 KALAARI CONNECT
Sep'20 Edition
 
The last time I wrote to you in June 2020, we were in the middle of the lockdown in India. I hope you are staying ok. COVID continues to be a challenge. When we did business continuity planning with our portfolio in March, we anticipated life back to normal by the end of the year. I reflect on that wishful thinking. We have to embrace, adapt and accept this different normal and move forward.
At Kalaari, we recently decided to return to working from office for two days a week. It is our experiment to find the right balance between safety and productivity. We, more than any other industry, could easily work from home, however, we felt we were missing something intangible by foregoing unstructured brainstorming with our colleagues. After all, VC is all about taking calculated risks with the available data on hand. We will keep you posted on our back-to-work learnings.
The #Dream11IPL is underway with empty stadiums and bio bubbles for players. Cricket enthusiasts have adapted and are rejoicing and engaging with the game online. Dream11 is playing a big role in this digital experience. It is one of those rare companies that is constantly innovating while also staying true to the roots of the games it stands for. We were fortunate to meet Harsh, the Founder and CEO, while he was still a student at Columbia. He offered us the opportunity to be the first Institutional investor at Dream11. We recently sold a small portion of our holdings to Tiger Global, TPG and Chrys Capital.
About finding opportunity in every crisis, we have witnessed a decade of digital adoption and acceleration in the last few months. Sectors like EdTech, esports, home services, online grocery, and remote working tools have all witnessed massive tailwinds despite the economic challenges the world is facing. We need to be agile and make the best use of challenges thrown our way. I believe we can emerge stronger from this crisis.
Regards,
Vani Kola
Managing Director
Kalaari Capital
|
|
|
The Psychology Of Body Language
 Mastering Body Language is an excellent tool in our continuous quest for self-improvement. But we fail to pay intentional attention to this critical aspect of communication. In this article, Vani goes into the psychology of body language, leveraging it in the modern workplace, and the five power poses we can use. Read More
Intermittent Fasting: A Habit for Success
 Our mindset, the way we think, determines much of our success. Success is just many tiny habits that compound over time. How can one create consistency through these habits? Vani details her journey of self-transformation since the lockdown and her learnings from developing an intermittent fasting routine. Read more
|
|
|
At Kalaari we have created Success Diaries, case studies offering insights from analysing successful startups.
For our top takeaways from Slack and more insights, click here
|
|
|
Recent Portfolio Transactions
 Dream11 is India’s leading Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) platform. In the last two years, the company has grown beyond fantasy sports to sports content, merchandise, streaming, experiences with the userbase growing to 100 million users. Dream11 recently raised $225M from Tiger Global, TPG, ChrysCapital and others at a $2.5B valuation. Read more
 WinZO is a vernacular gaming platform that offers 70+ games across various multiplayer formats. The company has seen 1,500% revenue growth in the last 12 months, with users spending an average of 45 minutes per day on the platform. WinZO recently raised $18M Series B led by Makers Fund, Courtside Ventures. Read more
 Cashkaro is a deal discovery and comparison platform that helps transact and save money across 2K+ online merchants. The company has shown strong performance in the last 12 months, driven by expansion in retail network, penetration into bill payments, and the launch of a new social cashback platform, Earnkaro. Cashkaro recently closed a $10M Series B round. Read more
 POPxo is an online community and platform for women, focused at the intersection of content, community, and commerce. POPxo caters to 50M women between the ages of 18 and 34. The company was recently acquired by MyGlamm, a leading direct-to-consumer beauty brand. The goal of the combined entity is to truly listen to women to co-create, launch products, and meaningfully engage with women. Read more
|
|
|
Book Recommendation
 By Vikash Rathi - Business Legends' by Gita Piramal covers the biographies of four business leaders - Mr. G.D. Birla, Mr. J.R.D. Tata, Mr. Walchand Hirachand and Mr. Kasturbhai Lalbhai - all seminal business leaders who had immense impact on the Indian business ecosystem.
Among these, Mr. Hirachand's biography left the strongest impression on me. Born in 1882 to a middle-class Maratha Jain family, he turned out to be an epitome of entrepreneurship and courage. His passion for striving for a level playing field for Indian businesses and his belief in Indian technical and managerial capabilities were one of a kind.
Mr. Hirachand possessed the power to influence Indian Capitalists like the Tatas, Lalbhais and members of the Indian Royalty to participate in his business ventures which were gutsy and ahead of the times. He also had an uncanny ability to influence public opinion.
In today’s context where fledgling startups have to compete against large MNCs, his story clearly demonstrates that strong focus, determination and belief in one’s abilities can create value accretive paths even against all odds. Read more
|
|
|
Meet The Team
 Jessiedna Araújo is an Associate at Kalaari Capital. Born and brought-up in tropical Nordeste of Brazil, she spent five years visiting remote places around the world, handling tech operations for Schlumberger. An ex-founder herself, she is passionate about entrepreneurship.
She spent two years at Kalaari as part of the Fellowship program. As an advanced yoga practitioner, she is keenly interested in the health and wellness space. She also actively leads several finance and marketing initiatives at Kalaari.
She has been an award-winning scholar throughout her academic career and authored several research papers. She is actively involved in rescuing stray dogs and is a big sci-fi nerd. Connect with her
|
|
|
|
|
|
