Dr. Piyush Goel

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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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 Importance of User-Centric Design: A Cautionary Tale In 2019, my team collaborated with a startup launching a coupon app in Mumbai. After finalizing the project scope, we were poised to embark on the app design phase. However, an unexpected turn of events redirected our course. The client abruptly informed us of their decision to finalize the design with a relative's son, a newcomer in the field of UI/UX design for an app development firm. Despite inquiries regarding his experience and portfolio, we were instructed to adhere to his design specifications. A few days later, we received a link showcasing the proposed design – a glaring disconnect from core mobile app design principles. The aesthetics were unappealing, and the color scheme lacked cohesion. Furthermore, the design entirely disregarded user experience (UX) best practices, jeopardizing user navigation and overall satisfaction. We approached the client again, expressing our concerns. Unfortunately, they remained steadfast in their decision, citing the full payment already rendered to the designer. This experience serves as a potent reminder of the paramount importance of user-centric design in the success of any mobile application. While a visually appealing app might seem sufficient, a well-crafted UX is the cornerstone of user retention and engagement, directly impacting a business's bottom line. Key Considerations for Effective Mobile App Design: Intuitive Interface: The design should be clear, user-friendly, and facilitate effortless navigation Aesthetics: A balance between visual appeal and functionality is crucial. Color Scheme: Colors should complement each other and be chosen strategically to enhance the user experience. Responsiveness: The app should adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes and orientations. Accessibility: Catering to users with disabilities through adherence to accessibility guidelines is essential. By prioritizing these elements, businesses can create mobile applications that not only look good but also provide a positive and intuitive user experience, fostering user loyalty and propelling business growth. #androiddevelopment #mobileappdevelopment #android #androiddeveloper #appdevelopment #appdesign #webdevelopment

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To my fellow startup founders: this is honestly the best article on PMF I have ever come across: https://lnkd.in/d-ABgq2e Thanks again for reminding me of this gem Melinda Elmborg!

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India’s Oyo, once valued at $10 billion, is finalizing new funding at a $2.5 billion valuation. This marks a steep decline from its $10 billion valuation in 2019. The startup, which has raised over $3 billion from backers like SoftBank, Peak XV Ventures, Lightspeed, Airbnb, and Microsoft, has struggled to attract institutional investors. In recent months, it has aggressively pitched to high-net-worth individuals after withdrawing its IPO application twice in the past four years. Once a red-hot Indian startup active in markets including the U.S. and Europe, Oyo has now scaled back its international presence. #venture #downround https://lnkd.in/gE2GjYnM

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Zepto entering BNPL. I generally hate how startups see lending as a go-to strategy for growth - whether it is B2B marketplaces / manufacturing aggregators to Quick commerce (especially given the organic growth happening). I often wonder if it really enables true demand or ends up unduly inflating it only to bring it all down during downturns. But, in this case, I slightly differ. Consumers have historically enjoyed extended monthly settlements from their local grocers - remember, hisaab me likh lena! BNPL for Zepto eliminates another friction for customers in buying grocery online.

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Today, we are excited to share our biggest investment as Antler, in India so far. At Antler, incl. our Elevate continuty fund (Fady Abdel-Nour, CFA), we're thrilled to co-lead a $11M pre Ser A in Namma Yatri, alongside Blume Ventures Karthik B. Reddy and Google In this business, a few times in your career, you come across a truly disruptive business model that challenges the way things have been done, and extremely obsessed founders creating a culture that is so unique, you have never seen it before. When that happens, despite all the things not clear, it’s a joy to jump on board that potential rocketship. That’s what we have seen in the way Namma Yatri is being built by Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S with (a) a disruptive business model in urban mobility, rethinking how to make the life of a driver better and (b) Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) at its heart. 46 million trips have already been completed, with >7 million registered users. For us, this is also a continuation of our commitment to investing in a future on DPI / Beckn / ONDC, started in 2022. h/t Susmit Patodia. Rajiv Srivatsa Magnus Grimeland Martell Hardenberg Teddy Himler Keerat Singh Sethi Vimal Kumar Sheetal Lalwani T Koshy sujith nair Pramod Varma

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My notes from Sharad Sharma of ProductNation/iSPIRT on the Neon podcast: 1/ iSPIRT is dedicated to making India a product nation. They operate with a 30-year time horizon and are not focused on profits. 2/ When UPI was launched, major banks like SBI and HDFC initially resisted. Normally, RBI would have given in to the demands of the biggest banks, but a governor like Dr. Raghuram Rajan pushed through, ensuring widespread adoption. Policymakers like him help turn big visions into reality at a national scale. 3/ Product companies generate significantly more revenue than service companies. For example, Boeing or Airbus make more revenue than five airlines combined. Similarly, Cisco or Juniper Networks outpaces the revenue of operators like Jio and Airtel. 4/ Innovation in product companies is fundamentally different from that in service companies. 5/ It’s notable that France is in the G-20 but not Spain, even though both are similar in size. This is because we buy high-value products like aircraft from Airbus and Rafale jets from Dassault in France, but only olive oil from Spain. 6/ China is showing early signs of pivoting from a service economy to a product economy—product-focused work is high-leverage and generates higher revenue. This shift could help economies avoid the middle-income trap and move toward greater wealth. 7/ This is the era of "philosopher CEOs"—leaders who think from first principles and are driven by mission rather than profit alone. 8/ We must unlearn traditional business rules. Many product companies follow an S-curve growth model, requiring adaptability. Most tech companies experience S-curve inflexions, and entrepreneurs or VCs who wait for data often miss out. 9/ When John Collison met the early iSPIRT team, he read every publication on UPI—even though he had no vested interest in India or UPI at the time. This kind of curiosity builds early conviction rather than market data. 10/ Don’t settle for the bare minimum; aim for the highest NPS. Many Indian businesses with a traditional mindset aim for minimum NPS, but great companies don’t operate this way. A first mover like Flipkart lost to Amazon largely because Jeff Bezos consistently prioritized NPS. 11/ The earlier brain drain is now benefiting India, with many skilled individuals returning. We need to create an environment that helps them thrive. Side note: Sharad has a myopia of -8, yet it hasn’t hindered his vision for India or drive at all. Link to the episode in the comments 👇🏼

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Raising 1 crore for my D2C business from a High Net-Worth Individual in Gurgaon turned out to be easier than I expected. It taught me an important lesson: raising funds isn’t about luck; it’s about timing and strategy. Startups are risky, and sometimes the best thing you can have is patience. Instead of rushing for fast growth, it's crucial to build a solid business foundation. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t raise funds only when you desperately need money. Instead, raise funds when your business is strong and investors are eager to invest in you. This reminds me of the story of Big Bazaar and Dmart in India. Big Bazaar expanded rapidly across the country, trying to grow fast. But this led to problems like high debt and inefficiency, which eventually caused its downfall. On the other hand, Dmart, founded by Radhakishan Damani, took a different approach. Dmart grew slowly and carefully, opening new stores only when it made sense. This strategy focused on efficient operations and understanding customer needs, leading to steady and sustainable growth. Dmart’s careful planning and patience allowed it to thrive, even when times were tough. Dmart’s success shows that real growth doesn’t happen overnight. It’s about expanding at the right time and in the right way. This story inspires me to focus on patient, thoughtful growth for my own business, ensuring it stands strong for the future. In short, my journey and the story of Dmart teach a valuable lesson: be patient, grow wisely, and let your business evolve naturally.

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In any data driven company, it's the DS folks who tie the various aspects of business enabling eng, AI, Product, Operations to cross function and strategize. To be an effective DS, One of the key learnings I have had is Familiar yourself with the domain to be effective. Even a skilled DS can take 6-12 months to learn the nuances of a new domain. Every domain presents its own jargons, sets of problems, true norths & metrics to optimize. In my 12 yrs stint as a DS, I worked in multiple domains insurance, telecom, security, retail and social media. Well some obvious ways to shorten the learning curve is to engage with your teammates, ask questions, read documentations etc. But some really effective ways are to - Understand your true north, get married to it. The best DSs I know can guess pretty accurately how much a product feature will drive a metric even before ab testing. - Engage with cross-functional teams like product, operations or your users - they are your knowledge mines - Think out loud, throw in ideas and ask questions whenever in doubt. The best way to learn something faster is to be corrected faster. - Review Pull Requests whenever possible - reviewing peer codes helps you understand data sources, and find some hidden business contexts’ Easter eggs - Look at some records in your data sources before you write a line of code. You will be surprised how this simple exercise reduces data manipulation iterations. - Attend all hands horizontal or vertical. Might be a slightly less popular opinion but it really helps you be connected to the - business goals. No Wonder, why 85% of the AI projects across product companies are not aligned to business goals. - Share any insight, tool or technique you used recently with your team and be part of these sharing sessions to learn what and how others have mined in the data. PS: The image is just for fun, improving my prompting skills to test gpt to its limits. #datascience #learnings

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🪓 B2B E-commerce game is brutal. How ShopX lost the game and went from $100M to bankruptcy: 🇮🇳 Founded in 2015 by Apoorva Jois and Amit Sharma, ShopX provided a mobile and web application that allowed these retailers to order products without leaving their shops, thus saving time and effort without stocking physical goods. This was a game-changer. Retailers could browse a vast selection of products from multiple brands and manage their inventory more efficiently without leaving their shops. 📈 By 2018, ShopX had gained significant traction: - served around 180,000 retailers across 460 cities and delivered over 1M packages per month - ventured into new categories like lifestyle and clothing (increased net margins by 500%) - raised $35M in funding led by Fung Strategic Holdings (~100M valuation) But the e-commerce game is brutal, and ShopX learned that the hard way. In 2022, ShopX died and filed for bankruptcy when they: - struggled with low margins (unviable biz model) - took multiple loans but couldn't repay  - pivoted too late (and failed) - unable to fundraise - fierce competition Want to know why and read the full failed story of ShopX? The newsletter will be sent to my subscribers at 8pm today. Join 5,000+ operators here: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq P.S. I guarantee this is the best 5 mins you'll ever spend to learn from failed startup stories and become a better operator 🤝🏻 #startup

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Next steps in India Mobility are continuing to show progress - one of the top investments that continues to show IndiaFirst #ProudInvestor #ProudVC #IndiaFirst #BestLPs

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As I sit with son on factorisation of polynomials... Example: a-square -5a -6 The trick is to multiply the coefficients of a-square and the constant term. You get -6. And then find the numbers that on multiplication gives -6 but on summation gives -5 Now he ponders on 3 and 2 the more obvious ones. Soon he realises that since the signs need to be opposite, they cannot on addition get you to -5. That 1 is a factor of all numbers and the number itself is then recollected. So you get 1 and 6, one of which needs to be negative. Now you come to an interesting part. Which one is to be kept negative? Things are a bit involved by now and so the attention doesnt come on the obvious point. After some pondering, it took some pointing attention to the fact that to get to -5 on addition, it is the bigger number that needs to be made negative. It was a wow moment, even if it was obvious... As i observed him solving subsequent problems, he started remembering this new rule, which he knew from earlier, but just got reinforced. Point 1 - Mathematics Education Now one thing is what it tells us about Mathematics education. The 100 small things to which attention need to be paid to, to get Maths right. It is cognitively taxing. You need supervisory/facilitating human attention, which is the simplest way to motivate a child to go through with it. It can become fun, but only if you get it right often. And like in all learning if you dont get it right often enough, it can make one lose interest. Point 2 - Neural net learning But to come to my soapbox, the neural networks also seem to be learning a 100 small things. The combination of getting trained where a pattern repeats and reinforces is what makes learning happen. The rule is not what we memorise. The rule is the compression of patterned enumeration. But human beings seem to internalise it, not based on memorising rules. We seem to internalise it based on the repetition of the enumeration and the fact that, now you can jump the step and not have to enumerate at all. The Rule is not what is either Taught or Learnt. The Rule is what you arrive at through a process. The process is the observation of the repetition of the enumeration and then suddenly being able to "see" the pattern. And for the LLM to learn any new Rule, we need to give it the Data which has this Patterned Enumeration. We thought in 2023 that we had some generalised Intelligence. We thought wrong. Anyone spending 1000s of hours with LLMs now knows that the LLM is not able to get into too much of generalisation. Neither are most Human Beings able to do that when they Learn! I will be very curious to know how AGI can be achieved. Because like the Ring in the Lord of the Rings, it will have to be the Ring that rules them all! How will we manage to pull that off? Does the patterned enumeration of Rules, have a Rule? Do we Humans somehow get it? Can we produce Data that makes this happen for Neural nets? #humanlearning #agi

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Checkout our version of HealthGPT which answers questions on menstrual health using your 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭. We have tuned the model for women health use cases like - period tracking & PCOS management. Some interesting features: 1. 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 - We use a multi agent design to break problems into sub tasks that are handled by separate agents. It’s as if multiple LLMs are working in a team. Using a single agent had a whole lot pf problems like - hallucination, forgetting & recency bias. 2. Uses 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 - The agent taps into a structured database like Firestore or MongoDB. Not a vector database. Keeping the data structured helps the user interact easily with traditional product flows, and we have given the LLM 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 to fetch the information as needed. - You can see in the 𝐆𝐈𝐅 the user asks for their period information. This is fetched from the db, formatted and presented. 3. 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 - The architecture of the bot is easily scalable to other usecases like customer support bot, app guide etc. There are numerous applications of LLMs in healthcare. Really excited to explore more such usecases with interested individuals. You can check out the app here - https://lnkd.in/gDYtQMqH #llms #gpt #healthcare #sakhiAI #generativeAI

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Ayna, a generative AI startup by Aastha Rajpal and Yash Bansal for product photography for e-commerce, recently raised $1.5M in a seed funding round led by Inflexor Ventures, with participation from Faad Network Pvt. Ltd and Lead Angels. Their concept is quite interesting and addresses some real problems in this space. ✅ Ayna can create and customize an entire virtual human model around clothes or any product, eliminating the necessity of human models for photoshoots. ✅ It allows the creation of virtual human models with multiple options across ethnicities such as American, Russian, Indian, and Indian sub-cultures such as Kashmiri, Bengali, and others. It also gives options to choose different body types, genders, ages, as well as eye and hair colors. ✅ The startup counts apparel brands like Reliance Retail’s Clovia, WomanLikeU, Bummer, and D2C furniture and mattress brand Wakefit among its clients. Photography involving actual human models of different ethnicities is a time-consuming and expensive process, and for industries like innerwear, the problems are even greater. So in terms of value add, Ayna seems to be a great product, reducing cost and time substantially. #AI #Ecommerce #Startup #ProductPhotography #GenerativeAI

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The retail industry in India is thriving.. Let's celebrate.. India is a retail powerhouse with over 1.4 billion people with more than 46% smartphone users. More than 300 million Indians actively participate in digital commerce. With 63% of the population having Internet access, eCom has skyrocketed beyond $85 billion; a remarkable achievement. India's retail sector is experiencing an incredible growth in every way. Let's thank each and everyone contributed to this success. Consumers are at the core of the boom and the online customers shines.. People can explore products online, compare features, and find the best product and price from the comfort of their homes. Online platforms connects buyers and sellers effortlessly making commerce a breeze. In addition it ensures on time deliveries right to the customer's doorsteps, giving them peace of mind. Thanks to the technology that evolves every day. There is no doubt that technology is incredible! But often it requires heavy investments in capital. Brilliant technology help the users shine brightly. But brilliance is meaningful only when it is within easy access.. Is this brilliance affordable for all 13 million brick-and-mortar retailers in India? Don't they need the same technology to bright along with their cash rich peers?Let's shine India's eCom path so that technology benefits every one. Following a phenomenal UK launch, Grozeo (grozeo.com), the leading retail tech provider, is setting its sights on India! We're excited to bring our innovative solutions to Indian retailers, empowering them with the tools they need to succeed, regardless of their size or experience. Be part of this exciting journey as we make technology work for every retailer in India! Grozeo is committed to make technology accessible and affordable for every Indian retailer, big or small. Join us in transforming the retail landscape together! TOGETHER WE SHINE BRIGHTER !!

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Product Folks in Delhi NCR, you can't miss this! Aakash Gupta is on his India tour, and we at HelloPM are super excited to host him ❤️ Aakash has: 1. Created the popular Product Growth newsletter and grown it from scratch to 130k+ subscribers. 2. Writes the most comprehensive and in-depth content for product & growth professionals, 3. Lead as a product leader at Affirm, Apollo.io 4. Contributed to the growth of the famous game FORTNITE during his stint at EPIC games. You can register for the curated meetup here & catchup with Aakash in person: https://rzp.io/rzp/17thNov [This event is for product leaders, founders, product managers, and aspiring product professionals] WHAT TO EXPECT: ​- Intimate fireside chat with Aakash on product, growth, and building in public ​- Interactive Q&A session - get your burning questions answered ​- Network with fellow product enthusiasts over snacks ​- Exclusive insights from Aakash's decade in product ​- Take home practical strategies you can apply immediately WHY YOU CAN'T MISS THIS: ​- Direct access to Aakash's experience and insights ​- Connect with your local product community ​- Get actionable frameworks and strategies ​- Be part of an intimate, high-energy gathering ​- Network with like-minded product folks Priya Roy lets do this 💪🏼 #productmanagement #productgrowth

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