Ravindra Govindani

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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🍴 Swiggy - IPO Breakdown 🍴 Swiggy, India’s leading hyperlocal logistics platform, has redefined urban convenience and set its sights on a transformative future. Here’s what you need to know: -Founded: 2014 by Sriharsha M., Nandan Reddy, and Rahul Jaimini -Pre-IPO Valuation: ₹95,234 crores, with backing from Prosus Ventures, Accel Partners, and SoftBank Investment Advisers -Core Model: Delivering convenience through food delivery, quick commerce (Instamart), dining-out solutions, and lifestyle events -Key Markets: Operating across 653 cities in India, with a stronghold in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities -Revenue Growth: ₹82,646M in FY23 to ₹112,474M in FY24 (+36%), driven by Instamart’s rapid growth Let’s explore how Swiggy is redefining urban living and shaping the future of India’s hyperlocal commerce ecosystem - https://lnkd.in/eEu5MMMF

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If you doubted the rise of India as a powerhouse, Pine Labs, a significant fintech player, is now relocating its headquarters from Singapore to India following approval from a Singapore court. This strategic shift mirrors other successful Indian startups like PhonePe, Razorpay, and Groww, embracing the trend of ‘reverse flipping’. The move signifies growing confidence in the Indian market and its potential. Key factors enabling this move include: - Favorable economic policies - Growing domestic market - Increasing investor confidence - Greater certainty of an exit at a higher valuation - Ease of accessing capital - Regulatory changes - Maturing capital markets - Cost-effective listing process All great signs for India! #India #Fintech #PineLabs #Startups #BusinessGrowth

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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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New Report Alert: Decoding the Online Ticket Business in India & Zomato - Paytm Deal! (Zomato to buy Paytm's entertainment ticketing business for Rs 2,048 crore The acquisition of Paytm Insider, approved by Zomato's board, will allow the food delivery giant to foray into the entertainment ticketing sector, complementing its existing dining and food delivery services.) I'm excited to share that I've recently completed a comprehensive report on the dynamics of the online ticketing industry in India, with a particular focus on the strategic acquisition deal between Zomato and Paytm for Paytm's ticketing business. This report dives deep into the evolving landscape of online ticketing, highlighting the key factors driving growth and the challenges faced by industry players. I also explored the strategic implications of Zomato's acquisition of Paytm's ticketing arm, examining how this move aligns with Zomato's broader business objectives. To provide a well-rounded perspective, I included detailed financial analysis of both Zomato and Paytm, shedding light on the financial rationale behind the deal and its potential impact on both companies. If you're interested in understanding more about this significant development in the Indian tech ecosystem, feel free to reach out! Zomato Paytm Parth Verma The Valuation School #OnlineTicketing #Zomato #Paytm #MergersAndAcquisitions #IndiaTech #FinancialAnalysis

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𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆! 😊   It’s a tale of 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 (𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼!) 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩. Read on and take your own “to be or not to be” clues.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 A few days back, my home water filter started acting up. So, I decided to explore new options and stumbled upon Livpure Smart. Their brand promise sounded tempting: ₹0 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 – all at affordable plans. I decided to go for it.  But my primary concern was installation speed. With my existing filter barely working, 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺. Here’s how the story unfolded: 𝟭. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 When I called their sales number, I told the agent I had already researched their plans. My only question: 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚?   He checked my address and assured me: - Delivery today ✅   - Installation tomorrow ✅  To back it up, he confidently mentioned their office is in Gurgaon, my city, so it would all be done promptly. Trusting this, I made the payment. 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮: It took additional 𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀, countless calls, and negotiating with installers to get the job done. 𝟮. 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 Promise ₹𝟬 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩. But the installer 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, refusing to proceed otherwise.  When I tried calling customer care, I discovered another irony:   Their "𝟮𝟰/𝟳 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁" 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 only operates 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟬 𝗔𝗠–𝟳 𝗣𝗠 𝗜𝗦𝗧. Since it was off-hours, I begrudgingly paid the installer to get drinking water at home. 𝟯. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 Livpure operates in an essential category—𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿. But their process showed 𝙯𝙚𝙧𝙤 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙮 for customers' needs.  From sales to support, no one seemed to understand the urgency of having drinking water at home. Responses like “𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 24–48 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴” 𝘰𝘳 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵” felt robotic & detached. 𝟰. 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 Livpure’s operations showed a lack of planning for 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲. Their installers are local contractors who:   - Don’t share the brand’s values or commitments. - Are motivated purely by money (e.g., charging me despite their "free installation" promise). 𝟱. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿 Livpure did one thing 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹—they chose Sachin Tendulkar 𝘗𝘢𝘢𝘫𝘪 as their brand ambassador. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯?   - Sachin is an icon of trust, loved by millions.   - His personal values align with the brand’s mission: clean drinking water at affordable costs. 𝗕𝘂𝘁… A great ambassador can only do so much. I trust Sachin Tendulkar for life but not the brand Livpure Smart anymore :(

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Abhiraj Singh Bhal, dropped a couple of interesting insights during Z47's "the consumer unicorn blueprint" chat a day before: 1/ While marketplaces can offer you distribution, you don't end up owning the consumer. and till the time you don't own your consumer, you won't be able to create businesses with healthy margins. Period. Any brand with a Q-commerce only or market place+Q commerce only strategy will find it increasingly difficult to create sound businesses. He offers a way out but with a caveat: 2/ To create a fundamentally sound business, with good margins- one has to go the d2c way. He talked about the challenges of creating his own D2C brand "native" in the water purifier and allied category. The biggest challenge he talked about is why should an end consumer trust you and buy directly from you? When he has the option to buy from an Amazon or a Flipkart with easy returns and complete trust in the process if anything goes wrong? That he says is the biggest roadblock which makes it 100X difficult to scale as a D2C brand. But that's also the only way to create a profitable business. Everytime i hear such inputs from industry veterans, it just reaffirms the mission we are onto at Simpl. Our 1-tap checkout is not about giving credit but rather about bridging that missing trust in a d2c brand dot com. It's about giving that feeling of safety while purchasing anything online, the same nostalgic "bharosa" feeling we have from buying from our neighborhood khata store :)

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If you want to understand more about the Indian startup and venture ecosystem, then the best place to start is the "Indus Valley Report" by Sajith Pai, Anurag Pagaria and Nachammai Savithiri R of Blume Ventures - https://lnkd.in/gj-7hjGq You can expect lots of insights about India's GDP, consumption by different types of customers in India, Digital Infra achievements, venture funding trends, Indian IPO market, and Indus Valley Playbook. My favorites in 2024 report 1. India123 - Slides 26-30 2. Storefront as a Service for Digital Native Brands - Slide 101 What do I expect in the 2025 report : How Indian startup and venture ecosystems are powering global Gen AI growth !!!

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Is Zomato’s new 'Food Rescue' feature really going to solve for food wastage or is it just a PR stunt?! Lets find out. While we can do some guesstimates based on available data, but only time will tell if it truly delivers on the expected impact, like: - How much food is actually saved? (Conversion rate from food rescue notification to order) - Are there second-order effects impacting BAU (Business as usual)? (Think: changes in cancellation rates, order trends, or AOV in areas with higher cancellations). While the idea sounds great, I’ve learned to stay focused on the problem, not the solution—that’s how we iterate faster and solve effectively. One thing I found curious: if Zomato tested this feature in smaller markets first, wouldn’t they have mentioned initial results in their PR? Since I don't have the test data, Lets proceed with some guesstimates: Some data we have(thanks to Perplexity) - 400K cancellation per month, 13K per day, 550 Pincodes of Operations, ~20 Million DAU - 24 cancellation per pincode - in 24 hours, 1 cancellation per pincode per hour - 36K active users per pincode The success of this idea depends on several “ifs”: - User proximity: Must be within 3 km of the cancellation point (~36K DAU per pincode, assuming 3 km per pincode). - Notification read/action: Within 10 minutes. India’s average notification read rate is ~8% within 3 hours; assuming active users read 3x faster (~24%), this becomes 1.3% for a 10-minute window (24%/18). - User hunger: 80% of orders happen during meal times, with a 50% chance the user is hungry, giving ~40% probability. - No other food plans: ~20% probability they haven’t made other arrangements. - Food preference match: ~25% probability, assuming 50% chance for veg/non-veg and 50% for cuisine. - Acceptance of deal price: ~50%. (These are some back of the envelop estimates, don't hold me for these ;)) Combining these, we might find ~5 users likely to convert. But even if the conversion rate is as low as 0.00001, that’s okay—since there’s only one item to sell. So, the odds look decent for saving the food :) ! As a product person, I know these kind of interesting ideas are often discussed in backlogs but shelved due to some “pessimism” or because they don’t seem to move any needle on growth or cost savings. Yet, hats off to the product manager who pushed this forward! Here the leadership who approved this probably knew that even if the metric value wasn’t huge, it would make for great PR. This is a great reminder that sometimes it’s worth building features that might not directly impact key metrics but are simply good for customers or society—and, as a bonus, they often bring some free PR. #ProductManagement #ProductImpact #Zomato #FoodRescue

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This will revolutionise the access and use of credit in India!

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Rise of Marketplaces #4 - Respect the Market Forces, Trust the Buyers & Sellers wisdom to stay ahead of the curve and create natural monopoly. When Marketplace platform thinks “kabhi kabhi mujhe lagta hai ki apun hi Bhagwan hai” ie. “Sometimes I feel like I have God power”, that is beginning of the end for the Marketplace. Market forces are like ocean-waves, just as powerful, adamant and raw in energy. The platform needs to learn how to harness the power & ride the wave; faster than others, hopefully without falling & drowning. The platform should NOT try to manufacture waves or even worse create the ocean. Successful Marketplaces have learnt the art of drawing energy from Market forces by working in harmony with it and consistently responding to changing dynamics faster than others. Marketplace platform, while delivering value to the Buyers and Sellers, should religiously listen and learn from them. The Buyers/Sellers know what likes of them want today, tomorrow and in the future. They should be empowered to express those intents through direct feedback or through their micro-engagements with the platform. The platforms are often in dilemma if they should control value proposition (CVP & SVP) offering or let the market forces play-out ie. in eCommerce context, what selection/price a particular Buyer cohort should definitely be shown or NOT, or, which ratings/reviews to shown or NOT (assuming Buyer responsibility) or What price particular goods should be selling (assuming seller responsibility). This leads to platform creating more friction and frustrating the Buyer / Sellers as they don’t feel trusted enough. Successful Marketplaces have created community of Buyers and Sellers, created channels for the Buyers and Sellers to express themselves and empowered them with tools to extract best value proposition from the platform vs making the choice for them.   Natural monopoly (sustained market leadership) occurs when the platform has mastered the art of working in harmony with Market forces and the Buyers / Sellers are widely contributing to improve Marketplace value proposition. Next: Key traits of the successful marketplaces, what differentiates "THE ONE" from others ? #riseofmarketplaces #marketplace #technology #businessmodel #marketforces #buyer #seller

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This time, every year, I sense a certain kind of intensity building up within GreyOrange. It's a strange mix of anxiety, excitement and anticipation as we oversee the latest robotics technologies from across the Globe tested at their absolute peak capacities across some of the largest retailers of the world. All orchestrated by the same software platform: GreyMatter. Handling live operations for these giants, who've literally handed over the keys to us, through the critical peak season can be absolutely nerve-racking. And yet, year after year, these are the moments that give us some of our most cherishable memories. A sneak peak below from what happened last year, which already feels 'ancient' given the pace at which the technology has evolved over the last 12 months! #GreyOrange #PeakSeason

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Nine years ago, Sanjeev and I started Meesho with a clear mission: to democratize internet commerce for every Indian . At the time, many couldn’t see the opportunity or the scale, as e-commerce seemed confined to the big cities. Fast forward to today, our recent Mega Blockbuster Sale is a powerful testament to that goal. We saw unprecedented growth and adoption as crores of users—mainly from tier 2+ areas—once again turned to our platform for their shopping needs. This not only reaffirms our commitment to expanding e-commerce into Bharat, home to the largest consumer base in the country, but also highlights the massive opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to make online shopping even more affordable and accessible for millions. This festive season, we beat industry estimates for e-commerce growth with a remarkable 40% increase in total orders compared to last year, fueled by: - 145 crore customer visits - 45% from tier 4+ cities - 2X growth in orders on Meesho Mall Our sellers also benefited immensely, with many doubling their revenue during the sale. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who trusted us with their festive shopping. We’re excited to keep this momentum going and continue delivering even more value in the future!🚀 https://lnkd.in/g-XgiWku

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PhonePe's Indus App Store has been making inroads in the Indian market. Do read this story from Inc42 Media and Suprita Anupam about how the competitive landscape in India is evolving, and if new app stores would have an impact on the dominance of the Google Play Store in India. Check out my observations and comments and share your views on whether Indus could become The Atmanirbhar App Store of India. Read the article here;

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In India, most startups I know of are primarily focusing on generative AI use cases for optimizing existing systems and reducing costs, or on enabling quick commerce across categories—addressing present-day problems. In contrast, the startups I know of in the USA and Singapore are designing products with a long-term vision, looking 15 years ahead. They aim to tap into the trajectory of human emotions and anticipate future needs. Generative AI is a part of their big picture and not the heart of it. Economies on different growth trajectories think differently. #LongTermVision #GenerativeAI #TechTrends #IndiaStartups #USStartups

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There's lots of hype around AI, but how can we really derive ROI in real world use cases today? Goda Ramkumar, who leads data science at Swiggy will be helping us answer that question. We'll start with a deep dive into Swiggy's AI practice, recent innovations and future roadmap. Following that, Rakesh M. from Google Cloud will give a demo of real-time personalization with AI: Showing how we can create personalized cart abandonment campaigns seconds after the user leaves. We'll wrap up with drinks on the Alpha Wave terrace in Indiranagar. When: Wednesday September 25th 5:30PM Who: CTO / CPO / Data and Engineering leadership / Tech Founders Where: Alpha Wave India HQ, Indiranagar, Bangalore Register: https://lu.ma/u7c5s83t (limited to first 40, so signup quick!) Rahul Jain Kunal Mathuria Rakesh M. Alpha Wave Global Google

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#Quickcommerce—once a shining star of the startup ecosystem—is now walking a tightrope. Fueled by pandemic-era demand and a rush of VC funding, players like #Zepto, #Blinkit, and Dunzo rapidly expanded, promising 10-15 minute deliveries. However, the model’s long-term sustainability is under scrutiny as operational costs soar, consumer demand plateaus, and investor sentiment cools. According to industry estimates, the average order value (#AOV) in the segment is still under ₹400, while the cost per delivery ranges between ₹40-₹70. Coupled with wafer-thin margins and the absence of high-margin product categories like electronics or premium groceries, quick commerce faces a profitability quagmire. Companies are now focusing on increasing AOV, rationalizing delivery times, and building private labels to bolster margins. But will these adjustments suffice to turn the tide? Few Key Data Points- 1. The quick commerce market in India is projected to grow to $5.5 billion by 2025, but profitability remains elusive. 2. Average order value (AOV) is under ₹400, while the delivery cost per order is between ₹40-₹70. 3. Several players, including Dunzo, have been cutting costs and delaying payments to suppliers and employees, signaling liquidity challenges. 4. Increased focus on private labels is expected to boost margins by up to 15-20% in the long term. However, • Are the promised 10-15 minute deliveries truly a value differentiator for customers, or just a marketing gimmick that’s unsustainable? • With funding drying up, will consolidation become inevitable in this space, leaving only a few players standing? • Should quick commerce shift its focus entirely to profitability instead of market share to survive the next phase of the startup funding winter? As we watch this space evolve, one thing is clear: fast isn’t always better if the fundamentals don’t align. Will quick commerce turn into quicksand, or will it reinvent itself as a sustainable and scalable business model? #QuickCommerce #StartupEconomy #SustainabilityInBusiness #VCFunding #TechStartups #ceosgurukul #firsttimeceos https://lnkd.in/dbX8uVwH

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Just had an amazing catch-up with Karan Verma at WeWork Gurgaon, founder of Faad Capital—one of India’s top angel syndicates. 🎯 Turns out we grew up just miles apart! Funny how life circles back. Karan’s journey is next level—quitting his day job 9 years ago with nothing but a name, testing ideas, pivoting, and now FAAD is a $40M powerhouse with 105 investments (and counting)! 🚀 We had a great chat and came away with some fascinating insights: 1️⃣ India is going all-in on deep tech—think defense, drones, and EVs! 🌍 Founders are targeting the global south (Africa, SE Asia), and with local gov support + investor backing, it won’t be long before Indian startups are selling to the West. 2️⃣ Investors are digging across the board—from early-stage to the current favorite pre-IPO secondaries. Everyone’s looking for that quick IPO pop 💥. Swiggy’s the belle-of-the-ball, and even SMBs are getting attention! 📈 3️⃣ My favorite: B2B SaaS. The big challenge? Cracking the GTM for US buyers. It’s easy to overbuild and complicate the product because of distance from customers and overstaffing the early team. 🛠️ The best solution? Get your co-founder or product lead on the ground in the US—no amount of SDRs or playbook consultants will fix the gap! Curious if anyone’s seen a creative solution to the GTM issue? 👀 #DeepTech #VentureCapital #Startups #B2BSaaS #GTM #StartupIndia

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