Nikhil Mittal

📉 The Fall of BYJU'S: A Cautionary Tale for Indian Parents As Byju's valuation plummets from a staggering $22 billion to virtually zero (ref in the comments section), it becomes imperative to examine the practices that have led to such a downfall. Unfortunately, these are not just corporate missteps but issues that deeply affect individual lives, particularly those of unsuspecting parents in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. One such case involves my relative, who has been entangled in an ordeal with Byju's that perfectly encapsulates the company's current troubles. Despite raising a cancellation request in April'24, Byju's has continued to charge them for both April and May (June they could not deduct because my relative did not put enough money in it). The BYJU'S support staff, which should be a beacon of assistance, has been unresponsive and unhelpful. This negligence has forced my relative to consider closing their primary bank account, a drastic step that disrupts their everyday transactions and financial stability. As per their support staff - they can not assure whether this deduction will stop or not even when the cancellation request has been raised, hence they are left with no choice but to close their primary bank account. Even after closing the bank account, my relative is still being relentlessly chased by Byju's recovery department to pay the subscription fees/emi. The tone and persistence of these recovery agents resemble that of extortionists, putting immense mental pressure on my relative. This aggressive and harassing behavior is unacceptable and further underscores the company's operational failures. Support Ticket # - 5910087 Such practices are not just administrative lapses but a betrayal of trust. Byju's was once seen as a revolutionary force in education, promising quality learning to children across India. However, the company's inability to handle basic customer service issues speaks volumes about its operational failures. Parents, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, invest in educational services like Byju's with the hope of securing a better future for their children. It is disheartening to see these very families being taken advantage of and left in distress. This erosion of trust is perhaps one of the fundamental reasons behind Byju's precipitous decline in valuation. 🛑 Parents, please exercise caution when dealing with Byju's. Always read the fine print and ensure you understand the terms and conditions before committing to any service. Your vigilance is the first line of defense against such malpractices. #Byjus #CustomerService #Education #EthicsInBusiness #Trust #IndianParents

7

3 Comments

📈 Zomato on the Rise: Zomato shares continue their upward momentum, with UBS raising its price target to ₹320 following impressive results in quick commerce and food delivery. 🚀 Blinkit All-Time High: Blinkit, Zomato's quick-commerce arm, hit a new milestone with an all-time high GMV on #RakshaBandhan, recording 693 Rakhis per minute at peak. CEO Albinder Dhindsa shared this achievement as a testament to the platform's growing influence. 📊 Growth Projections: GMV estimates for FY 2026-2028 have been revised upwards—20-30% for quick commerce and 2-3% for food delivery, showcasing strong future prospects. 💡 Valuation and Performance: Despite trading at a FY 2027 EV/EBITDA of 35x, above the average of 30x for Indian consumer/retail peers, Zomato's superior growth and margin profile justify the premium valuation. 💼 Brokerage Confidence: UBS maintains a "buy" recommendation, marking the second-highest target on the street after CLSA's ₹350 target. 📊 Market Momentum: Zomato’s stock has already doubled in 2024 with a 112% gain and has nearly tripled over the last 12 months, delivering close to a 194% return.

2

1 Comment

🚀 Swiggy's IPO DRHP is a gold mine of data 📊 Average Order Value (AOV): Swiggy Food Delivery: ₹428 Instamart: ₹460 Dineout: ₹3,129 📈 User Growth & Engagement: 112.73 million users have transacted on Swiggy's platform as of June 30, 2024. Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) for Food Delivery and Quick Commerce continue to rise, hitting 15.99 million in Q1 FY25 Swiggy One membership (5.7 million members) shows an impressive 7.4x order frequency, nearly double the platform average of 4.5x. 💼 Operational Scale: Swiggy works with 223,671 monthly transacting restaurant partners and 457,249 monthly transacting delivery partners, reflecting its massive operational scale and reach. Active Dark Stores increased to 557, supporting the Quick Commerce business and ensuring rapid deliveries.

19

1 Comment

Wow, what a journey! It's hard to believe I've already spent 5 years at Zomato. My time here has been a mix of roles—from Individual Contributor to Engineering Manager, PM for consumer products, and Tech Architect for core projects. I've been accountable for some of the most critical business impacts and faced many exciting challenges. Learning here never stops, especially when you work with incredibly talented people. But we're just 1% of the way there! One piece of advice from a mentor that really stuck with me: your impact should far exceed the investment the company puts in you—aim for 100x or more! Too often, we focus on the tasks we've completed instead of the impact we've made. Quality always trumps quantity, and progress is measured by outcomes, not just activity. If you’re an engineer who prioritizes impact and outcomes over mere activities, let’s connect! Make sure your resume highlights your impact in bold, not just paragraphs of tasks. #impactfirst #growthmindset #zomato #quality

359

1 Comment

Raised $26,000,000 with just an idea Lyskraft India Pvt Ltd - the latest kid in the block! So, Mukesh Bansal is back with another startup this time with Mohit Gupta, the former CEO of Zomato's food delivery arm. In July of last year, there were reports about Bansal and Gupta raising funds for a new venture. As per TechCrunch, both of them pitched a range of ideas to potential backers like a female-focused counterpart to Manyavar and "Infosys 2.0" a presumed upgrade to a multinational IT services and consulting firm. Now finally... The news is out and we know what they are building, Lyskraft: initially a women's only marketplace for premium brands mostly focusing on Gen-Z shoppers. Recently we have seen giant e-commerce platforms launching dedicated portals to attract GenZ shoppers, like SPOYL launched by Flipkart within its app, FWD by Myntra, also we are seeing the growth of new-age startups working in this space like Virgio(Mukesh Bansal is an investor in it), Newme(recently raised $4,500,000), Absolute Brands, Snitch, Styched and many more As per Inc42's Report, India's fashion and apparel sector is projected to reach a mouth-watering $112 Billion by 2030, which will be over a quarter of the country's $400 Billion e-commerce market!! Let's be honest, anyone will want a piece of this market. As we are already aware of how crowded this space is, let's see how Lyskraft differentiates itself from others. Mohit Gupts and Mukesh Bansal, in this crowded space building a community around your product, building digital IPs, and creating experiences through videos are the ways to elevate your brand to the next level. I the founder of Elevate would love to connect and assist Lyskraft in building a community, digital IPs and help create experiences through videos, if that sounds like something that interests you would love to connect and discuss!! sources of information : TechCrunch article 2021 - https://bit.ly/49UwkLI Inc42 article - https://bit.ly/3w0SDlb #mukeshbansal #myntra #fashion #startups #venturecapital #fundingwinter #norevenue #cultfit #community #communitymarketing #socialmediamarketing #india

13

2 Comments

Zerodha hits ₹8,320 crore in revenue for FY24, with a profit of ₹4,700 crore. Yes, you read that right! A billion dollars in revenue and a 55% profit margin. Zerodha’s numbers are a breath of fresh air in an ecosystem where startup losses are the norm. It shows that sticking to the basics, playing the game right, and making your own luck actually works. We need more leaders like Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath. Those who build sustainably and compete globally. (I am glad to share the namesake) Zerodha has set its own benchmark. What other companies do you think belong in this league? Zoho and Dream11 come to mind with their solid profits, but beyond that, it’s hard to say. Thoughts? #StartupSuccess #SustainableGrowth #BusinessLeadership #Profitability #IndianStartups

262

10 Comments

Who would invest in founders who have wasted $50M? Koo, an Indian microblogging platform, recently shut shop after raising $50M in capital. Everyone has their views on why Koo failed. IMO, the biggest reason behind its failure was a lack of PMF (Product Market Fit). Koo spent much money on marketing and didn’t build a product people wanted. It kept harping on nationalism, a Twitter for Indians, made in #India. This approach failed. However, this doesn’t mean Koo’s founders aren’t smart or intelligent. I wrote in an earlier post that we shouldn’t be surprised if Koo’s founders raise fresh capital for a new startup. To many of us, this might seem grossly unfair. Millions of smart, hardworking founders are struggling to raise capital while investors are backing failed founders who have wasted millions of dollars. How is that fair? It confirms the widely held belief that the #venturecapital industry is broken and corrupt where a few people with the right connections get all the capital while others don’t see a dime. It shows that the VC industry is a closed group, a cabal where who you know matters more than anything. While these are just complaints, most people who criticise VCs don’t understand how startup investing works. VCs welcome failures. They embrace them because they know failures are inevitable. When VCs invest in 20 #startups, they know 15 will fail. The goal is to invest in startups that can give them a 100x return. Failures are part of the game. They are unavoidable. The aim is to back founders who can build such 100x return companies. Hence, failures are not looked down upon in the VC industry. It’s similar to the American culture where society appreciates the people who take risks, and it easily accepts personal bankruptcies that result from this risk-taking approach. There’s no taboo in failing in the USA and the VC industry. I’m sure Koo’s founders have learnt from their mistakes. It’s an expensive mistake and not everyone is so lucky to have this luxury to spend $50M on their education. ;) However, most VCs will back Koo’s #founders because these founders know how to raise capital and they know how to not build and scale tech companies. Their past failures have improved their chances of future success. In the VC industry, Failure is Good.

249

42 Comments

Meesho launches India's first GenAI voicebots - Supports Hindi & English - Real-time conversations with very low latency - Handling 60,000 calls per day - Costs about 1/4 of the Human agent cost (expected to reduce further as it scales up) Sanjeev Barnwal

12

1 Comment

“The collision is not there anymore, Google, but thanks for almost getting me into one”! While I understand the intent behind it, sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to prompt a user (multiple times) with a call to action while driving actively- especially on Indian highways. Not to mention that almost 30% of the space on the screen is covered with the prompt. In the fight between being minimal and being a feature factory, sometimes the latter wins. Maybe GMaps could take a lesson in UI/UX from Gpay :) That is why, it should be mandatory for product managers and designers to dogfood their products. Use a “stick shift” while trying to navigate using such a cognitively overloaded screen and you’ll easily understand which Jobs To Be Done need to be prioritised, which can be good to have and which need to be canned completely. #productmanagement #gmaps #designthinking

112

21 Comments

We will hit ₹200,00,00,000.00 revenue! Time taken by Sanfe to reach 1st 70 crore ARR = 5 years 2nd 70 crore ARR = 5 months 3rd 70 crore ARR (targeted)= 5 weeks We are at Bali to celebrate this win! Currently Sanfe stands at ₹140 Crore ARR and we aim to take it to 210crore ARR by the end of May. In December 2023, I catched up with my batchmate from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Archit Agarwal, after 5 years. Suddenly something vibed and we went on a trip to Kazakhstan. On our trip we discovered that both of us are more similar than we had imagined. Both of us had similar amount of experience in facing the consumer. We also comfortably discussed our businesses. At that point, Archit decided to shift gears and I joined Sanfe as strategic advisor. We started hitting milestones after milestones. While “esteemed” consultants didn’t have much to offer, evening conversations with and old friend on a cup of tea did miracles. How our conversations looked like? They either started with “Bhai Jindal, ek baat sun…” or “Archit yaar, ek baat sun…” Then we proposed our growth strategies to eachother. So the thing is, we both were a bit emotional about our own companies, whereas very objective about the other person’s company. It helped in removing blurriness and taking faster decisions. One more reason was that we gave eachother constructive criticism and helped eachother grow and rethink our approach. Our next trip should be at Switzerland when we hit ₹500cr ARR Similar developments have happened at Bharat Skool, but that is a story for another day. Harry Sehrawat Follow Nishant Jindal for more such updates.

664

21 Comments

Swiggy’s $1.4 Billion IPO vs. Zomato’s $1 Billion Fundraise! While Swiggy is preparing for one of the largest IPOs this year, Zomato is also getting ready to stay competitive. The Gurgaon-based food delivery giant recently announced a $1 billion raise through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), to strengthen its balance sheet in rising competition. This is what is happening in the quick commerce space: —> Despite a market correction that led Swiggy to adjust its valuation, investor interest remains intense. Major global players like Norges Bank and Fidelity have placed bids worth over $15 billion, 25 times more than the $605 million allocated for institutional investors alone. —> While Zomato and Swiggy are the dominant players, this space also has new entrants like Zepto and BigBasket. To compete, Zomato’s CEO Deepinder Goyal emphasized that their latest fundraiser will help "level the playing field" with competitors who continue to attract fresh capital. —> This IPO and Zomato’s capital raise highlight the opportunity in India's $100+ billion e-commerce sector. Swiggy’s IPO shows its intent to expand tech capabilities and optimize logistics. Zomato’s move shows a strategy to maintain financial flexibility to explore avenues of growth. Both companies recognize that staying competitive in this space will require capital reserves. While they are competing, it will be interesting to see how they innovate and expand the future of instant delivery. So, are you team Zomato or Swiggy? #quickcommerce #IPO

36

4 Comments

How PlanetSpark achieved profitability: Lessons from the Trenches! 2024 was a landmark year for PlanetSpark, with the company hitting cash flow profitability in Qtr1 & 2 earlier this FY. The journey is still long, and we need to sustain it quarter on quarter going forward, but I wanted to take a moment and share some learnings from our journey with others. In early 2022, we were on a rocketship—100x growth in two years. It felt like nothing could stop us. But when the macro environment changed, the rules of the game changed overnight. Investors wanted profitability, not growth, and we were unprepared. This forced us to make tough calls and revisit everything—from strategy to execution. We chose to fix the engine mid flight, and it wasn’t easy. But after two years of intense focus, PlanetSpark attained cash flow positive in Qtr1 and Qtr2 of FY'25 Key learnings from this journey: 1️⃣ Profitability requires a mindset shift: It’s about first principles, not just cost-cutting. 2️⃣ Revenue is the founder’s job: You can’t delegate this—you need to own it. 3️⃣ Quality is everything: Compromising on quality for growth is a mistake we’ll never make again. The path wasn’t linear, and there’s still a lot to do. But the resilience we built during these tough times has defined who we are as a company. Entire credit goes to the team who pulled this through during the challenging times. Special thanks to my Co Founder Maneesh Dhooper who has been a pillar of stength throughout this journey along with Nitish Bhardwaj, Jaydev Shiroya, Karandeep singh, Junaid Shaikh, @Achal, Sahil Dhall, Sheen Vishen, Akeel Javaid, Anukriti Bhatnagar, Rishov S. Jayant Bhadoria, Sankalp Sharma, KAPIL SINGH, Sumit Nimoria and every one else who was been a part of this journey. 📹 I shared these insights at Prime Venture Partners Founders Day 2024. Thanks Amit Somani, Sanjay Swamy, Shripati Acharya & Alok Garodia for the support in this journey and for the great discussions that day! Thanks also to FIITJEE team & all other investors for their belief in the company from our initial days. Here’s the video for those interested in the details. https://lnkd.in/gxKjNhZs I’d love to hear—what’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in achieving profitability? #Entrepreneurship #Profitability #StartupLessons #FounderJourney #PlanetSpark

359

59 Comments

Did you know that Delhi NCR and Bangalore make up for about 40-45% of the overall ride-hailing market in India? No wonder BluSmart - a sustainable alternative to Uber/Ola - has been focused on these two key markets in its early years while building their fullstack electric mobility infrastructure for commuters who value good customer experience for a small premium over the existing ride-hailing players. From its inception as an Uber vendor with a modest fleet of 70 EVs to boasting one of Asia’s largest EV fleets, BluSmart's journey over the last 4 years is a great case study on how to enter a crowded landscape and still make an impact with a differentiated product and customer experience. I had a lot of fun working on this case because I’m one of the biggest promoters of BluSmart in my circle. And I’m cheering for them to win as I believe they have gotten both customer and partner experience right to a large extent. 🙌 Punit K Goyal, kudos to you and your team for the splendid execution so far. I have learned a lot about building differentiated product experience and moats from your recent interviews. 🙏 I hope you find it useful.🤞 Don't forget to like, share & subscribe. 🤌🏻 Link to video: https://lnkd.in/gVeRRcxX #blusmart #mobility #ridehailing #sustainability #growth #casestudy

110

7 Comments

🚀 Key Takeaways from the Elevation Kickstarter on B2C Monetization🚀 I recently attended the "Elevation Kickstarter: New Era of Consumer Monetization" by Elevation Capital, and it was an incredibly insightful experience! The event highlighted how the monetization playbook for consumer apps in India is being completely rewritten. Founders and experts shared their first-hand experiences of building capital-efficient businesses by monetizing early, a strategy that is becoming a game-changer in India’s digital economy. Key Highlights: 🔑The New Playbook for Consumer Apps: 1️⃣Moving away from "chase users first, monetize later" to early monetization models. 2️⃣With direct monetization growing faster than digital ads and now a $3B market, Indian users are proving they are willing to pay for value. 🔥Lessons from ShareChat’s Journey: 1️⃣Ankush Sachdeva (Founder, ShareChat) shared insights into how ShareChat is leveraging microtransactions like virtual gifts to scale sustainably and effectively. 2️⃣The fireside chat emphasized the importance of tailoring monetization strategies to user preferences. 💡Panel Discussion: ‘Choose Your Model: Monetization Strategies That Work’: Prashant Sachan (AppsForBharat) discussed monetizing virtual religious services, bridging tradition with technology. Rohit Choudhary (Seekho) highlighted the power of subscriptions for education, skill-building, and regional content. Sanidhya Narain (Dashtoon) showcased how AI-driven storytelling and micropayments can open global markets. 📊Monetization Models in Action: 1️⃣Micropayment: Accessible, low-cost transactions that drive user engagement and revenue. 2️⃣Subscriptions: Predictable revenue streams that build long-term loyalty. 3️⃣Performance-Based Advertising: A trust-driven model gaining traction in the Indian ecosystem. 🚀Future Trends: 1️⃣AI Integration: Revolutionizing content creation, personalization, and cost-efficiency, making scaling more achievable. 2️⃣Digital Payments: Pivotal for fragmented markets like India, enabling smooth monetization at scale. This event was a deep dive into how early monetization and capital efficiency are transforming the Indian consumer app ecosystem. A huge shoutout to Elevation Capital and the stellar panelists for sharing their journeys and lessons. 💡 What’s your take on these trends? Which monetization model resonates most with you? Let’s discuss in the comments! 🚀 #Monetization #ConsumerApps #IndiaStartups #AI #DigitalEconomy #ElevationKickstarter #CapitalEfficiency

48

Arjun Vijay Imagine ordering a Dosa Pan at 00:45 AM because your old ones handle broke, or a Mixer Grinder at 6:45 AM when your current one suddenly malfunctions. Picture yourself needing a mosquito bat in a remote Airbnb late at night, or the convenience of having 10kg bags of rice delivered straight to your door without carrying the carts to parking lot neither carrying in lifts, not to mention daily grocery runs and last-minute orders of socks or underwear before heading to outstation. These are all my real experiences, showing how quick commerce is set to completely transform traditional e-commerce. The new era has already begun, and it's just a matter of time before everyone catches up.

1

A week back, a news broke about two things at Swiggy: 1. Swiggy ‘Paw’lice: A feature on the app that helps pet owners find their lost pets using the network of 350k+ delivery partners of Swiggy. 2. Health Insurance of Swiggy’s delivery partners will be taken away if their rating was below a certain level. I’ve seen amazingly good PR for Swiggy because of 1 but no negative PR because of 2. 2 is like taking away free meals at office from an employee whose rating is below average, it’s like taking away air conditioners from a room in which below average rating employees are made to sit and work. These examples might sound weird to you but hear me out. Health insurance is a primary need for a person who is always on roads, riding a bike 15+ hours a day. Basically it is a safety net for carrying out the primary responsibility in the job description of the delivery executive. Moreover, the ‘pawlice’ feature (1) is detrimental for the delivery executives because it might even cause further delay in order deliveries, accidents because they have their eyes on the Google maps as well as on the road as well as on the missing pets if at all they spot them. And because of this delay in delivery, their rating will get affected negatively and thus their health insurance might be taken away because of policy 2. I’m not sure if there is a way to justify 2. If you have a reasoning, please do let me know in the comments. #Swiggy #product

69

1 Comment

What if you invested in Swiggy's first funding round? Back in February 2015, Swiggy raised $2 million in its Series A funding round by Accel & Elevation Capital (Formerly SAIF partners) with a post-money valuation of just $4.87 million. Fast forward to today, and Swiggy’s IPO is targeting a valuation of around $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion​. Here’s the math: - Investment in Series A (2015): ₹10 Lakh - Post-money valuation then: $4.87 million - Current valuation: $13.5 billion That ₹10 lakh investment from 2015 would now be worth roughly ₹36.5 Crore! #angel #investing

79

20 Comments

Swiggy is set to launch its ₹11,664 crore IPO, sparking excitement in the Indian stock market. But is it as promising as it seems? While Swiggy’s super app model offers unique advantages like lower customer acquisition costs and a powerful delivery system, it faces tough competition from Zomato and Blinkit. Add to this the challenge of adapting to consumer preferences for specialized apps and a recent leadership exodus, and Swiggy’s future remains uncertain. Swiggy’s financials are improving, but is the company truly on the path to profitability? Will the super app model thrive in India, or will the market demand more specialized services? And what impact will leadership instability have on its growth? For more on Swiggy’s IPO and what investors need to know, read more! https://lnkd.in/dZmpGFph #SwiggyIPO #StockMarket #SuperApp #InvestmentOpportunities #Zomato #Blinkit #IndianStartups #TechStocks #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipChallenges #FinancialNews #IPO2024 #IndianMarket

12