E-commerce companies in India are deep in the red, and experts attribute this to several reasons. Some say that these companies are losing money because of unsustainable discounts, others say that it’s because of the extreme competition, and yet others feel that their business models are flawed. But one factor that’s bleeding e-commerce companies dry isn’t quite as well known among the general public — the returns on cash on delivery orders. One out of…

Softbank has burnt its hands with Uber and WeWork, but it seems to be trying to make sure that it doesn’t repeat those same mistakes in India. Softbank’s latest financial round in Paytm will come with the stipulation that the company goes public in five years, ET has reported. If an IPO doesn’t take place, Softbank will reportedly have the right to sell its stake in Paytm to a rival company. This stipulation is a part…

In 2016, Uber founder Travis Kalanick had visited Mumbai, and had been accorded a hero’s welcome. He’d met Sachin Tendulkar, and had spoken to a fawning audience at IIT Bombay. Three years later, Kalanick is back in Mumbai, but under decidedly different circumstances. Travis Kalanick’s new startup, CloudKitchens, has set up an office in Mumbai, and is building an India team. ET reported that the company, which is currently running in stealth mode, has started engagements…

It’s now commonly accepted that startups will burn money in their initial days to earn market share, but it’s staggering how much money some startups are willing to burn. Hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo had expenses of Rs. 172 crore last year. But it earned revenues from operations of just Rs. 76 lakh, which meant that it reported a loss of Rs. 168 crore for the period. In essence, Dunzo spent Rs. 225 to earn every…

It’s well known that China’s e-commerce market is far larger than India’s, but it’s breathtaking how wide the gulf really is. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has just sold more goods in 86 minutes than Amazon and Flipkart together sold in all of 2018. One hour and 26 minutes into Alibaba’s flagship Single’s Day sale, Alibaba had sold goods worth $17 billion (Rs. 1,20,000 crore). In comparison, Amazon had sold goods worth $7.5 billion in FY18,…

They say lightening doesn’t strike twice, but nobody bothered to tell Travis Kalanick. Kalanick, who led Uber into becoming the world’s most valuable startup before he was unceremoniously ousted from his own company, has hit the ground running with his new entrepreneurial venture. Kalanick’s secretive new startup, CloudKitchens, has quietly raised $400 million from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the deal has valued his barely-one-year-old company at a cool $5 billion. While CloudKitchens is…