Lakshmi Naga Potluri

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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My two cents on the E-Commerce M&A's in India article by Inc42 Media https://lnkd.in/gnG5nzXV I don’t see any consolidation or mergers happening amongst the large e-commerce players, but to gain market share in new categories, some of these larger companies will likely acquire smaller ones. Flipkart acquired Myntra, allowing them to at least compete with AJIO or Tata CLiQ. However, they let vertical category focussed companies like Nykaa and FirstCry, grow significantly. They probably wouldn't want to make that mistake again. If a new player emerges in a fast growing new category, then the larger e-commerce companies will likely try to acquire those businesses before they become a potential competition." Gemba Capital #ECommerce #ConsumerTech

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed easing angel fund regulations and opening up these funds to more diverse investor groups. In a major step, the regulatory body will soon allow family trusts and sole proprietorships to invest in angel funds.   These measures are likely to boost opportunities for startup funding and supply young ventures with essential capital for growth, highlighting SEBI’s commitment to cultivating a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g3aGwgJP #StartupFunding #AngelInvestors #SEBINorms #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #IndiaStartups #BusinessGrowth #StartupEcosystem

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My take on GPay's evolution in Indian Fintech Let's be real: waiting for Google Play Store reviews is maddening. Our app, Queo Health, has been stuck in review for a month, leaving our early adopters in limbo. But instead of just stewing, I decided to channel this frustration into something new and productive. While I am not a fintech expert, I have been building a foundation in understanding the next wave of innovations - particularly in fintech and climate tech. I have been reading the recent trends and technologies in Fintech and I took a deep dive into GPay's potential evolution in the Indian fintech space. Ironic, right? Exploring Google's fintech arm while their Play Store keeps us waiting. This also marks my 30th article I wrote in Linkedln. Key points I have covered: 1.GPay's transition from simple wallet  2.Opportunities in P2P lending and AI-driven credit assessment 3. How GPay could revolutionize services for SME merchants 4.Future trends: BNPL, Super Apps, and more I also have addressed 2 case studies besides looking at the market growth vs attractiveness, segment vs complexity and future opportunities. Case 1: Bridging Financial Inclusion and Premium Services - For the underbanked - Develop alternative credit scoring models using digital payment patterns, offer micro-savings options and provide customised credit offers based on individual payment behaviours. For premium customers - Offer advanced financial management tools and personalised advisory services, integrate concierge services and exclusive banking partnerships Case 2: Revolutionising Lending and Merchant Services - GPay can transform itself from a payment app into a comprehensive financial ecosystem by focusing on three key areas: Peer-to-Peer Lending: Create a marketplace for direct lending between users, bypassing traditional banking systems. This democratizes finance by providing alternative investment options for lenders and new credit avenues for underserved borrowers. Innovative Credit Assessment: Develop sophisticated AI algorithms to revolutionize credit assessment, especially for those lacking traditional credit histories. This data-driven approach can enable quick, paperless, and collateral-free loans, addressing a significant pain point for small businesses in India. Merchant-Focused Services: Develop a suite of services tailored for SMEs, including instant settlement of transactions, automated loan repayment systems, inventory management tools and financial analytics dashboards While I'm still waiting (impatiently) for that Play Store review, I believe in looking at the bigger picture. GPay's evolution could reshape our financial future, and that's worth discussing. Thoughts? How do you see GPay and other fintech players evolving in India? And hey Google, if you're reading this - a little faster on those app reviews would be great!

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Merak MeetStreet in Gurgaon was one for the books! 💯 Reflecting on our journey with MeetStreet, we've now hosted 5 events across 5 different cities, shortlisting 52 businesses from a large pool of registrations. Each edition has highlighted the innovative spirit of early-stage founders, yet some challenges resonate universally. A few key hurdles we've observed: ➡️ Hiring: The first few hires are crucial lifelines for any business. Founders often find this process daunting as these early team members can significantly influence the trajectory of the business. Are there any firms (or even better, early-stage businesses) that specialise in assisting with these critical early hires across multiple functions? ➡️ Working Capital & Supply Chain Financing: A perennial challenge for businesses (more so, B2B ones), which we have observed getting mitigated with time (and scale). Despite its importance, solutions remain limited for early-stage companies. Founders, how have you navigated this tightrope? ➡️ Tech Roadmap & Development: For non-tech founders, establishing a tech foundation can feel like navigating unchartered waters. Until you find a permanent tech co-founder, where do you start? Are there any consultants who specialise in guiding early-stage startups? ➡️ Fundraising: The classic conundrum! It's often why many founders attend MeetStreet, hoping to unlock funding opportunities. But let's face it, early-stage fundraising might be more of an art than a science. How are you creatively approaching fundraising beyond the traditional VC route? MeetStreet isn't only about funding; it's about building a community where founders can share insights & explore solutions together. The learnings from these sessions have been tremendous & there's so much more to uncover as we continue this journey with many more gatherings to come. ✨ Merak Ventures #VentureCapital #Business #Startups #India #EarlyStage #Founders #MerakMeetStreet #VC

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🚀 Swiggy Set to Make Waves with ₹11,300 Crore IPO: Key Details and Market Implications 🌐 Swiggy, India's food delivery giant, is set to go public with an IPO launching on November 6, 2024, aiming to raise around ₹11,327 crore (~$1.35B). Shares will be priced at ₹371-₹390 each (around $4.64), with trading expected to start on November 13, 2024. IPO Highlights: Price Range: ₹371-₹390 per share Funds Allocation: Expanding logistics and quick commerce operations This IPO is launching amidst rising tech-driven competition in India’s market. By securing capital, Swiggy plans to advance its quick commerce capabilities, aiming to gain a strategic edge over competitors like Zomato. Market Impact: Swiggy’s IPO offers a unique investment opportunity with strong growth potential, balancing between established dominance in food delivery and quick commerce expansion. Investor Insight: With a grey market premium around ₹25, sentiment is optimistic. As Swiggy steps into the public sphere, it's poised to redefine India's fast-paced delivery ecosystem. #IPO #SwiggyIPO #Investment https://lnkd.in/eyHRRPXh

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Deal Announcement – Complete transaction in Less than 3 months! Maiz Kitchens, a first of its kind modern QSR chain that believes in serving fresher, healthier fast food at an affordable price, successfully closed its Series A fundraise. Founded by Veer Bharatiya, Maiz is poised to replicate the Chipotle story in India! Radix acted as the Exclusive banker for this transaction which was closed in less than 3 months’ timeframe! What does Maiz’s super quick Series A turnaround tell us? In one line, despite how the larger macro environment, whether it's the Funding winter or the preceding Unicorn race, Investors fundamentally are always looking to unearth those Diamonds in the rough. Startups with strong fundamentals, visionary leaders, proven execution capability and large TAMs don’t have to rely solely on burning investor money for growth. These companies are always poised to leverage their customer love and execution strength to get the likeminded and right investment partners for targeting next big milestone. Maiz is one such diamond! 4 things that worked in favour of Maiz: o  A great team with clear vision and phenomenal execution capability. o  A solid plan executed to last decimal point details. o  Abundance of customer love which is visible in stellar Unit Economics. o  Super nimble approach of management with clear focus on Capital Efficiency Maiz is both a testament and validation of the Radix way! At Radix, we pride ourselves in being able to spot these gems. We are always long-term partners with the founding team and do our part in materializing their vision. Today, Radix Capital Advisors takes immense pleasure in announcing the successful closure of INR 21.5 Cr Series A fundraise for Maiz Kitchens. All the best to Maiz team! Brace yourself for the next Maiz outlet in your city! Congratulations Veer Bhartiya Rahul Chhabria, Pratiksha Barasia Maya Taparia Ashish Chacko Akash Bagul Mahesh Triplicane Damodaran Vignesh Ramanan Maiz Kitchens Radix Capital Advisors Yash Vora   Keep Spicing Up and Scaling New Heights – Onwards & Upwards ! #startups #SeriesA #Fundraise #DealAlert #consumer

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Following up on my previous post about 'timidity' from investors, sharing a few more points. 1. At Artha, we've backed AgniKul Cosmos at seed. Did they have revenues? No! Did they come with solid experience in the field as well as letters-of-intent worth over $30 million? Absolutely. I would not back folks with no technical expertise or work experience in the field to build an actual rocket capable of reaching space. They were also supported by the amazing IIT Madras incubator, which does accept non-IIT founders provided they have strong technical aptitude. 2. Funding is NOT a right, or some sort of charity. VC comes under financial services, with a fiduciary duty towards Limited Partners (the folks who invest in VC). We don't have carte blanche in how we invest, we have to submit our thesis to our LPs to raise money from them, then stick to that thesis (our commitment). We can't just pick a nice company and decide to invest. We have to build research around it, submit it to our Investment Committee, which usually includes representatives from larger LPs, and justify why we recommend investing. The fact that we like the 'spark in the founder's eye', absent of any other reasoning, is a sure fire way to be removed as a fund manager. 3. If that's what you're looking for, your best bet are Angel Investors, who are investing 100% of their own money, therefore, have NO constraints on how to deploy this. 4. There's this utopian belief that American funds throw cash at Founders. This is untrue, you're welcome to try instead of messaging me or other local funds. American funds do take larger bets on pre-revenue SaaS companies, however their founder+product criterias are equally, if not more strict, than local funds. 5. Government grants. I've met several founders who've applied and received grants, that have helped them to build out their MVPs. This shows innovation, dedication and hard work, as opposed to pinging investors with an idea deck and hoping for money to pour from the sky. 6. Is the bar higher for non-obvious founders? Harsh truth is yes. Which is why I've committed to replying to every single founder who reaches out to me. I'm open to giving guidance, help, support (not introductions right off the bat) to get to a point where you can raise. 7. Not every business is a VC business. At this point, every person building a business seems to have forgotten that most businesses in this country were built by people who didn't just 'have connections' If you look at Infosys, HCL, Zoho, they've been built by people who worked and studied hard, built work experience then created lasting businesses. Today, everyone wants a shortcut to riches and success. #venturecapital #startups #funding #founders #india

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🚀 Big News from OYO! 🚀 Exciting developments from OYO as the Ritesh Agarwal-led traveltech giant is reportedly in the advanced stages of raising approximately Rs 1,000 crore (around $120 million) in funding. This significant investment comes from the family offices of prominent Indian corporate executives and stock market experts, including: Anand Jain: Corporate strategy advisor and former senior executive at Reliance Industries Ramesh and Rajeev Juneja: Promoters of Mankind Pharma Utpal Sheth: Close associate of the late market expert Rakesh Jhunjhunwala 🔍 Valuation Insights: The funding round will value OYO at about $2.5 billion. This is a notable decrease from its peak valuation of $9 billion in 2021, marking a 72% drop. 📅 Upcoming EGM: OYO will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Tuesday to approve the fundraise, following an increase in its authorized share capital. 💼 Negotiations with Khazanah Nasional: In addition to this, OYO is in the final stages of talks with Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. The discussions are focused on securing certain rights before finalizing the deal, with an expected raise of Rs 250-300 crore from Khazanah, supplemented by domestic investors. 📈 Profit Milestone: In a recent announcement, Ritesh Agarwal revealed that OYO has achieved its first full-year net profit in its 12-year history, recording a profit after tax of nearly Rs 100 crore in FY 2023-24. This is a remarkable turnaround from the Rs 1,286.5 crore loss in the previous fiscal year. 📊 Growth Projections: Gross Booking Value: Projected at $1.8 billion for FY25, up from $1.2 billion in FY24 Revenue Forecast: $957 million for FY25, compared to $657 million in FY24 🌍 Strategic Focus: OYO continues to focus on key markets including India, Europe, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with 95% of its storefronts in these growth regions. The company is also expanding in the Nordics, Southeast Asia, the US, and the UK, adding around 5,000 hotels and 6,000 homes globally in FY24. 📅 Emerging Travel Trends: OYO is poised to capitalize on emerging travel trends such as premiumization, spiritual travel, business travel, conferences, and destination weddings to drive further growth. Kudos to the OYO team for these impressive strides and looking forward to seeing their continued success! 🎉🌟 #OYO #FundingNews #TravelTech #BusinessGrowth #Profitability #Expansion

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Trifecta Capital has launched its largest venture debt fund yet, totaling a whopping ₹2,000 crore, with an additional ₹500 crore greenshoe option. This fund is sector-agnostic, targeting: ✅ Electric mobility ✅ SaaS ✅ Fintech ✅ Enterprise tech Founded in 2015 by Rahul Khanna and Nilesh Kothari, the firm has already invested in over 30 unicorns and numerous high-value companies like Zepto, Meesho, BlueStone, and Urban Company. While staying clear of riskier sectors such as cryptocurrencies, gaming, and P2P lending, Trifecta Capital has successfully deployed ₹6,000 crore from its three funds, including recycled capital. For enquiries, drop an email to [email protected] #VentureCapital #Investment #ElectricMobility #SaaS #Fintech #EnterpriseTech #Startups #Unicorns #TrifectaCapital #Funding #BusinessGrowth

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How innovation is essential for building truly great economies, especially for emerging economies e.g., for India and OECD ?? Exports indeed is a reflection of your ability to compete and win. But for that, one has to have differentiating competitive advantages that typically are enabled by one's core competencies. For example: - China, "by-design", since 1976, combined power of clear domestic policies, incentives, verticalization of labor, infrastructure, and focused on consumer export-oriented goods to the West. Within 15-20 years, this became their core competency. - For India, the initiative to boost exports is worth applauding, and to some extent and for some time, one can grow it by either tapping into the unmet demand, or by propping up by giving incentives. Good. But those drivers can not be sustained. You have to address the underlying issues all around. What India DOES have is a brilliant and resilient breed of people who can work hard and make a difference if provided with the right (eco) system!! Few things have happened off-late (e.g., infra, digitalization, et. al.) but unless one bridges the remaining gaps, it will be hard: - Manufacturing and supply chain costs are not minimum - We did not invent or innovate anyone of those technologies. - All technology is either imported or licensed. - Culture of glorifying "Jugaad" with "Innovation" is flawed. - Cost of capital is high, ... and so on Something to think about.

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A significant milestone on the Sarvagram journey and we are very excited to continue our support to the stellar team. When we invested in 2022, we saw a distinctive company which was serving an unaddressed segment in a very large market i.e middle class households in rural India. The narrative around rural financing has primarily focused on farmers and low-income populations. However, there's a huge gap in addressing the needs of the aspirational rural middle class—the 80-100 million households with annual incomes ranging from ₹3-5L, spread across multiple income sources. This demographic is eager to improve both their income levels and quality of life, yet their financial needs have often gone unmet. Banks and microfinance institutions have targeted agriculture or low-income women but the rural middle class is a large whitespace. Though they may have access to product financing like two-wheeler or car loans, a significant portion of their aspirations remains unaddressed. SarvaGram is stepping into this gap with a holistic, customer-centric platform that offers a diverse range of financial services—from lending products and farm mechanization solutions to insurance offerings — as opposed to a mono-line strategy, which we believe works better in denser urban markets. In addition to our thesis on rural lending, we have found working with the stellar team, led by Utpal Isser and Sameer Mishra, a collaborative and insightful partnership. Their exceptional execution and understanding of the rural market have enabled SarvaGram to create lasting impact and drive sustainable growth. It has been equally enjoyable to learn from their experiences and we truly appreciate the openness of team. We have also appreciated working with our co-passengers from #Elevar, #Elevation and #Temasek and look forward to the #Peak XV team. With this fundraise, SarvaGram is on track to continue its impressive growth trajectory and we are excited to be part of this journey of SarvaGram driving meaningful change for rural middle-class households. Utpal Isser SarvaGram Sreeraman V TVS Capital Funds #FundingSuccess #RuralIndia

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No official notification has come out concerning any extension of the dematerialisation mandate for private Indian companies. Surprisingly, many startups that meet the requirements have just started reaching out to inquire and get started. For all practical purposes, many won't make it to this deadline (30th September 2024). But that doesn't mean that companies should further delay their dematerialisation. Here are quick cautionary points I'd like to share with anyone who is just getting started: 👇 1. Many boutique/one-man army CAs might promise you to generate your ISINs within 10-15 days - seems unlikely. 2. CDSL/NSDL themselves have quite the backlog that needs to be cleared out, reinforcing point # 1. 3. ISIN generation requires liaisoning with RTAs and depository clarifications, ensure you're working with a professional partner who can make that happen for you. 4. Venture-backed companies will have a higher ISIN generation requirement, given all the different share classes and allotment dates. Your dematerialisation partner needs to be aware of your cap table (in its most updated format). 5. Startups with a variety of investors on their cap table may even be inclined to dematerialise both on CDSL and NSDL - depending on their shareholder's demat accounts. Be prepared for that. 6. Foreign shareholder's Indian PAN + demat account creations will take a lot more time. 7. DRF issuance is more shareholder coordination than anything else. Preserve some investor relations bandwidth for this ops. 8. This is a lifetime activity for the company - every time a fresh issuance happens, ISINs will be created and shares will be pushed to shareholders' demat accounts. Reach out to me / EquityList if you're struggling to find the right partner who can cover all the above 8 points. We use software + on-ground service to help make this possible. We currently cannot beat the existing CDSL/NSDL/RTA queue, but can ensure that this is done correctly.

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Dive into the investment SECRETS to learn from Blume Ventures! Discover how this VC firm reimagined startup financing in India, backed 100+ transformative startups, and continues to empower revolutionary founders. From their unique evaluation criteria to the secrets behind their portfolio's success, there's a lot to learn! Read my full article on Medium to uncover their game-changing insights and actionable advice. Karthik B. Reddy | Sanjay Nath - After going through your story, you guys have become a whole another level of inspiration for me. Thank you so very much for starting Blume Ventures and revolutionizing the Indian VC landscape. #VentureCapital #StartupInvestment #BlumeVentures #IndianStartups #Entrepreneurship #InvestmentStrategies #VCInsights #TechInnovation #StartupSuccess #FounderEmpathy

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It's tough to monetize "community" in India. Top challenges 1. Trust building (It is a chicken and egg problem) 2. Regulatory uncertainties 3. Competition from established platforms Solutions (Easy to difficult) 1. Cater to deep insecurities 2. ⁠Provide novelty 3. ⁠Become admirable Fear, exclusivity, and admiration are universal elements, observed in phenomena ranging from religious congregations to popular content creators and upscale clubs and societies. We have ruthlessly prioritized solution #2 and chose not to go with solution #1 while building Savingz. If you're a problem solver, leader or founder let us know what you think. Shubham Jain Rounak Baral Tusharr Tomar #savingz #startup #founderslife #consumption #community #india

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Be Ready to see more #Funding Rounds! Expect new angels, a big ticket size of syndicate funding, and now only five members can make an Angel Fund. SEBI is proposing great changes. 1. Abolition of regulation of minimum 25 Lac required to be an accredited Angel Investor. Now anybody can become an Angel Investor. 2. Only five accredited angel investors can make a corpus of "any amount" of Angel Funds. Earlier, it was 5 Crore. Even I am not sure of the impact of removing diversification, as Angels normally have FOMO, so their investment may concentrate in fewer startups. Earlier, SEBI pushed them to diversify to mitigate risks. But, still few categories can get benefits of generating bigger round. Great News! #AngelInvesting

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