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1/ The boAt DRHP fiasco is a flare gun for India’s startup ecosystem. A unicorn preparing for IPO had its loan utilization discrepancies and unpaid statutory dues flagged by a Big Four auditor.
December 12, 2025 at 9:38 AM
1/ The boAt DRHP fiasco is a flare gun for India’s startup ecosystem. A unicorn preparing for IPO had its loan utilization discrepancies and unpaid statutory dues flagged by a Big Four auditor.
Stop chasing the "Instant Fashion" mirage. The latest fantasy: If milk can arrive in 10 mins, why not a mini dress? Startups like KNOT are the poster child, but they're ignoring the brutal physics of the fashion business. It’s D2C masquerading as Quick Commerce.
December 11, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Stop chasing the "Instant Fashion" mirage. The latest fantasy: If milk can arrive in 10 mins, why not a mini dress? Startups like KNOT are the poster child, but they're ignoring the brutal physics of the fashion business. It’s D2C masquerading as Quick Commerce.
1/ GenWise - backed by ex-BharatPe founders and Kunal Shah - is dead after just two years. The reason wasn't a lack of vision, but a failure to understand its core user: India’s 145 million senior citizens.
December 10, 2025 at 10:59 AM
1/ GenWise - backed by ex-BharatPe founders and Kunal Shah - is dead after just two years. The reason wasn't a lack of vision, but a failure to understand its core user: India’s 145 million senior citizens.
1/ For decades, India’s analytics giants (Fractal, Mu Sigma) built billion-dollar businesses on labor arbitrage - thousands of analysts cleaning data and building dashboards, billed by the hour.
December 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ For decades, India’s analytics giants (Fractal, Mu Sigma) built billion-dollar businesses on labor arbitrage - thousands of analysts cleaning data and building dashboards, billed by the hour.
1/ InMobi, India’s original unicorn, just made a massive move: Founder Naveen Tewari bought back SoftBank’s entire stake. After 14 years, the suggested exit multiple is barely 1.2x–1.4x. In VC math, that's closure, not a win.
December 8, 2025 at 12:10 PM
1/ InMobi, India’s original unicorn, just made a massive move: Founder Naveen Tewari bought back SoftBank’s entire stake. After 14 years, the suggested exit multiple is barely 1.2x–1.4x. In VC math, that's closure, not a win.
1/ India's tech scene is in a surreal phase: companies are growing, but tens of thousands are losing jobs. This isn't a recession; it's a structural rewrite of the employment equation. Productivity is up; headcount is down.
December 5, 2025 at 11:27 AM
1/ India's tech scene is in a surreal phase: companies are growing, but tens of thousands are losing jobs. This isn't a recession; it's a structural rewrite of the employment equation. Productivity is up; headcount is down.
1/ Wherehouse's shutdown isn't a story of burn or broken unit economics. It's a shocking reminder of how a simple commercial dispute can derail a profitable, functioning logistics business.
December 4, 2025 at 9:41 AM
1/ Wherehouse's shutdown isn't a story of burn or broken unit economics. It's a shocking reminder of how a simple commercial dispute can derail a profitable, functioning logistics business.
1/ India's startup ecosystem just faced an unbreakable wall: a billion consumers who love using products but hate paying for them. This reality triggered a mass pivot: 200 B2C startups are now desperately trying to go B2B.
December 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
1/ India's startup ecosystem just faced an unbreakable wall: a billion consumers who love using products but hate paying for them. This reality triggered a mass pivot: 200 B2C startups are now desperately trying to go B2B.
1/ India’s tech power map is being redrawn, not by unicorns, but by GCCs (Global Capability Centers). These centers, from Google to JPMorgan to Airbus, are the most powerful, and uncomfortable, force shaping our talent market.
December 2, 2025 at 9:49 AM
1/ India’s tech power map is being redrawn, not by unicorns, but by GCCs (Global Capability Centers). These centers, from Google to JPMorgan to Airbus, are the most powerful, and uncomfortable, force shaping our talent market.
1/ India’s startup world just got a signal so clear it defines a category: SBI has invested in Ripplr. This isn't just a cheque; it's a declaration that full-stack distribution is now bankable.
December 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
1/ India’s startup world just got a signal so clear it defines a category: SBI has invested in Ripplr. This isn't just a cheque; it's a declaration that full-stack distribution is now bankable.
1/ The auto-tech world waited for one headline: CarTrade acquires CarDekho. The deal failed for one reason: CarDekho and its investors could not accept today's valuation reality.
November 28, 2025 at 10:10 AM
1/ The auto-tech world waited for one headline: CarTrade acquires CarDekho. The deal failed for one reason: CarDekho and its investors could not accept today's valuation reality.
1/ For decades, India was a footnote in the global toy market (0.3% of exports). China owned 70%+. Now, a fundamental shift is underway: Toy factories are moving from Shenzhen to Noida. India is becoming a serious global sourcing alternative.
November 27, 2025 at 10:56 AM
1/ For decades, India was a footnote in the global toy market (0.3% of exports). China owned 70%+. Now, a fundamental shift is underway: Toy factories are moving from Shenzhen to Noida. India is becoming a serious global sourcing alternative.
1/ India's $245B tech engine is stalling at the base. AI has broken the labor arbitrage model almost overnight, causing a structural inversion in the workforce. This is not a skills gap; it's a disappearing ladder.
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 AM
1/ India's $245B tech engine is stalling at the base. AI has broken the labor arbitrage model almost overnight, causing a structural inversion in the workforce. This is not a skills gap; it's a disappearing ladder.
1/ India’s food delivery market has been a closed room for a decade: Zomato or Swiggy. The duopoly set the rules, charged 18-30% commission, and watched rivals (Uber Eats, Foodpanda) fail. Now, two underdogs are rewriting the physics.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 AM
1/ India’s food delivery market has been a closed room for a decade: Zomato or Swiggy. The duopoly set the rules, charged 18-30% commission, and watched rivals (Uber Eats, Foodpanda) fail. Now, two underdogs are rewriting the physics.
1/ India's EV race is split into two brutal lanes. Mass players (Ola, Ather) are chasing volume under ₹1.5 lakh. Ultraviolette is trying to build India's Tesla Roadster at ₹3.8-4.5 lakh. The gap between these lanes is a financial trap.
November 24, 2025 at 11:36 AM
1/ India's EV race is split into two brutal lanes. Mass players (Ola, Ather) are chasing volume under ₹1.5 lakh. Ultraviolette is trying to build India's Tesla Roadster at ₹3.8-4.5 lakh. The gap between these lanes is a financial trap.
1/ India’s strategic weakness is hidden in plain sight: We don’t control the minerals (Lithium, Rare Earths) that power modern tech. China dominates 90% of refining, controlling the global EV/electronics supply chain.
November 21, 2025 at 11:31 AM
1/ India’s strategic weakness is hidden in plain sight: We don’t control the minerals (Lithium, Rare Earths) that power modern tech. China dominates 90% of refining, controlling the global EV/electronics supply chain.
1/ Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal's new obsession - brain blood flow and aging - has turned the startup world upside down. He’s betting $25M on his "Gravity Aging Hypothesis": that spending life upright accelerates aging by pulling blood away from the brain.
November 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
1/ Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal's new obsession - brain blood flow and aging - has turned the startup world upside down. He’s betting $25M on his "Gravity Aging Hypothesis": that spending life upright accelerates aging by pulling blood away from the brain.
1/ India’s EdTech sector has been an expensive graveyard (Byju's collapse, Unacademy's retreat). Now, PhysicsWallah's ₹3,480 Cr IPO - with 89% as fresh capital - is the first real signal that the model can work.
November 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM
1/ India’s EdTech sector has been an expensive graveyard (Byju's collapse, Unacademy's retreat). Now, PhysicsWallah's ₹3,480 Cr IPO - with 89% as fresh capital - is the first real signal that the model can work.
1/ The concierge dream refuses to die in India. First it was Dunzo's chat-based human errands. Now, former Dunzo CEO Kabeer Biswas is pitching a new "personal AI concierge." The question: Is this just Dunzo with a prettier, cheaper prompt?
November 18, 2025 at 10:42 AM
1/ The concierge dream refuses to die in India. First it was Dunzo's chat-based human errands. Now, former Dunzo CEO Kabeer Biswas is pitching a new "personal AI concierge." The question: Is this just Dunzo with a prettier, cheaper prompt?
1/ India's agritech dream just hit a painful reality check. BharatAgri, despite raising $14M, shut down. The founder's confession: "Unit economics looked fine, but overheads were too high." The transactions made money; the company didn't.
November 17, 2025 at 11:39 AM
1/ India's agritech dream just hit a painful reality check. BharatAgri, despite raising $14M, shut down. The founder's confession: "Unit economics looked fine, but overheads were too high." The transactions made money; the company didn't.
1/ For years, digital gold was fintech’s perfect trick: buy "24K gold" for ₹1 on an app you open 10 times a day. By 2024, ₹15,000 crore had flowed into this parallel market, almost entirely unsupervised.
November 14, 2025 at 10:14 AM
1/ For years, digital gold was fintech’s perfect trick: buy "24K gold" for ₹1 on an app you open 10 times a day. By 2024, ₹15,000 crore had flowed into this parallel market, almost entirely unsupervised.
1/ The old growth playbook in Indian e-commerce is broken. CAC is rising (₹1,500-₹2,000 for many categories), and attention is shrinking. Platforms are now transforming into media companies - asking content to do what ad budgets no longer can.
November 13, 2025 at 10:36 AM
1/ The old growth playbook in Indian e-commerce is broken. CAC is rising (₹1,500-₹2,000 for many categories), and attention is shrinking. Platforms are now transforming into media companies - asking content to do what ad budgets no longer can.
1/ Unacademy's arc - from YouTube channel to SoftBank unicorn - is ending like a clearance sale. Its core biz is reportedly selling to upGrad for $300-$400M, a brutal 90% wipeout from its $3.44B peak.
November 12, 2025 at 10:57 AM
1/ Unacademy's arc - from YouTube channel to SoftBank unicorn - is ending like a clearance sale. Its core biz is reportedly selling to upGrad for $300-$400M, a brutal 90% wipeout from its $3.44B peak.
1/ India's IPO market is running a familiar script: The Pre-Listing Profit Mirage. Companies are showing a one-year profit surge just long enough to secure a successful exchange listing. Lenskart’s sub-issue-price debut is the latest casualty.
November 11, 2025 at 10:35 AM
1/ India's IPO market is running a familiar script: The Pre-Listing Profit Mirage. Companies are showing a one-year profit surge just long enough to secure a successful exchange listing. Lenskart’s sub-issue-price debut is the latest casualty.
1/ India's startup market is running on two parallel tracks. One is flush with private money for fast-scaling software (Lenskart IPO success). The other is slow, built on government cheques for high-risk DeepTech (chips, rockets).
November 10, 2025 at 10:40 AM
1/ India's startup market is running on two parallel tracks. One is flush with private money for fast-scaling software (Lenskart IPO success). The other is slow, built on government cheques for high-risk DeepTech (chips, rockets).