, we're excited to share that we've updated prd2proto.ai with a chat interface! Now, you can talk through your ideas—think of it as a product assistant right inside the app. No barriers, no prerequisites - just a seamless way to bring your vision to life. Check out the video below to see what's changed. We've been holding off on opening prd2proto.ai to more people until we got this right. Now that we have, more invites are heading out this week! A huge thank you to everyone who's been patiently waiting on our waitlist. And if you want to be part of this journey and help shape how the product evolves, sign up here for early access: https://prd2proto.ai/ #ProductDesign #BuildInPublic #StartupJourney

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The way we view creators at 456 Growth Talent might stir up some controversy—or it might just reflect how most agency owners think—but here’s the truth: We see our creators like public stocks. Every creator has their IPO. 📈 Every one of them experiences gains and losses. 📉 At 456 Growth Talent and 456 Growth Media, we track Month-over-Month (MoM) and Annual revenue numbers by creator. We’re constantly analyzing the costs tied to managing our talent and the overall value of their partnerships and creator activity. But what is value in today’s influencer landscape? It’s not always easy to define. As a performance and data-driven agency, we prioritize creators who meet the following criteria: - Drive engagement   - Convert impressions into traffic (whether externally or via social commerce)   - Sell through creativity (copy and content)   - Drive an action (Link click, email sign-up, comment, add to cart) - Are relatable and align with key product categories For us, performance metrics come first. A creator's ability to deliver measurable results is paramount. Sure, being "brand-able" is important, but it’s secondary to performance. Hidden value is what drives our success. Think of it like finding a $2,000 vintage jacket for $200 in a thrift store—you’ve got to know what you’re looking for. Value can change shape and direction in an instant.   Velocity can pick up.   Quantity can trump quality, and sometimes quality trumps quantity. As a management company, we focus on the controllable and actionable. While it’s cool to be “cool,” for creators, the real driver is the $$$. Take one of our talent clients, let’s call her Creator X. In 2024, her contract value looked like this: - $20,000 in total contract value (Jan-Dec 2024)   - 49 Partnerships (Paid and Affiliate)   - Her stock value? 0.06 cents per share. And then came TikTok Shop, and the lion roared from the cage. 🦁 Now?   - $400K-$600K GMV per month   - 20%-30% commission on affiliate sales   - $80K-$100K per month in her pocket   - $1.2M-$1.5M annual Creator Commission The lesson? Don’t give up on relationships. Find the value, define the value, and mine the value. 🔍 #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #SocialCommerce #PerformanceMarketing

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Buying gold / silver coins on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Trithiya come under low frequency - low complexity purchase category. It is a seasonal product bought generally during specific occasions. Zepto Blinkit Swiggy lapped up this opportunity and started selling this with the benefit of quick delivery. No wonder the sales picked up quite well. I wonder how much would it have impacted the sales of larger eComm players. Sales trends from swiggy is already out. I am sure the trend will be similar for Zepto - Aadit Palicha and Blinkit - Albinder Dhindsa I detailed out this approach and more in my notes - https://lnkd.in/gBmvVKy2

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