Vignesh Girishankar

Indian venture market has exploded. Someone reported that there are 800+ funds/networks/syndicates/ accelerators active in Indian venture market now. Not sure, if that number is correct but if you are an early stage tech founder on your fundraise journey, chances are, you would meet hundreds of people. While majority of the fund houses are doing incredible work and shaping the ecosystem. There are certain kinds of investors you need to identify & avoid to save time and stay focused: Sharing from my personal experience, top 5 such cohorts to avoid and the takeaways for the founders: 1. Data collectors: At early stage, you don't have historical data to present. Your projections are just that, Projections. I wasted one whole week discussing with a prospective angel investor on why the CLTV to CAC ratio is x, and not y. Takeaway: Discuss high level strategic numbers only without going into the details. None of the projections would be accurate anyway when rubber hits the road. 2. Document collectors: Met few folks, who would watch from the fences and ask for n number of documents, data rooms, statements without sharing the purpose of the ask or even revealing their investment intent. Takeaway: It is supposed to be a bi-directional conversation. Say 'no' often, till the time, an official relationship is established. 3. Valuer (! investor): At early stage, valuation is a function of multiple parameters, the opportunity itself, the team, or anything else except steady cash flows, because you don't have much. I wasted another week with a prospective investor trying to justify valuation, had to shut down that conversation, after both of us started quoting Aswath Damodaran and his valuation principles. Takeaway: Too much content on the internet for both parties anyway. Shouldn't be a bone of contention at early stages. 4. Facilitators posing as investors: Met numerous people, who would go to any lengths to pose themselves as serious investors, even buying paid media articles. Only to reveal at the last: The success fee. Takeaway: Avoid facilitators until Series A 5. Brokers posing as market makers: People posing as market makers sharing tons of gyaan on LinkedIn but are actually deal brokers looking to make quick %. Personal experience: Two rounds of conversation happened and then out of blue, they added a third party in the mail trail, someone who facilitates mergers & acquisitions. There wasn't even a single instance in the past conversations where we indicated any such intent. Takeaway: Avoid name & shame in public but at least share within founder communities. #venture #fundraise #startups #investing

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Zepto's origin story involves its co-founders, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya V., who were 19-year-old Stanford dropouts. They founded Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery start-up, as their second venture after working on various projects, including a ride-hailing commute app for school kids. Zepto Raises $665 Million, Valuation Surges to $3.6 Billion. The Indian quick commerce startup, has successfully raised $665 million in a recent funding round. This substantial investment has more than doubled the company's valuation from $1.4 billion to $3.6 billion in under a year . Read more: https://lnkd.in/gwv8zrpw #startup #StartupSuccess #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #Ecommerce #TechStartups

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Raised $26,000,000 with just an idea Lyskraft India Pvt Ltd - the latest kid in the block! So, Mukesh Bansal is back with another startup this time with Mohit Gupta, the former CEO of Zomato's food delivery arm. In July of last year, there were reports about Bansal and Gupta raising funds for a new venture. As per TechCrunch, both of them pitched a range of ideas to potential backers like a female-focused counterpart to Manyavar and "Infosys 2.0" a presumed upgrade to a multinational IT services and consulting firm. Now finally... The news is out and we know what they are building, Lyskraft: initially a women's only marketplace for premium brands mostly focusing on Gen-Z shoppers. Recently we have seen giant e-commerce platforms launching dedicated portals to attract GenZ shoppers, like SPOYL launched by Flipkart within its app, FWD by Myntra, also we are seeing the growth of new-age startups working in this space like Virgio(Mukesh Bansal is an investor in it), Newme(recently raised $4,500,000), Absolute Brands, Snitch, Styched and many more As per Inc42's Report, India's fashion and apparel sector is projected to reach a mouth-watering $112 Billion by 2030, which will be over a quarter of the country's $400 Billion e-commerce market!! Let's be honest, anyone will want a piece of this market. As we are already aware of how crowded this space is, let's see how Lyskraft differentiates itself from others. Mohit Gupts and Mukesh Bansal, in this crowded space building a community around your product, building digital IPs, and creating experiences through videos are the ways to elevate your brand to the next level. I the founder of Elevate would love to connect and assist Lyskraft in building a community, digital IPs and help create experiences through videos, if that sounds like something that interests you would love to connect and discuss!! sources of information : TechCrunch article 2021 - https://bit.ly/49UwkLI Inc42 article - https://bit.ly/3w0SDlb #mukeshbansal #myntra #fashion #startups #venturecapital #fundingwinter #norevenue #cultfit #community #communitymarketing #socialmediamarketing #india

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Here's a book I wrote in the last few weeks, that encapsulates my learnings from 17 years of running high growth startups like redBus, Koo, The Media Ant and Goodbox. Hosting a version of it online for anyone who'd want a condensed boost of startup tips this weekend. It's called '500 Tips for Startup Founders & Employees'. Penning this down is a way to give back to all those in the trenches, making things happen. Sharing an unpublished version for the good folks here. Covers over 100 topics related to starting up, early stages, founder related, people related, growth related, product related, management related and personal aspects. If my effort of painstakingly recollecting and writing these learnings can get more folks to startup and improve an entrepreneur's chances of success, I'll be honoured.

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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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📊 Is pricing the answer to fragmenting the UPI App market? 📊 📈💡NPCI has extended the 30% market cap deadline because the top 3 UPI apps have ~92% market share. Phonepe, Paytm & Gpay capitalized on the early mover advantage. New apps don’t have incentives to compete for UPI volumes because it is a “free product.” And while this was why it grew, it has now also hindered entry of new players ✅ Global real time payment (RTP) equivalents are usually free for the customer while merchants are charged. Ex: 🇧🇷 Pix: Merchant: 0.22 - 0.3% / txn, free for user 🇨🇭 Twint: Merchant:1.3% / txn, free for user 🇵🇱 Blik: Merchant: $0.1 - $0.75 / txn, free for user 🇸🇪 Swish: Merchant: $0.09 / txn, free for user 🇸🇬 PayNow: Merchant: 1.3% / txn, free for user 📈💡 If we want to keep RTP free for the end user, the constraint is free P2P payments. Only P2M can be charged. Is that feasible? Let’s look at the data: 📌 UPI Value (in Cr): From April ‘23 to ‘24, grew by 39.6%. P2P grew from 10L Cr to 14L Cr, at ~32% growth YoY. And P2M grew from 3.2 L Cr to 5.3 L Cr, at~65% YoY. 📌 UPI Volume (in B txn): From April ‘23 to April ‘24 UPI volume grew by 62%. P2P grew from 3.8B to 4.9B, at YoY 29%. P2M grew from 5B to 8.3B at YoY 65%. And proportionally: 📌 April ‘24 Value: Total: INR 19L Cr, P2P: 72.97%, P2M: 27.03% 📌 April ‘24 Volume: Total: 13.3B, P2P: 37.5%, P2M: 62.5% ✅ The constraint of only being able to price P2M transactions is not a blocker, P2M seems to have significant volumes. But that’s the overall P2M market: There is a big segment that falls within P2PM (unorganized merchants), that NPCI will not charge 📈💡Let’s assume that P2PM majorly consists of low value transactions of AoV less than Rs 2000. If we look at AoV > 2000 bucket of P2M transactions, this constitutes for 4.50% of txn numbers, and 68.36% of P2M txn value. ✅ So even excluding P2PM this still leaves a significant~68% of P2M monthly value or 4.5% of P2M txns that can be monetized So what’s the ideal pricing model? ❗Well, the cost of a UPI transaction is ~Rs 0.4. At 13.3B UPI txns that is a monthly cost of Rs 532 Cr. Which is Rs 6384 Cr per annum to maintain the UPI ecosystem! The pricing needs to generate atleast this much❗ 1️⃣ Option 1: Fixed fee / txn: If only AoV > Rs 2000 txns are charged, then to break-even, the fee per txn needs to be Rs 15, which is high. If ALL the P2M txns are charged, then a per txn cost of Rs 0.67 would be enough to break-even. But the P2PM merchant would be impacted 2️⃣ Option 2: % of txn value: If only AoV > Rs 2000 txns are charged, then the break-even fee is 0.15%. If the total P2M value is charged, the fee needs to be 0.10%. Seems to make more sense But even if pricing comes, while it incentivizes new apps it also incentivizes incumbents to keep their market share. Enter: the 30% UPI market share cap To read the full article and other pieces like this, click here: https://lnkd.in/gSPm49aq #fintech #UPI #NPCI

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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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Unveiling Insights: Navigating Market Research and Product Development Embarking on the journey of product development has been a voyage of discovery, marked by invaluable insights gleaned from meticulous market research and an iterative development process. 🔍 The Foundation: Market Research At the outset, market research served as our compass, guiding us through the labyrinth of consumer preferences, industry trends, and competitive landscapes. It illuminated the path forward, providing clarity on market needs, pain points, and untapped opportunities. 💡 Key Learnings from Market Research What emerged from our research was a tapestry of insights—insights that informed product ideation, feature prioritization, and go-to-market strategies. We uncovered nuanced customer behaviors, identified unmet needs, and unearthed hidden desires that would ultimately shape the trajectory of our product journey. 🛠️ The Art of Development: Iteration and Innovation Armed with a wealth of insights, we embarked on the development phase—a journey characterized by agility, adaptability, and relentless innovation. Through iterative cycles of prototyping, testing, and refinement, we transformed abstract ideas into tangible solutions, each iteration informed by user feedback and market dynamics. 💼 Key Takeaways from the Development Process Along the way, we encountered challenges, setbacks, and moments of triumph. We learned the value of resilience in the face of adversity, the importance of collaboration in fostering creativity, and the necessity of embracing failure as a catalyst for growth. 🌟 The Path Forward: Embracing Continuous Learning As we chart our course forward, we carry with us the lessons learned from our market research and development journey. We understand that innovation is not a destination but a continuous pursuit—one that requires curiosity, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to understanding and meeting the evolving needs of our customers. How does this resonate with your experiences in market research and product development? #Marketresearch #Productdevelopment

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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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'GenAI is easier to say in the boardroom and difficult to get right for many SaaS companies'. When speaking to multiple technology providers, we have observed this as well. I will go further to suggest that many existing players will find it difficult to move to agentic workflows meaningfully. Beyond document summarization, and basic AI uses. The real problem is not technology. It is the company's DNA and processes, and a large installed base of customers. Going from building deterministic systems to building non-deterministic systems with high accuracy is a different skill set and hard to pivot to quickly. #aiagents #genai

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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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Finsire has recently started its learning series - Ideally by chatting with the best folks in the Industry. Here, with Siddharth Shetty, Co-founder and CTO of Account Aggregator (AA) from DigiSahamati Foundation, we speak about the data exchange's inception, growth, and future in India. - We use AA for various reasons, including pushing boundaries in India's data exchange layer with various use cases. - It's been about three years since it went live, and over 70 million cumulative Indian accounts are linked. - One-of-a-kind data sharing network from India that is not seen anywhere across the globe, baring Singapore with https://lnkd.in/gyrCQtVQ - Different approach to protect consumers as compared to the previous models that existed to attain consumer data by various methods used by Plaid or Salt Edge Onemoney Finvu (Cookiejar Technologies) Protean eGov Technologies Anumati by Perfios AA NADL - Account Aggregator Computer Age Management Services Limited KFin Technologies Ltd. Enjoy - Please click on the link below and watch the video!

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Zepto’s $665mn fundraising is a testament to what makes a consumer spend. A winning product aims to nail 3 aspects: 1. Does it elevate my identity/status? (core human behavior)  2. Do I experience delight?  3. Is there a lot at stake? (cost + trust factor) Apple makes you think that just buying a phone can elevate your status Nvidia elevates your status in the gaming community and provides a visual graphic experience by buying a GPU Even OpenAI now gives you the power to think, design, and structure almost anything Improve status + Delightful experience + Low-cost entry/switch = Sure, why not? But unlike them, Zepto is a service. Not the end product in itself! While Swiggy and Zomato try to make consumers stick with their monthly pass, it is never about sticking to one platform as the end objective is to get the food delivered, regardless of who delivers it! But Zepto's USP overpowered the actual outcome it provides (i.e. delivery of consumer goods) You don't order from Zepto to just get your products You want to see whether it delivers before the timer runs out! And this led to a staggering 14X growth in just one year. Crazy! What do you think? #perspective #thoughts #leadership #startupfunding #product #consumertech #saas

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In the early stages of company-building, most founders often ignore what their board could look like a few years down. It’s only later in the post-PMF high-velocity iterative-execution phase that they understand its importance :) If possible, got to always “choose” who you want on your Board. And if not at first, gradually have people who have solid operating experience (more the better, versus just writing cheques), plus have atleast 1-2 folks (get independents if thy VCs don’t fit that bill) who have seen companies go from one person with vision to a multi-thousand people organisation doing serious revenue and profits - because they’d then ideally know of all the bumps in the road this will take, and be true “partners”

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Are short delivery times even worth the $ & effort? In today's world of consumption - Super-fast Same-Day-Deliveries have become a game-changer–– but it's not without its controversies :) I've seen how customer expectations have evolved–– driven by the ⬆ of Qcomm–– especially since the pandemic. It's all about → giving customers what they want, WHEN they want it. But here's the catch: meeting these expectations comes with its own set of challenges… The rush to offer speedy deliveries has led to a race to the bottom -- where companies are pressured to cut costs to attract customers (!!) YET–– customers aren't ALWAYS willing to pay those extra rupees...for faster delivery (putting undue strain on the logistics enablers at the backend). Things can really improve with: real-time inventory management + automation = efficiency ⬆ but… but they all come at a price, especially for smaller players (have covered this bit before :) ) So the question remains= are Faster Deliveries needed? PS: We chat with 100s of brands every month at Zippee — I enjoy most of these conversations, especially : where they want SDD, but at their old courier costs of INR 30/40/50 [very well knowing that their current TATs at 3-5 days] 😅 PPS: I hate to say this - but its true : "If you throw peanuts, only monkeys will come" Checkout the full article on Financial Express (India) for a deeper dive into this topic [Link in 1st comment]. #Zippee #Ecommerce #SameDayDelivery

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Many critics and casual observers have been vocal about their concerns regarding the Indian tech ecosystem and recent IPOs. Currently, tech excluding ITES forms a very small portion of our $4 trillion stock market. While some of the criticism is valid, having a myopic view of the future of new-age tech companies and their contribution to a developed India overlooks the fact that if India is to become a developed economy by 2047, tech will be one of the biggest contributors. This is akin to missing the forest for the trees. Despite a few lackluster IPOs, the future of tech is bright, and this sector will be the shining star that lifts the nation and brings us closer to our goal of a $30 trillion economy. In this blog, Utkarsh Pande analyzes the dilemma of the IPO question for Indian startups and attempts to answer it. While the tech sector currently holds a small market share, its broader contributions to the national ecosystem, especially in areas like AI and skill development, underscore its critical importance. By understanding these nuances, we can better appreciate the sector's true value and its role in shaping a prosperous future for India. https://lnkd.in/d9sQMasQ

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When we started TULIPR®, I thought it would skyrocket. It didn’t. Instead, it struggled for a while, then grew by 315% YoY but we were miserable, then settled at a healthy 30% growth and we were happy. Today, Tulipr is (probably) the only marketing agency that is 80% automated. Did we disrupt the industry? No. But it’s pretty disruptive for the industry, if you ask me. Here’s a few things we did really good while bootstrapped: - Browser extensions for proactive data collection. - Automated onboarding and contracting workflows. - 100-days SEO and social media content plans on autopilot. - Custom AI tools to power creative output. - And a massive database. My key takeaway? High expectations can be a bummer. Transformation and growth aren’t instant, linear, or always visible. Also personal and professional growth are not separate things. Happy to take the back seat for a while and watch this unfold. 🍿 (TBT from Slush 2022 as relevant today as it was then) #entrepreneurship

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Zepto cap table - less than 1% ownership with each founder and 6-8% each with their UAE based family members. Looks like highly optimized tax structuring in case of a liquidity event (IPO). With this ownership, pushing nationalism narrative is a lost battle. Introduction of nationalism narrative in the internet consumer categories is typically not a good sign. Amazon is preferred because of its faster deliveries and better customer experiences, and not because of being American or Indian. Grocery + FMCG market has a fixed TAM at a local level with very minor increase y-o-y. It would be unreasonable to assume that because of economy growing or onset of quick commerce, an individual household will start consuming more fruits, cereals etc or food habits/lifestyle will change drastically in a short period. It will not. This means that the demand which earlier used to get fulfilled by Kiranas and other hypermarkets is getting shifted to QC. One doesn't need market reports/data to arrive at this conclusion. Hopefully, everyone could find a middle ground in this reality.

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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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