Pranjal Agarwal

Diwali Dampener? Market Volatility and IPO Updates As we gear up for Diwali, the market seems to be painting a mixed picture. IPO Update: Swiggy's IPO valuation has been reportedly revised downwards to $11.3 billion, as market volatility and the lacklustre debut of Hyundai India weighed on sentiment.   According to Reuters, BlackRock and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) will invest in the $1.4 billion IPO—the country's second-biggest stock offering this year.   Market Sentiment: Just before Diwali, the Indian bourses entered the bear market amid weak global cues and rising volatility. The NSE Nifty 50 fell 2.7% last week and the BSE Sensex dropped 2.2%, logging losses for the fourth straight week.   In fact, October turned out to be the worst-ever month in terms of foreign fund outflows, with foreign investors pulling out a massive Rs 85,790 crore (around $10.2 billion) from equities due to the elevated pricing of domestic equities.    Investors would be treading tricky waters next few weeks, for sure. Let's discuss: What are your thoughts on the current market scenario and its implications for the upcoming festive season? Share your insights and strategies to weather this volatility. #stockmarket #investing #IPO #Diwali #marketvolatility #India

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CHANNELIAM FUNDING TRACKER RECENT UPDATES: 1. #Wealthtech startup Dezerv raises $32 Mn in Series B 2. GOAT Brand Labs raises $21 Mn in debt and equity 3. Felicity Games raises $700K from DeVC, Nandan Reddy, Kunal Shah and others 4. Qarmatek Services Private Limited raises $1 Mn in pre-Series A round 5. Centriti raises Rs 6 crore in funding round led by Emergent Ventures India 6. Prosus Group to lead $100 million funding in BlueStone 7. #Recycling startup Ricron Panels bags Series A funding from Boon Sustainability, Others

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Appcharge, the leading direct-to-consumer platform, is excited to share a $26 million Series A funding round, led by Creandum, with participation from Supercell, BITKRAFT Ventures, Moneta Ventures and Corundum, alongside existing investors Play Ventures, Glilot Capital Partners, and angel investors. This new funding marks Appcharge's next step in driving the DTC movement forward. Web stores have become ubiquitous—our recent industry report confirms this trend—but the DTC space still has so much room to grow. Maor Sason Roei Barassi Or Ben Shimon Gil Tov-Ly To share your startup story write us on - [email protected] #funding #startup #SeriesA #Appcharge

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Founders focusing on category-specific Quick-Commerce (QC) should note: when Myntra/Nykaa launched, Flipkart/Amazon weren't operating in those categories. Also, e-commerce players are now venturing into quick commerce. They already know which individuals in which locations order what products and at what frequencies! I see no chance for category-specific QCs. I've noticed many VCs lamenting that 70% of new founders are pitching category-focused QC ventures. These founders seem inspired by broad-QC successes (Zepto/Blinkit/Instamart) and draw parallels to e-commerce, where broad players (Flipkart/Amazon) coexist with category specialists (Myntra/Nykaa). The VCs' concerns are valid, and many founders are missing the crucial point. When Myntra/Nykaa launched, they faced no competition from major e-commerce players. These category specialists captured significant market share before broader players entered. By then, they had built unique user experiences and strong brand recall. This helped them survive and thrive. Today, every broad QC (Zepto/Blinkit/Instamart) is raising crazy capital to expand. It's unlikely they'll leave room for category-focused players to establish themselves. Unless the broad QC players mess it up big time, I fail to see how category-focused QC players will make a dent. Additionally, the entry of established e-commerce players into quick commerce (like Flipkart with Minutes) complicates things. These players have years of data on which pincodes order what products, and at what frequencies. They are aware that you place an order for Vim liquid every month and a laptop every three years. You can also be confident that they will aggressively defend their key categories, such as electronics. New category-focused QC ventures will face significant challenges in competing with them. D2Cs (Mamaearth/Licious/Akshayakalpa) may succeed by targeting specific market segments that value unique attributes (organic, premium, etc.). However, they'll find it difficult to expand beyond their niche. Mass-market capture will remain a broad QC play. Thoughts?

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🚨Hiring Alert: Urgently looking for video editors to join our YouTube team at Finshots & Ditto Insurance. 3 reasons why you shouldn't ignore this opportunity - 1) Within just 6 months of launching, we're nearing 10,000 subscribers on Ditto's YouTube. We also recently crossed 50k on FinshotsTV (our 2nd channel). Video content is going to be our next big bet, and the earlier you join, the better profile growth you get. 2) Our video editor - Arjun Nair - told me what makes Ditto different from his previous workplaces. He said Ditto gave him direction and structure but also allowed him creative freedom. It’s funny because most creative folks wouldn’t put “structure” and “freedom” in the same sentence. And this is exactly the kind of culture we're building out here. 3) We're not just another boring insurance channel. We're shaking up the insurance playbook in India with engaging podcasts, bite-sized explainers, and creative video content to make understanding and choosing insurance easy and fun. You can apply now by heading over to our careers page on Ditto (link under my profile). PS: Share this post with someone who you know is crushing it at editing. #hiring #job #content

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India's mobile payments market has been dominated by foreign companies like Google Pay and PhonePe, but recent news suggests that the government plans to curb their dominance. It's no secret that India has the talent and resources to build comparable mobile payment technologies, so why do these foreign companies continue to dominate? According to some, the issue lies with policy makers and structural challenges. However, there are young entrepreneurs like Sahgal Yadav who are up for the challenge. I had the pleasure of meeting him four months ago, and he shared his vision for building LESS PAY, a SAAS and mobile payment technology . The only challenge he faces is relevant capital. It's time for India to invest in its own talent and resources and support the growth of domestic mobile payment technologies. With the right support, entrepreneurs like Sahgal Yadav can build world-class solutions that benefit the country's economy and people. #India #MobilePayments #Entrepreneurship #DomesticTalent #LessPay

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Fundraising challenges in India - an India story that's not that promising VC Firms - need startups to dematerialise shares before wiring funds NSDL office - we haven't processed applications of Aug yet. We also have a priority list to process for larger companies first. Irony - Younger stage companies can't wait for such bottlenecks while raising small, early rounds but are being made to wait the most, thanks to the system. I can't believe an org like NSDL can't have separate teams looking at applications for startups of different market cap ranges. While every policy rolled out comes with a mandatory ask, our govt org systems should work more towards making bureaucracy more startup friendly. As of now, as I speak with founders, raising small rounds is becoming a herculean task.

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🚨Swiggy IPO gets oversubscribed led by QIB bids Swiggy’s IPO was oversubscribed 1.07 times by the third day, driven largely by QIBs, who oversubscribed their portion 1.52 times. Retail investors subscribed to 97% of their portion, while Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) made bids for 22% of their allocation. Swiggy's employee quota also saw strong demand, with a subscription rate of 1.38 times. Swiggy raised around Rs 5,085 crore (approx. $605 million) from anchor investors like HDFC, ICICI, SBI, and global players including Fidelity and BlackRock. by Akshita Toshniwal | #SwiggyIPO #IPO #QIB #RetailInvestors #Foodtech Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/ggm_piMt

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In last 3 months - I have seen lot of adtech/agencies founder and team members reach out across markets in China, South East Asia, Middle East and India. Largely within the programmatic and affiliate ecosystem - 2 trends are driving compression with revenue down 50-70% YoY. 1. Funding trends - Edtech, Gaming and Fintech seeing pressure moving from aggressive customer acquisitions to quality of users 2. commoditisation of tech leading to lower entry barrier for leaner teams, agencies to eat into adtech margins and build direct relationships with publishers eg MMPs, tracking softwares etc Unfortunately biggest mistake most of these businesses are doing in such times are launching full stack agencies - trying to build exclusivity on advertiser side to improve access to supply. Problems for success being 1. They are not building completely new teams with cost structures, capabilities and incentives to build agency business to operate in single % of media spend margins with transparency and execution efficiency for scale instead - going after advertiser accounts with margin management or rebates built in day zero and mentality of 3-4 quarter journey of advertiser built with them. 2. Not investing in building capabilities which are advertiser first eg Shopify or Cloud services implementation to Data sciences practises which are tools for digital transformation - with innovating business models. Big agencies are thriving as they have invested a lot in capability set and moving on from being just media agencies but to build solutioning capabilities for clients and different practises are reflective of brands acquisition velocity this enable + margins. I want to clarify adtech is not going away, affiliate is not dying. Its interesting trend across US and EU on how Programmatic, Affiliate and KOL ecosystem is coming together for brands - opening up more set of opportunities then every before. We at Tyroo are committed on building Strong digital media Monetization platform helping partners Grow and be successful in APAC . Reach out to Shalini Sharma for roles across Japan, China and Singapore #adtech #martech #SaaS Vaibhav Pandey

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The "Final Day" Challenge Imagine today is your last in sales. How one shoukd approach it? • Every call becomes a golden opportunity • Each follow-up carries unmatched urgency • Closing deals takes on new significance Mindset to transform your performance and best way i feel as under: 1. Focus solely on high-impact activities 2. Make each conversation memorable with your associates 3. Absorb knowledge like never before 4. Build lasting relationships in moments 5. Push beyond your perceived limits I state that this isn't about working harder—it's about working with a purpose. Your challenge: Approach today as if it's your professional finale. The outcome: Unprecedented results and a legacy of excellence. I would advice you to read this and try it and do come tomorrow again on this article and share your feedback as i would like to see if my thought is inline with others. #SalesExcellence #ProfessionalGrowth #CareerMindset #revfin #ev #evempowering #digitallending #cred #emfai Source of this article from this article https://lnkd.in/gbkBDDpS

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At Pod Invest, we aim to enable 20 startups to get funded in the upcoming quarter with an average cheque size of $100,000, primarily targeting pre-seed and seed stages in India. The sectors we see getting attention: 1. Gen AI 2. Medtech 3. Healthtech 4. Consumer Tech 5. Niche D2C 6. Spacetech 7. Fintech 8. Deeptech 9. Clean Energy 10. EV Do reach out to me with your pitch decks If you know someone looking to raise funds, do tag them in the comments. Vittal Ramakrishna Neelendra Nath Naman Pandey Samson Mathew Likhita Chepa

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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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Snapdeal Founders Strike Gold: Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal Book 200X Return on Urban Company Investment In a story that will inspire aspiring investors everywhere, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, the co-founders of Snapdeal, have achieved a remarkable feat. Through their early-stage investment firm, Titan Capital, they've secured a staggering 200-fold return on their investment in Urban Company, the popular on-demand services platform. This impressive exit comes after Titan Capital invested a total of Rs 57 lakh (approximately $70,000) in Urban Company's early funding rounds. Their foresight has paid off handsomely, as they've completely exited the company with a return of Rs 111 crore (approximately $13.5 million). This windfall includes a partial exit made in 2021. The news of Titan Capital's impressive return coincides with a recent secondary investment in Urban Company by Dharana Capital, an offshoot of Vy Capital, for $50 million. This transaction also included a $25 million ESOP (Employee Stock Option Plan) buyback announced earlier in May. With additional participation from Amsterdam-based investment giant Prosus, the total secondary investment reached $63 million. This isn't the first time Titan Capital has shown its investment prowess. They have a history of generating significant returns, including at least 100X gains on their bets on Ola and MamaEarth. Notably, in August 2023, they exited debt recovery platform Credgenics with a 100-fold return, mirroring their success with MamaEarth's IPO last November. Bahl and Bansal's investment acumen extends beyond Urban Company. They achieved a similar impressive exit from ride-hailing giant Ola. Their initial investment of $60,000 in 2011 yielded a significant return as Ola reached its peak valuation of $7.3 billion in 2021 before their full exit. Titan Capital's portfolio boasts other successful exits, including companies like Bewakoof, Unicommerce, ANS Commerce, and Netmeds.com. Additionally, reports suggest they are establishing a new "Winners Fund" worth Rs 300 crore (approximately $36 million) to further support existing portfolio companies. This story serves as a testament to the potential rewards of early-stage investing. It highlights the importance of identifying promising startups and having the foresight to back them through their growth journey. Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal's success with Titan Capital is an inspiration to aspiring investors and a reminder that calculated risks can lead to significant rewards. Source Credits : Entrackr Link : https://lnkd.in/gTGGjeuV

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🍽️ Hungry for the next big investment? Swiggy’s IPO might be the opportunity you’re looking for! 🚀 Opening Nov 6th to Nov 8th, Swiggy aims to raise ₹11,327.43 crore. 📊 In India’s food delivery race, Swiggy holds a solid 44% market share against Zomato’s 55%. While Zomato is currently more profitable, Swiggy is rapidly improving. 💸 So, where should you invest? Both stocks have strong long-term growth potential in this booming sector! Stay tuned, stay invested! 📈💼 Reach out to us at 98218 60804, 96533 87088, or 83694 18292 or visit us at the 5th Floor, Bellona, The Walk, Hiranandani Estate, Thane (W) 400 607 for a complimentary portfolio checkup. Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. #SwiggyIPO #IPO #Investment #StockMarket #FinancialPlanning #WealthManagement #FoodDelivery #Zomato #StockMarketNews #FinancialNews #InvestingTips #Enrichwise #NIFTY #SENSEX #BSE #NSE #IndianStockMarket #StockMarketIndia #StockMarketTrends #FinancialMarkets

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Fintech startup CredFlow has raised $3.7 million (about Rs 31.2 crore) in a pre-Series B funding round co-led by two of its existing investors, Inflexor Ventures and a Singapore-based family office. The proceeds will be allocated towards optimizing and scaling its financial services and lending verticals, as well as improving its tech and innovation capabilities. CredFlow is a SaaS-based cash flow management solution that aims to address every single aspect of the cash flow management and financial growth process in small and medium-sized organizations. The platform enables SMEs to leverage technology to unlock more working capital by helping them manage their finances better through timely insights via a dashboard of pending amounts from customers, sending regular payment reminders, validating invoices, and negotiating discounts for early payments. According to CredFlow, it offers robust financial management by directly integrating with the business’s Tally or Busy ERP, which, in turn, provides business owners with real-time analytics and deep insights into their operations. Founder: Kunal Aggarwal Follow Rise & Shine for daily funding deals. Stay ahead, stay motivated with www.riseshine.in #fintech #startup #funding

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My new piece is up on The Story Board!! This is the 1st segment of a two-part essay diving into Account Aggregators— the new addition to the Indian fintech landscape. Account Aggregators have been discussed with much fervour in the past 3 years, and have been heavily touted as “the next UPI”. To find out if that is truly so, give this essay a read as I explore: 1️⃣ What Account Aggregators even mean 2️⃣ The AA workflow breakdown through the life story of Saha, an average Indian resident 3️⃣ Existing and possible use cases of the AA infrastructure Let me know your thoughts/questions and stay tuned for part 2, where I lay out the traction and adoption of the AA technology, existing and potential revenue models for monetization, and the actual incentives for financial institutions to join this ecosystem. 

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How UPI Crippled Kotak Mahindra Bank & lessons we can learn Via the ET (Link in comments) "On April 24, RBI barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards." WHY? "The bank’s core banking system (CBS) and its online and digital banking channels have suffered frequent and significant outages in the past two years without a robust IT infrastructure and IT risk-management framework." WHY did that happen? Enter UPI! "In March, 13.4 billion UPI transactions were conducted. Before the pandemic, this number stood at 1.3 billion. “Every time you make a UPI payment, it is recorded on the CBS, does not matter if it's an INR 10,000 or INR 10 transaction. CBS is a legacy architect which is burdened with UPI transactions,” said a former banker. “If my UPI transaction is stuck, it will unnecessarily load CBS. If that happens, other peripheral systems could also be impacted. There is a ripple effect.” Learning: - INNOVATION KILLS anything in its way. A business can no longer IGNORE Global Innovation, thinking "How will this damage me" If UPI can whip Kotak Bank, you have no idea what AI, the Cloud, and even EVs can do to you! - The other major lesson is an obsession with ROI. "Why add more tech stacks? Why invest in extra security?" "Why spend crores in upgrading" All the "Why now, let's wait" arguments become Dirge Songs of the STUCK. Mota lesson: If you see anything moving fast, make sure you either catch up with it OR stand clearly out of its way! #Dhandhekibaat What example of ruin by innovation denial comes to your mind?

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