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DECODING : The Unsung Hero Behind Mensa Brands' meteoric rise! INDIA FASTEST - PROFITABLE UNICORN IN 6 MONTHS Have you ever been captivated by a company's phenomenal success story? Like Mensa Brands, a startup that rocketed to unicorn status in just SIX MONTHS! Yes Crazy right ? While their achievements are undeniable, there's a silent hero lurking behind the scenes, a powerful model that's the mastermind behind this incredible growth. Intrigued ? You should be! During my daily bus commutes, I'm constantly drawn to stories of overnight success. Mensa Brands is one such enigma, leaving me yearning to understand their secret weapon. What if I told you it involves a model that can propel a business to BILLION-dollar valuation in just less than two years? Infact there are 2 Unicorn one is Mensa and Globalbees they get to this Status in 6 and 7 Months respectively So who is behind such Unimaginable Sucess Stories... This game-changer is none other than the Thrasio Model born in 2018 and revolutionizing the e-commerce landscape. But where does Thrasio come from? Thrasio is a company built by industry veterans who identified a gap in the market. They saw countless small, high-potential brands struggling to scale on their own. Here's where the magic happens: ✨ Thrasio swoops in, acquires these brands, and injects their expertise to unlock explosive growth. This involves: 1. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) Optimization:** They prioritize retaining existing customers, ensuring predictable revenue streams. Studies show a 5% increase in CLTV can boost profits by 75%! **2. Data-Driven Decision Making:** Gut feelings are out, data-driven insights are in. This maximizes campaign effectiveness, with reports suggesting a 300% improvement in ROI when data takes the wheel. **3. Brand Revamps:** They invest in revamping packaging and crafting compelling brand stories, elevating perception and attracting new customers. ✨ 4. Omnichannel Marketing:** Forget just Amazon! Mensa goes beyond, utilizing Facebook, Google, and influencer marketing to build brand awareness across various channels. 5. Supply Chain Optimization:To reach a wider audience, they get their products onto retail shelves at major stores like Target and Walmart. ️ Mensa takes this model a step further. Unlike Thrasio's complete acquisition, Mensa often retains founders with a significant stake, fostering a collaborative environment for growth. The Future of Mensa is Bright Their ambitious plans include a 1000% growth target for existing brands and partnerships with 30 more in the next five years. Their focus on underpenetrated sectors like beauty & personal care positions them for significant e-commerce dominance. ️ What are your thoughts? Have you encountered the Thrasio Model before? How do you see it impacting the Indian startup ecosystem? Share your insights in the comments below!

Do you believe in yourself to start again after failure? Manish Taneja did! After a failed attempt at a startup, he tried again and founded Purplle, a beauty marketplace that recently received $120 million in funding and is potentially valued at $1.2-1.3 billion. Here are some of their strategies: Understanding the Demands of Customers: - Out of Rs 300 crore in gross sales, no single brand contributes more than 5 percent of the total revenue. This is achieved by guiding customers through a personalized shopping experience using technology, ensuring they don't just land on the most popular brands. - They understand customers' needs by asking questions as they land on their site. Results are then personalized not by browsing history, but by the customer’s traits. Affordability: - Purplle positions itself as a budget-friendly destination for beauty products. This focus on affordability, particularly through their private label brand, Good Vibes, allows them to reach a wider audience compared to Nykaa, which has a wider selection of luxury labels. Expanding Reach: - Purplle not only focuses on big cities but is also expanding its business to tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Innovative Marketing Strategies: - They gamified their campaigns with engaging formats like scratch cards, spin the wheel, or memory games to drive traffic and increase engagement with their platform. Retention of Customers: - Cosmetics is the highest repeat category, with margins of about 90 percent in luxury brands and 75-80 percent in the budget category. To retain their customers, they launched Elite, where customers can subscribe and get free shipping, COD, gifts, and exclusive offers. - Currently, they have a community of 215,000+ Elite subscribers, indicating that people are satisfied with the products and services offered by Purplle.

"Is there a ceiling for online growth for consumer brands, and should they look to go offline early?" An interesting question posed to me from the audience during the Venture Intelligence Conclave 2024. While we discussed this at length at the conclave, I believe this is really relevant for several digital-first consumer brands. Here are my views: In many categories, it's possible to build brands with at least INR 100 crore revenue online only, without entering offline channels. This online addressable market is expected to continue to expand with the increasing share of e-commerce in retail sales across categories and evolving consumer preferences. The recent rise of quick commerce is further postponing the necessity for offline expansion in several categories like F&B. Some brands might want to experiment with offline channels early for varying reasons. Fashion and lifestyle brands might consider experimenting with offline strategies early on to offer a superior customer experience and foster trust. Also, for offline-first categories like jewellery, brands might choose to adopt an offline strategy very early on or even start exclusively offline. However, in most categories, if a digital-first brand feels the need to go offline to address growth challenges at lower ARR of INR 10-20 crore, it could be an indicator of issues such as the core product, pricing or brand proposition. Ultimately, most brands will likely need to embrace offline channels, as offline sales continue to represent 80-90% of the total market in many categories. It's essential to recognize that offline isn't a single channel but encompasses various channels such as Modern Trade (MT), General Trade (GT), and Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBO). Brands must select the most suitable channels based on their category, price points, and consumer profile. In conclusion, it is possible to build a reasonably large business online only. In the medium to long term, it is still essential to integrate an offline strategy for long-term success, particularly in categories where consumer preferences and market dynamics favour traditional retail platforms. #venturecapital #consumerbrands #ecommerce #offlinestrategy Prath Ventures

🌟The Evolution of Consumer Brands: Rethinking Investment Strategies 🛍️ As an investor closely tracking market dynamics, I've observed an intriguing shift in startup strategies, particularly among direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Let's dive into this evolving landscape and what it means for investment decisions. 📈💡 The Rise and Challenges of DTC: Over the past decade, DTC startups flooded the market with innovative products and disruptive marketing strategies. However, recent years have seen some prominent DTC brands struggle to sustain growth, impacting investor confidence. Here are three examples of notable DTC brands that faced challenges: 1️⃣ Peloton: an American exercise equipment & media company that gained a lot of traction in the pandemic. While they claimed that they acquired their customers for free (because their gross margin on the sale of their bikes covers their customer acquisition costs), they also had an operating expense of $200m (and growing!)  The LTV the brand had been providing is based on subscription revenues only - which was a whopping $1bn over 13 years - a very long period! Post pandemic,  a) they couldn’t keep growing subscribers or maintaining their existing subscriber growth  b) cost of acquiring a customer got VERY expensive 2️⃣ AllBirds : Marketed as an environmental friendly, the worlds most comfortable shoes!  Despite its early success due to large marketing costs to acquire customers they quickly lost status as the “tech bros” uniform because the cost of switching was fairly low.  Today they are closing down 10-15 of their stores across the country. They claim they have a turnaround plan but that plan isn’t working for other D2Cs as either 3️⃣ Blue Apron : The meal kit start up was delisted from the NASDAQ stock market in November of 2023 and struggles to stay afloat. In 2022, they spent approx $84.1m in marketing expenses alone to acquire customers! D2C brands struggle to break even or maintain profitability given their struggle to acquire customers + high churn rate. Amid these setbacks, venture capitalists are recalibrating their strategies. Many are turning their attention to consumer brands emphasizing traditional retail channels. 🛒 The Retail Renaissance: Interestingly, several consumer brands are redirecting efforts towards retail partnerships, leveraging established distribution networks and consumer footprints. This shift offers VCs greater visibility into scalable growth and market penetration. As we navigate these transitions, it's essential for investors to remain agile and open to new opportunities. The resurgence of retail-focused strategies presents compelling investment prospects within the consumer goods sector. I'm keen to hear your thoughts on this evolving landscape! How do you perceive the future of DTC startups versus retail-focused consumer brands? Let's continue this conversation 🚀 #InvestmentTrends #ConsumerGoods #RetailStrategy #StartupStrategy #VCInvesting

Key takeaways from the Brands of India 2024 event. I recently came across a fascinating article recapping the Brands of India 2024 event. It delved into the essential ingredients for building a thriving D2C brand in today's competitive landscape. The event featured insightful discussions on fundraising strategies, fostering customer loyalty, and leveraging artificial intelligence for business growth. Here are some of the key takeaways that resonated with me- Founders should be proactive about fundraising: The event emphasized that founders should not only be prepared to raise capital when needed but also be proactive in securing funds during favorable times. This financial foresight allows brands to invest in growth opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. Omnichannel marketing reigns supreme: A key takeaway was the importance of establishing a presence across various touchpoints. This could include social media, influencer marketing, and even offline channels like brand stores. By creating a cohesive omnichannel experience, brands can effectively connect with their target audience and foster stronger customer relationships. Customer engagement: The article highlights the importance of customer engagement for D2C brands. This goes beyond simply making sales; it involves building a strong brand community and fostering long-term customer loyalty. Source-https://lnkd.in/ejugre_p #BrandsofIndia #D2C #entrepreneurship

What do you think brands should do in the face of severe criticism? Back their ads or take them down? Brands from every sector make bold moves to emotionally connect with consumers through storytelling or taking a stand for social issues. However, users don’t shy away from heavy criticism, if the campaign message doesn’t align with the brand values or is too controversial. The influx of a stormy backlash, brings a heavy choice for brands: to stick with their message or take down the ad. While Nike stands by their ads even when market shares drop, as their message has been well-received by their target audience, other brands like McDonalds and Dabur have pulled down their ads and apologised for insensitivity. Share your thoughts… To know more about us: https://lnkd.in/eqCfG4KG . . . . #brandidentity #branding #brands #nevertoosmalltobrand #Employeebranding #marketing #bangalore #advertising #bangalorefreelancer #freelancerlife #instagram #instagood #Origamicreative #brandstrategy #brandingdesign #brandpositioning #startups #businessowners #brandagency #rebranding #bangalorestartups #bangaloredays #bangalore #business #startupbangalore #startupgrind #startupfailure #womenstartup #startupadvice #startupweekend BRANDS Owners Nike McDonald's Ashwin P K Brandon Brown Brandy J. Brandix Careers – Global Yemi Olagunju [BrandStrategist]

🌟 Meeting the founder of d'you At Mesa School of Business, as part of the Business Strategy Lab (BSL), we recently had the incredible opportunity to tackle live business case problems for startups. Our case? 🚀 Crafting a GTM strategy for d'you launching on Zepto. What initially seemed like a straightforward challenge turned into a complex problem when we realized the high-involvement nature of D’you’s products on a platform designed for quick, low-consideration purchases. After intense brainstorming and strategizing, Shlok S., Shivam Goenka, and I—yes, all three men who do the bare minimum when it comes to skincare—worked on a case for a premium skincare brand! 🧴✨ We were honored to be selected to present our solution to Shamika Haldipurkar, Sanaa Khan, and Ritaaksha Kumar at D’you’s office in Delhi. What was planned as a 30-minute presentation turned into a 2-hour deep dive discussion on a range of topics. 👉 Influencer marketing 👉 Social media strategies 👉 Changing consumer behavior 👉 Brand ambassadors 👉 Strategies to win on quick commerce platforms We also proposed two new product ideas tailored for Quick Commerce and emphasized the importance of a robust marketing push before the launch. 📈 This experience was a powerful reminder of the importance of understanding market nuances, consumer behavior, and building a strategy tailored to the platform and product fit. 💡 Key takeaway: Sometimes, the simplest-looking problems are the most layered when you dig deeper. 🎉 Kudos to my team, Shamika Haldipurkar, our mentor Sohil Wazir and the Mesa School of Business team for such an enriching experience! #Startups #QuickCommerce #Dyou #GTMStrategy #MesaBusinessCase #Innovation #Marketing #ConsumerBehavior #Zepto

Thank you to Mercia Ventures and The CMO Circle for hosting this excellent breakfast event bringing together DTC founders and marketers. Many thanks to Nicola Anderson for moderating a great discussion with Matt Cockroft, Lisa Rodwell and Jonathan Kruger. My key thoughts: 💡 Founders could benefit from established consumer research and concept development methods to fast-track product-market fit: Many founders overlook the proven methods big players use that could streamline their brand and product development process. Simple, highly cost-effective research approaches are readily available to help avoid expensive mistakes and validate ideas early. 💡 Deep customer understanding is vital for an effective customer journey: Actionable consumer insights rarely come from data analysis alone. Staying close to the customer doesn't have to be expensive, and in an omnichannel world it's vital to understand how your target is discovering, considering and buying your brand. It was great to hear Matt's weekly customer calls being translated into action, such as placing brand ambassadors in shopping centres. eCommerce brand acquisition doesn't have to be all about Google or Meta. 💡 Brand character can help small brands to become distinctive and get noticed: In competitive markets, achieving consumer cut-through is critical to acquisition. I loved Lisa Rodwell's example of how Wool and the Gang's music-themed product naming created a fun experience for staff and customers, and most importantly, word of mouth. Great to chat to Sam Moss, Betty Bonnardel-Azzarelli MBE, Joshua Magidson and many others.

𝟭𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁-𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗧𝗖 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂: 1. Flying blind on numbers Most founders I talk to can't tell me their CAC or LTV. Big mistake. 2. Revenue obsession Focusing solely on top-line growth is a recipe for disaster. Profit matters. 3. Scaling ads recklessly Throwing money at ads without strategy? You're burning cash. 4. Ignoring NCROAS New customer Return on Ad Spend needs to be profitable. Period. 5. ROAS tunnel vision It's not just about return on ad spend. Look at the bigger picture. 6. Discount addiction Slashing prices to boost sales? You're training customers to wait for deals. 7. Overpaying influencers I've seen brands blow their entire budget on a single post. Crazy. 8. Neglecting retention Acquiring new customers is expensive. Keep the ones you have. 9. High return rates This silent killer eats into margins fast. Optimize your product-market fit. 10. Single-channel dependence Relying solely on Facebook ads? You're one algorithm change away from trouble. What's your biggest DTC profitability challenge? Drop it in the comments. Want a deep dive on DTC profitability? I just released a podcast episode breaking it all down. Comment "PROFIT" and I'll send you the link. ------------------- I am Veena Gandhi 🔥 💓 I help eCommerce brands scale profitably and consistently to 7 & 8 figure+ months through proven strategies and frameworks. 🤑 Scaled 200+ eCommerce stores 🚀 I am on a mission to help Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle DTC Brands Ship A 100 Million Life Changing Products By 2030

Why Pop-Ups might be your startup’s best strategy right now! For startups, testing markets and boosting brand presence can be a daunting task, especially in today’s fast-paced, competitive landscape. However, pop-ups are proving to be a highly effective way for digitally native brands to break through. According to recent research by Glossy, 9 out of 17 brands studied last year used pop-ups in cities like Los Angeles and New York, to incredible success. What’s the value? - Test markets without full commitment: Pop-ups allow you to dip your toes into new regions without the heavy upfront investment of a permanent retail space. By strategically choosing locations, you can gauge local demand and refine your approach. - Boost brand visibility: A physical presence, even temporarily, can drive awareness and excitement around your brand. It's a chance to build connections with your community and attract local press and influencers. - Increase product sampling: Brands like Liquid I.V. and Harry Styles Merch‘s Pleasing have used pop-ups to offer customers direct engagement with their products. Sampling is a powerful conversion tool—once a potential customer experiences your product firsthand, the chances of making a lasting impression skyrocket. - Expand reach quickly: Pop-ups in major hubs like LA and NYC bring your brand into contact with diverse audiences and can spark viral word-of-mouth marketing. For startups, these activations can open the door to new markets, partnerships, and insights for scaling. In short: Don’t underestimate the power of a well-executed pop-up. It could be the launchpad your startup needs to test new markets, build distribution, and solidify your brand's presence. Here’s the article from Glossy that's worth the read: [Glossy - Startups Use Pop-Ups to Market Test New Markets and Concepts](https://lnkd.in/e5tUpU5w) #startups #retail #popupstores #markettesting #entrepreneurship #brandbuilding #innovation #businessgrowth #marketingstrategy #customerengagement #brandawareness #productlaunch #retailtech #dtc #experientialmarketing #brandexperience #popupshops #retailinnovation #consumertrends #entrepreneurlife #startupsuccess