Saurabh Jain

Who exactly is losing market share in the hotly contest grocery commerce? I thought it must be the now-not-so modern retail, but I'm not so sure. Zepto raised $665 Mn at a valuation of $3.6 Bn, and is in talks to raise $250 Mn more. And their cofounder and CEO Aadit Palicha recently commented that they can beat DMart - Avenue Supermarts Ltd on GMV in the next 12-18 months. Swiggy Instamart also is growing, and Blinkit is likely to be more valuable than their owner Zomato itself - so they are all doing well, even if Dunzo isn't. Sure, no idea what JioMart Digital is doing, but deep pockets. Same with Tata Digital and their weird assortment forced to converge on Neu. bigbasket.com is trying to unlearn and relearn, and it just might. And Flipkart Grocery and Amazon Fresh are also upping their game - launching faster deliveries, discounts, improved fill rates, and selection. So I wonder if it is the modern-trade players? The likes of More Retail Private Limited, Spencer's Retail, STAR BAZAR, and SPAR Retail that are suffering? The nearest Spencer's to me is definitely a sore sight, now reduced to a shell of it's former glory - I think they aren't even replenishing inventory now. And we all know what happened to Big Bazaar - Future Retail. But Dmart itself isn't doing half bad - with pareto presence in just 23 cities, and no presence in UP (except NCR), Bihar, and West Bengal, they have considerable headroom, still. And they haven't yet quite solved for ecommerce, so while The Ken says that they are lost, they may find their way, eventually? I also don't think that the real consumption is growing, if at all, it may even shrink with the K-growth. Thus, some one _is_ losing share. And if it is not modern trade, then is it the regional chains? The single kiranas? The corner-store? The hand-cart? I'm not entirely sure because this data is hard to organize, and get. Would you know? Image created by AI in Microsoft Bing Copilot.

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CredFlow founder Kunal Aggarwal achieved a major milestone by securing $3.7 million in pre-Series B funding from Inflexor Ventures. This strategic investment brings CredFlow’s total funding to over $13 million, following $9.2 million raised in earlier rounds. Read about how CredFlow is revolutionizing SME's finances: https://lnkd.in/ebv7N7m3 #CredFlow #Funding #Investment #EntrepreneurshipStudio

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🚀 From Zepto to Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters – Indian Startups Raised $490.32 Mn This Week🚀 This week 31 Indian startups raised $490.32 Mn, which includes 7 growth stage and 19 early-stage deals while 5 early-stage startups kept the transaction details undisclosed. Regarding the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 8 deals followed by Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Dehradun, Jodhpur, and Lucknow. During the week, Seed funding deals are on top with 11 deals followed by 6 Series A, 4 pre-Series A, 3 Series C, 2 Series B, 2 pre-Seed, and 1 Series F deal. On a weekly basis, startup funding tripled and went up 239.42% to $490.32 million as compared to around $144.46 million raised during the previous week. So, I put together a comprehensive guide that covers: - 📌 Key Startup Funding Highlights of The Week 📌 Growth/late-stage deals 📌 Early-stage deals 📌 City and Segment-Wise Deals 📌 Other Major Developments of This Week ➕ Follow Shilpi Kumari for more such insightful content. #startups #fundraising #fundingsuccess #investmentstrategy #founders #entrepreneurs #startupecosystem #fundingnews

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How To Get Real Feedback For Your Startup's Products w/ Mohit Jain of Kimirica | Shrija Agrawal of RizingTV What needs to be done to make sure you get constructive criticism or feedback for your products or services? In conversation with RizingTV, Mohit Jain of Kimirica explains. #kimirica #mohitjain #vaibhavjain #abnw #startup #productfeedback #productmarketfit #rizingtv

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Ready to Scale Your Business from ₹15 Cr to ₹150 Cr? Imagine Your venture has successfully transitioned from #startup to a robust entity with annual revenues of ₹10-15 Cr. But what's next? To achieve 5X or even 10X #growth, you're likely considering funding options. Before you think traditional—like bank loans or angel investors—watch this video where I have introduced another powerful avenue. ➡️If you know someone dreaming big for their business? Share this video with them and help illuminate the path to massive expansion _________________ Follow me, Rahul Chauhan, as I talk about #business #passion #entraprenure #BSE #NSE

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Meet Ankur Bansal, a Senior Product Consultant at BlueStacks, who is not just a community member but also a 1% Club Commando. He has seen his stock market portfolio rise by 67% in 4 years. In an interview with the team, Ankur shares some simple but interesting insights from his investing journey till now. Here’s his full story - https://lnkd.in/dwCn4z-c #stockmarket #investing #community #financialplanning

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We've been part of this journey with Vidur Kataria Sidhanth Madan & Radhika Mittal since the pre-seed round in 2020 (also closer to heart since this was the first deal from Fund II). The investment thesis for us was always very simple - we tried cooking Chinese food at home during Covid, and all that was available was "Ching's Secret Schezwan Fried Rice Masala" & it was surprising that the second most enjoyed cuisine in the country is Chinese & we have just one brand that catered to this audience. Then we ended tasting the Masterchow sauces & we were just floored to see the difference in quality and taste. Having said that, the thesis that we believed in, didn't ring a bell with a lot of folks that we spoke to in the last 4 years. These were the top reasons why VCs hesitated -> 1) Market size is not large enough - Our belief was that the market appeared to be small, because the only brand available thus far was Ching's. Then Ching's got sold to Tata for ~5500cr, then noone questioned the market size any more. 2) Products are too expensive - Their sauces which was the first category they got into - was priced at ~Rs.240. Lot of people thought that this was expensive for India. But that was just the first category, after that in just last 2 years the founders have innovated on the product (Cup Noodles, Ramen, Chilli oil) and made products cheaper (Masterchow Staples, Chowmein, Schezwan). But I'm glad we got some believers along the way in the form of Anicut Capital LLP & Surge. And now, Tanglin Venture Partners. The founders continue to surprise everyone & I believe they'll do so in the future as well! #startup #funding #fmcg https://lnkd.in/g2wdAvmx

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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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The Mumbai Founder's Meetup is almost here, and we're bringing you exclusive insights to dominate the Fintech market. If you’re a B2B founder who wants to get access to practical tactics & frameworks for a winning Fintech GTM strategy, from seasoned Fintech founders who've scaled successfully, then this meet-up is for you! Here's what you can expect: 11 AM: Scaling Fintech - The Enterprise Play with Suvendu Prusty 12 PM: The SMB Play for Fintech with Manish Aggarwal 1 PM: ️ Lunch & Mixer (Network with fellow founders & GTM leaders!) #Fintech #Mumbai #foundersmeetup #b2bsaas #ScalingFintech

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In a fascinating article, Pradip K. Saha from Morning Context explains why quick commerce (Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy, Instamart, and soon Tata) is successful in India, whereas it has proven to be a challenge in developed markets. He notes that quick commerce has been a “game changer” for the leading FMCG players, like HUL, Dabur, ITC and Nestle. Saha also notes that Indian quick commerce works because the players have attained scale. This is underpinned and facilitated by a network of dark stores. Saha explains that “A typical dark store serves a 1-3 km radius. Blinkit, which dominates 40% of India’s quick-commerce market, added 152 such dark stores along with seven warehouses in the September quarter, taking the number of dark stores to 791. Zepto, with a market share of just under 30%, has around 400 stores, while Swiggy’s Instamart operates over 600 such stores. Together, the three companies account for nearly 90% of India’s quick-commerce segment. All three are raising funds to expand into newer cities and launch more dark stores.” Beyond scale, the business model allows for margins. “By eliminating distributors and wholesalers, these platforms can offer prices 10-15% below the maximum retail price (MRP) while maintaining 15% gross margins, according to a report by Goldman Sachs Equity Research. Some specialty direct-to-consumer brands offer commissions as high as 30-45% for listing on quick-commerce apps.” The quick-commerce players are also able to offer a broader range of products and SKUs. The quick-commerce players are also aggressively advertising. Finally, the quick-commerce companies “also benefit from the fact that a significant chunk of their offerings include perishables,” which capture higher margins. #india #quickcommerce #success #scale #margin #darkstores #distribution #reach #skus #fmcg #perishables #blinkit #zepto #instamart #zomato #swiggy Why quick commerce is working only in India From tea leaves to iPhones, the country’s quick-commerce platforms are reshaping urban retail while proving sceptics wrong about their viability.

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Optimising for survival vs valaution During my previous startup journey My Dream Store we grew from 3cr annualRevenue to 30cr annual Revenue in 24 months and we were on look out for series A of 5Mn usd , Talked to almost every VC in town by that time we have only raise an angel round of 300k usd only. Everything was green we were super ambitious , stayed in market for 3 months could not close . During this time there were few Angel groups who could write 500k to 1mn cheques but we thought it would be too small for our ambitions. We went back to building again - our growth began to drop and became flattish at 2cr monthly revenue , we went back to market to raise 2Mn after 1yr to market to a different set of VCs - very hard to raise on back of degrowth, we were willing to dilute more but yes could not close. Lesson learnt always raise when you are going to peak in the next 3-6 months. As founders we would be focused on growth during that cycle but it’s better to put more money in war chest. Back to story one more year passed on flattish growth, we did some working capital solves , cut expenses we de grew to 1.5cr monthly revenue . Was again out in market this time looking for Angels founder angels or syndicates to raise 500k to 2Mn to build back. I was almost on verge of giving up but then Sujayath Ali wrote a small cheque gave us hope to rethink and started building Nobero. Only a founder can truly understand the grit and struggle. Now Nobero is a rocket ship we are super excited along side strong partner like TMRW House of Brands . From my journey of fundraising failures here are something’s that other founders / people who want to start can pick up 1. Always raise when you are on the raise 2. Do not be finicky about valuation pick best of what you are getting and go back to building 3. Like you see in my essay I moved down from 5Mn to 2Mn to 500k , very foolish . In hindsight had I picked the 500k to 1Mn cheque when we were at 30cr the story would have been totally different . Pick whatever you can at best price you can close fast. The art is to close deal fast and move from position to position strongly on back of good metrics 4. Small cheques get large cheques , you are no longer alone in journey. It’s in interest of all parties to protect org and do what is right for org to grow 5. Fundraising is sales , be very strategic of what you offer -if you are degrowing offer a larger share, create phased offers milestone led - 500k to x size and if I hit X follow on with 2Mn if I do not grow to X be willing to take more hit on equity. Always offer what others cannot 6. Have some founders on your cap table who have been part of these , it’s millions saved #fundraising #startup #lessonsbuildingnobero

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Gururam-based angel investment platform Inflection Point Ventures has announced a full exit from Jaipur-based D2C fashion brand Fashor with a 33% IRR. The firm said it has achieved 3.75X MoM (Money over money) from this exit within 54 months of investing in the startup. Read the full story here: 👇 https://lnkd.in/djhTrmvS #funding #investors #angelinvestors #d2c #fashion #entrepreneur #indianstartupnews

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I’m a VC in India. Here Are 5 Traits I Want to See in New Founders. This essay is Rajiv SrivatsaPartner at Antler India, Pre-seed venture capital firm Based in Bangalore. Edited for length and clarity. I’m a partner at Antler India, an early-stage venture capital fund that launched about four years ago and is the firm’s sixth location globally. Antler India has a $75 million fund that closed in March. […] The post I’m a VC in India. Here Are 5 Traits I Want to See in New Founders. appeared first on GallantCEO. Source

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Investor repellant sectors. There are a few out there for sure! Having seen the boom in B2B vertical marketplaces (Zilingo, ReshaMandi, Fashinza, Arzoo, Nestaway etc), there are quite a few sectors that have seen a considerable amount of funding going in with nothing coming out. Conventional wisdom would think there's something inherently wrong with these spaces, leading most investors today to shy away from the sectors. Having seen the textile vertical first hand, this didn't instill a fear of the sector overall in me. Instead, I started diving into the reasons these rather ripe-for-disruption sectors didn't find a footing! My key takeaways from investing and operating in the space: - Sectoral expertise is needed: There have been loads of 'qualified' founders (read MBB + great colleges) tackle this space. What's been missing is a core understanding of problems to solve - Patience: For anyone expecting some tech forward business, trying to intercede in a 50+ year old industry, these aren't SaaS businesses. I've met (and invested in) a lot of amazing founders here like Pratik Gadia, Aman Mehra and Ramya Iyer (Fantail). This needs investors and capital that are open to mid-market returns (sub 2000 crore) with deep understanding of traditional sectors - Real value add: It's taken me a while to appreciate having family businesses as our primary LPs as opposed to global institutions, though when I evaluate the doors we can open for early stage companies within Asia, it's awesome. Want to build in Saas? We've got some of the OG founders of India. Similarly for deep tech, manufacturing, real estate etc Fund size: I cannot emphasize this enough, check yourselves on valuation, because the funds that can write you massive checks need to return a minimum of 3x their fund size to LPs. So a return that's great for a micro VC will be laughable for a 'big fund'. Sometimes, these outcomes are better for both founders and investors I can go on and on, suffice to say if you're building in 'non sexy' sectors, I'd love to chat! #venturecapital #founders #investors #lp #funding

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CHANNELIAM FUNDING TRACKER RECENT UPDATES 1.    Chosen® Raises USD 1.2 Mn in Seed Round 2.    Clodura.AI Raises USD 2 Mn from Bharat Innovation Fund 3.    Digital marketing automation #startup Maino.ai raises $1.8 Mn 4.    #Healthtech startup DocPlix raises Rs 1.2 Cr in bridge round 5.    Speciality chemicals startup Scimplify to raise $5 Mn 6.    Robinhood acquires Bitstamp in $200M deal to expand #crypto presence globally #funding #startups #businessnews #channeliam

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As we work towards raising capital to grow Fungible Chocolates in the next 12-18 months, I’m constantly reminded of the importance of building a solid foundation. BetterBrand™ journey serves as a cautionary tale that is unfortunately all too common in the world of startups. They raised substantial funds by overpromising but ultimately fell short of delivering on those promises, leaving investors and customers feeling disappointed and cheated. Raising capital is not just about securing funds, it’s about maintaining trust, transparency, and building a solid long term relationship with your investors and community. I believe wholeheartedly in the future of our mushroom infused chocolates, but before scaling to the next level, it’s essential that I feel secure in our foundations, processes, and products. This way, when we're ready to expand, we'll be doing so responsibly and sustainably, ensuring that we can commit for the long haul. Raising capital is about trust. It’s about building something real, and that’s the journey we’re committed to. ❤️ #fundraisingcpg #betterbrand #angelinvestors #cpgfounders #fungiblechocolates #chocolate

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Zintlr, a B2B SaaS platform specializing in sales intelligence and prospecting, raised Rs 7.5 crore in seed funding led by Om Jain. Participants included JITO INCUBATION & INNOVATION FOUNDATION, Motilal Oswal, Vimal Shah, Sparsh Jain, Vinod Dugar, Ramesh Jain, and Prabhakar. Funds will support team expansion, increased market presence, and development of innovative product verticals. Founded in 2022 by Ravi Jain, Ujwal K., and Pranay Khariwal, Zintlr provides an AI-driven buyer intelligence platform, curated contact database, revenue intelligence, and insights for niche markets and geolocations, helping major corporations and multinational companies expedite their sales cycle, boost conversion rates, close more deals via the company's enterprise version, and identify their total addressable market (TAM). Zintlr is a B2B SaaS platform that specializes in sales intelligence and prospecting, offering a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to expand their reach. With access to over 10 million companies and 100 million contacts, Zintlr enables users to find their next customer through its cutting-edge database. The company recently secured Rs 7.5 crore in seed funding, which will be utilized to grow its team, accelerate market growth, and develop innovative product verticals in intelligence. Founded in 2022 by Ravi Jain, Ujwal Kumar, and Pranay Khariwal, Zintlr provides an AI-driven platform that combines curated contact databases, revenue intelligence, and other insights tailored for niche markets and specific geolocations. This powerful tool assists major corporations and multinational companies in shortening their sales cycles, boosting conversion rates, closing more deals, and identifying their total addressable market (TAM). Factacy.ai Congratulates and wishes them well. #innovation #management #digitalmarketing #technology #creativity #futurism #startups

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Zepto, a Quick commerce company, has secured $665 million in its Series F funding round from new investors Avenir, Lightspeed, and Avra (Anu Hariharan’s new fund), among others. 🌟 Key Highlights: Some of the existing investors Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone co-led the round with Goodwater and Lachy Groom doubling down their stakes as well. As per the startup, the funding will be used to compete with other two deep-pocketed players, BlinkIt and Swiggy Instamart. Unlike the West, quick commerce operators in India claim to have found a sustainable model. About Zepto: Founded by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, who founded Zepto in 2021, have secured backing from existing investors led by Glade Brook Capital, StepStone Group, and Nexus Venture Partners. Others include Goodwater Capital and Lachy Groom. Visit the link to read the detailed news piece: https://lnkd.in/gikxfBfH #startup #funding #news #startupfunding #latestnews #news #zepto #quick #commerce #delivery

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