Mohammed Zeeshan

Top News of the Week in Indian Startup Ecosystem: 1. The week saw the first mega funding deal materialise for an Indian startup in the form of healthtech unicorn Innovaccer’s $275 Mn Series F fundraise. 2. On the back of this, healthtech emerged as the most funded startup sector this week. Besides Innovaccer, BrainSinghtAI and Zoplar also raised $5 Mn and $3.4 Mn this week. 3. Fintech, cleantech and ecommerce all saw three funding deals materialise this week, leading to fresh capital infusion of $48.9 Mn, $14.2 Mn and $13.3 Mn respectively. 4.  After months of speculations, Ritesh Agarwal increased his stake in his startup OYO with a capital infusion of $65 Mn via his venture capital firm Redsprig Innovation Partners. This funding round made travel tech the second most funded sector this week. 5. This week’s most active investor was VC firm Alteria Capital, investing in BrainSightAI’s $5 Mn pre-Series A funding round and Pratilipi’s $1.2 Mn funding round. 6. Eyewear major Lenskart is said to have initiated talks with bankers for a $1 Bn IPO that could value it in the range of $7 Bn to $8 Bn. Its IPO could hit the Indian bourses toward the end of the next financial year. Read the full post on link below Stay up do that with the Indian startup ecosystem on Medial.

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As evangelist Guy Kawasaki wisely puts it, a pitch deck is like a Tinder profile—you have just 2 seconds to make an impression. Just like swiping left or right, investors decide quickly whether your startup is worth exploring further. That’s why your pitch deck needs to be short, crisp, and compelling, sparking curiosity and leaving room for deeper discussions later. A strong pitch deck highlights your vision, showcases the opportunity, and communicates your plan in a way that resonates with investors. Remember, detailed business plans can always be shared upon request—first, you need to grab attention. Here’s a curated list of some of the best pitch decks for inspiration. Dive in and craft a winning story! 1. Facebook - Valuation at IPO: $104B  https://lnkd.in/dNxYhmgi 2. AirBnB - Valuation at IPO: $41B https://lnkd.in/dsUqaGX7 3. Canva - Current valuation: $39B https://lnkd.in/dm9D6r_U 4. Dropbox - Valuation at IPO: $12.6B https://lnkd.in/dm3qSHvw 5. LinkedIn - Valuation at acquisition: $26.2B - https://lnkd.in/dGckmnyf 6. WeWork - Valuation at SPAC merger: $9B https://lnkd.in/dCvbZhH9 7. Youtube - Valuation at acquisition: $1.7B https://lnkd.in/di-C_haN 8. Coinbase - Valuation at IPO: $65.3B https://lnkd.in/dS2k22hj 9. Uber - Valuation at IPO: $75B https://lnkd.in/dWrzvqyT 10. Tinder - Current valuation: $42B https://lnkd.in/dxnV-5TZ #Startups #PitchDeck #Entrepreneurship #InvestorPitch #StartupJourney #BusinessStrategy #GrowthMindset #Innovation

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Ultimate Tip to Build a Successful Startup! 🚀 I've had the privilege of working with over 200 startups since I launched StartUp. 👉League and the one core thing that I realized has stood out to me above all others. 👉You have to be obsessed with your customers' satisfaction! 👉When you’re starting, it’s easy to get caught up in perfecting your product or service. But the real secret sauce is a relentless focus on your customers. 👉Their needs, their feedback, their satisfaction these are the true north stars for your startup's success. I’ve seen it time and again. The startups that truly listen to and engage with their customers are the ones that thrive. 👉Here are a few tips to help you stay obsessed with customer satisfaction: 📌Listen Actively- Always listen to customers and gather feedback through surveys, reviews, and direct conversations. 📌Engage Consistently- Keep the lines of communication open with regular updates and check-ins. 📌Adapt Quickly- Be ready to make changes based on customer feedback. 📌Go the Extra Mile- Always aim to exceed customer expectations, not just meet them. 📌Measure Satisfaction- Use metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) to track customer happiness. Remember, your startup’s success hinges on the happiness of your customers. So, be obsessed with their satisfaction. How well do you know your customers? Share in the comments and stay tuned with Sanjay Pekam for such more updates!

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Never work in Stealth Mode for a Startup Idea. Very risky. This is the time that the idea needs a lot of Validation, Understanding Use Cases, Market Insights, Understanding Competition, Adoption challenges, Market Sizing. More prospects/customers in this phase needs to be met. Asking all the right & tough questions. The Foundations of Problem Validation & Value Proposition needs to be clear here. Working in Stealth Mode cuts you off from these inputs. We have worked with 100+ MedTech/Healthcare startups over the last 3 years. Impact : ✅ Some startups pivoted after they worked with us in GTM Readiness. ✅ Few founders even went back to their Corporate jobs realising the problem they were solving was wrong & didn't see a path to PMF. ✅ Few changed their Pricing and Business Model and entered the Market. Explore GTM Readiness Services. Enter the form in the comments section for a discussion.

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Building a Startup is like building a rocket. Building an Agency is like building a car. An agency: - Is cheaper to build. - Generates revenue earlier. - Solves a problem quicker for customers. Whereas a startup: - Requires world class talent and technology. - Does not generate revenue early on. - Needs significant funding to set up. Like building a rocket, the chance of failure is astronomically higher for startups compared to agencies. But if successful, a startup is able to travel much further and faster. Different vehicles, Different risks, Different outcomes.

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🚀 From Even Healthcare to Healthify – Indian Startups Raised $187 Mn This Week🚀 This week 21 Indian startups raised $187 Mn, which includes 4 growth stage and 13 early-stage deals while 4 early-stage startups kept the transaction details undisclosed. In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Mumbai-based startups led with 9 deals followed by Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Chennai. During the week, seed funding deals are on top, with 8 deals followed by Series A, pre-Series A, Series C, and Angel deals among others. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $315.51 million with 28 deals per week. So, I put together a comprehensive guide that covers: - 📌 Key Startup Funding Highlights of The Week 📌 Growth/late-stage deals 📌 Early-stage deals 📌 City and Segment-Wise Deals 📌 Other Major Developments of This Week ➕ Follow Shilpi Kumari for more such insightful content. #startups #fundraising #fundingsuccess #investmentstrategy #founders #entrepreneurs #startupecosystem #fundingnews

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NEW: Indian startups nearly reached $1 Bn in funding in Nov, boosted by major deals in e-comm, healthtech, and fintech. While funding was slightly lower than Oct, big investments in startups like Zepto and HealthKart showed strong investor interest. Report by Harsh Upadhyay and Shashank Pathak

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I am looking to invest in Nanotechnology startups. Will be happy to introduce it to Bolstart investors community as well! Eligibility Criteria: - Possess a DPIIT StartupIndia certificate - Demonstrate Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) Feel free to drop your comments, and I will reach out to connect personally. DM me if you are looking to co-invest. #Venture #Capital #Angel #Investor #InvestmentOpportunity #Nanotechnology #Startups

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Scaling too early can kill your startup. 5 signs your startup is scalable Scaling is a double-edged sword—it can make or break you ⭐️ It’s not about ambition—it’s about readiness. ⭐️ This post will help you recognize the signs. ⭐️ Is your startup ready for scaling, or should you wait? 5 Signs Your Startup Is Ready to Scale 1. You’ve Achieved Product-Market Fit Your product solves a validated problem with steady demand. Customers love it, and referrals are driving growth. 2. Your Revenue Is Predictable Sales are consistent, and there’s a clear growth path. Scaling works when your revenue model is proven. 3. Your Team Can Handle Growth Your operations and leadership thrive under pressure. A strong team is essential to scale effectively. 4. You Have Cash Reserves Scaling requires upfront investment—weak finances will sink you. Make sure you’re funded or financially prepared. 5. Demand Outpaces Capacity You can’t keep up with the rising customer demand. This is a clear sign it’s time to grow. 2 Reasons why your not ready and its very common ❌ You’re Scaling Just for Show ❌ Growth for investor hype is risky without market readiness. ✅ Build strategically, grow intentionally, and know when to hold back. P.S. Which sign resonates most with your startup’s journey?

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Revenue to valuation multiple is useless for private startups. You invest now for future growth expectations in 1-2yrs.

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🚀 Exciting Funding Updates in the Startup Ecosystem! 🌟 Last week saw some significant funding rounds for innovative startups across sectors. Here’s a quick recap: Zepto: Secured $350M, reaching a $5B valuation, further solidifying its dominance in quick commerce. 🛒 HealthKart: Raised $153M to expand its omnichannel nutrition platform, with ChrysCapital and Motilal Oswal leading the round. 🏋️‍♂️ Locad: Logistics startup bagged $9M in pre-Series B funding for its e-commerce logistics solutions, backed by Reefknot Investments and Global Ventures. 📦 Billion Hearts: The latest venture by Mayank Bidawatka raised $4M in seed funding. ❤️ CredFlow: Strengthened its fintech offerings with a $3.7M pre-Series B round led by Inflexor Ventures. 💸 These investments highlight the continued momentum in tech, wellness, and logistics sectors, driving innovation and growth. Kudos to the teams and investors propelling these ventures forward! 🚀 Let’s keep watching this space for more transformative ideas! #StartupFunding #Innovation #Growth #Tech #Entrepreneurship

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🚨 Indian Startup Funding Alert: $432M Raised in last Week $432 Million. 20 Deals. >30 times last week Series F Innovaccer (Healthtech, Healthcare SaaS, B2B): Funding Raised: $275 Mn Investors: B Capital Group, Banner Health, Danaher Ventures LLC, Generation Investment Management, Kaiser Permanente, M12 Series A GrayQuest (Fintech, Lendingtech, B2B-B2C): Funding Raised: $9.3 Mn Investors: IIFL Fintech Fund, Claypond Capital, Pravega Ventures Beyond Snack (Ecommerce, D2C, B2C): Funding Raised: $8.3 Mn Investors: 12 Flags Group, NAB Ventures, Japanese VC firm Enrission India Capital, FAAD Network EMO.energy (Cleantech, Electric Vehicle, B2B): Funding Raised: $6.2 Mn Investors: Subhkam Ventures, Transition VC Oben Electric (Cleantech, Electric Vehicle, B2C): Funding Raised: $5.8 Mn Investors: Ambis Holding US, Kuberans Ventures, Karimjee Group, Mission Vertical Capital, Sanjiv Saraf’s family office, Pravek Kalp family office RAS Luxury Skincare (Ecommerce, D2C, B2C): Funding Raised: $5 Mn Investors: Unilever Ventures, Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund hBits (Fintech, Investment Tech, B2C): Funding Raised: $4.6 Mn Investors: Capricon Realty Zoplar (Healthtech, Medtech, B2B): Funding Raised: $3.4 Mn Investors: Blume Ventures, BEENEXT, Saison Capital, Atrium Angels, Finfirst, LogX Ventures Pre-Series A BrainSightAI (Healthtech, Healthcare SaaS, B2B): Funding Raised: $5 Mn Investors: IAN Alpha Fund, IvyCap Ventures, Silver Needle Revivo (Consumer Services, Hyperlocal Services, B2C): Funding Raised: Undisclosed Investors: Inflection Point Ventures Seed Moonrider.ai (Cleantech, Electric Vehicle, B2B-B2C): Funding Raised: $2.2 Mn Investors: AdvantEdge Founders, Micelio Fund Spintly (Deeptech, IoT & Hardware, B2B): Funding Raised: $407K Investors: Spyre VC BlackCarrot (Ecommerce, D2C, B2C): Funding Raised: Undisclosed Investors: We Founder Circle, EvolveX Accelerator, Suraj Nalin Pre-Seed Reput.ai (Enterprise Tech, SaaS, B2B): Funding Raised: $1 Mn Investors: GrowthCap Ventures, Vipul Parekh, Abhijeet Kumar, Vishal Jain Quash (Enterprise Tech, Horizontal SaaS, B2B): Funding Raised: $635K Investors: Arali Ventures, Java Capital, PeerCheque, DeVC, Abhishek Goyal Pratilipi (Media & Entertainment, Digital Media, B2C): Funding Raised: $1.2 Mn Investors: Alteria Capital Bodmas Technologies (Enterprise Tech, Horizontal SaaS, B2B): Funding Raised: Undisclosed Investors: Auxano Capital #startupfunding #investment #funding #startupcfo #jordensky

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My best advice if you are considering raising funding for the first time... A lot of the DM's I get are from strong bootstrapped founders who are considering taking the jump and becoming a funded company. Here is what you should ask yourself before you do.. -> Why? What will funding help you achieve that bootstrapping can't? Be ruthless about this. Is it rapid growth, hiring talent, or something else? If it is to take some cash off the table for yourself I'd forget it. -> Control? How much influence are you prepared to share? Investors aren't just a cash injection, they become active stakeholders in your business. Be mindful who you get into bed with. -> Pressure? Can you handle increased investor expectations and a more demanding timeline? Bootstrapping offers many freedoms that funded businesses lose. -> Fit? Not all investors are created equal. Do you understand the difference between Angel funding, VC, etc.? Time is a precious resource and you can waste it going after the wrong one. -> Alternatives? Have you actually explored other options like revenue-based financing, grants, or partnerships? Funding is not be the only path. Just be mindful that raising funding isn't the magic bullet you think it will be from the outside. #founder #funding #business #VC #pitchdeck #investing #venturecapital #entrepreneur #startup

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AI generated LinkedIn post or AI generated LinkedIn comments. Can't figure which is worse. Earlier I used to scroll through comment sections. They used to be full of interesting counters. Now it's like finding needle in the AI crap.

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Kenko Health: From Skyrocketing Growth to Sudden Shutdown Kenko Health’s story was one many startups dream of—rapid growth, big-name investors, and a solution that promised to transform healthcare access. But in a flash, they’ve gone from a company with ₹85 crore in revenue to shutting down operations. What happened? Well, picture this: You’re climbing Everest. You’ve got a great climbing team, amazing resources, and you’ve trained hard. You have got a good chunk of international trainers who have been helping you get there and the local sherpas who are going to provide you with all the necessary equipment to reach the summit. The summit is in sight, but then the sherpas wants the climbing team to be mostly domestic leading to distress among the international trainers who have been helping you reach there. They can't turn their backs now and go back since they are equally invested in making the summit happen. Local Sherpas= Domestic regulator who gives out the coveted Insurance License (summit) International Trainers/ Team Members= Foreign Investors Kenko grew revenue 17x in one year, rising from ₹5 crore in FY22 to ₹85 crore in FY23. Impressive, right? Yet, despite their successes, they stumbled on a critical hurdle: securing an insurance license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI). We all saw the potential. With Lightrock, Peak XV Partners (Sequoia Capital), BEENEXT backing Kenko, the startup seemed destined for greatness. But behind the scenes, things weren’t as perfect. Kenko’s quasi-insurance model worked brilliantly at first, providing affordable subscription health plans. But when it came to the regulatory complexities of acquiring that golden insurance license, things fell apart. They had the customers, the revenue, and the drive, but when the insurance goal became unreachable, the air thinned out. They even had investors lined up for a $27m Series B round—money that would have given them the capital cushion to survive. But then, to receive the insurance license, there were problems. The regulator wanted domestic investors to lead the charge. This, of course, caused a massive restructuring headache. Suddenly, the founders were caught between a rock and a hard place—international VCs on one side, domestic regulatory requirements on the other. And then, the final nail in the coffin—Kenko ran out of money. Even though the founders personally infused ₹9cr to keep the ship afloat, it wasn’t enough. By early 2024, employees weren’t getting paid, debts were mounting, and Kenko’s shutdown was all but inevitable. But this isn’t just about Kenko. It’s a case study on how regulatory hurdles can undo even the most promising companies in the startup ecosystem. Could this have been avoided? #kenko #insurtech #fintech #india #startups ------------------------------- 💡 I write interesting posts every week about my thoughts on the startup ecosystem, AI & disruptive technologies. Do follow Sabhareesh M for more!

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Who would invest in founders who have wasted $50M? Koo, an Indian microblogging platform, recently shut shop after raising $50M in capital. Everyone has their views on why Koo failed. IMO, the biggest reason behind its failure was a lack of PMF (Product Market Fit). Koo spent much money on marketing and didn’t build a product people wanted. It kept harping on nationalism, a Twitter for Indians, made in #India. This approach failed. However, this doesn’t mean Koo’s founders aren’t smart or intelligent. I wrote in an earlier post that we shouldn’t be surprised if Koo’s founders raise fresh capital for a new startup. To many of us, this might seem grossly unfair. Millions of smart, hardworking founders are struggling to raise capital while investors are backing failed founders who have wasted millions of dollars. How is that fair? It confirms the widely held belief that the #venturecapital industry is broken and corrupt where a few people with the right connections get all the capital while others don’t see a dime. It shows that the VC industry is a closed group, a cabal where who you know matters more than anything. While these are just complaints, most people who criticise VCs don’t understand how startup investing works. VCs welcome failures. They embrace them because they know failures are inevitable. When VCs invest in 20 #startups, they know 15 will fail. The goal is to invest in startups that can give them a 100x return. Failures are part of the game. They are unavoidable. The aim is to back founders who can build such 100x return companies. Hence, failures are not looked down upon in the VC industry. It’s similar to the American culture where society appreciates the people who take risks, and it easily accepts personal bankruptcies that result from this risk-taking approach. There’s no taboo in failing in the USA and the VC industry. I’m sure Koo’s founders have learnt from their mistakes. It’s an expensive mistake and not everyone is so lucky to have this luxury to spend $50M on their education. ;) However, most VCs will back Koo’s #founders because these founders know how to raise capital and they know how to not build and scale tech companies. Their past failures have improved their chances of future success. In the VC industry, Failure is Good.

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🚀23 startups 💰~$600 Mn total funding 🌱17 early stage deals 🧑‍💻 11 key hiring 🤝 5 M&A 💵 2 ESOP buybacks Top funding ◾ Zepto: $350 Mn ◾Healthkart: $153 Mn Startup weekly round up by Shashank Pathak and Md Salman Ashrafi https://lnkd.in/gS4QrvNP

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There is so much mystery around achieving PMF. If you are an entrepreneur, you must have heard both of these statements. 1. PMF is THE most important thing for a startup. 2. You'll know when you have PMF. How can something that is so vital, be so abstract and vague? The folks at First Round Capital have come up with this amazing framework which gives so much clarity around this. Appreciation to Todd Jackson 🙏🏽 There is so much content on their site - pmf.firstround.com on this, but for the folks who want some short notes, here goes. Notes on the PMF Framework ======================== 4 Levels - Nascent, Developing, Strong and Extreme *Nascent* - 3-5 Customers - 0-500K ARR - Most of the customers are coming through 1:1 sales or one degree away - If you talk to 20 people, one converts (it is a slog) - The focus here is very very high satisfaction - if people are using your product, they should feel extremely satisfied. - Your churn is zero Don't get friendzoned (people like the product but dont love the product and don't necessarily need it) and if it dies, wouldnt miss it. *Developing* - Focus on demand generation. - You start exploring how to scale demand - experiment with various growth channels - You get to 500K- 5mn in ARR - start thinking about efficiency and how to scale with the marginal customer - in the industry you start developing a reputation for one or two things (the positioning starts sticking) - your net retention rate is 100%. Your churn is below 20%. Burn multiple is around 5. - You have around 25 customers at this stage. *Strong* - demand is in full swing. This is when it feels like you've achieved PMF - By this time, you should be getting insane inbound leads - that scaling the systems to keep up becomes priority. - Efficiency is the focus - along with keeping up momentum in satisfaction and demand. - You are at 100+ customers at this stage. - Focus on repeatability - NRR is around 110%, Burn multiple is 1-3, Gross margins are 40-60%, and you are a 30-100 people org at this point (Multiply by 5-10 for India). - 25mn and above in ARR *Extreme* - at this stage you are probably close to a unicorn and established as a category leader. - more than 200 customers - Gross margins are around 80% - burn multiple is less than 1 - this is a good time to start thinking about expanding TAM - either new markets or new products or a combination of both, both of which will start at stage 01, all over again. The core message : There is a persona, which has a problem, for whom you make a promise that the product delivers. They are the 4Ps. Be clear on what the 4 Ps for what you are offering are, and that essentially gives you ICP and Value Prop combined. You pivot around these Ps, you can keep the Persona and rejig the offering. Or you can throw away all four and start. 70% of companies will get stuck at stage 1 or 2. 30% of companies will make it to stage 3 a small % of companies make it to stage 4.

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