Jimmy Joy

The Indian Gen AI prosumer, consumer landscape still remains early – Companies have hit power users but are subscale OR have low % of paying users  • Companies do not have enough cohort level data to indicate product love  • Most cos who have managed to cross few hundred thousand users (MAU) are building their US GTM machine  • They have a rudimentary hallucination check AND a rudimentary RLHF in place We at Chiratae ventures are keen to look at – 1) Vernacular AI assistants - Sarvam, Krutrim are foundational model (Sarvam – OpenHathi) based general intelligence assistants very similar to Anthromorphic or Poe, but contextualized to India. They have raised significant capital, but the space remains open still. 2) Vernacular AI search – We do not have a Perplexity, Liner for the Indian vernacular. This is a potential whitespace. We will look for a solid team, with a solid product roadmap. Product risk mitigation playbooks are being built out by investors as we speak  Some companies like Two.ai are building both assistants as well as AI enabled search platforms. 3) Co-pilots for Professional services with pre-existing spend pools which can be delivered digitally – AI generated influencers, AI based gaming, digital professionals/copilots - legal professionals, counsellors/therapists, accountants Please write in to sarthak@chiratae.com if you feel there is something you would like to discuss. If there are products or companies we should look at, please tag them in the chat below Chiratae Ventures Sudhir Sethi TCM Sundaram Ranjith Menon Venkatesh Peddi Anoop N Mandeep Julka, CFA Kailashnath M S, CFA Tanvi Dubey #GenerativeAI #Consumer #SaaS #Technology

105

7 Comments

Quick-Commerce is killing it in India — but couldn’t scale in RICH MARKETS Super-fast 15-minute deliveries = just don’t fit into the culture of rich countries like the US. India:  - Our middle-class & dual-income households are increasing (Maruti Alto sales dropping is a big sign, people are moving up in the chain)  - Life is fast-moving & people are busy chasing money & dreams.  - Labour is still cheap (though it's becoming expensive in metros now) West:  - Labour is very expensive. - Supermarket Culture is BIG, & it's massive in other mature markets too. People love their Costco runs - grabbing stuff for the week/month & making a day out of it. [Pricing is cheaper too].  - People plan their purchases for the week ahead & stock up accordingly. The India Consumption Story is a wild ride –– post-independence, India sprinted through its consumption evolution….& we moved directly from General Trade Consumption to ECommerce Checkouts. Unlike the West – which saw a massive modern trade revolution with sprawling supermarkets….we missed the modern trade/supermarket revolution…..Ofc, we have RelianceRetail, More, DMart & a bunch of others - but their contribution as a % is a joke. We moved from Kirana Shops to > Amazon Flipkart BigBasket all the way to > Zepto Blinkit Instamart We Indians love convenience & have accepted the fact that convenience comes at an added cost (we’re still ordering inspite of delivery & platform charges increasing). PS: I’m on average of ~5 quick-commerce orders/week. I know folks who’re at 2 OPD (Orders/Day) 😂 PPS: I feel ‘Fashion’ is the next category — where speed will change the way business is done. #Ecommerce #India #Superfast #10minuteDelivery

168

32 Comments

It's a cutthroat world out there for -- SMEs trying to find a spot on Q-comm platforms like–– Blinkit & Zepto. For every success story, there are ~8 brands left biting the dust…. (yet, it's a game nobody can afford to sit out of). It's easier to land a date on Tinder than to secure a spot on these Q-comm apps 😂 That's the harsh reality shared by a bunch of early-stage founders, like a Delhi-based entrepreneur friend of mine struggling to get his snacks listed –– despite good customer feedback, growth, months of effort, he's hit a dead end…..(CatMans don’t respond only) For small brands targeting urban consumers & wanting to hit markets fast → being on these platforms is the ultimate goal & is more important than even Amazon, Flipkart. [we saw the sharks harping about this in S3 this year]. & why wouldn't it be?–– Q-comm in 🇮🇳 is already worth over >$5 billion annually, & they’ve just scratched the surface. While it may have struggled in the West, because of high costs -- analysts at HSBC believe Indians are ready to ditch the OG kirana stores for = Convenience (atleast the urban customers in the top 10 metros). But getting onboard & staying onboard is not a walk in the park…..back in the day, eComm giants like Flipkart & Amazon made life easier by - eliminating the NEED for being present in General Trade & Modern Trade (Retail). Markets have changed….& brands now look at going live on Quick-Commerce before E-Commerce….. ….Infact - Quick Commerce is the NEW ECommerce. Talking to founders & qcom execs, it's clear: Q-com is the next big frontier for D2C brands. BUT the odds are stacked against early brands in particular… They lack the pull of big names like ITC / Unilever, the backing of deep-pocketed Investors & crazy marketing budgets. But let's say you do manage to get listed… -the troubles don’t end there – brands need to deal with category managers across platforms —who love gatekeeping the relationship & restricting visibility on the platforms. Q-comm demands CONTINUOUS traction → If your brand doesn't perform = you are out. I’m not done.. to make matters worse -- listing fees are the newest thing in town. While some brands pay, others don't. & there’s no rulebook. [It's a game of uncertainty (where the only rule is to keep CHASING]. Spend BIG to stay = RELEVANT. But for small brands used to the comfort of their kirana stores, this is an uncharted territory ––– they need to understand that in the world of Q-comm, its “jo dikhta hai wohi bikta hai” -- & Marketing Dollars are EVERYTHING. All in all – while the journey to scaling Q-comm may seem like a turbulent one – it's a bet most brands will have to take. PS: Quick Commerce players will soon evolve into Marketplace, Drop-Shipping & Slower-Delivery-Time models in my opinion - which will add SKU capacity on the platform (biggest growth lever for them today). #ECommerce #Business #Marketing

100

22 Comments

Raised $26,000,000 with just an idea Lyskraft India Pvt Ltd - the latest kid in the block! So, Mukesh Bansal is back with another startup this time with Mohit Gupta, the former CEO of Zomato's food delivery arm. In July of last year, there were reports about Bansal and Gupta raising funds for a new venture. As per TechCrunch, both of them pitched a range of ideas to potential backers like a female-focused counterpart to Manyavar and "Infosys 2.0" a presumed upgrade to a multinational IT services and consulting firm. Now finally... The news is out and we know what they are building, Lyskraft: initially a women's only marketplace for premium brands mostly focusing on Gen-Z shoppers. Recently we have seen giant e-commerce platforms launching dedicated portals to attract GenZ shoppers, like SPOYL launched by Flipkart within its app, FWD by Myntra, also we are seeing the growth of new-age startups working in this space like Virgio(Mukesh Bansal is an investor in it), Newme(recently raised $4,500,000), Absolute Brands, Snitch, Styched and many more As per Inc42's Report, India's fashion and apparel sector is projected to reach a mouth-watering $112 Billion by 2030, which will be over a quarter of the country's $400 Billion e-commerce market!! Let's be honest, anyone will want a piece of this market. As we are already aware of how crowded this space is, let's see how Lyskraft differentiates itself from others. Mohit Gupts and Mukesh Bansal, in this crowded space building a community around your product, building digital IPs, and creating experiences through videos are the ways to elevate your brand to the next level. I the founder of Elevate would love to connect and assist Lyskraft in building a community, digital IPs and help create experiences through videos, if that sounds like something that interests you would love to connect and discuss!! sources of information : TechCrunch article 2021 - https://bit.ly/49UwkLI Inc42 article - https://bit.ly/3w0SDlb #mukeshbansal #myntra #fashion #startups #venturecapital #fundingwinter #norevenue #cultfit #community #communitymarketing #socialmediamarketing #india

13

2 Comments

Dear Arindam - for VCs - learning from their portfolios or learning of founders who have executed successfully are key.. I have been gaining a lot of perspective from your detailed “execution” of several “first of its own” kind of experiments and how they have fared.. This consolidated summary post should be used, researched as a goldmine resource by young & aspiring founders and VC firms portfolio teams equally :-) There is always room for doing better everyday and we look forward to continued learning & sharing by you - our best !! Lets #SucSEEDtogether !!

16

What's so much to discuss about a 2 rs increase ?? On a quick browsing saw following numbers (happy to be corrected with better data since its so scattered & not easily available) >> Zomato - 647M annual orders & 263B revenue. AOV ~400. 5rs platform fee means 1.2% to the bottom line- >> Swiggy - 547M orders & 433B revenue. AOV ~ 430. 5rs platform fee means 1.2% to the bottom line >> Myntra- 183M orders & 256B revenue. AOV ~ 1400. 20 rs platform fee means 1.4% to the bottom line. For these startups, this definitely helps them in profitability path. Let's wait and watch how they innovate with more monetization tactics. For customers- in my personal opinion, no major reason to crib due to the convenience factor, discounts/offers and the return policies. Notes & Links in comments. Zomato| Swiggy| Myntra #startups #platformfee #profitability

61

7 Comments

Thanks Bismah and Inc42 Media for the insightful coverage and deep dive into the vital role of operator VCs! Bismah's thoughtful analysis underscores the growing need for operator VCs in today's startup landscape. As an operator VC , I've witnessed firsthand how founders increasingly value more than just capital. They seek partners who bring operational expertise, strategic guidance, and an extensive network to the table. These elements are crucial for driving sustainable growth and navigating the complexities of scaling a business. At GrowthCap Ventures , we understand the unique challenges faced by early-stage startups, which is why we prioritize offering not just funding, but also hands-on support and access to our extensive network. Together, we're empowering founders to realize their vision and build transformative businesses. #OperatorVC #StartupEcosystem #Gratitude

42

2 Comments

100 Cr ARR. This number for a D2C brand is gold. A lot needs to go in to get you there, but if you are building institutions for life, you're still at the start. The consumer market in India is wide and not necessarily deep. While depth will come over time, a large part of the consumer market will remain wide and the brand and business needs to evolve to tap into that market. Both strategy and infrastructure need to solve for getting to 500 Cr, 1000 Cr and beyond. Thoughts? #d2cbrands #growth #scale #fmcg #cpg #business

20

2 Comments

The Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) revolution in India has been nothing short of transformative. Look around and you will find yourself surrounded by a bunch of them. Leaving categories like BPC, wearables, apparel, beverages etc where the dominance is very visible, a random list of upcoming ones I see are 🛍 Luggage- Mokobara, uppercase, EUME 👟 Footwear- Comet, Neeman's, Flatheads 💎 Jewelry- GIVA , Melorra, BlueStone 👕 gen-Z fast fashion- FREAKINS, NEWME Thanks to factors like 'willing to experiment' consumers, huge market, Shark Tank India, VCs adding D2C to their 'Sector agnostic' theme etc what better time for founders to build more and more in this space. I am also keen to know about segments yet to be explored.. Could think of few (or it may be that I am not aware) like TVs & similar home appliances, watches(not smart), Pen, sports bats/balls.. Feel free to comment with some of the D2C brands which you love and categories that you would wanna see disrupted. No more David vs Goliath story. #D2C #brands #Startups #founders

33

2 Comments

"We bought a 13-acre piece of land in a village called Sikra in Kutch which is enough for us to reach a revenue of 500 crores." 🔥 Ep#08 of The India Opportunity Podcast with Aditya Aagare from Thermoflyde is out now! 🔥 Watch here: https://lnkd.in/g6JjrGq6 We talk about: > The market opportunity in the refractory space - north of $30 Billion USD globally > How Thermoflyde is aggressively growing its market share by taking on RHI Magnestia (a $3 Billion revenue-generating, publicly listed business) and has grown 100% year-on-year in terms of REVENUE > How starting up in college taught Aditya lessons about entrepreneurship the hard way > Focusing on customer service as a competitive advantage > Building an IPO-able, cash-flow-positive business > 500 Crores revenue in sight with current capacity and potential to grow much bigger > Aditya's goal of positively impacting 1000+ lives > How traditional manufacturing businesses can be multi-baggers over decades in the public markets > How kindness from angels helped them survive in the first 2 years Great episode for founders looking to build IPO-able businesses, with key insights into how to prepare your business at the earliest stages if IPO is an outcome you're working towards. Thermoflyde Industries Private Limited is destined to be a big success story emerging in the traditional manufacturing space and we're early backers via Swadharma Source Ventures - SSV. Thrilled to share Aditya's story with the world. #india #manufacturing #makeinindia #rhimagnestia #refractory #steelplants #ipo

26

1 Comment

OYO, the Indian budget hotel chain, has withdrawn its IPO application from SEBI for the second time. The company, once valued at $10 billion, is now seeking to raise funds at a valuation between $2 billion and $2.3 billion. Backed by investors such as SoftBank, Peak XV, Lightspeed, Airbnb, and Microsoft, Oyo has raised over $3 billion in equity and debt. The IPO applications, first filed in 2021 and refiled in 2023, are still under SEBI's review, highlighting important considerations about its valuation and position in the secondary market. For the latest secondary coverage and trading SaxonWeber | ShareWell #secondaries #saxonweber

6

Premiumisation of the Indian consumer has caught the attention of consultants like McKinsey. Anecdotally one can see it all around in the metros. It’s difficult to get air tickets on both domestic and international sectors. Business class seats sell out fast. International destinations like Japan which was in the past restricted to a rare tourist from India now sees large numbers headed there. Premium hotels too are finding takers. Restaurants, shopping malls are full of those buyers who aren’t looking for a bargain but are more willing to pay extra for both tangible and intangible attributes of a product and service. Many analysts are attributing this to a post pandemic realisation of life and well-being can’t be taken for granted and hence its better to live in the moment. My personal take is that a confident consumer is a function of overall well-being and faith that one is now part of a growing economy. When one begins to see and understand that one’s earning potential isn’t capped or is likely to be taken away due to adverse economic environment then it’s possible to exhale. Life then is no longer just about making ends meet and to save for an uncertain economic future. This growth of the Indian consumer isn’t even yet. So before anyone decides to pick a bone with me to say that many still live a frugal and difficult existence, do see my disclaimer. As the Indian economy grows there will be a sizeable consuming class that will put value on exceptional products and services and not buy the cheapest alternative that may be available. Before startup founders rush to build premium products and services for such a consumer do remember that it takes a lot to build that confidence and value proposition and it isn’t easy. Most people don’t spend their money carelessly even if it seems to be the case. For instance, when someone buys an uber expensive brand they do so because the brand has done many, many things right which goes beyond just the product. A lot of startups don’t pay attention to several critical aspects when they build a product or a service for a discerning consumer. If a consumer feels that they have been disrespected or taken for a ride, I think that can never be repaired. Ability to communicate clearly what a company can and cannot do for the customer is important to avoid a feeling of hurt. The onus to overcomminicate is entirely on the company. The Indian consumer is ready to spend; all a startup needs to do is understand the underlying emotions that is leading to this behaviour. If you can throw everything you have as a founder at this problem statement, you will be well on your way to build the fastest Rs 100 crore ARR company. #rukamfiunders #indiancinsumer #consumerbrands

126

14 Comments

49% Market --- Sab bech do policy makers. Kya fark padta hai! The power of capital is clearly winning. Truly speaking I know many entrepreneurs who can create phonepe-like products but damn no one gives capital to them. Foreign funded entity has 49% market share. There are reasons for it. Why don't we have domestic companies building such businesses. What are our regulators doing? @competiton commission of India National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) #Payments #fintech

9

India is the fastest growing consumption market in the world, and our domestic consumption has doubled in the last decade to over $2.1tn already. There is a perfect storm of tailwinds supporting India’s consumption story - growing per capita income, unparalleled payments infrastructure and democratized distribution through e-commerce and quick commerce penetration. This, coupled with the generational fatigue towards legacy brands and the growing awareness and preference for new age brands makes it the perfect time to build large scale consumer brands across categories. At Sauce we have been privileged to back some remarkable consumer brands at idea stage in the last 5 years, and intend to continue doing more of it in the coming years. We are excited to launch our third pre-seed fund to back exciting consumer brands at super early stage (pre-revenue). This will be our largest fund and allow us to partner with inspiring founders from idea till growth stage from the same fund, and hopefully build some more iconic brands in the worlds most exciting consumer market - India. Wish us luck! Sauce.vc Manu Chandra Zoeb Ali Khan Karan Kathpalia Padma Milhotra Vasundhara Bhagat https://lnkd.in/gA5K9JVu

502

39 Comments

Eternal source of confusion in India SaaS. Terms like SMB, mid-market and enterprise are used pretty casually. Putting out a version here and inviting opinions from founders & investors on how they see the breakpoints between segments. US: SMB (upto $250mm in annual revenue), mid-market/commercial ($250mm-$1B), enterprise ($1B+). India: S (upto 10cr), MB (upto 250cr/$30mm in annual revenue), mid-market (250cr-1000cr, upto $150mm), enterprise (1000cr+/$150mm+) (note the breakpoints between segments are much lower in India and not comparable to the US)

134

16 Comments

Continuing the update on emerging investment themes from H1-2024 Kubo Care: India will go through a fascinating demographic transition from being the world’s largest young population today to the largest number of senior citizens in the 2050-60 timeframe! Think about that carefully. Given a culture which won’t move to senior living facilities en masse (unlike the West), an entire tech-enabled ecosystem for AT-HOME aging and care has to be built. This is Kubo’s dream. They’re starting by focusing on the problem of fall detection and holistic health monitoring via ambient devices (vs. wearables often resisted). Ayush Agrawal and Anurag Ram Chandran are repeat founders in senior care, and are fearless and stubborn about going after hard problems. https://lnkd.in/gpXnGcMQ Kubo Care Private Ltd Neha Reddy Nandini Vishwanath Rajiv Srivatsa *** This is part of an update on H1 2024: At Antler India, we made 12 new investment decisions. * 0.15% selection rate, from a pool of ~8000 startup teams + solo individuals * Roughly half of our bets ($500k commitments via ARC) right now are in existing teams (as quick as a 3-4 week process) at a concept stage. No program. * Other half in solo founders who come in with an idea, find amazing co-founders in the cohort, and create a new venture from scratch ***

79

7 Comments

The New Age vs The Incumbents. D2C startups vs Behemoths. Ever since I've moved back to India, I have consciously picked new age brands across the board, to get a better sense of the D2C ecosystem across the country. Today, I made my first switch back to an incumbent. Details follow: Experiment I - Bombay Shaving Company vs Gillette , Let the Battle Begin! Bombay Shaving Company is fairly well known, through the visible personality of it's founder, Shantanu Deshpande. They began as a highly premium offering, with a Japanese engineered blade, selling a six-part combo pack priced at ₹3,500. Over time, they shifted towards more traditional razor offerings to cater to the broader market. I bought the Sensi Smart3 + Charcoal Shaving foam combo on Blinkit for ~₹320 Used it for my weekly shaves (~once every 4-5 days). The foam was great, I may continue with it. The razor and blades, not so much. The razor itself has a much lighter, lower quality feel and finish as compared to a Gillette Mach 3 (weapon of choice). The shave quality and ease of rinsing were both lower than Gillette as well. Picked up the Gillette + foam for ₹199 on Blinkit (big discount, MRP ₹289). BSC has slightly better packaging, Gillette wins in the razor feel, ease of connecting to blade and actual shave experience. Experiment II - Bare Anatomy vs L'Oréal, 3,2,1 MORTAL KOMBAT!! Bare Anatomy is a brand by Innovist, is built by Rohit Chawla (founder, The Man Company), Sifat Khurana and Vimal Bhola, which looks to be building a collection of brands similar to Supernova. I ordered the Bare Anatomy Anti-Hairfall Shampoo for ₹415 (once again through Blinkit). Premium feel, great packaging, love the scent and the amount of information provided gives me the feel (since I'm not a scientist) that this product has gone through a lot of R&D, and feels safe. Bare Anatomy wins here, just reordered it to use again. I'll keep posting my experiences with various new age brands, the one thing that's clear to me is that I was wrong about a big thing. I used to be extremely dismissive of quick commerce, laughing at the concept and expecting it to die out. I was absolutely and completely wrong. Quick commerce is here to stay, it's a new age form of retail quickly becoming my go-to for most of my purchases (ice, fruits, snacks, personal care, etc). #d2c #startups

277

80 Comments

Recently, Splitwise Inc. has been compared to Netflix🎬! Not for its valuation or user base, but for charging the same subscription fee as Netflix (₹149/month). 💸 And this is not going to work at all for Indian consumers. The issue lies in the nature of the problem Splitwise solves, especially in India. Splitwise inherently caters to money-sensitive users, with amounts typically not exceeding ₹10,000 (split among 2-6 people). Additionally, these expenses are often irregular or short-term, such as for travel groups.✈️ In a value-oriented market like India, these issues are compounded. If Netflix struggles to get Indians to subscribe, how can Splitwise succeed?  🤔 I believe there are two major issues in managing group expenses: recording and settling expenses. While Splitwise excels at recording expenses, it falls short in providing value when it comes to settling them. This is a crucial step to closing the loop, and where the potential for revenue lies. If Splitwise or a competitor can solve the problem of settling expenses, and charge a percentage or transaction fee, it could work immensely well for Indian customers.💡Micro-transactions are the solution here. A potential solution could be inspired by Uber: requiring users to settle their last expense before creating or joining a new group. 🚗 I am open to brainstorming user behaviour, market sentiments, and user pain points with anyone at Splitwise. 💬 Follow me for more such Product Analysis.

218

34 Comments

What it takes to walk out of investor meeting worth $ 1 Million which is almost on verge of deal closing? That also for their first round when they desperately need the funds. People will think of founders as crazy, right. But me and Ankit Jain did it couple of weeks back. Why, because we had the conviction and knew our worth. Also we are not the first time founders 🙂🙂🙂, we know the way around. Deal meetings are tricky. As Mark Cuban says “If your are in a deal meeting, look around and see who is getting made ( fooled ), if you are unable to find one. It is you, walk out of the meeting.” Indian Startup Ecosystem is still at a nascent stage and still investors are considered GODS of the system. Just try to look it like this, as a startup you have product to sell to customers and get money in return of it. For investors, their money is their product / commodity, if they are unable to sell it ( deploy it in startups ) they will never be able to make money out of it. Investment is their bread and butter, if StartUps will stop taking them. They have to down their shutters. Said that if you have a good product ( rather say PMF ), investor will line up to invest, that also at your turn. As one point of my definition of startup says “A venture is considered as startup if it attracts risk capital” You need to bring it to that level. Do let me know what you thinks about it in comments. #coffea #coffee

25

8 Comments