Ravi Krishnan

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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Here is a QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN HAUNTING ME FOR LONG. Please share your thoughts in the comments. My sojourn into full-time teaching (along with my work!) started in 2009 when one of the Professors, Dr K Chandrasekaran (a rare academic with a mind for product design!), requested I take a course on CREATIVE DESIGN and later got extended to EMBEDDED SYSTEMS and ELECTRONIC PACKAGING (this course encouraged me to write a book on the same topic. I was taking these courses for about five years before my job made me shift to Vizag. However, I have been teaching various forms focusing on basic System Design, Engineering, electronic manufacturing and EVs (last 5 years). During this duration, I saw many types of courses, starting from a textbook-based manufacturing course to ML/AI. But what surprised me was most of these courses were a collection of topics and applicability in practice is a big issue. I have been searching for a course "how to design hardware for an ML engine in practice. My search often led to a dead end. Most of these courses are theoretical and don't deal with "how and why". Mostly dealing with "What" only. None of these so-called courses ever teach you the basics so that application becomes easy. Are you facing a similar situation? Let me know in the comments. This problem is acute in IoT & Connected Vehicles.

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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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We asked our PM Fellows to create a Tear down of a product of choice. Akash Sharma created this tear down of Kuku FM. Nice attempt Akash. Want to do something similar? Join our upcoming batch on ProductHood School #productmanagement #teardowns

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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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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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Given the changing paradigms in technology and media, we know that the next 10 years will look nothing like the last 10 years. Thanks to The Economic Times for capturing our interactive media thesis for the years ahead. As we crystal ball gaze into the future, there has been no better time to invest in India. In the last few years, we have seen the market mature across key vectors - propensity to pay, quality of talent, capital inflows, and exits. This represents meaningful upside for founders and investors in this space over the coming decade. With the incredible shifts in tech, media and gaming, there are some exciting times ahead! 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gTfYa3Kw

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At PhonePe, we have had the privilege to witness firsthand the digital transformation of the Indian consumer. This book, "The Bharatiya Consumer" is a fascinating exploraton of the distinct characteristics, aspirations, and behaviours of Gen X, Y, and Z. Do check it out ! https://lnkd.in/gDA5327e

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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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The e-commerce startup Meesho has raised $275 million in a new funding round, pushing its valuation to approximately $3.9 billion. This funding, part of a larger round expected to exceed $500 million, includes secondary transactions. Notable investors like WestBridge Capital and Norwest Venture Partners are participating in this round, joining Meesho's impressive list of backers, including Meta, Fidelity, Peak XV, Prosus Ventures, B Capital, and SoftBank. However, Meesho faces increasing competition, with Amazon India recently launching Bazaar, a special store featuring affordable fashion and lifestyle products. Despite this, Meesho's focus on an asset-light model and lower fulfillment charges has helped it capture nearly half of India’s annual 3PL e-logistics shipment. For the latest secondary coverage and trading SaxonWeber | ShareWell #secondaries #saxonweber

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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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#Qcommerce has certainly been the star of 2024 and changed customers expectations in terms of depth, width & speed of delivery ofcourse! Good or bad is debatable, we are have become habituated to firing up Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy or Zomato instead doing a traditional run to the Grocery store. They did (and continue) to do their best via free delivery and direct discounts, but are they fighting a losing battle. How will this entire last-mile game play out? Will the known "Don" of industry step in and start consolidating? we saw that happen in telecom and more recently in media. One of my international clients isnt very happy with the way things are shaping up in India because "monopolies arent good for anyone in the eco-system especially the consumer". Even my local grocer is complaining. Crowd at his shop has thinned over a period of time as people either order over the phone or hop onto one of the shopping apps. i was reading another article which said that there were atleast 10+ well funded new Q-com services in various stages of development or pilots waiting to get a piece of the ~$3 billion business. I dont need to look far for proof of concept. Blinkit drops have become so frequent, we had to debate instituting a "delivery" curfew at one of the recent society meetings. I could go on and on! I really came to tell you Condoms are selling like hot cakes in Bangalore :-) Read the article for more interesting trivia!

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Gen Z comprises 377 million individuals in India today. They’re not just the future; they’re the now, reshaping the consumer landscape and demanding brands to catch up! In case you missed the Gen Z report by Snap and BCG (where were you yesterday??), here are the cliff notes (I reccomend you read the actual report too!) 🌟 Gen Z currently drives $860 billion in consumer spending in India, with projections soaring to $2 trillion by 2035. 💡 With 75% emphasizing authenticity, keep it real, or you might find yourself ghosted! 🛍️ They engage in “shopcializing,” sharing experiences and seeking advice from their inner circle. About 66% say their friends influence their purchasing decisions! 🎨 Nearly 80% of Gen Z is glued to visual content. Brands must step up with eye-popping, immersive visuals— preference is for short, engaging videos. 🌍 They are 1.6 times more likely than millennials to rally behind causes they care about. Over 60% actively participate in social justice campaigns and community efforts! 🎉 Gen Z flows seamlessly between online and offline shopping. They expect a truly omni-channel experience, with 70% wanting brands to provide consistent messaging across platforms. 🔍 Gen Z is the Sherlock Holmes of shopping, spending 1.5 times more effort researching products before they buy. They value reviews, ratings, and user-generated content, making them savvy consumers. 👩‍🎤 Influencers are Gen Z’s guiding stars. About 70% check out creators’ pages for product recommendations. Brands that collaborate with relatable influencers can capture their attention effectively. 💖 This generation is open about mental health—75% feel positive about discussing it. Brands that support mental health initiatives will win their hearts like a puppy video on a bad day!a 🌱 With 67% of Gen Z willing to pay extra for sustainable products, brands need to get their eco-friendly game on. They prefer brands with transparent supply chains and ethical practices. 🌈 Gen Z values representation. Brands that celebrate diversity will connect more effectively. 83% of Gen Z believes that brands should take a stand on social issues and reflect diverse perspectives in their advertising. ☕ Personalized Experiences FTW! 79% of Gen Z prefers brands that know their favorite coffee order. They value customized marketing messages and tailored recommendations. 💻 Gen Z expects brands to incorporate technology into their shopping experiences. They’re fans of AR/VR for trying products before buying, with 50% expressing interest in immersive shopping experiences. ⚡ While Gen Z can be brand loyal, they will bolt if their needs aren’t met. 60% are willing to switch brands if they find a better fit, highlighting the need for continuous engagement and innovation. 🤑Building for Gen Z is a massive value unlock—are you ready to ride the Gen Z wave? 🌊 Ajit Mohan Abheek Singhi 🙌🏼🙌🏼 Download the report here: https://lnkd.in/g4NRF_ki

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The One That We Had To Back. It is rare in venture to find a team so complete. As the former leadership team of NDTV, an iconic Indian media powerhouse - Suparna Singh Arijit Chatterjee and Kawaljit Singh Bedi have been battle-tested in ways that most of us can't even imagine. With over 3 decades of experience in digital media, broadcasting and media tech - the team has seeded ventures, scaled them, and navigated a publicly listed company from turnaround to profitability (stock price went up 27x and was voted Asia's Best Media Company under Suparna's leadership). Miraculously, they have the hunger and drive to do it all over again. As a VC, it is rare to come across complete teams at the seed stage with the perfect blend of business acumen, domain expertise and technical prowess.Those tend to get built over time. Compounded by unanimous positive feedback on leadership ability + startup drive and hustle - that's the rarest of the rare. We simply had to back them. Frammer AI is building on a thesis that we have long harboured. The world of media is changing so fast, eyeballs are moving digital and most importantly to social media. Formats are becoming shorter but yet brands, publishers, enterprises were using the same ol' means of content creation and targeting. Manual, tedious and imprecise. Frammer AI makes the entire process of short form video creation faster, cheaper and most importantly monetisable. And unlike other prosumer solutions - Frammer's AI is trained on some of the smartest and premium data sets available in the world - news content which is complex, dense, multi-faceted as opposed to low quality Youtube shorts. In a span of 8 months since launch, they are already integrated with several large global clients from the US, Europe, and MENA with leading domestic clients like India Today, ZEE, Acko and several others. Big Tech is already talking to them to collaborate on enterprise projects. Given the demand for the round globally, it's a privilege to be part of their journey. Lumikai Fund We can't wait for what lies ahead. Onwards and upwards! 🚀 🚀 🚀

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At Zippee, we recognize the critical role of technology in powering quick commerce for consumers across India. Excited to launch our real-time Communications Suite to redefine the delivery experience for brands: >> Live Order Tracking: Keep your consumers updated via real-time WhatsApp notifications (from Order Confirmation to Delivery)-- drastically reducing WISMO queries. >> NDR Management: Enable automated rescheduling flows for unavailable consumers, minimizing your Support bandwidth & RTO rates. + Quick Commerce Delivery Speed  + Streamlined Fulfillment + Effortless Customer Communication = Happy Consumers  ————————————- = HAPPIEST BRANDS 🚀 Trusted by 150 of India’s largest D2C brands & marketplaces! #Quickcommerce #Zippee

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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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