Until two months ago, WeWork was on top of the world. The coworking spaces provider, which at $47 billion (Rs. 3.3 lakh crore) was among the highest valued startups in the world, had announced that it was going public. Its IPO was going to be among the biggest tech IPOs this year, and was meant to make WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, its biggest investor Softbank, and thousands of WeWork employees a lot of money. But it…
To make money, you don’t always need to be working for high-flying startups with superstar founders and multi-million dollar advertising budgets — you can do just as well working at a firm that quietly goes about its business and creates value. Discount brokerage Zerodha has created a Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) Plan that’s worth more than Rs. 200 crore. The plan has been put in place for 850 of its employees. Zerodha only has 1,100…
The more things change, the more they remain the same. Myntra, which had sought to disrupt offline retail by selling clothes online, is now relying on the most visible symbol of the offline fashion industry to run its business — the humble neighbourhood tailor. Myntra is roping in local tailors to deliver clothes so that they can alter products right at the customers’ doorsteps, which the company hopes will reduce returns on sales. Nearly 15-20…
Even the world’s largest startup investor is beginning to realize the importance of startups actually making some money. Softbank founder Masayoshi Son has urged his portfolio companies to “become profitable.” Son was speaking at a five-star resort to company leaders, and told them they need to soon become profitable, and stressed the importance of good governance. Public investors weren’t going to tolerate gimmicks like super-voting rights or complicated share structures that privilege founders over other stakeholders, he…
We are witnessing the fourth industrial revolution, and big countries should be prepared for it. The digital age is something that people dreamt of in the past. That’s why it could be the most challenging and drastic industrial revolution. India has a way to lead in the digital era Technological development is a must. We can’t undo the technologies that can transform the world. To be honest, no one can change or stop it. Unfortunately,…
After exiting Flipkart with a billion dollars in the bank, it was expected that Sachin Bansal would sit back and invest in other firms. But just a year after his mega exit, he’s back in the entrepreneurship game. Sachin Bansal has invested Rs. 740 crore in Non Banking Finance Company Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services Private Limited (CRIDS), and has also become the firm’s CEO. CRIDS’s founders Samit Shetty and Anand Rao will continue in their…
While he’d led Uber, Travis Kalanick had maintained that India was one of his company’s most important markets. And even after his exit, he appears to be keen on the tech ecosystem in the country. Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has picked up a small stake in Rebel Foods, which runs food brands like Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, Bloomberg reported. The stake purchase was through Kalanick’s new startup, City Storage systems, and is a part…
Most Indian companies seem to agree that becoming a super-app is the way to survive in India’s cutthroat internet ecosystem, but they are taking different approaches to getting there. Paytm, for instance, has started services of its own in areas such as movie tickets, mutual funds, and hotel bookings. Its arch-rival, PhonePe, seems to be collaborating with other companies instead. PhonePe has enabled its users to access 50 different apps from within its own app….
Zomato doesn’t seem to be backing away from its tiff with restaurants over Zomato Gold — it’s instead doubling down on the program. Zomato has extended its popular Zomato Gold loyalty program to include deliveries. Zomato Gold on delivery will offer the second-highest priced item on the order for free, except for combos, MRP items and special dishes. It will only apply on minimum order values of Rs. 300, and the discount will be capped at…
India’s corporate community had been somewhat skeptical of newly-appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman since the beginning of Modi government’s second term, but today they’re singing a different tune. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been hailed by India’s corporate honchos after she announced a broad-ranging set of reforms today morning. Chief among them had been the reduction of the effective corporate tax rate from 30% to 25%, which put India at par with more developed Indian…