Varun Gupta

LinkedIn has been buzzing about Zomato lately: Concerns over service levels, Frustration with fluctuating pricing, And recently, criticism of a 50-lakh package for #productteammembers on a "simple food delivery app." Before we jump to conclusions, consider watching Zwitago, now on Prime Video. This film offers a raw glimpse into the realities of delivery work, telling the story of Ravi, a #deliverypartner who navigates tight schedules and everyday struggles in the gig economy. Through his journey, we see how vital this work is for individuals and the ecosystem. In a country facing job scarcity, delivery roles aren’t always chosen freely—they’re necessary. Platforms like Zomato provide consistent work, enabling many to earn a livelihood, however modest, that ensures food, shelter, and dignity. Let us keep the bigger picture in mind. Until we create millions of diverse jobs aligned with the education and skills of the unemployed, these platforms bridge a crucial gap. They aren’t the ultimate solution but are undeniably impactful. Meanwhile, let us show empathy for these hardworking delivery partners. Each delivery brings them a step closer to stability and serves as a reminder to appreciate their efforts.

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The Hidden Revenue Drain in B2B Marketplace - Sales🚨 How did we add about 1000$+ USD every day for this business using lead follow up automation? Imagine this: you're running a successful electrical wires or steel tubes distribution business, receiving hundreds of inquiries everyday from B2B marketplace platforms. You’ve got high demand, but your team is spending hours each day manually replying to inquiries. This is exactly what M.M.SANKHLA ELECTRICALS, a leader in distributing industrial Flameproof Control Gear Products, Power-Flex & Wires & Cables faced. They were losing potential revenue of up to $1000 every day, simply because they couldn’t respond to all incoming inquiries in time. The Problem: - Hundreds of inquiries from IndiaMART etc. - The team was spending hours manually replying. - When the team wasn’t available, queries went unanswered. - Result: Missed leads, lost deals, and lost revenue. The Solution? Workflow Automation. SmallBay Digital stepped in and introduced an automated workflow. Inquiry capture → Emails are automatically read & stored. Predefined replies → System sends instant responses with product info. Lead qualification → Notifies the team only for qualified leads. WhatsApp Integration → Simultaneous replies on WhatsApp for faster engagement. We made it work using using Make, WhatsApp (Meta API), AiSensy, Google Workspace. The Result: 👉 Saved Time, Boosted Engagement 👉 50+ hours saved per month (estimated) 👉 Every inquiry responded to instantly 👉 35% more engagement with WhatsApp integration No more lost leads, no more missed opportunities. Want This for Your Business? If you're losing leads, it's time to automate! Let us help you: ☑Respond faster ☑Engage smarter ☑Grow effortlessly 💡 Phase 2: What’s Next? -> We’re currently integrating OpenAI APIs (#chatgpt) to create an intelligent, personalized response system. Soon, we’ll be able to generate accurate estimates and handle deeper conversations with potential clients automatically. -> Also, integrate all inbound leads to a full blown #CRM (Say, Zoho CRM or LeadSquared). -> Send leads data to Facebook (Meta Business Suite) so when you are ready to run Meta ads, your ROAS is to the moon! 🚀 📈 Want this for your B2B business? 💬 DM me for a quick demo or comment "B2B Enquiry" to get a one month free email follow-up integration! #b2bmarketplace #b2bleads

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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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🔥 What Happens When HiveSchool Hosts a Sales Mixer in Bangalore? 50+ Sales Leaders 20+ SaaS Founders Top GTM Minds Rising Sales Stars Answer: Pure, unfiltered sales knowledge 🔥 Dec 8th | Bengaluru Location:- The LIT School Time: 4 PM onwards Why This Isn't Your Regular Networking Event: No presentations No pitches No theory Just real conversations about → Breaking into Top SaaS companies → Building high-performance sales teams → Scaling Indian SaaS globally → Future of sales careers Limited Seats: 150 Only (Last mixer was overbooked by 3x) Perfect for you if: >You're serious about a sales career >Building/Leading sales teams >Growing your startup >Want to network with top sales minds HiveSchool * SaaS Like That! * The LIT School Link to register:- https://lu.ma/ky2xugn7 Special mention :- Anupreet Singh 📈

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Sometimes, serendipity plays a crucial role in shaping what problems we pick to solve, especially at pre PMF startups. A few months ago, a friend building an RMG from India shared two challenges. One of them was in performance marketing that he was uploading a lot of creatives and wanted suggestions for new ones based on previous learnings. At the time, we were focused on something else and didn’t have time to dive in. Later, the idea we were pursuing didn’t work out, but another agency mentioned the same challenge. So, we decided to take a day to figure out a solution. I manually gathered data from videos, putting it into an Excel sheet to run a correlation analysis. At first, I didn’t realize Google AI Studio could read videos, so I used OpenAI to analyze the video frame by frame, and it worked surprisingly well. Through some YouTube tutorials, I discovered AI Studio could do it even better and with an API. That made everything fall into place smoothly. In the video below, you’ll see this analysis for Subway Arabia. We did this as a way to showcase our work via a friend who works at Subway MENA (Middle East and North Africa), hoping to present it to them. This wasn’t an official collaboration, but the data was publicly available, so we scraped and used it. If you’re interested in the data insights or prompts, feel free to comment with “data,” and I’ll gladly share them with you on DM.

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Excited to see Chiratae Ventures share our vision at Pepsales ! This partnership is a major step forward in our mission to transform B2B sales demos, which can be the “make-or-break” moment for any deal. 🖖 Imagine a world where every demo feels perfectly personalized to each buyer, bringing the product to life in a way that speaks directly to their needs and challenges. That’s the power we’re bringing to B2B sales teams. With AI-driven personalization and automation, we’re simplifying a traditionally complex, time-consuming process. Chiratae recognized not only the problem we’re solving but the potential to empower sales teams to deliver demos that close deals faster and with greater impact. Here’s to reshaping the future of sales, one personalized demo at a time! 🥂 #pepsales #B2BSaaS #Chiratae #DemoAutomation Ajay Singh

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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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#Byjus has recently shifted from offering base salaries to salespeople to adopting a commission-based model. This move places Byju's employees slightly above the sales approach used by Multi Level marketers, who operates on a similar model. People who joined Byju's with high hopes and aspirations, believing they were entering a promising company with a bright future been reduced to functioning as multi-level marketing (MLM) sellers. Byjus had successfully raised over Rs 40,000 crores. Even if this amount had been simply kept in the bank, earning a conservative 3% interest, it would have yielded Rs 1200 crores annually. Which means, it required a series of significant poor decisions coupled with catastrophic events to bring Byjus to a point where they are unable to meet salary obligations. One can't help but wonder about the possible fraudulent practices or grave mismanagement that may have led to this situation, especially considering Byjus' previous standing as a poster boy of India's startup ecosystem. Justice should prevail, not only for the sake of the affected employees, parents, and students who believed in Byju's promises but also for the integrity of India's startup landscape. For now Byju Raveendran has completely destroyed the company and the investors faith forever. Feel bad for those edtech entrepreneurs who are really slogging hard to build something meaningful.

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The latest podcast is live with Sudarshan Sridharan on how to start a start up, twice! Listen to his story on how he created Pipeline, now a successful startup an all in one outbound sales platform for B2B companies - pivoting out of his previous start up which was fighting fires with drones! Link to podcast in comments 👇

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I know VPs and AVPs who are getting paid 20LPA and I also know AEs in high-growing SaaS getting paid 30LPA+ In HSR Bengaluru a friend of mine works as AVP at 12LPA and they have 11 AVPs for a company size of 30 😅 In today's startup-driven world, designations don't hold much value. Yet, we often seek social validation and waste energy in unnecessary battles with HRs and Hiring Managers. Work, Bargain, and Negotiate for what TRULY matters -Salary (For your Bills, EMIs, and Savings) -ESOPs (For future wealth creation) And do your due diligence in understanding -Manager (A supportive and practical human) -Culture (You need peace and happiness to thrive) -Learning (To master your skills) Don't get blindsided by an 8-9% hike for a heavy title that will live on LinkedIn for NOT MORE than 24 hours. #sales #salary #designation #hike #saas #b2b

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There is still potential

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Are you a high-growth SME looking to: - Access capital for expansion - Enhance credibility and visibility - Attract top talent and partners - Unlock liquidity for shareholders StartupLanes offers a seamless SME IPO listing experience, helping you: - Achieve regulatory compliance - Craft compelling investor narratives - Reach a vast network of investors - Enjoy personalized support Benefits of listing with StartupLanes: - Expert guidance - Streamlined process - Cost-effective solutions - Post-listing support Join our community of innovative entrepreneurs and growth-oriented businesses! List your SME IPO with StartupLanes today and take your business to the next level! #SMEIPO #StartupLANES #GrowthPartners #ListWithUs #UnlockYourPotential

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India's gig economy is on the rise, offering immense potential to redefine how we work. With over 15 million gig workers and growing, this workforce plays a pivotal role in sectors like logistics, ride-hailing, e-commerce, and freelancing. However, with great potential comes challenges. Gig workers often face: 1) Lack of social security and benefits 2) Unpredictable income streams 3) Limited access to upskilling opportunities 4) Poor workforce engagement This is where a Gig Workforce Management System (GWMS) becomes critical. A robust GWMS can: >Streamline onboarding and compliance > Provide real-time tracking and performance metrics > Enable access to financial and social security benefits >Offer skill development programs to enhance worker capabilities Isourse#GigEconomy #WorkforceManagement #FutureOfWork #India #HumanResources #BusinessGrowth #TechInnovation #GigWorkforceManagement #EconomicGrowth #HRTech

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At the end of the day - what is business? 🔎 Understanding the human need 🔝and solving for it While India just crossed the level 1 and reached the level 2 in Maslows theory - we are seeing the rapid growth of busssiness who are solving in that space - the urgency of ordering food - the access to finance - the access to investment(wealth management) - the access to many There are huge opportunities at this space still 🚀🚀 While many are busy in building LLMs - are we comparing with most advanced countries who are in the self actualisation stage and solving different problems for a set of different users? - Pls share your thoughts !! Insights are from the Aviral Bhatnagar in a conversation with Abhishek Patil at GrowthX® podcast !! #India #futureofindia #growth #growthx #founders #startups #buildforindia

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🚨 Making of a billion-dollar exit 💰 Accel has sold shares worth over $300 mn in Freshworks over the last 12 months, according to research done by The Arc The VC firm had not sold any shares during the IPO in 2021. It still holds over 13% stake in the Nasdaq-listed company 👨‍💻 The returns on this will be a multi-bagger for Accel 🤑 Series A entry price - $0.05 a share Current price - $18.44 a share Accel's average price increased as it participated in follow-up rounds. More 👇 #venturecapital #software #saas #freshworks #accel #vc #exits #returns https://lnkd.in/g65TbjGR

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“Poor Ergonomics, Posture Issues and Pain !!” At #GALF we have been increasingly researching and working on the said titled space of #Ergonomics, #Posture and #Pain Management. We are fast emerging as the sought after player with comprehensive digital wellness platform for corporates. Chanced upon this article in TOI today and sharing the snippets so that all of you are able to appreciate the gravity of the problem: - 95 % of back and neck problems are related to work and activity posture injury, obesity and sedentary lifestyle - 66 % of Indians suffer from mild, acute or chronic lower back pain. This is much higher than global average of 46 % - Poor posture initiated health state and pain is becoming on of the Top Reasons for POOR MENTAL HEALTH issues like STRESS, ANXIETY and DEPRESSION In my last few talk sessions with CII and Corporate Clients in BFSI, Shipping and Manufacturing space, I have advocated the need for: - Proactive focus on Muscle Development (Both for Men and Women) - Learning Conscious Deep Breathing for stress and anxiety management - Timely Posture assessment, Mobility workouts and Pain management interventions like podiatrist and physio guided diagnostics (check PHEEZEE) stretching workouts, use of pain management devices like #Curapod by Litemed India Private Limited have scientifically proven to be very impactful. Are you thinking, it won’t happen to you 😊? #EmployeeWellbeing #CorporateWellness #WhyWaitForTomorrow MyGALF MyGALF.com . . . https://lnkd.in/dNuQ7K9z . . Utkarsh Kumar Dr. Surya Prakash Sri Velliyur Suresh Susurla, MIE (India) Deeksha Pandey Aarti Notiyal Pritam Onsker Amarpreet Singh Modi Vishnu Gavkare Prasad Routray Ram Gopal Rajnish Virmani Vighnesh Shahane Rajesh Ramadurai Jay Kaushik Manas Mati

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A fellow startup founder was recently lamenting that very few prospective employees value ESOPs - making it very hard to hire great talent. I have heard this from many other founders and have also experienced this. Here's how Ashwin Bhatnagar, Abhijit Chandrasekaran and I thought about the ESOP policy at Xflow. First up, we must acknowledge that employees are acting rationally - they hear well-meaning advice from many people around them that ESOPs don't translate into real wealth. This is because policies are not designed to be employee friendly. A key reason for that is that employees are forced to convert their options to stock when they leave and this carries significant cost (sometimes) and tax burdens (always). When we designed our ESOP policy, we firstly made sure that we allocated 20% of the company to the ESOP pool. Every single employee is granted ESOPs. Employees who leave are not forced to convert their vested options to equity right away - they can do it closer to a liquidity event. The ESOP vests on a monthly cadence after a 12-month cliff and vesting always starts on the date of joining. But the most important part of this is to take the time to explain to prospects how and why this policy is different and how it works for them. We have made sure we do this to every candidate - irrespective of whether they join us. This does take a lot of time, but this is the only way I know to help reverse the sins of the past. Finally, folks who still don't value ESOPs are perhaps not ready yet for a startup. Looking for candidates who value long-term growth (in all aspects) is a critical culture fit test for us anyways :) Are there other best practices around ESOPs that you want to share? Please do leave your comments #ESOPs #startups #entrepreneurship

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We teamed up with a niche corset brand Together, we set out to shake up the market and redefine comfort and style. Here’s what we achieved: The brand didn’t just hit INR 1.5M revenue—we nailed it. Right from the start, we prioritized making money over expanding too quickly. Here’s how we did it: 1. We knew our audience: Pinpointing untapped segments in the corset market, we crafted messages that really hit home. 2. We kept a close eye on the numbers: Metrics like ROAS, ROI, and EBITDA were our compass, guiding every decision. 3. We got creative: Our content wasn’t just about selling—it was funny, engaging, and totally stood out. 4. We were consistent: Ensuring our brand voice was clear and consistent across every platform. 5. We blended data with creativity: Every campaign wasn’t just a shot in the dark—it was based on solid data and creative flair. 6. We never stopped testing: Even when things were going well, we kept tweaking and testing our ads and offers. Let me give you an example: - Through a month of intense testing, we slashed our cost per acquisition by 30%. - Thinking we’d hit our sweet spot, we took time. - But then, by making a few small tweaks to our winning ad, we dropped it another 12%—talk about squeezing every drop of juice! Results , you ask ? A staggering 1,208 purchases were made during the campaign period! The total purchase conversion value skyrocketed to ₹1,485,874.58! The average Purchase ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) reached an impressive 3.57! It's not always about big budgets, but about understanding your audience and crafting messages that truly resonate. Want to level up your lifestyle brand's digital game? socioninja.com/contact schedule the call for your brand now #DigitalMarketing #MetaAds #FashionMarketing #AdStrategy #SocialMediaMarketing #EcommerceSuccess #Shapewear #CreativeTesting #CustomerEngagement

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#GlobalAIConclave2024 | Indian SaaS founders talk about their GenAI strategy 🤖🌐 Bhavya Dilipkumar writes more👇 https://lnkd.in/d-HmuxBU #India #SaaS #GenAi #Strategy

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