Nikhil Jose

What if I told you Minimalist achieved 1500% growth in 4 years—while staying profitable the entire time 🤯 Here's the timeline of Minimalist's meteoric rise: FY21: ₹22 crore in revenue (its inception year - what a launch year) FY22: ₹108.1 crore, 5x growth FY23: ₹184 crore, 8x growth from FY21 and almost 2x of FY 22 FY24: ₹350 crore, 2x growth from FY23 ₹22 crore to ₹350 crore ~ humongous 1500% growth 😵 Minimalist, with no big-celebrity endorsements, has been profitable since day one—an impressive feat at this growth rate. Meanwhile, celebrity-led brands like Deepika Padukone's 82°E are still finding their footing ( reported a ₹25.1 crore loss in the first nine months of FY24 ) Moral : Product is king, everything else is just noise. Gone are the days of buying just because a celebrity endorsed. Now, results matter #growth #business

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Why I’m Betting on Zomato. In its early days, Amazon faced heavy losses but focused on one thing: the customer experience. Today, it’s a giant, with shares soaring. Zomato is on a similar journey. Even while reporting losses, they delivered over 1.2 billion orders last year, prioritizing real-time tracking and customer engagement. This strategy sets them apart, especially compared to companies like Snapdeal and Paytm, which are faltered by neglecting customer needs. Their market shares plummeted, while Zomato is steadily growing. Critics warn that Zomato's losses are unsustainable, but remember how Amazon faced the same doubts. Their long-term vision led to market dominance. I believe Zomato can replicate this success. As they continue to innovate and focus on customers, their future looks bright.

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Interesting how the Quick commerce space is evolving! Shared my thoughts with exchange4media recently. Thanks to them for capturing the same in the below article #quickcommerce #ecommerce #salesandmarketing

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The rise of AI-driven efficiency is shrinking the tech bubble, redefining the industry landscape. As companies prioritize cost-cutting and automation, traditional tech jobs are losing their edge, much like what happened in other industries. The “tech bro” era is fading—it’s time to prepare for a market where tech jobs are no longer a golden ticket . #AI #TechIndustry #FutureOfWork #Automation

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Paytm has announced it will sell its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato for an impressive Rs 2,048 crore. This strategic move marks a significant shift in both companies' focus areas. 🎟️🍽️ Key Highlights: 1. Transaction Details: Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business, including platforms TicketNew and Insider, will be acquired by Zomato on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The deal also includes around 280 employees from these subsidiaries. 2. Strategic Shift: With this acquisition, Paytm will concentrate on enhancing its core payments and financial services, reflecting a pivot towards strengthening its primary business. 3. Continued Access: For up to 12 months, the entertainment ticketing services will still be available on the Paytm app during the transition period. This acquisition underscores Zomato’s expansion into new verticals beyond food delivery, while Paytm focuses on solidifying its position in financial services. It’s a testament to the dynamic and evolving nature of the tech and digital landscape in India. #Zomato #Paytm #Acquisition #DigitalTransformation #TechNews #BusinessStrategy #Entertainment #FinancialServices

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JioMart vs. Zepto 🛵 In the ever-competitive landscape of quick commerce, the latest battlefield pits JioMart against Zepto. But why is Reliance betting big on this market again? Let’s break it down: First, a little context: Reliance’s JioMart is gearing up to offer quick delivery in India’s top cities—starting with 7-8, but with a plan to scale up to 1,000+ locations. Interestingly, this isn’t Reliance’s first attempt at cracking quick commerce. Remember their 22% stake in Dunzo in 2022? Didn’t go as planned. Even JioMart Express (their 90-minute grocery service) got scrapped a year ago. So, why dive back in? Two words: FOMO & Right to Win. 1️⃣ FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): The quick commerce game is heating up, with Flipkart, Amazon, and BigBasket all vying for a piece of the pie. Even if the economics seem tricky, none of the big players want to be left behind. It’s about securing a foothold now, figuring out profitability later. 🚀 2️⃣ Right to Win: JioMart has two massive advantages: Offline Data & Dark Stores: With their extensive retail presence, Reliance has a treasure trove of data. They can identify high-order density areas and set up “dark stores” (micro-fulfillment centers) in the best spots for quick delivery. 📊 Pricing & Membership: Remember how Reliance shook up the telecom industry with Jio’s free calls and super-cheap data? They might just do the same here. Imagine zero delivery fees and an exclusive subscription model like Costco in the US, where membership drives loyalty and discounts. 🔥 The game is getting intense, and while Zepto has the first-mover advantage in quick commerce, Reliance’s deep pockets and data-backed approach could make them a formidable force. It’s more than just a race for speed—it’s a strategic war for market dominance. ⏳ What do you think will happen next in this battle for India's quick commerce crown? Tag your fellow business owners or marketers who are closely watching the quick commerce landscape. Is your brand ready to adapt to these changing consumer expectations? Let’s discuss!

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The fascinating battle in the Indian OTT market continues to intensify! JioCinema's recent launch of their Rs 29 JioCinema Premium plan is a fascinating development. This is an aggressively disruptive pricing strategy, and will significantly impact the players in the industry. Let's delve into the "how" and "why" behind this disruptive move. The How: - India boasts a significant user base of 800 million internet users (thanks to Jio again), and for the majority of users, affordability is key. The new plan makes content more affordable and accessible, creating a new segment of paying users for the entire industry. - While currently JioCinema does not have an exhaustive library of content, their plan is to heavily invest in creating high-quality regional content, catering to our country's diverse linguistic audience. - A recent survey revealed that 42% of Indian subscribers juggle between at least two OTT subscriptions. This could encourage users to juggle and experiment with multiple platforms, sort of cannibalizing the existing user base of other players. The Why: - The Indian OTT market is experiencing explosive growth, and JioCinema wants to capture a significant share. - Indian audiences are known to be price-sensitive and this strategy reflects a deep understanding of this user preference. - The Indian OTT market has traditionally been dominated by global players. This pricing strategy disrupts the established order, forcing existing domestic players to adapt and protect the Indian turf. However, the global players still hold the advantage of having a vast library of high-quality international content that continues to attract a loyal subscriber base. This intensifies the competition and will be interesting to witness how global players respond to this move of JioCinema. Will it again be a similar case study of how Jio disrupted the telecom industry? Or this time, the global players have a reverse UNO in their deck? If you're also binge-watching this competitive series and waiting to see how it unfolds, order some popcorn - this is gonna be worth it! --- Don't wanna miss any episodes? Subscribe to my newsletter for exclusive insights and analysis --> https://lnkd.in/dytzUAeV -- #ProductManagement #JioCinema #BusinessStrategy #PricingStrategy #Disruption

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2021: Only grocery delivery app in India with 10 minutes delivery 2024: Competitor chasing the '10 minute' brand segment Zepto is the only player sticking to its original promise - and is clearly acing it Scaling up a grocery delivery business is particularly challenging in India. And adding up a unique attribute, as huge as this –  has clearly been game changing for Zepto. Success didn’t come easy to Zepto too, There was a time when all the Q-commerce players faced backlash & people questioned the safety of drivers. Some brands stopped claiming the delivery time altogether, from “groceries in 15-30 minutes”, they went to “groceries in minutes” But Zepto didn’t, it went on to install a myriad of dark stores across locations, and is already serving superfast deliveries in 10 cities. Top 3 factors that helped Zepto drive exceptional growth over a very short span of time: - Captivating Customer Experience: The platform served a deeply engaging user experience and the service promise was being consistently fulfilled – a powerful combo. - Outstanding Retention: All thanks to near-perfect buying journey, Zepto achieved a retention rate which was considered only to be a fantasy for the industry earlier. - Not slowing down: More dark stores and continuous geographical expansion at the same time helped the startup acquire customers in huge numbers. Zepto cracked the key to scale in the quick commerce space by constantly growing at the same pace, and not compromising customer satisfaction at the same time – simple yet not easy. A perfect example of go big, go fast – it is surely a fascinating study for the space creators. No matter the circumstances, the brand didn’t let go of its biggest differentiator, eliminating all the question marks experts had put to its launch. What do you think is going to be the future of grocery delivery space in India? #casestudy #growth #startup

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D2C valuations have been all over the place. Not quite if you look deeper. The folks at DSG Consumer Partners peel the onion in their "The Value Creation Playbook" Report. The D2C Surge Newsletter covers this and much more on : - Swiggy's dark store rush - A case for smaller refrigerators courtesy Shiv Shivakumar - A breakdown of Blinkit's sanitary pad category - How's Amazon's Karigar initiative doing Join the newsletter that'll make you go "OK then" for all things D2C and ecomm in India. #swiggy #ecommerce #india

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After diving into Zomato's annual report and Swiggy's DRHP, it’s clear that these companies have distinct operational styles. Let’s break down what sets them apart based on FY24 data 1. Swiggy spends more on employees & marketing but it's not resulting in a proportional increase in GOV Zomato has built a more capital efficient business. It spends 772 crs less on employees & marketing than Swiggy but gets ~12,500 crs more in GOV 2. Swiggy's take rate on food delivery is on par with Zomato but in quick commerce, its way less Both Zomato & Swiggy seems to have maxed out the restaurant commissions. But Instamart is leaving a lot of money on the table with a low take rate than Blinkit (~5% difference) 3. Swiggy spends more to deliver an order compared to Zomato Although Swiggy spends 564 crs less than Zomato on delivery costs, it's low GOV means that it is spending more to deliver an order. Plus its low take rate in quick commerce means that most of the money it gets is spent in delivery 4. Swiggy's tech costs are better in control than Zomato's Swiggy wins here as its tech costs are just ~2% of its overall costs whereas Zomato is almost double of this. But Zomato has higher monthly transacting users (18.4 mn users vs 12.7 mn) & higher restauarnt partners (2.7 lac vs 1.96 lac) which justifies the higher server & cloud infra costs Bottomline: While costs can be improved over time, Swiggy's ability to get more revenue (market share, QC take rate) & increase its TAM are the things to watch out for With Swiggy's focus on user experience & new revenue initiatives, they should catch up in the future. Plus this is a multi-decade game where balance shifts every few years Now coming to the IPO listing, 1. Swiggy's valuation at a ~50% discount seems cheap 2. Swiggy's path to profit, huge debt, 60% OFS are the concerns 3. Less market share, transacting users could be either a problem or an opportunity. Swiggy has more scope to increase these metrics PS - I admire both Zomato & Swiggy for building a new market from scratch. I am optimistic about the future of both Zomato & Swiggy. This is not stock advice or recommendation

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Swiggy Dineout and Zomato being competitors..have launched their new feature - "GROUP ORDERING" at the same time !! These phenomena highlights the competitive nature of markets, where companies often work on similar solutions to address user needs, leading to simultaneous releases ! Anyways, below scenarios can be part of the use case 🤔👉 around from product management perse : 1.*Coincidental Launch*: When two or more companies launch similar products or features around the same time, without any apparent collaboration or copying. 2. *Simultaneous Innovation*: When multiple companies develop and launch similar innovations independently, often due to similar market demands or technological advancements. 3. *Parallel Development*: When two or more companies develop similar products or features simultaneously, often due to similar research and development efforts. 4. *Convergent Innovation*: When multiple companies develop similar solutions to the same problem, leading to similar features or products being released around the same time. Articles of release Zomato: https://lnkd.in/gGd_NiUW Swiggy : https://lnkd.in/gPm6b-zS #curious #product #featurerelease #competition #collaboration #productmanagement Institute of Product Leadership ICFAI Business School #icfai

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🚀 Zepto’s 'Shagun Ka Lifafa' Campaign: A Game Changer This Raksha Bandhan! 🎉 Zepto has truly outdone itself this Raksha Bandhan with their "Shagun Ka Lifafa" campaign, setting new benchmarks and delighting customers across India. This isn’t just another festive campaign—it’s a masterstroke in modern marketing, with a cultural twist that resonates deeply. Here’s why this campaign stands out and how it crushed records with 1 Million OPD on a super Sunday, surpassing their previous milestone of 0.7 Million OPD on their Third Anniversary which they recently celebrated: 🌟 Cultural Connection Meets Modern Excitement: Zepto beautifully marries tradition with innovation. The age-old custom of Shagun Ka Lifafa is reimagined with a modern flair—scratch cards with every delivery that promises big wins like cars, Dubai trips, and more! 🎁. By the way, I received upto 30% off on Real Juices and Rs.500 off on EMT. 🌟 Everyone’s a Winner: Unlike typical promotions, Zepto ensures no one is left empty-handed. Every order gurantees a lifafa, and every lifafa guarantees a prize, which not only boosts customer satisfaction but also builds strong brand loyalty. 🏆 I just placed one order on Zepto today, just to check whats the craze about the Lifafa, and I just went ahead to have this post written. 🌟 Strategic Partnerships: Collaborations with brands like Dabur, Easemytrip, Ariel, and Tide elevate the campaign, offering diverse and desirable prizes that appeal to all demographics. This strategic move adds immense value to each order. 🤝 Haldirams, Snickers, Hershey, McCain and not to forget BSC - Bombay Shaving Company - Gaurav Anand are few of many participating brands. 🌟 Creative Brilliance by Chandan Mendiratta: The campaign carries the hallmark of Chandan Mendiratta’s genius, from the catchy rap ad that perfectly encapsulates sibling love and banter, to the overall conceptualization of the lifafa. It’s all Chandan—every bit of it! 🎨✨ It has Chandan written all over the campaign. 🌟 Record-Breaking Numbers: With an astonishing 1 Million Orders Per Day, Zepto not only surpassed their previous records but also demonstrated their operational excellence. This achievement sets a high bar for what’s possible in festive marketing! 📈💥 As we look ahead to the upcoming festive season, the calendar at Zepto must be buzzing with new ideas. I’m on the edge of my seat to see what they come up with next to break even more records! Kudos to the entire Zepto team, and especially to Chandan Mendiratta, for crafting a campaign that’s not just memorable but monumental. 👏 🌟 Don't forget to check the usual banter between a brother & sister on the front of the lifafa. "you have no friends because.. you're lame" is my favourite one. #Marketing #Branding #RakshaBandhan #Zepto #Innovation #CustomerDelight #RecordBreaking Aadit Palicha Devendra Meel Kaivalya V. Chandan Mendiratta

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🔥India's app growth story changed overnight with the drop in mobile data rates in 2015-16. 📉 Before that, hitting 1M users was a *massive* win. Today, it's just the starting point! 🚀 Lower data costs unleashed a wave of user discovery, fueling growth and scaling consumer apps across the board. This shift not only changed the way we build products but how users engage with them at scale. The real challenge now? Driving sustainable growth in this new era of *massive* consumer reach. 💡 #ProductManagement #AppGrowth #startups

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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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quick commerce will do to D2C startups what Jio did to Indian internet q-comm platform's audience is incredibly digital native and by design, open to trying newer products brands can test their initial product on BlinkIt, Zepto etc and scale from there innovative companies across beverages, packaged food, and largely FMCG are going to shine the brightest

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What if you could get your favorite snacks beverages home delivered in less than 10 mins... Q-Com is planning to go full force in cooked food category. Yes, Zepto plans to launch Zepto Cafe through an app - a 10 min food delivery app. Zepto Cafe is an ongoing food delivery service of Zepto already clocking 30K orders per month Zepto's Cafe vs. Swiggy's Bolt vs. Swish vs. Zomato's Everyday - soon we will be spoiled for choices. Currently, the categories are restricted but it will eventually scale up - freshness of the food, preparation time will all be a defining factor.. It is all going to be defined by super convenience. Any thoughts?

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Zepto should stop charging rain fees if it's not raining(never seen it in other apps) Also, free delivery should be pre-selected if applicable(Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023) This will not go unnoticed #zepto #darkmethods

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🚀 Swiggy vs Zomato : Product-Led Growth Lessons 🍔🍕 As an aspiring Product Manager, I’m fascinated by how Swiggy and Zomato have used product innovations to scale and adapt in a competitive market. Here are some key strategies that stand out: 🔑 Product Innovations Driving User Growth: 1️⃣ Hyperlocal Expansion: Swiggy's launch of Swiggy Genie was a direct response to evolving customer needs beyond food. This showed a clear understanding of user pain points, pivoting their core product into logistics. 2️⃣ Personalization: Both platforms have leveraged data to offer personalized recommendations, enhancing user engagement. A/B testing these features likely contributed to driving repeat orders and customer loyalty. 3️⃣ UX Optimizations: Continuous improvements in the app interface—like real-time delivery tracking and seamless checkout processes—have significantly improved the user journey, a crucial factor in retention. 💡 What’s next for these platforms? Looking ahead, I see AI-driven innovations and tighter integrations with local businesses as key drivers of future growth. Swiggy Swiggy Dineout Zomato Zomato India Zomato Care #ProductManagement #GrowthHacking #UserExperience #Swiggy #Zomato #TechInnovation #CustomerRetention #aspiringproductmanager #pmcontent

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