Balamurugan Kalia

Story of apna :Job Platform. There is financial engineering, bad idea and senseless funding. What's the worse? After knocking on Hundreds of Investors doors I have realised that our VC ecosystem is dangerous to the Indian Start up bubble. Imagine how the conversation of Apna founder must have gone. Apna: I have this crazy idea. Apna toh life ban Jaayega. VC: Hmm. Tell me. Apna: I want to build LI for blue collar jobs. VC: Okay. But that's not what I wanted to know. What's your background? Studied from where? Where did you work? Apna: I worked at Apple & Intel, completed MBA from Stanford, previously founded Cruxbot (acquired by Kno Inc, Intel) and Incone Technologies (hydropower automation co). VC: That's marvelous. What's market size? Apna: LI has abt 500 million, now considering a world with population of 6 billion 4 billion + are working. So at the very least 2 billion. VC: Oh that sounds nice. Even if you make 1 dollar on every person, you will end up with 2 billion. I like how green you are 💚 Apna: Does that mean you will invest? VC: Ofcourse. It helps that I know your friend who worked with you. Apna: Let the Games begin Then comes financial engineering. I wont accuse Apna because as long as law allows it, they are free to show their finances in whatever way they want. If Investors didn't know this, I would be surprised. When these "Blue chip" founders (Great college, great companies) as one investor told me fails, people dismiss it as these guys start with ideas which are based on solid ground research & Initial feedback. That's how investing is & thus the tradition of loss making yet highly valued companies persist. On the flip side, Imagine how Apna could have worked. * Create a network of all small retail local HR placement agencies. There are multiple of those across India. City by city onboard these guys on your platform and provide tools to upskill this force. * Online you will start marketing like apna has marketed so far and could have got another set of people ready. * Next, you go to corporates and tell them we will upgrade local candidates. You build a virtuous cycle as well as on ground presence. And the best part is doing all this wouldn't need 900 crores but just 90 crores. HR agencies want to make money, Corporates want easy access to resources, candidates want job and Apna wants reach. But Alas; Nirmit Parikh, founder and CEO of Apna, the blue-collared jobs platform India's youngest billion-dollar startup amid Covid-19. A elite heavy, elite favoring VC ecosystem that operates like a Frat Club will ultimately take it's toll on the health of Indian Startup Ecosystem with mediocrity emboldened and talent ignored. Investors do not care, founders can't do much & markets continuing to celebrate money no matter how many fall by the wayside. #investors #indianfoundertales

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Eternal source of confusion in India SaaS. Terms like SMB, mid-market and enterprise are used pretty casually. Putting out a version here and inviting opinions from founders & investors on how they see the breakpoints between segments. US: SMB (upto $250mm in annual revenue), mid-market/commercial ($250mm-$1B), enterprise ($1B+). India: S (upto 10cr), MB (upto 250cr/$30mm in annual revenue), mid-market (250cr-1000cr, upto $150mm), enterprise (1000cr+/$150mm+) (note the breakpoints between segments are much lower in India and not comparable to the US)

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For all those global companies and brands that want to capture the hearts and minds of consumers in India, watch this video from timestamp 28:40 to 28:50 (https://lnkd.in/g4W7_Rbr) Let me tell you more! In this video Ranveer Allahbadia who runs BeerBiceps Media World Private Limited and this successful podcast in Hindi is talking to Kartik Aryan who is a very popular Bollywood actor today. At the above timestamp, Kartik says "Mein Hindi main sochta hoon". This translates to "I think in Hindi." Now this is where the insight lies. Even though from the outside it may seem that we have a large population in the country fluent in English (can read, write and speak well) and yes we do, but the language that people think in is their regional language or their mother tongue. Especially beyond the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore this trend becomes more prominent. The language that you think in is the language that reaches your heart and mind and creates the sense of belonging. So next time when you are thinking of that video content or a TV advertisement targeted at the Indian consumer, while English is good, possibly if done in local language it has potential to become excellent and delight your consumer!

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One of the largest DLT/ blockchain based implementations in India . 1.5-1.7 billion commercial messages sent every day in India. All the major telco providers and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) implemented blockchain(hyperledger fabric) based solutions for white listing of messages using smart contracts templates. TRAI has been taking several initiatives to curb misuse of headers and content templates for ensuring a more secure , transparent and efficient telecom ecosystem. Why this important to share here because main stream print media cover in India. The Economic Times #blockchain #dlt #telecom #india Rajesh Dhuddu LF Decentralized Trust LF Decentralized Trust India Chapter Tech Mahindra

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Growth of India stands at the threshold of the transformation. As rapid increasing of Middle class and increase disposable incomes and Young population, the country is poised for retail revolution. E-commerce has crucial role in this transformation. With rapid digitization and fast growing internet penetration. The Indian E-commerce market is expected to reach $325 billion by 2030. On That, logistics and supply chain infrastructure in the country are the backbone of the retail and E-commerce industry. We can improve in many area of that but Let's talk about How we can improvised this logistics with the perspective of Technology (Apology but I am master on it 😅 ) Let's take an example from Germany, It's logistics sector in renowned for its efficiency and reliability, supported by advanced infrastructure, Technology integration, and Skilled Worked force. For instance digital technologies such as IoT, AI and data analytics has significance enhanced the predictability and Reliability of Logistics operations. We can take a leaf out of the Germany's book by investigating in technology and infrastructure. By implementing warehouse automation technologies such as AI, Robotics and IoT can streamline inventory management, reduce storage costs and minimize wastage. By adopting global best practices, investing in technologies innovations, India can fully unlock its retail sector's potential. This will propel the country towards a Viksit bharat 2047. #RetailInnovation #AIinRetail #DigitalTransformation #DataDriven #RetailGrowth #TechInRetail #india #viksitBharat

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#Bootstrap Boom in #India? #VC or #NoVC: This is the question which every founder has to answer to himself. Typically in India, We don't see much of the funds focused on the pre-revenue, Pre product kind of companies like in the silicon valley (YC for example). This could be one of the most critical factors why traditional business companies who have come up with different ideas may face problems in raising funds and hence a boom in bootstrapping. But the general conception of a lot of first time founders is that once you have VC as an investor there is any added pressure (word spread by other founders.) In an interesting conversation with one of the founders of a very successfully IT company (who was running the show bootstrapped for 15 years+), following were the key takeaways: ME: telling him about my venture and asking for his view on funding. MD: Run your company as bootstrapped as long as possible else you will never build the product you have envisioned and always end up doing the following: 🧮 Sales: (Top line as none are concerned about bottom line, too many examples to quote here) 🧮 Valuation & Funding: There is a constant need to keep raising to keep validating & increasing the valuation so as to show return 🧮 Pivoting Strategies: There is less freedom to pivot or to build what you want to as the return expected or envisaged by the VC will be lower. ME: But wouldn't the connections and the industry knowledge help the company grow exponentially! MD: Growing exponentially will have its own cost. For a product IT company staying lean and profitable in the long run should be the goal. ME: But there are competitors who have kept raising in our field and growing exponentially! MD: How many of them have sustainable growth in the long run? can you name any? Spending 5 Rs to earn 1 Re is not a viable business! ME: 🤔 (Still thinking!) Although, my personal opinion is that the VC ecosystem is at nascent stage and developing rapidly. The VC investment pose a great opportunity for hyper growth. "With great Money, comes great problems!" which each founder needs to navigate diligently. Securing Funding and having a great valuation should not be an end goal as so many well funded companies have also gone bankrupt or shutdown operations. But at the same time, there are some who have scaled massively using this route of capital. Hence choose wisely after assessing your needs! #funding #ecosystem #startupindia #fintech Link to the article: https://lnkd.in/dcwmTZXJ

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Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, aspires to build India's first $100 billion company. Despite challenging economic conditions, Sharma emphasizes the need for true entrepreneurial spirit, which persists beyond external pressures like market fluctuations and investor sentiment. He believes that Indian companies must focus on solutions tailored for the local market, which cannot be easily replicated by global competitors. Sharma's vision for Paytm includes extensive use cases across everyday transactions, aiming to transform it into a ubiquitous financial service platform. For more details, check out the full article: https://lnkd.in/exWPe_Uq

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Want to learn how Paytm Flights made their search experience faster? Watch this: https://lnkd.in/g6WaQTAG In this video featuring Naveena Chinta, Product Manager at Paytm Flights, she dives deep into the strategies they implemented to achieve a faster search experience. HelloMeets - Upskilling platform for PMs. #engineering #performanceoptimization #hellomeets #paytmflights #productmanagement

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✋Mind blowing, unbelievable, disgrace✋ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐧-𝐙 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝟎𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐲 Google #hamasisisis #Hamasterrorists #standwithisrael #bringthemhomenow #OperationNeverAgain

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As someone who is privileged to be closely involved in the journey of several startups including Mygate, the ability to write such a blog, let alone publish it to the public shows an extraordinary longterm thinking and maturity for founders. First of all, kudos to the team on stellar execution and is the input to this blog. Secondly kudos on the courage to publish such information, for a second time now. Last but not least, I encourage all founders to write such a blog and a similar plan for the year ahead. Publishing this can be at your own discretion - private, management team, board, investors, public. Use your best judgement but write you must! It’s a great discipline to have - ideally once a quarter! Yes the first two times will be difficult, but it will soon become a “liberating” habit.

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National Holistic Strategy for India and USA in NINE Verticals Dr. KRS Murthy Strategy Documents 1. Two page executive summary one for each of the many national holistic strategies 2. Average 150 slides per vertical 3. Detailed knowledge corpus that was completely original and detailed, all created by me and generated by me, all alone, my brain dump, and NOT a google search style most scholars and practitioners resort to most of the time. I presented the Indian National Holistic Strategy in nine distinct verticals to the decision makers and leaders identified by the newly elected Prime Minister of India in March 2014, before his election in May 2014. I have similarly presented the US National Holistic Strategy in some verticals to the military apex leaders in the USA in April 2014. Of course, I could update and upgrade for 2024 through 2035 upcoming decade. Different Areas of My Original Contributions, Inventions and Most Importantly Novel Paradigms, Paradigm Shifts, Seminal, Axiomatic and Foundational Contributions Especially in Science, Technology and Cirporate Leadership include: 1. Energy: Solar PV, Solar CPV, Large Solar Farms 2. Waste to Energy: Wastes in Sugar Cane Industry, Poultry Farms, Cattle Farms, Pork Farms, Brewery, Chocolate Factories, Cheese Industry, Milk and Ice Cream Industry, Municipalities, Agriculture and Food Processing Industry 3. Fuel Cells Wind Turbine Farms Geothermal Energy 4. Start Up and Early Stage Companies in Big Data, Block Chain, AI, Machine Learning, IoT, Healthcare, Drug Discovery, Data Center Services Security: Building, Perimeter, Assets, Enterprise Networks, Data Center, Cloud Healthcare, Medical Devices, Pharma Algae Farms Agricultural Technology Drones and UAV Nano-Micro Companies Advisory / BOD of Private Equity and Venture Capital Companies Corporate Strategy, Competitive Analysis and Competitive Strategy Video Games, Video Game based Education Advisory of Universities Mergers and Acquisitions: Cell Tower Company (Ticket Price $3 B), Legendary Hotels and Resorts (Ticket Price: > $600 M). Financial Structuring/Restructuring of $300 M), Textile Mills (Ticket Price of $3 B), Enterprise Memory Solutions Company, Potash Mine, Indian Premier Cricket League (IPL), Animation and Film Studios Corporate Strategic Advisory, Advisory of Heads of States National Level Strategies for Countries in 25 Verticals International Industrial and Technology Delegations between USA, Canada, EU, China, Korea, Japan, India, Africa, Sri Lanka, South America and other countries on request to set up turnkey industrial projects, strategic alliances and cross-border investments and M&A. Smart City and Smart Village Turnkey Projects. Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame I have been President, VP, Secretary, and BOD of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council in previous years, and also part of the selection committee for this Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame selection

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[World Entrepreneurs' Day] its been almost a decade since we started Pickyourtrail. when we were starting out they said - there is a never a better time to start and that cant be any more relevant right now. Across all parameters - capital, talent, risk appetite, exit options, the opportunities now are multi-fold. While the last decade was a lot of re-purposing global biz into India, I believe the next could be on localised problems and there will be many more opportunities to build big outcomes with smaller teams too thanks to AI. Disha Ramesh Lubna H https://lnkd.in/gpG9y8Da

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Dialing out of hard phones to prospects in India? That’s why we built the India Dialer. ✅ Call using Indian ‘From’ numbers ✅ One-click dialing — no more manual dialing; get straight to the conversation. ✅ AI Insights— Let AI detect topics and outcomes, summarize calls for you and identify next steps ✅ Track outbound performance— report on call volume, connect rate and outcomes ✅ Native CRM Integrations—all call activity, outcomes and notes are logged automatically With Klenty’s India Dialer, you’ll connect with more prospects and create more opportunities. Dialing into India? Learn more here: http://bit.ly/3ZXiTJL #indiadialer #salesdialer #sales #b2bsales #salesprospecting #outboundsales #indiadialing #twilio #klenty #SDR #salesengagement

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Over 30,000 are established SaaS companies worldwide, Yet potentially over 50%, are unaware that they need to pay GST in India. Whether based within the country or selling to Indian customers from abroad, SaaS businesses need to pay GST. BUT, When does GST apply to SaaS? All SaaS companies selling in India are liable to pay GST, but rates vary based on company location. 1. Indian SaaS Companies Once Indian SaaS companies have reached a certain annual turnover, they need to register for GST. Right now, this threshold is ₹20 lakhs. 2. Non-Indian SaaS companies If you have a non-Indian SaaS company with Indian customers, you are liable for a flat GST of 18% under OIDAR. They must register for GST with the local tax authorities once they have an Indian customer, unlike Indian SaaS companies. AND, Why do you need a Merchant of Record for this? If you have customers based in India, you have to take into account a lot of regulations. Misunderstanding any of these can result in hefty fines and a loss of profits. At Stykite (Techstars '24), we make sure you remain compliant—not just in India, but anywhere in the world. As a merchant of record, we can help you with: -Processing payments worldwide with ease. -Ensuring compliance with GST laws. -Simplifying international tax procedures, saving you time and effort. -Saving 20% more on processing fees. Ping me and I can check if you’re compliant for FREE!

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My Take on Gokul Rajaram’s Software IPOs in India👇 India has seen several B2B SaaS IPOs in the last few years. When Rategain IPOed on Indian public markets, their revenue was $40M with $4M in operating profits and $1M in profits after tax. Today 2 years after the IPO Rategain is a $100M revenue with $20M in operating profits and $15M in profits after tax. When Rategain IPOed its market cap was $500M. Today they are valued at $1B in Indian public markets. As I always say, if you do $50M of revenue as a B2B SaaS company based out of India, Indian public markets will make you a Unicorn. You do not need private investors to make you a Unicorn. And public market Unicorns are real as they are vetted by millions of retail investors as well as institutions like HDFC and Kotak. I see Rategain being a $1B revenue company in the next 10 years, valued at $10B in Indian public markets. India will now see more such success stories which are built from India for the globe. India’s QIB (Qualified Institutional Buyers) and retail investors are hungry to buy B2B SaaS companies, built in India for the globe. This is the first wave where we are seeing B2B technology companies being built out of India and listed on Indian exchanges. The US has been seeing it for the last 40 years, and it accelerated with the listing of Salesforce. The next 25 years will be the Amrit Kaal in India, where we will see 100,000 new individuals working across 1000s of such companies create Rs 100 crores ($12M) of wealth individually.

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The Indian SaaS market is currently valued at $14 Bn and is expected to become a $70 Bn opportunity by 2030. As such, vertical SaaS is a massive opportunity waiting to be unlocked in India.

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Here's one more theme that has played out over the past decade in India SaaS: SaaS companies that sell into India/Asia (non-China/Japan). There's been a reasonably large set of investors in India who have been default no in this category, based on perception of limited TAM and GTM challenges. However, there is reason to be optimistic for this theme (we are!). A reasonable set of companies in the ecosystem have scaled, such as MoEngage, Darwinbox, Capillary Technologies, Yellow.ai, Unicommerce , Gupshup, CRMNEXT, LeadSquared. Companies like Salesforce, SAP etc have reached multi-hundred million ARR in India. As a result, the potential scale from sales in India has grown from the $15-20mm that people used to talk about 5 years back to perhaps $50mm in India, overall $100mm-150mm in Asia. I think we'll see more companies continue to get funded here as IT demand in India/SEA deepens and local requirements (mobile, India Stack, regulations, languages) get addressed. Founders and investors will need to tune into this being a solid path to go but will take longer to get to impact than US/EU-focused companies. Some characteristics we see at India/SEA-facing software companies: * Many start out in SMB but then find scale & success selling into enterprises. India market has a ton of SMBs (10mm+), a relatively light mid-market and a significant set of large enterprises. * Products tend to have feature sprawl and design-deficit but this can be fixed. * Some large sectors that are pulling at enterprise level e.g. BFSI, multi-sector conglomerates. Early traction from digital native companies (but naturally capped market). * Natural to go to SEA & Gulf countries. Product could remain fairly similar but sales & marketing motion can be quite different. To get really large, feels like will have to end up going to US/EU markets eventually. * ~10 years to $100mm ARR, with market leadership in Asia * Gross margins start out perhaps 10-15 points lower than corresponding companies in the US/EU but trend up over time. * Most India-facing SaaS companies are starting as India Pvt. Ltd. today, compared to 5 years ago (versus US C-corp), with a view to going public in India at $50-100mm revenue level.

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📚 The Secret to Losing Your Customer: Selling Too Hard 🎯 Gone are the days when a 10-seconds TV ad like "Nirma-Nirma Washing Powder Nirma", could convince people to buy a washing Powder. Although it used to be my favorite commercial which always brings a wave of nostalgia, recalling the rhythmic choruses from the '90s. However today’s consumers want more. They crave value, uniqueness, and impact. They want value driven engagement to be your loyal customer. Consumers today don't want to be told, that "this product is the best." They prefer to discover the value on their own. They care more than just products; they care about the brands behind them. When people see you as a reliable source of information, they’re more likely to become loyal customers. With this, the real challenge now is keeping your customers inquisitive without coming across as overly selling. In content marketing, storytelling is a powerful tool that can either captivate your audience or make them tune out. But How to Sell without Selling ? Answer lies in keeping our audience engaged about your product while subtly highlighting its unique features? The secret to engaging storytelling isn't in sharing every detail, but in saying just enough to spark curiosity and leave your audience wanting more. Here are some interesting facts about storytelling in content marketing that might surprise you: 1- Emotion Trumps Information: Stories that evoke emotions are 22 times more memorable than facts alone. Connect emotionally, and your message will stick. 2- Brevity is Key: The average human attention span is just 8 seconds. Keep your stories concise and to the point to maintain interest. 3- Mystery Sells: Leaving a little to the imagination keeps your audience coming back for more. Tease them with just enough information to spark curiosity. 4- Relatable Characters: People connect with characters who reflect their own experiences and struggles. Make your audience see themselves in your story. 5- Call to Action: A compelling story should always lead to a clear call to action. Guide your audience on what to do next. 6- Visuals Enhance: Adding visuals to your stories can increase engagement by up to 80%. Use images and videos to bring your story to life. 7- Authenticity Wins: Authentic stories build trust and loyalty. Be genuine and honest in your storytelling. Remember, less is often more. By leaving out unnecessary details and focusing on what truly matters, you can create compelling content that resonates deeply with your audience. 🌟 #ContentMarketing #Storytelling #EngageYourAudience #MarketingTips #KeepItSimple #iresonate

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