Sajith Pai

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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A uniquely Indian paradox: Even as the Indian consumer makes a move towards premiumization, and is increasingly willing to pay for quality across existing categories (health & wellness, home interiors) and new ones (gaming, pet care, astrology): As a consumer-facing company, you still have to invest in building an offline presence, call-centres and focus on building trust through physical and audio touch-points. A strong online presence and influencer marketing is not enough. Increasing incomes do not translate to increased trust.

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Announcing: Antler Fastrack to Residency - MUMBAI Edition (for founders in Mumbai / Pune / Ahmedabad / Surat) 2 weeks back we announced the first version of Fastrack to Residency through a warm intro to stay true to our promise on delivering faster to the most exceptional founders in Bangalore! We had an overwhelming response of 250+ warm referrals from other VCs, operators, serial founders and were introduced to a vibrant bunch of founders building across bath fittings, offline senior care clubs to CBDCs powered international payments. Of this, we met with 22 founders (and have 30+ we are speaking to virtually given limitation of slots) and offered the residency to 5 teams and individuals within 48 hours! Seeing such a promising response from the ecosystem, we are now coming to Mumbai and hope to see an even bigger outcome! If you are an exceptional founder (individual or team) that’s just starting up, Nitin Sharma & I will spend a full day in Bombay on the 27th of August to talk to you! The only twist - you need to reach us through someone who knows you - and knows us too! Why are we doing this - we announced last month that we are investing $500k in 20 companies (amounting to $10Mn). This is our endeavor to deliver faster and bigger on this promise! What we promise - is a decision into the Residency within 24 hours of us meeting you. Here’s how it will work - (1) Find someone in our networks (cue: some of them would have shared this post on their LinkedIn / Twitter) or would have engaged with us in the past. (2) Show us you are super resourceful :) Ask them to email us / tweet to us / message us on LI / Whatsapp us - any of the Antler team members that they know (there’s 18 of us!) - to give a warm intro to you. Convince them to write a good line or two :)  (3) All shortlisted individuals and teams will get a direct slot with Antler India on Aug 27th meet us IRL in Mumbai. (If you are not shortlisted post the above process, you will hear from us by Aug 24th) (4) You will get a decision to get into the Antler India Residency by Aug 28th Please note that the last date for being referred to this is 21st of August. Do refer great folks our way! Next on the list - NCR in September!

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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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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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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

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2024 in Review - My Experiences in the Indian Early-stage VC Ecosystem... Boxing 2024... 1) On Start-up and VC Trends 2) On Start-up Pitches 3) On VC Expectations from Start-ups 4) On Growth Partnerships with VCs 5) On Deep Engagement between a VC and Start-up 6) On Tapping the Portfolio Community 7) On Brand Building - by VCs and Start-ups Unboxing 2025...

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"For brands, pain is the proof of purpose." - Shashank Mehta sums up in one pithy sentence an entire discourse around building brands with purpose. Matrix Partners India's very own Vikram Vaidyanathan spoke to Shashank about Building Company Culture, on Matrix Moments. The chat goes deep into how he's led The Whole Truth Foods with purpose and that has helped build a strong company culture. This has not been without dilemmas, or enduring the consequences of their "clean ingredient" decisions. Shashank elaborates on a particular dilemma: The Whole Truth protein bars have zero preservatives. This means a shorter shelf life in retail, and higher returns: the Whole Truth has 20% returns from retail, whereas their closest competition has 2%. Shashank and team can extend the shelf life of their product by simply adding a drop of preservative, but they choose not to. And this is the pain that they are willing to endure, to stick to the company & the founder's purpose. Brand purpose isn't a marketing buzzword, it's a reason for your business to exist. Purpose percolates to all business decision making, from which problems you decide to solve, how you train your team, to how you create your product, to how your brand campaign looks. For founders, it comes down to: how willing are you to stay true to purpose, in the face of pain from the market. Wisdom for founders about building company culture on the latest episode of Matrix Moments: https://lnkd.in/d6K_UUZA #FoundersFirst #CompanyCulture #Purpose #BrandBuilding #StartUps #Founders

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This is going to be a super tight-knit all-girlies coffee chat on investing tomorrow evening in Gurgaon between 5-7:30 pm. Happy to see new faces sign up already, we have the *last 2 spots left!* RSVP before the form closes: https://shorturl.at/ehrK3 <Location will be shared once you fill out the form> #women #womenininvesting #femaleinvestors #womeninVC #startupinvesting #funding #startups #venturecapital

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As I interact regularly with founders and CMOs of many new age brands, one aspect where I find many marketing teams lacking is on the quality of research done to arrive at product development/creative development/packaging development etc. And because of this, many founders end up believing that research does not work/research is not needed A very common mistake I have seen people commit is to use qualitative and quantitative research for the exactly opposite reasons and that stems from not understanding the difference between the two and when to use what If I were to summarize in a sentence , “Qualitative research is done to build hypothesis, quantitative research is done to confirm/reject the hypothesis” The objective of qual is to examine and explore issues. The objective of quant is to explain, confirm or predict something through statistically proven measures of validation The small size of qual is small, purposeful and can never be representative of your total consumer base. In quant, the sample size has to be large, representative of your target consumer base, and comprehensive enough to meet statistical accuracy standards Qual often unearths perceptions via non direct interviewing (needs a lot of practice and experience ) and draws inferences from observations. It is an unstructured and interactive process. Quant on the other hand is explicit and same questions are asked in a same sequence to a statistically significant sample size What many startup marketing teams does (mostly because there is no CMI and no one who experienced how research is done ) is exactly the opposite. They will end up trying to do find a representative set of consumers for qual. They often end up asking explicit and same questions in same sequence to the qual respondents. And believe it or not, also sometimes end up with conclusions (“50% of consumers said this”- after speaking to 25 consumers through depth interviews) And naturally this leads to poor outcomes. And because research is expensive, teams give up on research. So, next time onwards, use qual to explore issues in depth and build hypotheses. Qual seldom leads to closure and often leads to a quant to complete the investigation. And use quant to validate them, build confidence and move to execution

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Expecting many more $100M+ revenue brands to emerge out of India, owing to the rise in discretionary spends. Emergence of quick commerce has been a great enabler for small brands. Great panel with fellow investors from the community investing in consumer brands. #venturecapital #brands #consumer #d2c #RAI #investing

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"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together" GalaxEye announced investment by MountTech Growth Fund - Kavachh, a $60 million Category-II AIF, has made its inaugural investment in GalaxEye’s $10 million Series A fundraising round. GalaxEye, founded by a dynamic and skilled team from IIT-M, is on a mission to revolutionize space-based surveillance with cutting-edge, multi-sensor (SAR and MSI) fusion technology. With the first LEO satellite launch slated for mid-2025, GalaxEye aims to meet critical security and commercial needs, showcasing the power of innovation driven by purpose and precision. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to supporting trailblazing solutions that address pressing challenges in surveillance and security. GalaxEye’s ambition to leverage SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and MSI (Multispectral Imaging) fusion for space-based surveillance aligns well with the evolving demands of both defence and commercial sectors. Their innovative approach with LEO #satellite constellations promises to address critical security and monitoring needs with unmatched precision and real-time insights. Backing a driven and skilled team like GalaxEye, rooted in a legacy of innovation like Avishkar Hyperloop, speaks volumes about the fund's dedication to fostering groundbreaking technology. This partnership not only reflects the fund's commitment to advancing national security infrastructure but also highlights a forward-looking vision that appreciates the convergence of innovation and practical impact. The anticipated satellite launch in mid-2025 is set to be a milestone in this collaborative journey, and it will be exciting to witness the tangible outcomes of this strategic alliance! #space #venturecapital #investment #india #strategic https://lnkd.in/ggZuW2xs

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Co-lead a workshop (with Sumathi my business partner and Komal lath of Tute Consult) on branding and communication and why/how its' strategic & important for the portfolio companies of an early stage growth focused PE fund in Mumbai this noon. very interactive session. lots of takeaways. one of the biggest benefits of doing such workshops with founders and CXOs of growth companies is that you get to first hand understand their pain points and priorities. which makes you realize there is a long road ahead laden with great opportunity for those in PR & comms if we take off our hats and look at it from their perspective.

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Two years ago, we met Ritesh Srivastava, who had a vision of establishing a Debt Relief and Debt Consolidation platform for India. Essentially, he aimed to create a platform that would assist people in overcoming financial delinquency and escaping the debt traps they often find themselves in. Why was this so exciting to us at Multiply Ventures? With India witnessing increased and easier access to credit through various channels such as credit cards, BNPL, and personal loans, it became evident that many individuals would struggle to repay these debts, leading to delinquency. For those who haven't experienced this firsthand, it's a challenging and unpleasant journey, marked by persistent reminders, calls, and even threats. This is where Ritesh and his team introduced FREED, a platform designed to work closely with individuals in financial distress, helping them create payment plans, negotiate with creditors, and ultimately resolve their financial burdens. Over the past two years, FREED has made a significant impact, working with thousands of individuals and settling or in the process of settling loans totaling over 500 crore rupees. This initiative is not only a promising business venture but also one that has a profoundly positive impact on people's lives. And this is just the beginning; the team has plans to introduce several products to help people manage their credit more effectively. We are excited to announce our increased investment in FREED in partnership with Sorin Investments and Piper Serica. Bhushan Patil Sanjay Ramakrishnan Naveena Pallavi Sanjay Nayar https://lnkd.in/gahzm45x

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From Seed to Series B in less than 3 years Foxtale, an Indian D2C skincare brand, recently announced its $15M (Rs 125 Cr) Series B funding round. It raised $18M (Rs 150 Cr) in this round, but $3M out of this $18M were secondaries where existing shareholders sold their equity to new investors. The firm raised Rs 125 Cr ($12M) in fresh capital at a Rs 790 Cr ($96M) post-money valuation. This translates into a 12.5% dilution which is low for Series B rounds. The founders didn't have to dilute 20–25% equity because they got a high valuation. While the round size of Rs 125 Cr is average (neither large nor small) for a Series B startup in #India, the company's growth is spectacular. It was founded just 3 years ago in 2021. It raised its Seed of Rs 5.5 Cr in December 2021 and Rs 35 Cr Series A in June 2022. Skincare is a crowded category in India. Foxtale sells sunscreens and moisturisers where the competition from Indian and foreign brands is intense. So, how did Foxtale raise so much #money so quickly? The answer lies in Growth. VCs love fast-growing companies. Within 3 years, Foxtale's gross revenue run rate (Current Month's Revenue x 12) touched Rs 250 Cr. This gives us a valuation multiple of 2.7x which falls in the current market range of D2C valuations In India. Post-Money Valuation = Rs 790 Cr Fresh Capital Raised = Rs 125 Cr Pre-Money Valuation = 790 –125 = Rs 665 Cr Gross Revenue Run Rate = Rs 250 Cr Current Monthly Revenue = 250 / 12 = Rs 20Cr Valuation Multiple = 665 / 250 = 2.7 Its FY24 revenue was Rs 172Cr, more than 12 times its FY23 revenue. While the company burnt a lot of capital to achieve this, a Rs 172Cr revenue in its third financial year and Rs 20 Cr monthly revenue within 3 years is excellent #growth. The management also claims it's closer to EBITDA profitability, but I don't usually read too much into such claims because all #founders claim it. Nevertheless, the investors must be fine with the current burn to invest more money at an attractive valuation. Foxtale's high retention rate (More than 50% of orders are from existing customers) and a high share of website sales (More than 50%) convinced the investors that it's a good company to back. Most D2C brands rely on marketplaces for a majority of their sales. I agree with their hypothesis because skincare and body care are a crowded category in India. Dozens of #startups and FMCG companies sell hundreds of products. It's challenging for a new D2C brand to grow quickly even through cash burn. IMO, Foxtale has found its PMF for its existing products (Sunscreem and Moisturiser) in its current market. Its growth will depend upon how well it takes its existing products to newer markets and sells new products (Body care). It seems like an interesting company to follow. P.S. We are doing our next Founder Fundraising Workshop on the 22nd & 23rd of June. It's an 8-hour programme for first-time founders who want to raise #venturecapital.

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The last decade has seen many sizeable consumer brands emerge across categories in India and they have also given venture scale returns(10-100x)to the investors And with it, we now see a lot of VC interest in consumer brands, even from funds who have traditionally not done consumer But after having observed the consumer brands ecosystem as an insider for a decade, I think the model of consumer investing in India will change Consumer brands take time to build. It is difficult to blitzscale and unicorns will be the exception, not norm. But the opportunity is huge for both founders and investors to let it go And in my opinion, the most likely best case outcomes for good brands will either be an IPO or an acquisition by an incumbent, most probably at a 1000-3000 cr valuation. And Indian public markets definitely have good appetite for 1000-3000 cr valued profitable brands So, we might evolve to a model where a single VC does the seed, series A and series B and puts around 100 crs across 3 rounds over a 6-7 year period. And if a brand has a good proposition and ruthless execution and wants to grow in a capital efficient manner without the pressures of blitzscaling and raising a round every 1-2 years, this capital could often be enough to build a company worth 1000-3000 crs and reach a significant liquidity event Of course, there will be delayed gratification for both the investor and the founder. No secondaries, no external validation of increase in valuation till the liquidity event But this will significantly increase the chances of success of the brand. And most importantly, good consumer brands at a 80-100 cr scale with strong unit economics won’t need to struggle to raise funds as new VCs entering in series B find it difficult to underwrite a 400-500 cr price( justifiably so)

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The Spring team asked us founders to talk about our highlights for 2024 and here is what we said. We were asked to strictly keep the answer within 10 seconds and as you can see, only 1 co-founder stuck to the rule :-) Arun Iyer Vineet Gupta Spring Marketing Capital #2024 #Wrap #YearEnd #Founders #EarlySpring #Portfolio #Brands

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"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

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