Udaibir Singh

I understand, and have also been the culprit of, the pressures of driving MAUs via push campaigns but at some point- we as marketers need to draw a line. Marketing 7.5L INR (9k USD) as something to "fulfill desires" especially to folks who might not understand the issues of being burdened by additional debt is unfair (I would like to use a different word here- but I won't). In case you think I am taking it too seriously, Debt via such instruments has picked up by 28% (2023 vs 2022) out of which 40% was driven by folks under 30. Household savings are at a 50-year low. Delinquency rates for credit cards rose by 2.9% in June 2023. Maybe instead of pushing them as "desires" we could talk about loans as the last option to help fulfill some urgent tasks/needs. Just some food for thought.

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Paytm in Talks to Sell Ticketing Business to Zomato in Strategic Shift Paytm is reportedly in talks with Zomato to sell its movie and events ticketing business. This move comes as Paytm focuses on its core fintech business after facing declining sales. Zomato, with its growing cash reserves, it's an opportunity to expand its food delivery offering by integrating events and ticketing into its app. For Paytm, the ticketing business is a growing but non-core vertical. While Paytm Insider saw revenue jump in FY23, it still represents a small portion of their overall income. Zomato, on the other hand, is already investing in this area with a dedicated "Events" tab and aims to diversify beyond food delivery. This potential deal reflects both companies' current positions. Paytm needs to streamline operations after regulatory hurdles, while Zomato seeks growth opportunities. Both companies have confirmed the discussions but no final agreement has been reached. This is a space to watch as the Indian food and entertainment landscape evolves. What do you think? #zomato #paytm #ecommerce

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Zomato is acquiring Paytm’s ticketing and event booking business for approximately ₹2,000 crore. As the news broke, Zomato shares surged by 3% once again. With this acquisition, Zomato is now a direct competitor to BookMyShow. Zomato has nearly completed the entire customer journey cycle: - You buy food and drinks via Blinkit. - Get them delivered to a PVR or event via Blinkit. - Book PVR or event tickets on Zomato. The only thing missing now is a “cab or transportation service” within the same app that can take you to and from the venue. The events vertical contributed 2% of Zomato's revenue last year and is a fast-growing segment. Vertical integration in events as a business makes for a powerful super app and at volume - highly efficient margins This is excellent product thinking if executed well. Insane ❤️

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300 crore revenue per year! We did it! 🎉 12 months ago, I met my IITD classmate Archit Agarwal after years. I was stunned by his speed of execution and practical thinking. I decided to join Sanfe. Back then, Sanfe was doing 50 crores ARR. I could see the enormous hidden potential that Sanfe had. Surely, it could grow 5-6x in a year, and today we have done it. Rarely does it happen that a company grows 6 times in a year at the base of 50 crore, all of this while maintaining an EBITDA of 15%. There were two big reasons for this: - We found the right growth levers for Sanfe. We worked on Quick Commerce (Blinkit, Zepto, and instamart) and also on producing huge volumes of high-quality content. We also opened new channels such as General Trade & Modern Trade. Today, our quick commerce has crossed 100 crore. - ⁠Archit executed everything at a laser-fast speed. With his innovative product mindset, he developed over 150 products in the last year. As a result, we were able to find many winner products that our users loved. Now our next goal is doing as many crores of business as the number of likes this post gets. Just kidding. Please wish us luck for our next milestone, which is 1000 crore revenue.

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🎙️ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞? On the Venturis Stories Podcast, I (Palash Somani) dove deep with Gaurav Vaid and Arjun Ghatak to unlock the powerful lessons from India's historic T20 World Cup win and translate them into actionable strategies for YOU to level up your product management game! 🏏🌟 My non-traditional journey to Director of Product at Dream11 (civil engineer > finance > subscriptions > product!) is living proof that 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. 💪🚀 Here's a 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐤 of what we discussed: ↳  𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐬. 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞: Growth mindset trumps having a traditional background.🧠 ↳  𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 + 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 + “𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟” = 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡. Balance data with a touch of "irrational belief" to spark innovation. 📊✨ ↳  𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 & 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫: Instead of “what” to build, focus on “why” - the desired outcome. 🎯 ↳  𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠: Be the ultimate all-rounder, just like a cricketer! Learn to shift gears and conquer any challenge. 🏆 ↳  𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦: India's World Cup win reveals the secrets to a high-performing product team (shared purpose, trust, and celebrating wins are key!). 🌟🤝🎉 ↳  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈: How AI will transform the product landscape and the two paths for product managers. 🤖🚀 Huge thanks to Gaurav and Arjun for having me on the Venturis Stories Podcast! Ready to become a product management champion? Listen to the full conversation here: 🔗 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gd_FYFra 🔗 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gse-yVQq 🔗 Apple: https://lnkd.in/ga3vS4zA Let me know in the comments what resonated most with you! 🗨️ #productmanagement #growthmindset #dream11 #cricket #generativeAI #careerdevelopment ------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying my content? 👍 Like and ♻️ repost if your network will find it useful! 🔔 Every Mon-Fri at 10:30 AM I talk about Product, AI and Growth Mindset. Follow to 10x your growth. 📆🕥🚀

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THE LIST OF MOST WATCHED OTT SERIES IS HERE : While there’s ratings in for TV which helps in terms of setting some #advertising rate benchmarks across the channels, it’s interesting to have these detailed yearly statistic of the most watched web series across the year No prizes for guessing the most watched one snd it is been Panchayat Season3 on Amazon followed by Heeramandi on Netflix An interesting mix of the most seen shows and it definitely gives a sense of the kind of genres of content that’s ticking with the audiences and it’s clearly the qualify of this content that’s getting the eyeballs, be it stories of the heartland, historical, mythological and more I’m sure most of us would have watched each of these and across 4 top OTT platforms we’ve got here Sure these statistics are going to be coming in handy for many across the ecosystem while these platforms are all on their journey of launching advertising formats in our country, while giants like Netflix have been doing their trials and putting it out to #brands already Viewership and ratings have always been a yardstick for understanding the popularity of the platform/ series and this could fuel the differential CPM’s and more wouldn’t it and love to hear from veterans and leaders from our TV/ media space where it happened and continues to be a benchmark and could permeate through OTT too Kunal Dasgupta Sunil Lulla Sameer Nair Meenakshi Menon ashish bhasin L V Krishnan Nandini Dias Mona Jain Source : Hindustan Times Mint

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Funding Announcement! We just concluded an investment round led by Mithun Sacheti, Founder of CaratLane and Dr. Siddhartha Sacheti, CEO of Jaipur Gems. I got to know of Mithun for the first time in Oct 2015 when I saw him at the TiE Chennai event. Needless to say, it was easy to spot him in casual clothing and relaxed demeanour visiting stalls and being the really nice human being that he innately is. Startup culture was not popular at that time, so all the events were very formal. That said, everyone seemed to know him well. When I found out that he was the founder of CaratLane and read about him online, I got inspired by what he was building and how self-assured and confident he was about a space that was still super early. From then till now, I have been following him. When I got a chance to meet Mithun a few months back, I knew I was going to speak to the person who said 12 years ago that he was going to sell gold and diamonds online. I'm sure people thought he was crazy. There were a lot of questions thrown at him: Who will buy gold and diamonds online since they are very emotional items for customers? ► How will people buy them without even touching and feeling them? ► How will you handle the shipping? ► How will you convince the payment gateway company to accept such significant value payments? ► He proved his critics and cynics wrong, and how!! I could relate to this because I always get questions like: ► How will you compete with PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay? ► How will you scale up to the entire India? ► With everyone coming into lending, how will you make money without even having an NBFC license? And many more questions…. I prefer to give answers to these questions through execution which is what we have been doing. We are now a well-recognized company in the payments space, compliance-focused and a brand that has a good presence in South India. When I met Mithun for the first time, it was a 2-hour meeting. During the first hour, I explained my background, my failures, and struggles, how Jai Kumar and I started IppoPay, and how we became a profitable startup. How our business was impacted after our PAPG license got returned. The last hour was the highlight of the meeting. I mapped out our challenges for the next year and confidently presented our execution plan. Mithun was convinced, saying, "Mohan, I'm in. You are the founder I want to back !!” https://lnkd.in/gHx8dPza Thanks to our existing investors who trusted us Better Capital Vaibhav Domkundwar Blume Ventures Ashish Fafadia Prabhu Rangarajan Sailesh Ramakrishnan Kuberan Marimuthu Kumar Srivatsan Thanks to our partner ICICI Bank YESPAY | YESBANK Axis Bank Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd Equitas Small Finance Bank Airtel Payments Bank Indian Bank Special thanks to National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) StartupTN #upi #payments #offlinepayment #npci

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This is for consumer brands especially As you all know there was an unprecedented rise in mobile data consumption thanks to RIL led Jio. Now, you have to understand that what Jio offers is unmetered 5G. This only means most of your target audience (people who access the Internet services via Jio network) may be doesn’t have the means to buy your products. The current ARPU of Jio is still only ₹181 and that’s an incredily low number. Given that Jio is the largest network by customer base and data usage in the world. And there might be tariff hike soon. Even in my guess is Vi and Airtel are also planning to hike tariffs. Because these telecom companies aren’t able to recover their investments into the towers and spectrum at the current rate of growth and tariff. What this means is that you target audience has another burden on its pocket very soon. So what makes you think they will have the willingness or disposable income to buy your brand’s products? One has to understand in this market condition that giving offers, discounts, celeb endorsements etc won’t cut through. This time is for real value drive products only. The India’s price conscious consumer is still present and it wants the benefits from its purchase. And it wants immediate benefits. No doubt there is a funding winter in DTC. Investors (VCs, PEs and such) aren’t foolish. They know the environment very well. However the time is ripe for pocket friendly, value based consumer brands. Even if it’s high ticket, at the end of the day it has deliver immense value for which the customer shelled their money. Also, a pro tip to DTC founders. Don’t only study your competitors all the time. Expand your horizon. There are a number of macro economic factors to consider too when launching, running and scaling a brand. It’s never always about what we can do in marketing today. Thanks #DTCbrands

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A rubber band has a singular purpose - hold things together. But its real magic lies in its ability to stretch, contract, and maintain the perfect tension. 🏆 Singular Purpose: Every team thrives when everyone is aligned towards a common goal. Like a rubber band, our unity gives us strength. 🔄 Flexibility: Challenges require us to stretch our capabilities. We expand to take on more, and contract to focus when needed. 💪 Tension: Just enough tension keeps us moving forward without breaking. It's the sweet spot where innovation happens! Balaji Kesavaraj, thank you for being part of Wozku - Attendee Engagement Platform - stretching limits, contracting to prioritize, and balancing the dynamic tension to drive success. PS... Wait till we introduce rest of the team ony by one.

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The days of drab and dreary visuals in NBFC social media strategies are long gone. Today’s NBFCs, many of which we've had the honour of collaborating with, are all about the *vibes*, speaking directly to consumers in their language, and tuning into their tastes. Check out these standout Indian NBFCs that are nailing it: 1. Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited Piramal is revolutionizing the scene by partnering with creators across key niches, merging entertainment with information to boost engagement and foster brand loyalty. Don’t miss this killer reel where they bring fan-favorite Indian TV characters to life in a sketch comedy style. (Slide 1) 2. Poonawalla Fincorp Topical creativity? Poonawalla Fincorp is acing it. Their deep understanding of audience sentiment shines through in content that resonates without feeling forced. This Women’s Day visual is a perfect example. (Slide 2) 3. Aditya Birla Finance Limited Stuck with a brand guideline that shies away from pop culture and trends? Time for a rewrite. Aditya Birla Finance is killing it with pop references, everyday language, and crisp graphics. Check out their fresh take on DDLJ for ITR season. (Slide 3) PS: We don't directly work for these brands, but our experience with similar brands gives us deep insights into what works. Want a fun and engaging social presence for your brand? Send me a DM and let’s chat! #SocialMedia #NBFCsinIndia

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Naarica has been smashing it 💯 So proud of how far Shruti Chand has come. When we first met, she didn’t even have a website, just some traction from some offline events. And now, she’s doing Rs. 10L+ MRR with a double digit EBITDA margin. And she’s just touched the surface - the real mission is 1000x larger than this. In India 🇮🇳, there are still 12-15 crore women who use sub-par products (or none at all) during periods. Making women feel more confident, lesser anxious - I feel that’s Naarica’s true mission. A truly women centric brand. I hope there are more and more folks like Shruti who take up such bold challenges. I hope more and more folks get inspired by her and choose entrepreneurship. And truly solve India-specific problems 🙌🏽

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Bharat is not just a follower—it's a leader in driving the next wave of digital consumption. Data usage in India's Tier 2 cities is breaking new ground. A recent study shows that mobile data consumption is being driven largely by non-metro cities, with per capita usage soaring to 35-40 GB/month—a whopping 30% more than metro counterparts. The growth story of Bharat is encapsulated in these trends: -10X growth in data usage over the past 6 years, surpassing Tier 1 cities, which now stands at 23.7 GB per capita/month. -86% of internet users are glued to OTT content, while OTT, communication, social media, and online gaming lead the data surge in Tier 2 towns. -Cities like Jodhpur, Ranchi, Lucknow are catching up with 35-40% 5G penetration, while metros hover around 40-45%. A significant shift has been observed in 5G adoption in Tier 2 cities like Howrah and Vadodara, where availability has surged beyond 35%, leveling the playing field with metros. As Net Commerce, digital payments, and online learning take hold in Bharat, Tier 2 cities are not only catching up but rewriting the rules of India’s digital economy. Never ever underestimate the power of Bharat, where 1.19 trillion hours were spent on mobile phones in 2023—leading the world in time spent on mobile devices! 

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🚀 Indian Web Design: Why is it so cluttered ? Whenever we see a banking, ticketing website or any government based portal - we feel like there are too many things on the home page. I found a wonderful video on why they are designed that way? Well, it has roots in Culture, Mobile and Cost. ✨ Cultural Nuances Matter: India’s diverse cultural backdrop influences user preferences in ways you might not expect. High-context cultures here love subtlety – think designs that communicate more with less. 📱 Mobile-First Tech Boom: With smartphone adoption sky rocketed in the post Jio world, Indian designers are all about mobile-first strategies. 💸 Cost-Effective, Not Cheap: Yes, Indian web design is affordable, but that doesn’t mean compromising on quality. Functionality? Usability? are all encaps in it. 🌍 Diverse Regional Flavors: Designing for India means understanding regional differences, from language quirks to color symbolism. These details matter when connecting with local audiences. 💡 Human-Centric Design: It’s not just about pretty visuals – Indian designers focus on how people actually use the web. The result? Functional, intuitive, and user-friendly sites. #WebDesign #IndianTech #DigitalInnovation #UserExperience #MobileFirst

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My take on Reliance-Disney India merger: The real challenge to media companies will not come from other media companies. It will come from #EmpoweredCreators, i.e. creators who control not just their own content creation, but also distribution and, most importantly, #monetization. Most important because that is the last and final thing that remains to be controlled by creators, which so far has been tightly controlled by media houses such as Disney/Star, Sony, Network18/Viacom18 etc. in India. In the simplest sense, media companies are content traders. But the power is shifting away from them. What would empower these individual creators would be advanced technology including #AI. It will act as great leveler – all the power and might of a large media house available to these individual #creatorpreneuers at the press of a button or a voice command. We are already seeing the early version of this in the form of Ranveer Allahbadia and Dhruv Rathee in news, Bhuvan Bam and #PrajaktaKoli in entertainment. While most are aware of Raj Shamani and Ankur Warikoo who have become one-person media house, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. There is a big torso and long tail of millions of creators. This is what I call the democratization of #ContentMonetization. We are seeing this trend not just in India but globally with Fanory.ai Interested? Read more in my piece published in Outlook Business

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#Take2 Why the Market May Be Overestimating Quick Commerce's Future Despite Damodaran's Optimism As a genuine admirer of #AswathDamodaran and his insightful #valuation frameworks, it's fascinating to see how his evaluations cut to the core of a business's #financial #health. However, with #quickcommerce, it’s possible that the broader market has overestimated the long-term potential of these businesses. Quick commerce is undeniably enticing in terms of #growth and #marketshare grabs, but as Damodaran himself has noted, the sector faces headwinds like narrow #margins and dependency on high-frequency, low-value transactions. Quick commerce relies heavily on the temporary advantage of local #logistics and #labor #arbitrage, but as cities become more congested and labor markets tighten, these operational “advantages” could quickly erode. Furthermore, the political landscape may not always be welcoming, especially given the impact on local #kirana stores, which are integral to India’s #retail fabric. While Damodaran’s framework rightly emphasizes lifecycle positioning, it may not fully capture the #political and #inflationary risks that quick commerce facilitates and faces as it scales. This could mean that valuations, even if optimistic now, might not reflect the long-term stability or profitability the street expects. One critical factor that quick commerce models often overlook is India's regional #diversity —it's anything but a #homogenous market. Local preferences, purchasing behaviors, and infrastructure vary widely from city to city. Quick commerce platforms will need to adapt to these variations, constantly refining and expanding their product categories to cater to local demands. This could mean shifting beyond the basic groceries and essentials model and embracing more regional product mixes, which further adds to complexity and costs. The sector's reliance on ultra-fast delivery and inventory optimization only intensifies these challenges, as what works in a metro city like Delhi or Mumbai may fail in smaller towns where consumer habits and logistical networks differ significantly. This makes scaling in India particularly #complex, and could limit the profitability of the "one-size-fits-all" model that quick commerce often tries to implement. All things considered, I’m confident that these companies have the talent needed to evolve. Just look at how Zomato transformed from its early days to what it is now. The real question is: what will they evolve into, and will that future model justify the premium they currently command? For now, I’ll take advantage of my exclusive offer on Coke Zero from quick commerce and enjoy it while it lasts.

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So my son was victim of a bank fraud yesterday. He clicked on a link shared on WhatsApp by someone pretending to be from the bank where he maintains a bank account. The request was not to share PIN number or any personal detail. It was just to link the gmail ID with the bank account. He did it without thinking. What happened next was that his account balance was transferred to #Jazzcash and from there it was taken out. Since his JC account was added as a beneficiary in his bank account app not OTP was required. It happened in minutes. Next his gmail, WhatsApp, JC app and Bank app were blocked and he could not access it. Anyway the amount was gone. He lost 18k plus the few hundreds he had in JC. He was able to recover his gmail & Bank account app. But his WhatsApp was with the culprits. They used it to send messages to contacts asking for cash help. Luckily no one responded. We were able to communicate that his account is hacked in time. The real pain point was unable to get to #Jazz helpline to deactivate the SIM. Jazz customer service IVR is so long and cumbersome that it took me a long time just to figure out how to get my sim blocked. Since it was a Sunday no franchisee or service Centre was open. The CS call Centre staff gave a very crude reply that since WhatsApp is a third party app we cannot help you plus deactivating a sim does not ensure that your WhatsApp will also be deactivated. Which basically means my WhatsApp using your sim number if hacked is not your problem. #PTA should take notice of this issue. Most of these frauds are happening through WhatsApp. There must be a contingency plan in case of an unforseen event. #BankFraud #StateBankOfPakistan

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I can’t unsee ‘𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹’ ever since I heard about Broadway's launch! 🛍️ D2C Brands would love to be in a store that is built just for 'new-age' consumers. For generations, Indian offline retail has always been transaction > experience focused. D2C brands couldn’t fit into traditional retail completely but had to swallow the pill since there weren’t many options. Today’s customers are conscious, opinionated, and unapologetically specific about their needs, they no longer just look for value—they seek stories. We consume the narrative before we consume the product. It's that exchange of trust that drives the purchase. Today, we have so many purpose-led brands that are challenging giants in the market for the greater good. And they deserve a platform for discovery and expressing themselves in their own voice. Building that truly immersive experience exclusively for D2C (oh not-so-D2C brands) that the traditional infrastructure couldn’t create has been long due. I'm excited about how Broadway is bringing this together! and how it is gamifying the experience with studios, live shows, maker's labs, and enabling live commerce. It's like bringing all our favorite d2c brands under one roof, and the brands can leverage on each other's reach and captive audience. The possibilities with this are infinite. 😵‍💫 A big win for Brands. A bigger win for Broadway! A first of its kind at this scale in India and one big bet for the ecosystem. Wishing Kshitij Ladia Vivek Biyani and the entire Broadway team the best for their launch. The future of retail is so so personal. More power to the ecosystem! 🚀 #ExperientialStore #Retail #D2CBrands #Offline #Founders #NewAgeConsumers #D2CFounder #D2CBrand #D2C

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Ah, a groundbreaking job offer where you pay to work! Truly visionary—why bother with traditional perks like salaries when you can turn job hunting into a charity auction? After all, who needs financial stability when you can gain '10x learning' and an exciting chance to fund a company’s CSR goals? On a serious note, this could set quite a trend. Next up: pay-to-play internships, where you also bring your own laptop, chair, and coffee mug. A bold redefinition of the 'privilege to work.' Bravo, Zomato! You’ve certainly raised the bar for innovative hiring practices… and donations.

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when we talk about optimizing conversions, we almost always talk about making the path frictionless. but we overlook the other equal (if not bigger) factor - motivation. If I had to put my finger on one app being the absolute worst in terms of UX will be the super app by Tata - Tata Neu. If we were only discussing about friction, I would have never gone back to the app, even the second time. But Tata has an exclusive offer for Tata Neu care holders - 10% unlimited cashback when you order from Tata Neu app. Guess who's a regular customer of Big Basket + Tata 1mg but through the Tata Neu app?! TLDR: work on the offer as much (if not more) than the copy and design of your landing page.

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