You know what’s not cool? A billion dollars

Enter Softbank, the ninja in shining armor. But wouldn’t other stakeholders in Flipkart object to Softbank’s largesse being restricted to Tiger alone? Well, the company itself is now run by Kalyan Krishnamurthy, an ex-Tiger employee, so that is one hurdle crossed. The founders have been given fat secondary exits and have been “failed upwards”, promoted … Read more

Pivot from product startup to (tech-enabled) services provider

Data security wasn’t the only reason. On average, recurring revenue from a temporary or contractual workforce accounts for nearly two-thirds of the revenue for a big staffing company. Though permanent hiring contributes only about a third of revenues, the margins it offers are significantly higher. For instance, while Quess makes 2-3% Ebita (Earnings before interest, … Read more

Impact of the last six months of inaction

“That’s what it appeared to most people. But FreeCharge needed a few compliances, which it had not been able to get. It took six months to get that. So it looked like no work happened,” says another former employee who requested anonymity in exchange for candour. Elevating the security FreeCharge needed a ‘higher version’ of … Read more

The blue-collar job market puts Babajob out of work

Quikr has set its eyes on its eleventh target—Babajob. The blue-collar job marketplace’s soon-to-be-closed sale brings to an end Sean Blagsvedt’s decade-long struggle. One that started with the idea of creating a LinkedIn equivalent for blue-collared employees. And in return, all Babajob gets for that dream is Quikr’s stock. Some Great Competition Ahead The online … Read more

Why a lack of judicial reforms could kill India’s startup story?

Entrepreneurship is being encouraged today throughout institutions, across the ranks. But we know it is a messy process, particularly in commercial enterprises. So when Stayzilla co-founder Yogendra “Yogi” Vasupal was arrested by Chennai Police earlier this year, it took the entire startup community by shock, consternation, and eventually, a furor erupted. Consequences of the late … Read more

Swiggy and Zomato are fortifying their positions

The battle lines have been drawn. On one side is Zomato and the other, Swiggy. Both have successfully become verbs. But both want to be the only verb when it comes to customers, investors, and food. And the duo has now found a new way to achieve that: cloud kitchens. Zomato has infrastructure services, and … Read more

Two and twenty no more

Fundamentum’s investors thus far include five-six Indian entrepreneurs and one non-resident, who have together committed close to $50 million. Nilekani and Aggarwal are committing to invest one-third of the overall fund from their personal wealth. This means roughly $33 million if the fund is $100 million, but going up to $66 million if the fund … Read more

Inspiration from another world

Lenskart’s idea to go offline and set up storefronts worked for it to a certain degree. It earned the company Rs 100 crore in revenue in FY16 but it recorded a loss of Rs 113 crore, according to filings at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). Ken could not independently ascertain Lenskart’s source of revenue … Read more