Sumanth Cheedella

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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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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Tata-owned BigBasket was late to the quick commerce party, belatedly launching its quick commerce offering BBnow in April 2022. Even then, it wasn’t convinced about the staying power of quick commerce. In mid-2022, BigBasket CEO Hari Menon said that 80% of the business would continue to come from its slotted delivery service.    Cut to 2024, and it appears BB may have misread the tea leaves. The bullishness around quick commerce is stronger than ever before. In fact, according to one BigBasket executive and a Tata Digital executive, BigBasket has lost e-grocery market share to quick commerce players.

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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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Like to order deliveries from the comfort of your own home? Zepto's recent $665 million funding will now allow the company to set up even more store across India to serve you better. Read all about it only in my new article at Entrepreneur India. . . . Follow and connect for more industry news and updates . . . #News #Update #Zepto #Funding #Investment #EntrepreneurIndia #AdityaPranMahanta https://lnkd.in/gYvATrUE

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Most of you who are following Deepinder Goyal know that Zomato has introduced group orders on the app. But this is a genius move, because it’s much more than just customer convenience. Think about it - What do product managers want more than anything else? Active users. And this feature increases the number of active users on the app. But that's not just it.. The best part is, if someone is confused about using the app (which will rarely happen since Zomato is pretty well-made in terms of UX), their friends are right there to help. Free customer support, anyone? 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 - 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬? One, it takes away the responsibility of the one person who would otherwise have ordered. He/she becomes an automatic evangelist of the app. I mean, it’s just more convenient that way 🤷🏻‍♂️ Two (and more importantly) 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. It’s like you add something in your cart but it reflects in your friend’s cart. Who wouldn’t be excited by this? I for one, am.. Has anyone used it yet? Let me know how it felt! Also, I’d really want to know the product manager behind this 😁

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Building Consumer Apps in India - Series 1 Currently there are about 17L apps on Playstore out of which, 13.83L do not have any rating, not even from friends and family. You can consider them to be not so serious about pushing the app. If you care about your app, you are already ahead of 77% of the apps. Then comes the apps with rating less than 3.5 which shows your tech team is not actively debugging or your app is really short lived and has no consumer utility. If you stay consistent and do even bit of user research prior to build, you would be ahead of another 1.5L apps. Staying ahead of 86% apps. The real struggle for power happens between the remaining 2.5L apps. Considering the current scenario, about 1.6% of apps are social media and 4% are shopping apps and since we are building in the intersection of them, we are head-on with 14000 apps. This is where geography and other factors come in to support, and you finally have to fight against 5% of 14000 apps, ie. you effectively are competing against 700 apps to be the best amongst them. Now comes real product play. What do you think is the reason most apps fail? (Consumer Apps) #consumerapps #koo #product #appstore #playstore #developers #apps #shopping #socialmedia #social

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PhonePe's Indus App Store has been making inroads in the Indian market. Do read this story from Inc42 Media and Suprita Anupam about how the competitive landscape in India is evolving, and if new app stores would have an impact on the dominance of the Google Play Store in India. Check out my observations and comments and share your views on whether Indus could become The Atmanirbhar App Store of India. Read the article here;

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Once considered as the Indian alternative to Twitter, Koo, a microblogging social media application, is shutting down. Koo was in talks with DailyHunt for acquisition, but the talks failed last week. The company had raised over $65 million but failed to gain enough traction. What can we learn: The downfall of Koo highlights several critical lessons for brand owners. -> First, securing substantial funding is not a guarantee of success; understanding and meeting market demands is crucial. -> Second, strategic partnerships and timely acquisitions can be game-changers, but they must align well with the company's vision and operational strengths. -> Finally, continuous innovation and user engagement are key to maintaining relevance and growth in today's highly competitive market. #two99

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I've said this before, and truly believe that Short videos are undergoing a 'Whatsapp Moment' in India! High probability if this post gets long, most of you will scroll down or switch to your preferred short video platform 😀 For marketers - Users have already moved on - has your brand building strategy adapted? Add a layer of regional languages and influencers, and the proof will be in the often quoted pudding. #ShortFormBigImpact https://lnkd.in/gk_w_Avp

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Have you ever been lost in a railway station, not knowing where to go or which way to take? Left or right? Even nobody else knows. That’s how I felt opening the Paytm app after a few months. I couldn’t get to the transaction history page, and I really didn’t know how to figure it out. It turned out that it took me 15 minutes to get to the transaction history, check some previous activity, confirm, and close the app. And in 15 minutes, my iPhone started heating up really bad. What a royal mess! Advise product managers and designers: Please make your UI simpler and easier to understand and navigate. Just don’t think using simple colors will lead to a simple UI. There’s an art behind it. Learn it.

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Zepto's strategic positioning in the quick-commerce sector is indeed impressive. Their revenue growth from ₹142.36 crore in FY22 to ₹2,024 crore in FY23, a 14-fold increase, demonstrates their effective execution and market understanding. ​​Achieving a 29% market share by January 2024, up from 15% in March 2022, highlights their rapid expansion and customer acquisition strategies. It will be interesting to see how Zepto sustains this momentum and continues to innovate in the competitive quick-commerce landscape.​​

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If you want to understand more about the Indian startup and venture ecosystem, then the best place to start is the "Indus Valley Report" by Sajith Pai, Anurag Pagaria and Nachammai Savithiri R of Blume Ventures - https://lnkd.in/gj-7hjGq You can expect lots of insights about India's GDP, consumption by different types of customers in India, Digital Infra achievements, venture funding trends, Indian IPO market, and Indus Valley Playbook. My favorites in 2024 report 1. India123 - Slides 26-30 2. Storefront as a Service for Digital Native Brands - Slide 101 What do I expect in the 2025 report : How Indian startup and venture ecosystems are powering global Gen AI growth !!!

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Abhiraj Singh Bhal, dropped a couple of interesting insights during Z47's "the consumer unicorn blueprint" chat a day before: 1/ While marketplaces can offer you distribution, you don't end up owning the consumer. and till the time you don't own your consumer, you won't be able to create businesses with healthy margins. Period. Any brand with a Q-commerce only or market place+Q commerce only strategy will find it increasingly difficult to create sound businesses. He offers a way out but with a caveat: 2/ To create a fundamentally sound business, with good margins- one has to go the d2c way. He talked about the challenges of creating his own D2C brand "native" in the water purifier and allied category. The biggest challenge he talked about is why should an end consumer trust you and buy directly from you? When he has the option to buy from an Amazon or a Flipkart with easy returns and complete trust in the process if anything goes wrong? That he says is the biggest roadblock which makes it 100X difficult to scale as a D2C brand. But that's also the only way to create a profitable business. Everytime i hear such inputs from industry veterans, it just reaffirms the mission we are onto at Simpl. Our 1-tap checkout is not about giving credit but rather about bridging that missing trust in a d2c brand dot com. It's about giving that feeling of safety while purchasing anything online, the same nostalgic "bharosa" feeling we have from buying from our neighborhood khata store :)

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CLSA published a detailed research report on India quick commerce. Recommended reading. Who will be the first to create a $50-100Bn company in India internet? #Zepto #Zomato #IndiaInternet

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Exciting times ahead for the SaaS ecosystem! Thrilled to see our founder, Saket Dandotia, recognized for addressing a crucial gap in the market. Saket's vision has led the way in creating OneTab – a game-changing solution for software project management. Onetab’s AI-powered platform is revolutionizing collaboration for development and engineering teams by integrating multiple tools into a seamless workflow. Check out the full story and learn more about our journey and goals!

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Keen to cater to the vast SME Ecosystem in India via your product / service offering? It’s worth it for sure , but please be prepared for the following - Blurred lines: Personal priorities completely blend into that of their organisation's, oftentimes super-ceding them. Our team keeps in touch with our premium merchants . Some of the reasons we hear for non renewal, inspite of that specific campaign's metrics looking good 1) "Bought a Home, need to ensure I have money for EMIs". No surplus funds 2) "Im travelling"- Digital payments/ UPI is good for shopping, not even remotely so for company's financial ops Medical emergencies at owners' end for example, lead to months' worth of objectives being delayed for the brand - Extensive delays in responses: As time passes, most of us humans are anyway becoming significantly worse at managing time. SME business owners always tend to gravitate to what they consider business as usual, rather than what can potentially introduce efficiency/ optimisation into processes (Which is what most products claim to do, while pitching to such SMEs) Barring loans which is a competitive but LARGE space, anyone catering to the typical Indian 'Lalaji' has to build sales, and product processes considering the above, considering they're catering to mavericks and not the standard 'efficient' professional Pic: Friday fun with ChatGPT :)

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

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Good post. Apart from what has been mentioned in the post, A/B tests don't work because companies don't invest in building quality experimentation infrastructure. 

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